Dawn Patrol

Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs, other blogs, and the mainstream media. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. (We have a daily "Open Post" too, if you have something on another topic you can link there.)

IRAQ

National Guardsman Serves Despite Injury, Cancer -- [Camp Katrina]
(Las Vegas Review-Journal): Nevada National Guard Sgt. Henry Lujan of Las Vegas never picks the easy way out. He had two ways to avoid active duty after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but took neither.

SIX MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES CAN GET ALONG……IF 5 ARE NUKED. -- [One Marine's View - in Iraq]
...Last Sunday it was a quiet day, weather was nice and then friendly counter artillery began to pound Haji into submission. (this time I wasn’t in the head) Then four enemy mortars impacted just off base with no injuries to anyone. We delivered another barrage of artillery fire to the points of origin of the mortars. Almost simultaneously a small arms attack began off base between a check point and insurgents. It only lasted about 45 seconds but to those fighting it seems like a lifetime. After a lull in the small arms, our counter battery radar identified incoming rounds to our position. The recorded “Incoming” “Incoming”, ”Incoming” voice began to sound off on the loud speaker and those of us outside didn’t hang around to see if it was accurate or not ...

Soldiers Use Tip to Stop Car Bomb -- [Camp Katrina]
(MNF-I): After receiving a tip from an anonymous Iraqi citizen, Iraqi Police and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers seized a vehicle-carried improvised explosive device in southern Baghdad Jan 1.

Old Fashioned Cops Threaten Democracy -- [Strategy Page]
January 4, 2006: Traditions and customs are hard to change. This is a problem in Iraq, where the newly recruited and trained police force often finds itself operating the same way Iraqi security forces have always done. That means lots of terrorism and torture. For generations, it was Sunni Arab police coming in the middle of the night and taking people away. These victims were either never seen again, or their bodies were found, shortly thereafter, to serve as a warning to friends and relatives.

Approaching stage two... -- [Iraq the Model - Iraqis in Iraq]
I’m going to start this with a correction, yesterday we said that the election commission was going to delay the final results for two more weeks but today it has been announced that results will be available on January 10th.

Iraqi Security Forces: Increasingly in the Lead -- [GX Exerience]
1/3/06, Baghdad, Iraq—Iraqi Security Forces now number more than 223,000 trained and equipped soldiers and police. These troops are spread throughout the country and are taking an ever increasing roll in securing their country against terrorist and insurgents in areas across the country.

Streets of Baghdad -- [Baghdad Guy - in Iraq]
Well, if I had to use one word to describe them, pardon my French, it would be 'shithole.' And it's possible that I'm being generous. I must of course caveat this by saying that I'm used to modernized American cities that are among the most advanced and cleanest (ususally) in the world, but it really is a whole different world here. It's everything...the occassional, sometimes, or often lack of power and running water, poor sewer system, mediocre trash collection, dust and dirt, etc. Even without all sorts of insurgents running around blowing shit up, this place would still need a lot of work. Maybe Saddam could have put a little less money into palaces and weaponry and a little more into public works and he woulnd't have been pulled out of a hole in the ground by the U.S.

Home-front Lines -- [Salt Lake Tribune / Blog- Matthew D. LaPlante - journalist embedded in Iraq]
On the day after Christmas, the Tribune's print edition carried a story about how improvements in technology have changed the way deployed troops communicate with their families back home, along with a piece about how service members determine whether or not to share every detail of their sometimes dangerous lives, given that they now have the technological ability to do so.

As usual, there were far more voices and opinions than space in the newspaper. Here are a few...

Deluded dictator -- [IraqPudit]
As a pleasant thought to begin the New Year, Saddam Hussein told his lawyers that he would prefer to be executed by firing squad rather than by hanging. You can see the story on the Washington Times site. Sorry, Blogger won't allow me to insert a link.

The reporter, Paul Martin, quotes the former dictator's lawyers who said...

History lesson softens war’s realities -- [AJC Blog - journalist embedded in Iraq]
Ur, Iraq — It almost felt like time travel.

Within minutes, the small bus and a few Humvees had transported the Georgia National Guard soldiers from the middle of a 21st-century military base to an ancient civilization.

From the modern wonders of sophisticated weaponry, Internet technology, cafeterias and laundromats, soldiers of the 48th Brigade Combat Team found themselves

January 1st 2006 -- [We will make it through - in Iraq]
I find it amazing how the younger generation here loves us. As one can see, they run up to the side of the road as our convoy passes through their village. Sometimes practically the whole village is lining the side of the road. Well, up until a certain age the adore us though. It seems that when they become teenagers they become brainwashed with the ideals of the older generation. Thats when they start throwing rocks and whatnot at our convoys (which has happened to me a couple times). However, it seems ...

Interview on BBC Radio -- [My Iraqi Saga - in Iraq]
So the interview that SGT Trevor Snyder and I did the other day on BBC Radio turned out to be alot of fun! I was really excited afterward because my Mom and Dad called as soon as we got off the air and said they had listened to it in Missouri! Just by a stroke of luck my Aunt Lisa heard it on the radio and called my parents to tell them what station. They were driving my sister to the airport after her Christmas visit so they all got to listen to it! My Aunt Cara listened to it online! I'm still so stoked that so many people heard it.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006 -- [Team Med-fah]
This is the note on the front door of the combat Operations Center to 3rd Bn 7th Marines. While the Marine Corps has occasionally frustrated me, the Marines I serve with have never disappointed me.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006 -- [Bravo Battery - in Iraq]
Heres your sign!!!!!

IRAQI VODOO -- [2005 Tour of Duty - in Iraq]
This is the head of a wolf hanging on a fence in the rural area. it is intended to be a warning to ward off the evil spirts.

Pictures. -- [My Vacation in Iraq - in Iraq]
Here are a few pictures that I would have liked to post while I was living in the tents with out internet at BIAP. Enjoy...

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Suicide Bomber Kills 32 at Iraq Funeral -- (AP)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A suicide bomber killed 32 mourners and injured dozens at a funeral for the nephew of a Shiite politician, one of several attacks Wednesday across Iraq that killed a total of 52 people - making it the deadliest day since the Dec. 15 elections. The increased violence came as Iraq's three major political parties were close to forming a coalition government that would include Shiites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds, according to a Shiite politician.

The Brave Pay Price Of Defiance -- (Washington Times)...Sharon Behn
Hanan, a 22-year-old Iraqi translator, defied terrorist threats to work in the U.S.-controlled Baghdad area know as the green zone. She ignored the threats. Then she disappeared.

Cautiously, Iraqis Open For Business -- (Christian Science Monitor)...Charles Levinson
But many of the 24,000 new businesses remain idle due to shortages, security.

US out of cash for Iraqi projects -- [The Australian]
THE US is nearing the end of its $US18.4billion fund for Iraqi reconstruction, with little prospect of further multi-billion-dollar injections.

In language mirroring the announcement of a planned reduction of troops, US officials in Baghdad have begun talking of "drawdown", "transition" and the "wind-down" of US reconstruction projects.

U.S. Strike On Home Kills 9 In Family, Iraqi Officials Say-- (New York Times)...Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Omar Al-neami
American F-14 warplanes killed nine members of an Iraqi family, including women and young children, during a bombing and cannon strike on Monday night that obliterated a home near the northern industrial city of Baiji, Iraqi officials said Tuesday.

Multiple attacks on Iraq's bloodiest day in weeks -- (Reuters)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 36 people and wounded 40 at a Shi'ite funeral and gunmen ambushed a vital fuel convoy outside Baghdad amid a wave of attacks that made Wednesday Iraq's bloodiest day in weeks.

U.S. Military Calls Copter Report False -- (AP)
BAQOUBA, Iraq - The U.S. military said Tuesday that none of its helicopters had crashed after searching for a downed aircraft following a report by an Iraqi army soldier that one went down northeast of Baghdad.

Fuel convoy ambushed near Baghdad - police -- (Reuters)
BAGHDAD, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Gunmen ambushed a convoy of 60 fuel tankers north of Baghdad on Wednesday, destroying 20 of them, police and oil officials said, adding that the convoy's police escort was still fighting attackers.

CIA Enlisted Aid Of Iraqis In U.S. -- (Washington Times)...Combined Dispatches
A new book on the government's secret anti-terrorism operations describes how the CIA recruited an Iraqi-American anesthesiologist in 2002 to obtain information from her brother, who was a figure in Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's nuclear program.

Iraq Wants U.S. Choice Out As Chief Of Brigade -- (Washington Post)...Jonathan Finer
Over the strong objections of U.S. commanders in Baghdad, the Iraqi government has nominated a new leader for a brigade that is set to assume control over some of the capital's most sensitive areas. This dispute appears likely to postpone an already overdue handover by American forces for at least another month.

US General Wants Faster Security Transition in Iraq -- (VOA News Report)
The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East says he wants to accelerate the handover of security responsibility in Iraq to the country's new security forces this year. In an interview with reporters traveling with him in Iraq in recent days, the general said that is the only way for Iraqis to take control of their future.

In the interview with reporters from USA Today and Knight Ridder newspapers, General John Abizaid said his trainers are sometimes reluctant to hand over responsibility to their Iraqi counterparts. And the general acknowledged there are risks associated with putting relatively inexperienced Iraqi officers and soldiers in charge of security in their areas.

But he said the American trainers have to accept that Iraq belongs to the Iraqis, and that once they are given what he called "the tools of sovereignty" they must be allowed to "grab hold of the controls."

DOD REPORTS

AIR SUPPORT PREEMPTS POSSIBLE IED EMPLACEMENT -- {Centcom}
TIKRIT, Iraq – Coalition forces reconnaissance aircraft observed three men suspected of emplacing an improvised explosive device digging in a road near Bayji after 9:00 p.m. on Jan.2, prompting a military response against them.

An unmanned aerial vehicle from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division observed the would-be attackers as they dug a hole following the common pattern of road-side bomb emplacement.

Pace Warns 2006 Will be 'Bad Year' for U.S. Enemies -- {Defense Link}
KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 2, 2006 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told servicemembers here that 2006 will be "a bad year for the enemies of the United States."
"I promise you that I won't forget who is doing the work when I make my recommendations" to the president and the National Security Council, Marine Gen. Peter Pace said at an air base near here as part of a United Service Organizations tour he is leading.

OPERATION GREEN TRIDENT TURNS UP 72 CACHES -- (CENTCOM)
U.S. Marines discovered more than ten metric tons of munitions hidden at 72 cache sites 39 km south of Fallujah during the week-long Operation Green Trident.

Afghan Border Police Open New Airport Facility -- {Defens Link}
KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 2, 2006 – The Afghan National Police recently opened a new facility for its protection battalion at the Kabul International Airport.
The new facility, constructed by the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief and financed by the German Federal Foreign Office, was handed over to the Afghan Border Police on Dec. 15. The buildings, which were rebuilt and renovated during the past year, were refitted with modern conveniences such as electricity, plumbing and kitchens, and now provide space for 120 employees.

AFGHANISTAN

One of Two Things I Miss from Bagram -- [Miserable Donuts]
There are only two things I miss from Bagram, AF; ...

Australia waits for Dutch waits for Parliaments waits for... -- [Misadventures of a Not-So-Intrepid Explorer]
Australia, for example, cannot seem to commit to having a Provincial Reconstruction Team in southern Afghanistan. They are making it dependent on the Dutch parliament's decision. And are also now influenced by a British intelligence report.

Regardless of NATO and Australia's clusterfucking, the US continues on its decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. Instead of being portrayed as a cop out, it is somehow seen showing a growing willingness to cede those jobs to others. Oh how generous. Nothing to do with Bush's falling opinion polls?

In Memory of Alexander the Great -- [Strategy Page]
January 4, 2006: Fighting in 2005 took the lives of some 1,500 Afghans, and 80 Americans. Quite different from Iraq, which has about the same population, but ten times as many deaths from Islamic and tribal violence. The situations in the two countries are quite different. There is a lot more ethnic and tribal strife in Afghanistan, but the violence is not as intense.

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

Suspected Rebels Behead Afghan Teacher -- (AP)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- Suspected Taliban militants have beheaded a high school teacher in a central Afghan town, the latest in a string of attacks against educators and schools where girls are taught, officials said Wednesday.

Gunmen Kill Afghan Aid Worker in Mosque -- (AP)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- Suspected Taliban gunmen killed an Afghan aid worker who was praying in a mosque in southern Afghanistan, the latest rebel attack on those rebuilding this war-shattered country, officials said Tuesday.

The extraordinary folly of Britain's new opium war -- (The Guardian)
In the next few weeks, an army of 3,400 British troops expects to be deployed to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. This is nearly half the number deployed in Iraq. Everything I have heard and

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Israeli general believes strike against Iran could succeed -- [TigerHawk]
IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz spoke to an audience at Tel Aviv University yesterday about Israel's security matters. Toward the end of the article there is this interesting tidbit:

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Secret services say Iran is trying to assemble a nuclear missile -- (The Guardian)
Document seen by Guardian details web of front companies and middlemen
The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country's weapons programmes.
Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for

CIA Gave Iran Bomb Plans, Book Says -- (Los Angeles Times)...Josh Meyer
In a clumsy effort to sabotage Iran's nuclear program, the CIA in 2004 intentionally handed Tehran some top-secret bomb designs laced with a hidden flaw that U.S. officials hoped would doom any weapon made from them, according to a new book about the U.S. intelligence agency.

WAR ON TERROR/TERRORISM

Young, Clueless and Dead -- [Strategy Page]
January 4, 2006: An unexpected ally in the war on terror is, increasingly, poorly trained terrorists who either kill themselves, or screw up their operations. The number of accidental or premature explosions by suicide bombers is increasing, as is the accidental detonation of bombs under construction. In Afghanistan and Iraq, there have been recent incidents of suicide bombs going off before the bomber reached their objective, Many bombers are intercepted by security personnel because of poor discipline and ignorance.

Global War, Global Enemy -- [Threats Watch - Bill Roggio]
al-Qaeda continues to direct its wrath at governments worldwide
In the current environment of politicizing the War on Terror, it is often lost that the fight against al-Qaeda and its global allies of the International Islamic Front far exceeds the scope of operations in Afghanistan or Iraq. The presentation on the major al-Qaeda attacks worldwide reinforces the global nature of the fight, but al-Qaeda’s statements must also be looked at as well to obtain a full understanding of their strategy. They provide a constant reminder of the nature of the enemy.

GSPC wants to establish Al Qaîda in the Maghreb -- [Counterterrorsm Blog]
Recently,four Algerians presumably close to the GSPC were placed in temporary detention in Spain. The Spanish judge, a Madrid native, Fernando Andreu suspects them of financial and logistical support to GSPC and of having tried to acquire in Grenade, dynamite Goma-2 in exchange for hashish ; interestingly this is the same dynamite that was used in the Madrid attacks of March 11, 2004.

MSM REPORTS ON WAR ON TERROR/TERRORISM

Agency First Acted on Its Own to Broaden Spying, Files Show -- (New York Times)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 - The National Security Agency acted on its own authority, without a formal directive from President Bush, to expand its domestic surveillance operations in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to declassified documents released Tuesday.

Bush Fights Resistance to Patriot Act -- (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush is taking advantage of a winter congressional recess to lobby for permanent extension of the terror-fighting USA Patriot Act and rap lawmakers who thwarted it in a rush to recess last month.

Bush Could Bypass New Torture Ban -- (Boston Globe)...Charlie Savage
When President Bush last week signed the bill outlawing the torture of detainees, he quietly reserved the right to bypass the law under his powers as commander in chief.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Woe after woe -- [Soldiers Angels New York]
...Jesse Alcozer, 57, is a Vietnam veteran. He served in the Marine Corps and was wounded seven times in Vietnam. He suffered much disrespect when he returned from the war. He went on to raise a family. In recent years, due to disabilities resulting from his service, he became unable to work. Four of his sons had joined the military. Six weeks ago, son Christopher was killed in Mosul, Iraq. The day of his funeral, war protestors gathered at his funeral carrying signs that said "thank God for dead soldiers". I can't even begin to express my feelings for this man who suffered so much for his own service to his country then have to see it repeated 37 years later at the funeral of his son. Two of his sons still serve in the Army.
But that was not the end to their woes. Yet another tragedy has befallen this family. The new year of 2006 opens with the family homeless due to a fire in their home which started from a candle on a memorial to their son, Christopher.

Teen's Goal: 2.6 Million Thanks -- [Defense Link]
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3, 2006 – The Defense Department's "America Supports You" program and Shauna Fleming, 16, founder of "A Million Thanks," launched the "2.6 in 2006" letter-writing campaign Jan. 1. Story

January 8, 2006 Schedule -- [Talking With Heroes Talk Show Schedule]
Host
Bob Calvert, Founder of YoungHeroes.US - Editor of Walking with Heroes Book One

Guests
SFC Darrin M Domko - Currently Stationed Ft Carson
Emery McClendon - Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day/ ARMAD
Linda Spurlin-Dominik, Co-Founder/Treasurer -Guardian Angels for Soldiers Pet

An American Soldier and his little bit of home -- [Web of Support]
Here is a soldier stationed in Iraq, standing by a big sand box. He asked his wife to send him dirt (U.S. soil), fertilizer and some grass seed, so he can have the sweet aroma and feel the grass grow beneath his feet. When the men of the squadron have a mission they are going on they take turns walking through the grass and the American soil to bring them good luck. If you notice, he is even cutting the grass with a pair of a scissors. Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don't stop and think about the little things that we take for granted.

MSM REPORTS ON SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

Soldier gives Marine a kidney -- (Army Times)
BUHL, Idaho — You never call a Marine a soldier and you never call a soldier a Marine.
And never confuse a Marine’s “oorah” with a soldier’s “hooah.”

In fact, one of the few things a Marine and a soldier will agree on is how much fun it is to make jokes about the Air Force.

MILITARY

Home for the Holidays... and Gone Again -- [Green... again - in pre-deployment training fot Iraq] NEW MILBLOG RING MEMBER!
I'm happy to report that the Marine Corps made good on its promise and sent us home for a couple of weeks to spend the holidays with our families.

I had the distinctly unique experience of spending my time playing "Mr. Mom" while I was home, and I have only one thing to say: Whatever they're paying full-time Moms (or those working Moms whose husbands run off on deployment whenever the call comes), it isn't anywhere near enough. I feel like I've been beat up. But it was well worth it. After all, it will be quite some time before I get to see those little rascals again.

The whole experience has shed a lot of light, for me at least, on how difficult and important the job of a service member's spouse really is. Every time I started to get frustrated with the kids, I thought about how my wonderful wife is going to have to deal with this for the better part of the next year without any help from me. Rest assured that I'll never look at it the same.

Some people recently asked me ... -- [in Defense - in Basic Training] NEW MILBLOG RING MEMBER!
why I felt forced into joining the Army and why I blamed it on my failures at college.

That is all wrong. First of all, I didn't get forced into enlisting. It was a choice made entirely without feeling pressured or trapped. I didn't decide to enlist because a judge told me to. I didn't decide to enlist to avoid homelessness. I didn't decide to enlist because I had no job. I decided to enlist because I felt it was the BEST CHOICE. I find it ridiculous that people continually view military service as a last resort. In fact, I think it should be considered FIRST, for several reasons, the least of which is it's a fast track to a career.

A LOOK AT THE MILITARY TIMES POLL -- [Michelle Malkin]
A new Military Times poll is being gleefully spun by the moonbats as proof that President Bush has lost the support of our troops. (The Military Times cautions that its mail-in poll, of 1,215 active-duty servicemen who subscribe to the Military Times and its family of newsweeklies, "is not necessarily representative of the military as a whole.")

POLITICS

MurthaWatch: They Also Serve...Who Refuse To Serve -- [Cassandra - TigerHawk]
Well folks, he's at it again. Let no one say the Democrat Party is Soft on Terror. Soft-headed perhaps, but tough as nails on the kind of folks who fly planes into buildings... and the people who try to protect us from them. Now comes John Murtha, another great American War Hero of the Left in the grand tradition of Gunga John Kerry.

Rep. Murtha can't wait to take the GWOT to al Qaeda in a fashion reminiscent of Tinkie Winkie:...

Will the West survive? -- [Neptunus Lex]
Mark Steyn is the kind of guy who spends a lot of time thinking about Western culture, whether you define that as going out at night to the theatre or whether instead you concern yourself more closely with the arc towards self-government and personal freedoms whose trajectory is best enshrined in the liberal democracies. He does so as a clear enthusiast of the notion, so when he asks whether or not the West is serious about its own survival in the new millennium, or whether it carries within itself the seeds of its own destruction, you get the idea that he does so from a position of concerned interest:

TCS Daily - The Triumph of “Angry and Stupid” -- [Outside the Beltway]
My latest at TCS Daily, "The Triumph of 'Angry and Stupid'," is up. It's about the poisonous tone of American political rhetoric.

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Abramoff Deal Opens Trove of Information -- (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a deal that clears the way for the next phase of a widespread Capitol Hill corruption probe, lobbyist Jack Abramoff has agreed to tell prosecutors and the FBI about alleged bribes to lawmakers and their aides on issues ranging from Internet gambling to wireless phone service in the House....

Blair presses Bush on engine deal -- (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair has written to U.S. President George W. Bush to try to save a multibillion-dollar contract to develop an engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon's costliest warplane program, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday

Maine Democratic Legislator Bolts Party -- (AP)
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- A Democratic state legislator announced Tuesday she has quit the party, leaving the Maine House evenly split between Democrats and Republicans....

THE MEDIA

The Day Journalism Died -- [Dude Where's the Beach]
I blame it on the 24 hour news cycle and the ridiculous need by cable news networks to be the absolute first to break a story. Their desire for profits and bragging rights have finally put the nail in the coffin of real journalism.

Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC are all culprits in this debacle. The fact that they broadcast an erroneous rumor as fact without vetting it through the proper channels to verify its accuracy says everything about their quality of service.

MSM REPORTS ON MEDIA

Osama Debunks A Myth -- (Washington Times)...Richard Miniter
The first of three excerpts from Richard Miniter's new book Disinformation: 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror.

Corrections -- (Washington Post)...The Washington Post
A Jan. 2 article misstated the volume of Iraqi oil production. At present, production is 2 million barrels per day, not 2 billion, according to U.S. government statistics. Before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the statistics show, output was about 2.6 million barrels per day, not 2.6 billion.

WELCOME HOME

The Incredible Journey; Homeward Bound [NcoDutyToWorkAndHome - on his way home from Iraq]
Ah, The journey home. It is the time we all look foward too here in the sand box. Finally I have transitioned to my first stop in a few on my trip to Ga and my wife. It has been quite the trip over here and let me say that in no way will I miss the middle of the night explosions that wake you up and make you think, was that incoming or out going? Or the minding your own business driving down the street and BAM IED going off. But now that we are heading home the job still isnt over. It makes me recall the other deployments I have been on and on those I was a soldier and remember how I thought the NCO's were being jerks with all the acoountability and recall formation to tell us they knew nothing new. I told myself no way would I do that and look here now I am that NCO

Welcome Home 236th Medical Company Air Ambulance -- [Soldier's Angels Germany]
Flying medical unit is back home at Landstuhl
They love to do their job, but doing it means a fellow servicemember is hurt somewhere beyond the horizon.

It’s a bittersweet task for soldiers with the 236th Medical Company Air Ambulance out of Landstuhl, Germany, who returned in December from a yearlong deployment supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

MILBLOGGING / BLOGGING

'Milblogs' Being Shut Down Rapidly -- All Headline News - USA
Washington, DC (AHN) - US military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan are clamping down on military Web logs, known as milblogs. ...

Soldiers may be saying too much in blogs -- Baxter Bulletin - Baxter,AR,USA
... The Army's shut down some military blogs, or "milblogs," and even demoted and fined some of the bloggers for revealing a little too much data. ...

IN MEMEORY OF...

In Memory -- [365 and a Wake Up - in Iraq]
New Year’s Eve is a time of both reflection and renewal, a time where a giddy sense of opportunity and hope seep into even the most hardened heart. But there was no joy in Killer Company this New Years Eve… because on New Years Eve we lost a cherished brother. CPL Marcelino “Ronnie” Corniel was a warrior prince. He cut his teeth in the United States Marine Corps, then after a short return to the civilian world he joined the ‘Hard Guard” as he affectionately called it. Shortly after his enlistment he was once again on point for his country.

In Memory of PFC John Steenge -- [Sisyphus Today... - in Iraq]
I never wanted to salute a friend's boots, but I did so tonight. I don't have much to say about it right now. Things have been crazy since I touched ground on civilized soil and they may just start slowing down soon. Crazy when your friend dies. Been a hell of a year.

(Need more? The previous Dawn Patrol is here.)