Tuesday, November 21, 2006

U. S. Armed Forces Code, in Verse: Introduction, Chapters 1-2

-Intro 1-

These verse include
Parts of U.S. Code
Number Ten (the armed forces)
Written down as an ode

(I thought I'd do all
But only got through
Subtitle A,
Parts I and II
Maybe someday
I'll continue)

I've written it down in
Quatrains of verses
In honor of members
Of US armed forces

It's not that I always
Agree with politicians
But for doing their job
They deserve recognition

Anyway, I was curious
To read the code through
And summarizing in verse
Is the thing that I do

Naturally, you can't expect
To learn true legality
In verses so summarized
With utmost frugality

Go read them yourself
You can't say you're hindered
Just read all the sections
About twenty-five hundred

-Intro 2-

By the way, this here code
Is different entirely
From the short "Code of Conduct"
As applied militarily

That's only six verses, and you
Shouldn't really miss it
Heck, it's only six verses, so
I think I will list it:

Number one, an American
Soldier faces strife
For freedom and country
Though it cost him his life

Number two, an American
Never surrenders
Unless death is certain
And the odds are horrendous

If he's captured, a soldier
Will try to break free
And take others with him,
That's rule number three

When questioned, a soldier
Keeps rule number four
And withholds information
Such as basketball scores

Rule five lists useful info
He gives, but not very
Just name, rank, and cereal
(My favorite's Boo-berry)

And lastly, an American
Should always remember
His loyalty's to a country
With fifty state members

That's all, now let's get through
These verses of mine
You surely have nothing better
To do with your time

(Note:

The official site seems to be
Missing some sections
I looked at Cornell's site
To complete the collection

Also, I used "his"
When faced with a need
For a pronoun; I tried not to
But didn't succeed)

Chapter 1

101

We start off with many
Definitions laborious -
If we force enemies to read this
We'll always be victorious

Chapter 2

111

The Department of Defense
Has a whole bunch of pieces
The President can add more
For his nephews and nieces

112

The DoD has a seal with which
It squooshes each letter
That seal's likely homesick
And a walrus would work better

113

The Defense Secretary
Does more than type memos
He reports on it's missions
And where all the cash goes

113a

He submits the request
For monies military
Following the year's budget
But before February

114

The military spends only
By law, not duress
Plus a billion in special
Assistance, more or less

115

Congress decides on
The size of the force
At the end of each year
As a matter of course

115a

They decide only after
Pretending to read
A big fat report listing
How much they need

116

And after they've read that,
If not yet asleep,
They might read the budget
If they want to weep

117

And this section tells how
Readiness is reported
(These sections could probably
Have been better sorted)

118

A really big review made
With all the joint chiefs
Is conducted infrequently
Only when the year leaps

118a

In order to ensure
There's not too much strife
A parallel review studies
The quality of life

119

More reports get written
On access programs, special
So many reports
And they're all so official

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