Pride...

… Happy Birthday, Devildogs…. And here’s to 231 more years!....

… Semper Fidelis…

... here is a repost of what I said last year... and it still holds true today....

.... last year while us USMC vets were celebrating the Birth of our Corps, many of our active duty brothers and sisters were storming the streets of Fallujah... this year too, finds them in harms way doing what Marines do... in Afghanistan and Iraq.. Malaysia and the Horn of Africa... at hundreds of United States Embassies around the world... afloat with MEUs or flying high with a MAW... in garrison at Lejeune, 29 Palms, or Okinawa... or training throughout the World... they are standing tall....

... this is always a strange week for me... with the Birthday of the Corps and Veteran's Day... every year I get blasted with the double-barrel of military service... an overwhelming pride and true sadness at the same time.... this year is no different...

... so Happy 230th Birthday, Marines.... two years ago I wrote this on my blog... and not much has changed since 1775.. well, except for the buttock pinching...

... 228 years ago today, like minded men got together in a bar in Philadelphia. The name of the joint was Tun Tavern, and the year was 1775. After much drinking, political conversation, pinching of the serving wench's buttocks, and a few bar brawls, the gentlemen present created the Marine Corps..

....and Marines around the world continue to follow in the sterling footsteps of their forbearers...

... so with that, thank you, Marines... thank you for doing what you do - and doing it so well...

... I'll cook dinner tonight just as I always do on November 10th... grilled steak and potatoes, just like always.... and just as always, my Wife will have forgotten that today is my birthday.. and then, as she puts the dressing on her salad, she will notice that the table is set for three instead of two... and she'll suddenly realize what today is... we'll talk about Warnick and Lomosad, Lou, Nico, and Miles and Dustin and all of the rest of the crazy jarheads she met through me... and then we'll raise a toast.

... Semper Fi, my mates... may there be a Marine Corps for another 230 years!..

.. and today is the day to truly throw your money at Valour-IT... the Army and Navy have met their targets, but we have not... we may be "The Few".. but we're "The Proud" too...