H/T to iFeminists for this link to an article about Drill Sergeants getting into trouble for inappropriate behavior with their soldiers.

Apparently, this problem is starting to creep up again.

As I said before, I was an instructor at the Military Intelligence schoolhouse. While I was there, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) had a lot of emberrassing moments as instructors and Drill Sergeants at several posts around the country were caught, literally, with their pants down. We all went through education about sexual harassment and inappropriate contact with trainees. Several instructors at Fort Huachuca got into trouble, including one of my co-workers who only stayed out of a court-martial because the female trainee in question didn’t tell him she was in the Army and that she wasn’t supposed to be off-post.

I served for 9 years in MI, which is probably the most integrated branch, gender-wise. Just about every unit I ever worked with or served in was almost 50-50. I imagine that almost every non-combat MOS is going to be co-ed at some level, and the soldiers have to learn to live and work with members of the opposite sex.

But it seems to me that mixed gender basic training seems to be more trouble than it’s worth. Every few years we hear about how some group of NCO’s are abusing their position in order to get into their privates’ privates. They get thumped, things are tightened up, and then it all happens again. And this says nothing of the shenanigans that happen in the barracks when privates are practicing night land navigation skills to find their way to some meeting place.

So, my opinion of mixed-gender training is pretty low, at least as far as basic training goes.

There are always going to be those guys who abuse their power to get what they want, including getting a few of their soldiers into bed. I have always felt that even if the female soldier in question says she consented, it should still be considered coerced. An 18 year old recruit, who is totally disconnected from her entire support system, would have an immense problem saying no to a Drill Sergeant who wants to get her in the sack in exchange for a couple of favors, or worse, to ward off harsher treatment if she declines.

My solution to the immediate problem is to throw the book at any leader who uses his or her position to gain sexual favors from a soldier of lesser rank, regardless of whether or not it was consensual. I’m talking jail time and a dishonorable discharge. NCO’s are there to take care of, lead, and train these soldiers, not abuse them. The behavior of these people dishonors every one of us who earned our stripes and kept our hands off of the privates.

In the long term, I believe that the Army should return to gender segregated basic training. Female Drill Sergeants should be integrated into both sexes training liberally, but only one or two male Drill Sergeants should be allowed in each female company. Heck, it would be an honor to know that you were trusted in an area that few males are allowed. The sexes should be segregated from attending classes together, or living in the same building. I’m not even above saying that there should be a separate battalion in each training brigade for females.

The male Drill Sergeants and instructors are showing time and again that some of them can’t keep from taking advantage of the situation.

It’s time to change that situation. The soldiers that are being trained today are tomorrow’s Army, and they deserve no better than an environment where they aren’t targeted by predators.

and I think the crew is close to mutiny.

After seeing my doctor on Friday, I’ve given up caffeine cold turkey. And I feel like leftover turkey.

No coffee, no sodas with caffeine. I’ve been hedging a bit with hot cocoa, which has some caffeine in it, but not much.

I’ve found a couple of herbal teas that are somewhat satisfying when I’m in the mood for something hot to drink, and I’m going to investigate decaffeinated coffee starting this weekend.

Even though I thought I didn’t have too big a caffeine monkey on my back, he’s there and he’s kicking the side of my head with jump boots.

My friends that have gone caffeine free tell me this will wear off in a few days.

Until then, I’m a bit grouchy, have an eternal headache, and have a bit of an energy problem.

I wrote these a few years ago, but they still sound good. Enjoy.

• Even when you rest, scan the horizon.

• You only truly appreciate sunrise if you’ve endured the cold night.

• It only takes a few grains of carbon to turn a sophisticated weapon system into a club.

• It doesn’t matter how good the truck looks if it breaks down constantly.

• You are never given a promotion or award that matters. You earn the ones that count.

• No job operates independently. The Intel weenie doesn’t directly engage the enemy, but the infantryman can’t be utilized effectively if he doesn’t know where the enemy is.

• A march is only long if you haven’t done it before.

• Sometimes it’s a blast, sometimes it’s just a paycheck. If you can’t remember the last time it was a blast, get another job.

• It doesn’t matter how heavy a load you carry at the beginning of the march.

• Any moron can shoot. It takes skill to hit.

• If you’re not willing to maintain and fix it, you don’t get to drive it.

• Take pleasure from the small things. They may be all you get.

• Leadership is more than giving orders.

• Sometimes you have to be at the bottom of a well to see the light.

• Genetics doesn’t make a family.

• Say hello as if you haven’t seen them in years.

• Say good-bye as if you’ll never see them again.

• Cherish the ones that are there, honor the ones that came before, and train the ones that are new.

Apparently a “veteran” member of the SWAT team in Utah left his M-4 carbine behind when he was leaving a crime scene. The story goes on to say that he would be disciplined, but probably not fired.

Umm, why not?

Leaving a loaded weapon a front yard in a neighborhood is pretty dangerous, and borders on the stupid.

Let me imagine the scene:

“Flex cuffs, yep. Flash grenades, yep. Flashlight, yep. Body armor and helmet, yep. Guess that’s all I need”

Don’t you think he would have noticed that his weapons holder in his car was empty or something?

Remembering your weapon is one of the most basic things in the world.

If he doesn’t get fired, I think he should have the darned thing super glued to his hands for a day, or at least have to have it tied to his belt for a while to teach him not to lose track of weapons.

H/T to Radley Balko.

I got 30 out of 33 (90.91%) on this Civics Quiz, which apparently has stumped a lot of our elected officials.

National average is 77.6%, so while I’m not perfect, I’m ahead of the curve on this one.

I’m shocked sometimes at how little some people know about our country. If you don’t do well on the quiz, then please do some reading and try again. If you do well, help out those who don’t.

This is the only country we’ve got folks. We owe it to ourselves to at least be educated in what makes this country a union.

Went hunting Wednesday night at a friend’s farm. Sat in the blind with him from about 4 until dark at 6. No luck. Beautiful conditions, low-40’s, no wind. Saw a couple of squirrels.

My friend took another buddy out on Thursday evening, and they got two. From the exact same blind at the exact same time. Snowing out, with some wind.

I must be a jinx.

Oh well, I have the later muzzleloader season, and I’ll continue to hunt with the bow until the season closes in January.

Until then, this pretty much sums it up.

after reading this over at Fox.

Ick, ick, ick.

I’m not much of a germophobe, but I do wash my hands and cook my pork. I’ve heard of worms from pork before, but never in the brain.

Now I’m going to go take a shower and dowse myself in GermX.

OK, this is beginning to get on my nerves.

Apparently, the pirates that are using the Horn of Africa as a stomping ground and sanctuary are starting go for some stretch goals. They’ve now taken over a huge oil tanker and and a grain hauler. Must have eaten their Wheaties or something.

I have couple of questions:

Why aren’t we exacting a little blood tribute from these guys? I mean, come on! What are they armed with, machine guns and RPG’s? Like we’ve never had to face those before.

Put a couple of destroyers and cruisers alongside the ships, demand surrender, and if they don’t, send in a company of Marines with assurances that there’s no need to be careful about taking captives. If we can’t take the ships, I suggest we sink them and let the pirates try to swim to shore under fire.

And then the Marines can add another line to their Hymn.

Piracy for ransom is only profitable if the pirates in question believe that someone will pay for their captive ship or crew, and that someone with more men and bigger guns won’t come in and turn you into shark chum.

Lloyds of London needs to start telling the people who insure their ships with them that they need to prove that adequate armed security is onboard if the ship is going to be going into these waters. I’m sure that Blackwater would be happy to put a squad or two of mercenaries out for hire. Once the pirates learn that the targets are going to start shooting at people who try to board them, they’ll either back down or escalate to the point where national powers intervene in a meaningful way.

I’m not convinced that shippers will do this, but a convoy system from the Suez canal to Yemen might be in order. At least that way there’ll be a couple of destroyers available to knock the snot out of anyone who tries to get frisky.

NASA has sent two orb spiders into orbit for an educational experiment. Apparently, the spiders haven’t figured out how to spin a proper web in micro-gravity, but that’s not the real story.

You see, the space agency reports that they can’t find one of the two spiders they sent. In their defense, they’re sure that the “missing” spider is somewhere in the enclosure, and isn’t running loose on the ISS.

OK, but that’s what they always say, just before some mutant arachnoid alien space monster starts picking the crew off one by one.

I just hope the ISS crew has access to an escape vehicle and flame throwers.

Senator Ted Stevens, who was recently convicted of lying to Congress, looks like he’s going to lose his nice position in the Senate.

Good. Best news I’ve heard all day.

Ted Stevens has been an embarrassment to the Republican Party for years. He set out to make himself rich, and he did. He’s the Robert Byrd of the GOP, bringing in a ton of federal dollars to Alaska that could have been used better elsewhere, or better yet not spent at all. He’s also infamous in tech circles for his description of the Internet as a “series of tubes“.

I’m glad to see that the good people of Alaska finally threw this creep out on his ear, and I hope he spends some long days in a nice Federal prison. Even though this means one more step towards a Democratic filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, the GOP needs to clean up its act and bring in new blood. We’re not going to improve our standing by having a corrupt, uneducated geezer on the payroll.

I think this is a good start. Now we need to take a look at the rest of the senior Republican leadership.