The Rat Bastards

And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.

-- Henry V, Act III.i

My friend Marshall and I were once in a band together playing noisy, rockabilly- meets-the-Pixies music. He always had mad talent with equipment, and would build guitars, computers, anything. After college he got a job as a Java developer.

In 2002 he joined the Army National Guard, and he's now a First Lieutenant and platoon leader in an unit called "The Rat Bastards" stationed in the outback of Afghanistan. Visit the site. Send them coffee. Their job involves using lethal equipment to help islamo-fascists achieve martyrdom, so they need to stay awake.

Marshall was and always will be a techie, but I happen to know that he also once took a Shakespeare class, read six major plays, and actually enjoyed it. We went to a Jesuit high school where they made you read books and expected boys to become "men for others".

Let hardcore pacifists claim hypocrisy. I think that Marshall is in Afghanistan right now living out that directive on our behalf.