Apologies

Memorial Day is a day of remembering death, so today, I dedicate my blog to the men I couldn’t save during my tour of duty. Bear with me, but here are their names:
Gallo, Giovanni
Lewis, Lex L.
Marchini, Scelto Roberto
Tuccillo, Gaetano
Soufrine, Eric D.
Miotto, Matteo
Ville, Sebastian
Pedone, Marco
Manca, Gianmarco
Vannozzi, Francesco
Romani, Alessandro
Farley, Derek J.
Repkie, Robert K. L.
Justesen, Anthony T.
Cartwright, Charles I.
Ochoa Jr., Alfonso
Ramirez, Joel A.
Wren, Charles J.
Atim, Paul J.
Hutchinson, Dea
Wood, Robert
Marshall, Kyle Cleet
Lewis, Conrad
Hendry, Lewis
Swanson, Aaron M.
Beckett, Colin
Pyeatt, Lucas T.
Dalzell, David
Muhr, Shawn A.
Campbell, Joshua R.
Bell, Martin Simon George
Amores, Jason G.
Whitehead, Joseph C.
Enig, Samuel
Giese, Joseph R.
Tate, Jacob A.
Vatubua, Joseva Saqanagonedau
Htaik, Maung P.
Wood, Charles
Nguyen, Tevan L.
Misener, Garrett A.
Corzine, Kenneth A.
Dunn, Steven Thomas
Crouse IV, William H.
Torbert Jr., Eric M.
Maldonado, Jose L.
Osterman, Sean A.
Schmalstieg, Justin E.
Hernandez, Jose A.
Green, Stacy A.
Geary, Michael E.
Peto, Jason D.
Rusk, Colton W.
Wyatt, Derek A.
Howard, John
Scott, Lucas C.
Abbate, Matthew
Wade, Chad S.
Donnelly IV, William J.
Buenagua, Ardenjoseph A.
Smith, Jason T.
Davies, Christopher
Ortiz Rivera, Javier O.
Jørgen Randrup
McCormick, Aaron
Stack, James B.
Huse, Dakota R.
Kelly, Robert M.
Braggs, Randy R.
Emrick, Jordan B.
McCluskey, Jason J.
Pearson, Brandon W.
Broehm, Matthew J.
Zimmerman, James R.
Blanchard, William
Land, Brett W.
Honeycutt Jr., Terry E.
Jørgensen, Mikkel
Barnsdale, David
Jackson, Francisco R.
Cullins, Joshua J.
Villarreal Jr., Jorge
Tawney, Ian M.
Boelk, James D.
Catherwood, Alec E.
Lopez, Joseph C.
Ceniceros, Irvin M.
Cain, Justin J.
Vinnedge, Phillip D.
Rodewald, Joseph E.
Dew, Victor A.
Johnson, Raymon L. A.
Zaehringer III, Frank R.
Rayner, Peter Anthony
Sparks, John T.
Gonzalez, Edwin
Sockalosky, Stephen C.
Lynch, Scott A.
Gurung, Suraj
Vogeler, Lance H.
Matteoni, Anthony D.
Jackson, Timothy M.
Fabbri, Ralph J.
Thomas, Matthew
Rosa, Anthony J.
Jørgensen, Simon Mundt
Ose, Joshua S.
Jones, Andrew James
Howarth, Andrew Martin
Fleming, Scott J.
Johnson, Timothy L.
Deady, Darren
Bishop, John C.
Charte, Philip G. E.
Shukvani, Mukhran
Griffiths, Andrew
Pool, Joseph McFarlane
Balthaser, Jesse M.
Carver, Ross S.
Twigg, Joshua T.
Rodgers, Christopher B.
Roberts, Cody A.
Bovia, Joseph A.
Sikka, Herdis
Goetz, Dale A.
Infante, Jesse
Kessler, Kevin J.
West, Matthew J.
Clements, Chad D.
Holley, Floyd E. C.
Ide, James R.
Fedder, Daniel L.
Swink, James Michael
Newton, Robert J.
Rodriguez, Ronald A.
Calo, Jason D.
Bancroft, Jordan Dean
Schultz, Nathaniel J. A.
Childers, Cody S.
Boyd, Christopher J.
Oratowski, Kevin E.
Gurung, Ishwor
Foster, Darren
Bock, Michael A.
Kulung, Remand
Sanderson, John Charles
Saenz III, Jose L.
Greer, Kristopher D.
Petersen, Jimmi Bøgebjerg
Rolandsen, Erik Berre
Gammone III, Vincent E.
Cornelius, Kevin M.
Donahue, Max W.
Brown, Adam
McCallum, Dale Alanzo
Holbrook, Jason E.
Warren, Kyle R.
Martin, Shane R.
Howard, Abram L.
Smith, Mark
Vazquez, Frederik E.
Weis, James M.
Carazo, Mario D.
Pløger, Jonas Peter
Monkhouse, Stephen Daniel
Stenton, Matthew James
Vargas, Julio
Miller, Paul J.
Wrightsman, Joe L.
Eastman, Christopher L.
Monkhouse, David Thomas
Linley, Brett George
Griffiths, Kinikki “Griff”
Crookes, David Thomas
Bartelt, Justus S.
Santos, Dave M.
Harrison, Matthew
Pun, Arjun Purja
Turkington, Neal
Bowman, James Joshua
Antonik, Christopher J.
Roads, Tyler A.
Raney, Daniel G.
Robinson, Samuel Joseph
Hart, David Charles
Sephton, Thomas
Wisniewski, David A.
Stephens, Seth
Harris Jr., Larry D.
Kirkpatrick, Jamie
Gilbert, Stephen Raymond
Richards, William T.
Caskey, Joseph D.
DeBoer, Daane Adam
Horton, Martyn Simon
Ramsden, David
Isaac, Alex
Halliday, Douglas
Darbyshire, Steven William
Taylor, Michael
Patino IV, Claudio
Cueto, Kevin A.
Warren, Paul
Serwinowski, Timothy G.
Hollington, Richard
Smith, Ashley
Ortega, William
Rogoiruwai, Taniela Tolevu
Bailey, Michael C.
Standfest, Jeffrey R.
Tagitaginimoce, Ponipate
Birdsall, Steven James
Kristiansen, Martin
Breeze, Andrew
Brummund, Gavin R.
Monk, Jonathan Michael
Plank, Michael G.
Flores, Michael P.
Gentz, Joel C.
Smith, David C.
White, Benjamin D.
Chandler, Mark
Walters, Zachary J.
Shanfield, Derek L.
Rankel, John K.
Bury, Brandon C.
Hernandez, Derek
Marler, Donald M.
Webster, Terry
Cochran, Alan David
Hotine, Anthony Dean
Bruun, Sophia
Taylor, Scott Gregory
Dilisio, Anthony A.
Suter, Jake W.
Leicht, Jacob C.
Curley, Stephen Paul
Cusack, Zak
Fingar, Jason D.
Walker, Stephen
Clark, Philip P.
Xavier Jr.,Patrick
Paradarodriguez, Nicholas D.
Perkins, Adam L.
Wood, Zarian
Desforges, Joshua D.
Lamar II, Donald J.
Johnson, Jeffery W.
May, Jr., Kenneth B.
Shea, Kurt S.
Harrison, Christopher Lewis
Comfort, Kyle A.
Davis, Joshua M.
Penny, Richard R.
Rangel, Christopher
Barrett, Brandon A.
Buxton, Barry
Roy, Daryn
Holmes, Harvey Alex
Rivers Jr., Thomas E.
Caron, Joseph T.
Durkin, Sean M.
Burgess, Jonathan Antony
Turner, Mark
Swenson, Curtis M.
Sweeney, Michael
World, Frank J.A.
Griffin, Tyler O.
Holkham, Daniel
Woodgate, Jonathan
Ross, Jacob A.
Centanni, Rick. J.
Cottle, Robert. J.
Campbell, Steven
Wilson, Justin J.
Clarkson, Joel D.
Grigg, James
Hardy, Scott
Driver, Martin
Porto, Jonathan D.
Gamble, Garrett W.
Thompson, Stephen
Keogh, Tom
Maughan, Liam
Allott, Jonothon Michael
Paci, Anthony A.
Olsen, Nigel K.
Green, Richard
Apolis, Carlo
Aragon, Carlos A.
Fox, Paul Maurice
Kinggett, Martin
Hanson, Matthias N.
Ward, Eric L.
Peak, Adam D.
Eckard, Christopher W.
Stultz, Gregory S.
Birchfield, Joshua H.
Dalzell, Douglas
Walker, David “Davey”
Dunn, Kielin T.
McQueary, Jeremy R.
Coutu, Kyle J.
Johnson, Larry M.
Yazzie, Alejandro J.
Currier, Eric D.
Pier, Noah M.
Mellors, Guy
Estopinal, Jason H.
Dawson, Sean
Marshall, Mark
Greenhalgh, Dave
Turbett, Jacob H.
Hicks, Darren
Markland, David
McDonald, Sean
Moore, John
Shaw,Graham
Riley, Liam
Freeman Jr., Michael L.
Smith, David J.
Cooper, Daniel
Smith, Zachary D.
Angus, Daniel M.
Poole, Timothy J.
Kane, Jeremy M.
Aldridge, Peter
Farmer, Luke
Brownson, Corporal Lee
Hrbek, Christopher R.
Read, Daniel
Ingham, Matthew N.
Lowe, Jamie R.
Uzenski, Nicholas K.
Meinert, Jacob A.
Juarez, Mark D.
Hoffmann, Simon Sejer
Hayes, Robert
Watson, David
Howell, Aidan
Brown. Tommy
Roebuck, Omar G.
Roney, Christopher
Pritchard, Michael David
Kropov, Serge
Hornby, Simon
Jalakas, Kristjan
Kirkness, David Leslie
Brown, James Stephen
Campbell Jr., Anthony C.
Latorre, Xhacob
Drane, Adam Paul
Taylor, Jonathan A.
Amer, John Paxton
Nielsen, Kenneth Patrick
Hand, Nicholas J.
Loughran-Dickson, Robert David
Marlton-Thomas, Loren Owen Christopher
Fentiman, Andrew
Hefner, Shawn P.
Swanson, Justin J.
Bassett, John Samuel
Allen, Philip
Scott, Phillip
Webster-Smith, Nicholas
Chant, Darren
Major, James
Boote, Steven
Telford, Matthew
Schmid, Olaf Sean George
Ruiz, Cesar B.
Stanley, Cody R.
Mitchell, David S.
Fleury, Gregory M.W.
Jones, Eric A.
Van De Giesen, Kyle R.
Ebert, Michael
Oakland, James
Baker, David Raymond
Cauley, George W.
Taylor, Aaron J.
Hill, James
Janes, Jamie
Hill, Kevin O.
Wojtak, Marcin
Carse, Nathan B.
Carroll, Patrick R.
Lancaster, Joshua T.
Creamer, Zainah C.
Near, Robert J.
Beckerman, Michael J.
Javier Jr., Conrado D.
Martin, Steve
Collins, Sean M.
McLawhorn Jr., Willie A.
Deans, Patrick D.
Necochea Jr., Kenneth E.
Simonetta, Derek T.
Villacis, Jorge E.
Middleton, William K.
Flannery, Sean M.
Holder, Kyle M.
Culbreth, Justin E.
Senft, David P.
Carroll, Jacob C.
Carver, Jacob R.
Rivadeneira, Juan L.
Paranzino, Michael F.
Young, James C.
Meari, Andrew N.
Curtis, Jonathan M.
Dickmyer, Adam L.
Sadell, Charles M.
Dupont, Steven L.
Jenkins, Gerald R.
Powell, Matthew C.
Johnson, Daniel J.
Prentler, Joseph T.
Board, Cody A.
Officer, Justin A.
Morrison, Donald Scott
Simpson, Mark A.
Buras, Michael J.
Yates, Eric
Newman, Jaime C.
Snow, Deangelo B.
Kramer, Aaron K.
Weaver, Todd W.
Pinksen, Brian
Noziska, Mark
Grochowiak, Casey J.
Meletiche, Pedro A. Millet
Maldonado, Alexis V.
Brown, Jason
Karch, Christopher N.
Rappuhn, Bradley D.
Nicol, Andrew C.
Stout, Kyle B.
Stansbery, Michael L.
Collier, Brian
Piercy, Brian F.
Allen, Justin B.
Tilton, Jesse R.
Winters, Leston M.
Jarrell, John H.
King, Brandon M.
Goeke, Christopher S.
Stout, Christopher T.
Tate, Sheldon L.
Moon, Christopher J.
Garvin, Nathaniel D.
Ainsworth, Jesse W.
Cabacoy, Christopher F.
Wood, Edwin C.
McGarrah, Clayton D.
Jefferson, David
Miller, Andrew
Giesebrecht, Kristal
Loredo, Edwardo
Palmer, Scott Travis
Aplin, Timothy James
Chuck, Benjamin
MacNeil, James Patrick
Silk, Brandon M.
Hunter, James P.
Park, Benjamin J.
Adams, Christian M.
Neenan, Brendan P.
Goudreault, Martin
Theinert, Joseph J.
Peney, Jonathan K.
Rudd, Larry John Zuidema
McKay, Kevin
Blake, Douglas Craig
Coleman, Mark W.
Laborde, John K.
Ingram Jr, Michael K.
Todd, Tyler William
Brunkhorst, Scott W.
Santos-Silva, Carlos M.
Fitzpatrick, Darren James
Whetten, Glen J.
Dikcis, Alan N.
Gelig, Ian T.D.
Southgate, Luke
Gorra, Marcos
Salvacion, JR Robiniol
Reiners, John A.
Wittman, Jeremiah T.
Pagan, Bobby J.
Baker, Joshua Caleb
Williams, Charles A.
Gill, Carlos E.
Pena, Paul
Ginett, Adam K.
Faught, John
Wright, Kyle J.
Smith, Bradley R.
Dion, John P.
Lengstorf, Joshua A.
Bowman, Brian R.
Miok, George
Taylor, Kirk
McCormack, Zachery
Chidley, Garrett William
Johnston, Jason M.
Gutierrez, David H.
Nuttall, Andrew
Ware, Albert D.
McLeod, Jason A.
Lewis, Joseph M.
Aamot, Aaron S.
Gooch Jr., Gary L.
Marshall, Steven
Boyes, Justin Garrett
Bates, Jr. Brian R.
Gonzalez, Luis M.
De La Rosa, Fernando
Griffin, Dale R.
Jackson, Issac B.
Williamson, Patrick O.
Stanker, Jared D.
Walz, Christopher I.
Mason, Thomas
Michel, Devin J.
Coumas, Kyle A.
Dahl Jr., Michael A.
Rudzinski, Christopher M.
Stivison, Jr., Glen H.
Flores, Jr. Jesus O.
Lawson, Daniel C.
Styer, Brandon M.
Sklaver, Benjamin A.
Newton Jr., Alan H.
Sanchez, Roberto D.

Sorry I failed, gents. I’ll see you in Hades when my time comes…

A Weapon Blessing

Ares has always been a god of weapons, and I know of no depiction of him without at least some form of weapon on him or nearby. Though I am no longer a true combatant, I wanted to bless my rife as the weather now permits me to go out and start the airsoft season. Sure, I can’t actually kill someone with it, but I’d like to bless it to shoot true anyway. To that effect, I came up with a simple rite that you may use yourself.

Some supplies you may choose to use:

Depictions of the Gods: Ares for certain, but you can include Athena, Artemis, Apollon, Aphrodite, Dionysos, and Zeus (all gods with war or shooting related cults)

Incense or wine for offerings

Your chosen weapon (this is being written about a rifle, and modern weapons in general. Feel free to modify accordingly)

The Rite:

I would choose to time this rite in Spring, as this is when the campaign season starts, although it’s also perfect before a deployment, a hunting expedition, or like me, for a friendly game of airsoft or paintball. Morning seems most appropriate, as the sun’s far-shooting rays first touch the earth much like Apollon the Far-Shooter fires off his arrows.

Open your rite with whatever actions you deem appropriate, or if you are performing this rite within the context of a larger ritual (such as the forthcoming Lesser Aresia or a pre-deployment ritual) begin where appropriate. Make your offerings of incense or wine, and call forth to the Gods:

Dear Gods on Olympus, hear my cry, as I am to go to battle

Bless this rifle, oh Gods, that I might smite my enemies

Thundering Zeus, let my enemies cower at its thunderous roar

Sharp Ares, let my enemies feel its piercing sting

Brilliant Athene, let my allies find respite behind its fire

Glorious Twins of Leto, may my rounds fire far and true

Mad God, let my weapon sow madness among my foes

Golden Aphrodite, let my enemy feel no love for the fight

Bless me, oh Gods of, so that I may offer you victories at the altar of war

That’s it, just a simple blessing and a simple offering. Fight hard, whatever your battle, and Hail Ares!

Blood Lust

I’ve been putting off this topic for a while, mostly because it isn’t very fun to talk about killing people, let alone enjoying it. It’s not even a matter of political correctness; the act of a human killing another human is pretty much a universal taboo in most contexts, which makes it an uncomfortable subject to talk about. Despite this, Ares revels in killing. His titles such as Brotoloigos (manslaughtering), Andreiphontes (Destroyer of Men), and Thouros (Violent), among others, give testimony to this. Ares does have a softer side, as previously discussed, but war, violence, and killing is his primary MO. So, if killing and destroying other people is so taboo, why do we worship a killer god?

Let’s make it very clear from the outset that I neither promote nor condone the arbitrary murder of people for the sake of murder. Violence, especially deadly violence, should always be considered after long deliberation and should never be the first option you pick, and it should never be picked frivolously. That being said, violence can and does solve problems, despite the politically correct answer to the contrary. Often, it may be the only solution viable; after all, people like Hitler or Mao weren’t really into negotiating their position. Remember, the maxim stated Avoid/Shun Murder (Φονου απεχου), not the Abrahamic religions’ commandment Thou Shall not Kill/Murder (לֹא תִּרְצָח). Most systems, our own and the monotheists’ included, make exceptions for warfare, capital punishment, and self-defense. But many carry it beyond those exceptions, in both cultures.

Okay, so if we can agree that in many cases killing another person is wrong, why then does it still occur? Moving beyond criminal theory, which I am not qualified to comment on, I think much of it has to do with the inherent nature of man. Man, as a creature and a conceptual whole, has an innate drive to create things. Part of this drive, I believe, is what causes our desire to destroy things that hinder our creation, including other people. Just as a tree is destroyed to create a book, men will band together to destroy other men or nations so they may use their enemies’ land and resources to create new things/nations/people with. While this simple analogy could never capture the complexities of geopolitics and sociological conflict in humans, I feel it does begin to scrape the surface. Deep down in the human psyche, man feels an urge to destroy things, and may derive satisfaction from it. This is, in essence, blood lust. This is Ares.

While the concept of blood lust may seem abhorrent to your general sensibilities, I want to look at how it manifests and drives humanity and history. Essentially, I want to highlight how Ares affects the world. To do this, I’ll show you how blood lust affects and manifests at the individual level, the societal and cultural level, and then how history, and Ares, have tied the two together to get us to where we are now.

Generally, you don’t hear much about blood lust at the personal level, except in the case of a rare psychopath like the Zodiac killer. Often, a person’s inner blood lust manifests as little thoughts that are instantly dismissed by the rational brain, such as when you hope the asshole who just cut you off gets murdered in his sleep (I have road rage issues sometimes…). You get a sudden violent impulse which normally instantly subsides. I can’t go so far as to say the feeling is universal, but for most of the people I know, it’s there. There’s also a thrill you get out of being violent. Have you ever taken a martial arts class, or got in a fight (verbal or physical), or even been in combat and noticed the rush you got as adrenaline and other chemicals began flowing through your body? It can be rather intense, and even feel pretty damn good. I remember hunting down Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and getting quite a rush when bullets and bombs would start to fly and we’d begin positioning troops and calling in airstrikes and artillery. People were going to die, and I liked doing it. Individually, blood lust can hold quite a lot of sway, but it isn’t really conducive to a functioning society, which brings me to our second point.

We have a love/hate relationship with violence and blood lust in Western society, especially the US. Our constitution guarantees most access to deadly weapons, and we have the highest gun violence rate of any industrialized nation. This is ironic, because Finland has higher per capita gun ownership and only a small fraction of the violent crime. Obviously, there’s something cultural about violence, too. While we hate and decry actual violence, it is a huge part of popular culture in the US and many other countries. We spend billions of dollars every year on violent video games, sports, movies, and television every year. Billions! Just take a look at what’s on the news right now, or at the collection of video games in your house. Chances are, they have some sort of violence depicted. The recent book series and now movie The Hunger Games was a box office hit, and is essentially about a world where people look forward to watching an annual death match between children. Kids killing kids! I enjoyed the movie, but I can see why some parents refuse to let their children see it.

So, why if we dislike violence and campaign to see it end do we continue to perpetuate it in our cultures and commit violence at a personal level? Well, for one, it gets things done. For the most part, the majority of change throughout history is precipitated through violent means. The English Civil War, the American and French Revolutions, the Crusades, the Peloponnesian War… all changed history, and all were violent. The black plague didn’t just pop up, it was brought to Europe by the invading Mongol armies. Violence has ensured the survival of entire races, and their near extinction. History is violence. It is Ares. But, like Ares, we need to chain violence in the bonds of Justice. We also need to acknowledge our species’ violent tendencies, and thus we need to acknowledge Ares as a master and a driver of our lives. So hail Ares, and let Him control our furies.