To Whom It May Concern

Patriotism And Respect

I have never been much of a fan of military ceremonies. They are long, drawn out affairs in which enlisted soldiers are stuck standing in big fancy formations to appease the inflated egos of officers and headquarters’ pukes. Today our Command Sergeant Major retired (mid tour, how the hell do you retire while in the middle of a combat tour to Iraq???) and of course they had an overblown lengthy ceremony to do the change from one Sergeant Major to the next.

It’s bad enough that we had to be out there at 0645 for a rehearsal, then at 0730 get in formation again to just stand there while the visitors arrived, so we could ‘look good’ for more worthless officers, and then finally have the ceremony at 0800. That stunk, but then, to top off this worthless waste of time, the girl who sung the national anthem butchered the hell out of it with voice inflections and even extra words at the end. I think you all know what I mean when I say this, basically it’s someone who feels the need to add ‘personal interpretation’ to the national anthem, which is freaking WRONG to do.

To me, the national anthem is a sacred symbol of our nation, our freedom, in the same way that the American flag is, the declaration of independence, and so on. I will protect anyone’s rights to burn the flag, to sing the national anthem as screwed up as they want to sing it, etc, but I’m going to have my input, because that is my right. However, this being said, I am not allowed to voice my opinions while in uniform, because we have a certain ethical code to adhere to, that precludes us from being very outspoken about most things.

That being said, I believe the same thing applies to someone in uniform who sings the national anthem. You have NO right, absolutely NO right, to be in uniform and to ruin that song by butchering it up with your own interpretations. To be honest I have a problem with ANYONE doing that, but while in uniform you should uphold a certain standard. You don’t ‘be bop’ while marching, you don’t wear your hat all cocked back and pants hanging off your ass, you don’t raise an American Flag with purple and orange stripes and asterisks instead of stars, and you do NOT sing the national anthem off key and out of rhythm. I was offended by what I saw today, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Admiral Halsey Notified Me
He Had To Have A Berth Or He Couldn't Get To Sea
I Had Another Look And I Had A Cup Of Tea And Butter Pie

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey – Beatles