Osprey V-22: No mishaps yet, in Iraq

Courtesy of Multi-National Force Iraq 

Paint the Sky Crew members refuel an A V-22 Osprey before a night mission in central Iraq, Feb. 2, 2008. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Joe Kane.

 The Pentagon hasn’t been saying much about what’s up with the Osprey in Iraq. That could be because it doesn’t want to jinx what seems to be, after the first three months of deployment, a success story for the long-controversial tilt-rotor aircraft. (By contrast, try getting it to stop crowing about the performance of a different breed of new aerial technology, unmanned aerial vehicles such as the Reaper.) Since arriving at Al Asad Airbase last fall, the 10 MV-22 Ospreys of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 have accumulated more than 1,600 hours of flight time, carrying hundreds of passengers–from ground troops to VIPs–and thousands of pounds of cargo “without a mishap or even a close call,” according to a story last week in The Dallas Morning News.

That’s no small feat for an aircraft that critics cited time and time again for its checkered history of fatal crashes; among other things, they said, the aircraft could well fall prey to the dust it would stir up in the desert environment. Time magazine in October tarred the Osprey–which flies like both a helicopter and a fixed-wing airplane–in a cover story titled “A Flying Shame.” The Marines Corps did seem to be handling the 16-ton Osprey gingerly at first in Iraq, using it in less risky support missions, according to the Morning News story. (For the Dallas paper, this is something of a local story: Bell Helicopter Textron assembles the aircraft in Forth Worth and Amarillo.) But in December, the aircraft began to take part in combat missions. From day to day, anywhere from 50 percent to 100 percent of the Ospreys are ready to fly, the paper reported.

That could be a sign of genuine and worrisome mechanical problems, or maybe just overly protective policies that keep airworthy Ospreys grounded. If all continues to go well, scores more Ospreys will be hitting the production line for eventual use by the Marines, the Navy, and the Air Force.

‘Peaceful Protest’ at Berkeley’s Recruiting Station

If you would like to see what happens when our public officials act in a manner that is antithetical to upholding the laws of their town, state, and federal government, then this clip is for you. After you watch this, would you please consider joining Melanie Tuesday in Berkeley? The information you will need is here. Thank you, and have a good day.

This will be an Open Trackback Thursday. Post your great articles here. Just please remember to have a link in your article back to me. Thank you.

Posts I’ve trackbacked to at Linkfest and other sites:

Pirate’s Cove, Right Truth, Dumb Ox Daily News, Outside The Beltway.

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Posts that have trackbacked to this post:

1. Potbelly Stove: Romney suspends campaign.
2. Pirate’s Cove: The Do Nothing Democrat Congress Continues The Trend.
3. Potbelly Stove: Rowan Williams: Off into the weeds again.
4. Wolf Pangloss: The Anti-Slavery Party.
5. Adam’s Blog: It’s Not OverIt’s Not Over.
6. Phastidio.net: Liberal Multiculturalism: When Integration Means Segregation (A Dhimmi in Canterbury).

Berkeley, Pacific Ocean

The State of California proclaims, from here and foreto, Berkeley is no longer welcome, nor is it desired. Be it known forthwith that the following are no longer available to Berkeley: state and federal funds, MILITARY PROTECTION, civil rights, Constitutional protections, etc. The people of California have spoken at the voting box, and we have decided to cut Berkeley off of the land of this great nation and our great state. They shall be an island unto themselves. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Their new address shall be Berkeley, Pacific Ocean. They are not entitled to our zip code system, either.

This is in response to this:

From Matt Sanchez: On September 27th, 2007 Oakland International Airport officials denied 200 Marines from the 1st battalion 3rd Marines returning from Haditha access to food and the bathroom facilities within the airport.

Over three months later, a report on the incident was released:

The Oakland International Airport did not break any laws or regulations when it denied 200 Marines and soldiers access to the passenger terminal during a layover last year from Iraq to the troops’ home base in Hawaii, the Transportation Department says.

A Marine reported the incident to Rep. John L. Mica, Florida Republican and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and said it “felt like being spit on.”

Ya see, two can play that game. Federal monies shall dry up once enough of us raise our voices in the same amount of outrage that we did when we first heard of this dispicible incident. And there have been many others in the same vane. Please visit Move America Forward and Gathering of Eagles for further information on how to get involved against these atrocities. It does not matter whether or not you understand why there is a Jihad against us, it only matters that we band together now…while there is still time…

Posts I’ve trackbacked to at Samantha Burns’ OTA:

The Crazy Rantings of Samantha Burns: OTA Weekend, Stix Blog, Pirate’s Cove: Coulter Says Would Not Vote For McCain. No Super Bowl Mention, The World According To Carl: Godly Wisdom — February 1, 2008, Woman Honor Thyself: Geert Wilders: Gives New Meaning to the Word: Hero, Church and State: AU Protests Value Voter Guide, Potbelly Stove: S.2248, Conservative Cat: Just a Reminder, Planck’s Constant: Smiling Bob, The Enzyte Scam, and Liberal Promises, Right Truth: Sneak peak at Super Bowl terror threat, Su. The Amboy Times, Su. Stageleft, Su. walls of the city, Wknd. Blue Star Chronicles, Wknd. Leaning Straight Up, Wknd. The Uncooperative Blogger, Wknd. Stuck On Stupid, Wknd. The Bullwinkle Blog, Wknd. 123beta (F, Wknd): Super Bowl Open Trackback Weekend, S. Point Five, S. 7 Deadly Sins, S. Steeljaw Scribe, S. Selective Amnesia, S. Case Notes from the Artsy Asylum, S. LyfLines, Su. InMuscatine, Su. Onemanbandwidth, Su. The Blazer Blog, Su. Miceland, Su. Where are my socks?, Su. Peakah’s Provocations, Su. Otimaster, Su. Grandinite, Su. Free Constitution, Su. Conservative Culture (Su, T), Su. – a metamorphoself, Su. The Dissentators (Su, M).

Posts I’ve trackbacked to at Linkfest and other sites:

Nuke Gingrich: Friday Nite Video Open Thread Linfest and WFFOT, Faultline USA: Conservatives Plan a Short Trip for McCain, Big Dog’s Weblog: All Suicide Bombers Are Mentally Retarded, Wolf Pangloss: Swift Hogs Friday Open Post and Trackbacks, Dumb Ox Daily News: Bob Novak: McCain Will Be the Nominee, Will Beat Hillary — Dumb Ox Exclusive, The Yankee Sailor: Weekend Open Post , Pirate’s Cove: TB Friday Featuring The Surrender Monkey: Obama, Clinton Still Live In Fantasy Land, Cao’s Blog: Friday OTB, Conservative Cat, The World According To Carl: Open Trackback Friday – February 1, 2008, Thanks to: Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Trackbacks to this post:

1. Stix Blog: Just to let you know.

Wednesday’s Hero: Specialist Marion Pettus III

Here is this week’s Wednesday’s Hero:

Name: Specialist Marion Pettus III.
Hometown: Cedar Hill, TN
Awarded: Bronze Star
External Links:
DoD story.
Download this hero’s story:
Right click and “Save Target As…” to download.

Please read the acts of this young Army Medic and the others who were awarded medals last September 2007. He is an amazing man. He was helping another unit with a casulty while another IED went off. After that, he continued to help his Sergeant and another medic. All this time, he never even knew he had received a whole in his helmet. Yes, his head was in it at the time. Please read the rest of the story. 😉

I thank God that we are so blessed with men such as these. We all should be grateful. It is because of them that we may walk around and argue politics or whatever we choose. Hey, don’t forget to shake the hand of a Serviceman/woman today, and let them know how grateful you are. It only takes a moment, but it means more than you will ever know to them. Thank you.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Posts I’ve trackbacked to at Linkfest and other sites:

Pet’s Garden Blog: Wednesday Heros: Sgt. Justin R. Whiting, The Virtuous Republic: Undocumented Immigrants, Real Crimes Afternoon Edition, The Random Yak: Seeing Stars, third world county: “I mock you with my monkey pants”, Leaning Straight Up: Bush Derangement in Brattleboro cause blowback as city officials face harassment and scorn, Wolf Pangloss: The Oil Parable Open Trackbacks, The Newt One: The Well Is Dry, and Right Voices: Hardy Har Har: Planned Parenthood Complains That $25/Mo Is Too High For The Pill..Obama Agrees, Thanks to: Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Trackbacks to this post:

1. Woman Honor Thyself: Skyscraper near Ground ZerO.
2. Diary of the Mad Pigeon: Leadership: “The Lost Bomb” Revisited.
3. Right Truth: Truly, America is my favorite slave.
4. Stageleft:. Life on the [lower] left side: I Agree With Huckabee.
5. third world county: T-13; 2.03: Thirteen Health Benefits of… Coffee.
6. Conservative Cat: The New McCain Isn’t Even Electable.
7. Stix Blog: Just to let you know.

Portents of A Nuclear Al-Qaeda

Courtesy of Washington Post and by permission from the author, David Ignatius, Link to the article: Here

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen is paid to think about the unthinkable. As the Energy Department‘s director of intelligence, he’s responsible for gathering information about the threat that a terrorist group will attack America with a nuclear weapon.

With his shock of white hair and piercing eyes, Mowatt-Larssen looks like a man who has seen a ghost. And when you listen to a version of the briefing he has been giving recently to President Bush and other top officials, you begin to understand why. He is convinced that al-Qaeda is trying to acquire a nuclear bomb that will leave the ultimate terrorist signature — a mushroom cloud.

We’ve all had enough fear-mongering to last a lifetime. Indeed, we have become so frightened of terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001, that we have begun doing the terrorists’ job for them by undermining the legal framework of our democracy. And truly, I wish I could dismiss Mowatt-Larssen’s analysis as the work of an overwrought former CIA officer with too many years in the trenches.

But it’s worth listening to his warnings — not because they induce more numbing paralysis but because they might stir sensible people to take actions that could detect and stop an attack. That’s why his boss, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, is encouraging him to speak out. Mowatt-Larssen doesn’t want to anguish later that he didn’t sound the alarm in time.

Mowatt-Larssen has been gathering this evidence since a few weeks after Sept. 11, when then-CIA Director George Tenet asked him to create a new branch on weapons of mass destruction in the agency’s counterterrorism center. He helped Tenet prepare the chapter on al-Qaeda’s nuclear efforts that appears in Tenet’s memoir, ” At the Center of the Storm.” Now that the uproar over Tenet’s mistaken “slam dunk” assessment of the Iraqi threat has died down, it’s worth rereading this account. It provides a chilling, public record of al-Qaeda’s nuclear ambitions.

Mowatt-Larssen argues that for nearly a decade before Sept. 11, al-Qaeda was seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction. As early as 1993, Osama bin Laden offered $1.5 million to buy uranium for a nuclear device, according to testimony presented in federal court in February 2001. When the al-Qaeda leader was asked in 1998 if he had nuclear or chemical weapons, he responded: “Acquiring weapons for the defense of Muslims is a religious duty. If I have indeed acquired these weapons, then I thank God for enabling me to do so.”

Even as al-Qaeda was preparing to fly its airplane bombs into buildings, the group was also trying to acquire nuclear and biological capabilities. In August 2001, bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, met around a campfire with Pakistani scientists from a group called Umma Tameer-E-Nau to discuss how al-Qaeda could build a nuclear device. Al-Qaeda also had an aggressive anthrax program that was discovered in December 2001 after bin Laden was driven from his haven in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda proclaimed a religious rationale to justify the WMD attacks it was planning. In June 2002, a Kuwaiti-born cleric named Suleiman Abu Ghaith posted a statement on the Internet saying that “al-Qaeda has the right to kill 4 million Americans” in retaliation for U.S. attacks against Muslims. And in May 2003, at the same time Saudi operatives of al-Qaeda were trying to buy three Russian nuclear bombs, a cleric named Nasir al-Fahd issued a fatwa titled “A Treatise on the Legal Status of Using Weapons of Mass Destruction Against Infidels.” Interrogations of al-Qaeda operatives confirmed that the planning was serious. Al-Qaeda didn’t yet have the materials for a WMD attack, but it wanted them.

Most chilling of all was Zawahiri’s decision in March 2003 to cancel a cyanide attack in the New York subway system. He told the plotters to stand down because “we have something better in mind.” What did that mean? More than four years later, we still don’t know.

After 2004, the WMD trail went cold, according to Mowatt-Larssen. Many intelligence analysts have concluded that al-Qaeda doesn’t have nuclear capability today. Mowatt-Larssen argues that a more honest answer is: We don’t know.

So what to do about this spectral danger? The first requirement, says Mowatt-Larssen, is to try to visualize it. What would it take for al-Qaeda to build a bomb? How would it assemble the pieces? How would the United States and its allies deploy their intelligence assets so that they could detect a plot before it was carried out? How would we reinvent intelligence itself to avert this ultimate catastrophe?

A terrorist nuclear attack, as Tenet wrote in his book, would change history. If we can see how this story might end, perhaps we can deflect the arrow before it hits its target.

The writer is co-host of PostGlobal, an online discussion of international issues. His e-mail address is davidignatius@washpost.com.

washingtonpost.com readers have posted over 187 comments about this item. View All Comments »

Technorati tags: george tenet, cia, iran, nuclear weapons, al qaeda, David Ignatius, Mowatt-Larssen, Bush, Energy Department, DOE, Osama bin Laden, wmd, new york subway, Nasir al-Fahd, fatwa, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Pakistani scientist, us intelligence, Iran, Iraq, global war on terror, bin laden, Umma Tameer-E-Nau

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Is Another Congressman Guilty of TREASON???

DISCLAIMER: The different points of views on the Rick Roberts are not supported nor do they reflect the views and beliefs of The Bosun Locker or any entity affiliated with The Bosun.

ANOTHER CONGRESSMAN GUILTY OF TREASON… 
Courtesy of  Rick Roberts, KFMB San Diego
October 19th, 2007

Congressman Pete Stark is a liberal, democrat congressman from the Amsterdam of the United States: San Fran-sicko.

HE NEEDS TO RESIGN. WHY? JUST READ SOME OF WHAT HE SAID IN CONGRESS YESTERDAY:

“The Republicans are worried that we can’t pay for insuring an additional 10 million children. They sure don’t care about finding 200 billion dollars to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where are you going to get that money? Are you going to tell us lies like you’re telling us today? Is that how you’re going to fund the war?

You don’t have money to fund the war or children. But you’re going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.

But the President Bush’s statements about children’s health shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than his lies about the war in Iraq. The truth is that Bush just likes to blow things up in Iraq, in the United States, and in Congress”.

Disgusting, is it not?

I am SICK AND TIRED of these corrupt politicians forgetting the vital, big-as-life fact that our brave military is an all-volunteer army.

Our men in uniform are a throwback to the brave souls that fought for our freedoms during WWII; they are a intelligent, strong, courageous, and selfless force.

A single soldier has more guts in their little finger than Stark, Durbin, Reid (and countless others) COMBINED.

But the democrats don’t see it that way. They see our nation’s military as a bunch of children strong-armed by evil conservatives to fight a nonexistent enemy.

I’M SICK OF IT!! Each and every one of these democrats- like Stark, like Reid, like Turban Durbin- need to STEP DOWN. They’re not worthy of leadership. We’re at war with a VERY REAL enemy. These officials need to be pulled away from their cushy executive chairs and thrown out in the middle of Fallujah without protection so that they can see what’s REALLY going on.

So you don’t believe there’s an enemy, Rep. Stark? You believe that our brave servicemen are having their “heads blown off” by a herd of President Bush clones in bed sheets? Because looking at the context of what you’re currently saying and what you’ve said in the past- that seems to be what you think!

But I digress…

Do you want to vent? Call Rep. Stark’s office. Give them a piece of your mind:

510-494-1388

Or fax:

510-494-5852

Email via web form HERE.

Or call his D.C. office at…

202-225-5065

You can also fax his D.C. office:

202-226-3805

Tell Stark that he does NOT represent the State of California. Tell Stark that he’s a DISGRACE to the United States of America and everything that it was founded on. Individuals like him do not deserve to be in the House. They deserve to be on a stake!!

Comments at Rick Roberts site »

Technorati tags: rick roberts, congress, treason, durbin, representative stark, san francisco, iraq war, illegal war, us military, america

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Operation Redwing, Asadabad, Afghanistan

Courtesy of Department of Defense.

Operation Redwing
June 28, 2005

On June 28, 2005, deep behind enemy lines east of Asadabad in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan, a very committed four-man Navy SEAL team was conducting a reconnaissance mission at the unforgiving altitude of approximately 10,000 feet. The SEALs, Lt. Michael Murphy, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz, Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell had a vital task.  The four SEALs were scouting Ahmad Shah – a terrorist in his mid-30s who grew up in the adjacent mountains just to the south.
Under the assumed name Muhammad Ismail, Shah led a guerrilla group known to locals as the “Mountain Tigers” that had aligned with the Taliban and other militant groups close to the Pakistani border. The SEAL mission was compromised when t

he team was spotted by local nationals, who presumably reported its presence and location to the Taliban.
A fierce firefight erupted between the four SEALs and a much larger enemy force of more than 50 anti-coalition militia.  The enemy had the SEALs outnumbered.  They also had terrain advantage.  They launched a well-organized, three-sided attack on the SEALs.  The firefight continued relentlessly as the overwhelming militia forced the team deeper into a ravine. 

Trying to reach safety, the four men, now each wounded, began bounding down the mountain’s steep sides, making leaps of 20 to 30 feet. Approximately 45 minutes into the fight, pinned down by overwhelming forces, Dietz, the communications petty officer, sought open air to place a distress call back to the base. But before he could, he was shot in the hand, the blast shattering his thumb.

Despite the intensity of the firefight and suffering grave gunshot wounds himself, Murphy is credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. Murphy, intent on making contact with headquarters, but realizing this would be impossible in the extreme terrain where they were fighting, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own life moved into the open, where he could gain a better position to transmit a call to get help for his men.
Moving away from the protective mountain rocks, he knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire.  This deliberate and heroic act deprived him of cover and made him a target for the enemy.  While continuing to be fired upon, Murphy made contact with the SOF Quick Reaction Force at Bagram Air Base and requested assistance. He calmly provided his unit’s location and the size of the enemy force while requesting immediate support for his team. At one point he was shot in the back causing him to drop the transmitter. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call and continued firing at the enemy who was closing in.  Severely wounded, Lt. Murphy returned to his cover position with his men and continued the battle.

An MH-47 Chinook helicopter, with eight additional SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers aboard, was sent is as part of an extraction mission to pull out the four embattled SEALs.  The MH-47 was escorted by heavily-armored, Army attack helicopters. Entering a hot combat zone, attack helicopters are used initially to neutralize the enemy and make it safer for the lightly-armored, personnel-transport helicopter to insert.

The heavy weight of the attack helicopters slowed the formation’s advance prompting the MH-47 to outrun their armored escort.  They knew the tremendous risk going into an active enemy area in daylight, without their attack support, and without the cover of night.  Risk would, of course, be minimized if they put the helicopter down in a safe zone. But knowing that their warrior brothers were shot, surrounded and severely wounded, the rescue team opted to directly enter the oncoming battle in hopes of landing on brutally hazardous terrain.

As the Chinook raced to the battle, a rocket-propelled grenade struck the helicopter, killing all 16 men aboard. 
On the ground and nearly out of ammunition, the four SEALs, Murphy, Luttrell, Dietz and Axelson, continued the fight.  By the end of the two-hour gunfight that careened through the hills and over cliffs, Murphy, Axelson and Dietz had been killed. An estimated 35 Taliban were also dead.

The fourth SEAL, Luttrell, was blasted over a ridge by a rocket propelled grenade and was knocked unconscious. Regaining consciousness some time later, Luttrell managed to escape – badly injured – and slowly crawl away down the side of a cliff. Dehydrated, with a bullet wound to one leg, shrapnel embedded in both legs, three vertebrae cracked; the situation for Luttrell was grim. Rescue helicopters were sent in, but he was too weak and injured to make contact. Traveling seven miles on foot he evaded the enemy for nearly a day. Gratefully, local nationals came to his aid, carrying him to a nearby village where they kept him for three days. The Taliban came to the village several times demanding that Luttrell be turned over to them. The villagers refused.  One of the villagers made his way to a Marine outpost with a note from Luttrell, and U.S. forces launched a massive operation that rescued him from enemy territory on July 2.

By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit and inspirational devotion to his men in the face of certain death, Lt. Murphy was able to relay the position of his unit, an act that ultimately led to the rescue of Luttrell and the recovery of the remains of the three who were killed in the battle.

This was the worst single-day U.S. Forces death toll since Operation Enduring Freedom began nearly six years ago.  It was the single largest loss of life for Naval Special Warfare since World War II. 

The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community will forever remember June 28, 2005 and the heroic efforts and sacrifices of our special operators.  We hold with reverence the ultimate sacrifice that they made while engaged in that fierce fire fight on the front lines of the global war on terrorism (GWOT).

-NSW-

OPERATION REDWING KIAs- On June 28, 2005, three of four SEALS on the ground (Murphy, Dietz, Axelson) were  killed during combat operations in support of Operation Red Wing.  ON the same say, a QRF of eight Navy SEALs and 8 Army Night Stalkers were also killed when the MH-47 helicopter that they were aboard was shot down by enemy fire in the vicinity of Asadabad, Afghanistan in Kumar Province. 

Navy SEALs
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

1. Lt. (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y. 
2. Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, Calif.
3. Machinist Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Eric S. Patton, 22, of Boulder City, Nev.
4. Senior Chief Information Systems Technician (SEAL) Daniel R. Healy, 36, of Exeter, N.H. 
5. Quartermaster 2nd Class (SEAL) James Suh, 28, of Deerfield Beach, Fla. 

SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2, Virginia Beach, Va.

1. Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny P. Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colo. 

SEAL Team 10, Virginia Beach, Va.

1. Chief Fire Controlman (SEAL) Jacques J. Fontan, 36, of New Orleans, La. 
2. Lt. Cmdr. (SEAL) Erik S. Kristensen, 33, of San Diego, Calif. 
3. Electronics Technician 1st Class (SEAL) Jeffery A. Lucas, 33, of Corbett, Ore. 
4. Lt. (SEAL) Michael M. McGreevy Jr., 30, of Portville, N.Y. 
5. Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (SEAL) Jeffrey S. Taylor, 30, of Midway, W.Va. 

Army Night Stalkers
3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Air Field, Ga.

1. Staff Sgt. Shamus O. Goare, 29, of Danville, Ohio. 
2. Chief Warrant Officer Corey J. Goodnature, 35, of Clarks Grove, Minn. 
3. Sgt. Kip A. Jacoby, 21, of Pompano Beach, Fla. 
4. Sgt. 1st Class Marcus V. Muralles, 33, of Shelbyville, Ind. 
5. Maj. Stephen C. Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Conn. 
6. Sgt. 1st Class Michael L. Russell, 31, of Stafford, Va. 
7. Chief Warrant Officer Chris J. Scherkenbach, 40, of Jacksonville, Fla. 

HQ Company, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.

1. Master Sgt. James W. Ponder III, 36, of Franklin, Tenn. 

            U.S. Navy SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. Special Operations Command and the Navy’s special operations force.  The SEALs take their name from the elements in which they operate – sea, air and land. Experts in special reconnaissance and direct action missions – SEALs continue to successfully execute DoD’s most important warfighting missions in the GWOT.

For more information on Naval Special Warfare visit: www.seal.navy.mil

Technorati tags: navy seal, operation redwing, department of defense, naval special warfare, special operations, asadabad, hindu kush, afghanistan, reconnaissance mission, muhammad ismail, mountain tigers, pakistan, army night stalkers, bagram air base, sof quick reaction force, extraction mission

Obama wants Gay Military

Courtesy of Big Dog posted at his website’s Commentary, Military on October 6th, 2007

Obama Wants Openly Gay Military

For a very long time the United States armed forces had a rule that made it illegal for gay people to serve in the military. Homosexuality was deemed incompatible with military life. When Clinton became President he tried to change that to appease the homo crowd who he had pandered to but the best he could do was get don’t ask, don’t tell passed. Now, B. Hussein Obama wants to end DADT and make it OK for openly gay people to serve. To Obama, since England and Israel do it that way, it is fine. I love the way that liberals say we should do something because some other country does it but let’s give Hussein this one and say that additionally, Israel requires service in the military from everyone when they graduate high school. It is compulsory service so if we should follow Israel’s lead, we need to start making EVERYONE serve in the armed forces.

There area number of reasons that homosexuals should not be serving in the military, though to be honest, in a firefight I would not give a hoot in hell. However, there are more negatives than positives in this issue and the military has to look out for national defense first and foremost. Allowing homosexuals in would be another problem and cause other issues that would take away from the mission of the military. It is not the job of the armed forces to have equality and fairness. Fat people are not allowed, those with poor sight, those with other conditions are not allowed. The military has decided that homosexuality is incompatible with military life and that is how it should stand.

Hussein Obama should also be careful what he asks for because of the unintended consequences. Let us suppose that Obama wins the presidency and has a majority Congress and gets this passed. The recruitment of soldiers would go way, way down. Then Obama would be forced to implement a draft in order to provide national defense, something he claims to have a grasp on. You see, the majority of our enlistees come from the mid west and the south. These areas are full of the Christian right, people who believe homosexuality is an abomination. The liberal elitists in New England and the west coast regions have much fewer people enlisting than does the south and mid west. If Hussein Obama allows gays to openly serve a bunch of people who are in will leave at the end of their hitch and those who thought about joining would skip it. This would mean Obama would have to institute the draft.

I realize that he said that he would bring the troops home so people might not feel any need to have a strong, full strength military. They might feel that way until the next natural disaster comes and there are no guard soldiers to assist or the next attack comes and we do not have the troops to deploy. No, B. Hussein will have to force people to serve, unless of course, his plan is to weaken the military to make it easier for Muslims to take control.

Why is it that Democrats who have never served in the military feel free to use the military for their social experiments?

Military phrases we will have to be careful with if Hussein gets his way:
Is your chute packed?
Go get your sh*t packed.
I’m locked, cocked, and ready to rock.
Who is the rear Admiral?
I only want to see asses and elbows.
Where did you get your training son? Fort Dix, sir.

Sphere: Related Content
Tags experiments, homosexuals, Military, Obama, socialism

Technorati tags: homosexual, gay, gay agenda, obama, military, socialism

Army leaders urge congressional support

Courtesy of Multi-National Forces Iraq

Army leaders urge congressional support to meet current, future demands 
 

Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III (right), commander, XVIII Airborne Corps, Col. Jeffrey L. Bannister (center), commander, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and Iraqi Brig. Gen. Abdulah plan operations near Baghdad Sept. 11. The Army is strained by six years of war and needs support, Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told Congress Sept. 26. Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Nicholas A. Hernandez.

BAGHDAD

— The Army, stressed and stretched by six years of conflict, needs continued and uninterrupted support and resourcing to maintain its current operational levels while preparing for the future, its top civilian and military leaders told Congress Sept. 26.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. outlined four imperatives for the House Armed Services Committee that he called critical to the Army’s ability to restore balance and maintain the all-volunteer force:

• Improving the way the Army sustains Soldiers, Families and Civilians;

• Preparing troops for success in the current conflict;

• Resetting troops and equipment for future deployments; and

• Transforming the force for the 21st century.

Gen. Casey urged committee members to support these efforts into the next fiscal year, and to ensure there’s no funding gap after Oct. 1 that could slow efforts under way.

“The Army is the best in the world at what it does, because of our values, our ethos, our people and your support,” he said.

Keeping that standard, he said, will require more hard sacrifices by Soldiers and their Families and clear recognition by national leaders of the threat the country faces and the need to maintain an Army able to face it.

Calling Soldiers “our ultimate asymmetric advantage” in the war on terror, he said the Army needs to continue improving the way it recruits, trains and retains them.

While increasing the readiness of the force, the Army also must increase the quality of life it provides its members as well as their Families, he said.

Army Secretary Pete Geren noted that the Army’s focus has moved from pay issues that dominated the 1970s and housing issues that dominated the 1990s. Today, in an era of persistent conflict that’s expected to continue into the foreseeable future, the big emphasis must be on taking care of Families, he said.

“Twelve months (deployed overseas) was asking a lot of those Families, and 15 months is asking more,” he said.

Gen. Casey said the Army needs to ensure that the quality of life it provides Soldiers and their Families “is commensurate with the quality of service” they are providing.

Meanwhile, the Army must continue preparing troops to succeed in the current conflict, he said. The Army has made “great strides,” continually adapting as the operational environment changes, he said.

It’s also committed to providing the best equipment possible to give Soldiers the technological advantage on the battlefield, he said, as well as tough, demanding training at their home stations that ensures they have the skills and confidence to win.

“Military success is tied to the capabilities of our leaders and Soldiers,” Gen. Casey said, promising that the Army won’t fail them.

To keep that promise, the Army must focus on resetting the force, he said. Resetting means more than simply fixing or replacing equipment that’s being used at five times its programmed rate, he told the committee. It also means giving Soldiers and their Families time to regroup between deployments.

Secretary Geren noted that the current Army force is carrying the lion’s share of the third-longest conflict in U.S. history. Not since the Revolutionary War has the country asked this much of an all-volunteer force for this long, he told the committee.

And as the country faces what is expected to continue to be an era of persistent conflict, it must take care of its troops and their Families to ensure the all-volunteer force remains strong, he said.

Today’s Army is the best-led, best-equipped and best-trained force that’s ever been to the field, Secretary Geren said. He expressed hope that with congressional support and funding, the Army will be able to continue making that claim five, 10, even 20 years into the future.

So as the Army focuses on the current conflict, it must keep looking ahead as well to ensure it’s ready to face future threats, Gen. Casey said. This involves fielding the best new equipment to fighting forces, incorporating new techniques and fielding the Army’s future combat systems to brigade combat teams to ensure the Army has a decisive advantage on the battlefield.

The Army’s transformation is “a holistic effort” that affects the way it fights, trains and modernizes, he said. “It’s a journey for us, not a destination,” Gen. Casey told the lawmakers.

(Story by Donna Miles, special to American Forces Press Service)

In other Developments around Iraq:

BAGHDAD – Coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained 21 suspected terrorists Saturday and Sunday during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq networks in the Tigris River Valley.

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with U.S. Special Operations Forces as advisers, detained 16 suspected terrorists during three separate intelligence-driven operations Sept. 29 throughout Iraq.

 

Technorati tags: army, baghdad, iraq, war Blogging, war in iraq, military Transition Teams, multi-national forces, coalition forces, tigris river, iraqi special operations forces, us special operations forces, terrorists, insurgency

On The Spot: Should Congress Make Taxpayers Subsidize Columbia University?

 Courtesy of CNSNews.com

Rep. Duncan Hunter (Republican – California) on Monday threatened to cut off federal funding to Columbia University in New York City, which on Monday hosted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a speech and question-and-answer session with students.  (Iran, according to the State Department, is a state-sponsor of terrorism.)

“If the left-wing leaders of academia will not support our troops,” Hunter said in a statement, “they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries.”

Just why should the taxpayers subside Columbia University’s social agenda?   Since 1969, Columbia has banned military recruiters since 1969 and will not sanction a ROTC program.

Prior to the Vietnam War, Columbia cadets had peacefully coexisted with their classmates since the inception of ROTC in 1916. Columbia’s dedication to service was profound—at one point in its history the university was producing more officers per year than even the U.S. Naval Academy. In spite of Columbia’s military tradition, the administration expelled ROTC programs from campus in 1969 to appease student protesters and disgruntled faculty. When the war in Vietnam ended in 1975, students resumed their studies and the protests faded away. Columbia’s ban on ROTC, however, has remained to this day.  Source: Advocates for Columbia ROTC.

For the rest of the CNSNews story: On The Spot: Should Congress Make Taxpayers Subsidize Columbia University?

Duncan has already written a letter to Columbia University President Bollinger and releases a press release;

Press Release/Statement

For Immediate Release
September 22, 2007
CONTACT:  Joe Kasper
(202) 225-5672

HUNTER DENOUNCES COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY INVITATION TO IRANIAN PRESIDENT

Washington, D.C. – In a letter to Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) today criticized the University for inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak to students and faculty this coming Monday, September 24th.

 “This leader of state, which supports terrorists, is presently sending deadly roadside bombs across the Iraqi border to injure and kill American troops,” said Hunter.  “Columbia University’s hosting of Ahmadinejad is a slap in the face of the 165,000 U.S. troops serving in Iraq.  As he speaks, his agents will be moving roadside bombs onto the battlefield to be used against America’s military men and women. 

 This event, following the slanderous advertisement by MoveOn.org, depicting General Petraeus as “General Betray Us,” represents the emergence of the extreme left-wing of American politics. 

 Hunter concluded, “If this event takes place as scheduled, I intend to introduce legislation to cut-off Columbia University from every form of federal assistance.  If the left-wingers of academia will not support our troops, they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries.”

Please call, fax, and/or email your congressmen and congresswomen and express your outrage at taxpayer dollars subsiding a social agenda and undermining our military.

Use this link to: Contact Elected Representatives

Technorati tags: ahmadinejad, columbia university President Lee Bollinger, columbia university, congressional representatives, congressman duncan hunter, socialists, social agenda, liberalism