Even Handed Hoopla?

When people ask from where I get my ideas for this hideous blog, I reply that I often have a line-up of topics upon which I can bloviate.

**Please note my skillful use of prepositions**

"The good sisters and I taught you well, boyo.  Knuckles, if you please."

Take the late Ayatollah Khamenei. I have quite a few pictures of him and wanted to use them in a mocking sendoff...err...respectful memorial.

Respectful...

   But, something else caused me to change my mind and write the below.

So, mullah confetti will have to wait.

"No sweat, infidel.  
Me and the 72 virgin goats apparently have plenty of time."

I saw a post on Facebook about the homecoming of USS Abraham Lincoln...

After an ungodly amount of time away from home, most of it at sea, the USS Abraham Lincoln and her strike group returned to the United States to great fanfare. Having endured overseas deployments several times myself, it was always nice to receive an enthusiastic "Welcome Home!" whenever we returned...uh...home.

NOTE: I really oughta think of a more creative way to write these things. But, hell, I'm not getting paid to do this, so, really, why bother?

I commented on the Facebook post gushing over Lincoln's return with the following:

While I think this is awesome, where was the love for the crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford - CVN 78 when IT returned home? It wasn't exactly on a pleasure cruise, either.

NOTE (Even though not on my Facebook post, I provide the following information to give context to my comment. Ain't I swell?): The carrier Ford, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia, also had an excruciating deployment to the jihadi colon of the world. But, I don't recall over-the-top celebrations when she and her strike group came back.

One of my followers, an especially rabid MAGA acolyte, responded to my post with the following (I didn't include his name):

  My son Brandon was born on our Rota/Lajes deployment and Scott was born during the Iceland deployment. First sightings for me was 3 months and 3 1/2 months respectively. I have ZERO sympathy for any of these people. They each joined to defend this country and deployments are part of it, fucking deal with it.

    NOTE:  More amplifying information to give context-he is a veteran of the Navy's Patrol Aviation wing, a group of sailors who fly land-based P-3 aircraft.  The Rota/Lajes and Iceland deployments were six-month affairs at overseas naval air stations.  While not picnics, VP deployments (derided as "vacations" by those of my friends who rode ships) clearly aren't ideal.

Far too big to operate from carriers, P-3 deployments weren't bad. 
A big fan, I made four deployments with them.

My reply:

Reply

Kenneth Charles

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Author

My point is that all the hysterical hoopla is directed to the Lincoln and not to the Ford. Happiness at the return of Sailors is appropriate. Don't forget, I have also served aboard ships (which included Christmas, 1997, underway in the Persian Gulf) and have endured VP deployments (which included Christmas, 1987, in Iceland where I ate a can of tuna fish because the blizzard kept us in the barracks) so I know what I'm talking about. No sense debating levels of suck (i.e., Marines in foxholes would kill to have a carrier to sleep in). Doing so is stupid and pointless. I agree the gushing is out of control. But, saying this is to be expected, while absolutely true, is tired and boring. I preferred to just do my job for my country and didn't expect an orgasm of celebration when I returned. I knew what I volunteered for and took on the suck willingly (if not always happily, to be honest). If my service took me to the level that Lincoln, Ford, AND their respective strike groups experienced, so be it.

In other words: Shit happens.

As an example:

Sailors on December 6, 1941: "DUTY IN HAWAII, BABY! WOO HOO!!!!"

Sailors on December 7, 1941: "Those mean Japanese have ruined my trip to the beach. I'm gonna write my mom!!!"

    Even though this seemed like a pretty longwinded response (my Facebook followers clearly don't come here), I sincerely hope it got my point across.

    Bottom line, while the celebrations over the Lincoln's arrival were extraordinary (just as much as the frantic hand-wringing over their participation in the war itself), they are what they are.

    I just wish that said celebrations were more even-handed because there are plenty of other Americans who are putting their lives on the line over in that cesspool.

    Including the crew of my former ship.

    And, while we're at it, enough with the "well, they signed up for this!" nonsense from those who had their own Suck-O-Meters to monitor.

    Jezz-a-Lou, we get it, already.  "Dick-measuring" over who had it worse is just stupid.  I know it sucks; what the Lincoln and Ford went through really sucked.  

    I also realize it could suck a whole lot more. 

    I salute the men and women of the Navy.  All of the men and women of the entire military.

    And so should you.

    Whether you like this war or not.