WP: Ft. Polk (Guard) Troops Practiced Their Hoo-ahs

[Newsjock]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/administration/whbriefing/

This White House is known for going to great lengths to create meticulously crafted, visually resonant backdrops for the president when he's traveling -- backdrops that telegraph the message of the day even if you're not paying attention to the words.

... Yesterday, at Ft. Polk in Louisiana, the backdrop was spectacular: thousands of rowdily cheering soldiers yelling "USA!" and "Hoo-ah!" Nothing staged about that, was there?

Well, as William Taylor reports this morning in the Town Talk of nearby Alexandria, La.: "Before President Bush landed at the airfield here Tuesday, Command Sgt. Maj. Iuniasolua T. Savusa gave the troops permission to break protocol.

... "Instead of coming to attention at the sounding of 'Hail to the Chief,' they were encouraged to cheer.

"They even practiced yelling, but the practice wasn't nearly as noisy as the real thing once Bush was introduced by Fort Polk commander Brig. Gen. Jason Kamiya."

more

[slor]

1. Pathetic...

just pathetic.

[bushisanidiot]

2. They "Practiced" Yelling?

hmmm.. are ANY of AWOL's alledged supporters able to genuinely applaud the guy without being coerced?

fake president. fake applause.

[central scrutinizer]

3. either cheer

or start packing - maybe a few months in Iraq will straighten you out.

[bahrbearian]

4. What is in their Kool Aid at Fort Polk ?

[Lisa]

5. how bizarre ...

That officer was treating the troops like a bunch of kindergarten kids welcoming a Very Special Person -- "okay kids, let me hear you give a great big cheer like the one you're going to give for Mayor Wysocki!"

So much for spontaneity, huh!

[HereSince1628]

8. That's exactly my recollection of things in 1971

so...nearly 25 more years unhampered by progress?

Units all had their little chant...ours was
"We are the best, we lead the rest, Alpha (company) Can DO!"

We practiced it for all assemblies. My guess was nothing in the Army happens by chance until contact with the enemy is made (at which point I assumed everything would go to hell.)

[diamond14]

6. bush: "I will not relent.....and NEITHER WILL YOU."

bush at Fort Polk:

"My resolve is the same as it was on the day when I walked in the rubble of the Twin Towers. I will not relent until this threat to America is removed. (Applause.) And neither will you."


--------------------------------------------------------

the TWO MINUTE background on bush* war....

watch flash video here...very short two minute history of saddam hussein and the USA, highlightling the CIA, which was headed by pappy bush* and donald rumsfeld, who served under reagun/bush...it's an eye-opener...

http://www.bushflash.com/thanks.html


relentlessly pursuing BLOOD FOR OIL....

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah
being chauffeured by the shrub....

photo taken at the exotic expensive Egyptian resort
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
June 03, 2003....shortly after the aircraft stunt on May 01, 2003

[gristy]

11. We can WIN the war on Terrorism

We can WIN the war on Drugs.
We can WIN the war in Vietnam.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

12. Hey, and don't forget the War on Poverty

the War on Illiteracy
and the war on Inflation


seems like the only war they can win is the undeclared (publically that is)

War on the Middle Class

[happyslug]

7. Looks like a bunch of Yokels to me.

One of the most impressive things to see is a large Military formation doing things in unison. That you can get hundreds of people to do things together is A STATEMENT OF THE POWER OF THE FORMATION AND THE PEOPLE IN THAT FORMATION.

All of that is lost when you get a bunch of yokels yelling and screaming. So why was the yelling done? (And let me make in clear this had to be done under orders. Soldiers do not act like yokels in unison except under orders (individual soldiers may act like yokels, but not soldiers in formation.) The answer is simple, if you view a large formation the commander of that formation gets lost in the crowd. The commander may be upfront and at the head of the formation, he is in command of the formation but he is small compared to the formation and the FORMATION IS THE STAR of the scene not the commander.

Thus Resident Bush does not want to be lost in the crowd, he wants to be in the center. Bush wants to be the STAR of the picture. You can not be a star leading a formation on the march (and less a star in Combat) but you can be a star in a mob of yokels and that is want Rove wanted and want the Army provided to Bush.

This this is NOT what the Soldiers wanted but what Bush and Rove wanted (through I can not rule out the officers as to wanting this mob scene). Hopefully people will see threw this and realize how bad this makes our military look, like a bunch of yokels incapable of working together.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

9. This needs a kick... it got lost this week

[alcuno]

10. I see this has returned.

There is an SNL cartoon that makes fun of * "dressing" up for events. He talks about the environment and dresses up as a tree. He talks about religion and dresses up as Jesus. Very funny stuff.