Dawn Patrol

Iraq

To Honor our Dead [Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum - in Iraq]
MAJ K, Thunder6 and I are all well. We had a costly week. We lost a brother, and the sorrow that has consumed us has left me in darkened spirits. There was no period of denial, only the realization that a soldier, a man, a husband, father and a brother is no more. Today was his memorial, and the emptiness and grief I feel hs again consumed me. There is no lonelier sound I can comprehend then the sound of dog tags clanking in the wind. This past week has shattered any pretense of ?reduced? activity in our Area of Southern Baghdad. Monday morning I awoke to the sound of war. The sound of thunder ripped me from my slumber, not one, not two but three enormous explosions shattered the still morning air. Before I knew it I was running at full speed to the Operations Center, and as expected it was alive with activity.

Reconstruction Games [Hurl's Blog - in Iraq]
At the recent meeting between President Bush and the Iraqi President Ibrahim al-Jafaari a reporter asked Bush when the reconstruction would start. Bush deferred the question to Jafaari, basically saying that the Iraqis are in charge of their own country as well as reconstruction. We?re here to help.
I have a few observations. First, reconstruction has clearly been going on since April ?03.

Day 159B - Clear Window into a Muddy Iraq [Wayne's World - in Iraq]
Today's online news contained this tribute to Wayne from Kathy Spurlock, Executive Editor of The News-Star in Monroe, LA, our home before we moved to Hot Springs, AR.

Conversation With A Fallujah Marine [The Wide Awakes]
Even if you don?t know all the unit names that are deployed to Iraq; even if you don?t know much about the war itself, chances are you know about Fallujah. It?s where Sgt Rafael Peralta saved his fellow Marines after being mortally wounded by reaching for a grenade and tucking it under his torn and battered body. In a perfect example of ?small world?, I was ?introduced? recently via Sgt Nate DeWeerd, a friend of mine, to Corporal Aaron Kuck, a Marine who serves with Charlie Company, 1st Bn 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division. In Iraq, his unit was the Ground Combat Element for the 31st MEU; Charlie was the first company of 1st Bn Marines in Fallujah. Aaron spent 75 days in Fallujah occupying the city. I had a chance to talk to him tonight for a while.

BOSTON, MA WANTS TO DO A RADIO SHOW ON 150TH ENGINEER BATTALION [Dixie Sappers]
I was forwarded some information that was posted on the 150TH Forum by a lady in Boston, MA who wants to do a radio show on our battalion. I think this is a great honor.

Marines regulate air traffic in Al Asad [New MilBlog Ring member - Live in Iraq]
The Marines from the air traffic control facility here are like police officers who enforce rules and regulations for all ground traffic on the airfield and all air traffic in a five nautical mile radius from the center of the airfield up to 3,000 feet. In the busiest military airfield in Iraq, they control what could be total confusion.

The New Guy [Confessions of a Caffinated Zoomie]
1/3 of the way done if the worst case scenario happens. That is the good news. It seems longer. I am looking on the bad side so I will be happy if we leave sooner. It is hard when we see the first Guard rotation leaving. They are happy of course. Talking about it all the time in front of us. I cant blame them. I know when my time comes the enthusiasm will leak out of me but I am going to try and hold it in as much as possible. No sense pissing in someone elses Cheerio's. Then again even I dont have anything to complain about. The Grunts and Dawg's are here for a year. THAT blows. So I press on with life. And now the new rotation comes in.

He's Baaaackkk! [Soldier's Mom]
Whooohooo! He landed at Newark Airport at 1:30 this afternoon! (He left Iraq Thurs. morning -- Wednesday evening our time). I have to wait a week to see him, but he called as soon as he was boots on the ground! I don't know how to explain it, but the conversation was so light and different than the ones from Iraq (sigh).
I asked him about the best part of being home ... He said, "It doesn't smell here... and I don't have to worry whether someone wants to shoot me." He was really humbled by the number of people in Atlanta and Newark that patted him on the back, shook his hand and thanked him --

Catching Up, Part 1[Appalachian Patria]
I now sit here in my 28X60' Castle listening to Local Noise, a Radio Show out of Athen's Georgia featuring the area's bands. Today has been a murky and at times rainy day. It's the first time I remember it raining on the 26th of June. Usually it is a hot, hazy and sticky day. I know...Happy Birthday to me...and to you.
What is to follow is a sries of Journal Entries I made while at Ft. Lewis Wa. It was written on Note Book Paper and is being transposed onto this blog. Internet Access was very limited for me. I eventualy made it to a Coffee shop where I could post quickly, if no one was in line.

Could We Lose? [Neptunus Lex]
Several months ago I wrote a rather long, somewhat overwrought response to a question about the War on Terror that had been asked of me by a liberal friend: Can we win?
In essence, I concluded that we could win, and that we would, as soon as the enemy realized that we would not be defeated.
But there was a corollary to that conclusion as well...

If there are 150,000 trained ISF, why do we need so many Americans here? [Phil and Becky]
I watched an excerpt of an interview with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on This Week with George Snuffelupagus, and there was an exchange that I think merits some discussion.

Flies on the paper [Winds of Change - Bill Roggio]
The Flypaper theory has come under much derision since it was proposed, but it is difficult to deny the US presence in Iraq has attracted important and hard to detect members of al Qaeda. Many al Qaeda members have been killed or captured in Iraq while to engage the US Army and Marines on conditions disadvantageous to the jihadis. Iraq has forced al Qaeda to commit its limited resources to the battle, and experienced leaders and operators have thrown themselves against US and Iraqi forces with reckless abandon

Afghanistan

Memory, Russian vehicles or irony and quote [Going Down Range]
What do you have around your neck? When I joined the army years ago, it used to be a set of dogs tags on a chain. Now I have my dog tags with three memory sticks to told offical and personal information such images from my from my wife. The other two memory sticks carry power point presentations, standard operating procedures and other army information. The one of the more interesting facts is the two of the memory sticks each has two gigs of memory. When I was a young, 64k of memory was a lot and I stored applications on cassette tape. Now I have short movies stored five gigs of memory. In a few years this shall be dwarfed.

Iran

Mullah Press Corps Calls Ahmadinejad 'Victory' "Stunning" [The Word Unheard]
In the Iranian Puppet Show called "You Vote (or not), We Win", Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (you know, of IRGC fame) was credited with having more votes that Rafsanjani. No matter, really. The 'choice' presented was akin to being asked whether one would prefer to have one's arm cut or have it sliced.

Document shows Iran's business ties to Bin Laden [Regime Change Iran]
Ken Timmerman gave us permission to publish here an important document from his book. There are over 40 pages of such documents featured in the back of his book.

Korea

No More Flights Through Osan [GI Korea Blog]
The flights to and from Korea for USFK soldiers stationed on peninsula will end and be replaced by commercial flights from Incheon. This is great news because flying out of Incheon is a lot nicer than flying out of Osan. Apparently the flights that run twice a week out of Osan are much more expensive than regular commercial flights from Incheon.
But in a cost-cutting move, the Defense Department will by 2008 phase out Patriot Express service to all but five locations:...

Support our Troops

A Soldier's Commentary on Troop Support [Marine Corps Moms]
For the past two years, I've received hundreds of e-mails from ordinary citizens, some parents of troops, some with no family members in service, but most of whom are solidly in support of those sons and daughters who protect and serve. Thank God for our troops, but I'm also profoundly thankful for those who support our troops. And I still get choked up when someone notices my Marine Corps Mom t-shirt or my lapel pin proclaiming my pride in my son and asks me to pass along their thanks. Yesterday, I called Southwest Airlines to secure military pricing on my son's flight home for the 4th of July holiday. The Southwest representative on the other end of the phone line helped me with the flight details, then said, "When he gets off the plane, please tell him that my son and I in Oklahoma City are so thankful for his service. Please tell him that." And I'll be happy to pass that message along.

Six Days Left Until the "Rear Echelon Blogathon" [Molten Thought]
WordGirl and I are busily preparing for the 1st ever MoltenThought "Rear Echelon Blogathon" beginning at 12 am Saturday, July 2nd, and continuing until 12 midnight Sunday, July 3rd.

Why are we doing something so silly? Hath MacBeth murdered sleep?

The Military

History...New and Old [Courage without Fear]
Some of you who have been following my blog for sometime may have noticed that I?ve finally decided on a look and a banner for the site. The name of my site, ?Courage Without Fear? is our regimental motto. The symbol on the left side of the banner is the 126th Armor regimental crest. The background for the banner is the new camouflage pattern that the Army has adopted for the new Army Combat Uniform. My banner represents the old and the new of the 1st Battalion 126th Armor Regiment.

US Military Insignia The QandO Blog
Over the past few weeks, I've been working on a large project to compile as complete a presentation as I can of the military insignia of the United States' Armed Forces, including rank, branch, and occupational insignia, as well as qualification badges. As of this morning, that project is now more or less complete. So, we now have here a fairly comprehensive guide to all of the common insignia worn by the members of the various US Armed forces.

Politics

The Victory Vigil Returns! [Smash]
WHILE OUR SOLDIERS fighting overseas are asking their commanders whether the people back home still support their mission, some of our neighbors choose to mark the 229th anniversary of our nation?s independence by calling for a ?Flag Burning Day.?

Now more than ever, it?s important for Americans to express our patriotism, and support for our military. It?s time for another Victory Vigil!

Mornin'! [Castle Argghhh!]
It would seem Kelo has driven the Flag Burning Amendment from the right side of the blogoverse I inhabit. I admit, I don't generally vist the Leftish Spiral Arm, so I have no idea what they are blathering about. It's...

Just So You'll Know Where I Stand [The Bow Ramp]
Flag Burning Amendment I'll support this ammendment the day I can listen to a Senator or Congressman make a speach and have a reasonable expectation that he or she is telling the un-spun truth. In ...

Who Cares [Arklahoma]
Most people are too pissed off right now about the whole eminent domain thing to really be giving a damn about the no-burning-the-flag ordeal. Luckily, I did find some commentary that pretty much summed up my thoughts:...

My Response to your Confusion [Eric's Grumbles Before The Grave]
I ran into a group of attorneys who are perplexed. They also use the argument that if we didn't oppose something else, we are wrong to oppose this. This is in the same vein as the oft heard argument that if we are going to invade country X because we don't like their government then we should also invade countries A, B, and C or we are morally bankrupt. This piece of logic is a load of hogwash. I won't bother to argue it, many others have demonstrated that such logic is false before me. Quoting from their blog entry:..

Kelo II: [Grims Hall]
The more I think about this, the madder I get. Doc has a post on the topic, and at the bottom in an update he notes that a town in Texas has already moved to take several buildings away from existing companies, in order to build a marina. "The Great SCOTUS Land Grab," they call it.

Standby For Judicial Decisions--And It Won't Be Good [Scott's Conservative News & Commentary]
The current session of the Supreme Court ends Monday, and high-profile decisions are expected to be announced.
The disastrous decision this week by the Court to drastically expand eminent domain access (see out previous post

Despotic Branch of Government [Balance Sheet]
A 'new and improved' interpretation of the 5th Amendment (1791) was this week performed by a 5 to 4 majority of the United States Supreme Court wherein 'public use' has now become 'private and increased-tax-revenues-use.' In its decision, the justices said that government can seize private property from one owner and transfer it to a second owner because the new owner would pay more in property taxes.

Vietnam Redux [Cadillac Tight]
...When Tim Russert says "the American public is against the War on Terror and the halls of Congress are echoing that sentiment", what you should immediately get from that statement is that certain Democratic politicians, and a few Republican "mavericks" - you know the ones, the usual suspects, are making speeches that they hope will enhance their own, and their party's standing

Liberals Lack Basic Research Skills? [Backcountry Conservative]
David Anderson:
In reality, I find Cheney, Rumsfeld and the boys interesting people. To a man, each of them found a way to avoid military service. Cheney in fact found it "not a priority," when he had his chance to go to Vietnam, and we all know Bush's history. And yet, these men are the biggest chickenhawks of all. Incredible...
Biography of Donald Rumsfeld
Mr. Rumsfeld attended Princeton University on academic and NROTC ...

Taxes, Productivity, MSM, Midterm Elections, SCOTUS, etc. [Four Right Wing Wackos]
It was one of the major domestic policy issues of the 2004 elections, wasn't it? Social Security reform was an election issue, too, but making the 2001 & 2003 tax cuts permanent was a major campaign issue while Social Security was not. (Social Security was more of an issue in 2000 that got sidetracked due to more important things like psycho mass murdering islamofascist goatmolesters flying jets into skyscrapers and two resultant wars.) Kerry you may recall had said that he believed the tax cuts were irresponsible and would have them repealed if elected president. Well, Bush won the election, and despite the nearly constant negativism we've been bombarded with from the media and politicians on the left, the economy is doing quite nicely thank you very much, so is this issue going to come up or are the 2003 tax cuts going to be allowed to expire?

Of Martha Stewart and Gitmo [Roger Simon]
Forget Dick "What Me Gulag?" Durbin or Karl "The Enforcer" Rove; the most revealing political statement made recently was by the rather more obscure Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif, who just told the Associated Press about her Congressional visit to Gitmo this weekend: "The Guantanamo we saw today is not the Guantanamo we heard about a few years ago." (Apparently, Gitmo didn't turn out to be that dastardly off-shoot of the Spanish Inquisition after all. No torture chambers. No Torquemada. Not even one wet Koran.)

The Media

Sedition and Unpatriotic Activities [Toe in the Water]
I am sickened, saddened, hurt, and really, really pissed off. Last night at about midnight, I pulled up a Yahoo News page. For your edification, I have provided below a paragraph or so of the text from all of the Featured Articles and Opinion & Editorials sections that were displayed. I did not even look at the (more stories) links. Each of these articles can easily be categorized as a negative portrayal of the efforts of the United States and her Allies in the Global War on Terror. Nearly every instance of a positive report is quickly followed by a series of but... statements, all negative.

"D骠 Vu" Reporting on Iraq from LA Times [ROFASix]
?Bush's Credibility Takes a Direct Hit From Friendly Fire,? writes the LA Times today. The paper is generally predictable. It rarely writes anything about the Iraq War without inserting ?Abu Ghraib,? ?since Bush declared major combat operations over,? or ?the failed hunt for WMD,? in its stories. Surprisingly, this one only contained the ?declaring victory? slur in its usual litany of ?stock? phrases. This story did go back and add in the tired analogy of Vietnam and by default the ?quagmire? theme.
Feature Articles:...

The MSM Reports

Survey On News Media Finds Wide Displeasure (New York Times)...Katharine Q. Seelye
...In addition, respondents were critical of news coverage of the military. The survey showed that 47 percent agreed that news organizations were "weakening the nation's defenses" by criticizing the military. That number, the highest since 1985, was also driven by Republicans, 67 percent of whom agreed with the statement.

U.S. Troops Shoot Gun-Wielding Man In Afghanistan (Reuters)
...On Sunday, Mullah Dadullah, one of two top Taliban commanders the government said had been surrounded in last week's fighting, telephoned Reuters to say that only seven or eight guerrillas had been killed, including one commander, Mullah Mohammad Easa. U.S. and Afghan forces have reported killing nearly 400 insurgents since March as they move to prevent guerrilla efforts to derail Sept. 18 parliamentary elections.

The Good News And Bad News (Newsweek)...Fareed Zakaria
...Secretary Rumsfeld has long argued that American troops should never engage in nation building, leaving that to locals. But while we waited for Iraqis to do it, chaos broke out and terror reigned. So the Army on the ground has ignored Rumsfeld's ideology and has simply made things work.

The Army's Hard Sell (New York Times)...Bob Herbert
...The all-volunteer Army is fine in peacetime, and in military routs like the first gulf war. But when the troops are locked in a prolonged war that yields high casualties, and they look over their shoulders to see if reinforcements are coming from the general population, they find -as they're finding now - that no one is there.

Regaining Respect (Washington Post)...Jeffrey H. Smith
Law matters, especially in time of war. This is true not only for moral reasons but also because adhering to the rule of law makes us stronger. We are now paying the consequences, "big-time" as the vice president might say, for a number of decisions made right after Sept. 11, 2001, that gave short shrift to both domestic and international law.