10/13/2006
The New Military Pin-up: Beefcake Marines Strip for Wounded Vets
Since the U.S. Armed Forces seem to have a hard time taking care of their own ("It's a stopgap effort to help people where government programs leave off..."), once again Marines are being forced to help themselves out financially by selling sex.
They're also on a cross-country tour to promote the new beefcake calendar from San Diego-based group Freedom is Not Free:
"Several members of the group, promoting the calendar on a cross-country tour, said Thursday they have medical conditions, ranging from combat stress-related symptoms to injuries to their feet, knees, hips and backs from carrying combat loads of more than 200 pounds."
100% of the proceeds from the calendar will go to aid wounded veterans.
Said Sean Mickle, 31: "I wasn't afraid to pose. This is the new-generation Marines."
So true, so true.
Support our troops! Buy Beefcake!
More sexy calendar boy Marines after the jump...
(thanks chris)
Love the reflection.
Posted 12:30 PM EST by Andy Towle in Calendars, Fashion Men, Iraq, Military, News, Photography | Permalink
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Other than the cover photo, the guys inside aren't all that sexy. I feel so bad for these guys though...
Posted by: Todd | Oct 13, 2006 12:39:57 PM
Who needs Morning Goods with afternoon sweets like these?
Posted by: Josh Raso | Oct 13, 2006 12:58:55 PM
Yum, yum. Ain't nothin like a man in uniform. Especially when they are this hot!
Posted by: wtf | Oct 13, 2006 1:13:33 PM
again, I ask; what are "proceeds"?
100% of what, actually, is going to help the vets?
Are proceeds equivalent to profits? What expenses are deducted before that is figured...? Are proceeds a percentage of profits? It all sounds shady, to me...
Meanwhile, the images certainly made ME feel better!
Posted by: Kile Ozier | Oct 13, 2006 1:21:08 PM
It's a shame and a disgrace upon this country that such a thing is even necessary.
"Support our troops" my ass! The day that these chicken hawks provide proper safety equipment for our troops and proper health care for our troops and don't send them into wars based on lies and inflated egos is the day they will show true support for the troops.
Newsflash for all the "support our troops" SUV and keyboard brigades: Putting a f*ckin yellow ribbon magnet on your car only supports the person that sold you the damn magnet.
It's also shameful that this calender will be secretly and slyly marketed to gay men, who aren't even allowed to serve openly in the military.
As a gay, American, war veteran this is such an insult to me on so many levels; eye candy notwithstanding.
Support our troops!!! Bring them home!!!
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 13, 2006 1:46:47 PM
This is what their website says...does that help with info about their group?
"Freedom Is Not Free is a mission driven organization – Aiding our wounded troops, their families, and the families of the fatally wounded. Freedom Is Not Free is a non-partisan, non-profit 501 (c) (3), organization (EIN#47-0951987). All administrative expenses are paid for by members of the Patriot Advisory Board ensuring that 100% of donations go to support programs and grants. All funds are allocated by “those who have been there,” active duty and veteran Purple Heart recipients and their survivors (Purple Heart Board)."
Posted by: Roy | Oct 13, 2006 1:52:17 PM
Don't forget that the 2600+ troops that have been blown apart and shipped back in boxes were just like the beautiful men you see here.
It's important that we put a body and a face with these numbers.
"troops", "soldiers" etc. are impersonal ways to avoid saying "men", "women", "boys", "girls", "fathers", "mothers", "sons", "daughters", "John", "Mary" etc.
When you refer to the "troops" with these more personal words, and names, and associate faces with them, suddenly 2700+ "troops" killed in action becomes sickeningly and painfully real and the whole thing seems all the more shameful.
Please look at this calendar in a new way. See in the eyes of every month's hunk, a beautiful young soul who came home in a box.
Sorry for the buzz kill.
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 13, 2006 1:54:39 PM
I couldn't agree more with Zeke. I have spent a good deal of time in the mideast. And, I was cordially asked to leave the Marine Corps when my sexuality was disclosed. Their loss. I was a good Marine.
Yellow Ribbons and beefcake calenders don't come close to helping.
Posted by: Plumberjeff | Oct 13, 2006 2:12:16 PM
indeed, the only way to support the troops is to bring them home. buying calendars or gunking up your car with ribbon stickers is just going to keep 'em where they don't belong.
Posted by: A.J. | Oct 13, 2006 2:14:39 PM
Forget the reflection the the guy note the package. I hope this raises a lot of money to help our men and women get better treatment.
On a side note, The Asst. Sec. Of Defense for Homeland Security Paul McHale a friend of mine since 1979 has been called up to active duty. He is 56 years old and is off to fight the Taliban for a year. How bad off are we that we have to call up 56 year old men to return to the war we could have won had Bush not invaded Iraq.
He resigned from his state house seat to volunteer for the first gulf war, was elected to congress in 1992 served 3 terms and chose not to run again and was then confirmed by by Senate in 2003 for his current job. He was a Marine in-between college and law school he is now forced to leave behind (at age 56) a wife, Kathy and three children Matt, Mary and Luke to fight a war that could have ended 3 yeas ago had Bush kept his focus on the real war on terror.
Paul served with Oliver North while in the Marines my favorite quote of his during the Iran/Contra affair was that he "would trust Oliver North with his life but not his consitution." My thoughts will be with him everyday until he comes home.
Thanks Andy for the forum to add this comment.
Posted by: Donald | Oct 13, 2006 2:29:12 PM
Forget the reflection the the guy note the package. I hope this raises a lot of money to help our men and women get better treatment.
On a side note, The Asst. Sec. Of Defense for Homeland Security Paul McHale a friend of mine since 1979 has been called up to active duty. He is 56 years old and is off to fight the Taliban for a year. How bad off are we that we have to call up 56 year old men to return to the war we could have won had Bush not invaded Iraq.
He resigned from his state house seat to volunteer for the first gulf war, was elected to congress in 1992 served 3 terms and chose not to run again and was then confirmed by by Senate in 2003 for his current job. He was a Marine in-between college and law school he is now forced to leave behind (at age 56) a wife, Kathy and three children Matt, Mary and Luke to fight a war that could have ended 3 yeas ago had Bush kept his focus on the real war on terror.
Paul served with Oliver North while in the Marines my favorite quote of his during the Iran/Contra affair was that he "would trust Oliver North with his life but not his consitution." My thoughts will be with him everyday until he comes home.
Thanks Andy for the forum to add this comment.
Posted by: Donald | Oct 13, 2006 2:29:51 PM
Zeke is so right.
I wish they'd reinstate the draft and rich kids had to serve in the military. THEN we'd see some changes.
Posted by: Myackie | Oct 13, 2006 3:06:15 PM
Since when did rich kids EVER serve during a draft?
Posted by: Crixi Van Cheek | Oct 13, 2006 3:35:55 PM
What Zeke said multiplied by 1,000,000.
Posted by: peterparker | Oct 13, 2006 3:38:13 PM
Totally in agreement with Zeke and Donald. And while it's questionable who benefits from the yellow ribbons, assuming the calendar folks keep their word, money from the calendars goes to help those who have been wounded in the war (and are not being taken care of by our government)--not to further the war.
By the way (and perhaps most important of all) don't forget to VOTE in 3 weeks!!!
Posted by: TP | Oct 13, 2006 4:29:50 PM
zeke I totaly agree with you
IT is a complete and utter shame that this is even necessary to help our wounded vets. A total disgrace.
That said, the guys are nice to look at. Beefcake is beefcake.
Kile Ozier, I agree with you as well on the "proceedes" thing. With the gay community getting burned time and again by marathon promoters, party promoters (DC infamous red party......like 3 cents on the dollar actualy went to Whitman Walker Clinic), etc.......I would be very interested in auditing the books of the people behind this calander
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 13, 2006 4:30:06 PM
Well, I guess the question to our ex-servicemen here is: what would the injured marines want from us instead of the calendar purchase? Bringing home the others will not help them much.
Posted by: Anon | Oct 13, 2006 4:48:29 PM
PBS News Hour aired a segment last night on soldiers whose faces had been destroyed in the Iraq war. The pictures were gruesome and upsetting, but showed the resulting reality of Bush's follies.
These pin-up boys are pretty. Did they really serve in Iraq? Are they really straight . . . or did they escape the scrutiny of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?
Posted by: Martin | Oct 13, 2006 4:56:51 PM
Funny, when members of the armed forces are found to have taken off just a little bit more of their uniforms, or to have done anything physical in front of a camera, they're drummed out of the service for conduct unbecoming. But when they need the $$$ to make up the criminal lack of funding provided by the "Support Our Troops (by buying cheap plastic crap made in China that doesn't help them at all)" Bush administration, beefcake is all fine and dandy.
Just love the double standard.
Posted by: Michael | Oct 13, 2006 5:07:44 PM
So what is worse? Foley flirting with 16 year olds (which I don't personally agree with)& something Bush said is "disgusting" or Bush sending 18 year olds off to die for basically no reason (err, maybe for the oil industry) something most Repubs. and lots of Dems. say is reasonable????
Posted by: Mike | Oct 13, 2006 5:50:30 PM
More beef please...
Posted by: jocko | Oct 13, 2006 5:55:38 PM
Anon,
Good question my friend
Here’s what I think they and all veterans want. I speak as a war veteran myself.
Warning: You might want to grab yourself a beer and get comfortable…
We want our government, our politicians and our fellow Americans to really and truly support our troops even if they don’t support the illegal and immoral war that they’ve been asked to fight.
I believe that they, I and all veterans want Americans to demand that their legislators provide adequate funding so that the best doctors in the country can provide the free, easily accessible (without months of waiting lists) and FULL treatment of the psychological and physical injuries that we have incurred while fighting the wars that these same legislators sent us into.
We want the American people to loudly demand, “Support Our Troops! We will not abide one more tax break being given to the disgustingly rich as long as soldiers are in the field with outdated, obsolete and often useless equipment; including Vietnam era bullet proof vests!”
We want the government to “Support Our Troops” by realizing that no mother should ever have to go on e-bay to buy her son the necessary and life saving equipment that he needs to have a chance of surviving the patrols of Bagdad that he has been ordered to carry out.
We want our government, our politicians and our neighbors to scream at the top of their lungs, “Support Our Troops! Not one more dime to Exxon until every soldier is given a living wage to support his family while he is overseas with his ass on the front lines!”
We want Americans to cover their bumpers with stickers that say, “SUPPORT OUR TROOPS! Not one more soldier will be sent to fight another illegal, immoral war based on lies, ego and the political expediency of pansy assed, elite, chicken hawk politicians who have never worn the uniform of our country and have never sacrificed a child to the cause that they say is every American’s patriotic duty to support.”
Well maybe that’s too long for a bumper sticker but it could be edited down a bit.
Anyway, that’s what I think these guys REALLY want from us.
After all, if America did her job and truly supported her troops by meeting her MORAL OBLIGATIONS to her war wounded, then these smokin’ hot men could be posing for flesh calendars like this and putting the proceeds in their own pockets or donating them to a charity that supports issues and people that aren’t our country’s SOLE RESPONSIBILITY to take care of.
That may be more than you asked for but, from my heart, I believe this is what most American soldiers and veterans really want.
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 13, 2006 6:41:48 PM
If you'll indulge me one more thought.
Please demand that our government REcommit and publicly restate their ABSOLUTE commitment to enforcing each and every article of the Geneva Convention.
For the sake of foreign soldiers who are our prisoners AND for the sake of our soldiers who will inevitably be prisoners of war to our enemies, DEMAND that our administration stop lowering the standards of protection that provide for the humane treatment of ALL POWs AND for the prosecution of anyone who violate those provisions.
THAT is an extremely important way to support our troops.
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 13, 2006 7:39:12 PM
When I first heard about how Vietnam vets were treated when they came back, I was honestly appalled.
But it's still happening. My friend's cousin came back from Iraq to dirty looks, a tough time landing a job, and a roomate who was increasingly distant because a soldier waking up in the middle of the night screaming "spooked" him out.
I was never big on war or the troops, but I find it disgustingly ironic that for all the yellow ribbons and flag paraphernalia slapped on anything inanimate in this country that so many Americans don't even care enough to take five minutes out of their lives to search out a story or a blog that details what life really is like out there for these troops. Bush lands on a warship "mission accomplished" and his ratings go up, but did anyone bother to look beyond that? From stories I've heard from my friend's cousin, Iraq is about 10 BILLION times scarier and f*cked up than our wonderfully dormant media would ever allow us to know.
But seems in this day and age, "supporting the troops" only requires a $2 magnet slapped on the back of an SUV. Right next to the "Don't Forget" 9/11 sticker.
btw, don't quote me on it, but I believe this administration has not only sent these kids to war for no reason and with no armor, but also decreased funding for veteran's services as well.
Posted by: Derrick | Oct 13, 2006 8:35:02 PM
Feel free to be quoted Derrick because what you said is absolutely correct.
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 13, 2006 9:21:45 PM