Epiphany

 

What a beautiful Epiphany morning, crisp and clear with the sun rising over the common behind the Compound. I say "common" but I don't think any of us have grazing rights on this bit of vacant land owned by the Civic Power. Regardless, I wasn't there to recce out a site for a new parade square or even admire the scenery, no, I was there to work.

Don't laugh, I was, and spent the morning hanging drywall for a new Habitat For Humanity house.  What a good cause and led, in this instance, by a neat guy who got me into the swing of things. He's retired now and spends his time putting up these houses for the good of the community, but had been a soldier for 20 years.

A Mexican immigrant, he joined up in 1969 and fought in Vietnam where he was wounded, "What's that, 49 inches? Sometimes my memory's not so good, I stepped on a mine." Mines aside, D stayed in and retired in 1989 as, I think, a  Command Sergeant Major with III Corps. "Phantom Warriors," I offered, resisting the urge to ask how an armored corps could somehow classify as "phantom." He grinned, impact wrench in hand, "That's right, III Corps."

What a good guy and he liked the fact that my eldest, the erstwhile and maybe future cadet, was stationed at Fort Hood, "It'll always be Fort Hood, man. Have you been down Tank Destroyer Boulevard?" I replied that I had. "There's a lot of power there," he said in a quiet tone and I agreed that there was.

Ahem, Civic Power, Roads

Then we were finished for the day and I tell you, I really enjoyed the work, the company and the chance to put faith into practice. All you biblical scholars out there will recall Christ was rather insistent on people helping out those less fortunate than ourselves. That in mind, I'll be back on the project, big fun to boot.

An Epiphany? Yes indeed, on several levels. Not least, tear yourself away from the appalling news cycle and do something good and constructive. Exercise your faith, put "tract into act" and all of that, and who knows who you'll meet along the way. But I won't preach.

Cheers,

LSP

Kino

Have you watched the video of the young UKR guys in the minefield? So horrible and let's pour scorn on the rich beyond imagining monsters accelerating this wickedness. Yes, GloboTrans Elite, I'm looking at you.

And you, all you sick parents that'd demonically trans your kids into blasphemous parodies of the male and female sex. That caveat in mind, GloboTrans was betting on a fast war, a "we'll be home by Rainbow Baalzebub" war and it didn't happen. 

Oops, Russia still has manufacturing capacity and we don't, coz we sent it all to China, which is so totally not a second or third front. Long story short, what utter blood-bathed psychos, can we vote them out? And with that let's see our armored corps thunder to DC.

Nooses down the Mall and see you at the Army & Navy.

Best,

LSP

Up In Kenosha

 

Hey now, here we are, a rifleman behind every blade of grass and that's no idle boast. Yep, it's true. But really? Imagine, things go Defcon, and the cheese slides off the cracker when our worthless money implodes and trans globo rainbow tyranny can't afford to pay the Army. Oops. What then. III Corps et al decide to roll. 

Tricky spot for leftists. They're baying for moar war but hate the Army which delivers it, because not trans rainbow. This endears the Army to the Left and makes it utterly loyal to them. Ahem.

Cut to the chase: Will CONUS balkanize, is a national divorce on the cards and where will the armed power fall? I'm not a betting man but I'll wager my increasingly vicious monkey on the boys with the guns.

Adveniat,

LSP

Cocktail Party - Yes, They still Exist

 

Do people even have cocktail parties anymore? Apparently they do, not least here in the North Central Texas Exclusion Zone, and what fun it was.

"Crazier than a sh*house rat!" said one punter and I paused, "What do you mean?" He explained and we looked out on the town's Heritage League. 

Behold, diamonds shine brightly. And you'll be sure I thanked relevant people for relevant favors; I do not say that lightly. Also spent a good portion of the evening talking to our LEO bodyguards. Good men.

You know what? I feel a chaplaincy role coming on.

Spem in Alium,

LSP

Broumas Memorial Park

Well it's all fine and dandy until a literal TANK starts rolling. I know you know, but there it is, these massive beasts, rolling on, and utter respect to LT. COL Broumas. He died in '69 with a chestful of medals and grateful vets set up a memorial park in Fort Hood. Look, here's a Priest:

And a tank. Note the Fiddy

Low Pro? Yet another Fiddy (above) and some typical Sov rubbish from Iraq. Check it out:

 Jagdpanzers in UKR? Still, what a massive beast. But I like this little fella, handy range taxi, eh?

Panzers roll,

LSP

Return to the Hood

 

After Mass and a beautiful moment on the porch watching sky water, you might call it "rain," fall from the heavens, it was time to brave I35 and take the Specialist back to Fort Hood.  It's not a bad drive, despite nightmarish roadworks in Waco, and before you know it there you are at the home of III Corps, Phantom Warriors.

As we drove down Tank Destroyer Boulevard, I growled "Phantom!" and he told me they'd had to practice exactly that cadence(?) to welcome a visiting general. Call it out soldiers, "PHANTOM, PHANTOM, PHANTOM!" Which they did when the inspiring pencil neck war leader arrived.

"How," asked the once and maybe future Cadet, "does an armored corps count as 'phantom'?" I held my tongue and didn't say "magicke, son." And then we were at 11 Signal Brigade HQ and the boy's incredibly pleasant looking barracks. Of course he feels most hard done by because he has to share a room, with a kitchen, no less.

I resisted the heady urge to say "height of luxury, m'boy!" and instead took a few photos of Brigade HQ. There it was, the Thunderbird Headquarters, and I was impressed. Quite a set up. His unit, 57th Expeditionary Signals Battalion (ESB) is fairly new, conceived of in the 1920s and activated in WWII, where it fought in seven campaigns, not least Anzio and D-Day.

57th ESB didn't see action again until Gulf War I, II and Afghanistan, where it served well, being awarded two Meritorious Unit Commendations as of 2019 with B Company, my son's, having an additional award. He wants to stay in B Company. He's also finished the paperwork to start a degree in Computer Science in October, which is most important.

Well done young man, keep it up.

Phantom,

LSP