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JBLM Soldiers Put Out Grass Fire - Bravo Zulu (Vanity)
6/5/2014 | me

Posted on 06/05/2014 6:14:42 PM PDT by llevrok

Here's a dip of the flag and a big bravo zulu to the soldiers of Joint Base Lewis/McChord (JBLM).

I was driving north on I-5 at about 12N today. Just south of the main gate, a small grass fire was burning along the fence line and expanding fast. Traffic was at a crawl. Many cars ahead of me pulled over and one by one, soldiers en route to some where, jumped out and ran back to the fire.

As I got up to the fire, I could see 8 to 10 soldiers - men and women both - literally stomping out the fire with out any other aid but their boots. The fire department had yet to arrive.

As they always say of our military - ordinary people doing extra ordinary things every day


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: hero; jblm

1 posted on 06/05/2014 6:14:42 PM PDT by llevrok
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To: llevrok

Bravo to our brave military men and women. They are too cool!


2 posted on 06/05/2014 6:17:24 PM PDT by flaglady47 (Oppressors can tyranize only w/a standing army-enslaved press-disarmed populace)
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To: llevrok

That is why, when I am evaluating people for a job, it is a plus to me if they have had military service.

In our military, at least, they usually know how to get a job done using their own initiative.

Good post!


3 posted on 06/05/2014 6:18:17 PM PDT by rlmorel ("A nation, despicable by it"s weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral." A. Hamilton)
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To: llevrok

“...literally stomping out the fire with out any other aid but their boots.”

So that’s what “boots on the ground” means!

Kudos to them. I imagine a combination of their inborn character and training to not just stare and wonder - but to do something about it!

That said, I have a fire extinguisher in each of my cars, and two in my truck! (hint)


4 posted on 06/05/2014 6:19:02 PM PDT by 21twelve (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185147/posts 2013 is 1933 REBORN)
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To: llevrok; blueyon; KitJ; T Minus Four; xzins; CMS; The Sailor; ab01; txradioguy; Jet Jaguar; ...

Active Duty ping.


5 posted on 06/05/2014 6:19:44 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Resist in place.)
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To: llevrok

There probably weren’t any Democrats and/or union members in the group. “I don’t get paid to do that!” (s)


6 posted on 06/05/2014 6:22:05 PM PDT by Avid Coug
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To: rlmorel

“...how to get a job done using their own initiative.”

I forget which war it was. I almost want to say something involving Russian troops, but not sure what that would have been. (Perhaps it was just acting out war games?) But, the military guy was saying that our troops can take the initiative on making decisions on a much smaller level and close to the action. Down to the individual soldier. So we can react to the changing situation right then.

The Russians(?) would need to call back to the VERY higher ups to make any changes.


7 posted on 06/05/2014 6:23:13 PM PDT by 21twelve (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185147/posts 2013 is 1933 REBORN)
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To: llevrok

Hmmm.....sounds fishy....

You mean it stopped raining long enough for a fire to start?


8 posted on 06/05/2014 6:24:51 PM PDT by G Larry (Which of Obama's policies do you think I'd support if he were white?)
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To: llevrok; Jet Jaguar

9 posted on 06/05/2014 6:26:34 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska ((~RIP Brian...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~))
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To: llevrok

Good on ‘em.


10 posted on 06/05/2014 6:30:32 PM PDT by TADSLOS (The Event Horizon has come and gone. Buckle up and hang on.)
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To: llevrok

God bless them! I pray that none of them were injured in any way.


11 posted on 06/05/2014 6:43:14 PM PDT by Shery (in APO Land)
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To: llevrok

Awesome, thanks for sharing!


12 posted on 06/05/2014 6:53:27 PM PDT by leapfrog0202 ("the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery" Sarah Palin)
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To: G Larry
You mean it stopped raining long enough for a fire to start?

Yup. we are having one of our two weeks of summer.

13 posted on 06/05/2014 7:04:49 PM PDT by llevrok (Straight. Since 1950.)
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To: Baynative

WA state ping


14 posted on 06/05/2014 7:05:08 PM PDT by llevrok (Straight. Since 1950.)
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To: 21twelve

Well, yeah. If you screw up, life could be very bad for you. Here, they kick you out of the military, and you go your own way. There, you screw up, there is government sponsored payback coming your way.

That is one of the most impressive things about the military in my mind. Sure, there is always incompetence, ass kissing, stupidity and ego, hand in hand with inefficiency and waste. (Happens everywhere else, just on different scales)

But contrast those things what we see from our military on the positive side: They can be extremely professional and disciplined. Competent. Thoughtful. Not to mention tenacious, tough, aggressive, brave, and even gallant.

(’Gallant’ is a word that has fallen out of favor. You don’t hear it anymore. Like ‘chivalry’...)

The point is, we still let them be those good things, even in this sickeningly PC military. When we need them to be, they still display the best qualities that we as Americans have always valued.

And it all boils down to that historically characteristic that has defined America both to itself and to the rest of the world: Individualism.

We value individuals, as a culture. Europeans and Asians are often aghast at that and hurl “individualism” at us as an insult. Like calling Americans “Cowboys”.

They mean it as an insult. We take it as a compliment, even knowing full well how they are using it. (Sometimes, even BECAUSE that is how they are using it...:)

It all boils down to our Constitution: An amazing document written by intelligent and thoughtful men who valued individuality, a document made to preserve individual rights. And the essence of what that document means, and how it was produced, is the key to why the American military has, to this point, enjoyed such success.

And it is why small units of Americans have prevailed individually, bringing small successful groups into play as part of a larger group, all driven with a higher degree of individual freedom in the decision making process when compared to many other militaries. A great example of this was the campaign around the Chosin Reservoir. We had no business coming out of that, outnumbered by up to ten to one, but the ability of individuals being able to operate on their own initiative showed that value against Chinese who were far more hobbled by the lack of individual authority. As a result, our retreating Marines absolutely destroyed the attacking Communists who had them dead to rights.

Even with the PC impositions and the purges (yes, I believe it now) in the military, at the individual and small unit levels, they can still display all those good qualities.

(Heh, sorry for the long reply...got carried away)


15 posted on 06/05/2014 7:15:56 PM PDT by rlmorel ("A nation, despicable by it"s weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral." A. Hamilton)
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To: rlmorel

(Heh, sorry for the long reply...got carried away)

A rousing speech!! I almost stood up and started stomping my feet and chanting “USA, USA!”

(And perhaps it was the Chinese that I recall the military historian talking about!) I know it was one of those Commies.


16 posted on 06/05/2014 7:39:59 PM PDT by 21twelve (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185147/posts 2013 is 1933 REBORN)
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To: 21twelve

Glad you liked it!

Of course, Brandon Friedman at HUD, one of Obama’s minions in the news today because of his twitterings, thinks that people who see the positives and negatives of our military this way have a cartoonish view.


17 posted on 06/05/2014 8:08:44 PM PDT by rlmorel ("A nation, despicable by it"s weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral." A. Hamilton)
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To: rlmorel

I always liked cartoons that emphasized the virtues we should aspire to. Political theater, whether on Twitter or in the White House, that mocks virtue and celebrates vice, deserves benign neglect.


18 posted on 06/05/2014 8:26:51 PM PDT by aposiopetic
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To: llevrok

They should have used B-52 and B-1 water bombers.


19 posted on 06/05/2014 9:40:32 PM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: minnesota_bound
They should have used B-52 and B-1 water bombers.

There may have been a B2 but no one saw it.

20 posted on 06/05/2014 11:08:18 PM PDT by llevrok (Straight. Since 1950.)
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