The Wandering Minstrel

Those of us fortunate enough to have attended the Gun Blogger Rendezvous and saw Major Chuck Ziegenfus give his presentation on Project VALOur-IT, have a head start in knowing how much good the project does.

The 5th annual VALOur-IT drive is now underway. From now until November 11th, you can support this important project with your generosity. See the links below.

This year, even though I’m a Navy veteran, we will be supporting Team Army, given Chuck’s convincing argument to do so:

But honestly, the most important thing you can do is reach out to the 237,999,998 Americans who don’t read this blog. Make them aware of VALOur-IT, Soldiers Angels, and the 2009 service members waiting to be adopted. Encourage them not only to donate (especially to Team Army, since the Army bears the brunt of the casualties, and does the majority of the fighting) but to also reach out to other people they know, to educate, contribute, and ask them to reach out. It’s how things go viral besides the video of the fat kid going ape in the candy store.

Electronic Check, Credit Card and Pay Pal all accepted. Choose your team and Donate:

Team Army
Team Navy
Team Marines
Team Air Force

I posted a picture of a Remington military modular combat gun a couple of days ago. In the discussion, I posted a link to an old article I wrote in December 2006, on the topic of military shotgun use. I liked the photo in that old article, so I’m posting it again here.

Shotguns are just better for some jobs, like blowing the lock out of a door in Baghdad to gain entry to a suspected terrorist hideout and weapons cache. This soldier stows his tactical weapon and uses an XM26 12-Gauge Modular Accessory Shotgun System (MASS) to gain entry to a building; when the door is “unlocked,” this “locksmith” falls to the rear of the column of soldiers behind him, retrieves the assault gun, stows the MASS and falls in with the search and confront tactical formation.

Photo credit: army.mil.

Over the past few days, it has been our pleasure to meet some of our fellow bloggers and to participate in the great activities organized by Mr. Completely and Kee Wee. We had a great time and look forward to next year.

One of the highlights this year, was when Major Chuck Ziegenfuss told the group about his experience as a seriously injured soldier and how his injuries led to the establishment of Project Valour-IT.

The following is from the Project Valour-IT site:

Project Valour-IT began when Captain Charles “Chuck” Ziegenfuss was wounded by an IED while serving as commander of a tank company in Iraq in June 2005.

During his deployment he kept a blog (an online personal diary, opinion forum, or news analysis site-called a milblog or military weblog when written by a servicemember or about military subjects). Captivating writing, insightful stories of his experiences, and his self-deprecating humor won him many loyal readers. After he was wounded, his wife continued his blog, keeping his readers informed of his condition.

As he began to recover, CPT Ziegenfuss wanted to return to writing his blog, but serious hand injuries hampered his typing. When a loyal and generous reader gave him a copy of the Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred software, other readers began to realize how important such software could be to CPT Ziegenfuss’ fellow wounded soldiers and started cast about for a way to get it to them.

A fellow blogger (blog author) who writes under the pseudonym FbL contacted Captain Ziegenfuss and the two realized they shared a vision of providing laptops with voice-controlled software to wounded soldiers whose injuries prevented them from operating a standard computer. FbL contacted Soldiers Angels, who offered to help develop the project, and Project Valour-IT was born.

In sharing their thoughts, CPT Ziegenfuss (now a Major) and FbL found that memories of their respective fathers were a motivating factor in their work with the project. Both continue their association with this project in memory of the great men in their lives whose fine examples taught them lasting lessons of courage and generosity.

In the years since its founding in 2005, the project has acted to meet emerging needs and its mission of supporting the the severely wounded has expanded. In addition to voice-controlled laptops, Valour-IT now helps provide active and whole-body video games such as Wii Sports, which is used to great effect in physical therapy, and personal GPS systems that help compensate for short-term memory loss and organizational/spacial challenges common in those with brain injuries.

It was an honor to meet and talk with Chuck. We’re going to continue our independent support to Project Valor-IT and look forward to supporting them next year for GBR-V.

This is the USS Brooklyn, CL-40 with Palisades Park in the background, as she cruises along the Hudson River near New York City. My Dad was an Electricians Mate, First Class, on this vessel.

The Brooklyn departed from Norfolk for the Mediterranean on 24 October 1942. My 18 month old brother, Billy, and Mom were in Norfolk to give Dad a send-off. Mom and Billy then took the train back to California, where I was born about 9 months, or so, afterward. Dad never met me until I was 18 months old, since he and the Brooklyn were engaging the Axis in the Med. Rommel was there, Montgomery was there, Patton was there and the USS Brooklyn’s 5 and 6 inch guns were there helping the Allies to victory.

The major function of Rolling Thunder®, Inc. is to publicize POW-MIA issues: To educate the public that many American prisoners of war were left behind after all previous wars and to help correct the past and to protect future veterans from being left behind should they become prisoners of war-missing in action. They also act as a shield from loony left wing demonstrations that try to interfere with and discredit burials of American Military men and women.

I also admire their Smith & Wesson .45 caliber ACP Pistol . . .

This is the cockpit of a Sikorsky S-70 “Firehawk” helicopter (clickable image). This is the same airframe and powerplant as the UH-60 “Blackhawk” Army combat helicopter. Both ships are used in combat, each with very different missions.

This helicopter is owned by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. It was used in fighting the recent firestorms in Southern California. In the picture below, the crew chief and pilot prepare for liftoff as the fire crews don their gear for the mission (off camera). The mission, of course, is to be a simulated one, staged for public awareness at a wildfire awareness expo held in the South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula today.

I enjoyed seeing this display and meeting many of the brave men and women who face danger on a regular basis. We should all be proud of these firefighters as much as we have pride in our military.

Bless ‘em all.

It’s been a long time since I served on active status in the USNR. In the early 1960’s, I served on a security force at the Point Mugu (California) Naval Air Station, and later as an avionics repairman and as an air crewman.

Some of those duties could be considered hazardous, but it was nothing compared to the hazards seen by those who served before me and by those who served after me. I may be a veteran, but this day is for all of them who ever served or will serve in harm’s way. Bless ‘em all, the long, the short and the tall.