While I’m still waiting for someone else to notice that Paul Ryan appears to think the modern U.S. Navy commissioned fleet includes battleships — it doesn’t — the Daily Caller has “fact checked” the President’s assertion that the military has less need for horses and bayonets these days.
“Obama snarked that “we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed.â€
“But horses and bayonets both remain vital parts of the U.S. arsenal.”
Horses? I tried to find out how many horses are owned by the Department of Defense these days. And yes, there still are cavalry horses. I learned there is a small ceremonial horse cavalry detachment that is part of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood. And here they are:
Yes, I can see that the modern military would be crippled without horses.
The Daily Caller recalls that some of the Special Forces in Afghanistan commandeered and rode some local horses at one point in October 2002, but to conclude from that that horses are “a vital part of the U.S. arsenal” is, um, a stretch. And as I recall, they weren’t even our horses.
As far as bayonets are concerned, I defer to John Cole —
Yes, Petunia. A couple hundred special forces guys rode horses in Afghanistan, basically because you can’t take an M1A2 or Hummer up the Khyber pass. Likewise, the Marines do still do carry bayonets (as does the Army!), but I don’t recall the last bayonet charge. The number of combat troops carrying bayonets is a small fraction than the 3.5 million grunts we had in WW1 wearing pith helmets and dying in bayonet charges and mustard gas. Likewise, there were tens of thousands of horses in WW1 in combat, there were a few in Afhanistan.
These people are just insane.
So it’s a plain fact that we do have fewer horses and bayonets, although there are some horses and bayonets. No battleships, though.
See also:
“Eagerly awaiting Romney’s plan to make up our shortfall in Naval Colliers.”
“‘Horses and Bayonets,’ ‘Clear Eyes,’ and ‘Battleships’ at Final Romney-Obama Debate”
Pathetic is right, it is fucking embarrassing.
“But horses and bayonets both remain vital parts of the U.S. arsenal.â€
I believe he said fewer horses and bayonets you fucking dimwits! How can our guy be tied with their guy?.
I love how their “fact check” response is something pretty much irrelevant to the President’s point. He didn’t say we don’t have any horses and bayonets whatsoever, he said we have a lot less. I’ve seen this “misunderstanding” in several places.
Meteorologist: “Due to the warm weather, no one is wearing a coat right now.”
Conservative fact checkers: “Coats still exist. LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE!!!”
(That was the dumbest analogy I could come up with on short notice, and it still isn’t anywhere near dumb enough to explain the right wing mindset on this.)
Horses belonging to the 3rd Infantry are also used at Arlington to pull the caisson with the coffin. Obviously, our ability to wage war is crippled without them.
http://www.army.mil/info/organization/unitsandcommands/commandstructure/theoldguard/specplt/caisson.htm
Mitt and Paul:
“A horse, a horse – and a bayonet! My Presidency for a horse and bayonet! And a battleship! And caissons to keep rolling along! And… and… sabers. And… and… cannon balls! And… and… SPEARS – AND SHIELDS!!!”
Jayzoos H. Keerist in a chariot, these idiotic idiots are acting like idiotic idiots acting idiotic!
Also too – a great explanation of the right, and the “gaming” and influencing of the refs, the MSM:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/23/reality-vs-reality.html
Ft. Huachuca also keeps some horses for ceremonial purposes, related to the 10th Cav. I don’t think they belong to an official unit though.
The Army, as I understand it, has done away with bayonet training (I think this a mistake, not because the bayonet is a really useful weapon, but because it helps in mindset. I was amazed at how my swordfighting, and other martial arts changed after basic training. Arts I was not ill-practiced in [I was 25 when I enlisted. I’d been doing various martial arts, including lots of bladed weapons for about ten years before I went to Basic]). The Marines still do it..
The last bayonet charge I know of was in the Falklands. I got to spend some time with the fellow who ordered/led it; when I was on an exchange with the Territorial Army. I’ve heard the Brits have done some in Afghanistan, but I can’t vouch for them.
We all know that mittwitt doesn’t want additional military funding that even the military did not ask for to load up on ships..we can all figure out how this works, this is not our first rodeo…candidate A wants to spend a lot of additional $$$$$ for no reason he is willing to explain while surrounding himself with war hawks that still plaque us like cancer and declares he wants peace..and if that snake has a chance to slither into the office he will say of course he WANTED peace but _____
(enter country here) made that impossible, so it is their fault.
Mittwitt and every right wing “think” tank on the planet(the ones mittwitt wants to give federal funds to while cutting 13 million off from food) can tell you Americans are fed up with war..no if’s and’s or buts..Mittwitt doesn’t care what “the people” want. The people who are trying to get him into the office, the people who are writing the checks they are no where near done with war. There is still billions to be made from the suffering of others. You know they have to be thrilled to have found their replacement idiot. It wasn’t hard considering the idiot will make a handsome chunk of change himself( wink wink nod nod *blind trust*). He had to sing give peace a chance last night because he wouldn’t win any state if he told us where he planned on taking this country, strapped to the roof. It is a big fat pink elephant in the room and nobody seems to see it…WTF???
And one more, related by blood but not by topic thing that really has been pissing me off. Mittwitts kid said that he wanted to take a swing at the president. No one said shit, but listen here you have these high class folks who think they are so much better then- well everyone else and look how their child turned out. Christ I have seen more class in a trailor park full of boozers and drug addicts.What kind of child would go on tv and tell a reporter such a taste- less , low class thing while his father was trying to run for president?And it was just a side note. This nobody makes a physical threat against the man who has protected and served this great nation for the past 4 years and there is no problem with that? Talk about a lack of respect, and a piss poor up bringing. Now my other half is a tabloid tv junkie( enter eye rolling here) and was watching some tabloid show that has had a lip reader on after each debate to comment on what the candidates say to each other before the debate and what the families say to each other after. Their lip reader says mittwitts kid went up to Obama and told him that he was sorry( I know you are your snot nosed brat, now apologize) and that he didn’t mean it, to which Obama was said to reply I know, it’s ok….and that is all fine and dandy but when the hell is mittiwitt going to apologize to the NATION for his sons behavior? He certainly OWES me one for turning loose on society a child with such poor judgement to set a flat out TERRIBLE example. These people(thats right I said it) want to be the LEADERS of the free frigging world and THIS is how they lead their own family?To be all ghetto?(which insults the ghetto- sorry no offense).. this is a big deal. At a time when we are trying to teach our children not to bully and to be respectful to others? IF mittwitt REALLY wanted peace he should have started at home – you know something smaller than , I don’t know, a whole country.
The kid was sent out to speak for his fathers campaign and he ended up making a threat on national tv against the president, saying the only thing that kept him from acting like an animal was the secret service. Wussy.Mitt witt took the President to task saying that he was responsible for what the embassy put on their web site that it was an official spokesman of our country but no one said shit to him when his kid was saying he wanted to deck the president, even though his kid was out officially stumping for his dad. And to make matters worse he claimed gun violence stemmed from being a child in a single parent home, but his own kid is threating bodily harm to the president of the United States. So what happened there???? All that money and priviledge and not a drop of class.What crappy parents.