"Sgt." John Rodriguez, a hispanic man convicted this month of up to 12 counts of forgery and fraud for impersonating a marine hero and Navy Cross winner, has flown the coop. This after posting bail and then not showing up in court to answer his accusers. Just a tad suspicious behavior for a "hero" with the Navy Cross.

I sit here stunned that someone like this could have gotten away with with impersonating a marine but the really shocking thing about it is how long he was able to perpetuate the charade.  Now you know ol Duke (my choc lab) here is pulling your leg with his impersonation of a marine general officer, pretty obvious actually because after all, he is a dog.  Has racial profiling infiltrated the military? Were other marines afraid to question the heroism of a hispanic man? Excuse me, wasn't it profiling that the FBI used successfully in investigations that lead to the capture of serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy? Havn't all of our police officers been trained in profiling so that crimes can be prevented before they happen. I see nothing racial about profiling, law enforcement lives by it.

Seems Mr. Rodriguez here went a bit deeper than your ordinary military hero impersonator, he did just a bit more than don a hero's medals on a surplus marine blouse. No, he actually went as far as to gain access and train with real marines at Camp Pendleton! AND he even crashed the Marine Corps Ball. But c'mon, somebody must have engaged him in a conversation somewhere?It didn't take these cops in the video long to figure out Eddie Murphy's gag.

It beats me how he got away with it becuase if he ever had a one on one conversation with a real marine they would have figured him out in a heartbeat. marines know how to spot other marines, it's in the eyes, body language, especially marines who saw combat. Heck, there is this guy in my support group of PTSD addled Vietnam combat vets, name of Jim. Heck of a nice guy and even though he was an officer I like the guy. This military impersonation thing really gets to Jim, makes him see red. And if he sees a guy in the airport or anywhere in public sporting the colors, regardless of branch, Jim sidles up to say howdy, and just like that – in about 30 seconds Jim either has a new friend or the guy will wish he had never even thought of putting on those medals!

I think the Vietnam vets (me included) get offended a bit easier than other war vets because we had to hide what we did just to try and live a normal life once discharged. World opinion was against what we had done and it was the best course to just lower your head and go forward. Just becuase my dog wears the uniform of a marine hero does that make him one? No disrespect for the Marine Corps intended, I just use it to emphasize my point and the ridiculousness of what this guy did by wearing the uniform and medals of a marine hero – when in fact he was a total fraud – never served at all! How could this guy slip by undetected with a NAVY CROSS around his neck at a MARINE CORPS BALL?!

Duke, my chocolate lab here is my best buddy, he saw my uniform hanging in the closet and just had to have one of his own. But jeez Duke, don't you think you overdid it a little? When Jim sees this off to doggy prison you must go! Does this impersonation thing have to go as far as the outragious behavior of Eddie Murphy's hilarious performance as in Trading Places.

All kidding aside, this is no laughing matter, the FBI estimates that since 911 there are about 50 people a month claiming to be a vet when they wouldn't know the difference between an irish pennant hanging down over maggies drawers didn't even sniff a didnt serve. Gives them some respect. My friend Jim, the Army 1st looey I was telling you about, he was shot, no, not friendly fire, but the real deal, on a patrol commanding a platoon. Heavy stuff and when he suspects a guy to be wearing the uniform falsely, whoo look out!

Click here to view the embedded video.

More From Lowcarb Marine

• A Marine's "Old Corps"
• Marines And Super Marines
• Marine Of The Month

You don't have to dedicate yourself to any diet plan or low-carb regimen to lose weight. Just substitute what you might eat in carbs with fat instead, bacon vs donuts, cheese vs cereal, or a sandwich with mayo without the bread.  Doing this will have much less impact on insulin levels, where upswings cause weight gain.

More From Lowcarb Marine

• Weight Loss Secrets Guaranteed To Work!
• The Patton Plan Has Marines Vote
• Marines Meritorious Mutt Promotion From Baghdad To America

Of course, later on when my mouth could handle it I too started eating like my Dad, hogging it down in a way that I convinced myself had me enjoying food more. I didn't just pick up this eating style during my stint in the Marine Corps, although back then I ate fast because I either had to or was in a hurry to get somewhere. The marines have a saying about chow time;  "take all you want, but eat all you take".

Unfortunately, as a result of his bad eating habits,  Dad became extremely overweight, developed diabetes and died at the tender age of 62 from complications of a gastric bypass operation.

After I joined the marines I had to learn how to eat all over again. In USMC boot camp I was always hungry, not because they starved me (just the opposite) but because I was expending so many calories in training I needed the nourishment. And the food was darn good too! Since leaving the marines I have had to watch what I eat and was not always successful, I gained weight and before I knew it had gained more weight than I thought possible. Before I discovered the low-carb lifestyle I was headed toward repeating my Dad's mistakes and fortunately I woke up in time to reverse that trend.

As a low-carb aficionado my sandwiches (I call them roll-ups) now consist of ingredients such as ham, turkey, roast beef, tuna salad, cheese and lettuce, minus the bread and I don't really miss it. I may never be able to give up bread completely but the carbs I have resisted not eating bread with a sandwich allow me to eat other carbs I enjoy, especially pasta (low-carb) and fruit.

What brought all this up was  coming across an article in Men's Health titled Chew on This which brought back memories of Dad's eating habits because the article is about what Dutch researchers discovered;  that big bites (and fast chewing) can lead to overeating. I didn't know about this and was surprised to read that people who chewed large bites of food for 3 seconds consumed 52 percent more food before feeling full than those who chewed smaller bites for 9 seconds. Their findings suggest that tasting food for a longer period of time (no matter how much you bite off) signals your brain to make you feel full sooner.

I wish these Dutch scientists had discovered this in time to help my Dad, he might have lived longer had he been able to change his eating habits by taking smaller bites and chewing longer. If you find yourself doing the same thing, taking big bites and gulping, remind yourself to slow down, try taking smaller bites and see what happens. You might be surprised at what you discover.

Small consolation to the family of Cpl. Yazzie who was from the small Navajo community of Rock Point, just a short drive from where I live in NE Arizona. He is the 11th Navajo warrior to have been killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan since this nonsense started way back in 2001. Cpl. Yazzie was a combat engineer brother who had been attached to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and the Navajo Nation.
Semper Fi "Pancho"

Image via Wikipedia

The Commandant of the Marine Corps does not just Drop In!

When I was in the Marines a visit from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, such as the one featured here by General James T. Conway, would have struck fear into this marine's camo- clad body. Not because of the man himself (although impressive) but the preparations! These Marines seem to think it's just another day in the Marine Corps.

I guess public relations is a much bigger deal than it used to be or maybe it's just that Farjah is a lot safer to visit than Khe Sanh ever was!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Marines Like the Media Embed Program (usnews.com)
• Marine Corps General: Logistical Challenges, Costs to Homosexuals in Military (dakotavoice.com)
• National Museum of the Marine Corps: New Year, New Galleries (eon.businesswire.com)
• Marines, White House Herald Iwo Jima's 65th Anniversary (usnews.com)

There were plenty of detractors out there saying that Hollywood has done it again, glamorized a dangerous job, Explosive Ordinance Disposal, while real members of EOD teams in southern Iraq said in interviews arranged by the Army that 'The Hurt Locker' is a good action movie if you know nothing about defusing roadside bombs or the military.

One might even suspect Uncle Sam's involvement somewhere along the line, I would imagine that enlistments were up the day after the Oscars.

Sgt. Eric Gordon of San Pedro, an Air Force EOD technician on his second tour in Iraq, has watched the movie a few times with his friends. 'I would watch it with other EOD people, and we would laugh,' Gordon said." And they add, "an EOD team leader in Maysan province, Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Phillips, said although he was glad the film highlighted their trade, he disliked the celluloid treatment of EOD units. 'There is too much John Wayne and cowboy stuff. It is very loosely based on actual events,' he said. 'I'm honestly glad they are trying to convey to the public what we've been doing, and I wish maybe they had just done it with a little bit of a different spin on it,' he said."

As an EOD Marine in Vietnam I can't remember much of what I did would qualify as glamorous, certainly I didn't have the luxury of wearing a bomb suit, the heat and humidity was so bad anyway that it would have killed me before any bomb would have. Besides, most of what we did with booby traps and mines was to blow them up, not diffuse them.

I like a good story as much as anyone but let's keep it real where war is concerned, it ain't no Hollywood set!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Hurt Locker does not work for Iraq vets (tech.bl0x.info)
• The Real 'Hurt Locker' Revealed (abcnews.go.com)
• Hurt Locker producer slapped with Oscars ban (guardian.co.uk)
• Real Hurt Lockers in Iraq: Life Is No Movie (abcnews.go.com)
• The Real 'Hurt Locker' Revealed (abcnews.go.com)

More From Lowcarb Marine

• Out Of The Corps
• It's Time To Get The Marines Out Of Iraq
• Marines Love The Zone

But I don't have to say a word, Gunney R. Lee Ermey himself, he of the real Marine Corps and Hollywood Marines both, said it for me.  And nobody can say it better than Gunny R. Lee Ermey! Hoo Rah Gunny!

More From Lowcarb Marine

• Marines Know How to Eat
• The Patton Plan Has Marines Vote
• Robin Williams As The American Flag

A low-carbohydrate diet may have health benefits that go beyond weight loss.

A new study shows that a low-carbohydrate diet was equally good as the weight loss drug orlistat (the active ingredient in Alli and Xenical) at helping overweight and obese people lose weight, but people who followed the low-carb diet also experienced a healthy drop in their blood pressure levels.

Read the entire article here on WebMD

More From Lowcarb Marine

• Marines Know How to Eat
• Low Carb vs Low Fat
• The Patton Plan Has Marines Vote

Edward D. Riley, US Army 1969-71, Vietnam Vet and son of SSgt Donald Riley, USMC is the man behind the idea and the creator of the Frame Of Honor, a moving tribute to his father and to our men in uniform. I just recently was introduced to his son Danny who told me the story of how it got started and I am proud to be able to pass it along.

I hope to be able to get to know Ed Riley sometime and I would be proud to make mention of each Frame of Honor recipient that he does a frame for – here on my USMC blog.

I only have one question for you Eddie my boy, why the heck didn't you join the Marine Corps like your Pop did? He must have wanted you to join the marines if he knew you would have to fight? You didn't go and get yourself drafted did ya?

I'm just yanking your dog tag chains there Eddie, those being the kinds of digs that only one soldier can make to another, so say hello to Sgt Richard "Skip" Schaefer (me), United States Marine Corps, 1968-72, combat service in Vietnam with the 3rd Marine Division, 1969-70. Can you believe it was over 40 freakin years ago?

Frame Of Honor occupies a permanent link here on the LCMarine and you can also contact them via the FAQ page of their website.

More From Lowcarb Marine

• Most Famous Marine Photo Of All Time
• Out Of The Corps
• Proud To Wear The Uniform Of United States Marine

Get Me OUTSIDE!

This is why I don't like treadmills in the spare bedroom, garage, working out at health clubs or other forms of indoor exercise,  other than they are boring, boring, boring, wall mounted TV or not. I don't care if Oprah has Michelle Obama, Tom Cruise, David Letterman, Ellen, Donald Trump and Tiger Woods on the same show! (wouldn't that be a show?), indoor workouts just don't work for me, even if I have a window to look out of.

If you ever wondered why your new year's resolution to exercise and lose weight lost it's momentum after only a few weeks here is a clue:

Hello! It's winter out there, cold, rainy, gloomy, etc. Your brain wants to be doing something outdoors, walking, hiking, just about anything as long as it's outside while your body cringes at the thought. Some refer to exercising outdoors as eco-therapy, or green exercise, although I think that word green is overused. Did you know for example that the color green balances the nervous system and is supposed to have a calm, soothing, effect?

When there isn't a whole lot of green around during winter where you live it can be tough to get motivated, much less stay that way until spring. But don't despair, just by seeking the natural world you can reap the benefits of re-connecting with the environment – a reduction in anger and stress levels only to mention a couple. Take the dog for a walk, bundle up and breathe the fresh air.

More From Lowcarb Marine

• Out Of The Corps
• The Patton Plan Has Marines Vote
• A Lesson From The Gunny