How To Properly Fold An American Flag

I found this video on the Martha Stewart website from her Memorial Day show that demonstrates the proper way to fold an american flag. This is somethingthat I personally think everyone should know how to do.

Memorial Day 2009

I thought a lot about what to say today. As I was reading my back emails, I came across one from the USO and I feel they really sort of summed up well what I was thinking. So below is a quote from that email.


"A few days from now, Memorial Day celebrations will be held in small towns and big cities all across America. Bunting will be everywhere. Parades will feature bands, antique cars, kids on bikes, and veterans of many conflicts… all marching proudly to show their patriotism and love of country.

At the same time, half way around the world, 170,000 brave young men and women will demonstrate their patriotism in another way: by putting their lives at risk to defend everything America stands for.

As we gather in our backyards for cookouts and picnics, our troops overseas will grab an MRE and head out to patrol crowded streets and back alleys where insurgents continue to lurk.

As we play softball or watch a parade, they'll spend their afternoons in harm's way: a "place" where rounding any corner can mean a deadly ambush… where stopping any car or passerby can trigger an explosion and sudden death.As we "ooh" and "aah" at fireworks displays, they'll duck live rounds and remain alert for the sudden rush of an incoming rocket-propelled grenade.

Today, the nation's economic crisis continues to push the ongoing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan off the front pages; some Americans may even have forgotten about the brave men and women who are doing their job overseas, but counting the days till it's their turn to share the home-town celebrations with their loved ones and friends."

Honoring Fallen Loved Ones

Memorial day is around the corner... it comes and goes like it does every year. This year, I would like to just post a little something about my cousin Charles, Pfc. Charles S. Cooper, Jr., who was killed in Baghdad, Iraq in 2005. I'm not going to say were close, but I feel terrible about it. I remember my bio-mom calling me and telling me that he was dead, crying, saying that I had told them, I had told them. (which I had said to join the Navy instead of the Army when he was initially looking over his options.) I felt like somehow that involved me in the tragedy on a deeper level than just having him as a cousin. Not responsible for it, it's hard to explain I guess, like maybe people were waiting for an "I told you so". Of course I didn't think that way, He was a good guy who was going places with his life and yet just one more waste brought about by all this craziness.

As I was searching his name today, I came across a couple of things and some really surprised me. This one & this one especially did so... such an outpouring of grief from all over the country, I couldn't believe it. Also, this little snippet from a post on North American Hunting Club that explains a little about his story:

"By 2005, Charles Cooper Jr. was a private first class -- a PFC -- and he was a proud member of the 10th Mountain Division. The division, headquartered at Fort Drum in northern New York, has been front and center in the war on terror. That's how PFC Cooper got to Iraq.Baghdad, to be specific.

Baghdad where, on April 29, 2005, PFC Cooper and his Charlie Company pals were on foot patrol.

That's when the IED went off. Some jerry-rigged piece-of-crap jihad bomb. It was Charles Cooper Jr., 19, out of Jamestown, New York, and Darren DeBlanc, 20, out of Evansville, Indiana, and they each had a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart and a Combat Infantry Badge.

And they would have gone home in two weeks.

As it was they were called home right then. Two young men, PFCs, not long out of high school. Darren came in to get college money, Charles had just asked a girl named Ashley to marry him. Now they were gone."

Some more pieces I found on the web are below.

Infantry Soldiers Honor Fallen Comrades
His fiance's online memorial
Photos from an honoring ceremony
His obit


Pfc. Charles S. Cooper, Jr., 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, shakes hands with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld April 12 in Baghdad after being awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained during an improvised explosive device attack in the Baghdad neighborhood of Abu Ghraib. Cooper was killed April 29 from an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, Iraq. (DoD photo)

Rants From The Navy: Congrats To The Advanced

Today the results came out for advancement. In my work space I had two guys make the next rank. When ever you see someone who works for you and that you have helped train make rank, you feel proud of them. When I was advanced to third class my chief gave me something that his chief gave to him when he made third. Now that is something I like the thought of; taking something and passing it down to someone who you feel deserves a little piece of you. Since one of the guys made second class, I gave him my second class pin. He took it with the look of gratitude in his eyes and said he will pass it down to someone he feels deserves it. The other guy... I’m happy he made it, but when you just found out that you are getting advanced ten minutes ago, don’t go acting like you are the shit and you can do what ever you fucking want and don't have to listen to your superiors. Dude, I have more time at sea (I'm not talking about on sea duty, I mean actually AT sea) than you have in the Navy, so don’t try talking back to me and ignoring what you are told to do. Get off your high horse and get back to work. In fact, you have not even put on third class yet. You are still Seaman Nobody to me, especially with that attitude.

On top of that, don’t try to compare yourself to me when you have never been on another ship and have only cooked for/served the crew. When you have cooked for and served kings, princes, admirals and other high ranking officials then you can start to compare your level of ability with mine. Opening cans of beans and adding water doesn't make you a chef.

Rants From The Navy: Lazy Assholes Who Whine

Well, here I am again with “Rants from the Navy.” Today my rant is about people being little bitches. There a few people that I work with that are some of the biggest fucking cry baby bitches I have ever met. One of them, we will call Stacy and the other we will call Gus (not their real names, but you get the idea). Stacy came to my ship about 3 months ago and she was quiet and wouldn’t talk to anyone, so I’m not expecting her to be a problem at all. Little did I know that she likes to brag about being the ship whore on her last ship. She doesn’t know how to cook and all she does is try to sleep all day instead of doing any of the work she is told to do. When I asked her why she was so tired, she said the vitamins she took were making her sleepy. Now I know more about pies than I do vitamins, but I’m pretty sure they are supposed to give you more energy not make you have to sleep on the job all day. So it's like, don’t tell me some shit like that; I don’t want to hear it. And then don’t tell me that you know how to cook when you can’t even follow a recipe card that has the steps in front of you. Are you that fucking retarded? Can you not read? How did you get IN the Navy? When it comes to work, I believe that if it is your day to work than you are going to work all fucking day unless you bust your ass and show me that you have your shit done, then I’ll let you go home. However, when I catch you sleeping and not getting your simple shit done and then come to me asking if you can leave what the fuck do you think I’m going to say. NNNNOOOOOO!!!!!! This is the part where Stacy stars crying ... actually CRYYYYYing... every time. That doesn't work on me. You will get no sympathy from me with your tears, actually that will just piss me off even more and I’ll ruin your fucking day the best I possibly can. Any way to sum things up with Stacy, I hate her and I want to feed her to a pack of wild dogs.

Now for Gus. Gus is a fat, stupid, woman beating, lard eating, lazy bastard. He failed out of one school and then went to CS A school and became a cook (surprise!). He has no concept of authority or what "shut the fuck up, I out rank you so do as you are told you fat fuck" means. For the last 2 weeks I have told Gus to get some paint so that I can paint some stuff in the galley. Not a hard job for most part, but I guess he would die if he had to stop eating for one millisecond and do what his superiors tell him to do. Anyway, it is his job to get the paint and maintain our equipment. Well, all I wanted was the paint and I was going to do the rest of his job myself. This fat fuck said I’m the lazy one for not getting it, when I saw him sitting in the room where we keep all the trash from the galley, playing his PSP. Now that is fitting that he would be down there since he is garbage any way. Now this room is so bad that I will not walk past it let alone sit in there and hang out. Nasty. This is why people think ALL cooks are nasty and stupid.

When he gets written up, nothing ever comes of it. When I reprimand him, the LPOs think it's too much trouble to make his stick to his punishments. Why does the Navy take people like this in the first place? I hate these kind of fuckers. So if I have offended anyone I would say that I’m sorry, but I’m not really.

Bettie's Hubby

How To Make A Sailor Knot

Here is a fun little decorative instruction from Martha Stewart. I received this in my daily newsletter from her and I immediately thought of your guys over here. I know (like I've said before) I love all things Navy/sailor related. I've always found all the different types of knots really cool, but didn't know how to make them. Below is are visual and written instructions on how to make the Sailor Knot yourself. You could use it for any number of applications really; it has endless possibilities.

1a. To tie this knot, first make a loop in the center of the left-hand rope; cross the loose ends so the bottom strand lies on the top strand, as shown. Leave this loop lying still (it will become the "standing part"), and wind the other rope around it as directed. 1b. Position the right-hand rope as shown: Lay it over the top "tail" of the standing part, and pass it under the bottom tail. It should make a loop in the center of the rope.

2a. Slide the top "tail" of the right-hand rope under the loop of the standing part, so that it peeks through, as shown. 2b. Bring the bottom tail up over the bottom of the loop, and pass it down through the loop . . .

3. . . . and under the top tail of the right-hand rope, then up out of the loop and over the top of the loop.

4. Grasp the two sets of tails (one set in each hand), and pull firmly and evenly to tighten the knot.

Taking Chance

I know this isn't a Navy movie, it's a Marine movie, but it's still military and I still think that everyone should go watch it, IMMEDIATELY!

I just finished watching Taking Chance. It is probably one of the best movies that I have seen in a very long time. By far it is a triumph for Kevin Bacon, If he doesn't win something for this I'll be surprised. I am not an emotionally weak person and I rarely cry at films and when I do it's a sniffle here or there in one or two spots, then it fades. My two exceptions are The Band of Brothers documentary We Stand Alone Together and the final episode of M*A*S*H. Both of those involve old men crying and that's always been my weak point. This movie however, I cried from the opening scenes all the way through to the credits. Even thinking about it, I am tearing up. This was so moving that I am at a loss for words really.

The film follows the remains of PFC Chance Phelps and his escort, played by Kevin Bacon, on his trip home from the Middle East. You never think about the trip, you know? Or of all the people who share that grief along the way... the delicacy and respect that they are treated with at every step, even when people aren't around to see it. And to think that this story has been repeated thousands of times. I personally, I never thought about any of this when my own cousin (my mother's twin's youngest son) was brought home from Iraq to be buried. I am glad to know the pains they go to, to insure that they are treated properly.

Go get a box of tissues and settle in for a good cry with Taking Chance, it'll give you a new outlook.

LeftFace: The OTHER MilSpouse Blog

Okay so, you found me out, I'm NOT a conservative republican! I'm so over the past 8 years it isn't funny. I usually steer very clear of the political line on this blog. I think my views are fairly evident from the things I say, but I want this to be a place of fun and information and not a place of intense debate that will scare off the newbies and turn readers to acts of internet gangstary. However, I know a group of very smart and politically minded military spouses who have decided to turn their attentions to the issues that we deal with every day. They cover all sorts of topics, not just politics. If you are so inclined, check them out they make a great alternative to the narrow minded elitist meanies over at SpouseBuzz.

Help Target Help Service Members

Everyone knows I love Target and that I am so upset that there isn't one here in town. The closest is the somewhat old and ratty one in Bloomington. Today I got an email from a friend that mentioned the Bullseye Gives event going on over on the Target Facebook page. First, I am sure that everyone has read the vicious email that gets circulated a couple of times a year about how Target is owned by the French and hates veterans. FOR SOME REASON... People continue to believe that load of bullshit, even though the man it originated from has been proven to be a bitter liar and then even addressed it on their website. Read snopes if you are still dumb enough to keep forwarding it.

As we see, they are offering to help out a military cause in a VERY big way, and YOU can facilitate that with a few clicks of the mouse. Basically here is what is going on. They have picked 10 charities, you can go to their Facebook page and vote once a day for your favorite charity. At the end of the event (May 25th, 2009), they will give corresponding percentages of $3,000,000 to the 10 charities. For example; Breast Cancer Research Fund ends up with 25% of the vote, they receive $750,000 (25% of $3,000,000). It is completely free, it only takes a second and you don't even have to be one of their Facebook friends, you just have to have a Facebook account. One of the contenders is Operation Gratitude, so SHOW a little gratitude for your spouses' fellow service members and GO VOTE!

A little it about Operation Gratitude from their website:
"Hundreds of thousands of American Service Members are deployed in hostile and remote regions of the world, including the Middle East, Afghanistan, and on ships throughout international waters. The physical conditions they must endure are difficult and they may be separated from loved ones for long periods of time. OPERATION GRATITUDE seeks to lift morale and put smiles on faces by sending care packages addressed to individual Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed overseas. OPERATION GRATITUDE care packages contain food, hygiene products, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with good wishes of love and support.

Through Collection Drives, Letter Writing Campaigns and Donations of funds for shipping expenses, OPERATION GRATITUDE provides civilians anywhere in America a way to express their respect and appreciation to the men and women of the U.S. Military in an active, hands-on manner."

And Now A Little Navy Rant From My Hubby

He sees that I blog all day and all night on our personal blog and felt left out, so he whipped me up a little something about the Navy. LOL. I figured it would fit in better over here.

One of my biggest problems in the Navy is the lack of discipline. I have started out from the bottom and worked my way up to where I am. I have earned my rank. There are some jobs in the Navy that put you into a leadership position as soon as you are done with the schooling you are required. Mine is not one of those. I have been in for 5 years and I am an E-5 or a second class petty officer. When I arrived to my first ship I, as an E-1 would not have dared to talk to a petty officer let alone the senior seaman in my department the way some of these little shits on my ship do. That is one thing I’m getting sick of and I want to slap these little fuckers who are from New Jersey or somewhere and just because they think they are "hard" and claim they are from the "hood" (I mean, how many dudes that are "hard" throw whiny fits and get pissed when you won't give them extra cookies at night?) Well, you little fucker, you can’t even leave the pier without getting sea sick, so shut the fuck up! Just because your mother tells you that you are special doesn't mean you can talk to me or even officers however you want. And another thing; If you want to act like whatever the stereotypical low class example for your particular race (whatever it may be), that is fine and dandy, but keep it off of the ship and out of the Navy. You are not in the TRAILER PARK, the hood or where ever else; you are in the United States Navy, conduct yourself properly.