When yesterday's social media coverage of Hurricane Sandy accidentally dredged up an old photo of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment's Tomb Sentinels standing guard over the Tomb Of The Unknowns in Arlington, Va., I'll admit to wondering aloud about how long it would take for some idiot to note that the soldiers were equipped with ornamental bayonets and make a big deal about the "horses and bayonets" quip from last week's national security debate, and who that idiot would be. The answers, as it turns out, are "one day" and "National Review's Gregg Pollowitz," who believes he is making some poignant statement by dressing up the old photo with the headline, "Bayonets Defending the Tomb of the Unknowns During Hurricane Sandy."
While Pollowitz has the wrong photo (as well as the wrong branch of the U.S. Armed Services -- for some reason he believes the Tomb of the Unknowns is guarded by Marines), the correct photo from yesterday's scene at Arlington Cemetery confirms that the Tomb Sentinels still carry ornamental bayonets. But let's return to the context that birthed the quip -- the changing nature of modern warfare and the need to properly budget for it. If Gregg Pollowitz thinks that a major budget outlay needs to be made to defense contractors to spur the increased manufacture of bayonets to protect graves from the rain, he ought to say so.
Naturally, I won't take that very seriously, but in that respect, I'm well ahead of the curve.
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