Dawn Patrol

Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and other sources around the world. 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. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.

IRAQ

Bird’s Eye View: The Battle for Baqubah -- [Michael Yon - in Iraq]
A Tactical Operations Center (TOC) is the headquarters for a unit. Company-level TOCs are the smallest I have seen. A typical infantry company has about a hundred or more soldiers. The commander will normally be a captain. A company-level TOC often consists of a radio and a map, and one person on duty 24/7. It might have a coffee maker, too. In fact, there is a company TOC at the other end of the tent in which I now reside with a company called C-52. C-52 is the smallest company with only 54 men, who all live in this tent with a huge amount of weapons, and great combat experience to back them up [to whit: Superman.]

Peace Agreement in Diyala - [Duty in the Desert - in Iraq]
This is how lasting peace will be achieved in Iraq.
The effort centered on the city of Khalis, near Baqouba, where U.S. and Iraqi troops are conducting an ongoing house-to-house sweep of the city.
Earlier this week, around 75 sheiks and local leaders met at the Iraqi Army Headquarters in Khalis to air long-standing grievances with each other, suggest security improvements and pledge to work against al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups.
As has been the case in other areas, many local residents have chafed at the continuing violence sponsored by the insurgents and the hard-line Islamic law imposed in some areas...

Entrepreneurs or Insurgents? Economic Growth in Iraq -- [ONPoint]
An untold aspect of the “Surge” is to create jobs for the local citizenry. With “Clear-Hold-Build” finally being an accepted part of the Coalition strategy to pacify Iraq, what is being done to provide the Iraqis with jobs that will let them support their families? Security in a town is necessary for it’s own sake, but to provide jobs for the locals, where they can feed and house their families in some semblance of rationality – that’s what is necessary to stop the locals from saying “we were better off under Saddam”, and joining the insurgents or a militia group.
...Although JCCIA operates in both AO’s, the emphasis of these questions concerned JCCIA activities in Iraq :

Operation Fardh al-Qanoon achieving good results -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commanding general, Multi-National Corps-Iraq, and Iraqi Army Lt. Gen. Aboud Ganbar, commander, Baghdad operations, Fardh al-Qanoon, held a briefing to discuss the successes of current operations in and around Baghdad at the Combined Press Information Center Thursday.

Iraqi Army, U.S. Special Forces detain rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi cell leader -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Army Soldiers, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained a cell leader of the rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia near the southwest neighborhood of Bayaa in Baghdad, July 26.
The Iraqi Soldiers detained their primary suspect without incident during the early morning operation in Baghdad.
The primary suspect is believed to command a rogue JAM improvised explosive device cell that is allegedly responsible for attacks on Coalition Forces. He is also alleged to have received financial support and explosively formed penetrators from Iran, which were distributed to other JAM cell members in the Bayaa and Aamel areas of Baghdad.

Senior terrorists eliminated

Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaeda in Iraq members -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained two primary targets of an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell near southwest neighborhood of Jihad in Baghdad, July 26.
The Iraqi Forces detained their primary targets at several different residences during the early morning operation in Baghdad. One other suspicious individual present during the operation was also detained.
The al-Qaeda in Iraq cell is alleged to be responsible for conducting extra judicial killings of Iraqi citizens and emplaces improvised explosive devices. They are also believed to have conducted attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces as well as local Iraqi citizens.

From the Front -- [Fuzzilicious Thinking ]
Courtesy of a proud Marine Dad, from a lieutenant who doesn't get to email often:
It is a little bit of fun working with these Iraqis.
...I can't wait to be done training these guys, so we can go operational and start interdicting some insurgents on a grand scale, lol. I led the first set on their final class--a real patrol--a couple days ago, and they weren't bad. Not Marines, but not bad for what we had taught them.

Tet Comes Early This Year -- [Cannoneer No. 4 - in Iraq]
I don’t want to go through this again. I don’t want these Marines and soldiers and sailors and airmen I live with to suffer the morale-destroying disillusionment. I was an Air Force brat in Japan last time. My school bus drove past the Pacific Theater Graves Registration Tranfser Point at Tachikawa every day. Stacks and stacks of zinc coffins being moved with forklifts. The casualty list took up the entire back page of the Pacific Stars and Stripes. Big green ambulance buses. Wounded on cots in the hospital hallways, IV bottles hanging from rods attached to the cot. Walking wounded in neon blue pajamas on pass at the BX. And nobody was glad to see the Chaplain walking in their housing area in Class A’s. My father was stuck in Korea, caught up in the Pueblo Incident. We didn’t get Walter Cronkite. What I knew of the Vietnam War I did not learn from American television.
I was a cadet when Saigon fell. The psychological wounds of the men who trained me were to a certain degree contagious.
It’s happening again.

What the hell is going on around here? -- [Eighty Deuce On The Loose - In Iraq ]
...Usually company missions are accompanied by Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police, which this one was. The Army works with us and usually does the meat and potatoes of the mission and the IP's work with the MP's doing the cordon and whatnot. The nice thing is that our job is not to actually do these mission. We are there to help, advise and make it go quicker, but not actually do it ourselves. I've noticed that in the last 5 months or so that we've been working with these guys that they have been getting better and more effeciet. We're normally not out there as long as we used to be and we are having to do less and less as they take on more of the responsibility and become better at doing these things.
This mission was to clear out a local cemetary for some stuff that the IA had intel on. The weird thing is ...

Iraq Report: Al Qaeda strikes in Baghdad -- [The Fourth Rail]
After a lull of several weeks in major mass casualty suicide attack inside Baghdad, al Qaeda in Iraq struck three times against Iraqi civilians over the past 24 hours. Yesterday's attacks occurred during the celebration of the Iraqi soccer team's victory at the Asia Games, which advanced the club to the finals.

25 dead in Baghdad car bombing

A car bomb in the Karradah district of Baghdad has killed at least 25 people.

Destroying Happiness -- [Dude, where's the beach? - in Iraq]
...In that instant 28 men, women, and children were murdered about 2 miles away from where I sat in the comfort of my office. 95 men, women and children were sprayed with glass, metal, and debris while I sent my last email and picked up my gear. These people were preparing to celebrate an Islamic holiday. The night before they were happy because the Iraqi soccer team won another game in the Asian Cup. They were happy, and happiness is so rare for them these days. Why would someone want to destroy such happiness. All of those smiles were stolen away last night by people who can't stand to see joy and happiness.
"The terrorists, curse them, are behind this act," said Firas Rahim, who sells clothes at a stand near the site of the blasts. "They are angry because the people were celebrating and happy yesterday. Now they took their revenge."
The longer I'm hear, the more I love the Iraqi people. They're vibrant, emotional, patriotic, and strong.

Full Speed Ahead -- [Major Andrew Olmsted - in Iraq]
Sunday was reasonably quiet early on, after a busy Saturday afternoon, but that changed late when we received word that several of our Iraqi Army (IA) outposts had been hit by the enemy. We headed down to the IA battalion headquarters to learn what they knew about the attacks while U.S. forces moved to the scene to do their own assessment. That evening we put together the different stories to see if we could determine, at least roughly, the ground truth about what had happened so we could start planning for what to do about it.
That evening we also learned that a general officer would be coming to visit, and the unit we're working with had a number of other issues on the plate and didn't have an officer to spare to meet the general.

Guest Blogger, Colonel Michael Visconage -- [The Gunner's World -in Iraq]
The Camp Victory Life:
The Victory base camp is on the Southwest outskirts of Baghdad is part of a much larger expanse that has a number of other sub camps for the combat divisions and a variety of support troops. My guess would be that is covers perhaps 20 square miles and houses 40-50,000 people. While the staff has the easy life in terms of a low level of immediate danger, the fighting troops are usually out in the various forward operating bases and have much harsher living condition. They do get to rotate back to larger bases for periods of time, which I am sure they appreciate.

Everyday in Mosul.... -- [Jim Spiri - in Iraq]
The cavalry mounted up today, again. I remember as a young kid growing up on an arroyo in southern New Mexico, I would come home after sports practice and ride my horse. Just like sports practice to stay in shape, so it is with riding a horse. I had a good quarter horse, named "Jigger". I rode him almost everyday to keep not only him in shape, but to keep my riding skills fine tuned. Such is the case here in Mosul, in a way. Everyday, the Cav rides into town keeping a strong presence while at the same time handing over more and more responsibility to the Iraqi Army as the transition moves along.
We headed out in force early in the morning to the north side of Mosul today. We passed through some crowded business areas where people like ants were going about their daily lives. When the "herd" of Humvees comes through, all eyes are watching and no vechiles dare impede the way.

Summertime Blues -- [Jason's Iraq Vacation - in Iraq]
BOOM!-thud-
ughhh . . . I groan and roll over to look at my clock.
BOOM!-thud-
It's 3:15am, and the Artillery detachment is sending out some care packages to our boys outside the wire. No surprise there; the artillery men send out their lovin' every night, and since we are almost right next to them I get to hear every round up close and personal. The only question is what time and how often. The nightly barrage goes on...
These are a couple typical nights for us here. Nothing exciting, just the sounds of the battle going on around us. Our job isn't out there at night; it begins the next day with our Iraqi counterparts. Everyday we work with them, side by side, imparting what knowledge we have and trying to help them do their part better. Many nights I wish I was out there with my coalition counterparts, fighting a battle I know a little better; but I'm not, and many days it’s hard for me to accept that my battle is in getting the Iraqi's to sustain themselves without our help.

In the Wake of the Surge -- [Michael Totten - in Iraq]
... The battalion I’m embedded with here in Baghdad hasn’t suffered a single casualty – not even one soldier wounded – since they arrived in the Red Zone in January. The surge in this part of the city could not possibly be going better than it already is. Most of Graya’at’s insurgents and terrorists who haven’t yet fled are either captured, dormant, or dead.
...Graya’at’s streets are quiet and safe. It doesn’t look or feel like war zone at all. American soldiers just a few miles away are still engaged in almost daily firefights with insurgents and terrorists, but this part of the city has been cleared by the surge.
...Everyone was friendly. No one shot at us or even looked at us funny. Infrastructure problems, not security, were the biggest concerns at the moment. I felt like I was in Iraqi Kurdistan – where the war is already over – not in Baghdad.
...“Do they ever get pissed off when you search them?” I said.
“Not very often,” he said. “They understand we’re trying to protect them.”
“This is not what I expected in Baghdad,” I said.
“Most of what we’re doing doesn’t get reported in the media,” he said. “We’re not fighting a war here anymore, not in this area. We’ve moved way beyond that stage.

Temple of UR!!! -- [West Coast Notorious - in Iraq]
So we have been on the road for the past couple of days, same ol' stuff here and there. On are way north yesterday we saw an explosion to our three o'clock, we called it up and moved on. Everyone just watched quietly as the smoke from the blast rose into the air. "It's a controlled detenation over" we hear over the radio. Look's like someone found an I.E.D., this is always a welcome thing! We make it camp and decide to make a trip to Tallil. There we visit the temple of UR, this thing's been around since the early A.D. period. It was built by a Babylonian politician who ruled the area at the time.

The Night Shift -- [Strategy Page]
There's a war going on in Iraq that you rarely hear about. It goes on at night, and has been very successful.
While U.S. infantry and tank units make raids all over central Iraq, the other war, fought largely at night, by engineers and non-infantry troops (often artillerymen) serving as infantry, to catch and stop teams of terrorists trying to set up roadside bombs. The American troops are guided by an intelligence effort that keeps track of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) by type and location. Over 90 percent of IEDs do not do any damage to Americans, or anyone else. Many of these are captured, or at least examined remotely by a robot, before being destroyed.
Iraq Pictures - 26 July 2007 -- [Iraq Pictures - in Iraq]
CPT Paul Morton, commander of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, native of Fullerton, Calif., speaks with local elders of Jazira, a village within the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad's Adhamiyah District. The meeting allows Morton to gauge how residents feel about coalition forces because the elders are respected members of the community who represent their people's interests.

Near the Iraqi Border -- [The Tank - W. Thomas Smith Jr. - heading to Iraq]
ALI AL SALEM AIR BASE (Kuwait) — Internet is touch-and-go here at this huge tent city in the Kuwaiti desert about 23 miles from the Iraqi border. So this will be quick.
Will be flying to Baghdad in a day or so.
It's hot here: Close to 130 degrees in the shade (and believe it or not, humid). Mercifully, it drops down into the 90s at night. The dust and sand, like talcum powder, are also much worse than when I was here in March and April.

Iraqis Celebrate Win over Korea in AFC Asian Cup 25/7/07

Four Years -- [All Quiet on the Southwest Asian Front - in Iraq]
My battery's about to die, so I'll be brief.
This is four years in. My ETS date, by my original contract. I'm out, my term is up.
But not really. Call it 'Stop-loss', call it deployment, call it 'needs of the country', I'm still here, and will be for a year more and then some.
But for tonight, drinks are on me, party's at my place, and honey, I'm glad I joined.
To all the guys out on the front lines with me; I'm proud to be here.

Video Chat -- [Far From Perfect - in Iraq]
As you know, I am paying for internet in my CHU. Most of the month it has been useless. The connectivity is generally in the bytes/second range if there is any at all. It takes upwards of two hours to check my e-mail, if it connects. I am pretty ready to just give it up. However, tonight for the first time I was able to chat with my wife!
...its still pretty surreal to me to have internet available in a warzone, let alone video chat from my CHU. I guess its a sign of the times. Our grandfathers had letter mail that took 3 months. Now, its video chat and email.

AFGHANISTAN

Back to Blackhorse -- [A JAG in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan ]
Since I’ve told you about the travel to each location let me comment on our trip to Blackhorse – it was fast and easy. Since Blackhorse is just down the road it was a short drive down on the mail truck. The thing that was new and different was the fact that the road between here and Blackhorse is now completely paved. It’s been almost two months since I was last there and I was amazed and impressed with how much work has been done. They are now working on the road between here and downtown Kabul. At some point the Afghans will have a nice road/highway to travel on.

More Faces of Afghanistan (Photos) -- [A JAG in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan ]
Here are some more "faces of Afghanistan." These were taken by LCDR Steven Parks down in Kandahar. Thanks for sharing

News of Afghanistan - Edition 63 -- [Miserable Donuts]
Friday again? Ah, I guess this means it is time for the News! Come on then

Still here -- [ETT PA-C - in Afghanistan ]
Hi all. Borrowing some internet to check in. For those of you that have passed on toys in your packages, I've got some pics of the children that have received them. Thanks so much. These kids have never seen toys as such and are always so excited to get stuffed animals, cars, dolls, balls etc.
Not much else occurring here. Our missions have gone well without issue thus far and we take every one as serious as the one before. Safety first and stuff!

Heroes of Baylough

Story about U.S. Soldiers at a forward operating base in Afghanistan who face daily attacks.

New operation launched against Taliban extremists -- [ISAF - in Afghansitan]
The task force-level operation, codenamed “Chakush” or “Hammer,” began this morning in the area between Heyderabad and Mirmandab, northeast of Gereshk. The operation is continuing the momentum towards expelling Taliban extremist forces from areas of the Upper Gereshk Valley.
“This operation is another important step in continuing the progress we have made recently in providing the enduring security conditions required for the Afghan government to remove Taliban extremist influence from the communities in Sangin and the Upper Gereshk Valley,” said Lt. Col. Charlie Mayo, Task Force Helmand spokesman.

Taliban Executes First Korean Hostage -- [GI Korea]
UPDATE: I just saw on CNN International that it has confirmed that the eight Korean hostages have not been released and are still threatening to kill the others. Whoever it was in the Korean government that leaked word that eight hostages were released should be fired for getting the family member’s hopes up like that.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Majority Backs Getting Invaded -- [Strategy Page]
July 27, 2007: Much to Iran's annoyance, the U.S. is cracking down on financial institutions that moves money to terrorist organizations Iran supports. This includes Hizbollah and Hamas. The U.S. has ramped up its intelligence effort to discover who is paying who, and is ordering banks to cease providing services to terrorist related organizations, or face being cut off from the American banking system. Iran has to scramble to find banks that do not fear U.S. banking sanctions, and is discovering that this is not easy.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Buried Videos Surface in HLF Trial -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)
A Northern Virginia man’s home landscaping chore became evidence Thursday in the terror-support trial of the Holy Land Foundation and five of its officials in Dallas. Marcial Peredo told jurors how he was leveling the yard at his new Falls Church home when he stumbled into a stash of videotapes buried in the ground.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Their War--My War -- [Marching Camp - in Iraq]
The Washington Post published (I'm shocked) an excellent article on the disconnect between the American warrior class and the mass of the (largely unarmed) public.
It's hardly infantrymen alone, though their job has changed least. At the basic level, Soldiers are killers, regardless of how you dress it up in fancy words. The difference between a Soldier and a bandit is in intent and restraint. We kill those who deserve it, bandits prey on the weak regardless.
"But these days, that part of the job apparently makes America's civilians uneasy. World War II headlines celebrated accomplished military killers and called them heroes. Second Lt. Audie Murphy mowed down dozens of attacking German soldiers, won the Medal of Honor and went on to become a movie star. Today, U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who win medals for successfully doing their jobs while obeying the laws of war might get local coverage. But the brightest national spotlight is reserved for killers who are war criminals, such as the alleged perpetrators of the Haditha massacre, or heroes who are victims, such as prisoners of war. American civilians no longer seem comfortable labeling a soldier as both a killer and a hero.

America's Biggest Lie: "We Support The Troops" -- [A Soldier's Perspective]
The most pathetic hyperbolic chamber of them all-Congress.
Of the myriad fluff lines from our political heroes, paid well BY us to lie TO us, perhaps Hillary Clinton's lie about how best to support the Troops sums up just how little these clowns in Public Office truly understand what it means to actually "support" anyone:

FIRST THINGS FIRST -- [Soldier's Mom]
As most of you know, the fair treatment of wounded warriors -- active duty and Veterans -- has become a personal mission of mine. In that vein, here is the text of an email sent to our Congressman:
...We believe strongly that Congress has a fundamental responsibility to establish relative priorities, put first things first, and ensure that there is better proportionality between compensation and service and sacrifice rendered.
As the parents of a 22-year-old disabled U.S. Army soldier who faces a lifetime of inadequate compensation for his sacrifice, we say fix the current inequities before Congress creates others.
Also, if you use TRICARE (if you don't know what that is, you're not affected) be sure to check out this information on POSSIBLE TRICARE DATA COMPROMISE.

Freedom Walk -- [Sgt Stryker]
...The Freedom walk is a way that all Americans can show their support for this nation as well as honor our troops who are defending our county with their lives. One of the wonderful aspects of the Freedom Walk is that anyone can organize or host a Freedom Walk in their own community.
If you see that there isn’t a walk scheduled for your area, you can organize your own walk. The official America Supports You Freedom Walk is located here: Freedomwalk.

MILITARY

Museum aircraft carrier could serve as Emergency Operations Center -- [EagleSpeak]
the aircraft carrier museum ship USS Intrepid is available to be used as a contingency Emergency Operations Center for New York in the event of a disaster or attack.

Back in, Back out -- [From My Position... On the way!]
I am in from the field (and back out tomorrow--I've been recovering for the last couple days after spending almost a week getting pissed on by WA's "unseasonably rainy" weather.)
Training cadets is usually pretty fun. You have to realize (and it is a pretty large leap) that they are NOT trained soldiers. Worse, they haven't been working together for months, and really barely know each other. Luckily, we don't just evaluate them on tactical and technical abilities. We look at attributes (Mental, Physical, and Emotional), skills (Conceptual, Interpersonal, Technical, Tactical) actions (Communicating, Decision Making, Motivating, Planning, Executing, Assessing, (Subordinate leader) Developing, (Team) Building, and (individual) Learning.

WELCOME HOME

2600 Minnesota ARNG Soldiers Return Home -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Over the past week the last of thousands of MNARNG troops with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division have returned home after a 22-month deployment including mobilization time and a short stay at Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin.

POLITICS

'It Didn't Happen' -- [Opinion Journal - JAMES TARANTO]
Democrats go soft on crimes against humanity.
Barack Obama's latest pronouncement on Iraq should have shocked the conscience. In an interview with the Associated Press last week, the freshman Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate opined that even preventing genocide is not a sufficient reason to keep American troops in Iraq.
"Well, look, if that's the criteria by which we are making decisions on the deployment of U.S. forces, then by that argument you would have 300,000 troops in the Congo right now--where millions have been slaughtered as a consequence of ethnic strife--which we haven't done," Mr. Obama told the AP. "We would be deploying unilaterally and occupying the Sudan, which we haven't done. Those of us who care about Darfur don't think it would be a good idea."

WINNING IN IRAQ AND LOSING IN WASHINGTON -- [Ralph Peters - NY Post]
TO a military professional, the tactical progress made in Iraq over the last few months is impressive. To a member of Congress, it's an annoyance.
The herd animals on Capitol Hill - from both parties - just can't wait to go over the cliff on Iraq. And even when the media mention one or two of the successes achieved by our troops, the reports are grudging.
Yet what's happening on the ground, right now, in Baghdad and in Iraq's most-troubled provinces, contributes directly to your security. In the words of a senior officer known for his careful assessments, al Qaeda's terrorists in Iraq are "on their back foot and we're trying to knock them to their knees."
Do our politicians really want to help al Qaeda regain its balance?

"Worst Case of Voter Fraud in Washington History" -- [Jawa Report]
Courtesy of the leftwing group ACORN.
When the libs try to scream about stolen elections, oppressed voters, yadda yadda, all you need to do is say "How about ACORN?"
King County prosecutors filed felony charges Thursday against seven people in what a top official described as the worst case of voter-registration fraud in state history,

THE MEDIA

Document drop: A new critique of the 2004 Lancet Iraq death toll study -- [Michell Malkin]
Update 9:30pm Eastern. Shannon Love at the Chicago Boyz blog called foul on the Lancet 2004 study early on and, with vindication, reacts to David Kane’s new analysis of the 2004 Lancet Iraq death toll study: “Kane shows that if the Falluja cluster is included in the statistical calculations, the confidence interval dips below zero, which is a big no-no. Since the study’s raw data remain a closely guarded secret, Kane cannot be absolutely certain that the inclusion of the Falluja cluster renders the study mathematically invalid…but that’s the way to bet. In science, replication is the iron test. I find it revealing that no other source or study has come close to replicating the original study. All my original points still stand. Ah, vindication is sweet.”

Responding to the Bridge at No Gun Ri -- [GI Korea]
In my prior posting I posted in full the Associated Press’ entire uncut article about their version of what happened at No Gun Ri for everyone to review before posting a rebuttal to it. Unlike the AP writers I don’t mind people reading both sides of the story and judging the facts for themselves. In the rebuttal I have posted paragraphs from the original AP article in bold print and then offered my comments below them.

Newsweek of McCain's Implosion: America 'Won't Listen to a Military Man' Anymore -- [NewsBusters]
...There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth now that their favorite Republican looks to be a goner, at least if Michael Hirsh of Newsweek is any indication. In "Why McCain’s Collapse Matters", Hirsh not only laments McCain's diminishment of influence, but blames the American people for not listening to military "heroes" on how evil this war is. Hirsh also uses his piece as an excuse to repeatedly bash Fred Thompson using the media's "He's just an actor" mantra. Naturally, Hirsh learns all the wrong lessons from his review of history and displays it in this little tsk tsking tirade aimed at the American people for their gall in not fawning over McCain like the MSM does.

Hollywood joins the Long War In about the way I expected. -- [CDR Salamander]
On a night four years ago, five soldiers back from three months in Iraq went drinking at a Hooters restaurant and a topless bar near Fort Benning, Ga.
Before the night was over, one of them, Specialist Richard R. Davis, was dead of at least 33 stab wounds, his body doused with lighter fluid and burned. Two of the group would eventually be convicted of the murder, another pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and the last confessed to concealing the crime.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Soldiers Having Fun

Day By Day

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