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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.
The Battle of Wanat- First Hand -- [Blackfive]
Last night we heard an amazing story from two gentlemen who were there. They are only speaking up now because what was a tough day but ultimately a victory has been turned into a case where they are portrayed as victims.
The Battle of Wanat was fought right at the end of the 2nd of the 503rd, 173rd Airborne's 14 month tour. The Taliban had begin returning from their safe havens in Pakistan and they came in force...
Prince of Wales Makes Surprise Visit to British Troops in Afghanistan -- [ISAF/Facebook]
Friday, March 26, 2010 at 5:05am
HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, has made a surprise visit to British troops in Afghanistan. He is the most senior member of the royal family to visit Afghanistan and the only one in living memory to visit Kabul.
Prince of Wales makes surprise visit to British troops in Afghanistan -- [Helmand Blog - in Afghanistan]
He flew into the Afghan National Army brigade camp of Shorabak in an RAF Chinook, close to Camp Bastion, where he was greeted by an Afghan guard of honour before speaking with Afghan troops and their British mentors from 2nd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment. The Afghan and British soldiers gave a demonstration of instructional and training techniques, including identification of IEDs.
He later flew to Camp Bastion where he spoke with soldiers of the Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan), the UK Joint Force Medical Group, and the Joint Force EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) teams.
The Prince laid a wreath at the Camp Bastion memorial, in memory of those British soldiers killed during the campaign.
Obama in Afghanistan -- [Mudville Gazette]
US national security adviser Gen James Jones told reporters on Air Force One that Mr Obama hoped to help Mr Karzai understand that "in this second term that there are certain things he has to do as the president of his country to battle the things that have not been paid attention to almost since day one".
"The talks with Mr. Karzai will probably touch on several issues that have concerned administration officials about the Afghan government," says the New York Times, "...even reintegration with certain reconcilable members of the Taliban insurgency."
A touchy subject, that.
Nato commanders to put Afghan troops in front line for new southern push -- [Time (UK) Online]
Nato commanders are to change their tactics in the battle for Kandahar, putting Afghan forces at the forefront of the operation to drive the Taleban from their spiritual heartland.
Operation Omid -- the Pashto word for hope -- is the next stage of a year-long campaign to retake southern Afghanistan. It will target the southern city and surrounding areas with a "gradual squeeze" different from Operation Moshtarak, the airborne assault on the Marjah district of Helmand province last month.
Daily brief: major Kandahar operations to begin in June -- [Foreign Policy]
Summer of violence ahead
The NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan will reportedly begin major operations in Kandahar, the southern Afghan province that was once the seat of the Taliban's government, this June, with the aim of completing the "clearing phase" of the offensive by August for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan...
The Battle for Kandahar: Part I -- [Mike Yon - in Afghanistan]
The Battle for Kandahar has begun. The face of this battle is not one of sudden fury but a process, a complex struggle for legitimacy between local Taliban governance and Kabul rule... "Shaping Operations" are underway. Special Operations Forces are picking off and collecting key Taliban leaders.
Burgers go way of booze as US general Stanley McChrystal bans junk food -- [Times (UK) Online]
No longer will the fighter pilots at Bagram or Kandahar airfields be able to ring Pizza Hut to deliver. Once General McChrystal has his way, the Whoppers will be off the menu: Burger Kings at both locations are to close. Even the newly opened TGI Friday's on the boardwalk in Kandahar is to close its doors once its contract expires.
"This is a war zone, not an amusement park," wrote Command Sergeant-Major Michael T. Hall in a military blog.
Iraq panel to bar 6 lawmakers from taking office -- [LA Times]
Reporting from Baghdad - An Iraqi government commission said Monday that it would bar six newly elected parliament members from office, accusing them of having been members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.
The move, if upheld by a panel of judges, would take away at least two seats from the secular Iraqiya list, currently the largest bloc in the upcoming parliament...
Iraqi panel wants to bar 4 elected on winning list -- [AP]
A committee that vets candidates for ties to Saddam Hussein's regime is recommending four people elected to parliament from the winning list of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi be disqualified, an official on the committee said Monday. The challenge risks deepening Iraq's sectarian tensions.
Panel in Iraq Moves to Disqualify 52 Candidates -- [NY Times]
At a news conference on Monday, the commission's director, Ali Faisal al-Lami, refused to disclose the names or political affiliations of the 52 candidates the commission is seeking to disqualify. Many were likely to be members of Mr. Allawi's Iraqiya coalition.
Iraqi PM says He Will Form Broad Coalition Government -- [Voice of America]
Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is on the attack in his political battle to remain in office and form the next Iraqi government. He says he will succeed in putting together a broad coalition in the next few days and will ultimately head the new government.
Life in the Mud Pit -- [Ramblings from a Painter - in Iraq]
I'm hoping that maybe this'll be the last bout with rain and mud that I have to deal with before heading home.
"Heading home": what a wonderful concept! I've been deployed for 18 months and have one more to go. It's looking better and better...
Limits Eased on Pakistani Scientist -- [NY Times]
A Pakistani court on Monday eased some travel restrictions on Abdul Qadeer Khan, the scientist and pioneer of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal who admitted six years ago that he had been running an illicit proliferation network.
Pakistan court maintains curbs on AQ Khan -- [AP]
A Pakistani court Monday maintained restrictions on a nuclear scientist who allegedly leaked atomic weapons secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
SKorea president orders military on alert amid suspicion NKorea may have downed navy ship -- [AP]
South Korea's president ordered the military on alert Tuesday for any moves by North Korea after the defense minister said a mine from the rival country may have caused the explosion that sank a South Korean naval ship.
NKorea accuses South of psychological warfare -- [AP]
North Korea warned the U.S. and South Korea on Monday of deadly consequences for engaging in "psychological warfare" by allowing journalists into the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas.
The stern statement was the first from North Korea's military since a South Korean naval ship sank in the tense waters near the Koreas' maritime border under unclear circumstances. It made no mention of the ship...
US Wants Nuclear Treaty with Russia Ratified this Year -- [Voice of America]
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher says the goal is to submit the treaty to the Senate within the next three months.
Russia braces for terrorism's return as 38 die in subway bombings -- [Washington Post]
The explosions occurred about 45 minutes apart at downtown stations during the morning rush hour. They followed triumphant reports in recent weeks that Russian security forces had killed several top leaders of the Islamist rebel movement, which seeks to establish a fundamentalist state in the North Caucasus region.
The elimination of each militant leader was portrayed as a victory for Putin's tough approach to suppressing the insurgency, which had not mounted an attack in Moscow in nearly six years.
'Black Widows' suspected of Moscow Metro bombings that killed 38 -- [Times (UK) Online]
Chechen militants have used women bombers in Moscow before, in July 2003, killing 14. Yesterday's attack was the worst in the city since 2004 when the bombing of a Metro train killed 41 and wounded 250...
One theory was that the attackers were intending to blow themselves up in front of the FSB headquarters and Interior Ministry but had either got lost or delayed. Another puzzle was why the bombs were detonated in stations rather than in tunnels. Last night there were reports of attacks on women of Chechen or Muslim appearance in Moscow, apparently in revenge for the bombings.
Militia members indicted on conspiracy, weapons charges -- [LA Times]
The anti-government Hutaree group, which described itself as a 'Christian warrior' group, allegedly planned to kill a police officer, then attack others during the funeral.
Militia Charged With Plotting To Murder Law Enforcement Officers: Facebook Hutaree Craziness -- [Jawa Report]
A search was done on Facebook for these crazy's. (click all images to enlarge)
Facebook Hutaree Christian Militia page...
Fallen Marine's dad ordered to pay $16,510 to protesters -- [Greyhawk]
On Friday, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder to pay $16,510 to Fred Phelps. Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, which conducted protests at Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder's funeral in 2006.
Put yourself in his dad's shoes -- [Burn Pit/The American Legion]
...The American Legion is also in the process of filing an Amicus Brief with the Supreme Court on this issue.
[UPDATE III: National Adjutant is seeding this with a donation of his own. All funds will go to paying these lawyer fees, then for aiding in the Supreme Court filings, and anything above that will be used for other similarly situated individuals, since alas, this problem likely will not go away soon.
DoD authorizes non-chargeable recuperation leave for Iraq and Afghanistan -- [Army.mil]
The nonchargeable rest and recuperation leave program will be limited to the "most arduous" areas, and the combatant commander must recommend it through the Joint Staff for approval by the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, Retherford said.
To qualify for the program, members must be serving in a leave restricted area, where no dependents are allowed. They must be receiving hostile-fire pay and in areas where travel in and out of the country is restricted. "Two additional areas are that the duty has to be extremely arduous and the command has to foresee continuing combat operations," Retherford said.
The benefit will take effect once an area is designated by the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness and will not apply retroactively.
About 400 welcome home troops -- [Dekalb Times-Journal]
As anxious families watched soldiers with tears in their eyes, it was nearing the end of a mission that started in the same place nearly 11 months ago to the day.
"It's a red letter day in Fort Payne to welcome our troops home," said Mayor Bill Jordan. "It's good to have you back home. Your families are not just in Fort Payne but are spread out all over the state. Your absence affected a great many people."
It was a day that also featured former Alabama lead singer Randy Owen singing the National Anthem as soldiers and families grew even more impatient for embrace.
"Welcome home dragon soldiers," said Co. David Brown. "You did Alabama proud. I salute you for a job well done."
First Welcome Home vets day held -- [Santa Maria Times]
Complete with a ceremony, barbecue and live music, the first Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day took place Sunday in Guadalupe.
...Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwar-zenegger signed Assembly Bill 717 by Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, to establish an annual "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day."
'Call of Duty Endowment' Aids Unemployed Vets -- [Wired Magazine]
Activision Blizzard has established a charity to help find jobs for unemployed veterans, it said Monday. The Modern Warfare publisher has committed to raising millions of dollars through a new foundation called the Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit dedicated to helping soldiers find work.
Unemployment Among Young Vets Skyrocketed in 2009 -- [Call of Duty Endowment]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report today on 2009 veterans' unemployment figures, which show some alarming growth rates from 2008.
The 2009 unemployment rate for all Gulf War-Era II Veterans was 10.2 percent, compared to 7.3 percent in 2008. In the same period, the unemployment rate for young post-9/11 vets jumped from 14.1 percent to a staggering 21.6 percent.
Opening Night Festivities, 2010 Milblog Conference -- [Milblogging.com]
Friday evening [April 9], we'll have a cocktail reception following the kick-off panel. At the reception, there will be a cash bar and lite fare (passed hors d'oeuvers). A full dinner will be served at Saturday evening's big bash. The agenda for Friday (April 9), is below...
Hurt Locker -- [Mike Yon/Facebook]
Watched Hurt Locker yesterday. Not realistic other than sounds. Bad movie. Soldiers now use it as insult (calling someone "Hurt Locker" is insult)
American Heroes Ready and Willing to Serve in Congress -- [Sarah Palin/Facebook]
There are a number of great veteran candidates running for office this year, and there are some excellent organizations dedicated to helping them, including: Iraq Vets for Congress and Combat Veterans for Congress (please click on the links to visit their websites).
There are three veterans in particular I'll be supporting this week...
Palin supports war veterans for House -- [CNN]
Sarah Palin is putting her rock-star status among Republicans behind three Iraq war veterans who are taking on Democratic House candidates in November.
In a posting on her Facebook page Monday, Palin urged her supporters to donate to the campaigns of Major Vaughn Ward, Captain Adam Kinzinger, and Lieutenant Colonel Allen West.
Address to the Nation, March 29, 1973 -- [President Richard Nixon]
"Tonight, the day we have all worked and prayed for has finally come.
"For the first time in 12 years, no American military forces are in Vietnam. All of our American POW's are on their way home. The 17 million people of South Vietnam have the right to choose their own government without outside interference, and because of our program of Vietnamization, they have the strength to defend that right. We have prevented the imposition of a Communist government by force on South Vietnam.
"There are still some problem areas..."
U.S. Forces Out of Vietnam; Hanoi Frees the Last P.O.W. -- [NY Times/March 1973]
Saigon, South Vietnam, March 29 -- The last American troops left South Vietnam today, leaving behind an unfinished war that has deeply scarred this country and the United States.
There was little emotion or joy as they brought to a close almost a decade of American military intervention.
<...>
This afternoon at Tan Son Nhut, while waiting for his plane to take off, Col. Einar Himma, a naturalized American from Estonia, talked of his two tours in Vietnam. He had grown fond of the Vietnamese, he said, and he felt sad about their future.
"There's going to be a full blown war starting up after we leave," he said. "The fighting has never stopped anyway."
March 29, 1973 -- [Procopius]
It is an anniversary that passes almost unnoticed every year... Still, I think it is an anniversary worth remembering. On March 29, 1973, the last American combat troops left Vietnam.
Like most Americans, I rarely think about this anniversary. The only reason I remember it this year is because my Vietnam veteran brother pointed it out on his Facebook page. March 29 bears little similarity to the main end-of-war anniversaries of the 20th century...
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
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.
Updating - Refresh for updates.
View From A Gunner's Turret -- [Afghanistan my last tour - in Afghanistan]
It has been awhile since I have crawled up in the gunner's turret and took on the responsibility of a gunner. On today's mission, this was my position...
Pentagon Revamps Afghanistan Deployments -- [Yochi Dreazen/Wall Street Journal]
WASHINGTON--The Pentagon is revamping the way it deploys troops to Afghanistan, putting in place a new system that will return units to the same parts of the country so they can develop better regional expertise and closer relationships with local Afghan power brokers.
10 More Dari Phrases (Nice to know) -- [Your experience may vary - in Afghanistan]
One of my most popular posts is one from a while back on Dari Phrases You Need to Know. In case it's not obvious, this is the sequel: Ten phrases that can take you beyond the "minimum essential" and into the "nice to know"...
Home Depot, it ain't! -- [Mob2009 Blog - in Afghanistan]
Anyway, today I went to the local tool market here in Kabul. Like I stated earlier in my blog, that in Kabul they group all the stores into the same area. So, if you want meat, go to Butcher Street. If you want chicken, head over to Chicken Street. If you want flowers, head over to Flower Street. Today, I went to Tool Street!
Now, I didn't get the same spiritual feeling that I get when I walk into a Home Depot or Lowes, but I knew I found my "home away from home."
Gates: Guarded Optimism About Afghan War -- [Voice of America]
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he is guardedly optimistic about the U.S.-led military campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared at a Senate hearing in support of the Obama administration's request for additional funding for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Afghanistan Troop Level to Eclipse Iraq by Midyear -- [Defense News]
This summer will mark the first time since 2003 that the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will overshadow the American presence in Iraq, the top U.S. military officer told Congress today.
Driving the eclipse is the 30,000-troop surge President Barack Obama announced for Afghanistan in December, roughly a third of which is in place, and with 18,000 of the additional forces expected to be in Afghanistan by late spring as troop levels in Iraq continue to drop.
A Bit of This 'n' That -- [Ramblings from a painter - in Iraq]
We have some rather large organizational changes that are supposed to happen on April 1st. That's one week away, and you would think that we would know what those changes would be by now. You would be wrong.
Ayad Allawi, once seen as a U.S. puppet, returns to the center of Iraqi politics -- [Washington Post]
Allawi and his political coalition won Sunni support in part because he is considered less sectarian than other Shiite leaders and was not in office during the vicious sectarian bloodletting that marked the first two years of Maliki's tenure.
Allawi Wins Most Seats in Iraqi Elections -- [NY Times]
A secular coalition led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi won the most seats in Iraq's parliamentary elections, narrowly edging out Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who angrily denounced the results as fraudulent.
Mr. Allawi won 91 seats in Iraq's 325-seat Parliament, to Mr. Maliki's 89 seats, according to results released Friday by Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission.
Treaty Advances Obama's Nuclear Vision -- [NY Times "News Analysis"]
The treaty that the two sides hope to finalize as early as Friday will require hundreds of nuclear weapons to be shelved or destroyed, still just a fraction of the formidable arsenals maintained by the former cold war adversaries. But perhaps more important than the numbers is the tangible evidence of a new partnership with Russia and momentum toward a revamped nuclear security regime.
Binyamin Netanyahu humiliated after Barack Obama 'dumped him for dinner' -- [Time (UK) Online]
For a head of government to visit the White House and not pose for photographers is rare. For a key ally to be left to his own devices while the President withdraws to have dinner in private was, until this week, unheard of. Yet that is how Binyamin Netanyahu was treated by President Obama on Tuesday night, according to Israeli reports on a trip viewed in Jerusalem as a humiliation.
S.Korean ship sinking, North attack suspected: report -- [Reuters]
SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean naval vessel with more than 100 aboard was sinking on Friday in waters near North Korea and Seoul was investigating whether it was hit in a torpedo attack by the North, South Korean media said.
Broadcaster SBS said many South Korean sailors on the stricken vessel were feared dead.
S. Korean ship fires at unidentified vessel -- [Reuters]
SEOUL, March 26 (Reuters) - A South Korean naval ship fired at an unidentified vessel to the north on Friday after a South Korean naval vessel began sinking, the Yonhap news agency reported.
South Korean navy ship 'sinking near North' -- [BBC]
The South Korean government has convened an emergency meeting, according to the officials...
In January, North Korea fired artillery into the sea near the disputed maritime border, as part of a "military drill". South Korea returned fire, but no injuries were reported.
The following month, North Korea declared four areas near the sea border to be naval firing zones, according to the South Korean military, and deployed multiple rocket launchers close to the frontier.
S. Korean ship sinking; torpedo strike feared -- [MSNBC]
In recent weeks, North Korea has said it was bolstering its defenses in response to joint South Korean-U.S. military drills that were held this month.
Earlier Friday, North Korea's military warned South Korea and the United States of "unprecedented nuclear strikes" over a report the two countries plan to prepare for possible instability in the totalitarian country.
However the North routinely issues such warnings and officials in Seoul and Washington react calmly.
Military on alert as SKorean ship sinks near North -- [AP]
The military, meanwhile, moved to strengthen its vigilance near the maritime border, the site of three bloody naval clashes between the warring Koreas. The divided peninsula remains in a state of war because the three-year Korean conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.
Commander, Troops Support Korea Tour Plan -- [Defense News]
With tour normalization, assignments to South Korea will be more like assignments to Germany, Japan or other overseas installations. Single servicemembers typically will serve two-year tours, and married troops who bring their families will stay for three years...
Ultimately, Sharp said, the number of command-sponsored tours in South Korea is expected to reach about 14,000, based on the fact that about half of U.S. servicemembers assigned there are married.
Swift Justice? -- [The Volokh Conspiracy]
Gabriel Schoenfeld points out in the Weekly Standard that the administration's nominee to be general counsel of the Army, Solomon B. Watson IV, was general counsel of the New York Times when it broke the story of the Treasury's program to uncover terrorist financing.
Watson has drawn fire for his role in allowing the disclosure of that program.
Army Warns of Internet Romance Scams -- [DoD Family Matters Blog]
"We are seeing a number of scams being perpetrated on the Internet, especially on social, dating-type Web sites where females are the main target," said Chris Grey, CID spokesman.
In particular, women should be suspicious if they begin a relationship on the Internet with someone claiming to be an American soldier and find that within a matter of weeks, the alleged soldier is asking for money or marriage, said Grey.
The criminals frequently pretend to be U.S. servicemen and usually claim to be serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, said Grey. The perpetrators often will take the true rank and name of a soldier who is honorably serving his country somewhere in the world, marry that up with some photographs of a soldier pulled off of the Internet, and then build a false identity before starting to prowl the Internet for victims.
Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans -- [Google News roundup]
This Sunday has been designated Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. Numerous events around the country are planned.
VA tests system for electronic disability claims -- [AP]
Without a system overhaul, the VA estimates that by 2015, that backlog of disability claims will increase tenfold to about 2.6 million. Those with service-connected injuries already wait an average of about five months to have a claim processed, and there are frequent complaints about lost paperwork and inaccuracy...
It's expected to grow primarily because Shinseki in October made it easier for potentially 200,000 sick Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the Agent Orange herbicide to receive service-connected compensation. Under his watch, the VA has also said it will take a second look at the rejected claims of sick Gulf War veterans.
Special Abu Muqawama Q&A: Six Questions for Matt Gallagher -- [Abu Muqawama]
I think you all know by now how much I loved this book and how much I am encouraging readers of this blog to buy it. I liked Kaboom so much, in fact, that I forced Matt to answer some questions...
The place to nurse your MilBlog Conference hangover -- [Matt Gallagher/Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal]
I'll be at the Arlington Barnes & Noble, on Sunday, April 11, at 1 p.m. I'll give a short talk, do a reading, and sign personalized copies for anyone interested...
I'm greatly looking forward to the MilBlog Conference - it'll be my first (insert consummate e-virgin joke here) - and in addition to the rock solid list of speakers and panels they have set up, there's that whole ability to eat, drink, and be merry with people I've only known digitally up to now.
A Soldier's Story -- [Bing West/The Wall Street Journal Book Review]
Matt Gallagher served as an Army platoon leader in Baghdad during a 15-month deployment in 2007-08, and in that time, writing under the name "LT G," he entertained online readers with an irreverent blog called "Kaboom." His posts--originally intended for family and friends before a wider audience took notice--captured the comic insanities that are an inevitable aspect of life within the military leviathan. The Army pulled the plug on the blog in June 2008 after Mr. Gallagher posted an account of how he had turned down a promotion to a staff position in order to stay with his men--or, rather, he mentioned that news as part of a hilarious rant about Army injustices, pitch-perfect for the millennium generation, and it reverberated through the military ranks. Unfortunately, his battalion commander lacked a sense of humor and banished the lieutenant to another combat unit, one delighted to make use of his leadership. Thus did Mr. Gallagher avoid being shipped to the rear.
Now he is writing again, having left the Army last year. "Kaboom" is based on his blog but composed without superiors looking over his shoulder.
...Mr. Gallagher is too modest, and too ironic, to tout his own accomplishments, so I'll do it for him...
Pentagon rebukes general for opposing repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' law -- [Stars and Stripes]
Defense Secretary Robert Gates sharply reprimanded the three-star general who commands the U.S. Army in the Pacific on Thursday for publicly advocating against the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" law restricting gays in the military.
Pentagon Changes 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Enforcement -- [DoD news release]
On Feb. 2, Gates announced he'd ordered a review to understand the implications of a possible repeal of the 17-year-old law that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. President Barack Obama has called on Congress to repeal the law.
The initial 45 days of that review, he said, produced findings that "would enforce the existing law in a fairer and more appropriate manner" and are supported by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Vice Chairman Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright and the service chiefs...
The changes include:
-- Only a general or flag officer may separate an enlisted member believed at the conclusion of an investigation to have engaged in homosexual conduct. Under previous policy, a colonel -- or for a captain in the Navy and Coast Guard - could order separation.
-- A revision in what's needed to begin an inquiry or a separation proceeding. Information provided by a third party now must be given under oath, "discouraging the use of overheard statements and hearsay," Gates said.
-- Certain categories of confidential information -- such as information provided to lawyers, clergy and psychotherapists -- no longer will be used in support of discharges. Information provided to medical personnel in furtherance of treatment, or to a public-health official in the course of seeing professional assistance for domestic or physical abuse also is excluded, as well as information obtained in the process of security-clearance investigations, in accordance with existing Pentagon policies.
Military curbs 'don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays -- [LA Times]
"These changes represent an important improvement in the way the current law is put into practice, above all by providing a greater measure of common sense and common decency," Gates said.
In announcing the new procedures, Gates took the first major step of a yearlong process. For the rest of the year, a task force will study what the military will need to do to repeal the ban and, for the first time, accommodate people of varying sexual preferences.
Partners of gay troops to get benefits, too? -- [Navy Times]
If gay service members are allowed to serve openly, the military will face another tough question: Should gay partners be entitled to military benefits?
...Benefits for married service members include college tuition for a spouse and the right of a spouse to be at a wounded service member's bedside. Spouses also have access to military health care and commissaries worldwide, and married service members receive better housing and even extra pay when they go to war.
The ticket to qualifying for those benefits is a marriage certificate.
First, we hang the lawyers -- [From my position... on the way!]
These days, the teachers at Langley High School in McLean, Virginia are teaching an interesting view of the Great Depression 1929-1940.
Fullbore Friday -- [Cdr Salamander]
How much do you really know what is happening to your children in school, especially when it comes to history?
History and Parents; the cornerstones of a free society.
...Throw in bias and ignorance with malice in a teacher - what your children are fed will shock you.
Just ask the students at Langley HS...
Langley High Teaches Revisionist History -- [A Soldier's Perspective]
Langley High School in McClean, VA, is studying the Depression. As part of their curriculum, this image was shown to students during a "graded discussion" on how McDonald's is trying to take over the world.
Mc Iwo Jima- Lefty BS at Virginia HS -- [Uncle Jimbo/Blackfive]
Every time you think the America-hating left can't burrow any deeper into their own excrement, they prove us wrong. Some left wing butthead teacher at Langley HS in Virginia has decided that this image is appropriate to learn the children about the military-fast food complex.
A Teacher? The Hell It Is -- [Laughing Wolf]
Being that this is the modern public education establishment, I am willing to bet that nothing happens to this person. That the leadership of the school will circle the wagons, attack the kids and parents, and otherwise cry about how misunderstood they are and that academic freedom is at stake--what a load of crap.
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
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.
The Perils of Recruiting -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Working for an all-Afghan company (except myself, of course), one of the most common questions I get from clients and potential clients is, "How do you screen your guards so that you're sure none of them are Taliban?"
The short answer is that we screen them carefully, conduct background checks with the government and insist upon at least three letters of recommendation from reliable sources.*
Former Gitmo detainee targeting Afghan charities -- [LWJ]
Abdul Hafiz, a former Gitmo detainee, has reportedly rejoined the Taliban and is leading efforts to terrorize charities operating in Afghanistan. Hafiz was transferred to Afghanistan in December 2009 and is the first reported recidivist released by the Obama administration.
Former Gitmo detainee leads top Taliban council -- [
Mullah Abdul Qayum Zakir is one of two top Taliban leaders designated on March 19 to replace Mullah Baradar, who was detained by Pakistan last month. Zakir was released from Guantanamo in 2007.
Nowruz Mission - Part 1 -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
For our ANA counterparts and Afghanistan, Nowruz is the celebration of a new year and for us it would mean a 12-hour mission to new places, new roads, and a new experience. Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of a new year 1389 even though for us and our Gregorian calendar it's 2010. Nowruz has its origin with the Iranians dating back several thousand years and has been adopted by many Persian or Middle Eastern countries. It's interesting to note the Taliban banned the celebration of Nowruz, but after their removal in 2001, this rich tradition was restored.
Nowruz Mission - Part 2 -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
...We cruised back through the city and were approximately 3 miles from our camp when the traffic came to a complete stop. It was gridlocked and nobody was moving. Out of nowhere an Army colonel jumped out of his armored SUV and told us to turn around because he spent an hour weaving and inching through this traffic jam. Once again, we looked at our maps and relied on our interpreter to find us a new route. This new route would take us on roads we have never traveled. Oh, remember this is Nowruz, one of the most celebrated holidays in Afghanistan.
The Afghan New Year -- [270 Days in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
The Afghan calendar is somewhat different than the standard western calendar. In fact, their whole system of time is different. Some years their celebration of such major holidays as Ramadan and New Year is in the middle of wintertime, other years, right smack dab in the middle of summer. This year, the Afghan new year of 1389 happened to fall in March. And just like Americans, the Afghans like to celebrate!
Marja Embed: Six Weeks in Helmand Province -- [At War - in Afghanistan]
After spending more than six weeks with the Marines and Afghan National Army in Helmand Province, Tyler Hicks and I left Afghanistan in early March. We plan to return a few times this year. Meanwhile, our colleagues will follow developments there, as Rod Nordland just did. But even as the conversation pitches forward, there are items from the opening of the Marja offensive that merit more attention. The limits of space in the newspaper, as well the shortages of electricity and time while on the ground, meant that material worth sharing at the outset never found an outlet.
On Intelligence -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Editors Note: Chim Chim wanted to provide his perspective on the recent CIA versus contractor story which exploded in the main stream media last week. He knows of what he speaks:
The World has changed. I hear that a lot. As a matter of fact, I have heard it since I was in grade school. The reality is the World is constantly changing. The Intelligence community is no exception. I generally don't like blanket statements, but the bureaucracy at the Agency is broken and has been for a long time. Those of us who know have participated and watched the slow death of a once effective organization for a long time.
I have been on both sides of the equation.
Defense secretary orders review of military information programs -- [Washington Post]
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has ordered a review of the military's information operations programs in response to allegations that private contractors ran an unauthorized spy ring in Afghanistan. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Tuesday that Gates had instructed a small group of senior officials to determine whether there were any "systemic problems" with the operations, which include electronic warfare, psychological operations and other noncombat programs and have a budget this year of more than $500 million. Gates's decision was prompted by reports that a senior Defense Department official, Michael D. Furlong, hired contractors to run a $24 million intelligence-gathering program to track down suspected insurgent leaders in Afghanistan. The program was shut down late last year after the CIA and some military officials complained that Furlong was operating an off-the-books spy network.
A City in the Desert -- [Boots on the Ground: Chuck Holton - in Afghanistan]
I'm back in Afghanistan for my third month-long embed in nineteen months. When I visited Helmand province in the summer of 2008, Camp Bastion was a small forward staging base in the middle of the most miserable and inhospitable desert I could ever imagine. The Afghans call the area "the desert of death." Leave it to the military to see that as a good place to build a city larger than my hometown.
Just family tradition -- [Mob - in Afghanistan]
Last year, I sent my father this picture. The top photo is me when I came home from Iraq in June of 2009. The bottom photo is my dad, when he returned from Vietnam in the early seventies.
Well, I'd figure I'd continue the tradition this year for his birthday. This photo is him in Vietnam with some local kids. ...The reason that I'm posting this is that I need your help. Every day, I walk past this kids, actually, as soon as they see me, they come running yelling "Mossa" (Their interpretation of "Moose" in Dari) then they walk the whole way to the military compound with me. I always have candy or small toys or something that I can give them (these kids have nothing.) What I'm asking is if you can send me packages of US candy (I buy the local candy, but they love the US stuff.)
Corporal Dave Morrison, Information Co-ordinator, Royal Air Force Police -- [Frontline Bloggers - in Afghanistan]
I am asked from time to time to attend local events in villages around Camp Bastion to help out with security and find out what concerns the locals may have. We have got a large event on, with a good crowd gathered to visit a medical clinic. I have to get to work straight away because some of the locals have arrived early.
Young medic put to test in Afghanistan -- [A World of Troubles]
Imagine getting shot at on an exposed ridge line by a barrage of machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenades, and then running through such fire to save a buddy hit by a rocket blast.
Interview: General Stanley McChrystal -- [Telegraph]
At Nato's Kabul headquarters, his dozen or so key advisers sit behind computers around a u-shaped table opposite eight screens that scroll down intelligence reports, news headlines and operational updates of Improvised Explosives Device (IED) attacks and air strikes across Afghanistan.
When he's not visiting troops or conferring with Afghans, Gen McChrystal, a lean, intense and ascetic Special Forces veteran, is usually in the SAR, where he also conducts three or four video teleconferences a day, sometimes with the White House and Pentagon. Up to 50 people crowd into the room for his daily morning updates.
Insurgent Faction Presents Afghan Peace Plan -- [New York Times]
Representatives of a major insurgent faction have presented a formal 15-point peace plan to the Afghan government, the first concrete proposal to end hostilities since President Hamid Karzai said he would make reconciliation a priority after his re-election last year. The delegation represents fighters loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, 60, one of the most brutal of Afghanistan's former resistance fighters who leads a part of the insurgency against American, NATO and Afghan forces in the north and northeast of the country. His representatives met Monday with President Karzai and other Afghan officials in the first formal contact between a major insurgent group and the Afghan government after almost two years of backchannel communications, which diplomats say the United States has supported.
22 Mar 10 -- [Dude in the Desert - in Afghanistan]
things have been pretty slow here lately ... the high command people in charge have been knocking down missions left and right...not sure why... something to do wiht new strategies and policies in the AOR...kinda sucks for these guys...they are being held on a short leash and not allowed to carry out their main priorities for which they are employed...but, I guess that's the way the military is... too many politics involved...whatever, I am still here just to fix vehicles and I have been doing a pretty good job of that-nothing is broke...
Key court ruling favors Marine charged in Iraqi shooting case -- [Stars & Stripes]
The defense for the last Marine facing criminal charges in the fatal shooting of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005 won a key ruling Tuesday that could lead to the case being dropped.
Lt. Col. David Jones, the military judge, ruled that attorneys for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich had successfully shown that there was the possibility of what the military calls undue command influence in the decision by a general to send Wuterich to a court-martial.
Jones' ruling requires that prosecutors prove beyond a reasonable doubt that no such influence existed or that, while it may have existed, it did not influence the general's decision.
Bid for Iraq Vote Recount Intensifies -- [Los Angeles Times]
Reporting from Baghdad - Senior politicians from Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's ruling coalition warned Tuesday that Shiite Muslim-dominated southern Iraq could severely loosen its ties with Baghdad if the nation's electoral commission failed to meet its demand for a manual recount of ballots in parliamentary elections.
Iraq Votes - Part X -- [MEMRI]
The Iraqi Elections Commission has announced the completion of the counting of 95% of the votes cast in the elections. So far, the distribution of the seats is as follows:
Slate (Projection) Number of Seats
State of Law (Al-Maliki) 92
Iraqiya (Allawi) 89
National Alliance (Hakim) 64
Kurdish Alliance 42
"Change" - Kurdish 8
Tawafuq (Sunni) 6
Islamic Alliance 4
Iraqi Unity 3
Kurdish Islamic Group 2
Compensatory seats 7
Minorities 8
TOTAL 325
These numbers are likely to change slightly when the vote count is completed.
We have found, however, some unexplained missing votes in the figures supplied by the Commission.
De-Baathification With a Hacksaw -- [At War]
Until recently, it was perhaps the only surviving public image of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. He was portrayed in huge metal relief as Saddam the master builder, personally directing the construction of the twin-decked July 14 Bridge across the Tigris River.
Until last year the image stood intact at the southern end of that bridge, protected by blast walls and a checkpoint beside the entrance to what is now the Green Zone. It has since been removed, crudely and hurriedly, leaving a jagged tear. Only a masterful right forearm now remains - still pointing authoritatively across the river to the Republican Palace -- no longer bearing the four large Saddam heads that used to adorn it -- and to the new American mega-Embassy that has sprung up since Mr. Hussein's demise.
In Baghdad, the Crime Scene Team -- [At War]
In the aftermath of a roadside bomb on Monday, the gray-uniformed members of the Iraqi police forensic unit known as the Crime Scene Team -- a "CSI Baghdad," of sorts -- were on the job. The bomb, which went off during the morning rush in one of Baghdad's busiest squares, was planted at the foot of a newly built blast wall outside of a bank. The wall directed the blast out into the highway just as a convoy was passing, shopkeepers said. Iraqi medical officials reported several people injured, but no one was killed.
Mercs vs. Pirates: Deadly Shootout on the High Seas -- [Danger Room]
For months, shipping firms have been testing ways to repel pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, trying everything from sonic blasters to warning shots. But things have now escalated to lethal force: A Somali pirate was apparently killed yesterday in a gunfight between a cargo ship and a pirate skiff.
According to a news release issued today by the European Union Naval Force Somalia, or NavFor, the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship MV Almezaan came under attack by pirates while sailing to Mogadishu. "An armed private vessel protection detachment on board the ship returned fire, successfully repelling the first attack, but the pirates continued to pursue. A second attack was repelled and the pirates fled the area."
Gates, Mullen Extend Military Support to Mexico -- [American Forces Press Service]
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen are in Mexico today as part of a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair also are part of the delegation.
"Dignity, Respect, Order": 82nd Airborne Division in Haiti - DoD Roundtable -- [Military Avenue]
...The 82nd deployment is about to end (3,100 initially deployed in January and 900 are left) with command elements preparing to depart soon. He said the airport and naval ports are operating above capacity (prior to earthquake levels) and the security environment is vastly improved. He said the 82nd never saw any violence toward its troops and there were no incidents at food distribution points while they were on scene. The country is calm and the environment is vastly improved. He described the Haitian people as "thankful" and said the new relationships with other responders such as NGOs, UN and Haitian government personnel were ready to continue their support!
U.S. Troops to March in Red Square Parade -- [Pajamas Media]
When I read the news on March 18, I was ashamed to call myself an American, ashamed to admit that Barack Obama was my president.
I learned in a tiny Internet blurb from the Associated Press that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow had confirmed that on May 9, 2010, American soldiers would march in the infamous military parade through Red Square alongside the neo-Soviet army of proud KGB spy Vladimir Putin. Obama wants U.S. soldiers to help the Kremlin celebrate the 65th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany. British and French soldiers, it seems, will also take part.
All part of the now infamous Obama "reset" on Russia. Next stop for U.S. troops? Maybe a similar parade in Tehran?
Make no mistake about how Russians will understand this event. Putin will say to them: "You see, not only will they not help you fight for democracy, they will march against you. They will help me crush you."
Kim Jong Il 'Has Chronic Kidney Failure' -- [The Times]
The North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is suffering from kidney failure which requires dialysis and also has partial paralysis following a 2008 stroke, according to the head of a South Korean state research institute
Cyber-attack on U.S. Firms, Google Traced to Chinese -- [Washington Times]
The cyber-attack on Google and other U.S. companies was part of a suspected Chinese government operation launched last year that used human intelligence techniques and high-technology to steal corporate secrets, according to U.S. government and private-sector cybersecurity specialists.
More worrying, however, is the likelihood that the cyber-attacks that led Google this week to end its cooperation with Beijing-controlled censorship and move its search engine service to Hong Kong included planting undetectable software on American company networks that could allow further clandestine access or even total control of computers in the future.
An Obama administration official said the U.S. government was able, with some confidence, to link the attack, first discovered last summer, to Chinese government organs.
US judge orders release of 9/11 recruiter -- [LWJ]
A US federal judge has ordered the release of a top al Qaeda recruiter for the 9/11 attacks from custody at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who was identified by the 9/11 Commission as a key recruiter of al Qaeda's Hamburg cell, was ordered to be released from the prison by US District Judge James Robertson
US warns of al-Qaida threat to ships off Yemen -- [AP]
The U.S. is warning of possible al-Qaida attacks against ships off the coast of Yemen, where an offshoot of the terrorist network has established a significant base of operations over the past year.
Yemen became a focus of deep international concern in December when al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner, showing the group based in an impoverished and unstable corner of the Middle East had global reach.
Report: Pentagon hasn't met main threats -- [Washington Times]
Somali pirates, Mexican drug smugglers and Islamic terrorists are the types of groups that pose the greatest threat to the United States in the coming decades and, according to a report released on Tuesday, the Pentagon is not adapting quickly enough to stop them. The National Strategy Information Center said the U.S. military will remain in a 20th-century mindset if it does not appreciate the singular significance of armed groups emerging from weak, failing or failed countries. In its 36-page report, the Washington think tank said the nation's greatest threats will not come from the armies of other nations.
Caution lights for the military's 'information war' -- [Washington Post]
It has become commonplace since Sept. 11, 2001, to speak of the "war of ideas" between Muslim extremists and the West. But there has been too little attention paid to the U.S. military's mobilization for this war, which is often described by the oxymoronic phrase "information operations."
To populate this information "battle space," the military has funded a range of contractors, specialists, training programs and initiatives -- targeted on the hot wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the broader zone of conflict in the Middle East and Central Asia. Gen. David Petraeus, the Centcom commander who oversees that region, has been one of the military's most vocal proponents of aggressive information operations.
"Dear Dad, I'm sorry if you're reading this . . . " -- [Soldiers Angels Germany]
The letter sat on the dresser for four years.
Robert Gilbert never opened it. He only touched the envelope when he needed to dust around it. He wanted to give it back to his son unopened.
Every time his Marine son was deployed, his son would ask, "You still got my letter?"
His dad never wanted to read what was inside an envelope marked: "Dad, open this if I am wounded. Love, Robert."
The call to open it came March 8.
"Is Robert Gilbert there?" a voice from Marine headquarters in Quantico, Va., said.
"Junior or Senior?" Robert said.
"Senior."
The father felt his stomach drop even before he heard the words: "Your son has been injured in Afghanistan."
When he heard his son received "possibly a mortal wound," he sat on the bed, opened the yellow envelope and pulled out four handwritten pages of spiral notebook paper.
I'm sorry if you're reading this . . .
Troop Support For Newbies: A PDF -- [The Kitchen Dispatch]
I've created a .PDF on how to send things to the troops that was made especially for people with little to no familiarity with troops, want to send things, but don't know how. I kind of got tired of repeating myself, even explaining to aunts, uncles and cousins of deployed troops, while standing around in places like the DMV parking lot. It covers the nuts and bolts of boxing, buying and sending.
Pentagon Looks to 'Phase In' Missile Defense - [American Forces Press Service]
Based on the Pentagon's September 2009 review of U.S. ballistic missile defenses, military officials want to harness technology for a more flexible and adaptive defense architecture, the principle deputy defense undersecretary for policy said.
James N. Miller spoke to an audience of more than 200 missile defense experts here yesterday at the 8th Annual U.S. Missile Defense Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
Miller said the United States needs to integrate its missile-defense technology with foreign partners based on various threats. Such an approach, he said, would be more cost effective and also help to reduce potential threats.
Iraq withdrawal payoff: More time at home for Marines -- [McClatchy News]
Beginning this fall, the Marine Corps will guarantee nearly all Marines 14 months at home for every seven months they spend in war zones, the first payoff for service members of the United States' diminishing military presence in Iraq.
The Army hopes to make a similar change by the end of 2011, guaranteeing soldiers two years at home for every year they're in war zones.
The change is the first concrete sign that the stress on the U.S. military caused by the years-long engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan is beginning to ease.
National Medal of Honor Day: Pappy Boyington Field Film -- [PR Newswire]
He was an ACE Fighter Pilot, Prisoner of War, and recipient of the MEDAL OF HONOR. PAPPY BOYINGTON was a hard-living, hard-fighting man, and he chronicled ...
ThisDay Trivia March 24, 1958 -- [ThisDay Trivia]
Elvis Presley. The King of Rock 'n' Roll is inducted into the U.S. Army, where he took an approximate $100000 pay cut.
US Iraq Soldiers Return -- [The Post-Standard]
Sgt. Earl Castle, Jr. of Centerville kisses his son Landon Castle, 2, during a welcome home ceremony in Turtlecreek Township, Ohio on Monday, March 22,
First wave of 1st ACB troops welcomed home -- [Blackanthem.com]
"I'm here to welcome home the troops," said 11-year-old Taylor Pitkus, whose father, Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Pitkus, the top enlisted member of 3rd Battalion ...
Yigo mayor: Welcome back the troops of Halu'u Platoon from yearlong deployment -- [Pacific Daily News]
In this week's article, I want to welcome back our Guam Army National Guard Halu'u Platoon soldiers who have been deployed to Afghanistan for the past year.
VA Officials Planning To Add Social Media To Vets Health Portal. -- [Federal Computer Week]
Federal Computer Week (3/24, Beizer, 90K) reports, "Veterans Affairs Department officials plan to add social-media style tools to the portal veterans use to access health records, a VA official said" on Wednesday "at the 2010 FOSE conference. Veterans use the My HealtheVet to access records, keep health diaries and reorder prescriptions, according to Gail Graham," VA's deputy chief officer of health care information management. Federal Computer Week adds, "Veterans of all ages are using the portal, but younger service members returning from deployments want more functionality, she said."
How to Fight the Hollywood Left's Fighting Words -- [Big Hollywood]
Can any of you remember a time when so many creative film artists in Hollywood shit where they eat by endlessly voicing such outspoken contempt and loathing for the majority of the American people, our history and our way of life? I can't. Now I'm not talking about Hollywood Lefties going off on political tangents like at HuffPo. We do the same damn thing here. I'm talking fighting words as defined in the Chaplinsky ruling. Too many fighting words coming out of Lefty Hollywood these days.
Rep. Davis: Misinforming military 'not acceptable'-- [San Diego Source]
Representatives and government agency spokesmen say statements made by Rep. Brian Bilbray indicating Tricare has moved into the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are misleading.
The Republican congressman from Carlsbad gave interviews to local television and radio stations following the health care reform debate indicating that Tricare, the military health care program, relocated out of its Department of Defense home as part of the new policy that consolidated health care programs.
Secretary Gates begs to differ with Buyer and McKeown.-- [Castle Argghhh!!!]
This came out this morning, I'm assuming in response to this press release from the Republicans on the Veteran's Affairs committee. Note, however, the hedge about the Senate. As a blogger of my acquaintance said when I passed this on to him - "So I guess I can expect Gates' nuts to be delivered by FedEx when this blows up all over veterans?"
Now that the deed 'tis done, how will it affect you? (Part I) -- [Burn Pit]
The big question everyone has is: how will this affect me, the VA/TRICARE/TRICARE-for-life individual? Well, let's start by looking at what some of the others are saying, and then try to cut the middle. Separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were.
The only folks I have found thus far that think this thing is just great for veterans and their families is VoteVets. Now, mind you the MoveOn.org affiliated group is also citing some Harvard study of how many veterans die without health insurance that is based on nothing but comparing the number of deaths with the percent of veterans, so take it for what it is worth
Ask America's 1stSgt Edition # Does It Really Matter? -- [Castra Praetoria]
Applegoat, a Soldier's Angel (we won't hold it against her) asks what's the difference between Oorah! and Hooah!
The main difference is Oorah! is a battle cry associated with the World's Finest United States Marines where as Hooah! is a discomforting sound usually emanating from an Army latrine. I think it is related to some kind of gastrointestinal disorder but I may be wrong.
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
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.
Uneasy quiet, then a Taliban ambush -- [Stars and Stripes]
There had been no real fighting for Company L, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment since the second week of the Marjah assault, which had started almost a month earlier. McElhinney's platoon had been patrolling for nearly two weeks on the northern outskirts of the town without drawing a shot...
"I ain't going to lie," one Marine said. "I thought there was going to be more to Marjah than this."
"I did, too," the other one said. "But I don't know what."
...But in one violent day, on March 10, their war abruptly resumed...
Earlier that day, a platoon from Company L had awakened before dawn. For three hours, the Marines trudged, along with a group of Afghan soldiers, through muddy poppy and wheat fields to reach the school, which Taliban fighters reportedly were using as a base.
The graffiti on the walls of the wrecked concrete building left no doubt that the Taliban had been there. The childish, Picasso-like drawings showed stick figures shooting down helicopters and blowing up tanks.
...A Marine reported seeing shots coming from about 200 yards due west. The troops at the school scrambled for their body armor and weapons.
Within minutes, Taliban fire came pouring in from three sides...
Camp Pendleton troops deploy to Afghanistan -- [LA Times]
Jerry Germenis was sitting in his seventh-grade English class in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 11, 2001, when the math teacher -- a normally taciturn sort -- rushed into the room with tears in his eyes. "Turn on the TV, a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center in New York," he blurted out...
Germenis, 22, a computer specialist and Marine lance corporal, was among several hundred Marines who left Saturday for Camp Leatherneck. The base is located in southern Afghanistan, in the middle of Helmand province, which until recently was a Taliban stronghold.
U.S. Turns a Blind Eye to Opium in Afghan Town -- [NY Times]
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The effort to win over Afghans on former Taliban turf in Marja has put American and NATO commanders in the unusual position of arguing against opium eradication, pitting them against some Afghan officials who are pushing to destroy the harvest.
From Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal on down, the military's position is clear: "U.S. forces no longer eradicate," as one NATO official put it.
Wheels within wheels -- [Greyhawk]
There's been no shortage of news stories lately on successful anti-Taliban efforts in Pakistan. It began with a leaked (but only after they knew it wouldn't hurt national security!) story from the New York Times ("The participation of Pakistan's spy service could suggest a new level of cooperation from Pakistan's leaders...") and for weeks thereafter it seemed a day didn't pass without news of another Taliban operative captured there. Here's a roundup of some of the roundups, crediting both the CIA and Pakistan's intelligence service for their great success. ("...by far the most extensive and successful targeting of the Afghan Taliban since the war began... The raids suggest that the two agencies are working closer together than ever before.")
Hooray for a new era of cooperation - but now comes this: "The former United Nations envoy to Afghanistan accused Pakistan of undermining negotiations with the Taliban by arresting senior Taliban officials."...
Karzai meets envoys of Taliban-linked group -- [AP]
President Hamid Karzai has met with representatives of a major Taliban-linked insurgent group in a step toward national reconciliation, presidential spokesmen said Monday...
Deputy spokesman Hamed Elmi would not say when the meeting with the delegation from Hizb-i-Islami took place or give any details of what was discussed. A member of the Hizb-i-Islami insurgent movement, led by former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, said the meeting occurred Monday morning and that further talks were expected.
Meetings, Rocks, and Being "in Charge" -- [270 Days in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
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March: Change of Seasons and other cool stuff in Kabul -- [My View; Our Mission - in Afghanistan]
Nowruz, a Persian word meaning "a new day," is an ancient Persian tradition. It marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the new year on a solar calendar, and is celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox, which is typically lands on March 21. New Years also brings the celebration of Farmer's Day and in Kabul there is a very large open air market and the livestock are all dressed up...
Your Experience May Vary poster -- [Your Experience May Vary - in Afghanistan]
A few folks have stumbled upon this blog while searching for "Poster Experience May Vary"...you may even have been one of them! ...they never found the poster they were looking for. Until now.
Memorial Service -- [Ramblings From a Painter - in Iraq]
...Robbie was killed last week by a roadside bomb while on a mission to a project site.
Unfortunately, his is not the only hit that our security forces have taken recently while at, or en route to, project sites. A week prior to Robbie's death, a member of a different team to the north was killed by a sniper. A few days ago, two security guys lost their legs to another roadside bomb.
That spate of incidents is extremely unusual...
Iraq's Premier Endorses a Recount of the Vote -- [NY Times]
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki endorsed the mounting calls for a recount of Iraq's parliamentary election, as the latest results on Sunday showed his main competitor with a slight lead.
Iraqi Election Commission Rejects Recount -- [Voice of America]
Iraq's high electoral commission is refusing requests by the country's President and Prime Minister for a recount in the March 7th parliamentary election.
Iranians train Taliban to use roadside bombs -- [Times (UK) Online]
TALIBAN commanders have revealed that hundreds of insurgents have been trained in Iran to kill Nato forces in Afghanistan.
The commanders said they had learnt to mount complex ambushes and lay improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which have been responsible for most of the deaths of British troops in Helmand province.
The accounts of two commanders, in interviews with The Sunday Times, are the first descriptions of training of the Taliban in Iran.
According to the commanders, Iranian officials paid them to attend three-month courses during the winter.
French Army teaches 24th MEU Marines desert survival skills -- [Lance Cpl. David Beall, 24th MEU/Marines.mil]
These Marines received a 24 hour course taught by French Army, 5th Regiment instructors as part of their sustainment training package in Djibouti...
On Guam, planned Marine base raises anger, infrastructure concerns -- [Washington Post]
"Our nation knows how to find us when it comes to war and fighting for war," said Michael W. Cruz, lieutenant governor of Guam and an Army National Guard colonel who recently returned from a four-month tour as a surgeon in Afghanistan. "But when it comes to war preparations -- which is what the military buildup essentially is -- nobody seems to know where Guam is."
The federal government has given powerful reasons to worry to the 180,000 residents of Guam, a balmy tropical island whose military importance derives from its location as by far the closest U.S. territory to China and North Korea.
Proud to help -- and to fly our flag -- [Jim Hanson/Washington Times]
The United States has brought millions of dollars and many tons of aid to Haiti, but one thing we brought is not welcome: the American flag. For awhile, it flew over the compound where the Joint Task Force Haiti was operating, but no more. Apparently, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive thought it implied a U.S. occupation, and so, in a pitiful example of political correctness, it was lowered. This is even more ironic given that the French contingent proudly flies its flag and France held Haiti as a colony until a bloody revolution.
Exclusive: The Facebook Jihad Targets President Obama -- [Jawa Report]
Noting the delay of President Obama's trip to Indonesia in order establish his neo-commie heath care disappointed a lot of Indonesian Jihads on Facebook.
They were so hoping to plant an IED (Inshaallah). And it looks like the JI supporters have done their research...
Activist Cindy Sheehan revives anti-war efforts -- [USA TODAY]
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan is restarting her campaign against wars in Iraq and Afghanistan today, setting up tents and teaching protest seminars near the Washington Monument.
Dubbed "Camp OUT NOW," the protest is geared to pressure President Obama and Democrats, whom Sheehan says have abandoned the anti-war cause now that they have control of the White House and Congress.
"Obama said there'd be one combat battalion coming home per month, and that has not happened," Sheehan says. "We still have significant troops in Iraq, and he's ramped up in Afghanistan.
"I don't think this is what people understood they were voting for. I think they were voting for a change."
White House officials declined to comment.
U.S. Navy Veterans Association: Under the radar -- [St Petersburg Times]
The U.S. Navy Veterans, a nonprofit organization that the IRS certified as a tax-exempt charity, is the focus of this investigation by the St. Petersburg Times...
The group reported $4.58 million in income from its Florida chapter in 2008 and $17.82 million from its other chapters. It said it donated about 1 percent to needy beneficiaries and said the other 99 percent went for administrative costs, educational materials and "direct assistance'' to veterans and their families.
Heroics illustrated, comic-book style -- [Marine Corps Times]
Blazing guns, explosions, epic battles and superheroes are common elements of most action comics. But in a new comic series debuting this month in Marines Magazine, the heroes are Marines, and the stories of combat are unembellished, real-life accounts of how they earned valor awards.
"Sharing the Courage" is more than just entertainment. Its creators hope the series will serve as inspiration.
"It's important for young Marines to see their contemporaries rallying, going toward the sound of the guns and laying it all on the line for what we believe in," said Sgt. Kristopher Battles, a combat artist and the series' author.
Supersonic stealth jumpjet achieves its first mid-air hover -- [The Register]
The F-35B supersonic stealth jumpjet has achieved its first hover in flight testing. British test pilot Graham Tomlinson held aircraft BF-1 stationary in midair 150 feet above the runway yesterday before executing a slow 70-knot rolling landing.
The F-35B is now in flight testing at the Patuxent River naval air station in Maryland.
Sculptor Honors Veterans at Houston Rodeo -- [MyFox Houston]
A chilly southeast Texas wind whips the American flag on the last day of the 2010 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, as a wheelchair-bound Vietnam vet works to give military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan a warm welcome home.
"Some of us in the past didn't get a welcome home," said veteran Bill Callahan. "The troops now, they're getting taken care of, and I want it to stay that way."
Time to welcome them home -- [Jacksonville Daily Progress]
U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) introduced a resolution to the senate designating March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, and whether it passes the senate or not, Chandler wants to see something done on a local level to recognize those men who went to Vietnam and fought so courageously, but didn't receive the support of their country as had veterans before them.
Veterans clubs want exemption from state smoking ban -- [Detroit Free Press]
Veterans clubs have started a petition drive to have their lodges exempted from Michigan's smoking ban when it goes into effect May 1...
"It's wrong for lawmakers to tell us private clubs what to do," said Stapleton, 61, of Jenison, who served in the Vietnam and Desert Storm wars. "When we were under fire, being shot at and bombed, we'd smoke when we got a break to calm our nerves and relax."
...Laura Van Heest, cessation and education coordinator for Tobacco Free Partners in Grand Rapids, said she doesn't want to see the law weakened with more exemptions.
Corps turns to social media to find recruits -- [Marine Corps Times]
Struggling to turn things around, Korous turned to old-fashioned recruiting principles, but also found help from a new source for leads suggested by a prospective Marine: Facebook, the popular social networking Web site.
"He was like, 'Why don't you just look these people up on Facebook?'" Korous said of the poolee. "And I'm like, 'What is Facebook? Really, you need to just go away.'"
To say Korous had a change of heart would be an understatement. With some recruiters using Facebook several hours per day, Mount Prospect meets its recruiting mission each month, and the methods his Marines adopted through trial and error are viewed as a model for other recruiters.
Corps pushes tighter Internet ban than Pentagon -- [Marine Corps Times]
The Defense Department has loosened guidelines on the use of social-networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but Marine officials say a servicewide ban on them remains in place with limited exceptions...
The Corps' ban was put in place in August through Marine administrative message 458/09, prohibiting social networking by all Marines on the Corps' unclassified Marine Corps Enterprise Network unless a waiver was granted. The only waiver issued thus far has been to Marine Corps Recruiting Command, which has turned Facebook into a valuable tool, said Maj. Chris Devine, a recruiting command spokesman.
'The Hurt Locker' - From Inside a Baghdad Cinema -- [NY Times' At War blog]
Stephen Farrell and Tim Arango accompanied Iraqis to a Baghdad screening of the Hollywood movie, "The Hurt Locker" in a literary society in central Baghdad. A video of some of their reactions is above, and Tim's story in The New York Times is at 'Iraqis Gather to Watch Hollywood's Take on a War That Has Enveloped Their Lives'.
Tricare Meets Health Care Bill's Standards, Gates Says -- [Department of Defense]
WASHINGTON, March 22, 2010 - The Tricare military health plan meets the standards set by the health care reform bill the House of Representatives passed last night, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a statement issued yesterday.
Calling their health and well-being his highest priority, Gates reassured servicemembers and their families that the legislation won't have a negative effect on Tricare, which "already meets the bill's quality and minimum benefit standards."
"This was clarified by a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives [March 20], and is expected to be re-affirmed by the Senate," Gates said in the statement.
"The president and I are committed to seeing that our troops, retirees and their families will continue to receive the best quality health care," the secretary said.
National Healthcare Bill Betrays Veterans -- [Veterans of Foreign Wars]
WASHINGTON, March 21, 2010 -- The national commander of the nation's oldest and largest combat veterans' organization is furious that Congress is moving ahead with a flawed healthcare bill that does not protect the health programs provided to veterans, servicemembers or their families...
"This is Washington doubletalk at its very worse, and the uproar is going to be huge in America's military and veterans' communities," said Tradewell, who wants Congress to vote against H.R. 4872 today.
The issue surfaced publicly Friday when House Armed Service Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) introduced legislation to explicitly protect Tricare and other Defense Department nonappropriated fund health plans from any health reforms currently under consideration by Congress.
Yesterday, Reps. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) and Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) tried to introduce an amendment to H.R. 4872 to protect the integrity and independence of the VA and Defense Department healthcare systems. Buyer is the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and McKeon is the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Now that the deed 'tis done, how will it affect you? (Part I) -- [Burn Pit blog/The American Legion]
The big question everyone has is: how will this affect me, the VA/TRICARE/TRICARE-for-life individual? Well, let's start by looking at what some of the others are saying, and then try to cut the middle. Separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were.
The only folks I have found thus far that think this thing is just great for veterans and their families is VoteVets. Now, mind you the MoveOn.org affiliated group is also citing some Harvard study of how many veterans die without health insurance that is based on nothing but comparing the number of deaths with the percent of veterans, so take it for what it is worth...
Now, not long after that, VFW went live with its statement...
March 22, 2003 -- [Jules Crittenden/Forward Movement]
In front of the M113 in line behind us, there was a black soldier on his knees on a prayer rug. He was a Muslim, taking advantage of the stop to catch up on his prayers. When they noticed him, the astonished Arabs looked at me and asked, were their eyes were not deceiving them, could this possibly be an Ameriki Musselman?
"Yep," I said, "Musselman Ameriki."
They discussed this unexpected phenomenon, then turned to me and through signs indicated there was a problem. It took me a minute, but I gathered that by their reckoning, he was praying in the wrong direction.
"Hmmm. Well, let's go tell him."...
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
"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."
Mudville was founded in March, 2003. Our efforts to bring the thoughts, words, and deeds of milbloggers to a wider world evolved to become The Dawn Patrol in March, 2005. With today's entry we're going to reset the clock - but not re-write the history - and recreate the world as it was - on a day the world changed...
Updating... more to follow....
Andrew Olmsted, 19 Mar 2003, Stateside: It would appear that the liberation of Iraq has begun.
Greyhawk, 18 Mar 2003, Germany: A united world could have, just maybe, brought down Saddam without firing a shot. We will never know. 19 Mar: We'll never know what a united world could have achieved... the UN could not agree on anything, the situation degenerated, and here we are. Status quo was not working. The French were too desperate for oil and trade at any cost. Well-intentioned Americans were led into the streets by Communists (and others) with an agenda. The media distorted the split. Many in America and abroad thought they could manipulate the situation to their personal gain. They miscalculated. The fire is lit.
Pontifx ex Machina, 18 Mar, undisclosed location: Rolling out the gate, the guard gets a quick "hook-em, horns" sign as we weave through the barricades. Then we're off, cruising through the desert in a battered-up SUV. On the eve of war, only one thing passes through our minds: is there going to be any appropriate music on the radio?
Lt Smash, 19 Mar, undisclosed location: Read the President's speech today. The clock is ticking.
Chief Wiggles, 22 Mar, Kuwait: The war started Wednesday morning for us right after the president gave a speech to the American people that lasted about 4 minutes. We were all very anxious for this whole thing to be either over or get it on its way.
Will, 22 Mar, en route: I am going to Baghdad to personally shoot that paper hanging son of a bitch!
Lt Smash 20 Mar, undisclosed location:
From: Public Works Department
To: Saddam Hussein
Subj: BLASTING OPERATIONS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Sgt Stryker, 20 Mar, Stateside: Iraq to File U.N. Complaint About Attack
Primary Main Objective, 30 Mar, undisclosed location I Dare Kofi to Come Get Me.
BruceR, Flit, 19 Mar, Canada: AND SO IT BEGINS. Godspeed, Yanks. Come home safe and soon.
Andrew Olmsted, 20 Mar 2003, Stateside: The most important thing to remember over the next few days is this: the first reports are almost always inaccurate. First reports are generally submitted in the heat of battle before any real analysis can take place. Therefore, they're highly subjective, based on limited information, and rarely hit the mark. So as the first reports of 'surgical strikes' on Iraqi forces come in, it's best to take those reports with a grain of salt...
Salam Pax, Baghdad: The bombing aould come and go in waves, nothing too heavy and not yet comparable to what was going on in 91. all radio and TV stations are still on and while the air raid began the Iraqi TV was showing patriotic songs and didn't even bother to inform viewers that we are under attack. at the moment they are re-airing yesterday's interview with the minister of interior affairs. THe sounds of the anti-aircarft artillery is still louder than the booms and bangs which means that they are still far from where we live, but the images we saw on Al Arabia news channel showed a building burning near one of my aunts house...
Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish: How much more morally indefensible is appeasement when we also have complete international authority to do what must be done? I think we will look back in the future and not ask, as so many now are, how it was that diplomacy didn't get unanimity on this matter. We will look back and see the moral obtuseness of Chirac and Putin and Schroder and Carter and feel nothing but contempt for them, and their preference for state terror over the responsibilities of the free world. That's why I felt enormous pride tonight in the stand being taken by Blair and Bush. The president's speech was measured, firm, just. Blair's political risks - in order to do what he believes is plainly right - will confirm him in history as a great prime minister, the conscience of his party, and the leader of his country. I say that before this war begins, because the cause is just whatever vicissitudes of conflict await us...
Charles Johnson, Little Green Footballs: SPEED BUMPS - I just had to go into Westwood (here in Los Angeles) and couldn't make it, because a small group of "peace activists" is blocking traffic and getting into scuffles with police. Unbelievable footage on local TV of these creeps taunting police, trying to grab their batons, sticking cameras into their faces...
Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit: WAR SEEMS HAVE BEGUN IN EARNEST: Not much more to say at the moment. I hope it goes well, and quickly...
Of course, he's got a ton of links.
Mark LeVine, Alternet - 'Bush Wins': The Left's Nightmare Scenario: ...With war seemingly imminent, the movement is being forced to fall back on a second scenario, "Everyone Loses," in which the warnings of a protracted and bloody war that destabilizes the Middle East and increases terrorism bear their bitter fruit.
However unpalatable in terms of destroyed lives and infrastructure, this latter scenario would at least quash the Administration's imperial dreams and force the kind of soul searching of United States' policies that is a major goal of the movement. But this outcome is less likely than many assume, and the antiwar movement would be well advised to plan for a third scenario: "Bush Wins."
In this third scenario, the war is over quickly with relatively low U.S. casualties, some sort of mechanism for transitional rule is put in place and President Bush and his policies gain unprecedented power and prestige. From my recent conversations with organizers and their latest pronouncements, it is clear that this possibility has yet to be addressed. Waiting much longer could spell disaster for the antiwar movement...
The social and political forces unleashed by the end of decades of Hussein's murderous rule will not easily be penned in by a US-sponsored show-democracy; but whether these forces use a reopened public sphere or turn to violence to respond to the likely betrayal depends in good measure on how adroitly the world progressive community can lay fast but deep roots in Iraq.
Updating... more to follow....
(The Dawn Patrol's Archives are here.)
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.
Suicide attackers killed in Afghanistan -- [CNN]
Two suicide attackers, dressed as women, stormed a relief agency in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday and were killed by police before they could detonate their explosives.
US kills 8 terrorists in 2 new airstrikes in North Waziristan -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
The US launched a strike in the village of Hamzoni and another in Datta Khel, the second there in two days.
S.N.A.B.U. = Situation Normal All BAF-fed Up -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
After 2 hours of driving and being bounced around on the Afghan highways like a ping-pong ball, we arrived at our destination. Originally we were planning to drive on to
BAF and then off-load the Humvees. But when we found out about the mountain of paperwork and coordination required to escort our ANA counterparts on the installation, we opted to off-load outside the base and drive them the remainder of the way.
Post Office Doesn't Like Me -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
Imagine it's your first day on the job and you are responsible for picking up the mail and incoming packages for the camp. You visit the main post office and in a wooden bin they have a stack a mail of that hasn't been picked up in awhile. Then you ask the question "Is there any other mail?" The clerk has this sheepish grin and leads you out back to a metal storage container. Inside the container, there are hundreds of boxes marked with your camp's address. As you examine the boxes closer, you notice most of these boxes are marked for a SMSgt Rex Temple at your camp. You have never met this person and your vehicles don't have enough spare room to haul all of these packages.
Danger Room Explainer: Outsourced Intel in Afghanistan -- [Danger Room]
When is intelligence really intelligence, and when is it merely "atmospherics"? It may sound abstract, but it goes to the heart of a New York Times scoop about a defense official who apparently set up an off-the-books intelligence operation in Afghanistan.
On Monday, the Times ran a story about Michael Furlong, the Defense Department official being investigated over an ad hoc spy ring. The piece raised more questions than it answered, and Washington Post intelligence columnist David Ignatius is now filling in some of the blanks.
In a column today, Ignatius distills the story. "Under the heading of 'information operations' or 'force protection,' he writes, "the military has launched intelligence activities that, were they conducted by the CIA, might require a presidential finding and notification of Congress. And by using contractors who operate 'outside the wire' in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the military has gotten information that is sometimes better than what the CIA is offering."
Ignatius also unpacks some of the curious semantics around this..
Swift, Silent, and Deadly - [David Bellavia]
If you see or hear us before doom comes on you we are either giving you a chance to surrender or screwing up. Just because you don't see or hear anything DOES NOT mean that nothing is happening. With this news media the best news you can hear is deafening silence. That means that the job is getting done without friendly or civilian casualties. They won't tell you about the dead bad guys or successful operations like the LIONESS PROGRAM where WOMEN MARINES contribute to the overall success. That program has gotten little or no press because it empowers Muslim women giving them a voice through AMERICAN Woman WARRIORS. In Iraq this resulted in the taming of Al Anbar and crazy sounding things like the Cows for Widows program and cooperation of Wisconson Dairy Companies in Iraq. Never heard of any of that? Imagine that. Turn off March madness and maybe you'll get a clue
Iraq Votes - Part VI -- [MEMRI]
The Elections Commissions announced yesterday the results of 79% of the votes counted. The results delivered a big surprise showing Ayad Allawi's Al-iraqiya slate ahead of Prime Minister Al-Maliki's State of Law by a few thousand votes. This is not much given that the counting of the votes is still going on, but the State of Law has already asked for a recount, particularly in the Province of Baghdad claiming fraud.[1]
The fact, however,...
Mission Accomplished: Astroturfing Baghdad -- [Danger Room]
Lots of strange press releases land in my inbox, but the first line of this one stood out: "The world leader in artificial turf is proud to announce that the first artificial turf sports field in Iraq for the U.S. Government has been installed at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad."
Allies everywhere feeling snubbed by President Obama -- [Washington Post]
The contretemps between President Obama and Israel needs to be seen in a broader global context. The president who ran against "unilateralism" in the 2008 campaign has worse relations overall with American allies than George W. Bush did in his second term.
Chahar-Shanbeh Souri -- [Planet Iran]
People are chanting a new message to Obama saying: "Hossein, Hossein, stop trying to talk to our murderers!"
If bin Laden is found, he'll be killed, Holder says -- [AP]
Holder: If bin Laden found, he'll be killed -- Osama bin Laden "will never appear in an American courtroom," Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told House members at a hearing Tuesday. -- "Let's deal with the reality here,"
ACLU files lawsuit for information on US Predator program -- [Threat Matrix]
The American Civil Liberties Union has followed up its Freedom of Information Act request that was filed in January seeking information on the US Predator program. Today, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the the Defense Department, the State Department, and the Justice Department, demanding enforcement of its January request for information on the program. The full press release release from the ACLU is..
Army Suicides Grow, but This Soldier Was Saved -- [Politics Daily]
...Alone in his barracks room at Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah, Sanders, a soft-spoken young man with a pleasant demeanor, seized his M-4 carbine, put the barrel under his chin, squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger.
When Sanders pulled the trigger of his loaded carbine, there was only a light click. Horrified both at what he had done and what he had failed to do, Sanders tore open his weapon, searching frantically to find why it hadn't fired. He quickly identified the reason: no firing pin.
At that moment his roommate, Spec. Albert Godding, walked in. "Where's my firing pin -- I don't have a firing pin!'' Sanders yelled, terrified that he'd misplaced that critical piece and would get in trouble for losing it. "And how,'' Godding asked gently, "did you discover it was missing?'' When Sanders realized what had happened -- that Godding was worried enough that he'd removed the firing pin ...
Silver Star Winner Reprimanded for Afghan Battle -- [ABC]
Three Army officers have received letters of reprimand for failing to prepare adequate defenses for a combat outpost in Wanat, Afghanistan, where a mass Talibanattack in July 2008 resulted in the deaths of nine soldiers and 27 wounded, Defense Department officials confirmed to ABC News.
"These are essentially career-enders," said a military official of the letters of reprimand.
Two Defense Department officials said the actions are not yet final because the review that led to the letters of reprimand is still ongoing and the three officers have a period of time to respond and request reconsideration of the disciplinary action.
Among the three officers receiving the letters of reprimand is Capt. Matthew Myer, the company commander of the unit attacked at Wanat, who was awarded the Silver Star for his brave actions in repelling the attack.
Making today matter -- [Soldiers Angels Germany]
From Chaplain Campbell of Warrior's Sanctuary:
Last weekend while my wife and I were returning from a quick shopping trip we saw some flashing lights on the other side of the freeway. Not from a police car or a fire truck. The flashing lights were from large "Am Buses" transporting our wounded warriors to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Navy Medical Center at Bethesda.
And it got him to wondering,
Arrrrrrmy Training, SIR! -- [This Ain't Hell]
I'm sure you've all read that the Army, for some stupid reason, is changing basic training. Their reasons are specious and indicative of why Army training was changed thirty years ago.
...The Army wants to do away with the endurance running and focus on some sort of short distance sprints and zig-zagging. Dicksmith seems pleased about. I'd remind the Army and dicksmith that endurance running builds soldiers' immune systems and their aerobic capacity - improving their overall internal health. Do away with distance running and you're going to make the force less effective.
Bushrod honors were not misplaced -- [Fredericksburg.com]
Jermon Bushrod's return to King George after his Super Bowl victory resulted in some letters that I feel were way off mark ["Football players aren't 'heroes,' King George," Feb. 26].
Mr. Bushrod is a millionaire, no doubt. He also happens to be one of the most humble, respectful gentlemen you will come across.
He's a local boy who has done good and provides a positive role model for our kids. He deserves accolades for all his accomplishments and the example he sets.
To compare him and his welcome home to our troops in harm's way displays an agenda or maybe a misguided avenue to express a point.
As a 24-year military veteran, I certainly had no issue with the fanfare in which Mr. Bushrod was welcomed home. Nor, do I suspect, did any of my fellow service members, active or not. Maybe a more powerful message would come from a letter expressing a desire to read more of the positive stories involving our troops, instead of the dirty laundry.
They're Coming Home! -- [KBND]
We are going to have four welcome home celebrations. One in Portland, one in Bend, one in Medford, and one in the Eugene Springfield area.
It's just some ribbon. -- [From my Position...]
American Idol is one of the Mrs.' guilty pleasures. While I watched it tonight, I was treated to Andrew Garcia, a talented performer, singing something. I can't remember what, however, because I was way to interested in why he was wearing a series of ribbon devices on his pocket. One of those medals is the Army commendation medal. The others I haven't bothered to look up yet.
Social Media Sites Provide Morale Boost, Official Says -- [Defense Link]
A newly introduced Defense Department social media policy opens doors that can provide a morale boost for families and troops serving in a war zone, a senior official who helped to design the policy said this week.
GE and Ronald Reagan: The Mutual Gift That Keeps On Giving -- [Politics Daily]
As part of a one-year celebration to honor the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth, General Electric will run ads honoring the 40th president's legacy -- and will donate $10 million to The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library
The Petraeus briefing: Biden's embarrassment is not the whole story -- [Foreign Policy Blog]
The Mullen briefing and Petraeus's request hit the White House like a bombshell. While Petraeus's request that CENTCOM be expanded to include the Palestinians was denied ("it was dead on arrival," a Pentagon officer confirms), the Obama administration decided it would redouble its efforts -- pressing Israel once again on the settlements issue, sending Mitchell on a visit to a number of Arab capitals and dispatching Mullen for a carefully arranged meeting with the chief of the Israeli General Staff, Lt. General Gabi Ashkenazi. While the American press speculated that Mullen's trip focused on Iran, the JCS Chairman actually carried a blunt, and tough, message on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: that Israel had to see its conflict with the Palestinians "in a larger, regional, context" -- as having a direct impact on America's status in the region. Certainly, it was thought, Israel would get the message.
Israel didn't. When Vice President Joe Biden was embarrassed by an Israeli announcement that the Netanyahu government was building 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem, the administration reacted. But no one was more outraged than Biden who, ...
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
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.
More Marjah Madness -- [The Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
One of the things that most disturbs me about my job is how otherwise thoughtful people somehow manage to jump off the Reason Train short of Plausible Junction, taking a sizable number of otherwise sane bloggers with them.
Case in point this week is Gareth Porter at Anti-War.com, who has somehow managed to convince himself and a bunch of people repeating his post that briefings and press accounts describing the rural community of Marjah as a "town" or "city" was somehow a misinformation campaign by the evil militarists of 40-plus nations who are committed to eroding their political support by duping the public into extending an unpopular war in the hopes of killing as many brown people as possible. Or something like that. A search for clear motives tends to muddle an otherwise pristine paranoia.
Gareth's argument is supported by an ISAF official "who asked not to be identified" confirming that Marjah is a "rural community" -- which adds to the air of a secret plot revealed. Except there's no secret. The official was me, and I didn't ask to be quoted anonymously.
The rest of my dismay is in my email to Gareth, quoted here in full...
Downrange: An Informal Report on a trip to Afghanistan with Marine Gen. James N. Mattis -- [Steven Pressfield - in Afghanistan]
Jim Mattis is a four-star Marine general. He doesn't go out of his way to be quotable; he just can't help himself. Here, from Iraq 2004, are his instructions to the Marines under his command on how to conduct themselves with the natives they will encounter.
Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
...It's February 24th and Gen. Mattis has invited me to accompany his party on a four-day burst to Afghanistan. I've never been there. I want to go. So I've flown to Norfolk from Los Angeles, where I live. We take off in the morning...
Blast From the Past -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
I stood in the shower with my head hanging low and eyes closed. The flowing lukewarm water soothed my skin as I felt it splash upon my shaven scalp. Drops rolled down my forehead, off my nose and splattered on the plastic floor. I stood alone and relaxed, pondering the luxury of hygiene. God this feels amazing...it was a wonderful end to a rather busy day.
My meditation broke with the sound of the wooden door slamming the trailer frame. At this hour, there was no question in my mind what was coming.
"Hey LT!" Shouted SGT Lays from the entrance, "We're gettin' spun up! Big XO needs you in the TOC!"
"Ah fuck!" I cried, banging my fist on the wall..."Aright, I'm moving!"
AAR -- [Riding Shotgun with Team Zombie Killer - in Afghanistan]
After a few training cycles here we can definitely see some trends--some good, some bad. Naturally, some of these things are just plain frustrating.
The Afghans can definitely fight.
The Deep End of the Pool -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
So, a while back one of the locals comes to me and says, "Sir, we have a problem."
...The tone of his voice and his body language immediately put me on my guard, hushed whisper, glancing nervously around, etc. I thought he was going to say that someone had been stealing, or that he was convinced one of my guys was a Taliban sleeper agent. Afghans love to maneuver themselves into the good graces of Westerners by speaking ill of other Afghans.
Not in this case.
The Economics of Insurgency -- [270 Days in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
It should be a simple enough mission, right? Teach them how to grow wheat instead of poppies. After all, wheat is a sustainable crop, it feeds people, and it doesn't hurt anyone. The Ministry of Defense in Afghanistan has been a willing partner, publishing public service messages in the paper. The comic below shows a child walking in a field of wheat with a piece of bread next to a different field with plants that have skulls as flowers. The caption reads: Wheat is food. Poppies are poison.
Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as showing them how to farm other crops.
A true Cavalry officer -- [Mob 2009 Blog - in Afghanistan]
A while ago, I was told about this neat place where I could ride a horse here in Kabul. I went there a few weeks ago and I totally forgot to post about this (all the other problems started happening shortly after and it slipped my mind.)
Anyway, when I got there, I found that these are no "mild mannered" horses like the ones that you can ride in the US.
Excess Humvees to BAF -- [Afghanistan my Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
It has been quite awhile since our last convoy trip to BAF. The roads are in much worse shape than I remember and the potholes have spread like a bad disease...
Details -- [Sgt Danger - in Afghanistan]
As I've mentioned before, we're pretty much done running missions on the Afghan highways. For a while that meant lots of time to hang out and play. Then the Army found some things for us to do.
Man Versus Afghanistan -- [A Major's Perspective - in Afghanistan]
Great article about Afghanistan in The Atlantic: Divided by geography, cursed by corruption, stunted by poverty, staggered by a growing insurgency--Afghanistan seems beyond salvation. Is it? From Somalia and the Balkans to Iraq, the U.S. military has been embroiled in conflicts that reflect an age-old debate: Can individual agency triumph over deep-seated historical, cultural, ethnic, and economic forces? Drawing on his experiences in Iraq, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal, has his own answer to that question.
Tracking New Blog -- [My View, Our Mission - in Afghanistan]
Check out the new blog on my list on right...it's called Afghan Police Development. It was just set up at the direction of Brigadier General MacDonald, the senior Police Advisor here at Eggers and my big boss on the Police side...
Friday Motivator -- [The Sniper]
Jambo! -- [Ramblings from a painter - in Iraq]
Just in the past few days, though, we have had something develop that's kinda cool. One of my new projects was to provide training to workers in an Iraqi governmental organization. However, it was pretty much dead due to funding limitations, two changed deadlines, and the impossibility of getting it on contract using our normal procedures...
<...>On to another topic. The USO has been bringing more music acts through here lately. Last night, several of us went to see a concert by Bad Company... They didn't do a bad job, really. The lead guitarist's amp blew up during the first song...
Maliki has shaky lead in Iraq vote count -- [LA Times]
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's slate had an early lead Saturday as partial results trickled in from the parliamentary elections last weekend...
Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya slate, an alliance of secular-minded Sunni Arabs and Shiites, has posed the biggest challenge to Maliki and is running second nationally.
Iraqi PM Remains Ahead After Partial Vote Count -- [Voice of America]
Despite the fact that under a third of the vote has been officially counted, Iraqi leaders are reportedly scrambling to negotiate to form a new government. Prime Minister Maliki will not necessarily remain in power, even if he wins a plurality of votes.
Iraq vote signals shift from hard-line leaders -- [Washington Times]
Partial results released by the Independent High Electoral Commission showed the State of Law coalition with about a 60,000-vote edge nationwide over its main moderate challenger, the secular Iraqiya coalition. The Shiite fundamentalist Iraqi National Alliance was in third place.
The partial Baghdad vote was released amid utter disarray in the election commission's headquarters, where the results were flashed on big-screen TVs but yanked down moments later, only to be released yet again. It was the latest in a series of blunders marring the counting process as results have trickled out slowly.
Issue of Presidency Endangers Iraq's Tenuous Balance -- [NY Times]
...in negotiations that could last months, the presidency, a largely ceremonial post, has emerged as a growing quarrel, threatening to upset Iraq's still tenuous and ambiguous arrangements of sect, ethnicity and power.
Panic in Georgia over Russian 'invasion' report -- [Times (UK) Online]
A spoof television report that President Mikheil Saakashvili had been assassinated in a new Russian invasion of Georgia led to mass panic and furious opposition protests yesterday.
Justice, CIA clash over probe of interrogator IDs -- [Washington Times]
The CIA and Justice Department are fighting over a secret investigation into a controversial program by legal supporters of Islamist terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay that involved photographing CIA interrogators and showing the pictures to prisoners, an effort CIA officials say threatens the officers' lives.
Soldier Rocks with Bad Company
The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done: A Series of Screw-Ups and Lessons Learned -- [Andi/Spouse Buzz]
In January, on the day my husband deployed, I received a phone call informing me that we would have to move while my husband was deployed. It's a long story, and has nothing to do with orders, or the Army. Basically, the house we were renting was sold.
I had to find a house, buy a house, pack a house and move a house. Without my husband. Pronto. I knew this would be challenging of course, but I also thought it was fairly doable. Bwahahahahaha.
LZ Lambeau seen as overdue welcome home for Vietnam veterans -- [Green Bay Press-Gazette]
When Wisconsin Public Television began to interview Vietnam veterans for a documentary about the war, the film crew heard a recurring concern: Many vets felt they never had a warm welcome home.
The sentiment was repeated enough to push Wisconsin Public Television to partner with the Wisconsin Historical Society and the state Department of Veterans Affairs to launch LZ Lambeau: Welcoming Home Wisconsin's Vietnam Veterans, a weekend-long welcome home event set for May at the Packers' stadium.
Time to refresh your memories... -- [Castle Argghhh]
I first published this list of helpful websites back in December of '08. It has a permanent link to it over in the right sidebar. I see it's making the rounds again in email, and people didn't remember we had it, so it's clearly time to publish it again - with a small update, that of the Federal Government's stab at it, the National Resource Directory.
Below are web-sites that provide information on Veterans benefits and how to file/ask for them. Accordingly, there are many sites that explain how to obtain books, military/medical records, information and how to appeal a denied claim with the VA.
Please pass this information on to every Veteran you know.
Nearly 100% of this information is free and available for all veterans, the only catch is: you have to ask for it, because they won't tell you about a specific benefit unless you ask for it.
Saving Abel to Perform at the 2010 MilBlog Conference -- [Andi/milblogging.com]
Troop supporting rockers Saving Abel will be in town during the Milblog Conference and have volunteered to stop by the Friday evening Cocktail Reception for a brief, acoustic performance...
We've had no less than three bands offer to perform at The MilBlog Conference...
Liveblogging The Pacific -- [Jules Crittenden]
Watching the "Pacific" previews now, it looks like Hanks is determined to lecture us on how bad war is, through a lot of preachy scriptwriting, rather than simply using film-making skills to do the job. So far this thing is mediocre. Too bad. Memo to producers Hanks and Spielberg, director Tim Van Patten: Sometimes you need to trust your audience.
Prelude to The Pacific -- [Comment from Bill D]
Just finished premier episode of The Pacific. What a bunch of leftist crap! insulting to every single member of the Pacific Theater Operations, makes us to be blood-lust killers, unsure of why we are there, and disrespect to superior officers. Hidden "alternative" lifestyles, only thing missing was an on-camera shot of a GI kicking an animal!
'The Pacific' review: Brilliant, brutal, and, yes, very enjoyable -- [Entertainment Weekly]
Unlike Band of Brothers, made by many of the same people and led by producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, The Pacific doesn't often offer the comfort of triumphant surges and comradeship under fire. It does something much trickier to pull off: It creates marvelous drama from a highly chaotic, confusing series of battlefields, and follows men who aren't best buddies, but who are complex combinations of heroes, innocents, cynics, and damaged goods...
I don't claim to have a lot of knowledge about this area of history, and the filmmakers can't assume many viewers do. What I get from The Pacific strikes me as being "realistic" in the sense that, without having done research, I was convinced of it...
EOD on standby -- [Greyhawk]
...On the other hand, early reports on Jason Bourne's fourth identity (The Green Zone) might have movie execs glancing nervously at the protective gear...
Weekend Box Office -- [Box Office Mojo]
PA12 GOP: Burns over Russell -- [Greyhawk]
I follow elections when veterans are candidates. This one, for example: GOP chooses Burns for special election in 12th.
"Among 131 votes cast at a Republican convention held at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Burns won 85 and easily defeated the only other GOP nominee - William Russell of Johnstown, who had 46... Russell, who spent his career in the Army, ran a spirited but unsuccessful campaign against Murtha in 2008.
Kokesh's final delegate count? -- [This Ain't Hell]
As Sparky pointed out the other day, Kokesh can still get on the ballot for the primary by collecting 2,000 signatures. But really, what would be the point? Obviously New Mexico Republicans won't vote for him - overwhelmingly.
Much Ado? -- [Neptunus Lex]
So, when I read this NYT headline I have to admit to being a little perplexed: "Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants"
Contractors ought not to be in the wetwork industry, at least not those working for DoD.
French Counterinsurgency in Algeria:
Forgotten Lessons from a Misunderstood Conflict -- [Small Wars Journal]
...the Algerian conflict offers an indispensable insight, truly relevant to the conduct of counterinsurgency operations (COIN) in today's security environment. While avoiding the political debate over the validity of France's claim over her North African possession, this article will demonstrate that French military forces actually waged a successful campaign in Algeria, virtually eliminating the insurgent forces in the field but losing the war at home.
The CDS goes to war -- [Greyhawk]
Exclusive: we've just obtained this newly-released, first look photo of a device being deployed in Afghanistan...
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Iraq, Afghanistan, War, Terrorism, Military, Politics, Media, MilBlogs, dawn patrol Mudville
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Gates in Kabul on surprise visit -- [Foreign Policy]
During his surprise visit to Kabul yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and top commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and visited a small remote outpost north of Kandahar, the southern Afghan province where a coalition offensive is expected to get underway sometime this. So far, 6,000 of the 30,000 additional troops ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama have arrived in Afghanistan. Tomorrow, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Kabul for the first time since Karzai's re-election last fall, and Karzai is expected to start a two-day trip to Islamabad as well. Taliban reintegration and the status of captured Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Baradar are rumored to be on the agenda in the Pakistani capital. Karzai is planning to host a three-day peace jirga beginning April 29 to discuss negotiations with Taliban fighters
Iran's Ahmadinejad Visits Kabul -- [Voice of America]
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in Afghanistan, where he met with President Hamid Karzai and again sharply criticized the U.S. mission to stabilize the country.
'Secret' Gates-Ahmadinejad meeting in Kabul? -- [American Thinker]
Funny coincidence. SecDef Robert Gates is going on a surprise visit to Afghanistan. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also happens to be going to Kabul, overlapping with the Gates visit. It's possible they will just drive past each other in Kabul. But it seems more likely that they are going to finalize some sort of agreement that's been bubbling up behind the scenes. Possibly the Afghan government, which wants good relations with both Iran and the US, will try to broker an agreement.
Worried yet?
News Wrap: U.S. Troops Ready to Take Kandahar From Taliban -- [The Online NewsHour]
GENERAL STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, U.S. commander in Afghanistan: We have already put additional forces in the districts around Kandahar, but we will be able to reinforce that significantly over time. So, there won't be a D-Day that -- that is climactic. It will be a rising tide of security as it comes.
HARI SREENIVASAN: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Kabul today to review plans
Afghanistan war: Fight for Kandahar won't be like fight for Marjah -- [The Christian Science Monitor]
In the next stage in the Afghanistan war, coalition forces are expected to build up gradually on the outskirts of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, perhaps for months. That strategy departs from the one executed in the Marjah offensive, in which troops entered quickly.
Missing The Point -- [A Major's Perspective - in Afghanistan]
Something has struck me over the last week or so. Most of the reporting about Operation Moshtarak focused upon what our Troops were doing, and though our Troops did an outstanding job as always, that wasn't really the point that should have been highlighted.
This was an operation led by the Afghan National Security Forces and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Our Man in Kabul? -- [The New Rebuplic]
The sadistic Afghan warlord who wants to be our friend.
The United States is not fighting one enemy in Afghanistan. While the media often equate "insurgency" with "Taliban," there are, in fact, three major insurgent groups. The biggest is the Quetta Shura Taliban. Led by the famous one-eyed cleric Mullah Omar, this group is based in the Pakistani city of Quetta and fights mainly in the southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Another is the Haqqani network, run by the father-and-son team of Jalaluddin and Sirajuddin Haqqani from Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas. The Haqqanis and their Al Qaeda allies sow chaos in Afghanistan's east and were likely behind the double-agent suicide bomb at a CIA base near Khost this winter.
Then there is Hekmatyar. ...
Taliban, HIG infighting leads to split in Afghan insurgency in the North -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
"Since Sunday 120 fighters including 70 armed men from Hizb-e-Islami have joined [the] government," a police spokesman in Baghlan told Xinhua. Mamor Malang, a local commander of the Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin, or HIG, was among those who surrendered to the government. More HIG fighters are expected to join the government in the coming days.
The fighting began on Saturday as a dispute between the local HIG units and Taliban forces in several villages in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district came to a head.
Signs of life return to an Afghan ghost town -- [Los Angeles Times]
A campaign has begun to lure residents back to war-ravaged Now Zad in Helmand province, with Marine and Afghan guards posted 24 hours a day to ward off Taliban attacks.
Reporting from Now Zad, Afghanistan -- Under a late winter sky, surrounded by mountains left verdant by recent rain showers, is one of Afghanistan's spookiest-looking and most dangerous places: the once-vibrant but now war-ravaged and virtually empty city of Now Zad. For decades, it was among Helmand province's largest and most prosperous cities, thanks at least in part to the profitable opium poppy crop grown by local farmers, many of whom are sharecroppers.
Helmand Will Serve as Template, NATO Official Says -- [ISAF]
Operations in Helmand province will serve as a template for future operations elsewhere in Afghanistan, NATO's senior civilian representative here said today.
Ambassador Mark Sedwill, who served as British ambassador to Afghanistan, said the operation is different from others in three basic ways. The first, he said, is that from its inception, NATO's regional commander, British Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, and his Afghan counterparts planned the operation "from the end-game backwards."
"And the end-game is the civilian delivery of governance and development," Sedwill said.
The second difference,...
Soldiers going dismounted in Afghanistan -- [Bouhammer]
About seven or eight months ago my good friend Scott Kesterson who was and still is in Afghanistan told me "things are changing here, they are going back to a Vietnam way of patrolling". I was not sure what he was talking about or implying so I asked him. He told me that the troops were getting out of he vehicles and walking every where they go. Vehicles were limited to the roads for the most part and the enemy had them channeled and could focus the IEDs and EFPs on the roads. Soldiers were finding (along with GEN McChrystal's direction) that if they went dismounted they were safer because the enemy could not IED wide open space.
In order to have freedom of movement and to increase the chance of survival, soldiers were going "cross-country" by dismounted patrols.
British soldier describes throwing Taliban hand grenade back toward enemy in Afghanistan -- [Sun Sentinel]
A soldier in the British army in Afghanistan has described how he saved the lives of two comrades by picking up a live Taliban grenade and throwing it back toward the enemy.
A Sunny Day For A Mission -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
...As we traveled towards the city, the roads were rather congested with traffic and we saw a lot more children than normal. The local schools have opened their doors and the students are going back to school. One young Afghan boy gave us the thumbs up as we drovepast. Previously this was considered a vulgar gesture, but since the US forces arrived, it has become accepted as part of their culture.
We meandered our way through the capital city and it was apparent security has been added. The ANP were setting up random and strategic checkpoints along the way. These checkpoints cause bottlenecks and the traffic to back up.
Dushman Bukhush -- [Riding Shotgun with Team Zombiekiller - in Afghanistan]
Here's some video we shot the other day of our company assaulting an objective. Their first attempt at it in the morning was not exactly textbook. In fact their first attempt is technically what we'd refer to as a "Soup Sandwich." Fortunately for everyone involved the second iteration was much better. They learned a lot in a short period of time and the results were a considerable improvement.
Road Trip -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Almost midnight, and I just got the word that I'm making a run to Jalalabad tomorrow. The curtailment of sleep is a greater concern than any risk from the movement. The run to Jalalabad is pretty secure, with only occasional trouble along the way.
...Rule One: Avoid the ISAF convoys- favorite target of the bad guys, and prone to indiscriminate fire when they feel threatened.*
Camp Attack# 1 -- [Living In Harm's Way - in Afghanistan]
Well I experienced my first Rocket Propel Grenade attack! I am SAFE! This morning around 0855 insurgents fired a round at one of our guard towers and thankfully missed, the round went completely over the camp landing a couple of hundred yards over the wall. Unfortunately it was reported that some local Afghans were injured. When our office heard the explosion I asked Air force SSgt B, was that what I thought it was, he got up and opened the door and saw everyone running by making their way to the nearest bunkers, I immediately scrambled and found my space in a crowed bunker for safety. Within moments Soldiers' were called to their sectors to secure the camp ...
Rank and File -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
Nights at the ANA COP are dark, to say the least. There are no skyline lights, no neon store front displays. There's only the shine of a few stove heaters flickering through the barracks windows. Occasionally, I'll hear the blaring noise of a homemade Pakistani music video from the ANA leadership's parlor. The television's backlight tends to illuminate the entire building and everyone inside.
Since the day I arrived on the COP, this parlor in the ANA command post has served as nothing but a room symbolic of the corruption and apathy plaguing the leadership of this professional Army. The staff officers ...
Spring in Mazar-E-Sharif -- [270 Days in Afghanistan]
The provincial government has started to plant trees along the roadside, which says a couple of things to me about where the province is at in the economic recovery process for the region. First and foremost, the effort to improve the landscape signals a departure from the stark and frightening goal of simply having a roof over their heads. The local Afghans here in this province seem to have progressed well into the middle of the pyramid of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The second thing it says to me is that optimism has made a comeback among these people.
Fizzling to the Finish Line -- [Sgt Danger - in Afghanistan]
...Looking back on the most recent - and perhaps last - mission, it went really well. I was alert, worked hard, had fun, and gave the new guys some pretty good coaching. I love running a gun truck in Afghanistan, wish I could spend the next two months doing it.
From the mission...
A Good News Story -- [Ramblings from a Painter - in Iraq]
It's the day after the Iraqi elections and the initial reports are pretty positive. Despite a lot of rocket and mortar attacks (over 100 in Baghdad alone), the turnout was pretty heavy. Not only that, it looks like the attacks pissed off the normal Iraqis so much, they went to the polls just to spite the insurgents, even if they hadn't intended to vote! Good for them! I haven't seen much in the way of accusations of vote fraud, at least not yet, and that is also good news. ...Seems like all the other "news" sites I checked were more concerned about the Academy Awards and had only lightweight reporting on Iraq. I'm not really sure what that says about American priorities, except that I don't like it.
It's Up to Iraqis Now. Good Luck. -- [NYT]
...Former President George W. Bush's gut instinct that this region craved and needed democracy was always right. It should have and could have been pursued with much better planning and execution. This war has been extraordinarily painful and costly. But democracy was never going to have a virgin birth in a place like Iraq, which has never known any such thing.
Who Wouldn't Want to be a Fly on the Wall When George W. Bush Reads the New York Times This Morning? -- [The Corner - Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Thomas Friedman today:
Former President George W. Bush's gut instinct that this region craved and needed democracy was always right. It should have and could have been pursued with much better planning and execution. This war has been extraordinarily painful and costly. But democracy was never going to have a virgin birth in a place like Iraq, which has never known any such thing.
Thomas Friedman in 2006:
It is now obvious that we are not midwifing democracy in Iraq. We are baby-sitting a civil war. . . .
Responsible Drawdown from Iraq -- [Army Live]
Third Army is the Department of the Army and Central Command logistical center of gravity for Responsible Drawdown from Iraq. Third Army is synchronizing equipment movement with key players from U.S. Forces-Iraq (USF-I), Air Force Central Command Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, Army Materiel Command and other DOD and CENTCOM components.
Third Army has successfully supported the movement of forces in and out of theater since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a proven material enterprise system. Since July 1, 2009, Third Army has moved...
After Delay, Partial Iraq Vote Results Expected Thursday -- [New York Times]
Iraq's electoral commission is expected to announce partial results of parliamentary elections by Thursday, a United Nations
More on Iraqi Elections -- [Ramblings from a Painter - in Iraq]
...Meanwhile, Iran is steadily increasing its clout. They send books to libraries and blankets to the poor and build good will. We build libraries, housing, power plants, sewer systems, fresh water systems, schools, markets, roads, and thousands of other projects worth billions of dollars and are derided as hated occupiers. Although Iran is wielding more influence over Shia politicians, they both take pains to keep it quiet. Iraq and Iran have a long and turbulent history and the people's memories of the war in the 80's, which left a million dead, is still pretty fresh.
Iran's Role In Iraq -- [Atlantic Online]
Iran is definitely supporting Shiite parties in Iraq's 2010 parliamentary voting as it always has, and did help put together the National Alliance
Dispute over candidate disqualifications could mar Iraqi vote's legitimacy -- [WaPo]
A controversy over the disqualification of candidates threatened Tuesday to undermine the legitimacy of Iraq's recent elections and inflame supporters of a coalition seeking to topple the alliance led by the prime minister.
Israel Gives The Finger To Biden And The U.S. -- [AlterNet]
Vice President Joe Biden met with top Israeli leaders today to convey the U.S. Government's positions: the U.S. remains a close ally of Israel and will support Israel if it takes risks for peace; the U.S. does not want Israel to attack Iran over its nuclear program; and Israeli settlements must cease in order to make it possible for peace negotiations to resume.
The Vice President got an immediate and unexpected response from Mr. Netanyahu and his government--the finger!
Global Threats Demand Broad Response, Admiral Says -- [DoD]
Increasing global threats such as those to computer networks and growing hostilities from Iran are prompting more NATO expeditionary operations, NATO's top military officer said today.
"The demands of these nontraditional, transported threats are moving [European member nations] into this direction," Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
North Korea: Nuclear disarmament is off if military exercises proceed -- [The Hill]
North Korea said Sunday that if the U.S. moves forward with a South Korean military exercise, nuclear disarmament is off.
"The maneuvers clearly indicate once again that the U.S. and the South Korean authorities are the harassers of peace and warmongers keen to bring a war to this land," a statement from the government-run Korean Central News Agency said.
China said Friday it was hoping to restart stalled six-party talks with North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia before July by dangling the promise of aid to Pyongyang.
Youtuber "Jihad Jane" Indicted on Federal Terrorism Charges (Updated... -- [Jawa Report]
Note to media (too many inquiries to respond to all, sorry): Feel free to use images but please credit "The Jawa Report" or "YouTube Smackdown" and DO NOT HOTLINK! And would it hurt if you named the source for connecting "Jihad Jane" with the Lars Vilks murder plot? Also, you guys don't know how to link?
... You may remember that we've had a long, er, "relationship" with Jihad Jane. To be honest, Colleen seemed more of a loser and a nut than someone who would actually be involved in worldwide jihad. But I suppose that since I am constantly reminding people that "nut" and "jihadi" are not mutually exclusive terms that perhaps I should have heeded my own cautionary warnings?
Howie used to have fun here behind the scenes digging up old pictures of her wearing slutty outfits (not good, trust me) and boozing it up with her red neck buddies (before she took the veil).
KNEES! -- [Dan Cnossen - injured in Afghanistan]
I am proud and excited to report that Dan is back to his original height and walking all over the place, with bending knees and all! No more stubbies, no more peg-leg walking. He is doing SUCH an amazing job at getting this C-leg thing down - when he walks, he actually makes prosthetic legs seem like real ones. He's been up on them for about two weeks now, and is blowing everyone at Walter Reed away with his progress. And how deserving - today is the 6-month anniversary of stepping on that pressure plate in Afghanistan.
Some Things Don't Need Embellishment -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
...Landstuhl isn't just for wounded. It's where servicemembers from Iraq and Afghanistan go for medical treatment and evacuation for any number of reasons. Many are ill. Some have been diagnosed with serious diseases, such as cancer. It is also the waypoint for seriously and critically wounded warriors on their way to places like Walter Reed, the burn centers and the first big step on what may be a long road of recovery. Those people never see the outpatient barracks. They are stabilized and moved again. Some others are there for lengthier stays. For them, many of whom came in with little or nothing, a change of clothes can mean the world.
Enter Soldiers' Angels and the force that defies gravity and fatigue; MaryAnn Phillips.
Founders Notes -- [Soldiers Angels]
Spring is approaching the snow is melting, birds are singing... heroes are fighting for freedom and Angels are busy supporting them. This week we have the exciting celebration of the new facilities in San Antonio, and it's been so great to see the number of heroes waiting for adoption finally drop below 1,000. Let's keep up the great energy!
The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done: A Series of Screw-Ups and Lessons Learned -- [SpouseBuzz - Andi]
In January, on the day my husband deployed, I received a phone call informing me that we would have to move while my husband was deployed. It's a long story, and has nothing to do with orders, or the Army. Basically, the house we were renting was sold. I had to find a house, buy a house, pack a house and move a house. Without my husband. Pronto. I knew this would be challenging of course, but I also thought it was fairly doable. Bwahahahahaha. Screw-up Number One: No POA. My husband deployed with only a few hours notice. Until this deployment, we've always had lead time to get affairs in order. I admit I don't always keep a current POA on hand, even though I know better. So, you guessed it, I was armed with a useless, expired POA and no way to get another one in a timely manner.
Why I Serve -- [Army Strong - LTC Andre Dean]
Sometimes we catch ourselves asking this very fundamental question about military serivce:
"Why did I sign up to wear this uniform and serve my Country with my life?"
For me all I have to do is look around my office and see a few poignant reminders of what this protection of my beloved USA is all about.
Today it is as simple as this little hand-made tie created for me last Father's Day by my little angel 8-year-old Helena, which hangs prominently on my "love-me" wall. Check out the photo below and tell me if there is a better reason than leaving my little girl a better America than the one I was given by my Army-serving father before me....and to pass this legacy and love affair with America and my deeply held love for my family on down the line to generations still unborn.
Quote of the Day -- [Abu Muqawama]
"The Iliad is ever mindful that war is about men killing or men killed. In the entire epic, no warrior, whether hero or obscure man of the ranks, dies happily or well. No reward awaits the soldier's valor; no heaven will receive him. The Iliad's words and phrases for the process of death make clear that this is something baneful: dark night covers the dying warrior, hateful darkness claims him; he is robbed of sweet life, his soul goes down to Hades bewailing its fate. Again and again, relentlessly, the Iliad hammers this fact: the death of any warrior is tragic and full of horror. Even in war, death is regrettable."
25 Years Ago... -- [Miserable Donuts]
March 9th, 1985 at the Urbana, Illinois National Guard Armory, I signed on the line. My enlistment contract in the Illinois Army National Guard. 11B10 - Infantryman, assigned as a Scout Observer to the Combat Support Company, 2/130th Infantry. When I called home and told my parents, they were rather startled. To tell the truth, when I got to Fort Benning, GA for Basic Training, I was too. A couple of years slowly getting my bearings and an officer's commission, I figured it out. Learn from NCOs. Some schoolhouse training helped too...Good thing I had learned a little by 1993. I was called up for the Mississippi Floods that summer - and had to take acting command of a Company. The rest of the 1990s went along merrily enough - oh, until all that Bosnia stuff got
Home. -- [six foot skinny - home from Iraq]
lines and civilian contract workers and paperwork and waiting and gestures of thanks and goodbye. I probably won't see many of these people ever again. Late night, early morning, busses. Two coach busses take some of us back to Marquette, Michigan. Two busses take some of us back to Ellsworth, Wisconsin. And then later, after I'm gone, busses take the rest to the airport where they fly home to Oklahoma City. I am on the Ellsworth busses. Three hours west of McCoy. Three hours on the bus for the last time.
Charlie Company Home From Afghanistan -- [WTVC]
"Charlie Company," the more common name for C-Troop of the Georgia Army National Guard's 108th Calvary unit, came home Tuesday to a hometown hero's welcome.
We rode with the soldiers on their bus as they greeting hundreds of people who lined the streets to welcome them home. The troops waved and shouted back at people carrying flags and signs along Dalton's streets.
Friends repair flooded farm for soldier during his deployment -- [Cherokee Tribune]
A Cherokee County soldier on Tuesday evening received a welcome-home present he never will forget. Friends and family of Sgt. Rusty Midkiff of southeast
3rd ESC back home from Haiti -- [News Enterprise]
While waiting in bleachers decorated with signs such as - "Welcome Home Mommy" - Nikeisha Roberts said she was nervous and excited to see her husband again.
Time to refresh your memories... -- [Castle Argghhh!!!]
Below are web-sites that provide information on Veterans benefits and how to file/ask for them. Accordingly, there are many sites that explain how to obtain books, military/medical records, information and how to appeal a denied claim with the VA.
Please pass this information on to every Veteran you know.
Things EVERY Vet Should Know -- [You Served - CJ]
ALL VETS SHOULD COPY THIS - Someone has gone to a lot of trouble. If this helps one person, then it was worthwhile. Please pass this on to all Veterans on you e-mail list.
Below are web-sites that provide information on Veterans benefits and how to file/ask for them. Accordingly, there are many sites that explain how to obtain books, military/medical records, information and how to appeal a denied claim with the VA. Please pass this information on to every Veteran you know. Nearly 100% of this information is free and available for all veterans, the only catch is: you have to ask for it, because they won't tell you about a specific benefit unless you ask for it. You need to know what questions to ask so the right doors open for you and then be ready to have an advocate who is willing to work with and for you, stay in the process, and press for your rights and your best interests.
Oscar for Iraq war film was well-timed -- [CNN]
This past weekend, Iraq had a real election and in spite of threats and bombings, millions of voters participated in record numbers. It is a giant step forward in Iraq's road to democracy and has the potential to be a beacon for others in this battle-scarred region.
Fallujah -- the real Hurt Locker -- [OPFOR]
In Fallujah in 2004, the soldiers and Marines were not able to call in Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams to diffuse IEDs. In Fallujah, the soldiers and Marines were forced to drop bombs on urban minefields. On one occasion a string of IEDs two blocks long was detonated by a single GPS-guided bomb. In Fallujah a handful of soldiers were not pinned down by a single enemy sniper. In Fallujah American M1 tanks were pinned down by riflemen and grenadiers lurking in every window. In Fallujah, 8000 American troops were locked in mortal combat with 4000 diehard jihadists for several weeks. In Fallujah, over 100 American soldiers, sailors and Marines were killed during the 2004 fighting and hundreds more were wounded. Many lives were lost and everyone's life was changed forever. Nine Navy Crosses and twenty-two Silver Stars were awarded for gallantry during Operation Phantom Fury--many posthumously.
THE HURT LOCKER at the Oscars: Iraq War Drama Wins; Iraqis Ignored -- [Alt Film Guide (blog)]
I was disappointed -- but hardly surprised -- that none of the Hurt Locker filmmakers mentioned the people of Iraq or the election held in that country on
US Iraq commander likes 'Hurt Locker' -- [AFP]
The commander of US troops in Iraq on Tuesday praised Oscar-winning drama "The Hurt Locker," saying that unlike some media coverage it showed the complexities on the field.
General Ray Odierno said he watched "The Hurt Locker," a nerve-jangling film about a US Army bomb disposal squad in Baghdad, after a copy was sent to him last year.
CPT Bailey on Liddy Show -- [This Ain't Hell]
Navy Captain Larry Baily, a Navy SEAL who spends a lot of his personal busting phony SEALs, will be on the G. Gordon Liddy radio show today. You can listen to it on the interwebbythingies. Apparently, Captain Bailey will be discussing Adam Kokesh's candidacy run in New Mexico.
The one time I've talked with Captain Baily on the phone, he had just finished telling a widow that her recently deceased husband wasn't eligible for burial in Arlington despite the years of lies her husband had told her. He's a straight shooter and a rock hard patriot.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Gossip -- [Home from Iraq]
Our unit made the front page of today's Lancaster Intelligencer/New Era in a story about a chaplain who was supposed to deploy with us and who was accused of violating "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." For me, finding out Chaplain (Captain) Aris Fokas was deploying with us was great news. He was the assistant college chaplain at Franklin and Marshall College (where my wife teaches) in the 1990s. So I already knew him and knew he was a really good guy. We saw each other at the battalion Christmas party at the end of 2007 and I could not say which one of us was more surprised to see the other in uniform.
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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.
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NATO details its Afghan night raids policy -- [Breitbart/AP]
KABUL-- A new directive from NATO's top commander in Afghanistan orders coalition forces to avoid night raids when possible, but to bring Afghan troops with them if they must enter homes after dark.
The coalition released details of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's new policy Friday - changes that are meant to cut down on the storm of complaints from Afghan people. --
McChrystal bans night raids without Afghan troops -- [Reuters]
U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan will be permitted to carry out raids at night only when there are Afghan security forces present, their commander, U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, ordered on Friday.
This Is Just What We Do -- [Fast Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
On this day, the soldiers were evacuated by PJ's (AKA Pararescue Jumpers). This is not typical, as the PJ's are not the typical Medevac unit (I will post something for them later). The PJ's are airforce special operations medics. They are a special breed with intense training, not only medical, but in all aspects of special ops warfare.
Their mission is typically geared toward rescuing downed pilots or any soldier behind enemy lines. This war is uniquely challenging for the PJ mission, as there are no enemy lines. Everything outside a FOB is essentially dangerous territory...
The Contest for Respect and Trust -- [Your experience may vary - in Afghanistan]
There was a great article by C.J. Chivers in the NY Times earlier this week about the Afghan National Security Forces operating in Marjah.
It's NOT a great article because it's got great news. On the contrary. It's great because transparency about ANA and ANP deficiencies is the first step to fixing them.
Need More Ink Cartridges -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
I really sense their aggravation with the ANA supply system. Even when they fill out the paperwork correctly and get the ANA General's signature and approval, they still can't get the supplies they need. As mentors, we have tried to intervene by working with other mentors to no avail.
It's March already...pretty cool. -- [My View; Our Mission - in Afghanistan]
The biggest thing I've been working on surrounds the Afghan National Police (ANP) Drug Rehab Facility. This facility, which I believe I have talked about before, was conceived from the notion that since the ANP started drug testing there needed a place to send those who need help.
Waiting to go out on bomb patrol -- [Channel 4 News]
Been another quiet day today, a couple of patrols went out but on the whole a chilled day. The lads are getting restless, they cannot wait to get back to camp.
I have been told that I am going out with one of the patrols tomorrow to conduct Barma (checking that there are no IEDs on the tracks that we are walking on). It should be interesting.
The Anti-Afghans Kabul - Day 24 -- [30 Days Through Afghanistanin Afghanistan]
...I was struggling to find a simple phrase to describe "bad guys" since it's too generic and Taliban and Al Qaeda are too specific. Then, when we were up north, one of the soldiers called them anti-Afghan fighters. That pretty much summarizes it, but now that I know what to call them, who are they?
Taliban and Al Qaeda are well covered so I'll only mention one interesting fact about them. When I went through counter insurgency training, they said there were approximately 20,000 of them in Afghanistan. That seems like quite a lot to me, until I compare it to the total population of this country, which is roughly 30 million. They aren't the only people who cause damage to society here though. The other people could be anyone from full blown warlords to simple farmers.
For starters...
Afghanistan war: NATO unfolds blueprint to rebuild Marjah -- [Christian Science Monitor]
Down white-tiled corridors and behind code-locked doors on their base in Helmand Province, a handful of American and British officials planned for months how to turn this swath of irrigation ditches and mud compounds, ruled for two years by Taliban militants and crime syndicates, into a beacon of peace and prosperity.
On Assignment: Into the Maw at Marja -- [NY Times]
Using one another as pillows, like a family huddled together for warmth in a house without heat, most of the Marines were catching a little sleep before their mission was to begin. But one sat wide awake at the edge of their huddle.
Tyler Hicks caught this quiet moment.
Another Marine gazed at a snapshot of himself and his wife. The picture's tattered edge conveyed how well traveled it was. And how often it was so lovingly examined.
Mr. Hicks was there. Along with members of Company K, Third Battalion, Sixth Marines, Mr. Hicks, a staff photographer for The Times, was preparing to go into battle.
...Sometimes the most serene-looking war photographs speak volumes of the danger afoot: body language or the subtlest of expressions will betray it. Then, Marines scurry across a field, in a hail of bullets, and the picture making continues. A Marine's brief glance towards the camera shows the fear in his eyes.
Lejeune Marines deploy to Afghanistan -- [WRAL]
Camp Lejeune, NC -- More Camp Lejeune-based Marines are headed to Afghanistan as US and Afghan forces firm up their grip on an insurgent stronghold.
Pakistan: Another Taliban leader captured -- [AP]
Pakistani intelligence officials say have arrested another Afghan Taliban leader.
The arrest of Agha Jan Mohtasim is the latest step in an apparent crackdown against a movement that has long enjoyed relative safe haven in Pakistan.
The officials said Thursday that Mohtasim was arrested in the southern city of Karachi, but did not say when. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give their name to the media.
Departing U.N. envoy has strong words for Afghan government -- [LA Times]
Eide said he was encouraged by Karzai's invitation to the Taliban to attend a peace conference this year.
Defying bombers, Iraqi security forces vote en masse -- [McClatchy/Stars and Stripes ]
BAGHDAD -- Shrapnel had flown into Ali al-Tamimi's eyes, partially blinding him, and both of his legs were broken in several places.
Not even 24 hours after receiving the injuries in a suicide bombing northeast of Baghdad, however, al-Tamimi cast a ballot from his hospital bed, joining hundreds of thousands of other Iraqis who voted Thursday in an early round reserved for security forces, detainees and hospital patients who might not be able to make it to the polls for Sunday's parliamentary election.
Trees, Forest. Forest, Trees. -- [Castle Argghhh!!! - Bill - in Iraq]
As I turned the corner, I spotted a convoy forming up about fifty meters ahead, with a couple of cammied, Up-Armored Hummers in the lead. From the green-brown-sand splotch-'n'-blotch paint scheme, I knew they were Iraqi Army (for those of you who *might* be curious, I posted some pix in this post last year), so I walked a bit faster to see what was gonna happen.
Because I *knew* what was gonna happen.
Sure enough...
Preview -- [Neptunus Lex]
Despite sporadic and ongoing violence in Iraq, Newsweek magazine is forced to admit that something that looks a lot like representative government is in place there, even if it falls short of the Jeffersonian Ideal
None of this was deemed remotely possible by those currently in power in Washington, although the vice president has been keen to take cautious credit for it - a frankly appalling display of chutzpah, considering the fact that he suggested the one scheme that had no chance of working while serving in the Senate: ....
The Born Insanity -- [Greyhawk]
"What tales we'll tell
when that time comes
when tales can be told..."
- Another quote from that first tour.
Now there are tales being told, in the form of memoirs and movies, guaranteed to piss people off. Perhaps, then, it's time to tell more of mine...
Iraq on the Eve of elections -- [ISW]
...Roughly 18.9 million Iraqis are registered to vote in the upcoming election, at more than 10,000 polling centers across the country. Each polling center comprises one or more polling stations, of which there are more than 50,000 in total. More than 300,000 domestic election observers and observers from various political parties will monitor the election; in addition, eight diplomatic missions and international organizations have been asked to participate as international election monitors. Security for the polling sites will be provided by the Iraqi Security Forces, with some planning assistance and enablers provided by U.S. forces.
Iraqi election violence may sway U.S. stay -- [Washington Times]
Iraq faces the prospect of a protracted battle to form a new government after Sunday elections, including possible violence, that could complicate President Obama's plans to pull out nearly half the U.S. troops there by the end of August, diplomats and analysts say.
...Ms. O'Sullivan said that, although "you don't have parties that are exclusively sectarian in nature," as was the case in the 2005 elections, the likely "vacuum" the protracted government negotiations will create could invite violence. "If you don't have a government until late spring or early summer," that could affect the pullout of U.S. troops, she said.
Hundreds of Children Found in Mass Grave -- [The Hawler Tribune]
Three mass graves were discovered in the sub district of Dubiz in Kirkuk. Announced the Kurdish daily news paper ASO on Sunday, Feb.21st. These graves are to be excavated by the Ministry of Anfaled and Martyrs of Kurdistan regional government in a near future.
"The graves are holding remnants of children from both Chamchamal and Garmyan areas". Sayd Fazil Amin the head of KRG martyrs office in Kirkuk told ASO, these kids were taken into captivity during 1988 Anfal campaign against the Kurds.
Anfal genocide was a campaign against the Kurds in 1980s. It was aimed at the elimination of the Kurds in Iraq, by destroying and burning Kurdish villages down. Killing and burying alive the people of these villages. It costed over 200,000 lives of innocent Kurds.
Pentagon Shooter: Anti-Bush Nut Case and 9/11 Truther -- [Patterico's Pontifications]
There was a shooting just outside the Pentagon today, at a security checkpoint. Two cops were injured; breaking reports say the suspect, J. Patrick Bedell, has died.
...And Internet research shows that the guy was a 9/11 Truther and an anti-Bush nut case.
When truthers go wild -- [This Ain't Hell]
I'd never heard of this James Sabow, so I went looking and found some real nutty shit. Apparently, the story of James Sabow rolls a butt load of conspiracies into one, so the nutters have a single story to which they can point for all of their nutty stories. That "Salem-News" website is the same one that posts all of Gordon Duff's nutter theories. Oddly enough, this particular article was written merely one day before the shooting at the Pentagon Metro Station.
House Panel Says Armenian Deaths Were Genocide -- [NY Times]
The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted narrowly on Thursday to condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians early in the last century, defying a last-minute plea from the Obama administration to forgo a vote that seemed sure to offend Turkey and jeopardize delicate efforts at Turkish-Armenian reconciliation.
...Historians say that as many as 1.5 million Armenians died amid the chaos and unrest surrounding World War I and the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies, however, that this was a planned genocide...
Turkey recalls Ambassador after US vote on Armenia 'genocide' -- [Times (UK) Online]
..."We condemn this resolution, which accuses the Turkish nation of a crime it did not committ," he said. As Armenian observers applauded the vote on Capitol Hill, the Turkish Ambassador to Washington was recalled.
...Mr Obama promised as a candidate to break with longstanding US practice and start calling the First World War era killings genocide if elected to the White House. He broke the promise last year...
Obama advisers set to recommend military tribunals for alleged 9/11 plotters -- [Washington Post]
While Obama has favored trying some terrorism suspects in civilian courts as a symbol of U.S. commitment to the rule of law, critics have said military tribunals are the appropriate venue for those accused of attacking the United States.
If Obama accepts the likely recommendation of his advisers, the White House may be able to secure from Congress the funding and legal authority it needs to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and replace it with a facility within the United States. The administration has failed to meet a self-imposed one-year deadline to close Guantanamo.
Exclusive: Navy SEAL in Terror Abuse Case Speaks Out -- [Fox News]
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: You will not see this anywhere else, three Navy SEALs accused of abusing a terror suspect who was captured in Iraq in 2009. Now, the terror suspect is accused of plotting the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater contractors. Well, today two Republican congressmen held a press conference defending the Navy SEALs and demanding the charges against them be dropped...
RIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I'm with Petty Officer Matthew McCabe and his attorney, Lieutenant Colonel Neal Puckett. Petty Officer McCabe, you maintain you did nothing wrong, you did nothing disgraceful. Do you still maintain your innocence today?
PETTY OFFICER MATTHEW MCCABE, U.S. NAVY: I apologize, I'm not really at liberty at this time to talk about my case.
Brain Injury Awareness Month: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) -- [Chaotic Synaptic Activity]
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month for the Brain Injury Association of America. Pass the Word, please, as you can and know this is a very probable issue with our injured Vets.
For those who have long supported the Soldier's Angels Voice Activated Laptops for Our Injured Troops (VALOur-IT), this is one of the things the program has been addressing, along with the coputer contact with the world, by providing GPS Units for those wounded service members who are getting out and about. The reason: TBI has an associated symptom of loss of short term memory, and the GPS Units help remind the driver where they were headed.
Wyo. guardsmen record music video while in Iraq -- [Military Times]
Wyoming National Guardsmen Dustin Scott, Nathan Harvey and Jeremiah Eaton were about nine months into a yearlong deployment last December when they heard about GI Jams, a new Web site that allows soldiers to upload songs and lets listeners download them...
On Christmas Eve, they gathered in their tent, huddled in front of a laptop computer, gave themselves a name and recorded "Cowboy Soldiers," about longing for small comforts while serving in the hot desert. The song -- it's stick-in-your-head catchy and melancholy at the same time -- was an instant hit on the fledgling site, securing the top spot and spawning a music video.
Throw Down Issued to Benefit Soldier's Angels -- [You Served]
The hosts and producer of You Served radio show, CJ, Troy, and Marcus, are issuing a challenge to the MilBlogosphere in a charity fundraising event with bald heads at stake.
The new challenge is two-tiered with a third bonus tier added this evening during the You Served radio show.
The first tier is to raise $100 cumulative on the engravable memorial medallions we are auctioning in the You Served eBay Store (http://stores.ebay.com/userved). All proceeds will be donated to Soldiers Angels. The kicker and incentive on that cumulative total is that we have a generous anonymous donor who will donate $1,000 to Soldiers Angels if we can meet that $100 total. In addition to a donation of $1,000, CJ will shave his head along with Marcus! We currently have 2 coins auctioned with a total of $37.50, so we will need to raise $62.50 over the next 4 weeks (including this one). We will put up one coin a week to be auctioned.
The second tier is that if we can meet $250 cumulative total, not only will we garner that $1,000 donation, CJ and Marcus will allow Troy to shave their heads in Washington, DC during the Milblog Conference.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Readjusts Principles on Use of Force -- [NY Times]
Speaking at Kansas State University, he pointed to new rules restricting the use of combat force in Afghanistan, where civilian deaths caused by American troops and American bombs have outraged the local population and made the case for the insurgency. That kind of restraint, at the insistence of the field commander there, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, has been criticized in some quarters as reneging on the so-called Powell Doctrine, which favored overwhelming force to achieve unambiguous victories.
Even when the forces brought into combat are clearly superior, as in the huge assault on the Taliban stronghold of Marja in southern Afghanistan that began Feb. 13, there can be a difference from assaults of the past, Admiral Mullen suggested.
At Marja, he said, "We did not prep the battlefield with carpet bombing or missile strikes. We simply walked in, on time.
Admiral Mullen, the nation's senior military officer, steered clear of declaring an official new "Mullen Doctrine." Even so, ...
Army's Training Ability 'At Risk' Because Of Iraq And Afghanistan Wars ... -- [Huffington Post]
WASHINGTON -- The Army's ability to train its forces is "increasingly at risk" because of the nation's protracted commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan,
Event to honor returning soldiers -- [The Huntsville Item]
Army reserve soldiers and the families of Huntsville-based Detachment 1 366th Military Police Company who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom will be honored Sunday in a public ceremony for their recent service in Afghanistan.
The "Welcome Home Warrior-Citizen" event takes place at 10 a.m. at the Sam Houston State University Criminal Justice building auditorium.
Effingham's Alpha Battery gets boots on home ground -- [Savannah Morning News]
Dreary skies and a cold wind didn't stop Effingham County from giving a rousing welcome home Wednesday morning to members of Alpha Battery returning from almost a year's deployment to Afghanistan. (View photos of the Alpha Battery return here.)
Welcome Home SSgt. Marty Brownlee -- [Monticello News]
Marty Brownlee, who lives in Turtle Cove and was injured in Afghanistan received a big welcome home Saturday, as a celebration was held on the Monticello
Washington Conference Day II: Revenge of the Blue-cappers -- [American Legion/Burn Pit]
Day 2 at Washington Conference is upon us...
I will be addressing the Women's Veterans Forum. You are right that you should hear what I thought of it all, only collecting it into something useful may take me a bit. I have some down time tomorrow morning that will be devoted to it.
...Anyway, the highlight for me today will be the attendance of my friend Jim Marshall, Democrat from Georgia. Regardless of what votes Jim might ever cast, what party he is with or anything else, I will always be proud to have met the man, to have talked to him alone on many occasions, to even have borrowed books from his bookshelf when on leave from Afghanistan. Just read the man's bio:
"The son and grandson of army generals, Marshall was born in Ithaca, New York, but moved frequently during his childhood and graduated from high school in Mobile, Alabama.
...We will also have Secretary Shinseki and a host of others. I will live blog it all...
Important links for Vets...-- [The SandGram]
February 17th, 2010 Posted in The SandGram v1.0 | No Comments »
I got this today from a friend of mine, DiAnna Maxwell who is in the Army Nurse Corps and it's a fantastic collection of links for all things that our Vets need. Please feel free to pass this on to as many Vets as you know. one of them may be able to use something here... It looks like the links work. This transfer looks like crap on the website, if you want the email version, just drop me a line at
Troops in Europe still waiting for access to social sites -- [Stars and Stripes]
More than a week after the Defense Department lifted its three-year ban on social media Web sites, U.S. troops in Europe are still waiting to gain access to sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
..."Local commanders still have to weigh security risk and bandwidth issues in their area of operation before they determine the best way to proceed," said Chris Joseph, a spokesman for U.S. Army Europe's 5th Signal Command.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Change -- [Merrill A. McPeak/NY Times OpEd]
I was one of the service chiefs when the "don't ask, don't tell" compromise was reached in 1993. Until then, every person coming into the military was asked questions directed at establishing sexual orientation, and admitted homosexuals were automatically rejected. Thus the "don't ask" part of the rule actually means gays no longer have to lie.
'I will take our troops out of the war zone and put them into space' -- [Ezra Klein/Washington Post]
Kesha Rogers is a Larouchie who just won the Democratic nomination in Texas's 22nd district. Her triumphant statement is pretty sweet...
The release goes on to mock her opponent for saying that "I can't believe that most people who voted for her knew that she wants to" impeach Obama.
A conversation with Jacob McFerren -- [You Served]
Who the heck is Jacob McFerren? He's the political advisor to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. As you know, our military commanders are having to not only conduct military operations, but also standing up peaceful governments in foreign lands that are friendly to the US. For that reason, our Generals need political advisors. This was a pretty good read and I wanted to share it with you so you can see how our commanders on the ground do what they do so successfully.
As the political advisor to the top commander in Afghanistan, Jacob McFerren is responsible for ...
Battle of the Hornburg, "I Have About 10,000 Orcs to Manage" -- [American Legion/Burn Pit]
Today in [Fictional] Military History - March 4, T.A. (Third Age) 3019
In the closing months of the year 3018, forces of evil moved to inundate all the other nations of Middle-Earth. Sauron, the evil, long-lived lord of Mordor, had been gathering his armies and preparing for the final war for the extermination and subjugation of men, elves, dwarves and all other peoples who opposed him.
FOBbits (photo essay) -- [FaST Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
This posting is one part humor, one part truth and a pinch of terminology. Today I let you in on the infamous term, "Fobbit"...
Unlike the combat soldier, who must endure each day carrying loads of 30 to 80 lbs on their backs as they move through the mountains of Afghanistan, the Fobbits must rely on their wits to stay fit. They find foolish ways to feel pain, like wearing shorts in 30 degree weather.
So, there it is. Fobbits are real. I encourage you to see a plethora of very humorous comic strips located at ROK Drop featuring "Bob on the FOB" by SGT Albert J. Merrifield.
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
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.
Updating - Refresh for updates.
The Next Battles for Marja -- [Josh Foust/NY Times Opinion]
THIS year will be the third in a row that tens of thousands of new United States troops have arrived in Afghanistan with plans to "clear, hold and build" areas controlled by the Taliban. Those previous surges have achieved little success at holding or building, as the international coalition and Afghan government have inevitably failed to come up with realistic plans for what happens after the fighting is done. Is the campaign in Marja destined for the same fate?
Contemplating Post-Conflict Governance in Marjeh, Pt. 2 -- [Josh Foust/Registan]
I have an op-ed in Wednesday's New York Times, further discussing the prospects for securing the peace in Marjeh...
Now, this might seem unusually credulous for me, given my normal predilection for ranting about how dumb everyone is. Indeed, as a friend pointed out, this veers surprisingly close to endorsing the McChrystal Strategy, something I have been weirdly alone in criticizing.
The easiest explanation for this is, I am trying to be constructive. I remain convinced, as I have been since the beginning, that Marjeh is a strategic backwater with almost no "real" importance to the Afghan campaign. And I am genuinely concerned about the most recent plans...
Down the AfPak Rabbit Hole -- [Thomas H. Johnson, M. Chris Mason/Foreign Policy ]
The release of Tim Burton's new blockbuster movie, Alice in Wonderland, is days away. The timing could not be more appropriate. Lewis Carroll's ironically opium-inspired tale of a rational person caught up inside a mad world with its own bizarre but consistent internal (il)logic has now surpassed Vietnam as the best paradigm to understand the war in Afghanistan.
How Is Ravin' Like FP's Writing Desk? -- [Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
I don't agree with the "Down the AF-PAK Rabbit Hole," but props from one reformed Victorian lit student to Thomas H. Johnson and M. Chris Mason in Foreign Policy for going deep in the first quarter to come up with this lede...
Other than the English geek observation that Alice wasn't so much inspired by opium use, why disagree with the authors? Because Marjah is not as they claim a "nearly worthless postage stamp of real estate" that is being secured in "a giant public affairs exercise, designed to shore up dwindling domestic support for the war by creating an illusion of progress."
100 Days of NTM-A Comms -- [Your experience may vary - in Afghanistan]
Yesterday marked 100 days since the formal activation of NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan.
The first 100 days have been pretty amazing...from Washington DC to London to Brussels to a dusty town in Helmand Province, everyone is working together to enable accountable Afghan-led security. And Afghan and Coalition communicators are working together to connect the all the organizations involved.
This week's radio interview -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
Here is this week's conversation with WUSF Radio's reporter Bobbie O'Brien, which aired yesterday during "All Things Considered" and will air again today during "Morning Edition"; the conversation focused on more corruption with the ANA and the lack of consequences for it.
Bad Water Flows From The Spring -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
Today during my mentoring session, the topic of corruption surfaced again. An ANA officer who I don't mentor summed it up with an Afghan proverb, "Bad water flows from the spring". He was inferring that corruption starts at the very top and then flows down through the various levels. This officer used to be an inspector or auditor ensuring the ANA soldiers got paid.
Taliban cave network found in Pakistan mountains -- [The Telegraph]
Pakistan's army has discovered a complex network of 156 caves used by the Taliban and al-Qaeda dug into rocky mountains close to the Afghan border.
The tunnels, which are thought to have been created over five to seven years, were carved into sheer rock within view of the snow-capped peaks of eastern Afghanistan.
The network was found during an offensive against Islamist militants in the country's semi-autonomous tribal areas in which 75 militants were killed.
Pakistan Seizes Insurgent Stronghold on Afghan Border -- [Wall Street Journal]
Pakistani military officials said the area was also used by Mr. Zawahiri and other senior al Qaeda commanders. A large mud compound on a hilltop is believed to once have been the hideout of Mr. Zawahiri, one of the world's most-wanted terrorists, with a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head.
"He has been spotted here by the local residents in the past," said Col. Nauman Saeed, a local army commander.
Rebirth of a Nation -- [Newsweek]
Bush's rhetoric about democracy came to sound as bitterly ironic as his pumped-up appearance on an aircraft carrier a few months earlier, in front of an enormous banner that declared MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. And yet it has to be said and it should be understood--now, almost seven hellish years later--that something that looks mighty like democracy is emerging in Iraq. And while it may not be a beacon of inspiration to the region, it most certainly is a watershed event that could come to represent a whole new era in the history of the massively undemocratic Middle East.
The Worst of Intentions -- [Christopher S. Carson/New English Review (Hat tip: David Bellavia)]
Although it hardly made the American news, the Rt. Hon. Anthony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007, was called to the hot seat in London in February, testifying before Britain's Chilcot "Iraq Inquiry" in what was ubiquitously referred to as his "Day of Judgment." It seemed the political and media classes in Great Britain expected him to beat his breast in biblical lamentation for his vile sin of deposing Saddam Hussein's monstrous regime in 2003. Perhaps the media and political classes at least hoped to see him sweat, or even see him beg for forgiveness, the way Richard Clarke did when he testified histrionically before the 9-11 Commission just as his Bush-bashing book hit the stores.
Another American media success -- [Greyhawk]
...But while that threat was misunderstood and misrepresented (by many - even Saddam Hussein himself) throughout the 1990's, it wasn't manufactured, it was as real as a threat can be. That reality was convenient throughout the Clinton years, but somehow less so after 2003.
To be fair, the reality that there were no existing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was clear (to all but the most devoted) after the invasion. But while it might seem hard to believe now, this Washington Post piece accurately reflected the nation in May, 2003 - existing weapons weren't the point...
Scorn in the USA -- [Neil Gussman/Home From Iraq]
Once I left the relative safety of riding in Iraq, I knew it was just a matter of time before someone would swear at me, swerve at me or otherwise threaten me while I was riding a bike. It happened today in Orlando. I was riding on the shoulder of a 4-lane road and the passenger in a beat-up black Ford Focus called me a "Faggot M-F" or something like that. I am sure of the faggot part.
Argentina celebrates diplomatic coup as Hillary Clinton calls for talks over Falklands -- [Times (UK) Online]
Her intervention defied Britain's longstanding position that there should be no negotiations unless the islands' 3,000 inhabitants asked for them. It was hailed in Buenos Aires as a major diplomatic victory, but condemned in the Falklands.
Britain insisted there was no need for mediation as long as the islanders wanted to remain British. "We don't think that's necessary," a Downing Street spokesman said.
Buffoonery -- [Neptunus Lex]
One million Britons marched against Tony Blair's decision to go to war alongside America in Iraq - the largest protest ever, in a country with a history reckoned in millenia - but Tommy came and fought. Hundreds have died alongside our troops there and in Afghanistan.
You might have thought the gesture would have earned a little good will across the pond.
Not so much...
Diplomacy for Dummies (Update) -- [Q And O]
Uh, sit down for what? Britain claimed the Falklands in 1833 after British settlers settled there during the decade. The islands lay 300 miles off the Argentine coast. In 1982, it had to fend off an attack by Argentina in a bid to take them over. Now 3 British oil companies plan to put an offshore oil rig 100 miles north of the islands.
Somehow Argentina, who should have gotten the message in 1982, is still under the mistaken impression it has some say over what goes on there...
Taliban confirm wanted terror leader Qari Zafar killed in US airstrike -- [Long War journal]
The Taliban confirmed that a terrorist leader who was behind multiple terror attacks in Pakistan and was wanted by the US for murdering a consular official in Karachi was killed in an airstrike in North Waziristan last week...
The Taliban vowed to avenge Zafar's death, and said they would strike against the Pakistani government.
The Future For UAVs in the U.S. Air Force -- [Popular mechanics]
When the Air Force recently mapped out a game plan to 2047, its report contained a big surprise: Fewer pilots and more robotic planes acting on their own. Will the airman-centric service accept a future with fewer cockpits? And are we ready for UAVs that can fire their weapons without human permission?
Muslim leader's edict decries terrorism -- [Washington Times]
"Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence, and it has no place in Islamic teaching, and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of excuses or ifs or buts," Mr. Tahir-ul-Qadri said at a news conference in London. "Good intentions cannot convert a wrong into good; they cannot convert an evil into good."
First Live-Streamed USO Show -- [Hooah Wife]
When I heard about this event, there was no question you all would enjoy this. Saving Abel is a new group to me, but from what I've heard....I love them. Looks like almost 30,000 people on Facebook were in the know of this band before yours truly (I'm slow sometimes). On top of liking their sound, anyone that supports the troops and travels with the USO is OK in my book!
This is a unique opportunity and a first for you! You are invited to join their concert, live-streamed from Kuwait on Thursday March 4th 10pm EST / 7pm PST. You can watch it here.
Generation next: JROTC raises funds for wounded warrior, family -- [Robert Stokely]
This group of students organized and collected $1,300.00 during a fall 2009 campaign to help Bravo 2/121 Wounded Warrior SFC Mark Allen. SFC Allen suffered a serious head wound during a fierce firefight on July 8, 2009 in Afghanstan while serving as a Platoon leader with Bravo 2/121 (Newnan GA) of the 48th Brigade Georgia Army National Guard:
Via email:
Hello,
My name is Jessica - I work at Edelman PR in Chicago and am reaching out to you on behalf of Operation Homefront and Jim Beam. I've been checking out the Dawn Patrol in the Mudville Gazette and thought you might be interested to know that Jim Beam launched "Salute Soldiers with the Spirit of America," a program/contest designed to support troops both at home and abroad, and provide guys with opportunities to salute their military pals throughout 2010.
As part of the program, Americans can now nominate their service member friends to win VIP experiences, including tickets to top-tier sporting and entertainment events, through Jim Beam's Facebook page or www.JimBeam.com.
Might this be of interest to you and your readers of the Dawn Patrol?
For more information on the program, check out www.Facebook.com/JimBeam.
Thanks for your consideration,
Jessica
Guest hosting Frank Gaffney's radio show -- [Uncle Jimbo/Blackfive]
Did Frank's Secure Freedom Radio show this afternoon. The audio is here...
Today we had Genevieve Chase of American Women Veterans on to talk about women in combat positions. Then we had my Juicebox Mafia buddy, Spencer Ackerman of the Washington Independent and Attackerman on to talk about military commissions and finally Dr. Peter Pham to give us some updates on efforts by the Iranians and al Qaeda to do more nastiness in Africa.
Obama changes SecDef line of succession -- [AP/Military Times]
Obama's little-noticed March 1 executive order reverses President George W. Bush's doomsday plan, which bumped the service secretaries and elevated the most loyal advisers to the defense secretary at the time, Donald Rumsfeld.
48th Brigade returning home; 'Georgians exceptionally proud' -- [Maj. Gen. William T. Nesbitt/Newnan (Ga) Times-Herald]
After a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan, it's time to welcome back the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) during the next month.
Their mission has been to organize, train and prepare Afghanistan's security forces to manage their own nation's security operations. Taking on this daunting task in the middle of a renewed Taliban insurgency has been quite a challenge.
VA delay may stall benefits for Vietnam vets -- [Military Times]
Three veterans groups have threatened the Veterans Affairs Department with a lawsuit if VA does not publish regulations by March 12 about three Agent Orange-related diseases that the Institute of Medicine has deemed should be presumed connected to military service.
...The American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the National Veterans Legal Services Program sent a letter to VA on Monday demanding that the organization publish the regulation by March 12.
New DoD Policy Embraces Social Media -- [Bullet Wisdom]
Last week was pretty huge for me for two reasons. First, author Jim Butcher personally provided some tremendously helpful advice, and second, my manuscript made it to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. I was working on this week's post, a look at the Fort Hood Esquire article, but late in the week, the Department of Defense issued Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-026 - The DoD's policy for Responsible and Effective Use of Internet-based Capabilities.
For the last few years, the Army and other services faced a conundrum...
With The Old Breed -- [Jules Crittenden ]
Eugene Sledge's sons weigh in on the HBO series, "The Pacific," that is based in part on dad's book. It was a tough view for them and one they think would be tougher on the old man ... which frankly given the background of this series sounds like a pretty good review.
HBO's "The Pacific" premier etc... -- [Kiss My Gumbo]
Sir JJ (search him on this blog for more info on him) and I attended the red-carpet (I'll go back to that) premier in New Orleans for HBO's new series, The Pacific last night... Let's just say this about the Pacific, yours truly, who does not watch much TV, will be getting HBO just for this series.
Naval History's guide to "The Pacific" -- [US Naval Institute]
Welcome to an extra-special Naval History. Like any magazine editor, I'm always on the lookout for topics that will engage, educate, and entertain readers. And that's especially true when it comes to subjects for our biannual gatefold issues, one of which you're now viewing. It's a companion to HBO's new miniseries The Pacific and a history of the 1st Marine Division in World War II's Pacific theater.
Scott Brown to join Senate homeland security, military committees -- [Washington Post]
Brown, a 30-year National Guard veteran who currently serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, said in a statement that he is proud of his new assignments.
"We are currently involved in two wars, and these committees are critical in keeping our country safe, as well as protecting the men and women who defend us," Brown said. "It is equally important that the men and women in uniform receive the care and benefits they have earned through their selfless service. I look forward to working with my Republican and Democratic colleagues to carry out the important work of these committees for the good of our state and our country."
Senators to unveil DADT repeal bill -- [Military Times]
A bill to repeal the federal ban on open military service by gays will be introduced by five senators Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
The bill, backed by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.; Carl Levin, D-Mich.; Mark Udall, D-Colo.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; and Roland Burris, D-Ill., also would expressly prohibit discrimination against service members on the basis of their sexual orientation.
GOP dismisses military study on gays as biased -- [AP/Stars and Stripes]
Some Republicans are dismissing a planned nine-month Pentagon study on gays in the military as biased because it assumes Congress will eventually repeal the 1993 law known as "don't ask, don't tell."
GOP lawmakers are likely to use the argument to try to chip away at the credibility of the assessment, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates envisions as the first comprehensive look at the policy in its 17-year lifetime.
Troops to have voice in DADT review -- [Military Times]
The views of the troops will be an integral part of the nearly year-long review of the ramifications of open military service by gays, according to the parameters of the study released Tuesday by the Pentagon.
This week in history:
March 4, 1789 - Government under the U.S. Constitution begins: The first session of the U.S. Congress is held in New York City as the U.S. Constitution takes effect. However, of the 22 senators and 59 representatives called to represent the 11 states who had ratified the document, only nine senators and 13 representatives showed up to begin negotiations for its amendment.
March 3 1931: The "Star Spangled Banner" is adopted as the national anthem by congressional resolution.
1941: Captain America introduced
1946 - Winston Churchill delivers his "Iron Curtain" speech:
Nine months after Sir Winston Churchill failed to be reelected as Britain's Prime Minister, Churchill traveled by train with President Harry Truman to make a speech. On March 5, 1946, at the request of Westminster College in the small Missouri town of Fulton (population of 7,000), Churchill gave his now famous "Iron Curtain" speech to a crowd of 40,000.
1960 - Elvis Presley honorably discharged from the US Army
Attitude -- [The Mudville Gazette]
Via email, from the victim's mom:
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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.
Updating - Refresh for updates.
Yeoman in the 'Stan: Chapter II -- [CDR Salamander ]
I want to write this about what the people, environs and just plain existence is like around Kandahar Airfield...
The coup de grais to this place: TGI Friday's. And I don't mean a walk up window in a converted connex. I mean a whole building with all the crap on the wall, bar with near-beer, and waiters with stupid hats on: TGI Friday's. I got in touch with Michael Yon and got to sit down and talk with him.
Safety? Forgetaboutit -- [Mob 2009 Blog - in Afghanistan]
First off, early Friday morning, about 0630, an attack broke out at the Kabul City Center... Of course, yesterday I was at the site surveying the damage. (Note I was just at this place on Wednesday.) Here are two other pictures of the damage. Another thing to note, this is the very same place that I took photos of in this post about the "modern mall" in Kabul. Here is that link.
Then, when the Taliban isn't attacking us, we've got good old Mother Nature after us. Just before 0400 this morning, I was woken up with an earthquake!
The man with a black hat -- [30 Days Through Afghanistan]
We keep running into these extremely interesting civilians who can never talk to us officially, but teach us so much about counter insurgency and what's happening in Afghanistan...
Today's secret man was in his late 40's, wore a black 8-point hat, dressed professionally and was sitting quietly before I went outside to catch some fresh air. When I came back in, poor Ken was embroiled in conversation with him. I say poor because I could see how badly he wanted to capture it on film, but it just wasn't going to happen.
We found out later that this man works for the U.S. State Department. By design, it takes a lot of approvals for them to talk with anyone with a camera for good reason. I believe the relationship between media and government agencies in the United States have soured over the years because, one, the government can be hard to work with and may not relinquish information easily and two, media sometimes takes half of the information from the government and then makes a truthful, yet incomplete story from it. The lack of a seamless relationship between the two is resulting in our inability to get these incredible people on camera.
In winter snows, soldiers work to warm relations -- [Stars and Stripes]
Spring has come early to Wardak province, in the form of unseasonably warm weather and an early awakening of the Taliban from its annual hibernation.
And U.S. soldiers are preparing for what local residents are warning could be the bloodiest fighting season yet.
Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Company B, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment stationed at Combat Outpost Nerkh haven't fired a shot in their nearly 3-month-old mission.
Normalcy takes root in Marja after allied offensive -- [LA Times]
Just a few dozen yards from the bullet-riddled government building, Marine Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson found more proof Saturday that the battle for Marja was over.
"A popcorn vendor on the streets of Marja," Nicholson said in a gleeful voice as he found some coins in his pocket and bought a bag of freshly popped corn.
"None of those tourist prices now," Nicholson joked as the vendor, understanding not a word of English, nodded in agreement.
After Push in Marja, Marines Try to Win Trust -- [NY Times/CJ Chivers - with the troops in Afghanistan]
After the declaration this weekend that the battle for the Taliban enclave of Marja had been won, for the Marines standing behind sandbags and walking patrols, the more complicated work has begun. With it will be a test of the strategy selected by President Obama and the generals now running the Afghan war.
'Invincible' Taleban routed in raids on border camps -- [TimesOnline]
"The militant command and control centres and their caches have been dismantled or captured," said Major-General Tariq Khan, one of the country's most experienced commanders in the frontier war with the Taleban. "The kind of hits the leadership has taken, the casualties they have taken, the TTP [Pakistani Taleban] is no longer significant," he said. "It has ended as a cohesive force. It doesn't exist any more as an umbrella organisation that can influence militancy anywhere."
Video of Taliban commander leaves fate unclear -- [AP]
The Pakistani Taliban released a video of their militant chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, but his taped comments fail to prove he survived a U.S. missile strike earlier this year.
U.S. and Pakistani officials have become increasingly confident that the brash militant commander died of wounds from a drone-fired missile in mid-January, but the Pakistani Taliban have denied he was killed.
Blast Kills 11 Afghans in Mine-Clearance Showcase Area -- [Wall Street Journal]
NOW ZAD, Afghanistan--Eleven Afghan civilians were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan Sunday in a hotly contested district where the U.S. is trying to showcase the benefits of mine-clearing efforts.
Officials said the dead were from one family riding on the bed of a truck when it hit a bomb on a road near the district capital. Two women and two children were among those killed, according to Daoud Ahmadi, spokesman for the Helmand provincial government.
Iraqis poke fun at their election candidates' posturing -- [McClatchy/Stars and Stripes]
Some grin; others scowl. They point accusingly at unseen enemies or extend open arms in a show of unity. Men appear in tailored suits to suggest cosmopolitanism, in tribal robes to appeal to more traditional Iraqis and in clerical turbans as a reminder to the devout. Thanks to a government quota, one in four candidates is female, and they reflect the broad spectrum of Iraqi womanhood, from lipstick and highlighted hair to bare faces framed by flowing black cloaks.
"If votes were counted according to the amount of time spent staring at the posters, she would definitely win," said Bilal Nouri, a supermarket worker in Fallujah who gazed longingly at a poster of an attractive female candidate.
Iraqi politician's star rising again -- [LA Times]
Chalabi, a secular Shiite, doesn't downplay the significance of his estranged American allies' failure to get the disbarments, mainly of Sunni Arab and secular candidates, overturned.
"It's a watershed," he says, citing the intense U.S. diplomatic efforts aimed at persuading Iraqis to allow the barred candidates to run, including an intervention by Vice President Joe Biden. "It became evident to the people that on a critical issue the will of the Iraqis prevailed over the desire of the Americans."
In Iraq, Americans Struggle to Relinquish Control -- [Wall Street Journal]
For American commanders, a smooth election in March could speed up this year's scheduled U.S. troop withdrawal. But if the polls are viewed as illegitimate and bring violence, commanders say they are prepared to keep combat troops here longer.
Chile Seeks Aid, Team Rubicon Poised to Help -- [Team Rubicon]
Team Rubicon's advance element, now assembled in Los Angeles, continues to prepare for travel into Chile. Signals from the Chilean government are mixed. This morning's charter flight from LA into southern Chile was refused clearance to fly into the country, with yesterday evening's official position of the US State Department being that Chilean authorities "have the situation under control." At the same time, AP reports a statement this morning by Chile's President Michelle Bachelet that "we face a catastrophe of such unthinkable magnitude that it will require a giant effort" to recover.
Soured Over Policy, Latin American Leaders Await Sessions With Clinton -- [NY Times]
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's five-nation Latin American tour, which begins Monday and is meant in part to address regional tensions, is instead likely to be overshadowed by the response to Chile's earthquake and efforts to line up support for the American campaign to isolate Iran.
Mrs. Clinton is expected to stop in Santiago, Chile, on Tuesday to meet with President Michelle Bachelet and President-elect Sebastián Piñera, the first conservative politician to rise to power there since the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
Navy Cancels Tsunami Warning in Hawaii; Ships Return to Pearl Harbor -- [Navy.mil]
The commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific ordered the return of Pearl Harbor-based ships that sortied today.
USS Crommelin, USS O'Kane, USS Chafee and USS Chung-Hoon departed Pearl Harbor this morning in response to a tsunami warning for the Hawaii Islands issued in the wake of an 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile today. No injuries or damage have been reported in Hawaii.
Obama signs Patriot Act extensions -- [AP/Washington Times]
President Obama has signed a one-year extension of several provisions in the main U.S. counterterrorism law, the Patriot Act.
Provisions in the measure would have expired on Sunday without Obama's signature Saturday.
You can take a Marine out of the fight, but you can't take the fight out of a Marine -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
A Punxsutawney woman says Taliban forces might have taken her son out of the fight -- but they didn't take the fight out of her son.
Marine Sgt. Shane Hanley, 21, a squad leader from Easy Company, 2-2 Marines, suffered shrapnel injuries to the left side of his body when an improvised explosive device detonated Feb. 9 in Afghanistan, said Diane Hanley...
Army chief: Soldiers home more between deployments -- [AP/Stars and Stripes]
Soldiers are currently getting an average of 14 to 15 months at home between deployments, and more are getting 17 to 18 months.
That's more than the year that had been the norm until recently. It's still short of the Army's two-year goal, but an improvement over 12 months, Casey said.
...A few years ago Casey had said the deployment demands were putting the Army "out of balance." Now he says the service was closer to getting back to normal.
Red Line -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - on leave from Afghanistan]
FLASH! My eyes closed as I braced myself for the shockwave. I brought my hands to my ears, hoping to only feel the reverberation of a distant blast. But nothing came. I saw the flash in my peripheral vision. I know it was there. I turned around to see the couple taking pictures of themselves in the dim light. The flash was quick and eye-grabbing, like an IED blast at night. Wait, didn't I just see that guy on the cell phone? A radio controlled IED? I'm going to kill that guy. The rhythm of the train tracks patted my eardrums like the rotors of a medevac bird hovering overhead...I have got to get off this train.
"Entering Harvard Square, doors will open on the left." This was ridiculous. I needed to come back to earth. I stormed out of the train...panting.
Former guardsman leads U.S. to bobsled gold -- [AP/Military Times]
Holcomb, a former Utah guardsman, drove USA-1 to the gold medal in four-man bobsledding Saturday, the first American pilot to do so since Francis Tyler at St. Moritz in 1948. By winning, he cemented the status of his famed "Night Train" sled and push team of Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz as sliding's best.
"This will take a while for it to sink in," Holcomb said. "You work so hard and when you finally get there it's like, 'Well, now what? I don't know what to do.' We've worked so hard and gone through so much in the last four years. To end on a high note like this is huge."
The high note came four hours later.
They jumped atop the medal podium together, each arm raised skyward, before each man bowed to have Olympic gold placed around their necks, none of them able to stop smiling. Then they put their right hands over the hearts, and as the national anthem blared and the U.S. flag was raised, Holcomb seemed to hold back tears.
New Policy Authorizes Social Media Access, With Caveats -- [American Forces Press Service]
Attention all Facebookers, Twitter tweeters and YouTubers: a new Defense Department policy authorizes you to access these and other Web 2.0 platforms from nonclassified government computers, as long as it doesn't compromise operational security or involve prohibited activities or Web sites.
Defense Department officials issued the long-awaited policy today, establishing consistent rules for all military members and employers.
Social Media Rule Change--Better for Bloggers? -- [Home From Iraq]
Today the military opened up the rules on social media--Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and the others will be authorized unless temporarily blocked by local commanders. But the authority of local commanders, especially in a war zone, is hard for a civilian to imagine. In November last year, I was accused of an OPSEC violation on my blog.
'Bourne' Team Takes a Chance With Iraq War -- [NY Times]
NO one doubts that "Green Zone" comes with what Adam Fogelson, the chairman of Universal Pictures, calls an action movie "pedigree." The film, which opens across the country on March 12, stars Matt Damon and reunites him with Paul Greengrass, the director who brought a propulsive visual style to "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum." And television ads and trailers promise plenty of suspense, firepower and, of course, fighting in close quarters...
"This hugely difficult process by which we ended up going to war there, only then to find that the reason that we went to war was not true, left a huge legacy I think -- a legacy of fear, paranoia and mistrust. And so that really was where I wanted to put 'Green Zone.' Can I create a thriller with the ride, and the drive and the urgency and the economic clarity of Bourne-type storytelling -- can Matt and I do that -- and invite the Bourne audience back to the sort of inciting moment of what begat Bourne world?"
The Hurt -- [Greyhawk]
Well then, perhaps we can all look forward to this upcoming bit of non-ridiculous totally realistic hard-corps MATT DAMON badassery!!!!!
Breaking ranks on gays in military -- [Washington Times]
Conservative groups have begun to mobilize to stop President Obama plan's to open the military to acknowledged gays, as some prominent right-leaning Washington figures are breaking with the movement and siding with the White House.
The British PoW who broke into Auschwitz -- and survived -- [TimesOnline]
Denis Avey, even at the age of 91, cuts a formidable figure. More than 6ft tall, with a severe short back and sides and a piercing glare, he combines the pan-ache of Errol Flynn with the dignity of age. This is the former Desert Rat, who, in 1944, broke into -- yes, into -- Auschwitz, and he looks exactly as I expected. He removes his monocle for the camera, and one of his pupils slips sideways before realigning. It is a glass eye. I ask him about it. He tells me that in 1944, he cursed an SS officer who was beating a Jew in the camp. He received a blow with a pistol butt and his eye was knocked in...
In 1939 he volunteered for the Army -- because he was too impatient to wait a week for the RAF. "I ended up in the 7th Armoured Division, the original Desert Rats," he says. "We operated behind enemy lines in Egypt. In 1942 we were ambushed. I was wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans."
Avey was a troublesome prisoner. In the summer of 1943 he was deported to Auschwitz, in Poland, and interned in a small PoW camp on the periphery of the IG Farben factory. The main Jewish camps were several miles to the west. "I'd lost my liberty, but none of my spirit," he says. "I was still determined to give as good as I got."
Have you forgotten? World Trade Center bombing, 17 years later -- [Michelle Malkin]
Did you remember? It has now been 17 years since the first World Trade Center bombing. The jihadi truck bomb exploded at 12:18pm, Feb. 26, 1993.
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