Friday 10-12-12

CSM Basil Plumley passes away at age 92

COLUMBUS, GA - A sad day today for the Fort Benning and Columbus communities. Army legend Command Sergeant Major Basil Plumley loses his fight with cancer at age 92.
In the 2002 film "We Were Soldiers," actor Sam Elliot plays Command Sergeant Major Plumley leading troops in the 1965 battle of Ia Drang during the Vietnam War.
But in 1965, Plumley wasn't reading off a script, he was living it.
"Some soldiers referred to it as the Valley of Death because they knew they were going to be in for a fire fight when they went in there," Frank Hanner, Director of the National Infantry Museum, says.
Plumley's bravery in the Vietnam War was just the last chapter of his 32-year military career. He passed away early Wednesday morning at Columbus Hospice, but his spirit lives on inside the National Infantry Museum.
"It would be such a sad museum if we didn't honor someone of his stature in the museum, he did so much for our country," Hanner says.
West Virginia native Plumley traveled to Fort Benning after he was drafted to train as one of the first army paratroopers in the 1940's.
"He found out he could get $50 extra a month to be on jump status so he joined the 82nd Airborne Division," Hanner says.
He would fight with the 82nd Airborne Division throughout WWII, making four combat jumps.
And when the Korean War began in 1950, Plumely was ready to fight again.
"The Army asked soldiers who had combat experience to volunteer to go over to Korea, and he was one of the first to volunteer," Hanner says.
In Korea, Plumley fought with the 187th Regimental Combat Airborne Team, where he completed his fifth combat jump.
Plumely was awarded dozens of awards for his service, including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He is also one of only 325 men to receive the Combat Infantryman Badge Third Award since 1943. It is the army's most prestigious and least given award, reserved for soldiers who served in WWII and more than 30 days of combat in Korea and Vietnam.
After retiring from the Army, Plumely worked at the Martin Army Community Hospital on Fort Benning for 15 years.
Funeral arrangements are still pending.

http://www.wltz.com/story/19786094/fort-benning-mourns-local-hero

Report: Teens Using Digital Drugs to Get High

Kids around the country are getting high on the internet, thanks to MP3s that induce a state of ecstasy. And it could be a gateway drug leading teens to real-world narcotics.
At least, that’s what Oklahoma News 9 is reporting about a phenomenon called “i-dosing,” which involves finding an online dealer who can hook you up with “digital drugs” that get you high through your headphones.
And officials are taking it seriously.
“Kids are going to flock to these sites just to see what it is about and it can lead them to other places,” Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs spokesman Mark Woodward told News 9.
I-dosing involves donning headphones and listening to “music” — largely a droning noise — which the sites peddling the sounds promise will get you high. Teens are listening to such tracks as “Gates of Hades,” which is available on YouTube gratis (yes, the first one is always free).
Those who want to get addicted to the “drugs” can purchase tracks that will purportedly bring about the same effects of marijuana, cocaine, opium and peyote. While street drugs rarely come with instruction manuals, potential digital drug users are advised to buy a 40-page guide so that they learn how to properly get high on MP3s.
Oklahoma’s Mustang Public School district isn’t taking the threat lightly, and sent out a letter to parents warning them of the new craze. The educators have gone so far as to ban iPods at school, in hopes of preventing honor students from becoming cyber-drug fiends, News 9 reports.



Here’s a video of one wholesome kid getting high — startlingly so — on an MP3:



We at Threat Level are stunned and have hundreds of questions.
Will future presidential candidates defend their i-dosing past by saying, “But I had it on mute”? Are we supposed to declare a war on cyberdrugs or a cyberwar on cyberdrugs? How will police know if a teen is with headphones on is i-dosing or just listening to Justin Bieber? Is the iPod the bong of the future? What would happen if some ne’er-do-well took over the console of the Super Bowl and dosed the entire country? What if kids smoked dried banana peels and listened to these trippy tunes at the same time — could they OD? What happens if someone sells a tainted MP3?
Perhaps most importantly, what will happen if the kids move onto harder stuff like Steve Reich, Philip Glass or even Janet Cardiff’s installation, “The Killing Machine“?
Here’s a sample of the heavy stuff that some light experimentation with drug drone music could lead to. (Note: The following video is only for informational purposes and should only be viewed by responsible adults.)


http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/digital-drugs/