LOL, when I first read the headline and caption I thought for a second that Hillary had written to Cary. Actually, both Dem candidates could probably use a bit of his advice right now.

I look forward to watching this doc. I spent four years in the Navy, and, like Dr. Stan, I consider it as perhaps the most enlightening and rewarding experiences of my life. I did not serve on a carrier however. I served on a fast frigate (FFG 50 USS Taylor- Oliver Hazard Perry Class). You want conflict and camaraderie? How about 170 guys on a 400ft ship without any of the amenities or comforts afforded to the carrier navy.

Here's a link to a picture of the ship I served on--you can see how small it really is:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/07/images/50/075003.jpg

A funny sea story here: The Time I Flew A Communist Flag on a U.S. Navy Warship:

So in 1997 we were in the Black Sea and we were heading for a port of call in Constanta, Romania. Well, it is customary for U.S. warships to fly the ensign (flag) of the host country when pulling into port. The cold war had only been over for a few years, and the Romanian flag that we had on board had not been updated to the post-communist version. So I hoisted the old communist flag up the pole, not really having any alternative. There, fluttering in the breeze, right below the stars and stripes, was the Romanian flag with a big ass red star and the word SOCIALISTA emblazoned in the middle. Well I'm standing there taking in the sights, waiting for the harbor pilot to arrive, looking forward to the big MWR trip to Dracula's castle and Bucharest, and I notice that the Captain and a cadre of other officers are on the bridge-wing and they are pointing at me. And they are pointing at the flag. I look at the flag. I look toward the bridge. They look angry. Well, needless to say, I got a but chewing over that (apparently there were some dignitaries that came out with the harbor pilot to welcome us--the whole trip was something of a good will mission). My shipmates all called me "Commie" or "Pinko" for the rest of my time on board. So the most subversive thing I ever did, I did unintentionally.

Uh, this documentary does not appear to be a propaganda piece. It looks like is documenting the good and bad about living on a ship, as well as taking a closer look at the individual sailors. You know, it might be useful to actually read the article before jumping on your smug and self-righteous soap boxes.

You want to know why many in the military scorn liberals and progressives? Well, look in a mirror fellas.

So, I think I see what you are trying to say, and I agree that we should all be vigilant against hive mentality and continuously pressure and criticize our government. Your point might prove a bit more effective, however, if you toned down the shrill hyperbole, and slowly back down from your cynical and nihilistic propaganda. If you're not careful, you will pass out from the loss of oxygen to the brain at those dizzying heights atop your ivory tower. I suppose it's convenient and safe for you to look at the military abstractly, never getting to know individuals,and only looking at us as a faceless group of Neanderthals. After all, there's no point in complicating your naive and foolish black and white view of the world.

Look man, most enlisted men and women in the Navy are looking to learn a trade or earn money to go to college or trade school. They don't make policy decisions. They are, for the most part, lower and middle class folks trying to make their lives better. Your smug and cynical pose betrays a life of comfort and privilege; you have met the enemy, and he is you.

Of course Floyd Brown and others of his ilk are scumbags, but what is sad and frightening is how they use the MSM to disseminate their message. I believe Glen Greenwald has written about this again and again. Brown and others like him create these ads and they become "news" only because the MSM deems it "newsworthy." They play the ads for free, and "debate" the pieces as if there actually might be something there. What's left is a vague and false meme that unsophisticated voters internalize, i.e. Dukais is a crime coddling wussy, the Clintons are socialist pagan murderers, Kerry is weak effeminate idiot who lied about his war record, and, now, Obama is a terrorist sympathizing America hater. Again, the news (especially the 24 hour news channels) discuss these canards as if there might be a there, there.

So I don't really blame Brown and his type for being assholes. Hey a rattlesnake is a rattlesnake, and will bite you if given a chance. I blame the so-called news media for validating their existence, for actually giving their ideas the time of day. It is akin to a journalist getting a "man on the street" opinion from the schizophrenic homeless guy who shits himself and believes alien insects have infected his body then presenting it as conventional wisdom.

This, of course, begs the question: Why are MSM journalists, reporters, and anchors so stupid and lazy? Do they know they are being used? Do they care?