Dawn Patrol

IRAQ

Bad apples -- [Major K - in Iraq]
There are many things that I have to post about, but this is the elephant in the room that I must get out of the way. We have apparently found evil in our midst. I cannot comment on the ongoing investigation save to say that I am disgusted by the actions of a few that have tarnished the good work of so many others. I am not involved in this situation, and for that I am thankful. Morale has taken quite a hit, but the NightStalkers will bounce back, and be stronger and better for it. The Battalion is currently under a microscope, and many people have been relieved or moved. I, although not involved, got moved as well. I think that someone found out there was an infantry officer in charge of the intelligence section when there should be an intelligence officer doing that job - ...

Moving On [MOAB - Journalist in Irag]
The fear felt during that attack wasn?t just my own. One young Marine in the back of the 7-ton with me looked particularly ashen after the mortars stopped. He stood up as the truck cleared the scene and threw the only punch he could at his faceless enemy. "I hate this f-----g country!" he yelled at the top of his lungs into the rushing air, arms stretched outwards with clenched fists.

Why are Citizen-Soldiers in Iraq? -- Six More Months - in Irag]
Reading this OP-ED Piece in the NYTimes by Stanford history professor David Kennedy, claiming that today?s Army does not reflect the mainstream of America, brings to mind a conversation I had while I was home on leave.

Calm before the storm -- [ Phil and Becky - Phil's in Iraq]
The month of July has been one of the quietest in terms of enemy activity since we've been here. That is not necessarily a good thing, however, because long lulls in enemy activity often precede spectacular attacks. We count on this happening and one of the challenging (practically impossible) jobs of our S2 folks is to try and predict when and where (and how) those attacks will happen.

This month, it happened the day before yesterday,...

Death is Too Good For Them [Graham's Journal - in Iraq] (pics)
We've passed by the Sadeer Hotel several times while on missions. This day was different however, because the day before a minibus packed with explosives pulled up to the checkpoint and detonated, destroying several homes and businesses and killing twelve people. The target was the Sadeer Hotel, which is sometimes used by American contractors. But the stupid bastards couldn't even get through the gate. So instead, they killed a bunch innocent bystanders outside the hotel's fortifications who were just trying to get on with their lives. (pics)

new pictures and video [Boots in Baghdad - in Iraq] (video and lots and lots of awesome pics)
New pictures have been posted at Boots In Baghdad Photographs.
I have posted two video clips at Boots In Baghdad Films and am working on getting more up. Check back in a day or two and more should be up.

WE GOT SANDBLASTED BY CHINOOK HELICOPTERS LAST NIGHT -- Dixie Sappers - Kevin Kelly - in Iraq]
Last night as I was watching a DVD, I heard a helicopter coming in. It sounded like it was coming from the opposite direction than normal flights and it sounded big. It was big. It was a Chinook. I thought that it was going to land on the building at first. I told you ...

Sharing Gifts [A Soldier's Blog - in Iraq]
I want to thank every family member, friend, acquaintance, and blog reader for sending items to me to hand out. The adults and children thoroughly enjoyed receiving each and every item. I am not sure who enjoyed it more, me or them, who knows? Also, each guy in my platoon who went out on the missions got a chance to help the US give to the average person here. The farmer who got some toys for his three children, the mother who received four goodie bags with school supplies for her kids, the old man who waited patiently for a winter coat, and all the children who received beanie babies, pencil, candy, school supplies,>>> THANK YOU SOO much for your generosity.

IRAQ: The Unsavory and Popular Alternatives to Democracy -- [Strategy Page]
July 29, 2005: It's out in the open now. American commanders are making plans to reduce troop levels next year. That all depends on Iraqi security forces being able to get sufficiently trained and organized to deal with the political and criminal gangs. Over two years of recruiting and training new soldiers and policemen, coalition military advisors believe that the Iraqis can do the job. But the problems the Iraqis face are more than dealing with criminals, it's dealing with a criminal (to Western eyes) mentality that pervades much of society.

MOVE TO TIGERLAND -- [2005 Tour of Duty - in Iraq]
As my old CSM use to say "the only thing constant is change". I packed up my gear and moved to Tigerland. It was a good move. Now I am closer to work only 7 minutes away instead of 15, which means I get an extra 7 miuntes of sleep time and an extra minute to dress. (Pics)

Riverine forces in action!! -- [CDR Salamander]
Having bad flashbacks to my Midshipman days, I just received and email from a Marine Gunnery Sergeant (AKA Gunny or GySgt) in Iraq who took me to task for my poor research in my FEB post, and he is right on target. I should have mentioned the great work being done by the Army and Marines more in my second post, but was too blinded at my anger at my own service for letting others do our job. I can't stand it when some have to unnecessarily pick up the slack of others....
Anyway, here is a quick summary of what GySgt and his Marines are doing to bring the fight to the enemy

Saddam's Friends and Family Sell Him Out -- [Iraqi Expat - an Iraqi in London]
I bet he thought they were loyal to him because he was the "great hero"! I am sure there are lowlife stupid shameless people who love Saddam and are loyal to him because they think he is the "great hero"; however, I am also sure that members of the rotten Baath regime only loved him and were loyal to him because of their shameless selfishness, greed for power and money, and fear of the devil.

Are we going to let them win? -- [ Iraq the Model - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Did Syria and Iran win in their indirect war on Iraq?
This question has been occupying my thoughts in the last few days and to reach an answer, we should first know the goals of the US in the region and whether these goals have been failed or they're merely witnessing slow progress?
And are we going to see some determination on reaching these goals or are we going to see strategic changes from offense to defense in the plans?
I think the changes in the Middle East do not originally represent an American desire but they're more like a need that imposed itself on the US and the world as instability in this region negatively affects many parts of the world.

Million signatures claimed for Iraq troop pullout petition -- [Drudge Report]
Radicals within Iraq's Shiite majority community said Friday that they had collected one million signatures demanding the withdrawal of US-led troops.
"We obtained the Iraqi signatures demanding the withdrawal of the occupation troops as asked for by Sayyed Moqtada Sadr," said Sheikh Abdel Zahra al-Suwaidi, an aide of the Shiite radical leader.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Military Mission In Iraq Extended -- (Miami Herald)...Unattributed
El Salvador's Congress has approved the extension of the country's military mission to Iraq, agreeing to send a fourth group of soldiers to the troubled nation.

When Will It Be OK To Use The 'Q' Word Regarding Iraq War? -- (Arizona Daily Star (Tucson))...Andrew M. Greeley
The Big Muddy is deeper and darker. Two Pentagon reports this week show just how muddy. In a survey of the morale of soldiers in Iraq the Pentagon found that more than half said morale in their units was either "low" or "very low."

Bush's Jane Fonda-Esque Mistake -- (Los Angeles Times)...Rosa Brooks
...To U.S. military leaders, one lesson of Fonda's escapades was that preventing war crimes is not only a matter of law and morality, but also crucial to preserving military morale and public support for the troops. In the three decades since the Vietnam War, our armed forces have worked hard to integrate material on the Geneva Convention into every soldier's training, and to develop internal procedures to prevent and punish violations. Members of the Judge Advocate General's Corps work with service members at every level to ensure the mistakes of Vietnam are not repeated.

Colonel Offers a Helping Hand -- (LA Times ...David Zucchino)
On Oct. 7 in central Iraq, mortar shrapnel tore into Maxwell's skull, causing severe brain damage and lacerating the left side of his body. Seventeen days later, a rocket exploded near Ferguson in western Iraq, shredding his lower left leg.
The two Marines had never met before the 40-year-old colonel sought out the 22-year-old corporal in the physical therapy ward of the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune this month. Their encounter was part of an extraordinary endeavor by a Marine officer with a faulty memory and a speech impediment, in which the walking wounded helped care for injured comrades.
Even as Maxwell recovers physically and psychologically, he patrols military hospitals and barracks to comfort and counsel a handful of the U.S. service members injured in Iraq, which number about 14,000.

AFGHANISTAN

5 Moons and Counting (pic) -- [Firepower Forward - in Afghanistan]
Since our move to Metropolis I haven't been as cognizant of this as in Salerno, but we have now been in Afghanistan long enough to witness the waning and waxing of 5 full moons. Here in BAF all the nocturnal celestial bodies are fairly well neutralized by the plethora of lights. Having not had to use a flashlight for 2 full months now, It takes a conscious effort to remember how much of this country lives and dies, sometimes literally, around the phases of the moon

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Forced to Recruit Kids to Keep Going -- [Stategy Page]
July 25, 2005: The Taliban have lost over 500 fighters so far this year, and these defeats have not only reduced the number of active fighters, but made it more difficult to recruit replacements. As a result, surviving Taliban are recruiting kids as young as 14. These kids are often from the family of dead Taliban.

Gratuitous Afghanistan Photo of the Day (44) -- [Miserable Donuts - back from Afhanistan]
The leaders of the village of Rogmati. We met them at an important town facility...no, not a mosque, but the pharmacy. When we came into town, 3 of them whipped out cell phones and called the others to come meet us. No matter where you go, you cannot avoid cellphones... (pic)

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

Six militants killed in Afghanistan; earlier report contradicted -- (Middle East Times)
US-Afghan forces on July 29 killed six insurgents and captured 10 more after coming under fire in southeast Afghanistan, the US military said.

U.S. Helicopter Crashes In Afghanistan, 2 Hurt -- (Reuters)
A U.S. Apache helicopter crashed during a routine training mission in Afghanistan, injuring the two crewmen aboard, a military statement said.

Dust Blamed In Chopper Crash -- (Honolulu Advertiser)...William Cole
An investigation into the CH-47D helicopter crash on April 6 in Afghanistan that killed two Schofield Barracks soldiers and 16 others found that the aircraft ran into a severe dust storm with winds topping 45 knots and the pilots became "spatially disoriented."

They Expected An Easy Ride, Then The Enemy Struck Back -- (London Times)...Catherine Philp
Soldiers hardened on the battlefields of Iraq were looking forward to a spot of peacekeeping in Afghanistan. They got much more than they expected.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Corsi: Horrifying evidence of mullahs' rule of terror -- [Regime Change Iran]
Dr. Corsi, WorldNetDaily:
Kurds in Iran's western city of Mahabad are rioting against the Iranian government after the torture and brutal death of activist, Shovaneh Ghaderi, at the hands of the police. Shovaneh was a member of the Revolutionary Union of Kurdistan. His crime evidently was to call for autonomy in Kurdistan.

MSM REPORTS OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

U.S. Evicted From Air Base In Uzbekistan -- (Washington Post)...Robin Wright and Ann Scott Tyson
Uzbekistan formally evicted the United States yesterday from a military base that has served as a hub for combat and humanitarian missions to Afghanistan since shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Pentagon and State Department officials said yesterday.

TERRORISM

The Fools Around Us Will Be Nigh The Death Of Us! -- [GM's Corner]
Stupidity comes in all forms, shapes and sizes. There are lefty fools, commie fools (low may their numbers be), righty fools (although to my way of thinking far fewer of them than of the lefty variety). There are libertarian fools, socialist fools (a whole lot of that variety) and then there are the PC fools. Oh, I know, some of you folk will say "Hey, wait, PC is a product of the right." And you'd be wrong to say that. As a therapist, I've heard time and time again from my peers: "Don't be judgmental." What a load, wrapped in PC and expressed as an escape from making a decision.

London Attacks Should Remind Us of ?Blackhawk Down? -- [Counter Terroism Blog]
As the investigation into the 7/7 and 7/21 terror attacks in London continues to make headway, we are now learning that at least some of the suspects have links to and are from Somalia. This really should not be surprising, as we have known Somalia has been a hotbed of Islamic radical violence for many years, and has been an African base of operations for al-Qaeda in the past.

re: "If Kerry was president . . ." -- [Consul-at-arms]
"You and all the other decent people in the military are too good (both as human beings and as soliders) for this current administration. They treat soliders like toddlers with a toy: mangeled and banged around until they break then discarded. "

Think about this - UPDATED (again) - Michael Graham & Islam -- [My Right Wing Conspiracy]
If the Boy Scouts of America had 1,000 scout troops, and 10 of them practiced suicide bombings, then the BSA would be considered a terrorist organization. If the BSA refused to kick out those 10 troops, that would make the case even stronger. If people defending terror repeatedly turned to the Boy Scout handbook and found language that justified and defended murder ? and the scoutmasters in charge simply said ?Could be? ? the Boy Scouts would have driven out of America long ago

How Can Muslims Say That They Are Against Terrorism When Their Leaders Are Not? -- [Mr Minority]
There are some Muslim organizations that now coming out and denouncing Islamic Terrorists, but then you have diplomatic leaders from Muslim nations that will NOT admit that suicide bombers are Terrorists or that it is wrong to kill innocent people in the name of religion.

MSM REPORTS ON TERRORISM

Captured - all five 21/7 bomb suspects -- (Times Online - Daniel McGrory, Stewart Tendler and Sean O?Neill)
EVERY suspected member of the July 21 suicide bombing team was under arrest last night after an extraordinary day of police operations stretching from a West London housing estate to the backstreets of Rome.

'I was Osama's bodyguard' -- (Independent Online, South Africa)
London - Haroon Rashid Aswat, the Briton held in Zambia linked to the London terror attacks, has told his captors he was once Osama bin Laden's bodyguard ...

Rocket Alert -- (Washington Times)...Michelle Malkin
...But not everyone is fighting the War on Terror blind. Some U.S. military personnel have been given a very clear and un-politically correct mission: Be on the lookout for Middle Easterners carrying rocket launchers

Seven French 'died for al-Qaeda' -- (BBC)
At least seven people from France have been killed in Iraq and elsewhere fighting for al-Qaeda, the French interior minister has told a newspaper. | "At least seven people from France have died

SUPPORT THE TROOPS

Soldiers Angels in Germany -- [A Soldier's Angel - Holly Aho]
I received this great email today from one of our soldiers angels in Germany. (They have their own blog too which you can find here - Soldiers Angels Germany). Here's the email:
"Hello Angels,
....In the next week I am in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany) by a meeting from the KONTAKT Club (German/American friendship club). Since last month we have now a new KONTAKT Club in Landstuhl and Kaiserslautern. Natalie Behrens, a Soldiers Angels, too, is now the manager from the KONTAKT Club Landstuhl. We both are interested to support each other, to cement the German and American friendship here in Germany. Please excuse my english I am not perfect."

Web of Support, Colonel North and Wired Mag -- [A Line in the Sand]
The Web of Support Tour around the country continues to be one of the most heartwarming experiences of my life. You can read all about it, as well as see some of the pictures from the road trip, at www.webofsupport.com. In the meantime, I have been fortunate enough to have some coverage of the project by Oliver North, as well as an excellent story to raise awareness for milblogs in Wired Magazine. The article from Colonel North can be found here, and includes the wonderful quote in an open letter to Jane Fonda...

See Your Soldier is Live! -- Truth Lies & Common Sense]
Free live voice and video chat connecting those deployed with those at home.
Get the word out to our deployed military and their spouses! This is such a great idea I'm jealous that I didn't think of it first. I wish this group the best of luck and many successes supporting our soldiers and sailors.

MILITARY

A LOOK INTO THE NATIONAL GUARD -- [Current events and news from the right ]
Many of us have some kind of an idea what the National Guard is? You train on the weekends, and are called up in an emergency, right? In this article I would like to honor the brave men and women serving our country in the National Guard, and offer some additional information that the reader may not have seen.. First of all, a little background on the National Guard

San Diegans Fight to Keep Vet Memorial, Cross -- [New MilBlogger! - Beast7's How it ought to be]
One more instance of an atheist wackjob seeking to assert a perceived right to freedom from the proximity to religion took a damaging blow in left-coast California Wednesday. Demonstrating that they have a far better grasp on what right looks like than the liberal activist judges responsible for 15 years of adverse court rulings, 75 percent of San Diego voters decided yesterday to transfer the city-owned site to the Federal government, to be designated as a war memorial. (pics)

Why is it that the only ones who want to bring back the draft are liberals? -- [KadNine]
Could it be because their heyday, their crowning achievement, their day in the sun was during Vietnam? Could it be that they're feeling just wee bit miffed that they're out of power these days?
This commentary in the New York Times is so egregious as to be offensive. And I'm going to fisk it line by line.

In other news, the Air Force acquires submarines? -- [Intel Dump - Jonathan Caverley]
According to a favorite source of Defense Department gossip, Defense Weekly (subscription required), the Navy is considering the development of its own combat battalion:
The U.S. Navy may create an expeditionary combat battalion of sailors, a force that could execute commando-style raids ashore, maritime interdiction operations and other combat missions similar to those of Marines or SEAL commandos.

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

U.S. To Pull Out Of 13 German Bases -- (Los Angeles Times)...Associated Press
The U.S. Army will pull out of 13 bases in southern Germany as part of its repositioning of American forces around the world, its European headquarters said Friday.

POLITICS

The ACLU Needs A Curfew of Its Own -- [Stop the ACLU]
KNIGHTDALE ? While the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina described its visit to Knightdale on Thursday night as a community forum to discuss the town?s new curfew, many residents clearly thought the group was there to start trouble. Source
So the ACLU shows up to the party as an univited guest, and tries to run the show. With complete disregard to the democratic process, as always. It seems the concerned crowd was a large one for such a small town, with enough citizens concerned that it had to be moved from the library to the town hall.

Is Anti-Immigration the New Mercantilism? -- [Outside the Beltway]
I have to wonder if the anti-immigrant people are not some sort of new version of Mercantilism. Mercantilism was a view that a country could achieve economic prosperity via economic regulation, primarily of trade. Right there a red flag should go up. How can every country have a favorable balance of trade at the same time? The idea is that by putting tariffs in place for our markets we protect them from foreign competition and at the same time our industries will be able to sell in foreign markets. A great theory is you assume the politicians/policy makers in other countries are complete dolts.1

THE MEDIA

Lets kick the pants out of an article -- [Making Tomorrow Military Today]
"Military recruiters aggressive with teens"
....None of this is aggressive. These journalists do not know what aggressive is. The kid in the last paragraph was promised a 4,000 bonus for enlisting AND completing his initial training, known as A-School for the navy (AIT for the army, etc). OF COURSE he has not received the money.

News: Truth or Fiction from Fact ... or Both? -- [Sisyphean Musings]
...I consider the next step in journalism an infusion of news story telling with such modest admissions of inescapable fallibility. This is an important step in line with the change in the noetic field. From "journalism as lecture" to "journalism as conversation" and "my readers know more than I do".
<...>
If an outcome of the Carnegie-Knight project is curricula to teach journalists to write news stories in accordance with, and moving forward, the change in noetic field - that would be progress.

DeFede Update-O-Rama -- [Florida Cracker]
Where am I today? Focusing on updates to the Jim DeFede firing.
From the reaction of journalism community, nobody has ever been fired before for poor judgement, ethics violations, or breaking the law. It's quite fascinating to follow this groundbreaking event as it unfolds.

Take a good, close look at this champion of intellectual diversity: -- [Brain Shavings]
She's cleaning out a newspaper rack full of the latest issue of The Sentinel and dumping the papers in the trash. The Sentinel is Ohio State University's student conservative newspaper, and its fine writing obviously continues to anger campus leftists in Columbus ... because it has the perplexing quirk of disappearing from the racks before leftists in training students get a chance to read the latest commentary from the right. Happily, this Thought Policeperson got caught on camera by the paper's staff.

OUT OF THIS WORLD

Ice on Mars --[Smash - Indepundit] (pic)
THE ABOVE PHOTO, taken from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, shows a giant patch of water ice in a crater on the surface of Mars. The crater in which the ice patch sits is approximately 23 miles wide.
This find raises the intriguing possiblitity that some form of primitive life may still exist on the Red Planet...

Astronomers Claim Discovery of 10th Planet -- (New York Post)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - It's icy, rocky and bigger than Pluto. And according to scientists who found it orbiting the sun, it's the newest planet on our solar system's block. The planet - the farthest-known object in the solar system

MSM REPORTS ON MILBLOGGING

Guardsman Punished After Criticizing Iraq War -- (Arizona Republic - Joseph R. Chenelly, Army Times)
...Clark violated Article 92 by "releasing classified information regarding unit soldiers and convoys being attacked or hit by an improvised explosive devices on various dates, discussing troop movements on various dates," according to the statement.
He also was found to have released tactics, techniques, procedures and rules of engagement, MCF-Iraq said.
The two Article 134 specifications had to do with releasing specific sensitive information "that the enemy forces could foreseeably access . . . such that with that information it was likely that the enemy forces could cause death or serious bodily harm to U.S. forces engaged in the same or simi- lar mission," the statement said.
Clark and his site's Webmaster did not return several e-mails and phone calls seeking comment.

CONGRATS

Happy 16th Anniversary Tina -- [Siegrist Blog - in Afghanistan]
Happy Anniversary Tina. Its hard to belive that we have been together for 16 years already. As they say time flys when you are having fun, and these last years have went by at ludicrous speed I would not trade these last 16 for anything in the world. I'm sorry that I could not be with you this year or the many that have come and gone due to deployments.

Papa Sarge -- [My Army Life]
...Flash forward to July 27, 2005. At 332pm, central time, my daughter Katie gave birth to my first grandchild, Eleanor Louise Gordon, in Oklahoma City. Due to my current active duty situation, I wasn't able to be there for her birth. I won't get to see her until August 12 when I get back from Belgium. But I am sure that my memories of that first meeting will be ones that I carry for a long, long time, right up there with the other first time meetings. I won't get to be there every day for her like I did for Aimee and Katie since she will be in Oklahoma City, or Japan, or Germany or Alaska depending on where Travis will be stationed, and I'll be in Florida.

Happy Anniversary! -- [Law and Ordnance]
One year ago today, God cut me a break and gave me the most amazing, beautiful woman in the world to be my wife. Without her, I don't know what I'd do. Happy Anniversary, sweetie! I love you!

Army Chaplain Corps Birthday -- [The Ammo Crate]
From its establishment on July 29, 1775 by the Second Continental Congress, the Army Chaplaincy has had a long and inspiring record of service for God and Country. The Army Chaplaincy is the oldest of the American military Chaplaincies, predating the Declaration of Independence by almost a year.

Friday Fripperies -- [Argghhh!]
happiness on natal anniversary to youuuu,
happiness on natal anniversary to youuuu,
happiness on natal anniversary, big-tribble-with-leeeeggggssss
happiness on natal anniversary to youuuuuuuuu!
...Heh. All Denizennes, Denizens, Visitors and Lurkers are invited to stop in for the party. Just don't stand too close to the cake when we fire up the candles--the halon extinguishers all went off last year and Just this guy's been fiddlin' with the deluge sprinkler sensors...

Viva Laaas Vegas -- [Ramrod Blog - Iraq]
I'm at Doha right now, waiting to get on the plane to go home for my R&R. Good god. It couldn't have come at a better time. Weather's at an All-Time shitty. Things are starting to get on my nerve. My patience is starting to dwindle, which in turn, makes me an asshole. So ya, going home is good.

HUMOR

Frist: Stem Cell Study May Cure Tax-Dollar Addiction -- [ScrappleFace]
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today announced his support for expanding federally-funded stem cell research in hopes of finding a cure for his own addiction to tax dollars.