Pace’s extravagant farewell ceremony.
Pace’s extravagant farewell ceremony.
The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank looks at yesterday’s farewell ceremony for outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace:
They brought the full array of military hardware to Fort Myer for Gen. Peter Pace’s sendoff yesterday as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: four fighter jets, four ceremonial howitzers, five honor guards, two brass bands, three metal detectors and eight Porta Potties. [...]
After Gen. Tommy Franks, CIA chief George Tenet and Iraq viceroy Jerry Bremer botched the early part of the Iraq war, Bush honored them with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Likewise, Pace, on his way out the door, got a “Full Honor Review,” with Sousa marches, medals, flowers and flyovers.
Pace could have chosen a simpler ceremony, but he declined neither bell nor whistle.
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Only eight porta potties?
For all the BS that got spewed?
I woulda thunk eighty would be more appropos.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:50 amI don’t know – this whole ceremony thing seemed kind of “gay” (which is against my upbringing)
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:51 amPace has political ambitions. He needed to be honored with all that pomp to make him look important.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:52 ambut was it gods law?
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:52 amThe Honor Guards reside at Ft. Myer and it is a showcase fort. Jets are most likely from nearby Anderson and the Howitzers could have been at the fort as well.
It’s probably a little more over the top than usual but this fort likes to put on a show.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:58 amWhat about the eight lords a-leapin’? Maids a-milkin? Five golden rings?
And a partridge in a pear tree?
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:00 amI wonder how much a ceremony like that costs.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:00 amWho is Jerry Bremer? I think Mr. Milbank means L. Paul Bremer. Who would guess Mr. Milbank and the WaPo make factual errors?
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:04 amIt seems to me that a ceremony like this should be given to every dead soldier and not the ones responsible for their death.
Also, how is it possible to afford this ceremony, when a while back one military base chose to only have a memorial service once a month for all those that died instead of separate services.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:05 amTwice as many porta-potties as fighter jets. That seems to say something about the prominence of crap in this administration.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:09 amFirst laugh of the day. Thanks missmolly.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 amtalk about gov’t waste…
hey republicans, how do you feel about your tax dollars being wasted on this?
what a joke. we can’t afford this kind of pointless extravagance.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:19 amCome on folks, Pace deserved this circus-like honor. Responsibility for the deaths of 100’s of thousands of innocent people is damn hard work. And the stress….
Please let this national nightmare end soon.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:33 amThey keep doing this… over compensating… putting on an enormous show to suggest that someone or something wasn’t as huge a failure as everyone thinks.
The did the same thing a few months back IIRC for another departing General/Leader/Whatever, and the most notorious example of over-compensating self denial you mentions of the “Medals of Freedom” debacle.
One most look at these events and wonder: “Who are they trying to convince? Us or themselves?”
Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt?
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:35 amThere’s a grab bag by the door for outgoing RepubCo incompetents. They can reach in and pull out a Fancy Ceremony, a Shiny Medal of Honor, a Plummy Lobbying Job, a Get out of Jail Free Card or a Guarantee of Confidentiality in Perpetuity concerning your stupidity and criminality among other prizes.
Pace must have danced a jig when he got his Fancy Ceremony. What a lucky guy.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 amStewarjt in #8: “L. Paul Bremer” is “Jerry Bremer”. That’s the name he goes by. Don’t ask me why.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:37 am“…four ceremonial howitzers,…”
weapons of mass deception
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:41 amAnyone know whazzup with the flags in the background?
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:41 amMy guess is the multi-national coalition of the bribed and duped in Iraq.
It is a curious assemblage of flags, there are US state flags in there… also some foreign flags it seems…
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:45 amfour fighter jets, four ceremonial howitzers, five honor guards, two brass bands, three metal detectors and eight Porta Potties. […]
What about our soldiers in Iraq? While Pace gets two brass bands, our soldiers in Iraq go brass band-less.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:49 amit is not unusual for a general to have a lavish ceremony when retiring or taking a new command.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:52 amAnyone know whazzup with the flags in the background?
My guess is the multi-national coalition of the bribed and duped in Iraq.
Comment by RUCerious — October 2, 2007 @ 10:41 am
I believe those are state flags (and there were probably 50 of them), but I like your idea better.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:10 amWhile it may not be unusual for a country which spends more on its military than the rest of the world combined to be lavish with its generals, it is still obscene given the squalor uncovered at Walter Reed.
We are paying for this while Bush is unwilling to fund SCHIP or adequate body armor. Pretty demonstrative of Republican values, I’d say.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:10 amMaybe there were 51 flags, can’t forget about Iraq…
Speaking of which, I wonder how many times that name was uttered at the ceremony.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:15 amOnce?
Nonce?
These GOPers sure do love a parade, a good broadway show, a night at home watching What not to Wear with the “Wife”, perhaps a little IM chat with the boy next door, or even a few precious moments with a potential voter in the nearest men’s room. Oh, lets not forget those magic moments with that hunky Jeff Gannon, Mmmmmm, the memories.
Not that there’s anything wrong with the President kissing a tall handsome Saudi ruler or any of that other stuff. It’s just odd, don’t you think, coming from the same folks who hate gays?
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:39 amWhile it may not be unusual for a country which spends more on its military than the rest of the world combined to be lavish with its generals, it is still obscene given the squalor uncovered at Walter Reed.
Comment by Peter C — October 2, 2007 @ 11:10 am
I don’t disagree with you there. While one soldier is being shat upon with the crap Bushco is putting the wounded through, they should not be allowed to spend this kind of money for any pompous gassbag general.
I mearly made the observation that it is not uncommon for a general to have a lavish ceremony like this in honor of himself. In fact from my experience it is fairly common.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:06 pmWho is Jerry Bremer? I think Mr. Milbank means L. Paul Bremer. Who would guess Mr. Milbank and the WaPo make factual errors?
Comment by stewarjt — October 2, 2007 @ 10:04 am
Jerry is L. Paul Bremer’s preferred nickname. Indeed, Bush always referred to Bremer as “Jerry”. So it can hardly be called a factual error.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:26 pmWhat? No MEDAL!?
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:49 pmI don’t think it’s such a big deal. After all, the man did serve honorably, he rose to a position of power within the military structure and the fact that the military honored his service should not surprise anyone. Believe me, Peter Pace will be remembered as the man who drank the Bush cool aide and spearheaded the disaster in Iraq. But his service should be honored by the men and women of the military he served with and loved. There are more pressing issues to worry about than what kind of send off Peter Pace got.
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:17 pmIndeed! Perfect Peter Pace should have been receiving the
October 2nd, 2007 at 5:40 pmbell, book and candle treatment instead. The more the essence of what they celebrate dissolves the more tightly they wrap themselves in the form. Bush had made a parody of everything in government.