Except for short blurb type articles, I almost never duplicate an entire article or column that appears in the press. IÂ’m making an exception here, because this is a message from one of AmericaÂ’s finest on the ever of his unitÂ’s deployment to the field of operation in Iraq.

Guard unit from Houston is ready for duty in Iraq
By COL. MARK N. CAMPSEY

The 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) stands ready for duty in Iraq. Over the past two months, we've been in the New Mexico desert preparing for the situation in country.

During our time there, soldiers from the Houston area trained in detainee, convoy and urban operations. The training was some of the most realistic that soldiers in the 72nd IBCT have ever encountered stateside.

Throughout many training lanes, actual Iraqi civilians role-played and mock weapons systems simulated the environment in Iraq. The realism made it easy for our soldiers to stay battle-focused.

Very soon we'll be taking a plane ride into Kuwait. While there, we'll consolidate our personnel and equipment and perform precombat checks and inspections before we go into Iraq.

During the next year, the 72nd brigade headquarters will operate as the Joint Area Support Group-Central (JASG-C) with responsibility for supporting the government of Iraq with administration and security of the International Zone in Baghdad.

The 21 units, to include the 1-141st and 3-141st infantry battalion headquarters, which fall under the 72nd IBCT headquarters, will perform various roles in Baghdad and throughout Iraq, such as security force, detainee, combat and convoy operations. And we're prepared for that.

The assignment extends basic military training. And our soldiers are uniquely qualified for what's ahead due to the combination of their military training and civilian jobs.

In Iraq, our soldiers will be in roles similar to their regular Houston jobs, such as accountants, project managers, engineers, lawyers, contractors, real estate managers, carpenters, law enforcement, city administrators, marketing directors and logistics officers, to name a few.

This range of careers is crucial for success in stability operations. It's the reason why the president specifically called on our citizen soldiers in the Texas Army National Guard.

With the upcoming elections in January, our soldiers will be on the ground during a historic time in Iraq. Currently, 280 political parties have registered to run. For my team, this proves that Iraqis are interested in representative government.

As for the security situation, attacks have slowed down dramatically, but they haven't stopped. In Baghdad, where the 72nd IBCT headquarters will be located, attacks are consistent with February 2004 lows, representing a decrease of more than 95 percent since the surge operations began in June 2007.

An added benefit we have is that our families, the Houston community and surrounding areas continue to give us extraordinary support. As an example, during our deployment ceremony in October the Wal-Mart Corporation presented a large donation to support our soldiers' travel home on their final pass over the Thanksgiving holiday.

It was an exceptionally generous gift. It not only reduced a potential financial burden for some families, it ensured a safe mode of transport for participating soldiers. But the support didn't stop there. Countless other Houston businesses, community organizations and individual citizens have supported us in so many ways.

We are truly grateful to live in such a military-friendly city. That hasn't always been the case for soldiers. However, on behalf of the 72nd IBCT's soldiers and officers brigade, I want to thank you all very much.

I take comfort in the fact that the 72nd IBCT soldiers have the best training, equipment and support by the finest people — their loved ones and the great people of Houston, Texas.

We're ready.

Campsey is commander of the 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Houston, Texas.

The thoughts and prayers of this community and a grateful nation with you and the rest of the 72nd, sir.

This is especially true for my wife and I, as one of your officers is numbered among our loved ones – a young man who we first met on one of his first dates with one of my younger colleagues. It has been our privilege to watch as he has become a loving husband, devoted father and exemplary military officer. It will be our privilege to offer support to his family until you return – a privilege that we are proud to share with so many others in this community, and in this nation.

Posted by: Greg at 01:46 PM | Comments (24) | Add Comment
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Killed in action in 1944.

Returned to his family in 2009.

For two decades after her son's bomber went down in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, Vella Stinson faithfully wrote the U.S. government twice a month to ask if his body had been found — or if anyone was looking.

The mother of six strapping boys went to her grave without the answer that has finally reached her two surviving sons 65 years later: the remains of Sgt. Robert Stinson are coming home.

Military divers recovered two pieces of leg bone from the wreckage of a B-24J Liberator bomber found at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of the island nation of Palau. DNA testing showed the femur fragments belonged to the 24-year-old flight engineer who died in combat on Sept. 1, 1944.

Stinson's remains arrived under U.S. Air Force escort Wednesday and will be buried Friday at Riverside National Cemetery with full military honors. In between, the body will be kept at a mortuary less than 100 yards from the home where Stinson grew up with his brothers.

May Stinson and his fellow crew members rest in peace. A grateful nation honors your sacrifice.

Posted by: Greg at 12:11 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I've worked with the annual Soldiers' Angel Project Valour-IT for the last several years, always signing on with Team Navy in honor of my fattehr,a retired Navy officer. This year is no exception, and I'm urging all of you to donate to this worthy cause.

For those of you unfamiliar with the program, let me share some information about this program:

Every cent raised for Project Valour-IT goes directly to the purchase and shipment of laptops and other technology for severely wounded service members. As of October 2009, Valour-IT has distributed over 4100 laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines across the country, and is now expanding its mission to include other technology that supports physical and psychological recovery.

Valour-IT accepts donations in any amount to support our mission, but also offers a sponsorship option for laptops.  An individual or organization may sponsor a wounded soldier by completely funding the cost of a laptop and continuing to provide that soldier with personal support and encouragement throughout recovery. This has proved to be an excellent project for churches, groups of coworkers or friends, and members of community organizations such Boy Scouts.

Originally Valour-IT provided the voice-controlled software that accompanies the laptops, but now works closely with the Department of Defense Computer/electronic Accommodations Program (CAP): CAP supplies the adaptive software and Valour-IT provides the laptop.  In addition, DoD caseworkers serve as Valour-ITÂ’s “eyes and ears” at several medical centers, identifying patients in need of laptops and other technological support for their recovery.  Wounded military personnel can also directly request a laptop through the sign-up form or through the Valour-IT/Soldiers' Angels representatives at the following medical centers, and other veterans health care facilities across the country:

* Balboa Naval Hospital

* Brooke Army Medical Center

* Madigan Regional Medical Center

* National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda Naval Hospital)

* Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton

* Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital (29 Palms)

* Walter Reed Army Medical Center

For the love of the heroes who have spilled their blood for us, give as best you are able.

Posted by: Greg at 04:58 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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It is great to see this wounded vet receive justice – and shocking that it had to come to this for him to get it.

A former Michigan soldier who lost his hand after an explosion while trying to disarm a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004 won a $4.3 million verdict today against the U.S. Army in a disability discrimination civil case.

“He proved that the Army created a hostile work environment for him because of his disability.” said Royal Oak attorney Kevin Carlson who won the case along with attorney Joseph Golden.

The attorneys represented James McKelvey, 38, of Macomb Township, who said in a discrimination lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit that a boss and coworker derided him as "the cripple, " refused to provide him with computer equipment and door handles to accommodate his disabilities, excluded him from meetings and told him to stay in his office cubicle for months on end.

He said superiors also objected to him parking in a handicapped space at the Warren tank arsenal even though he had a state permit.

Now wait – a medically retired wounded warrior received this treatment while working for the US Army? WTF? Why wasn’t something done to solve this situation?

And at this point, I have an even bigger question – are that supervisor and co-worker still on the government payroll in any capacity? If so, how long until they are terminated for cause and with no government benefits?

Posted by: Greg at 10:11 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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I'm a conservative -- but unlike many of my fellow conservatives, i fiercely object to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the US military. I've always found it a bit absurd that we reject the talents of those more than capable of serving our country on the basis of their sexual orientation. That attitude has only been confirmed in my mind by the growing acceptance of homosexuals in society as a whole.

So one would think that I would be turning handstands over this announcement.

President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected.

"I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group.

Why no excitement? Because he gives no timetble, only a vague commitment. And he made the same commitment during the campaign, only to sit on his hands for the first nine months he's been in office, despite the fact that most Americans would support him on this one.

In other words, it really isn't a priority to Barack Obama -- any more than winning in Afghanistan or promoting human rights in China are priorities for him.

Wake me when Obama actually tries to carry through on this promise -- if he ever gets around to it.

Posted by: Greg at 01:58 PM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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Are our men and women in uniform deployed abroad being denied their pay? If this report over at Red Ink: Texas is true, it appears that the unthinkable may be happening.

Nasty Rumor that I HOPE is not true.

But I'm afraid it might well be...

This morning, a woman called in to Edd Hendee's show on KSEV and informed Edd that her friend's husband, who is deployed to Iraq, has not been paid in a month, and that he had been ordered not to discuss it. The wife of course was under no such obligation to keep quiet. When I heard that I thought to myself that it could not possibly be correct, or if it is, it can't be widespread. So I asked around. I discovered that a woman here at work has three cousins in Iraq, two Army, one Air Force, and none of them have been paid in over 5 weeks as well. This no longer sounds like a rumor, this is starting to sound like fact. And if it IS a fact, someone's head needs to roll. This is UNACCEPTABLE.

These men and women have signed a blank check for their very lives in service to this country. They often have spouses and families back home that depend on that income to eat and pay the rent. Soldiers are not paid a great deal for their sacrifice to begin with. To screw them out of a paycheck their families need to survive is simply unconscionable. If you know of anyone who is deployed to Iraq who has not been paid. Please let me know. I've been in contact with Congressman Ted Poe's office and they will ask around, but at this juncture no constituent who has not been paid has contacted them so their ability to look into it is limited. I urge all servicemen and women who's paycheck is in arrears to contact their respective congressmen and let them know about this.

Check with your friends and loved ones in the war zones about this. If there is any truth whatsoever to this story, then We the People need to raise some Hell about it -- Barack Obama and the Democrats can try to screw the American people all they want, but we will not tolerate them screwing our troops.

UPDATE: Perhaps less than meets the eye to this one -- a fellow-blogger with lots of military connections sends me this:

From what I'm hearing, it's not uncommon for combat pay/benefits to lag a couple of months, and it gets corrected eventually, but I've heard of no mass missing of paychecks in theater. In fact, no commander worth his salt would tolerate that, and you couldn't possibly enforce a gag rule on it.

Posted by: Greg at 01:27 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I grew up in a military family.

One of the benefits of that upbringing was that I met some extraordinary men and women during my childhood. And as a teenager I had the privilege of meeting a living recipient of the Medal of Honor. I learned that day exactly how special these men really are, and the sort of heroism they exhibited in the course of their duty. And so it is with that in mind that I read this commentary this morning about attempts to change the requirements – in effect to water them down – in an effort to award the MoH more often.

More than a dozen groups and lawmakers are lobbying the Defense Department to award this honor more frequently -- in effect, to lower its standards -- and to upgrade to the Medal of Honor other decorations that soldiers have received. In debate over the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010, the Pentagon was criticized for setting decoration standards too high. The "low numbers" led Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) to insert a conference report in the authorization act "to review the current trends in awarding the Medal of Honor to identify whether there is an inadvertent subjective bias amongst commanders that has contributed to the low numbers of awards of the Medal of Honor." It directs Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to report back to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees next March.

I’m sorry, but no matter how dearly one wishes to honor our men and women in uniform, this is not the right vehicle for doing so. This award is special – its recipients a mere handful among all those who have ever served – and so rarely bestowed that meeting a living recipient is rare. That is as it should be. If there is a desire to give more recognition to special acts of valor, then there is a case for creating a new award – but Congress should keep its hands off of this one.

Posted by: Greg at 01:24 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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I grew up in a military family. WhatÂ’s more, I was blessed that my parents remained married through my childhood, and that they recently marked 48 years of marriage together (with every sign that these two healthy septuagenarians will make it to the half century mark in 2011). But I knew fellow military brats who faced divorce, and heard stories about the problems created by deployments, changes of duty stations, and other elements of military life.

Now I see a story like this one, and my heart aches.

During the 10 months she was deployed in Iraq, Leydi Mendoza, a 22-year-old specialist in the New Jersey National Guard, did everything she could think of to ease her longing for the year-old daughter she had left back home.

A picture taken on her baby Elizabeth’s first Christmas was tucked inside the camouflage patrol cap she wore while guarding prisoners at Camp Cropper in Baghdad. Several times a week, she would phone her former companion, Daniel Llares, who was caring for their daughter, aching as she heard her little girl’s vocabulary grow from babble to phrases like “I miss you” and “I love you.”
And on the flight back in May, Specialist Mendoza fought back the guilt she felt about being half a world away for so many formative moments by telling herself that one day Elizabeth would be proud of her service.

But since her return, Mr. Llares has allowed Ms. Mendoza only a few brief visits with Elizabeth. Despite a written family care plan they had worked out with military officials outlining shared custody upon her return, Mr. Llares now believes it is too disruptive for the baby to spend more than a few hours at a time with “a mother she doesn’t really know or recognize that well,” said his lawyer, Amy Lefkowitz.

After months of arguments, an exchange of legal papers and a restraining order, Specialist Mendoza and Mr. Llares each are demanding full custody of Elizabeth, and are scheduled to appear at a court proceeding Tuesday to determine her fate.

“My daughter needs her mother,” Specialist Mendoza said in an interview last week at the National Guard Armory here in Teaneck. “I left my daughter, and they told me that when I got back, she’d be with me again. But now, it’s like I’m on my own.”

We ask so much of our men and women in uniform. We ask so much of their families as well. Under no circumstance should military service or deployment be the basis for a permanent change of custody or the denial of adequate visitation by a non-custodial member of the armed forces. And given the failure of the states to adequately protect the rights of our men and women in uniform, and the reluctance of the military to assist them in fighting family court decisions that fly in the face of the family care plans developed before deployments, Congress must act. Just as federal law already protects the employment and educational rights of servicemembers and veterans, it now appears that these laws must be amended to protect something even more precious – their families and their relationships with their own children.

Posted by: Greg at 11:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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He was one of our nation's first WWII heroes -- and he is still going strong today.

'I'm going to say it again . . . I cannot believe this is happening,” John Finn said as he surveyed a crowd of more than 2,000 who traveled to Pine Valley to celebrate his 100th birthday.

The Medal of Honor recipient has spoken all over the country about his heroic counterassault on enemy planes at Pearl Harbor nearly 68 years ago, and he was feted in March by President Barack Obama in the Oval Office.

What exactly did Finn do?

During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lt. Finn promptly secured and manned a .50-caliber machinegun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machinegun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

In the years since he left the military, Finn has been active in his community, including charitable and patriotic work.

May I join with so many other grateful Americans in wishing him a happy birthday as he reaches the century mark.

H/T Don Surber

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The commander-in-chief finally gets around to regretting the terrorist murder of an American serviceman on US soil and the wounding of another.

“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”

Passive voice. No acknowledgment of the confessed motive for the attack. Utter unwillingness to call it terrorism -- or, more appropriately, jihad. And no condemnation of the violent tendencies once again demonstrated among members of a certain population.

Oh, yeah -- and he's still going to suck up to the "religion of peace" which provided the ideological basis for the attack on US troops on US soil.

Too bad these guys weren't a couple of abortionists -- it might have caught Obama's attention sooner and moved his heart more.

Well, at least he's made clear where his priorities are.

H/T Malkin

Posted by: Greg at 02:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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How low can he go?

Today he says this:

Obama recalled U.S. military history from the Revolutionary War through the Allied landing at Normandy, where he will travel next month to commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day.

"It's about remembering each and every one of those moments when our survival as a nation came down not simply to the wisdom of our leaders or the resilience of our people, but to the courage and valor of our fighting men and women," Obama said. "For it is only by remembering these moments that we can truly appreciate a simple lesson of American life -- that what makes all we are and all we aspire to be possible are the sacrifices of an unbroken line of Americans that stretches back to our nation's founding."

Unfortunately, he's preparing to do this.

Perhaps the most controversial is a planned speech in which President Obama will formally apologize for American 'war crimes' during the Second World War. This would be particularly comforting to Europeans, who have long condemned American foreign policy actions, especially regarding civilians.

So let's make it clear -- he is willing to praise our heroic veterans today -- but will sell them out on foreign soil during his visit to Europe in June.

Just call it one more bit of proof that talk is cheap for Barry Hussein -- and that he is willing to say anything at any time if he thinks it is what his audience wants to hear.

Posted by: Greg at 12:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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When you are in a war zone, being in uniform is not always an option for combat.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday praised an Army soldier in eastern Afghanistan who drew media attention this month after rushing to defend his post from attack while wearing pink boxer shorts and flip-flops, Reuters reported.

Gates said in prepared remarks that he wants to meet the soldier and shake his hand the next time he visits Afghanistan.

"Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage," Gates said in a speech to be delivered in New York.

"I can only wonder about the impact on the Taliban. Just imagine seeing that: a guy in pink boxers and flip-flops has you in his cross-hairs. What an incredible innovation in psychological warfare," he said.

Army Specialist Zachary Boyd, 19, of Fort Worth, Texas, rushed from his sleeping quarters on May 11 to join fellow platoon members at a base in Afghanistan's Kunar Province after the unit came under fire from Taliban positions.

A news photographer was on hand to record the image of Boyd standing at a makeshift rampart in helmet, body armor, red T-shirt and boxers emblazoned with the message: "I love NY."

This time there happened to be a photographer around when the need to fight came. I’ve heard that at Pearl Harbor there were sailors who rolled out their bunks and helped defend their ships against the Japanese – wearing boxers or less. After all, the enemy doesn’t give you a chance to dress when they attack – they want to kill you, and in or out of uniform you must stop them.

Posted by: Greg at 11:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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IÂ’m lifting this US Air Force story whole, after being clued into it by American Thinker. After all, some underpublicized news needs to be gotten out there to the public at large.

Most of us hear stories of Airmen saving lives in combat, but an Airman who saves the lives of more than 300 passengers is definitely a story worth hearing.

A fuel leak on a civilian aircraft caught the attention of Staff Sgt. Bartek Bachleda, 909th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, during a flight from Chicago to Narita airport, Japan. After alerting the pilots and aircrew, the ranking pilot made the decision to divert the flight to San Francisco.

"I noticed the leak on the left side of the aircraft right behind the wing earlier during take-off," said Sergeant Bachleda.

Sergeant Bachleda continued analyzing the outflow of fuel to be 100 percent sure it was a leak while the plane was reaching cruising altitude. Almost an hour into the flight, he told a stewardess of the possible leak, but was given an unconcerned response.

Sergeant Bachleda then began to capture the possible leak on video. He then got the stewardess' attention by saying, "Ma'am it's an emergency." He identified himself to her and showed her the leak on video.

"She was completely serious and was no longer handing out drinks," he said. "I told her you need to inform your captain before we go oceanic."

The captain came from the cockpit to where Sergeant Bachleda was sitting to see the leak and view the video footage. Sergeant Bachleda said the captain and the crew were trying to figure out how the aircraft was losing 6,000 pounds of fuel an hour and then they knew exactly what was going on.

The captain made a mid-air announcement the flight would be diverted back to Chicago, but then changed it to San Francisco so passengers could catch the only existing flight to Narita airport.

Once the flight arrived in San Francisco, Sergeant Bachleda and a coworker were asked to stay back while the aircraft was deplaned. They waited for the arrival of investigators, the fire chief, and the owner of the airport to explain what went wrong.

"When we got off the airplane everyone was thanking us," said the sergeant.

While conversing with the captain, the sergeant said he was hesitant at first to inform them about the leak, but he knew it was abnormal. The captain said they would have never made it to Japan if it wasn't for him.

The two Airmen were placed in a hotel overnight and flew back to Japan the next morning. The airline company showed their appreciation by seating them first-class.

We came very close to having a major airline disaster here – but for the presence of a couple members of our all-volunteer military. For those who have heard that today’s armed forces are made up of anything less than America’s best and brightest, here is one more example of how that stereotype perpetrated by those who would devalue our military is utterly false. Men and women like Sergeant Bachleda are clearly the cream of the crop, not those with no options.

Posted by: Greg at 11:15 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm really taken aback by this comment by CBS golf announcer David Feherty.

"From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death," Feherty wrote in an a D Magazine piece welcoming former President George W. Bush back to Dallas.

Now my initial reaction to this comment was shock. It was followed by the desire to mock Feherty's comment with an equally inappropriate response that I won't include here in the interest of good taste and common decency. But in the end, I have to agree with the fifth columnists at Media Matters for (sic) America.

"Mr. Feherty's violent comments about Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid are disgusting," said Media Matters President Eric Burns. "Suggesting that our troops would attack the leaders of the very democracy they've sworn to sacrifice their lives for is an insult to their integrity, honor, and professionalism. CBS Sports should demand its golf analyst apologize to our soldiers."

Well said -- and spot on.

UPDATE: NewsBusters has a very different take on the matter, pointing out that the piece was satirical in nature, and taking both MMA and Keith Olbermann to task over their failure to note what was said in the rest of the satirical article -- and noting that the piece was some seven-weeks old and that it came to national attention only after negative words from Rush Limbaugh's guest host on Friday.

Posted by: Greg at 02:01 AM | Comments (26) | Add Comment
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Why simply run away?

Pirates have fired small arms weapons at a U.S. Navy supply ship off the coast of Eastern Somalia, the first attack of this kind since last year's surge in pirate attacks, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday.
The USNS Lewis and Clark was chased for about an hour on Wednesday morning by two pirates skiffs, but neither came closer than about one nautical mile to the U.S. vessel, the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said in a statement.
The small arms fire fell well short of the U.S. ship which speeded up to evade the skiffs.

If these pirates really want to screw with the US Navy, why not let the US Navy screw back? After all, what needs to happen is for the pirates to fear the consequences of piracy more than they desire the profits – and death at the hands of their would-be prey would be a good start towards deterring piracy.

Posted by: Greg at 01:39 PM | Comments (34) | Add Comment
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One of the problems with my local paper, the Houston Chronicle, is that it often provides only sketchy details on stories. This one, involving a call for the awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor to a WWI veteran, is one of this sort of frustrating stories that leaves as many questions as it answers.

AUSTIN — Texas legislators want Congress to right a wrong that they say was caused by bigotry — denial of the Medal of Honor to an American war hero with roots in Mexico.
Marcelino Serna served valiantly in World War I and returned to Texas a military legend, but his advocates say he was bypassed for AmericaÂ’s highest military decoration because of his heritage and the fact that he spoke little English.
State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, last week presented a resolution on SernaÂ’s case to the Texas House Committee on Defense and VeteransÂ’ Affairs. The resolution would ask Congress to reconsider a Medal of Honor for Serna, who died in 1992 at age 95.
The resolution has already cleared the state Senate and the House committee. It needs final approval from the full House to be presented to Congress.
Serna spoke almost no English when he enlisted in the Army. After three weeks of training, the Army shipped him across the Atlantic.
“Can you imagine that? A native of Chihuahua, Mexico, then Colorado, sent to England,” Pickett said.
When Army officers realized that Serna was a Mexican national, they offered him the chance to return home. A friend translated his answer — a firm “no.” Serna decided he would stay and fight for the United States.
He carried out his duties with uncommon valor. Army records stated that Serna killed three dozen enemy soldiers and captured nearly the same number.
Serna received a medal for bravery from the French government, the Croix de Guerre, the British Medal of Honor, the Italian Cross of Merit and two Purple Hearts, among other awards. But the U.S. Medal of Honor, the rarest and most prestigious military decoration, eluded him.
After being discharged in 1919, Serna settled in El Paso and became a U.S. citizen five years later.

Now let’s get this on the table – Marcelino Serna appears to have been one hell of a man. He appears to have been an exemplary soldier, and to have performed acts that are justifiably called heroic. However, the criteria for receiving this award requires that the recipient engage in an act of

"[conspicuous] gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against any enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party."

And it is the phrase “above and beyond the call of duty” that leaves me stuck on this one. Did Serna rise above the call of duty in his actions? I’m not sure. I’d love to know more about the man and his deeds. Could someone direct me to more information?

Posted by: Greg at 12:43 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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As I drive to work each morning, I tune in to Bill BennettÂ’s show. This morning he interviewed Stephen F. Hayes from The Weekly Standard, regarding his current article on the Ride 2 Recovery involving a number of our nationÂ’s Wounded Warriors. It is an article you wonÂ’t soon forget. I wonÂ’t excerpt the piece because of the power of the story, but will instead link it here.

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I certainly hope not – but that report is out there. I wonder if it will be looked at by the press?

We were pre-screened, asked by officials “Who voted for Obama?”, and then those who raised their hands were shuffled to the front of the receiving line. They even handed out digital cameras and asked them to hold them up.

Questions that need to be asked by our nationÂ’s media:

1) Did this happen as reported by this senior enlisted man on site?
2) Who ordered that this be done if it did actually happen?
3) What action will be taken to stop the politicization of our military in the future?

One would hope that our nationÂ’s military would always receive the commander-in-chief politely and respectfully. But if the White House (or DoD) is engaging in this sort of screening to make it appear that the president (and his Iraq policy) is more popular among the troops than he actually is, IÂ’m deeply disturbed.

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A couple of years back, our nation's Leftists tried to gin up a controversy regarding Rush Limbaugh when he used the phrase "phony soldiers" to describe individuals who claimed to be veterans but never served a day in uniform. These same folks have tried to turn Rush Limbaugh's policy disagreements with Barack Obama into treason against the United States. How about if these same liberals stand up and condemn one of their own icons for a direct attack against members of our military in the field?

If you think you misunderstood the words of this so-called humorist, here they are in black and white for you.

Forget about bringing the troops home from Iraq. We need to get the troops home from World War II. Can anybody tell me why, in 2009, we still have more than 50,000 troops in Germany and 30,000 in Japan? At some point, these people are going to have to learn to rape themselves.

Got that, American patriots? Bill Maher, on national television, has called our American troop rapists. Are you prepared to speak out against him? Are you prepared to turn off his show and contact his advertisers?

But then again, maybe our "support the troops" liberals will show the same level of outrage they have in the past when folks like John Kerry, Dick Durbin, and John Murtha have called the troops stupid, Nazis, and murderers -- they then defended those attackers of our servicemen and women, calling them patriots and rewarding them with their votes. Yep, that is sure some way to show support for those who defend our way of life!

Posted by: Greg at 02:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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For a guy who said he wants to honor the service of our veterans, this policy proposal from the VA sounds an awful lot like abandoning them

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance.

IÂ’m left nearly speechless by this news. Not even Bill Clinton, who loathed the military, would have ever dreamed of making vets pay for treatment of service-connected injuries and disabilities. Even if one were to suggest that veterans generally are owed nothing by the nation after their term of service is over, no individual with even a shred of human decency could argue that those vets with injuries, illnesses and disabilities attributable to their military service are not entitled to the care of a grateful nation.

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Here’s a case where I side against my fellow conservatives and with Obama and his supporters – DADT is simply a bad policy.

On Monday, buoyed by a stronger Democratic majority in Congress, Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.) will introduce legislation to overturn the ban against homosexuals serving openly in the military, a Tauscher aide said.

ClintonÂ’s handling of the issue was widely condemned, and the entire fiasco became a textbook example of the sort of avoid-at-all-cost political controversy that can seriously undermine a new president. For Clinton, it knocked him off message, sapped him of auathority, damaged his popularity ratings and left him with a reputation for being wishy-washy that stuck.

And it left the military with a policy that no one really likes — the “don’t ask, don’t tell” regulation that allows gays to serve in the military, as long as they don’t flout their homosexuality.

LetÂ’s consider the reality at work here. The current policy is idiotic and unworkable. It requires an element of dishonesty from those in the system (both gay servicemembers and their superiors) while doing nothing to enhance our nationÂ’s security. Indeed, it at times requires that the military purge itself of skilled personnel of unquestioned competence and patriotism over an issue that need not impact military readiness or efficiency. Moreover, the general level of acceptance of homosexuals in society (not approval of homosexuality, but the acceptance of individual homosexuals) has reached a level that orientation ought not be a serious issue.

H/T Gay Patriot

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I don't often link to CBSNews -- but this piece on the ceremony awarding the Navy Cross to two Marines who chose to sacrifice their lives that others might live reduced me to tears when I came across it last night.

I have a number of former student in the Marines (as well as other branches of the military) right now, and I hope that they are capable of living up to the standard of courage and selflessness set by Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan Yale.

Posted by: Greg at 08:37 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The folks at Voice of Warriors out the peacock-sucker network in its attempt to undermine our military and its mission in Afghanistan.

Everyone who has been in the military, especially to Iraq or Afghanistan, within the last few years needs to watch the first part of this video. Look at the "military equipment" CBS is pushing as recently stolen or "looted" from US Forces. You will notice that it's equipment we aren't even issued. Also, they blatantly lie when attempting to show night vision equipment, which isn't night vision equipment at all.

HereÂ’s the See-BS piece.

Voice of Warriors then goes to work taking the entire piece apart, pointing out that the equipment in question is not what is issued to US forces – and in a number of cases never has been. Click the link to see just how dishonest the See-BS news really is – and what happens when our nation’s warriors have a chance to respond to this sort of crap.

H/T LGF

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Why on earth will the US government not grant immigrant status to the widow of a Marine killed in action as part of our ongoing war against jihadi scum – especially when his family is requesting it so that their new child, an American citizen and son of a hero, can be raised in the land for which his father paid the ultimate price?

Frankly, the question asked at Wizbang says it all.

What kind of fucked up immigration system do we have in this country? The wife of a fallen marine has to fight to gain entry to this country.

I’m not a big fan of special legislation to grant relief from the hardships of the immigration process – but if ever such legislation was needed, this is it. Let’s bombard our representatives and senators with calls and letters about this case so that Hotaru Ferschke can be guaranteed the ability to live in this country with her son and her husband’s family.

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By one measurement, the answer would have to be that they are.

The residential patterns for current veterans and the patterns of state-level contributions of new recruits to the all-volunteer military have a distinct geographic tilt. And tellingly, the map of military service since 1973 aligns closely with electoral maps distinguishing red from blue states.

In 1969, the 10 states with the highest percentage of veterans were, in order: Wyoming, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California, Oregon, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio, Connecticut and Illinois.

In 2007, the 10 states with the highest percentage of post-Vietnam-era veterans were, in order: Alaska, Virginia, Hawaii, Washington, Wyoming, Maine, South Carolina, Montana, Maryland and Georgia.

Over the past four decades, which states have disappeared from the top 10? California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Illinois, all big blue states that have voted Democratic in the past five presidential elections. These states and another blue state, New York, which ranked 12th in 1969, are among the 10 states with the lowest number of post-Vietnam vets per capita. New Jersey comes in 50th of the 50 states; just 1 percent of current residents have served in the military since Vietnam.

Now IÂ’ll be the first to concede that there are any number of ways to interpret those statistics, as well as a host of reasons for them. And IÂ’ll also concede that military service and love of country are not the same thing. But it does show a certain cultural divide that exists in this country that runs deeper than mere voting patterns. After all, we heard statements time and again about who was serving in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Turns out that it was the people of the states who were voting in support of those conflicts by voting in support of the GOP.

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Nearly seven decades after his death at the hands of the Japanese during their opening salvo against AmericaÂ’s armed forces.

Early on the morning of Dec. 8, 1941, nine Japanese fighter planes swooped down on Malalag Bay in the Philippines and strafed and sunk two U.S. Navy seaplanes at the very outset of World War II.
All of the Americans escaped unharmed except Ensign Robert G. Tills, 23, of Manitowoc, Wis., who was cut down by machine gun bullets.
"Ensign Robert Tills died in the fusillade of bullets from the Japanese strafers, the first American naval officer killed in the defense of the Philippines," the Naval Historical Center wrote.

Ensign Tills died during one of the many near-simultaneous sneak attacks upon American military bases in the Pacific on December 7/December 8, 1941. His body was not recovered – until recently. His sole surviving relative is his sister, who was eleven years old when her brother died, and will bury him at Arlington National Cemetary, with full military honors.

May God grant Ensign Tills eternal rest, and may the nation for which he gave his life always rmember his sacrifice.

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Every year, Soldier's Angel sponsors Project Valour-IT to raise money on behalf of our wounded troops. I participate annually, joining Team Navy in honor of my father's 27 years of service as an officer in the US Navy. There are so many reasons to support this worthy cause, and following our recent election there are so many more. Let our troops know that we, the people still support them.

The need is great -- please contribute.

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Remember when Anbar Province was the most out-of-control area of Iraq -- and that was cited by Democrats as evidence that "America has lost the war in Iraq"?

Well, that was before the success of the surge -- and on Monday the Iraqi government will take responsibility for security in the former al-Qaeda stronghold.

US forces will hand over control of Anbar province to Iraqi troops in the coming days, military officials said Wednesday, touting improved security in the region.

"We believe the province could turn over to Iraqi control in just a few days," Marine General James Conway said.

"The change in the Al-Anbar province is real and perceptible," Conway said of the majority-Sunni region, which is Iraq's largest province.

Remember this as the Democrats nominate cut-and-runner Barack Obama tonight in Denver -- AMERICA IS WINNING!

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One based upon measurable goals, not just an arbitrary date.

The United States has agreed to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by next June and from the rest of the country by the end of 2011 if conditions in Iraq remain relatively stable, according to Iraqi and American officials involved in negotiating a security accord governing American forces there.

And that is the difference between this agreement and the proposals of Barack Obama and the "Defeat at any cost" Democrats. While they want out immediately, consequences be damned, this proposal is based upon the security of Iraq and the stability of the region. As such, it is not a cut-and-run strategy, but instead is a plan for victory with honor.

And while that means that the goal for withdrawal is 2011, that could change depending upon the conditions on the ground. But given the consolidation of the gains made as a part of the successful surge still opposed by Barack Obama, I expect the bulk of the troops to be home by 2012.

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It appears that, once again, soldiers captured by the enemy in Iraq have not been treated as the Geneva Conventions require prisoners to be treated.

The bodies of two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq for more than a year have been found, their families said Thursday night. The military would not immediately confirm the report.

The father of Army Sgt. Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Mass., said the remains of his son and another soldier, Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, of Waterford, Mich., had been identified in Iraq.

Jimenez, 25, and Fouty, 19, were kidnapped along with a third member of the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division during an ambush in May 2007 in the volatile area south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of death." The body of the third seized soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. of Torrance, Calif., was found in the Euphrates River a year later.

Once again we face the sad reality of war -- that there will always be young men 9and some young women), fighting on our behalf, who return home is a somber one as part of the roll of our nation's honored dead rather than the joyous exultation of a safe restoration to their friends and families. This is one of those cases.

And I would like to return to my earlier point. Under the Geneva Conventions, these men should have been held in safe, comfortable conditions with access to food, medical treatment, and means of communication with their families. If they died of their wounds in battle, their remains should have been swiftly repatriated. Instead, based upon what we know of their companion's treatment, they have been brutally murdered and their remains improperly disposed of by the war criminals who held them.

I wonder -- will the "dissent is the highest form of patriotism" and "panties on the head is torture" crowd that demands civilian trials for terrorists and the closure of Gitmo be out in the streets denouncing the murder of these young men by those whose relatively gentle treatment by the United States they denounce as a war crime? or will we instead hear them blame George W. Bush, not the terrorists we are fighting in Iraq and elsewhere, for their deaths? I suspect we know the answer -- and it exposes the true difference between them and members of the US military who, like Sgt. Alex Jimenez and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, who daily show us what true patriotism and heroism really are.

May God give comfort to the families of these brave men -- and may He make use of their fellow soldiers to inflict His righteous judgment upon those who took their lives.

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Posted by: Greg at 12:02 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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No, not the one in uniform -- that's his partner, Staff Sgt. Charles Shuck. I'm talking Sgt. 1st Class Gabe, the one with the leash and the panting tongue.

In his early years, he was known to wander the streets and howl at the moon. Then, the Army got ahold of him.

His rough and tumble ways behind him, Sgt. 1st Class Gabe, a bomb-sniffing Labrador retriever, is now a top military dog serving on the front lines in Iraq.

To those who rescued Gabe from a Harris County pound three years ago, it's only fitting that he went on to save the lives of others.

Gabe has been a part of over 170 combat patrols, helping to make Iraq a safer place for American, Iraqi, and coalition forces, as well as the Iraqi people as a whole.

Why take the time for this story? Because it allows me to recognize the many Americans serving abroad in defense of our country -- and allows me to remind my readers that there are good dogs waiting for good homes at shelters and with rescue groups around the country. Not all of them are sorts that can sniff out bombs or missing persons -- but they can make your individual life more wonderful by their presence.

Click the link and find a pet near you.

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I've been remiss in not reporting on recent events honoring recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. But this little story today caught my eye, and I wish to reach back over sixty years to share the heroism of a Marine who at age 17 years and 6 days engaged in actions deemed so heroic as to merit the nations highest military award.

JACKSON, Miss. — Jack Lucas, who at 14 lied his way into military service during World War II and became the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor, died Thursday in a Hattiesburg, Miss., hospital. He was 80.

Ponda Lee at Moore Funeral Service said the funeral home was notified that Lucas had died during the pre-dawn hours at Forrest General Hospital. He had been battling cancer. Lee said funeral arrangements were incomplete.

Lucas was just six days past his 17th birthday in February 1945 when his heroism at Iwo Jima earned him the nation's highest military honor.

Let me share with you the citation.

LUCAS, JACKLYN HAROLD

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division.

Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 20 February 1945.

Entered service at: Norfolk, Va.

Born: 14 February 1928, Plymouth, N.C.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 20 February 1945. While creeping through a treacherous, twisting ravine which ran in close proximity to a fluid and uncertain frontline on D-plus-1 day, Pfc. Lucas and 3 other men were suddenly ambushed by a hostile patrol which savagely attacked with rifle fire and grenades. Quick to act when the lives of the small group were endangered by 2 grenades which landed directly in front of them, Pfc. Lucas unhesitatingly hurled himself over his comrades upon 1 grenade and pulled the other under him, absorbing the whole blasting forces of the explosions in his own body in order to shield his companions from the concussion and murderous flying fragments. By his inspiring action and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice, he not only protected his comrades from certain injury or possible death but also enabled them to rout the Japanese patrol and continue the advance. His exceptionally courageous initiative and loyalty reflect the highest credit upon Pfc. Lucas and the U.S. Naval Service.

May God welcome this hero home into the company of his comrades.

Posted by: Greg at 05:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I don't know about you, but this impresses me.

For two years British troops staked out a presence in this small district center in southern Afghanistan and fended off attacks from the Taliban. The constant firefights left it a ghost town, its bazaar broken and empty but for one baker, its houses and orchards reduced to rubble and weeds.

But it took the Marines, specifically the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, about 96 hours to clear out the Taliban in a fierce battle in the past month and push them back about 6 miles.

Most importantly, civilians are returning to the areas that have been cleared of the Islamist scum -- hopeful that their lives can return to normal due to the work of these American military heroes.

Hurrah for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit!

Posted by: Greg at 10:25 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1. The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from hishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.

2. It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.

3. Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.

By order of

JOHN A. LOGAN,
Commander-in-Chief

N.P. CHIPMAN,
Adjutant General

Official:
WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.

Major General John A. Logan

Posted by: Greg at 05:59 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Get this legislation out of conference committee and sent on to the President for his signature immediately. After all, it is the least we can do to help foreign-born US troops receive the American citizenship they have earned.

Ms. Mikulski also introduced the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act, which was sponsored in the House by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.). The bill allows the DHS to use fingerprints taken by the Defense Department of every new service member in the citizenship process; previously, service members were not allowed to use their military fingerprints for that purpose. Ms. Mikulski's bill, among other things, also requires that the necessary background check for citizenship be completed within 180 days after an application is filed by a service member. An application must be filed within two years after a non-U.S. citizen enters military service.

The House passed the Citizenship Assistance Act last fall, and it sailed through the Senate in March; the bill is now tied up in conference. Lawmakers should quickly sign off on the bill and send it along to President Bush, who should sign it. It would be a fitting tribute to Kendell Frederick and a well-deserved reward to the thousands of others like him who don the uniform of their adopted country.

These soldiers are men and women who have served America proudly -- we should show our pride in them by making the process to citizenship as smooth as possible for them.

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Michelle Malkin and others note this act of treasonous sabotage on two military aircraft.

Two military helicopters were vandalized on the production line at a Boeing factory near Philadelphia, the Defense Department said Thursday as it offered a reward.

Federal officials handed out fliers to workers at the Boeing Rotorcraft Systems plant listing a $5,000 reward for information leading to whomever damaged the two H-47 Chinook helicopters.

"We have determined that this was a deliberate act and not an accident," said Ken Maupin, an agent with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, at a news conference outside the plant.

He said 10 agents were investigating, but he would not comment on specifics or what led to the determination that it was vandalism.

The Chinook is the Army's workhorse aircraft and is used to move troops and supplies. Boeing is producing new Chinooks for the Army, as well as updating older models. The military has not grounded any helicopters now in use.

A production line at the plant has not been fully functional since Tuesday, when two workers found what the company called irregularities in the helicopters.

There are no surveillance cameras on the production line, said Jack Satterfield, a company spokesman.

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak has said he was told that broken or severed wires were found in one helicopter and that a suspicious washer was found in a second. Maupin described the washer as being in a place it shouldn't.

"You have a large number of workers here at this point and one or more that was the problem," Maupin said. "The majority of the people here are hardworking, loyal Americans, and many of them are veterans. They want to find (those responsible) as much as we do."

U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said he was comfortable with the conclusion the damage was done deliberately.

These are things that could kill our men and women in uniform -- and which impair their readiness for combat by delaying the arrival no needed weapons into combat zones. I'm sure that this is one of the folks who thinks they are "supporting the troops" by interfering with their getting what they need to kill the enemy -- and I hope that the bastard(s) involved find themselves spending a great deal of time in prison when they are caught.

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And the Marines beat theirs to a bloody pulp!

The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members.

All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said.

The Army signed 101 percent of its goal, recruiting 5,681 against a goal of 5,650. The Navy and Air Force met their goals — 2,905 sailors and 2,435 airmen.

The Marine Corps enlisted 2,233 recruits against a goal of 1,577.

"The Marine Corps, if they continue to achieve the kind of success they have had, could meet their growth figures more than a year early," Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters. That would mean by around the end of 2009.

This should chap the behinds of your average anti-war leftist. Patriotic Americans in service to their country acting. Maybe they can try blockading a few more recruiting stations -- or try to blow some more up.

Posted by: Greg at 10:24 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Admiral James Bond Stockdale made a lifetime of serving his country honorably -- first int he military and then in academia. Following his passing, the decision was made to honor him by naming one of our nation's warships after him -- and yesterday the USS Stockdale was christened by his widow.

The Navy's newest guided missile destroyer was christened Saturday with the name of a fighter pilot who spent 7 1/2 years in captivity in North Vietnam, received the Medal of Honor and served as presidential candidate Ross Perot's running mate.

Four Medal of Honor recipients and seven former prisoners of war attended the ceremony at Bath Iron Works that marked a milestone in construction of the 9,200-ton ship named for Vice Adm. James Stockdale.

Stockdale's widow, Sybil, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and uses a wheelchair, let loose a champagne bottle propelled by rope that swung across the Stockdale's bow. On the second try, the bottle exploded, the band broke into "Anchors Aweigh" and red, white and blue streamers filled the air.

Stockdale, who died nearly three years ago at age 81, flew 201 carrier-based missions before being shot down in 1965, becoming the highest-ranking naval officer captured during the war.

His endurance under torture and years of solitary confinement during his captivity in Hanoi became the stuff of legend. After his release in 1973, he received 26 combat decorations, including the Medal of Honor.

Sybil Stockdale, who founded an organization to draw the public's attention to the plight of American POWs in Southeast Asia, was accompanied at the ceremony by the couple's four sons.

He was, by all accounts, an exemplary human being. And while he is so often remembered for one of the great lines of political debate history, it is his service to this nation for which he ought to be remembered.

And on a side note, I cannot help but note that USS Stockdale is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, one of America's greatest naval officers of the twentieth century. It was my great privilege to meet the admiral when I was a boy, when he walked over to talk to a young Navy wife and her two sons while they were all waiting to be seen at Bethesda Naval Hospital in the during the Vietnam War. As I look back, remain struck by the man's kindness and gentleness -- and the strength of personality in a man already into his 70s. He told my brother and I to be proud of our father who was, like him, a destroyer officer, because our father was doing some of the most important work there was -- defending our country. I am therefore touched to see two men who I have always held in high esteem connected through this ship.

UPDATE: I missed this story of another Arleigh Burke class destroyer being named for another American hero -- the USS Michael Murphy.

Posted by: Greg at 02:55 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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No remains of our honored military dead were mishandled, but there is an issue of respect and appearances that needs to be considered. As such, the decision in this particular situation is correct.

The U.S. military has, since 2001, cremated some of the remains of American service members killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere at a Delaware facility that also cremates pets, a practice that ended yesterday when the Pentagon banned the arrangement.

The facility, located in an industrial park near Dover Air Force Base, has cremated about 200 service members, manager David A. Bose estimated last night. It uses separate crematories a few feet apart to cremate humans and animals, he added, insisting that there had "not been any people gone through the pet crematory."

Pentagon officials said they do not think that human remains and animal remains were ever commingled at the facility. "We have absolutely no evidence whatsoever at this point that any human remains were at all ever mistreated," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said at a news conference hastily convened last night.

Regardless, the Pentagon will no longer permit crematories not located with funeral homes to handle the remains of U.S. troops, defense officials said.

According to the report, the facility at the heart of the dispute has crematories for both pets and humans, and the former are not of a proper size to cremate human beings. But the two types of crematories are physically located in the same room, and the facility itself has signage identifying itself as Friends Forever Pet Cremation Service. I'd therefore have to agree that the decision in this case is an appropriate one.

But there is a problem with the promulgated regulation that requires that all military cremations take place in funeral homes. After all, not every funeral home has a cremation facility, and so this could have the impact of limiting the funeral options available to the families of military personnel -- especially in situations where a crematorium might be located separately and operated independently from the funeral home, such as at a cemetery. In addition, the change could cause delays in cremations.

Posted by: Greg at 02:53 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I can only imagine the surprise of these military parents.

An Oregon couple received a frightening phone call from their son in Afghanistan when he inadvertently called home during battle.

Stephen Phillips and other soldiers in his Army MP company were battling insurgents when his phone was pressed against his Humvee. It redialed and called his parents in the small Oregon town of Otis.

And what did they get?

They heard shooting, swearing and shouted pleas for more ammunition on the phone call from their son.

"They were pinned down and apparently his barrel was overheating," said Jeff Petee. "It's something a parent really doesn't want to hear. It's a heck of a message to get from your son in Afghanistan."

The three-minute call ended abruptly.

"You could hear him saying stuff like, he needs more ammo, or he needs another barrel," said John Petee, Phillips' brother. "At the end, you could hear a guy saying 'Incoming! RPG!' And then it cut off."

Fortunately, Phillips and his fellow soldiers appear to have come out of the engagement without serious harm – and he will be home in about a month, following the end of his tour in Afghanistan.

Personally, I used this story to remind my students of an important point – that redial function can put you in an embarrassing predicament if you aren’t careful.

Posted by: Greg at 09:07 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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