Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Lt/Gen H.R. McMaster, the new National Security Advisor to the President of the United States.  A great choice.
 I met MG McMaster at Camp Rudder Florida when he came to award the Silver Star Medal to a 6th Rangers, Ranger Instructor/Combat Dive Team leader; SFC Tony Fuentes. 
At the reception in the Gator Lounge, following the award ceremony, I had the pleasure of a one on one conversation with the general.  He impressed me as a dedicated warrior, (and I knew nothing about his past, his overwhelming victories in Iraq), and a man that truly "gives a damn" about his troops.
This "Superstar" didn't ride into town in a Limo, with an entourage, but rather came in his "work vehicle", a US Army Blackhawk Helicopter:


 My friend Jonn Lilyea said it best:
"The Marines have Mattis, the Army has McMaster, and now President Trump has them both."

Friends, our Nation is in good hands.
 
 

Friday, February 17, 2017

Where do you spend your spare time?

       I feel quite fortunate to be living near the Eglin AFB area.  This part of Florida is very dense in military, especially the Special Operations type of warfare.  Here, we have Hurlburt Field with its Spectre Gunships,  Combat Controllers, and other Air Force Special Operations.   Duke Field has more Special Operations based there.  The Navy EOD School, (where all service branches get their EOD training), is located here as well.  Since 1950, or so, the Swamp Phase of Army Ranger School has been taught here at Camp Rudder.  A few years ago, the 7th Special Forces Group (A), relocated to a new campus here as well.  And, Eglin AFB itself, has increased its duties.  It is training in the new JSF F-35, and developing new weapons and systems at the main base.
      I found my way into an organization of patriots, whose mission is to give moral support to the Army Ranger Instructors and their families, at Camp Rudder.  Outside of immediate family, this has proven to be the best calling of my life. 

    That I have been recognized for my time at the camp has been icing on the cake.  These Ranger Instructors are the best of the best within the Ranger Community, and have all "Been there, Done that".  Going to the Ranger Camp is my opportunity to "Walk among Heroes".

       I love to attend their awards ceremonies, their change of command and responsibility events, but most of all I enjoy being able to interact with their family, social events.  They know me, as do their wives and children.  I love my dogs, and love being able to share the love of the dogs with these people.


    I have been going out to the camp for 10 years now, and will do it as long as I am able, and they continue to invite me back.


    One of the coolest times to be there are on Class "Day 5" and "Day 6".  On Day 5 the Ranger Instructors make parachute jumps, to maintain proficiency, raise their jump numbers, and to maintain "jump status".  After the jumps there is a party in their "bar", "The Gator Lounge", that shows how close they all are.  Rangers, Wives, Children and Friends are all there for the good time.  I take one or more of my dogs along and let the Rangers enjoy them while chuting up, and to the Lounge so the kids can play with them.  On Day 6 the Students of the class go to the field for 12 days of  very intense training and evaluation, to take them beyond their normal limits, expecting them to lead under less than good conditions.  As the students get ready for either the helicopter assault or parachute exercise, they get to interact with my dogs,  and to be shown that their service matters to a civilian.

      If you have a military installation near you, thank those heroes for their service, and interact with them if you can.  They will love it, and you will too.

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Real Heroes VS Phony Soldiers

Because I know many troops that have stepped forward and answered the call, I find the phonies to be especially distasteful, and not worthy of anything that they gain by making false claims.  They choose to stand in the blood of better men than they, and claim to have faced the elephant, when the nearest they've gotten is on some damned game site.  There is one in particular, a serial phony, who has been doing this since before 2010 when he was first exposed by the blog "This Ain't Hell", and shown to be a serial liar.  Since that time, he has been found guilty of 4 felony counts, in 2 Felony trials, one of which was in Federal Court.  He has been to prison, and on parole, and still has not seen fit to stop this charade.  I seriously doubt that KYLE CHRISTOPHER BARWAN, can stop being a phony.  The best that can be done will be to make his name famous on Goooogle, in the hope that potential victims, his targets, will look into him, and take heed of what they see.
This is not a good person, nor can he tell the truth.  If he told me, at high noon, that it was daylight, I would look outside to be sure.  Do what you care to in order to spread his name, to give him the fame that he so desperately seeks, so that others won't fall victim to his scams.  Since January 25th he has in the Polk County, Florida Jail, (just one day after marrying one of his suckers), but has lived in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky before moving to Florida.  He is trash!
He has claimed to be:
An Army Captain, a Warrant Officer, a Major, Airborne, Ranger, Special Forces, CIA, (with a list of people that he must "eliminate" here inside the USA), and he claims to have been wounded in combat, and to have earned the Combat Infantryman's Badge.  None of which are true. 
When a phony, like Barwan, does get caught and put in jail, he meets a whole new batch of friends.  Friends who will keep him company, for their entertainment and his:
 He has been given his tentative court dates, and it looks like he will have about 4 months jail time before he goes to trial.  There will be a "Status Conference" on 4/13/17, and a "Pretrial Conference" on 5/17/17, with a trial date sometime after that if he doesn't plead guilty before.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Just a little blog about country life in the Deep South

      Living in the country, on some acreage, I have the pleasure of having a shooting range right outside my door.  This enables me to shoot daily.  Shooting daily allows me to be proficient in any of my several fire arms.  I love that this country of mine allows me to live the freedoms granted by the creator, and that by being a good citizen, I have no limits on my reasonable conduct.
     As I write the posts here, I encourage all that read to leave a comment.  Because there are scurrilous sorts, I will have to moderate those comments, but be assured, that short of outright idiocy, all will be allowed.  This is MY blog, and will be operated by MY rules.  I want to assure all readers, that Political Correctness rules will NOT be honored here.  I say what I think, and if it offends you, your solution would be to not read here.
    During the course of my posting there will be talk about my support of the troops, my love of my dogs, and my disdain for many people. I will try to keep things interesting enough to attract a few readers, and hope that those readers will comment as they care to.
Welcome to "Frankie's Southern Style" blog, Yall.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving 2016

This year's Thanksgiving is more special to me than nearly any other one.  I have enjoyed more blessings, had more fun, gained more friends, and can now see a clearer path for my great USA, with the November elections. 
Going into the Thanksgiving Holidays, I began with a trip out to Camp James E. Rudder, the home of "Florida Phase" of Army Ranger School, and some of the greatest men in the Army, the Ranger Instructors of the 6th Ranger Training Battalion.  I went into the camp with guests following me.  I led a couple of Rangers back to where they took their training years ago. One of them hadn't been back since 1966, and the other since 1988. I was proud, and privileged to help them get to see the place.

The activities of the day in the camp included parachute jumps from Blackhawk Helicopters, and a great party in "The Gator Lounge", where Rangers go to enjoy their brothers.  Another guest at the Camp was a Brigadier General, the Commandant of the Army Infantry School at Ft. Benning, BG Jones, who gave me a handshake and a coin.

After some partying, we took a break to have Thanksgiving Dinner in the camp Dining Facility, enjoying good food and some great fellowship with our Ranger Friends.


This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my newly inserted Pacemaker, for being able to win a great AR-15 Rifle at the Ranger Camp Open House 2016, and for the many new, great friends I have made over the past year.
This afternoon, I will sit with friends for another Thanksgiving Dinner, and enjoy the fellowship with them as well.
Life is good, and I am blessed with living in a country where I am free to succeed or fail, to enjoy life at its fullest, and to wake up to the greatest flag on the planet.
After dinner and some good conversation with great people, I came home and got some range time in:
If every Thanksgiving found me with as much to be thankful for, I could never complain.  Life is good and I couldn't ask for more.
A photo of one of several heroes that I have been privileged to know:
 

Friday, October 28, 2016

Enjoying life in semi-retirement mode

      To me, among all the benefits of being a "Free American", perhaps the best is that right to Keep and Bear Arms.  I have spent most of my life enjoying this, that or several types of weaponry.  From that bolt action single shot .22 that gave me the pleasure of putting some good meat on the family table when I was just entering my teen years, to the .410 bolt action shotgun that helped me to get my season limit on Pheasants and rabbits.  In the military, I found that shooting well came pretty easy for me, and always enjoyed and looked forward to going to the range.
   These days, I have several weapons of different purpose, and shape.  While none are "collectors", all are good in their own way  Having a good, long, range right outside the door is a real plus.  I can step outside and shoot, practice this, or that, style, stance, or caliber.
     At my age, (76 laps around the Sun), I am probably not as steady as I was, but I am still impressing myself with my pretty tight groups, and ability to even find the target.  Shooting at a 6 inch circle, from distance, is not as easy as one might think.


As I knelt and aimed, shooting the round above, I got one hell of an ant bite, causing me to toss a wild round at the 6 inch Shoot NC target.  The next 12 rounds fell in a 2 inch group.  Not bad for an old dude.  I credit my ability to being able to shoot every day.  Were I to try this once a year, the results would be much different.
     Today, I used an old "Buffalo Hunter's Trick", and built myself a "Trigger Stick". It has been cut of a piece of the bamboo that I harvest and cure, and has been sanded and varnished.  This evening, or in the morning, I will try that and see if I can keep a pretty tight group.
     If I like it, I will add a minimal "sling", enabling me to carry it as I walk.  The vertical foregrip on my AR-15 fits into the open end of the Bamboo shaft, and gives me a really steady stance. 
    I shoot daily, from any of several of my firearms, because being able to to put the lead where it needs to be is more important than just "having" a firearm.  I have proven, to myself, that this proficiency is necessary to being a "good shot". 
   Shooting is fun, it is educational, and it is vital to being "self-protected".  64 years after having training at William's Gunsight, "On the Range", I still love that trip to the range,  especially so now, with the range being right outside my door.
On a cool and windy day in December, I just shot this 30 round group with my AR-15 from Bear Creek archery, resting the barrel on a saw horse, and letting fly from 100 Yds, I  kept everything inside 6 inches.  This is acceptable to me:
To welcome 2017 at my place, I went to my "safe place", aka my shooting range, and unloaded a 30 round magazine of 5.56 MM.  When I shoot, with each shot, I picture that 6 inch circle as being the head of anyone who would try to bring harm to me or mine.  Being in the right frame of mind can work wonders on ones accuracy:
 



Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Donald Trump has made a "Gettysburg Address"

And it is very good. This man did not have to run, did not have to expose himself and his family to the dirt and slime that is the Democrat and Clinton machine.  His wealth is his, and he could have stayed "an insider", and just kept taking.  Instead, he has chosen to try to give back, to try to lead us as we turn this mess around.
This is the transcript of his speech, made in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania:
"Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People.  There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense.
The Washington establishment, and the financial and media corporations that fund it, exists for only one reason: to protect and enrich itself.
The establishment has trillions of dollars at stake in this election. As an example, just one single trade deal they’d like to pass, involves trillions of dollars controlled by many countries, corporations and lobbyists.
For those who control the levers of power in Washington, and for the global special interests they partner with, our campaign represents an existential threat.


This is not simply another 4-year election. This is a crossroads in the history of our civilization that will determine whether or not We The People reclaim control over our government.
The political establishment that is trying everything to stop us, is the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, massive illegal immigration, and economic and foreign policies that have bled this country dry. The political establishment has brought about the destruction of our factories and our jobs, as they flee to Mexico, China and other countries throughout the world. Our just-announced jobs numbers are anemic, and our gross domestic product, or GDP, is barely above one percent. Workers in the United States, were making less than they were almost 20 years ago – and yet they are working harder.
It’s a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth, and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities.
Just look at what this corrupt establishment has done to our cities like Detroit and Flint, Michigan – and rural towns in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and across our country. They have stripped these towns bare, and raided the wealth for themselves and taken away their jobs.
The Clinton Machine is at the center of this power structure. We’ve seen this firsthand in the WikiLeaks documents in which Hillary Clinton meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers.
And, likewise, the emails show that the Clinton Machine is so closely and irrevocably tied to media organizations that she is given the questions and answers in advance of her debates. Clinton is also given approval and veto power over quotes written about her in the New York Times. And the emails show the reporters collaborate and conspire directly with the Clinton Campaign on helping her win the election.
With their control over our government at stake, with trillions of dollars on the line, the Clinton Machine is determined to achieve the destruction of our campaign, which has now become a movement the likes of which our country has never seen before – and we won’t let them do that.
The most powerful weapon deployed by the Clintons is the corporate media. Let’s be clear on one thing: the corporate media in our country is no longer involved in journalism. They are a political special interest, no different than any lobbyist or other financial entity with an agenda. And their agenda is to elect the Clintons at any cost, at any price, no matter how many lives they destroy.
For them, it is a war – and for them, nothing is out of bounds.
This is a struggle for the survival of our nation. This election will determine whether we are a free nation, or whether we have only the illusion of Democracy but are in fact controlled by a small handful of global special interests rigging the system.
This is not just conspiracy but reality, and you and I know it.
The establishment and their media enablers wield control over this nation through means that are well known. Anyone who challenges their control is deemed a sexist, a racist, a xenophobe and morally deformed. They will attack you, they will slander you, they will seek to destroy your career and reputation. And they will lie, lie and lie even more.
The Clintons are criminals. This is well-documented, and the establishment that protects them has engaged in a massive cover-up of widespread criminal activity at the State Department and Clinton Foundation in order to keep the Clintons in power. Never in history have we seen such a cover-up as this, one that includes the destruction of 33,000 emails, 13 phones, laptops, missing boxes of evidence, and on and on.
People who are capable of such crimes against our nation are capable of anything.
[…] But I take all of these slings and arrows for you. I take them for our movement, so that we can have our country back.   Our great civilization, here in America and across the civilized world, has come upon a moment of reckoning.
We’ve seen it in the United Kingdom, where they voted to liberate themselves from global government and global trade deals and global immigration deals that have destroyed their sovereignty.
But the central base of world political power is here in America, and it is our corrupt political establishment that is the greatest power behind the efforts at radical globalization and the disenfranchisement of working people.
Their financial resources are unlimited. Their political resources are unlimited. Their media resources are unlimited. And, most importantly, the depths of their immorality is unlimited.
Our political establishment has no soul.   I knew these false attacks would come. I knew this day would arrive. And I knew the American people would rise above it and vote for the future they deserve.
The only thing that can stop the Corrupt Clinton Machine is you. The only force strong enough to save this country is you. The only people brave enough to vote out this corrupt establishment is you, the American People.
They control the Department of Justice, and they even clandestinely meet with the Attorney General of the United States – in the back of her airplane, while on the runway – for 39 minutes – to most likely discuss her reappointment in a Clinton Administration just prior to the Attorney General making a decision over whether or not to prosecute Hillary Clinton.
Likewise, they have corrupted the Director of the FBI to the point at which stories are already saying the great men and women who work for the FBI are embarrassed and ashamed to what he’s done to one of our great institutions. Hillary Clinton is guilty of all of the things that Director Comey stated at his press conference and Congressional hearings, and far more – and yet he let her off the hook, while others lives are being destroyed for far less.
This is a conspiracy against you, the American people.
This is our moment of reckoning as a society and as a civilization.
I didn’t need to do this. I built a great company, and I had a wonderful life. I could have enjoyed the benefits of years of successful business for myself and my family, instead of going through this absolute horror show of lies, deceptions and malicious attacks. I’m doing it because this country has given me so much, and I feel strongly it was my turn to give back.
Some people warned me this campaign would be a journey to hell. But they are wrong, it will be a journey to heaven because we will help so many people.
In my former life, I was an insider as much as anybody else – and I know what’s like to be an insider. Now I am being punished for leaving their special club and revealing to you their great scam. Because I used to be part of the club, I’m the only one who can fix it. I’m doing this for the people, and this movement is just right – and we will take back this country for you and Make America Great Again.
The corrupt establishment knows that we are an existential threat to their criminal enterprise. They know, that if we win, their power is gone and returned to you. The clouds hanging over our government can be lifted, and replaced with a bright future – but it all depends on whether we let the New York Times decide our future, or whether we let the American people decide our future.
If this Clinton Campaign of Destruction is allowed to work, then no other highly successful person – which is what our country needs – will ever again run for this office.
I will not lie to you. These false attacks hurt. To be lied about, to be slandered, to be smeared so publicly and before your family, is painful.
What the Clinton Machine is doing to me, and my family, is egregious beyond words. It is reprehensible beyond description.
But I also know, it’s not about me – it’s about all of you. It’s about all of us, together, as a country.
It’s about the Veterans who need medical care, the mothers who’ve lost children to terrorism and crime, it’s about the inner cities and the border towns who desperately need our help, it’s about the millions of jobless Americans. This election is about the people being crushed by Obamacare, and it’s about defeating ISIS and appointing Supreme Court Justices who will defend our Constitution.
This election is also about the African-American and Hispanic communities whose communities have been plunged into crime, poverty and failing schools by the policies of Hillary Clinton. They’ve robbed these citizens of their future, and I will give them their hope, jobs and opportunities back. I will deliver.
This election is about every man, woman and child in our country who deserves to live in safety, prosperity and peace.
We will rise above the lies, the smears, and the ludicrous slanders from ludicrous reporters.
We will vote for the country we want.
We will vote for the future we want.
We will vote for the politics we want.
We will vote to put this corrupt government cartel out of business. We will remove from our politics the special interests who have betrayed our workers, our borders, our freedoms, and our sovereign rights as a nation. We will end the politics of profit, we will end the rule of special interests, we will put a stop to the raiding of our country – and the disenfranchisement of our people.
Our Independence Day is at hand, and it arrives, finally, on November 8th. Join me in taking back our country, and creating a bright and glorious new dawn for our people."
~ Donald Trump