For all have sinned…dredging up an errant tweet or email some poor slob typed at age 14 and then canceling them over it as an adult seems the very pinnacle of hypocrisy.
We live in a curiously black and white world. The Information Age has given us unprecedented insight into people’s private lives. If something is ever published on the Internet it is there forever. This allows those who don’t actually accomplish a great deal to sit back in a position of comfort and pick apart the actions of those who do.
This thing is the devil. I’m old, but I see little redeeming about the Information Age thus far.
Cancel culture is the woke term. Like texting, sexting, dope, Gucci, sick, lit, or the term woke itself, these are words that meant something totally different a generation ago. This deep into the Information Age all it takes is a single errant comment online to disqualify a person from a position of prestige or responsibility. This is based on the flawed assumption that folks are all either innately good or innately bad.
There is a website devoted to Mother Theresa’s moral failings. If you’re looking for a sinless role model among us mere mortals you should prepare yourself for disappointment.
Reality is rarely that clear cut. Not all nuns are angels, and not all Nazis were bloodthirsty psychopaths. We are all of us broken. It is simply that some strive for the light, while others embrace the darkness. However, there does yet remain some weird intangible that attracts certain personalities to certain camps. That ethereal stuff tends to drive some of the most extraordinary behavior.
ISIS throws people off of tall buildings if they are suspected of being gay. I think folks who are whining so about perceived injustice in the United States need to appreciate what life is like in other places.
In some rare quarters you can indeed find a few moral absolutes. I think we can all agree that ISIS, al Qaeda, and the Taliban are reliably bad people. Their sick oppressive ideology attracts aberrant abusive personalities and then cultivates the worst in them. In the West, an errant online comment can be an unforgivable sin. Meanwhile in Afghanistan people have been executed for listening to music. If anybody cares about my opinion, I think we could use a little perspective over on this side of the pond.
The Global War on Terror brought free peoples together against a common enemy. These are Bundeswehr troops from Germany serving in Afghanistan.
Regardless, in the aftermath of 9-11 the free countries of the world banded together to battle the forces of darkness. This was an old school righteous fight. The egregious behavior of our radical Islamist enemies served as the catalyst to unite free peoples in a common cause against tyranny, oppression, and rank terrorism. That single shared mission brought out the very best in some. One of the finest examples extant was that of a young British paratrooper named Joshua Leakey.
Origin Story
Joshua Leakey is both a hero and a patriot.
Joshua Leakey was born in 1988 in England. His father is a retired RAF officer, while his mom is an Occupational Therapist. He has one younger brother. Leakey attended school in Horsham, West Sussex, before starting a military history program at the University of Kent. Dissatisfied with his studies, Leakey dropped out of school to join the British Army.
With the benefit of hindsight, this was a pretty ridiculous thing to do. It’s the rare retired paratrooper who can walk upright in comfort. However, it sure was a rush back in the day.
There is a certain brotherhood among those of us soldiers stupid enough to jump out of perfectly good airplanes. We are typically somewhat full of ourselves and more than a wee bit arrogant. Joshua Leakey was cut from similar stuff. He ended up with the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment.
The CH47D helicopter has been one of the most effective weapon systems of the modern age. Fast, capable, and cool, the Chinook is a rugged and versatile combat aircraft. I loved the machine.
Joshua Leakey did three combat tours with the Paras in Afghanistan and was promoted to Lance Corporal. In August of 2013, Leakey was part of a joint multinational operation in Helmand Province. Fighting alongside US Marines as well as Afghan soldiers, Leakey and his mates were moving into a village to search for illegal weapons. Leakey’s team inserted via CH47 Chinook helicopters and immediately found themselves deep in the suck.
The Fight
Soon after their insertion via helicopter, LCPL Leakey’s Paras were fighting for their lives.
Leakey’s element was tasked to provide fire support for the troops assaulting into the village. As such, they set up on the reverse slope of a nearby hill protected from the bulk of the enemy fire. Despite their position of relative safety, they soon found themselves subject to withering automatic weapons and RPG fire.
American Marine Captain Brandon Bocian, himself obviously quite the stud in his own right, owes his life to the selfless actions of this young British paratrooper he likely barely knew.
The command group was pinned down on the exposed front slope of the hill by around 20 heavily-armed Taliban fighters. American Marine Captain Brandon Bocian was subsequently hit and badly wounded. The Taliban insurgents were so close and so ferocious as to negate the effectiveness of the two friendly machineguns as well as the organic mortar section that was collocated with the command group.
Combat sweeps away the fluff to expose the true measure of a man.
Despite being the most junior NCO present, LCPL Leakey rightly assessed the situation as dire and took action. He ran some 100 meters down the hill under heavy enemy fire to get to the command group and render aid to the downed US Marine officer. LCPL Leakey then took charge of the chaotic situation and initiated casualty evacuation procedures.
LCPL Leakey did what it took to turn the tide of the battle.
All the while Taliban forces were suppressing the two automatic weapons in overwatch positions at the top of the hill. LCPL Leakey then ran back up the hill across rugged terrain and under heavy fire to retrieve one of the guns and get it back in action. In the process, the machinegun he was carrying was itself struck by enemy fire though not disabled. LCPL Leakey got the gun working and began pouring fire back onto the attacking insurgents.
Without regard for his own safety, LCPL Leakey braved withering enemy fire time and again.
While this helped it still did not tip the balance of the engagement in the favor of friendly forces. As such LCPL ran the gauntlet a third time, this time carrying more than 60 pounds’ worth of ammunition and equipment. He retrieved a second machinegun from the pinned down command group and sprinted to a more advantageous position with it, siting it against the enemy before turning its operation over to a subordinate.
In modern war overkill is not a real thing. Close Air Support platforms like these A10 Warthogs typically represent an irresistible force on the battlefield.
With two belt-fed MGs finally working on the enemy, LCPL Leakey returned to the downed Marine and coordinated his evacuation under fire. Along the way, friendly forces killed eleven insurgents and wounded another four. The entire battle lasted some 45 interminable minutes. The fighting did not stop until friendly close air support rolled hot to teach the Taliban a stark lesson in the salient aspects of tactical overmatch.
The Guns
The modernized SA80A3 is a mature and effective combat rifle.
British forces in action in Southwest Asia most frequently carried the SA80 bullpup assault rifle. The SA80 was a thoroughly inspired but badly flawed design when introduced in 1985. Since then the SA80 has undergone several product improvements. In 2000 HK redesigned the weapon into the SA80A2, rectifying many to most of the rifle’s documented deficits. The subsequent SA80A3 first saw issue in 2016 and focused primarily on making the weapon more modular and adaptable. Today the SA80A3 enjoys reliability rates comparable to other modern assault rifles.
The FN MAG gun has become the most popular belt-fed machine-gun in the Free World. FN Herstal photograph.
I could not find a specific reference to the machineguns LCPL Leakey humped up and down that godforsaken hill in Afghanistan. However, balance of probability these were L7A2 GPMGs (General Purpose Machineguns). The British soldiers I have known all referred to the L7 guns as “Gimpy’s.”
The FN MAG gun in all its many guises is a familiar weapon in Western arsenals.
The L7A2 is an evolved version of the original Belgian MAG (Miltrailleuse d’Appui General) gun. Designed in the early 1950s by Ernest Vervier, the MAG gun has subsequently seen service with more than 80 nations and has been license-produced in ten countries to include Argentina, Canada, Egypt, India, Singapore, Turkey, the US, and the UK. The Chinese naturally make an unlicensed copy of the gun they call the CS/LM1. In US service the MAG gun is designated the M240.
The lightweight American M240L is the most modern version of the classic MAG gun.
The US military first adopted the M240 in 1977 as a coaxial machinegun for main battle tanks. With the well-documented shortcomings of the M60 being made ever more painfully manifest as the guns began to age, some legit rocket scientist realized that we had perfectly good M240’s in storage. Uncle Sam bought the buttstocks and fire controls to convert those early coax guns into ground weapons and fell in love with them. The M240B weighed 28 pounds while the lightened M240G tipped the scales at 24.2 pounds. The more recent M240L dropped the weight to 22.3 pounds by using titanium in certain critical components along with a short barrel, polymer fire control unit, and collapsible stock.
The Rest of the Story
LCPL Joshua Leakey is a proper warrior.
Though LCPL Leakey likely did not know CPT Bocian well, he risked his life multiple times to save the man. LCPL Leakey fully appreciated the desperate nature of the engagement. He selflessly took action to get the injured American to safety and ultimately defeat the Taliban fighters who were so intent upon killing them all. His courageous actions under fire are a study in combat leadership and reflect that weird secret sauce that separates heroes from normal folk on the modern battlefield.
LCPL Leakey received his nation’s highest award for valor from Queen Elizabeth herself. She was quoted as having said, “I don’t get to give out very many of these.”
In February 2015, LCPL Joshua Leakey received the Victoria Cross directly from the hand of Queen Elizabeth II. The Victoria Cross is Great Britain’s highest award for bravery in combat. Like most true heroes, LCPL Leakey was humbled by the honor. He had this to say to the BBC, “In that particular incident I was in the best position to do that. If it had been any of my mates they would be in this position now…I don’t look at it about being about me in particular, I look at this as representing everyone from my unit, from my battalion, who was involved in the campaign in Afghanistan.”
SGT Nigel Gray Leakey, LCPL Joshua Leakey’s 2d cousin, was quite the WW2 hero himself.
LCPL Leakey comes by it honestly. His second cousin, Sergeant Nigel Gray Leakey, earned the Victoria Cross himself in 1941. The elder SGT Leakey was awarded the decoration posthumously for valor while fighting the Italians in North Africa. LCPL Leakey is only the third British soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross for combat action in Afghanistan. He is the only one of the three who lived to tell the tale.
The Victoria Cross is even today minted from bronze harvested from captured guns taken by British forces during the Crimean War.
The Victoria Cross was introduced by Queen Victoria in 1856 to recognize acts of exceptional valor during the Crimean war. Since then it has been awarded 1,356 times. LCPL Leakey is only the fifteenth soldier so recognized since the end of WW2. Each physical medal is formed from the bronze of Russian guns captured at the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. In military circles, it’s quite the big deal.
Last night, news broke that the Biden Administration is taking behind-the-scenes steps to further strangle the already constricted market for ammunition in the United States. The move could result in a reduction of the commercial production of 5.56 caliber ammunition by over thirty percent.
The move, if completed, would dramatically reduce availability of ammunition for America’s most popular rifle (and, not coincidentally, the one most targeted by gun prohibitionists).
Supplies would undoubtedly plummet and prices would undoubtedly skyrocket, putting the availability of ammunition for self-defense, training, and competition out of reach to many Americans.
News of the move was broken by Larry Keane, the general counsel and senior vice president at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the leading trade association for America’s firearms and ammunition industries. Keane on Wednesday night published a tweet, which stated: “The U.S. Military is actively considering shutting down the sale [of] M855/SS109 ammo from Lake City to the commercial market.”
The cartridges mentioned in Keane’s post are very popular forms of 5.56 caliber ammunition, the most common caliber for the AR-15.
Close followers of Second Amendment issues will remember that these same rounds were targeted by the Obama/Biden administration under the guise of relabeling them “armor piercing ammunition,” which is banned from commercial sale by federal law. The resulting (and righteous) furor from the Second Amendment community was so intense that it culminated in Obama’s ATF director, B. Todd Jones, quitting his job. Jones had been the first and only confirmed ATF director since Senate approval became required for that post.
Lake City is a sprawling ammunition plant in Independence, Missouri, originally established by Remington in 1941 to manufacture and test Ammunition for the U.S. Army. It is currently owned by the government and operated by private contractors and produces well over a billion rounds of ammunition per year.
Ammunition in excess of the government’s requirements has long been made available to the private commercial market. Lake City’s output, according to some estimates, accounts for one-third of the 5.56 caliber ammunition available to U.S. consumers.
Of course, gun prohibition advocates have a long-standing desire to ban the AR-15 and other types of semiautomatic long guns outright. Joe Biden in particular loves to brag of authoring the so-called “assault weapons” ban that Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994. Congress, however, allowed the ban to expire 10 years later, after a Department of Justice sponsored study was unable to substantiate any significant crime reduction benefit from it.
Needless to say, this attack on America’s ammunition supply is just the most recent in a long line of anti-freedom attacks by the Biden Administration.
NRA will be working to fight this effort to crush America’s ammunition supply, just as we did with the last attack on M855 ammunition, and will provide updates as more information becomes available.
Shown above are two custom-built revolvers that once belonged to legendary film star Tom Mix. The gold-plated and deluxe engraved Colt Officer’s Model double-action revolvers, serial numbers 532107 and 567346, feature 6″ barrels and have “TOM MIX” inscribed on their backstraps.
Photography by C.J. Walker
Of the many realms of collecting, firearms rank among the most fascinating. Beyond their utilitarian function, firearms have been admired over the centuries for their intrinsic artistic form and, often, their lavishly applied decoration.
The collecting spirit, the iconic relationship between people and firearms, began even while their users were still making history. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody called his favorite hunting rifle “Lucretia Borgia.” Artist George Catlin named his Paterson Colt revolving carbine “Sam Colt” for its inventor. Scout and showman “Texas Jack” Omohundro called his Plains rifle the “Widow.”
Businessman, engineer and yachtsman William I. Koch—winner of the America’s Cup in 1992—shares and perpetuates the tradition of collecting firearms in tandem with other objects and artwork.
This Single Action Army revolver belonged to W.B. “Bat” Masterson. It was thoroughly engraved and has the inscription “W.B. MASTERSON” on the backstrap.
After many years of hunting the West and following the trails of the Indigenous, mountain men and cowboys, he has collected a raft of artifacts—paintings, sculpture, photographs, Bowie knives, reward posters, 10-gallon hats, tomahawks, lariats and, of course, firearms with direct ties to many of these larger-than-life figures that evoke America’s grand epic, the great West. The following is a glimpse of some of the collection’s more intriguing artifacts.
Bat Masterson’s Finest Colt Single Action
A revolver known to have consistently served on the side of law and order is the Colt .45 Single Action of W.B. “Bat” Masterson (1853-1921). This is the most historic handgun documented in the Hartford gunmaker’s records of its firearms used in the West. Masterson has been celebrated in fact and legend as a close friend of Wyatt Earp and of other renowned frontier figures, and as a man of innumerable adventures: buffalo hunter, U.S. Army scout, railroader, saloon keeper, policeman, deputy sheriff, sheriff, deputy U.S. Marshal, city marshal, gambler, gunfighter (then known as a “shootist”), newspaperman and journalist.
Masterson’s historic six-shooter was shipped from the Colt factory on Oct. 23, 1879, engraved, inscribed, silver-plated, enameled and with carved mother-of-pearl grips. Manufacture had been made on Masterson’s own order with sale to Wright Beverly Company of Dodge City, Kan., and shipment to Simmons Hardware Co., of St. Louis, Mo. The revolver became Masterson’s constant companion for several years thereafter.
In his later years, Masterson served as U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York, an appointment by his friend and admirer President Theodore Roosevelt. Masterson died peacefully at his desk at the Morning Telegraph, a New York City sporting newspaper. He survived all the great frontier heroes, except Wyatt Earp, who died in 1929.
Author and columnist Damon Runyon eulogized Masterson as “one of the most indomitable characters this land has ever seen (and) … a 100-percent, 22-karat real man.” Runyon later drew on his close friend as the colorful character Sky Masterson in the long-running Broadway show and hit film, “Guys and Dolls.”
This Single Action Army, serial number 168991, belonged to Tom Horn.
Firearms and Memorabilia of Tom Horn
Tom Horn was born in 1860 to a farm family in Memphis, Mo. He held an assortment of jobs, working as a track layer with the Santa Fe Railroad, a wagon freighter, stagecoach driver, night herder, and, for 10 years, Spanish interpreter and scout for the U.S. Army at the San Carlos, Ariz., Apache reservation. He is credited with playing a major role in the 1886 campaign to capture Geronimo.
When the last of the major Indigenous Wars concluded, Horn sought other lines of employment. In service of the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Denver, from 1890 to 1894, he pursued train and bank robbers in Wyoming and Colorado. Ultimately quitting the Pinkertons (the work was too tame for him), Horn moved on to employment with cattle barons who operated forcefully and without legal niceties in dealing with small ranchers and homesteaders. Horn’scharges included carrying out shootings, as well as hiring and training gunmen.
After a brief interlude as a mule packer for Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish American War, Horn returned to Wyoming and to killing for hire. He was soon in trouble as the prime suspect in the murder of 14-year-old Willie Nickell in an ambush on July 19, 1901. When Horn became intoxicated during the investigation and bragged that the Nickell shooting was his work, he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. A sensational trial followed, resulting in a guilty verdict and a sentence of death by hanging.
Shown (above) is an FN Browning patent semi-automatic pistol Tom Horn took from a deputy sheriff.
While in prison, Horn and his cellmate, Jim McCloud, concocted an escape scheme. On Aug. 9, 1903, they overwhelmed Deputy Sheriff Richard Proctor and, at gunpoint, forced him to open the safe that held the jail keys. At the same time, Proctor grabbed his FN-Browning patent Model 1903 semi-automatic pistol and opened fire. The prisoners wrestled him to the floor, but Proctor managed to slide the safety switch on the newly designed handgun, preventing firing.
Horn charged into the street but was unfamiliar with how to make the pistol work. In effect unarmed, he was chased down by local citizens, who pummeled him with sticks and clubs until he was rescued by Proctor. Horn accepted the inevitably of his sentence and spent his final weeks weaving horsehair quirts and ropes, including the rope for his own execution. On Nov. 20, 1903, he went to the gallows calmly, asking Proctor to place the noose over his head. Ironically, although responsible for several frontier shootings, Horn was likely innocent of Nickell’s murder.
Horn’s final letter to Proctor expressed appreciation for his friendship and for “the many little kindnesses you have done for me during my confinement under your charge. Only your desperate courage kept me from escaping.” The doomed adventurer also presented Proctor with his Colt six-shooter, a handmade horsehair riding crop and a beaded knife scabbard and bag—all of which today memorialize Horn’s story.
Captain Bill McDonald—Texas Ranger
The heroic role of the Texas Rangers in Western lore is represented in the Koch collection by two Colt .45s of Capt. William J. McDonald (1852-1918). In January 1891, Gov. James P. Hogg appointed McDonald captain of Co. B, Frontier Battalion, Texas Rangers. He soon became one of the most respected and feared lawmen in Texas.
Among his innumerable adventures, McDonald survived several pitched gun battles, served as a hunting guide for President Theodore Roosevelt and a bodyguard to President Woodrow Wilson. Arriving by train to a Texas town in response to authorities’ plea for help in quelling a riot, McDonald was asked where were the other Rangers. His answer became a classic of Texas lore: “Well—you only got one riot, haven’t you?” Reacting to a race disturbance in Brownsville, Texas, it was said of McDonald he would “charge hell with a bucket of cold water.” The captain’s Colts reveal the predilection of not a few Old West luminaries for engraved six-shooters with fancy grips and finishes.
This Smith & Wesson Model No. 3 single-action revolver was used by “the dirty little coward” Robert Ford to kill Jesse James. Note the inscription on the sideplate that indicates this fact (above, r.).
The “Jesse James” Smith & Wesson
Perhaps even more legendary—indeed, maybe the most notorious gun in Koch’s collection—is the Smith & Wesson Model No. 3 Single Action revolver that Robert Ford used to kill the outlaw Jesse James. The sideplate inscription, engraved by the Smith & Wesson factory, documents Ford’s role in the assassination of James at St. Joseph, Mo., on April 3, 1882: “BOB FORD/KILLED/JESSE JAMES/WITH THIS REVOLVER AT/ST. JOSEPH, MO. 1882.” The gun is accompanied by a signed and notarized letter by Col. Corydon F. Craig, to whom Ford presented the gun shortly after the shooting, as well as an article from the Baltimore Morning Herald that details its provenance.
Ford tried to capitalize on his notoriety and occasionally sold other revolvers he claimed to have used in the assassination. But “the dirty little coward”—as he was known in the song commemorating the event—was never able to claim the $10,000 reward. And in an example of frontier justice, Ford was cut down by a shotgun blast at the hands of shootist Ed O’Kelley, in Creede, Colo., in 1892. The deed was partially in revenge for the murder of Jesse James.
The documenting letter and article, along with the Jesse James revolver ensure that the story of this Smith & Wesson will be preserved.
Tom Mix’s Colt Officer’s Model Match Revolvers
A recent acquisition, integrating decorative arts with firearms, is the custom-built matched pair of gold-plated and deluxe-engraved Colt Officer’s Model Match revolvers of matinee idol and superstar Tom Mix. These elaborate pistols also represent the flamboyance common to most of the post-Old West characters, creators of the new West of Hollywood on the silver screen—later magnified for a colossal television audience. Mix, an authentic cowboy, Wild West show performer, rodeo champion and his own stuntman, wryly observed that it was easier for a cowboy to become an actor than for an actor to become a cowboy. Like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, John Wayne and today’s Tom Selleck, Mix was himself a keen collector of firearms.
As these stories illustrate, aficionados of firearms share a rich heritage—both in the objects they collect and in the pedigrees of past and present collectors. By understanding the time-honored and historic connection between all the arts and antiquities and the field of firearms, and integrating his Western room with his other collections, Bill Koch continues the traditions of the past and inspires the grand collectors of future generations.
—R.L. Wilson
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, exhibits “Things I Love: The Many Collections of William I. Koch,” selections from one of the most distinguished private collections of arms of the American frontier. For more information call (617) 267-9300 or go to mfa.org.
THE PRIDE OF THE PENTAGON #1 – OFFICERS WHO SHOULD BE IN LEAVENWORTH OR THROWN OUT IN DISGRACE – AT THE VERY LEAST, NONE SHOULD RECEIVE AN HONORABLE DISCHARGE!
Just a small fraction of officers that should either be serving a prison sentence or resigned in disgrace without an Honorable Discharge.
The never-ending hit parade of flag-ranking military officers, some who should be serving time in Ft. Leavenworth, and all certainly should not have left the military with an Honorable Discharge. The admirals and generals of the American military consider themselves above the law… and that’s because they are.
Lieutenant General “Cut-and-Paste” Andre F. Piggee
United States Army
Lt. General? “Cut-and-Paste” Aundre F. Piggee.
Lt. General Andre F. Piggee could barely read or write. But, people throughout his military career covered for him. They made sure the general’s correspondence appeared to be from someone who received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
When Piggee’s illiteracy compelled him to commit an illegal act of fraud, his friends in the upper echelons of the United States Army were still covering for him.
Lt. Colonel Andre Piggee enrolled in the Army’s famed War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Being a student, Piggee had a dilemma. He couldn’t find anyone to write his thesis for him, which was required for graduation.
This is when Piggee became known as “Cut-and-Paste” Piggee. Lt. Col. Piggee went on a cut-and-paste terror campaign, finishing his thesis in record time, while the other war college students struggled and burned the midnight oil.
Apparently, the folks at the war college either didn’t suspect anything by the way paragraphs were pieced together in a disjointed fashion, or they too helped to cover Piggee’s inabilities with the English language.
Lt. Col. Andre Piggee proudly submitted his fraudulent disjointed thesis constructed together with lines a phrases that evolved into a varient form of stolen valor.
His thesis and resulting graduation worked it’s magic. Piggee went on to bigger and better things rising up to the rank of lieutenant general in the United States Army, with is posse of accomplices helping him to conceal the fact he was unable to construct a simple memo.
Piggee was not only in the Army, but he had a personal army of subordinates helping to cover his inability to piece two sentences together. The man was a fraud. And, the Army that covered his tracks and promoted him to nearly the highest rank in the Army were complicit accomplices.
This coverup of Piggee’s inabilities included powerful friends like the Army’s Inspector General (Koala Bear Smith) who knew all about Piggee’s proclivity to cut-and-paste and about his fraudulent thesis, but covered for him anyway. It’s the Army’s mantra, never leave a dumbell behind.
MilitaryCorruption.com exposed Piggee’s “cut-and-paste” ways in many articles (https://militarycorruption.com/?s=piggee), and it wasn’t too long before we heard Piggee was busted a star down to major general and quietly retired out of the military’s face-saving back door.
This so-called “punishment” was apparently a rouse. Later we heard that Piggee may not have been demoted at all. It was all a lie to deceive the American public and protect the retirement paycheck of “Cut-and-Paste” Piggee.
The Army War College was so embarrassed at all of this, they sent workmen out in the middle of the night (on a weekend) to grind Piggee’s name off of the huge brass plaque that proudly displays the names of all of the graduates from the prestigious war college.
If any other officer had done the same thing, they would have been lowered in rank back to the rank they held when the crime was committed and a general court martial would have been convened. They surely would not have received an Honorable Discharge like Piggee did.
Piggee allegedly received only a one-step reduction in rank as punishment, or did he? Was that also a lie?
One of our readers sent us this…
I just saw an announcement that Aundre Piggee was selected for the board of advisors of Unitedly Dynamics Inc. Another golden parachute for a former Army general officer who left the service in disgrace. The announcement also mentions his former rank as lieutenant general.
The announcement said, “United Dynamics is pleased to announce that the former US Army Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Logistics (G-4) and LTG, Aundre Piggee, has joined our Board of Advisors. His wealth of experience will be pivotal in bringing both Aerospace and Defense sector work to United Dynamics and Oklahoma!! Please join me in welcoming him to the team!”
So, it begs the question. Did the Army lie to everyone and actually retire Piggee as a lieutenant general, or did Piggee lie to United Dynamics about his actual rank at retirement?
Anyone out there who knows the truth is welcomed to convey it to us so we can finally set the record straight. Was Piggee dropped in rank or not? Did the Army pull a slick bate and switch so Piggee could retire at lieutenant general rank?
Or, was United Dynamics lied to by Piggee? Or did United Dynamics just look the other way so they could use Piggee as a promotional clown on their Board of Directors to give them more perceived credibility?
United Dynamics is advertising Piggee as a lieutenant general. Even more interesting is that the guy who replaced Piggee as the Army G4, Duane Gamble, was also relieved. The last two Army G4s relieved is a very bad track record for Army leadership (if there is any).
Inquiring minds want to know. If any of our readers have information, let us know.
Major General Jimmy “The Child Molester” Grazioplene
United States Army
Then-Brig. Gen. James J. Grazioplene pictured in an official Army photo in 1997. (Credits to: Scott Davis)
How could we leave this scumbag general’s name off the list. For pretty much ten years or so, this piece of crapola was raping his own daughter. At a minimum, there were numerous counts of statutory rape.
Over the years, his daughter would tell people who either didn’t believe her or didn’t want to believe her and the sexual assaults continued. His crimes were being concealed by the United States Army.
Finally, the heat began to rise and the Army tapped their usual play book… deny, deny, deny then quietly retire the POS general out the back door.
Grazioplene made it into retirement and thought the coast was clear, but a civilian district attorney would not play the Army’s game of protecting the protected military class of admirals and generals.
Now, Major General Grazioplene didn’t have the military to protect his ass anymore and was convicted by a civilian court.
An embarrassed United States Army finally decided to take action and pulled Major General scumbag Grazioplene back on active duty to be court martialed. Whoa, the Army wasn’t finished trying to help the POS major general.
They figured out a way to get him a retirement pension and an Honorable Discharge. If you recall the Piggee matter, the Army went back to the drawing board and discovered the molestations (sounds like infestations) began when he was a 2nd lieutenant.
So, the sneaky damn Army busted the major general down to the rank of 2nd lieutenant and gave him an Honorable Discharge with an Army pension as a second louie with 30 years of military service. At least that’s the way we heard it…. if any of our readers have more information, please contact us.
The POS retired second lieutenant is, no doubt, filing claims with the Veterans Adminstration for PTSD to get that coveted 100% disability rating to add to his second louie with 30 years pension.
While the POS 2nd louie did receive punishment, it wasn’t nearly what it could or should have been. Remember, we have Navy pilot on our staff who received a Dishonorable Discharge, no pension and felony conviction for dating an enlisted woman in the naval reserves.
And, the military double standards just keeps rolling down the tracks. The United States military, specifically the United States Army has absolutely no integrity whatsoever. REF: https://militarycorruption.com/?s=chester+the+molester
Brigadier General Joshua M. Olsen
United States Air Force
Brigadier General Joshua Olsen, United States Air Force
On Memorial Day, 2022, our troops celebrated and recognized the sacrifices of their predecessors all over the world.
Our WOKE military attempted to use Memorial Day to make their civilian task masters happy.
During the Memorial Day celebrations at Ramstein AFB in Germany, some brilliant piece of work came up with a special story telling adventure called ‘Drag Queen Story Time for Kids.’
We believe BG Olsen was in charge when his minions attempted to teach the kids all about the drag queen lifestyle through the façade of story-telling.
After all, a gesture of WOKENESS would surely make the White House and Congress happy, and consequently, maybe Brigadier General Olsen would get another star on his shoulder.
That’s all it takes in our new WOKE military to get promoted to the next higher rank is to let a drag queen teach the children why it’s important to question their sexuality. Brilliant, just fucking brilliant.
Well, apparently U.S. Senator Marco Rubio would have none of it. The senator let the Air Force know they were messing with the primeval forces of nature, meaning him and his staff.
And, wadayaknow, the “Drag Queen Story Time for Kids” was suddenly canceled, at least for now. So, why do the people who conjured up this ridiculous way for the Air Force to honor or fallen sailors, soldiers and Marines still have a job? Is that what they think Memorial Day is all about?
In the words of James Howard Kunstler…
“Of course, we have not begun to probe what might animate a man to present himself to the world as a monstrous parody of a woman. Suffice it to say that such behavior suggests some complicated psychodynamics. And why, exactly, are they suddenly on-display so extravagantly now across the country, supposedly for the edification of children? I’ll tell you why: It’s not actually for the sake of the children. The children are just pawns in what is actually a national political psychodrama. Or rather, they are hostages.”
Hurley allegedly made one of his subordinates pregnant.
Rumor had it the civilians on the base decided to do whatever they could to remove the major general because he was beginning to make changes they didn’t like.
The real mystery is what happened to MG Hurley.
The Army snuck him out of the service in a clandestine way and we are still wondering what happened to the major general.
Was he a good guy who was smeared by the civilian mafia on base, then run out of town on a rail? Or, was he just another scumbag Army general who thought he was above the law? You know the type. They court martial people for the same things they do on any given day.
If anyone out there knows the backstory behind Major General Hurley, feel free to let us know.
Major General “piece of work” Bill Cooley
United States Air Force
Major General Bill Cooley, United States Air Force
This one is a messy one. Bill Cooley apparently has a drinking problem and got severely drunk and attempted to hit on his sister-in-law. She accused the major general of sexually assaulting her in 2018.
The victim sister-in-law said the major general grew more physically affectionate, going from brief hugs to full embraces. Certain interactions unnerved her she said.
Cooley sometimes kissed the top of her head and smelled her hair (whoops, does that sound familiar? Remember the hair smelling tirades by our own Joe Biden?); The hair smelling incident occurred during a hug, which made her so uncomfortable that she told her husband.
Cooley purportedly kissed and fondled his sister-in-law without her consent in August 2018 after a barbecue at her home. The major general was in the Albuquerque area for work at Kirtland Air Force Base and arrived early to spend the weekend with “family” and friends.
On Aug. 12, 2018, Cooley stayed late after the barbecue to drink bourbon with others around a fire. He had spent time with his family in their backyard pool, snacking on chips and salsa and enjoying the summer sun.
To make a long story short, the major general was out of fucking control. He didn’t stop with the hair smelling, he grabbed her crotch and did other things to get his sister-in-law in the sack.
Amazingly, the Air Force decided to court martial Wild Bill Cooley. Dan Conway said, “It’s difficult to pick a jury from a pool of officers whose career progression depends on the approval of a Senate that expends significant energy excoriating them about sexual assault,”
The court martial was the first one ever against a flag-ranking officer in the United States Air Force. While the other services have court martialed flag ranking officers, they let about 99% slip out the back door into retirement without any legal proceeding or even a credible investigation.
After about five hours of deliberation, Colonel Christina Jimenez — the chief circuit military judge with the Air Force Trial Judiciary, Western Circuit, at Travis Air Force Base, California — ruled Cooley was guilty of forcibly kissing the woman, the first specification in a single charge of abusive sexual contact. He is not guilty of two other specifications of groping her and moving her hand to touch his genitals over his clothes, she said.
On April 26, 2022, Maj. Gen. William Cooley was sentenced for the crime of abusive sexual contact. Military judge Col. Christina Jimenez ordered that he forfeit $10,910 per month of his pay for five months and receive a written reprimand. The major general, as far as we know, received an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force.
NEWS ITEM:
Discovery Channel is releasing a new documentary about a forgotten and ugly piece of US military history. Edgewood Experiments:
The Army is extending recruiters’ tours of duty to attempt to bring more troops in the ranks. The combination of less physically fit candidates coupled with public knowledge of the military’s woke culture is making the armed forces less appealing than in the past.
As we have mentioned before and along with some of our retired readers, we strongly advise against joining the military for the reasons mentioned above.
NEWS ITEM:
There’s news about a proposed policy by the new WOKE Army about “compassionate reassignment.”
This means basically a soldier stationed in a conservative state such as Texas, Oklahoma, or South Dakota could request transfer if he, she, or whatever pronoun they use these days claims that state’s laws are deemed “threatening.”
I can almost guarantee such a policy won’t be used to help a soldier stationed in a leftist state like California who doesn’t fall in line with California’s laws.
One of our loyal readers said, “In my career in the military, I was stationed in states where the locals didn’t agree with my political or religious views. I did my best to work with everyone, knowing we were all Americans and my oath to defend our nation didn’t exclude anybody.”
Major and JAG officer “Sticky Fingers” Dan Johnson
United States Army
Former Army Major and JAG officer for the South Carolina Air National Guard, Dan E. Johnson (right). He was a fraudster, philanderer, cover-up artist and general scumbag, but character traits the United States Army found “favorable,” because Big Army made sure Johnson received an Honorable Discharge.
Who can forget this gem of a guy?
MilitaryCorruption.com decided to add Dan Johnson’s name to the list because there is some movement going on concerning this ethically, morally and legally challenged former army major.
Yeah, this story is one that will drop you jaw to the ground, so fasten your seatbelts and here we go…
Major Dan Johnson had the world by the ass. He was king of all he surveyed. He graduated from the mighty Citadel and went on to get his law degree.
Johnson was a reservist in the Air National Guard of South Carolina and a JAG officer, but for is day job, he was elected as the solicitor (district attorney) of Richland and Kershaw Counties in South Carolina.
He was being paid by the military for his weekend drills and also being paid by the people of South Carolina as the chief law enforcement officer for two counties.
Unfortunately, Johnson either turned greedy or was always greedy and no one knew it. He also liked to play with the wives of other men. One of those men was a former Army captain who never took any prisoners, if you get my meaning.
The angry husband went on the war path, doing all he could to expose the philandering county solicitor, Dan “can I diddle with your wife” Johnson.
It turns out, that while this may have been a noble quest, it wasn’t the smartest move to go up against an ethically and morally challenged county solicitor who’s buddy was the equally challenged Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County, South Carolina.
Then one day, county solicitor Dan Johnson had enough. According to the angry husband, Johnson conspired with Sheriff Leon Lott to wrongfully imprison the husband on trumped up charges.
There are suspicions the sheriff or his minions at the behest of the corrupt solicitor sent goons over to set fire to the husband’s home. It turns out the husband’s landlord was a former police officer who had close to ten other properties destroyed by fire.
The husband told us he suspected it was most probably an insurance defrauding scheme. But even that did not dissuade the husband from speaking out about the scumbag solicitor who was turning curly ques under the sheet with the Army captain’s wife.
(Left to Right), Dan Johnson, Leon Lott, Byron Gipson – Three Peas in a Pod, or Moe, Larry and Curly
And get this, to ensure the husband didn’t pose any more problems, the sheriff and Dan Johnson apparently teemed up to toss him in jail on bogus charges.
There, he languish for nearly two years while the county solicitor continued screwing the wife without interference from her husband.
It wasn’t until nearly two years later that the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court intervened.
The Chief Justice basically said, “either charge him and take him to trial or release him immediately.”
Two years of false imprisonment, and no one was ever held accountable. Welcome to the people’s republic of South Carolina.
Fate finally caught up to the scumbag solicitor and he was arrested for double billing the county and the military for the same trip. He simply made copies of the receipts of those trips and turned them into both the Air National Guard and Richland County for double payment.
The good old boys surrounded their treasured scumbag solicitor. First he was replaced by a complicit solicitor (Byron Gipson) who would refuse to do anything as the new solicitor against the former office holder.
The military allowed the U.S. Attorney’s office to prosecute so Major Dan Johnson could not be held accountable for those charges particular to the military. You know, “conduct unbecoming” and “dereliction of duty” etc. etc. One way to protect him is to maneuver a way to reduce the number of potential charges.
Then the State of South Carolina quietly, without anyone knowing about it, dropped all charges against Johnson. He had not only violated federal laws, but he had also broken a plethora of state laws.
And to top it all off, the Army who usually red flags someone’s file that is suspected of criminal misconduct, elected to allow Johnson to separate from the service with an Honorable Discharge.
Bottom line; very little justice occurred. The good old boys helped Dan Johnson as best they could and they continue to help him as he begins the arduous task of cleaning up his name and reputation.
This thing is not over yet… stay tuned.
UNDER INVESTIGATION BY MC.COM
Captain Dominique Collier, United States Air Force
The Air Force is apparently attempting to railroad Captain Dominique Collier out of the service with an OTH or a General, depending on how they feel that particular day.
This story is a complicated one which distilled down involves a multitude of falsified documents, lies and innuendo.
Capt. Collier was falsely accused of becoming pregnant by a NFL football player, who rumor has it, is considering a lawsuit against those who have slandered him.
Then the Air Force accused Capt. Collier of falsely stating she was pregnant when she was not. The Air Force claims she falsely stated she was pregnant to get out of a deployment.
Our staff at Military Corruption is assembling evidence and hope to expose the corruption by an entire chain of command.
Right now she is under the gun. Maybe the Air Force with think better of it, when we provide documentary proof of the malfeasance of numerous people in her chain of command. Then again, the military tends to wrongfully destroy one person in order to save several others with dirty hands.
As a side note, that’s exactly what happened to Navy Chief Petty Officer Michael Tufariello when he caught his command paying reservists for drills they never attended in a massive payroll fraud scheme. Instead of holding five naval officers accountable, they chose to throw Tufariello in a mental hospital to discredit his attempts to expose the corruption on the base.
We are gathering information concerning the Air Force attempt to cover their behinds in the Capt. Collier Case. So far we are looking at the involvement by the following individuals…
SMSgt. Mosley (now retired),
Major General Jeffery Pennington,
Colonel Buchanon,
CMSgt. Chief Nunez,
Lt. General Scobee,
Major Vernicia Edmond,
Colonel Alexis Stackhouse,
Major General Burger,
General “downtown” Charlie Brown.
UNDER INVESTIGATION BY MC.COM
Robert Conrady who was transferred from Ft. Leavenworth to Federal Prison in Lompoc, California. His story is very interesting indeed as are many others who are currently serving time in Federal Prison courtesy of the United States military.
You’ve heard it said, “everyone in prison always says they are innocent.” Well, a significant number of people who have been court martialed by the military actually are innocent, or were terribly over-sentenced. Instead of getting six months, they get ten years. Such cases demand a call for military judicial reform.
We unfortunately cannot help everyone who have been wronged by the military, but we are watching cases and listen to each individual’s story. Some we will share with you when space and time allow.
SUMMARY:
We will continue to be a voice for those who have none and will continue to expose corruption in an effort to fix things that are broken. Most importantly, we are calling for military judicial reform.
The military judicial system is terribly slanted in favor of the government. It’s never been about justice and fairness, it’s about keeping control and ridding the military of those pesky whistleblowers, or people they just don’t like for one reason or another.
The military does this under the cloak of proper method the military judicial system has been providing since George Washington, but especially since the adoption of the UCMJ.
Keep the faith and we will continue the fight.
MilitaryCorruption.com
P.S. A good website to visit is usmadata.com that watches West Point. Very interesting indeed
“I came because I could’ve lost my baby girl,” a Uvalde father told lawmakers.
Many Americans now begging for stricter gun control, universal background checks, banning assault weapons, and red flag laws, which allow certain people to petition a court to have firearms taken away from someone they consider to be a threat.
State representative Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville) said he thinks red flag laws would help keep Tennesseans safer. “Red flag laws will keep people who do not need to have guns from having them. That’s one thing that’s needed. But we also have to do something about the illegal guns on the streets as well.”
Dixie added he’d like to see the permitless carry law repealed and tighter gun regulations overall.
“We definitely need to register each gun. We need to know who has guns and they need to know how to use them,” Dixie said.
On the other side of the aisle, many Republican lawmakers disagree. Some even calling red flag laws unconstitutional. In a statement sent to News 2, Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) questioned the effectiveness of red flag laws:
“From my perspective, red flag laws appear unconstitutional or ineffective. Forcibly taking someone’s gun from their house without due process creates a hostile environment for law enforcement and potentially criminalizes law abiding citizens. I am interested in how we can better equip our local schools and how we can do better with mental illness.”
“We’re not looking at gun restriction laws in my administration right now,” Lee said.
Dixie said the governor needs to take a stronger stance. “I think this executive order was extremely weak and I think it puts more work on people that are already strained and stressed in their daily jobs.”
Right now, there are 19 states with red flag laws on their books, including California, Colorado, and Florida.
![Seconds before sunrise over Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe [OC] [1500x1000] : r/EarthPorn](https://preview.redd.it/c0rv9p17btv21.jpg?auto=webp&s=9c2dbd7c23e224a2cec7078126c98f4e4c052093)
