Gold Wings

Yours truly reached a career-long goal this past weekend. I earned my Marine Parachutist insignia, more often known as "Gold Wings".

When I was a young 2ndLt. at 1/1, the Regimental Supply Officer sported these shiny gold jump wings on his uniform. If I remember correctly, he was one of maybe five Marines in the entire Regiment who had any type of wings, much less gold ones. This Marine, Capt McNamara, helped me survive my first deployment cycle. He also taught me the importance of supply operations and how it could directly affect the infantry's mission accomplishment. As a professional mentor, I could not have asked for better.

After my first tour, I transitioned to the Inspector-Instructor Staff 3Bn/23rd Marines. There, my I-I, LtCol Ferraro was dual-cool. [For the uninitiated, this means he had both his gold wings and a dive bubble]. LtCol Ferraro is one of the most impressive officers I have ever worked with. For years I've remarked that if he called and asked me to serve on his planning staff to invade the Gates of Hell, I'd be there within 48 hours. He's that type of leader.

I owe a considerable amount of gratitude to these two Marines. They never said I should jump, encouraged me to jump, or even casually remarked I should jump. But, they are both officers whom I wanted to emulate. Accordingly, getting gold wings was always on my radar.

So now I've got 'em! I have to thank all my friends and family for their kind congratulatory words. Also, I'm thankful to all the jumpers and jumpmasters of 4th ANGLICO for helping me learn parachute operations and bettering my abilities. This is a great way to start 2009!

Break in the Action

Today, Israel's Defense Ministry announced it would halt offensive operations in Gaza to permit humanitarian aid to get through. Even though the operational pause will only last for three hours, and the IDF reserved the right to defend itself if Hamas attacked, one must wonder why the humanitarian crisis needs to be avoided in the first place?

Hamas created this situation by launching over 8000, yes EIGHT THOUSAND, rockets at Israel's southern cities, over the past eight years. Hamas is the freely elected government who chose to purchase weapons, rocket parts, tunnel materials and engineering expertise, as opposed to, additional power plants, waste removal services, recycling centers, school improvements, hospitals, and other infrastructure items. Where are the social services Hamas was (in)famous for prior to its election? Why is the West Bank acting as if the action in Gaza is in another country?

The short answer is Hamas is reaping the harvest of its terrorist actions. This is the end state of non-state terrorist actors, such as Hamas (and possibly Hezbollah), when they have finally pushed too far. Unlike the United States in 2003-04 in Iraq, Israel has thoroughly planned its operation into Gaza. Overwhelming force has been deployed to the Gaza Strip. Israel's mission shall not end until it has degraded Hamas' ability to launch rockets. As Israel's Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has said, the operation may go on for an extended period of time.

Currently, the world watches what happens when governments get fed up with terrorist actions. Turkey took similar action against the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) last year. Russia launched operations into Chechnya. The United States operates in both Iraq and Afghanistan to counter terrorists. India has a newfound interest in extending its operations. Israel is no different and has every right to pursue Hamas into every hole, school closet, hospital operating room, and mosque where they attempt to hide.

p.s. Where are Hamas' supposed leaders? Oh that's right, they don't even live in their own region, they hide in Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah controlled Lebanon.