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Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various 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.Refresh for updates.
Is There A Victory? -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
A blogger friend, military supporter whose husband has served in this war, asked what victory looks like in Afghanistan. It's a good question, and one that I think is probably in more minds than just hers. So I'm going to take a whack at answering it.
Badly injured soldier directs American air strike -- [Ministry of Defence]
Badly injured by a rocket-propelled grenade while on a routine patrol, a British soldier ignored his pain and stayed on the radio to direct American pilots overhead to suppress the enemy.
Obama Urged to Rally Support for War -- [WSJ]
The White House is facing mounting pressure from lawmakers to work harder to rally flagging public support for the war in Afghanistan.
With casualties rising, the administration is struggling to persuade voters that the war can be won or is worth the human and financial costs. Afghanistan is President Barack Obama's top foreign-policy priority, but ...
White House fears liberal war pressure -- [Politico] HT: Flopping Aces
White House officials are increasingly worried liberal, anti-war Democrats will demand a premature end to the Afghanistan war before President Barack Obama can show signs of progress in the eight-year conflict, according to senior administration sources.
These fears, which the officials have discussed on the condition of anonymity over the past few weeks, are rising fast after U.S. casualties hit record levels in July and August.
Gates May Be Open To Troop Increase -- [Washington Post]
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates indicated Thursday that he is open to increasing the number of US troops in Afghanistan, voicing a shift in his position as the administration ponders a military assessment expected to lead to a formal request for additional forces. Gates, in a briefing at the Pentagon, also defended the US mission in Afghanistan, rebutting suggestions that it is time to pull out. His remarks came just hours before the Army announced that it will extend the tours of about 3,000 soldiers in Afghanistan for between two weeks and two months amid an intensifying Taliban insurgency.
Pentagon extends Army unit in Afghanistan -- [AP]
The Army has ordered a headquarters unit in Afghanistan to remain up to 50 days past its yearlong tour in what officials say could be the start of longer postings in the war.
Army officials on Thursday said the troops extensions will ensure continuity in Afghanistan.
As many as 200 senior soldiers and officers in the 82nd Airborne Division could stay up to 50 days longer in Kabul. The division is based out of Fort Bragg, N.C.
Additionally, soldiers with the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Stewart, Ga., may stay two more weeks in Afghanistan before returning home.
The extensions will give soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division Headquarters a full year at home before heading back to Afghanistan next spring.
Afghanistan Is Not 'Obama's War' -- [Wall Street Journal]
In his column for the Washington Post on Tuesday, the influential conservative George Will provided intellectual fodder for the campaign among some Republicans to hang the Afghanistan war around the Obama administration's neck. Washington, he wrote, should "keep faith" with our fighting men and women by "rapidly reversing the trajectory of America's involvement in Afghanistan." "Obama's war," a locution one is now beginning to hear from other conservatives, is an expression of discontent that has been smoldering beneath the surface for several months.
Outside The Bubble -- [Outside the Wire - in Afghanistan]
I was in a bubble. A bubble many westerners find themselves in. They live in compounds or FOBs or fine hotels. They move about the city behind tinted bullet proof glass.
They are floating above Kabul, not in Kabul. I was at the Serena to bring a little Kabul and Afghanistan into the bubble and film some of the goings on inside the bubble.
...US Soldiers can spend a lot of time in the bubble--in MRAPS. In Iraq, it took a deliberate effort from some officers to get their troops out of the bubble and out on their feet where they could gather intel, interact with the people and actually provide security to the population.
...ULTRA LOW PROFILE
At the opposite end of the spectrum from the bubble is another type of security when traveling in a high risk environment. The bubble is all about being hardened enough to survive and attack. My preferred approach is avoid the possibility of attack all together.
Kabul is usually the safest place in Afghanistan and normally I would not worry too much about being out in the streets, but in the weeks leading up to the election the threat environment was higher, so I stepped up my precautions to match the threat level and avoid the threats.
On the roof of Jalalabad -- [Fab - in Afghanistan]
I'm sitting on a concrete ledge about 4 stories high in the shade of the water tower looking out through a remarkably clear day across Jalalabad. And I'm writing this post from waaay up here, my connection via a local meshed node through various hops which find their way (automagically) to the FabFi1 long haul connection out through the GATR which beams my message into orbit and back and finally finally to a server at MIT in Cambridge MA. It's so very cool.
What's cooler is what's happening around me. ...
Mudistan -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
The residents - some men but mostly young adults - pulled me to the places that had been their homes. The Afghans are fanatics about walls and there wasn't a structure with four intact walls. A lot of the walls were simply gone - presumably washed away "down there somewhere" - whereas we were standing on the mucky remnants of others. Several buildings had big gaps and cracks because the ground on which they were built had shifted down the street too. All the rocks you see in the pictures were once part of walls.
Rain and Ramadan in Afghanistan -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
...Out of respect to our counterparts who are fasting during Ramadan, we have curtailed our activities and missions. We are still conducting our daily mentoring sessions, but its obvious fasting for an entire day has a physiological effect. While we are with our ANA counterparts, we respect their religious customs and do not drink, eat, or smoke around them. Not drinking water is probably the hardest to refrain from.
Just an update -- [Kudzu's Wandering ...- in Afghanistan]
Things are kicking up down south as the news is reporting and the elections are over. Last tiem I looked Karzai was ahead with 46% so there still might be a runoff... personally I think that would be good for this country. A contested election that is settled without bloodshed between the two opponents... hopefully.
Traveling Sailors... -- [3rd Time, New Country - in Afghanistan]
Another week has passed and on top of the normal everyday mentoring at NMH, I have been back to NDS hospital and visited a new hospital, ...
The trip to NDS was both good and bad. Good in that I finally got to observe a surgery and bad because I did observe a surgery. NDS is a new hospital, but much needs to be done to improve their nursing practices to bring up their standards of care. Surgery is done in the same manner as NMH. Nursing is both an art and a science, both of which need to be taught here in Kabul. In my opinion, nurses don't "see" the patients, all they see is what is going on with the patient. If you ask a nurse here what the patient's name is, they wouldn't be able to answer, but ...
The Bazaar -- [Doc H's International Adventure - in Afghanistan]
...I really have no idea what Afghan goods go for around here. If I become too frustrating, the shopkeeper usually has me just name some price. I usually try to start with an amount which is low, but not insultingly low. I would guess that I am still not starting low enough though. By the time it is over I feel like I must have gotten a good deal, but then the shopkeeper smiles a very big smile when we conclude the purchase. It really makes me think I have been taken to the cleaners.
Iraq accuses Syria of harboring armed groups -- [AP]
Iraq's prime minister said Thursday that Syria was sheltering armed groups wanted for cross-border attacks, forcing him to appeal to the United Nations for help in stopping what he called a hostile act.
The prime minister's appeal comes as four more people died in attacks around the country.
The Violence in Iraq Is Meant to Prevent U.S. Withdrawal, Harm President Obama -- [MEMRI Blog]
In an August 22, 2009 article in the Syrian government daily Teshreen, Nasser Qandil, a former Lebanese MP who is close to Syria, wrote that some in Washington were acting to worsen the security situation in Iraq. Their aim, he said, is to extend the U.S. military presence in the country, which will harm U.S. President Barack Obama in his next election campaign; to promote the Biden Plan to partition Iraq into three regions; and to sabotage the relations among Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran.
An Anniversary -- [Ramblings from a painter - in Iraq]
Today is an anniversary for me. One year ago today, I first stepped off the plane at Baghdad International Airport. I was nervous, excited, worn out from the trip, unsure of what to expect, and ready to go do something. All I knew for certain was that it would be an interesting time here. A year later, and that last part has certainly been true.
Whenever I go home, people ask me, "What's Iraq like?". I don't know how to answer that. It's hot. It sucks. It's great. Wonderful people. Terrorists. A different way of life. Like being in a minimum-security prison. You can make an impact. You can't make a dime's worth of difference. You're valued. You're treated like shit. No time for yourself. Great pay. Not worth it. Iraq is a maze of contradictions. When people ask me what Iraq's like, they're looking for a sound-bite insight into something that would take a thousand "War and Peace"-size tomes to even begin to understand.
A Quick Thought -- [Mongo's Montreaux - in Iraq]
Why aren't we doing more long range patrols?
Even the guys that are (or, more aptly, were) in small COPs and JSS' seem to punch a time clock. You go out, you do your patrol or day's mission, and you roll back in. Granted, these smaller posts don't have the amenities that the super FOBs do, but still, every troop knows that after a hard day's work (which is usually substantially longer than the eight-hour work day, granted), he's going back to his rack, to his iPod, to his latest edition of black belt magazine.
How many troops now in Iraq (and Afghanistan) actually spend the night in what one would classically call a "patrol base?" Not surrounded with concrete T-walls and Hesco barriers, not in a known location from which the insurgents (et al) know that one will exit and return to daily?
Combat outposts in Anbar turned over to Iraqi control -- [MNF-I]
During the month of August,, Multi National Force - West returned Combat Outposts Viking and Eagle Base to Iraqi control in Al Anbar province.
In accordance with the Security Agreement between the U.S. and Iraq, and upon U.S. withdrawal from a base or facility, the bases or facilities will be returned to the control of the appropriate Iraqi entity or demilitarized and closed. These facilities are able to be closed or transferred back to Iraqi control because the Iraqi Security Forces have assumed full responsibility for security in their respective areas.
Greywolf brigade breaks Ramadan fast with Iraqi Police chiefs -- [MNF-I]
Iraqi Police chiefs from throughout Ninawa province and 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, gathered at Forward Operating Base Diamondback for an evening "break-fast" Ramadan meal Aug. 31.
The meal was a gesture of friendship by 3rd HBCT, who provided food and drinks comparable to what the police chiefs would have eaten had the meal occurred in their own homes.
Airmen ignite Iraqi firefighter training -- [MNF-I]
Two Air Force sergeants stationed here inside the International Zone are in the process of training Iraqi firefighters to be able to respond to a crisis at a moment's notice.
US urged to restore protection of Iranians in Iraq -- [AP]
Supporters of an Iranian dissident group based in Iraq called on the Obama administration Thursday to restore US military protection for the ...
Starbuck's Coffee: Now don't get me wrong, though... -- [Wings Over Iraq - in Iraq]
Yesterday, I talked about the balancing act between Soldier quality of life on forward operating bases on one hand, and the risk aversion/force protection mentality on the other hand. One of the points I brought up (and was also brought up in a blog post on Wired's Danger Room) was that most of the major forward operating bases had coffee shops run by Starbucks, Green Bean, or Cinn-a-Bon.
But don't get me wrong,...
N. Korea Says It Is in 'Final Stage' of Uranium Enrichment -- [Washington Post]
North Korea announced early Friday that it is in the "final stage" of enriching uranium, a process that, if completed, would give it a second means of making a nuclear bomb.
North Korea's Uranium Enrichment: Raising the Stakes -- [One Free Korea]
You could say, in response to this, that just because the North Koreans say they've done something doesn't make it true, but that would also be just as true of what the North Koreans say they're not doing. You could say that we don't know much about the program's scale, which is true because none of our disarmament diplomacy has demanded that North Korea tell us about the program or allow us to verify its disclosures. The State Department's strategy for dealing with this potential threat has been to spend the better part of the last 15 years trying to it didn't exist. As a result, North Korea may now have an easily concealed path to a nuclear weapon. We don't know how big a threat it is, what tunnel (or even in what country) the centrifuges are, how the product is moved, or who might buy it.
North Korea's obvious intent here is to raise the ante on President Obama and persuade him that sanctions are counterproductive.
UN Peacekeeping Chief in Darfur Says War Over -- [AP]
The outgoing United Nations peacekeeping chief in Sudan's Darfur region said the world should no longer consider the long-running conflict a war after a sharp decline in violence and deaths over the past year. Activists and Darfur residents disagree, and the comments by Rodolphe Adada heightened anxiety that there will be less international focus on resolving the root problems in the troubled region. "We can no longer talk of a big conflict, of a war in Darfur," Mr. Adada said before stepping down as head of the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, or Unamid. "I think now everybody understands it. We can no longer speak of this issue. It is over."
CIA Asks Justice to Probe Leaks of Secrets -- [Washington Times]
Besieged by leaks of several closely held secrets, the CIA has asked the Justice Department to examine what it regards as the criminal disclosure of a secret program to kill foreign terrorist leaders abroad, The Washington Times has learned. Two US intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because of the sensitivity of the case, said the leak investigation involved a program that CIA Director Leon E. Panetta told Congress about in June and that surfaced in news reports just a month later.
White House War on the War on Terror -- [Washington Times]
The Justice Department's decision to investigate the interrogation methods used by the Bush administration's war on terrorism sent a chilling message to CIA agents that they could be prosecuted for protecting our country from another attack. Despite President Obama's promise to CIA personnel earlier this year that he did not want to reopen the debate over aggressive interrogation practices in the previous administration, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. named a special prosecutor to go after agents who acted with the approval of the Bush Justice Department's legal rulings. Mr. Holder not only overruled Mr. Obama - who caved in to his attorney general and said it was his call - he dismissed the bitter opposition of CIA Director Leon E. Panetta and even attorneys in his own department. It was the latest move in a number of actions that have defanged the CIA and reduced its effectiveness in the war on terror, after eight years of foiling numerous plots that has kept our country safe.
A New Look at the Hydra of Organized Crime and Terror Organizations -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The DEA and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York have unveiled a new indictment for drug trafficking that shows just how truly transnational and intertwined with terrorists, aircraft merchants, and little-scrutinized company registries these groups have become.
Early Post -- [My trip to BAF - in Afghanistan]
...So once again, I thank you all for your support! The cards, letters, packages, pictures, comments, etc were overwhelming. Just today, I received some pictures/letters from children who are led in a Sunday School class by a friend of Della Jackson. Many of you may not recognize that name, but the words written on the paper from the children were absolutely priceless. What is SO encouraging about that (to me) is the fact that there are patriotic American supporters who are not only supporting and praying for our military, but they are raising and educating children (young children) to know and understand that the freedom we have in America is not free and it doesn't hurt to say thank you to the men and women fighting for the American people now and into the future.
How to get things done... -- [Castra Praetoria - in Iraq]
One of our companies was manning a Point Of Entry (POE) on the border with Syria which for us is pretty much the ragged edge of the universe.
Their toasters had burnt their last loaf and they were also asking for some slow cookers. Any of you familiar FOB life knows that the amenities there are not what the average person would call humane and food there is only food in the sense that if you eat it you will not die. This in and of itself was not the source of the CO's consternation. When we had put a request in to open purchase this stuff with battalion funds the prices were ridiculously high.
..."Sir, I've got this. We'll get that stuff for free. How many do we want?" I waved my hand around as if to dismiss an annoying insect. This would be no problem at all. One just had to push the right buttons:
"Dear Hope,
I've got a favor to ask...
...Marines starving to death in Iraq...
...would like toast with their peanut butter...
...Iraqi toaster costs $500...
...think there are enough red blooded Americans out there to help us out?
*laugh maniacally and hit SEND*
Yes, I have to admit I deliberately launched that missile right into the heart (quite literally) of my nearest mil support heroine.
...To those who were a part of making daily life out on the POEs just a little bit brighter for some Marine way out in the desert, thanks. I always say that if we take care of the Marines then they'll take care of the mission. I appreciate you all doing your part.
Services' Top Enlisted Members Discuss Family Support -- [Defense Link]
The top enlisted servicemember from each of the four services offered their appreciation to those who support military families before fielding some tough questions during a town hall-style meeting here Sept. 1.
The meeting was part of the Defense Department's three-day Joint Family Readiness Conference, the first of its kind since 2000.
...Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West called for interservice cooperation in the approach to family support, and he asked for input of the family support personnel attending the conference.
"I hope you take the energy from today and bring that to something for us to work on the table," he said, "because I saw a lot of good energy over there in that [gathering in the ballroom]," West said. "We can all be individuals or individual services, but if we're not working together, some of our families are going to fall through the cracks, and we can't have that."
Attendees Leave Family Conference With Wealth of Resources -- [Defense Link]
More than 1,500 people involved with military family support gathered to hear speakers and participate in workshops focusing on such topics as finances, education, health care, and how to help families, especially children, cope with deployments.
"Multiple deployments and separations are taking a toll on the children. They affect everyone from infants to teens, as well as the spouses left behind," said Karen White, the director of the child development center at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. "A parent may deploy when a child is 3 months old, and now is back, and the child is over a year [old] and doesn't recognize the parent. That can result in reconnection issues."
Deployments affect the co-workers left behind too, she added. If half of a unit deploys, the military members left behind work more hours, which can affect their family lives as well, she noted.
The Voice of a New Generation of Veterans -- [Washington Post]
Flavin, director of the new White House Office of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy, is the administration's liaison to the nation's roughly 23 million veterans. For a president with no military experience, he orchestrates outreach to the politically prized constituency.
In a community dominated by veterans of the Vietnam War, Flavin embodies a generational change. He and the few other administration officials who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan -- including Tammy Duckworth, an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs -- offer a voice in Washington for the men and women fighting in today's conflicts.
Some good causes -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
I received an email from Tim at Semper Max about a former Marine, Sgt Justin Kinnee who could use some help:
I would like to introduce you to Sgt. Justin Kinnee, USMC, Medically Retired.
He has started a new program called In Our Boots (www.inourboots.org)
...My name is Beth and I volunteer to help spread the word about a new free Post Traumatic Stress online support group.
As I know this falls within your interest I thought that you might want to help us in the quest to reach as many people as possible (the more people know about the group the better help they will get). You can support us in many ways (not financially): telling people you know, linking to it, writing a blog or forum post and participating in the group discussions.
Warrior versus Soldier - do the words matter? -- [Castle Argghhh!!!]
Comes now a thoughtful guest editorial on the subject, by a serving soldier, Major M. Orris, published here with his permission:
For some reason and this isn't being said to be snide nor condescending, the military and the Army in particular has been keen to hype the word Warrior as opposed to Soldier. It is a disservice to the profession of arms to hype the "warrior" over the soldier because these are two vastly different concepts and as a professional military we should not be enamored by what is basically a self-serving view of warfare.
So what is a warrior?...
Shout-outs for military clichés -- [Tom Ricks]
Starbuck, author of the fine "Wings Over Iraq" blog, recently reviewed contemporary military clichés. People, this isn't a matter of taste: As St. George teaches us, weak or tired writing generally reflects weak or tired thinking.
Starbuck, an observant helicopter pilot, offers up a lot of good examples of milspeak, but my favorite is a Ft. Bragg notice about driving carefully on Halloween because on-base children would be "conducting trick-or-treating operations."
...Starbuck also speaks much truth in targeting the phrase "full spectrum"
USS Scranton Returns Home -- [The Stupid Shall be Punished]
From the official Navy website, here's a picture of the return of USS Scranton (SSN 756) to Norfolk following a deployment to the Med, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Gulf as part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group:
Iraq vet gets surprise welcome home -- [Chronicle-Telegram]
"It makes me feel good to welcome home another veteran who had done his job well," O'Quinn said. "Too many times, soldiers don't return home, and those that
Homecoming for our troops -- [York Daily Record]
They should not be forgotten as we welcome their surviving brothers and sisters home. As we welcome home our local citizen-soldiers,...
All smiles at Charlie Troop's homecoming -- [Geneva Sun]
Welcome home, and job well done." And that was it. As the soldiers were dismissed, their families pressed against the metal bars in front of the bleachers,
Tasteless -- [Neptunas Lex]
Defying the wishes of a dead Marine's father and the Secretary of Defense, the AP published photographs of the young mans last moments:
The AP reported that the Marine's father had asked - in an interview and in a follow-up phone call -- that the image, taken by an embedded photographer, not be published.
Robert Gates protests AP decision as 'appalling' -- [Politico]
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is objecting "in the strongest terms" to an Associated Press decision to transmit a photograph showing a mortally wounded 21-year-old Marine in his final moments of life, calling the decision "appalling" and a breach of "common decency."
...AP reported in a story that it decided to make the image public anyway because it "conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it."
Will: Let's get out of Iraq, too -- [Hot Air - Ed Morrissey]
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly Earlier this week, George Will touched off a firestorm of criticism on the Right when he urged Barack Obama to pull American troops out of Afghanistan. In tomorrow's column, already live at Washington Post's website, Will completes the circle by demanding a withdrawal from Iraq as well:
U.S. Forces Should Leave Iraq Next Year -- [Washington Post]
Since U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq's cities, two months have passed, and so has the illusion that Iraq is smoothly transitioning to a normality free of sectarian violence. Recently, Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of U.S. troops there, "blanched" when asked if the war is "functionally over."
Op-Eds -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
...much of what is available out there in the popular press is pretty weak on Afghanistan, demonstrating a total lack of understanding of either local conditions or the peculiar tactical problems of this campaign.
...But by far the worst transgressors in the realm of public commentary are the various pundits, talking heads and think-tank types who populate the OpEd pages of the major newspapers.* These largely self-appointed experts feel compelled to spout off about anything that remotely enters into their supposed sphere of knowledge. And given the depth of their hubris, there's not much that falls outside that sphere.
*You thought I was going to say "bloggers" didn't you? Well, some of them do suck, for a variety of reasons. I'll get to them later.
George Will- We can lose both these wars -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
Again we are treated to the musings of noted national security expert George Will on the art of the retreat. Oh wait, what's that you say? Will is not a national security or military expert? He is a political commentator who dabbles in baseball? Hmmm, that's curious because this poorly reasoned drivel is printed under his byline.
Blog offers support to military families -- [The National Guard]
The Defense Department has launched a blog called "Family Matters" that is dedicated to providing resources and support to military families.
The blog - which can be found at http://afps.dodlive.mil features tips from experts, and military-related topics that run the gamut from deployments and separations to education benefits and child care.
"Our goal is to touch on topics that are important and relevant to military families," said Elaine Wilson, the blog's author and an editor for American Forces Press Service. "Military families confront unique challenges and issues, and we're hoping people can turn to this blog for information and support."
LW On The Radio, Part 2 -- [BlackFive - Laughing_Wolf]
tonight I will be on You Served radio with some characters you should know, along with featured guest Rick Calvert, the founder and leader of Blog World and New Media Expo. Hear from him his thoughts on milblogs, their popularity, and why he is giving the milblogs their own track at this event.
A quick reminder: If you are a milblogger, spouseblogger, milsupporter, or other similar type and you would like to attend the milblog track -- and help us start planning for next year -- then drop me a line so I can get you set up to attend the milblog track for free. For everyone else, I do hope you will join us as I think we are off to a good start
Wonderful: "Green jobs" czar Van Jones is a Truther -- [Hot Air - Allahpundit]
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly In which Gateway Pundit does the Googling that Obama refuses to do. Although honestly, at this point I think Jones's hiring is best explained not as a breakdown in vetting but as a goof by Obama to see just how much crap the media will let him get away with. "Hey Rahm -- bet you 20 bucks I can get a Truther communist appointed to an environmental oversight position."
Obama's Team Crosses the Rhetorical Line -- [The Foundry]
President Obama's campaign organization "Organizing for America" sent out a notice to its "grassroots" supporters. It asked them to wage a coordinated phone campaign for health care by calling their U.S. Senators on September 11 - also known as Patriot Day in honor of the thousands of Americans killed by Al Qaeda terrorists eight years ago. It goes on: "All 50 States are coordinating in this - as we fight back against our own Right-Wing Domestic Terrorists who are subverting the American Democratic Process, whipped to a frenzy by their Fox Propaganda Network ceaselessly re-seizing power for their treacherous leaders." Please read that again.
A Ruling -- [Grims Hall]
You might like to know that Miss Manners (whose column is listed under the "Admired Voices" section of the sidebar) has issued a ruling on the subject of whether Sen. Boxer was insulted when Brigadier General Michael Walsh called her "ma'am."
...All of us familiar with military protocol knew that no insult was, or could be, intended with such a term. Miss Manner's ruling makes it official for the civilian side of the country -- at least, that part of it that cares about etiquette and courtesy.
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