The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit.

That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary.

From their about page:

The Naval Institute shall remain

INDEPENDENT - A non-profit member association, with no government support, that does not lobby for special interests;

NON-PARTISAN - An independent, professional military association with a mission, goals and objectives that transcend political affiliations; and shall encourage

IDEAS - Through its respected journals Proceedings and Naval History, its conferences, its books and its online content, in support of those who serve.

"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation:

The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism.

Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented.

I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are.

"Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result.

Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web...

And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed.

The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down.

But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:

Closing Blogs is nothing new. So many site's owners just give up on their own. They come and go, you know, these MilBloggers do. Like any other sort of blogger. Many post in the lonely down hours far from home, spill their guts for the world, then abandon their spots when the tour of duty is up. They have lives again somewhere in the world, and no need to share the details. So it goes.

Many are truly gone - no site left at all. "The page cannot be found." Other blogs remain, like abandoned defensive positions in shifting desert sands.

Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down.

If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real.

And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale.

We've already made history, it's time to save it.

(More to follow...)

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AFGHANISTAN

Kabul Conference Endorses 2014 Afghan Security Takeover -- [Voice of America]
The donor conference in Kabul was the largest international meeting in Afghanistan since the 1970s. Security was tight in the capital. Coalition forces battled insurgents near Kabul the night before, but the conference proceeded peacefully.
...Analysts say while there is still work to be done, the Kabul conference was President Karzai's chance to show the international community his government is ready.
Recently, many coalition partners have voiced their desire to begin transferring security control to the Afghan forces. U.S. officials say they hope to start withdrawing forces next July.
But U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told delegates at the conference that this transition is not an ending, but rather, a new beginning.
"We have no intention of abandoning our long-term mission of achieving the kind of Afghanistan that President Karzai set forth in his speech," Clinton said.

Kabul Conference -- [A Major's Perspective - in Afghanistan]
A lot of news stories out there right now about the Kabul Conference that took place today, and rightfully so. (I wonder how much we really need to hear about Lohan going to jail -- I really dont care -- but I kinda expected that).
But I digress. Lot of great news stories out there, but there is something you didn't see in the news today, and it was a good thing. Why is this important? Because it was all the Afghans. Afghan led, and Afghan executed. For all the Taliban hot wind that was talked, the Afghan National Security Forces did a superb job in securing the conference.

A City Tour for V.I.P.'s Attending the Kabul Conference -- [At War]
In the opening scenes of Shakespeare's play "Measure for Measure," the Duke of Vienna takes off his fine clothes and disguises himself as an ordinary friar so that he can wander the streets and learn what the common people really think about the governance of his city.
The New York TimesIf Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Gen. David H. Petraeus could do the same, wandering the bazaars and back streets of Kabul instead of attending the carefully guarded Kabul conference ...
...They would see the capital of the place where their policies will succeed or fail, and they would hear talk not of capacity building and clusters, but of the daily lives of the poor, of the millions of Afghans whose lives have not been touched by the dollars pouring in from donors and who do not have connections to the wealthy and powerful who can get them jobs. They would see a world of criminal gangs and they would hear that for many in Kabul, there is no belief in the future.

US hunts wanted Taliban and al Qaeda commander in Kunar -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
Qari Zia Rahman has allegiance to both the Taliban and al Qaeda. ISAF said he maintained a safe haven in the district of Marawara until a recent operation to secure the region.

Highway to Hell -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
It's been a busy day on Highway 1.
One convoy, en-route to Bastion, was engaged at about 0930hrs with small arms fire from about a section-size group of insurgents using abandoned houses and gardens 300m south of the MSR as cover. Our guards dismounted from their vehicles and returned fire. Fortunately, this time, no injuries or damages were reported and the convoy quickly pushed on.
Another of my convoys was not so lucky today. ...

Riding with Ghosts -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Editors Note: This article is too good not to share in its entirety. The reporter, Mitch Potter, was kind enough to give me permission to do so. Mitch contacted me through the blog and Panjwaii Tim told me he was a great guy with lots of experience and knowledge who he was happy to host. In Mitch's honor I hereby officially change the name for Team Canada to Ghost Team knowing full well the name change was supposed to be agreed on at the end of the summer piss up. What did I say at the end of my last post? Armed, outside the wire, experienced, contractors - this is what I was talking about.
Riding With Ghosts...

Afghanistan's New Minister of Interior: A Potential Game Changer - [SWJ - Dr. Mark Moyar, Orbis Operations]
During the Obama administration's strategic review last year, the U.S. government and media paid surprisingly close attention to the selection of Afghanistan's cabinet members, and pressed Karzai to retain the ministers whom Westerners deemed most capable. The forced resignations of Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar and National Directorate of Security (NDS) chief Amrullah Saleh last month garnered less attention, despite the fact that they were two of the government's most important figures. The decline in Western enthusiasm about Atmar no doubt contributed heavily to the tepidness of the response. Soon thereafter,...

Suspected Afghan army trainer opens fire on fellow instructors -- [Washington Post]
A suspected Afghan army trainer on a shooting range in northern Afghanistan opened fire on his fellow instructors Tuesday, killing two American civilian trainers and one other Afghan soldier before being killed himself, NATO officials said. On a day when world diplomats gathered in Kabul for an international conference intended to further a transition to Afghan security responsibility, the violence showed the risks and setbacks that can come with a rapid expansion of Afghan military forces. The shooting, at a weapons training base near the city of Mazar-e Sharif, comes just one week after another rogue Afghan soldier killed three British soldiers at a base in Helmand province. "It's a great tragedy," said British Col. Stuart Cowen, a spokesman for the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, the command responsible for building up the Afghan security forces. Few details were immediately available about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, and NATO officials said they had started a joint investigation into the incident with the Afghan Ministry of Defense. The name of the contractor that provided the U.S. trainers was also not disclosed.

Picture Of The Day - 20 JUL 2010 "Master Healer" -- [FaST Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
...We were fortunate at FOB Shank to have LTC H (AKA Podalirius). Over the last 10 years, the military has identified an injury pattern known as mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Most of us would refer to this as a "concussion". mTBI is an injury caused mainly by explosive force (e.g. from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)). In Iraq, IEDs were consistently mortally devastating to our troops. Recently, our soldiers of Operation Enduring Freedom have benefited by the addition of MRAPs. I believe that there is significantly less trauma (Although there are still many instances of significant trauma and death) inflicted on our soldiers because of the protection offered by these vehicles. However, being in the epicenter of an explosion still leaves many with mTBI.
Most soldiers with mTBI rapidly improve with the innovative therapies applied by CPT J. However, ...

IRAQ

Series of deadly attacks in Iraq related to US pullout plan: analysts‎ -- [Xinhua]
Recent series of attacks by insurgents have left hundreds of people dead and wounded in Iraq

Suicide Attacks Kill Dozens In Iraq -- [AP /NPR]
Two suicide bombers targeting members of a government-backed, anti-al-Qaida militia struck within hours of each other early Sunday, killing at least 48 people and wounding dozens more, Iraqi officials said.
The bombings were the deadliest in a series of attacks across Iraq Sunday that were aimed at the Sons of Iraq, a Sunni group also known as Sahwa that works with government forces to fight al-Qaida in Iraq. The attacks highlighted the stiff challenges the country faces as the U.S. scales back its forces in Iraq, leaving their Iraqi counterparts in charge of security.

Al-Qaeda Women Used As Couriers -- [MEMRI Blog]
Al-Qaeda in Iraq is using a new strategy for transmitting messages and orders to its various cells, by using women known as mujahidat [committed to jihad] or mu'minat [believers].

US envoy: Diplomatic presence in Iraq will shrink -- [AP/WFAA]
The State Department is telling Congress that it intends to phase out a network of embassy branch offices in Iraq as soon as three years after the U.S. military leaves in 2011.
The Obama administration's choice to be the next ambassador to Baghdad -- James F. Jeffrey -- said an existing network of 16 military-civilian posts will be transformed by 2011 into a combination of three embassy branch offices and two consulates.
The three embassy branch offices will be phased out in three to five years, he said, while the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and two consulates will remain indefinitely.

Iraq's Conflict, Reflected in a Family Tragedy -- [NY Times]
When the Americans arrived, Hamid Ahmad, a former air force warrant officer imprisoned under Saddam Hussein, imagined a new life for his family, freed from the burdens of tyranny. In seven hard years, nothing went as planned.
He spoke good English and believed in America. He got a job, his family says, with the United States military. Late last month, he wound up dead at the hands of his 32-year-old son, who had turned into an insurgent who sought money and purpose in fighting the Americans.
Despite difficult relations, an Iraqi oil official said Monday that Kuwait has given initial approval to open its border for crossing by international oil firms working in Iraq oil fields.

Iraq Border to Open to International Oil Companies -- [Epoch Times]
The new border crossing will aid the inflow of equipment for oil companies working on the Safwan and Rumaila oil fields, said the director of the Oil Ministry's licensing office, Abdul-Mahdy al-Meedi, according Reuters.
Iraq wishes to upgrade its oil production capacity from 2 million to 12 million barrels a day in the next six years, according to a report by Iraq newspaper Al- Sabah. But insufficient dock space and corruption at Kuwait's Umm Qasr port, would impede the proposed expansion.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

China Protests US-South Korea Joint Military Drills‎ -- [RTT News]
In a statement issued ahead of imminent joint major military drills by the United States and South Korea in the Sea of Japan, China expressed stiff

U.S. Stealth Jets, Carrier Tell Norks: Back The Hell Up -- [Danger Room]
bout 8,000 U.S. and South Korean sailors and airmen are preparing for a big joint military exercise this weekend to tell a wilding-out North Korea to rethink its recent aggression. Get ready for Invincible Spirit.
According to Admiral Robert Willard, the commander of American forces in the Pacific, the carrier U.S.S. George Washington and a bunch of destroyers from the Navy's Seventh Fleet will head to the Sea of Japan, along with surveillance aircraft and "destroyers, frigates, and some patrol craft" from the South Korean Navy, including the South Korean transport ship Dodko. Over 100 aircraft from the Air Force's Seventh Air Wing and the South Korean Air Force are going to fly above. And since a torpedo from a North Korean submarine sank the South Korean warship Cheonan in March, there'll be anti-submarine exercises as well. It's going to unfold over several days.

Will a North Korean Attack Win the Yellow Sea for China? -- [One Free Korea]
Is the Yellow Sea a Chinese lake? Under ordinary circumstances, I'd understand China's complaints about a U.S. naval exercise in an inland sea near its shores. It's not as if I'd want Chinese ships in the Gulf of Mexico, either, but these are not ordinary circumstances. This time, North Korea has sunk a South Korean warship, and China has both shielded North Korea from any consequences for that attack and continued to provide necessary financial support to the regime that carried it out. Argue among yourselves whether this makes China an accessory after the fact, but it certainly destroys the myth of China as a mature, responsible power promoting peace and stability. That's why the U.S. Navy is now forced to deter without any help from China.

U.S. announces new sanctions against North Korea -- [Washington Post]
Searching for new ways to punish North Korea after blaming it for sinking a South Korean warship in March, the Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will strengthen existing sanctions against the North and impose new restrictions on its weapons trade and trafficking in counterfeit currency and luxury goods.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Al-Qaeda Second-in-Command Ayman Al-Zawahiri: The Only Hope for Palestine is to Depose the 'Arab Zionists' -- [MEMRI Blog]
In a new 1-hour 3-minute audio recording, Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri reaffirms Al-Qaeda's basic strategy regarding Palestine and promised imminent victory in Afghanistan, and addresses words of praise and encouragement to the jihadist groups in North Africa, Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Fighting the Ideological Battle: The Missing Link in U.S. Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism -- [Counterterrorism Blog - Matthew Levitt]
As nonaffiliate terrorist actors begin to take center stage and al-Qaeda's core strength diminishes, it has become clear that America is at war with a larger enemy: the extremist ideology that fuels and supports Islamist violence. Unfortunately, the United States is not well equipped to fight on this ideological battleground, and U.S. efforts to confront the ideology worldwide have not kept pace with more successful military targeting of high-level al-Qaeda leaders.
In a new Washington Institute Strategic Report my co-authors and I argue that rather than avoid any mention of the religious motivation behind the terrorism of al-Qaeda and other like-minded organizations, the Obama administration should sharpen the distinction between the religion of Islam and the political ideology of radical Islamism to successfully defeat Islamist terrorism at its most fundamental source.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

SSG Patrick Zeigler - Someone You Should Know -- [BlackFive]
Want to meet a real life superhero? A man whose strength and power defies what many believed was humanly possible? A man who defines the phrase "American soldier"?
Meet Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler.
For the past 8 ½ months, Zeigler has looked death in the face and refused to blink. He's battled back from eight brain surgeries and diagnoses that labeled him everything from "comatose" to "permanently disabled."
Zeigler was one of 32 who was injured on November 5, 2009 when accused gunman Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire inside the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood.

Soldiers' Angels Welcomes New Trustee -- [Soldiers' Angels]
Soldiers' Angels announces the appointment of military veteran, new media expert and lobbyist Mark Seavey to the Board of Trustees. Drawing on thirteen years' experience advocating for veterans, Seavey will work closely with COL (ret) Henry Cook on legislative liaison efforts.
A strong advocate for veterans, Seavey began his career with The American Legion in 1997 as an Appeals Representative and later served with the National Legislative Commission as an Assistant Director and Grassroots Coordinator. Recently promoted to New Media Manager, Seavey serves as steward of The Burn Pit and also runs a highly-respected personal milblog which specializes in debunking fraudulent military service claims.

MILITARY

BREAKING: Stolen Valor Act ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL (UPDATE 1) -- [BlackFive - Mr Wolf]
Sit back, take a deep breath, and get your BP meds ready. Stupidity has found another outlet in the judicial system. And be prepared to memorize this face.
One of our favorite impostors Richard Strandloff/Duncan has had the charges of Stolen Valor dropped due to a ruling from the District Court in Denver today. Judge Robert E. Blackburn issued a ruling today, dropping/dismissing the charges on the basis that says ''the Stolen Valor Act is unconstitutional.'' And by 'unconstitutional' he means it violates the First Amendment. He writes:

WELCOME HOME

Dozens of Kentucky Army National Guard soldiers returning home -- [WKYT]
Friends and family will gather at the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort Wednesday to welcome home 86 Kentucky Army National Guard soldiers

Local Seabees Return -- [WKRG-TV]
Family members, relatives, and friends will welcome home more than 260 Seabees from ... to send an additional 30000 troops to Afghanistan late last year

Soldiers from the 278th return home -- [TriCities.com]
...every deployment is stressful because one parent ends up doing the job of two. In addition to taking care of their children by herself, Tara Spears said she also must do her husband's chores, such as mowing the lawn.
That's why she's thankful the Bootleggers have friends and family members who work together like an extended family during a deployment the same way its members become brothers while their in combat.
Technology also has come a long way in the five years since her husband's first deployment, and that's helped out a lot too. During the Bootleggers' 2004-05 deployment, Tara Spears said she was lucky if she could talk to her husband once a week. This year she's been able to use her Blackberry and Skype, an Internet-based video telephone service, to talk to her husband every single day that he's been gone.

VETERANS

URGENT!! OIF/OEF VETERANS DISCHARGED FOR PTSD -- [Some Soldier's Mom]
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
OIF/OEF Veterans: TIME IS RUNNING OUT. If you were discharged for PTSD and received LESS THAN A 50% disability rating from your service branch, you MAY be able to receive some additional benefits

New treatment for PTSD? Dropping some Ecstasy. -- [Stars & Stripes]
It's not the most likely prescription for veterans already suffering from paranoia and emotional imbalance, but a group of researchers with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in California are suggesting that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (better known as Ecstasy) could prove valuable in helping combat vets in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The study, which tracked only 20 patients, found veterans using Ecstasy were more receptive to counseling sessions than those on a placebo.

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

Oh, poor Blogetry! -- [Jawa Report]
Oh, the poor 73,000 blogs they hosted!!
Why, the FBI won't take my blog until they pry my cold dead fingers from the keyboard!!1! /sarcasm.
1. A site hosted by Blogetry was distributing Inspire magazine from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
2. The FBI asked for nothing more than information about the particular site, one of 73,000 hosted by Blogetry.
3. BurstNET, acting on their own initiative, and in accordance with their own Terms of Service, pulled the plug on Blogetry.
The FBI did not shut down 73,000 blogs, period. But why let the truth get in the way of a good story...

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

WH Press Briefing- Top Secret means Top Secret -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
I posted this over at Big Peace but since it is an ongoing series here I wanted a copy on our servers. I think some of the hype over whether this compromises classified information may have been overblown. That said, I don't think it really added anything to the debate and put too much of our secret business out in public.

JournoList Members Discussed Whether the Government Should Shut Down Fox News -- [The Volokh Conspiracy]
It appears from the last few days' stories that JournoList was even worse than I'd always suspected. The Daily Caller reports that UCLA law professor Jonathan Zasloff first raised the possibility of a government shutdown of Fox News and then defended pulling their White House press pass

Breitbart On Sherrod's NAACP Speech: 'I Did Not Edit This Thing' -- [TPMMuckraker]
The crux of the Shirley Sherrod controversy is what she said outside of the two-minute video clip posted by Big Government -- whether she was, as she claims, telling a story about how she overcame racial prejudice while helping poor farmers in Georgia, or whether the clip is a good encapsulation of her views. So we asked Andrew Breitbart, the founder of Big Government, why he hasn't posted the full video.
"I don't have it," Breitbart told TPMmuckraker in an interview. Breitbart said his source sent him just the edited clips at first, but is in the process of sending the full video.
Breitbart said he'll post the full video, if he can get permission from the video production company who filmed it for a local NAACP chapter. He also maintained that he didn't edit the clip and that it was sent to him already edited.

VoteVets still whining about Fox -- [This Ain't Hell]
This morning I awoke to to some more VoteVets whining. They have new million-dollar ad that they're trying to cram down Fox's throat about this Clean Energy bill in Congress.

STRATEGY & TACTICS

War is Boring: Fourth Time the Charm for NATO's Afghan Militia Plan? -- [WPR]
The impetus behind the scheme was simple enough. "We clearly do not have enough police forces to provide security in enough of the populated areas," top Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell admitted.
Nevertheless, reaction to the plan was swift and alarmed. Afghan President Hamid Karzai reportedly objected to it -- and for good reason. On no fewer than three occasions in the last three years, NATO has experimented with militias and local security forces. All these previous efforts failed, sometimes spectacularly.
Morrell tried to downplay concerns. "These would be local community policing units," Morell said last week. "They would not be militias."
"It is clearly a sensitive issue for President Karzai and the Afghan government and the Afghan people, given their history with militias and warlords," Morrell told reporters. "And we are certainly understanding and sensitive to that."
"But that is not what Gen. Petraeus is proposing here,"

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The real Star Wars: Laser used to shoot down a moving aircraft for first time -- [Daily Mail]
Star Wars-style laser beams have been used for the first time to shoot down aircraft in flight, it was revealed last night.
The anti-aircraft laser shot down four unmanned drones at a US Navy test range off the coast of California.
Mounted on a warship, the space age weapon was fired over two miles to hit one drone travelling above the Pacific Ocean at more than 300mph.
The invisible beam can only be seen when it strikes its target.

CLIMATE AND SECURITY

The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force -- [White House]
President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes on July 19, 2010. That Executive Order adopts the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and directs Federal agencies to take the
appropriate steps to implement them.

Meet the National Ocean Council -- [White House Blog]
Find out who represents your new National Ocean Council.

In Midst of Gulf Disaster, New National Ocean Policy Gives Hope for Our Seas -- [Huffington Post - Sigourney Weaver Academy Award nominated actress]
I have always loved the oceans. My father was a Navy man and one requirement he had for us growing up was that we had to live near a body of saltwater. I was raised listening to foghorns by night and being chased by horseshoe crabs by day.
...This is the most significant action any U.S. President in history has ever taken for our seas. It will help make our oceans stronger and healthier, and help them fight off the myriad of threats they face today. It will help clean up the pollution that contaminates our beachwater, protect endangered species, keep the seafood we love on our plates, and make the oceans more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

POLITICS

Kagan and the Military: What Really Happened -- [WSJ - Pete Hegseth]
Her intellectually dishonest opposition to our armed forces during a time of war shows bad judgment. She doesn't belong on the Supreme Court.

Hegseth on Kagan -- [This Ain't Hell]
Out buddy, Pete Hegseth, the executive director of Vets For Freedom, takes on Elena Kagan, the Supreme Court nominee, in the pages of the Wall Street Journal this morning on her contention that she's friendly towards the military

MILITARY HISTORY

American Civil War: It Begins at Bull Run -- [about.com / Military History]
July 21, 1861 - Union forces are beaten at the First Battle of Bull Run. Under pressure to defeat Confederate forces, Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell advanced into Virginia in July 1861. Encountering Confederate troops under Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard behind Bull Run, he attempted a sweeping march around the enemy's left flank. This largely succeeded on July 21 and Union forces achieved early success before pausing their advance. This allowed Beauregard to rush recently arrived reinforcements, under Brig. Gen. Joseph Johnston, to the scene. As the battle progressed, the Confederates gained the upper hand and ultimately routed McDowell's army sending it reeling back towards Washington.

HUMOR/SATIRE

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

AFGHANISTAN

Prospects for stability in Musa Qala: challenges and possible solutions -- [Bill Ardolino /Long War Journal - in Afghanistan]
Part 3 in a three-part series on Musa Qala. For Part 1, see The checkered history of Musa Qala; for Part 2, see US Marines battle the Taliban for control of Musa Qala.
..."To the west, there are more 'little-t Taliban,' mostly in it for the money and drug smuggling," explains McDowell. "The farther east of the line you go, the more you see 'capital-T Taliban,' the ideologues who are affiliated with the Qetta Shura."
...A third, nebulous category of enemy also exists: violence is often tied to inscrutable local business interests, politics, and simple crime, especially in cases of Afghan-on-Afghan violence.
"Here in the District Center ... it's really strange, it's hard to characterize what is happening," explains H&S Company Commander First Lieutenant Joshua Hartley, who regularly leads patrols through Musa Qala...
Positive factors at present include...

Exploding Culverts -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
The ambush was initiated with a large IED, planted in a road culvert...
The initiation was followed up by sustained and accurate small-arms and RPG fire to the front, middle and rear of the convoy from the high ground on both sides of the MSR. My guards de-bussed and returned fire...

Arbaki -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
It looks like the new boss has convinced President Karzai to reverse his position on using tribal militias. The new name for these soon to be created Arbaki is Local Police Forces (LPF.) This is a plan which has been tried before with minimal success... I'm not sure what is being modified to make this cunning plan more effective than the last time around but I do know this much - the plan is going to fail.

Weather -- [A Major's Perspective - in Afghanistan]
Its hot here right now...but not a hot like you would think...
The wind is something to describe though. Starting in late spring it starts to pickup and everyday around 230PM until Midnight it blows. All of the sand / dust gets picked up by it turning into a swirling maelstorm of junk and dirt.
For the guys in Kandahar and the eastern portions of the country it is different. Kandahar is hot, very hot, reminds me of Iraq hot. The east of the country is hot but also mixed with humidity...

Fête Nationale -- [Field Notes: One Soldier's Perspective - in Afghanistan]
July 14: This morning we had a brief ceremony to recognize and celebrate "Fête Nationale" or French National Day. It is the official national day of France. While it is also known as Bastille Day (anniversary of storming the Bastille in 1789), it actually celebrates the anniversary of the Fête de la Fédération that occurred on 14 July 1790 (one year after the storming of the Bastille)...
This morning's ceremony featured the raising of the French flag over the ISAF Headquarters...

Goodbye "FaST" Food (and good riddance) -- [FaST Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
...I am completely for the elimination of places like BK and Pizza Hut from military installations. Not only in theaters of war, but in ALL military installations. I simply don't believe there is any reason for their existence on our bases / camps / or posts...

IRAQ

On The Iran, Iraq Border -- [J.D. Johannes - in Iraq]
In the 1980s Iran and Iraq fought to a bloody stalemate on a thin strip of desert over access to a waterway, the Shatt al Arab, that had been in dispute since the days of the Ottoman Empire.
The war was a pure fire-power battle resembling the trench warfare of World War I and the set piece charges of the American Civil War.
The tension over the Iran/Iraq border still lingers making border security one of the key missions of US Forces in Iraq.
I spent a day at the Shalamcha Port of Entry, a bustling entry point for Iranian tourists and transhipment point east of Basrah, Iraq...

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Senators Look For Smoking Gun In BP-Lockerbie Link -- [AP]
...Soon after al-Megrahi's release last year, BP acknowledged that it urged the British government to sign a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, but stressed it didn't specify his case. It reiterated that stance this week when four U.S. Democratic senators asked the State Department to investigate whether there was a quid pro quo for the Lockerbie bomber's release.
"The evidence here may be circumstantial but if I were a prosecutor, I'd love to take this case to a jury," said New York Sen. Charles Schumer...

No Link Between BP And Lockerbie Release: UK Envoy -- [NPR news blog]
Many people for obvious reasons are more than willing to believe the worst about BP.
So when stories circulated this week that the company had lobbied for Scotland to release convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in order to secure an oil deal with Libya, many BP haters were perfectly ready to believe that.
But the United Kingdom's ambassador to the U.S., Nigel Sheinwald, says BP played no such a role in the al-Megrahi affair.
The envoy explained in an open letter to Sen. John Kerry, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...

UK's Cameron: Releasing Lockerbie Bomber Was Wrong -- [AP]
"As leader of opposition, I couldn't have been more clear that I thought the decision to release al-Megrahi was completely and utterly wrong," Cameron told the BBC before leaving Tuesday on his first visit as British leader to the United States, where he is expected to face questioning about the case.
In fact, Cameron's political party did more than just condemn the former Libyan intelligence agent's release. In the weeks following, Britain's Conservatives called for an inquiry into whether trade considerations played any role in the decision.
The party has changed tack, however, since taking control in May of Britain's government in a coalition. Cameron's Downing Street office said a government-commissioned inquiry was "not currently under consideration."
Cameron emphasized that the final decision to release al-Megrahi was made by Scotland's government, which holds some limited powers within the United Kingdom, and not by the previous British government headed by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

As Cameron and Obama Meet, BP Will Be Top Issue -- [NY Times]
On the eve of a White House meeting with President Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday stepped into the furor over BP's lobbying for a prisoner-transfer agreement between Britain and Libya by saying he considered the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber from a Scottish prison last year to be "completely and utterly wrong."
Ten weeks after taking office, Mr. Cameron is making his first visit to the United States as prime minister. He and Mr. Obama have a ledger of issues to discuss, including the Cameron government's decision to set an end date of 2015 for Britain's combat role in Afghanistan...

Afghanistan tops agenda for British PM's visit -- [Washington Times]
The White House on Monday said the war in Afghanistan is "first and foremost" on the agenda for Prime Minister David Cameron's first Washington visit with President Obama, but the new British leader will be walking a political tightrope over the release of the Lockerbie bomber amid questions from Congress about whether BP had a role in the decision.
The meeting Tuesday comes as operations in Afghanistan are at a pivotal point...

WELCOME HOME

Homecoming -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - home from Afghanistan]
..."All 5th Brigade Personnel bound for Joint-Base Lewis-McChord, we'll be boarding you at Gate 4 in five minutes," announced an airline representative over the intercom. A smile broke across my face. I was heading home. I was almost done. This war was over for me, and I could wash my hands of it for at least a year or two. I jumped up from my seat, gave one last grin at the run way, knowing I'd be on it in just a few moments.
"Hey Raj," called out my friend James, a West Point classmate in the brigade.
"What's going on brother?! Ready to kick this pig?!" I slapped him enthusiastically on the back.
"Rajiv...something's happened." James voice became quiet...

STRATEGY & TACTICS

ISAF, SCR Address Military ROE and Tactical Directives -- [ISAF]
"Our rules of engagement are solid, and they have not changed," said Blotz. "They are based on international law and are standardized across 47 nations, and describe the circumstances and limitations under which forces will begin or continue to engage in combat. This defines the"right and left limits" of what we will allow our forces to do as they fight."
...He added that the tactical directives tell troops what they should do while the rules of engagement instruct them what they can do. In an example he describes the difference between the two directives.
"If our troops are fired upon from a compound, under the laws of armed conflict...international law, that compound is a legal target," the general said. "However, the current tactical directive will ask our troops to consider the minimal level of force that's required to handle the situation."
...At the moment, the application of the current tactical directive is being reviewed to ensure it is consistently being used across our force.
"It is important to remember that [ISAF] military forces always retain the right to self defense, if commanders believe their forces are in danger they are required to make decisions to protect themselves," said Blotz..

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Raytheon's pain gun finally gets deployed in Afghanistan (update: recalled) -- [Engadget]
t's been six long years since we first got wind of the Pentagon's Active Denial System, and four since it was slated to control riots in Iraq, but though we've seen reporters zapped by the device once or twice, it seems the Air Force-approved pain gun is only now entering service in Afghanistan...
Update: Sorry folks, false alarm -- a Air Force spokesperson just informed us that though the pain gun was indeed sent to Afghanistan, it's now being returned to the US without ever seeing use.

Pain Ray Recalled From Afghanistan -- [Noah Shachtman/Danger Room]
...The system's tactical advantages are far outweighed by the strategically-massive propaganda boost that the pain ray would've given the Taliban.

The Active Denial System: the weapon that's a hot topic -- [The Telegraph (UK)]
In 2007, with the situation in Iraq at its most volatile since the invasion, US forces requested the presence of the ADS. It was never sent. Indeed, The Daily Telegraph has learnt that it has now been recalled from Afghanistan, without being fired in anger...
...Other problems come from the limitations of the device itself. Rain, snow and fog hamper its effectiveness, and it can be blocked by highly reflective materials such as aluminium foil...
Yet even if the ADS falls short, the ongoing pressure to keep the civilian body count to a minimum has made the development of similar weapons a top priority for Western forces. The ADS is only one of a raft of new non-lethal measures the US has been developing, under varying levels of secrecy...

World's Fastest Helicopter Boosts Battle Against Insurgents -- [ISAF]

...The aircraft's value in the battle against insurgents lies in its versatile performance. The Lynx crews can track insurgent movements and watch over vulnerable areas with its sophisticated surveillance camera. This "overwatch" capability helps in the protection of the massive convoys used to re-supply front line troops in the forward operating bases.
The convoys can be vulnerable to attack as they track across vast swathes of desert from base to base but with the Lynx and its formidable weapons systems circling above, the insurgents stay away...

POLITICS

HUMOR/SATIRE

-- []

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AFGHANISTAN

3 ISAF troops killed repelling Taliban assault in Kandahar -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
Three ISAF soldiers and five civilian workers have been killed while repelling a Taliban terror assault on a police compound in the provincial capital of Kandahar.
The Taliban launched a coordinated, complex attack on an Afghan National Civil Order Police headquarters in Kandahar city yesterday in an attempt to overrun the compound, ISAF reported in a press release.

Hero hit by bullet ... spits it out again -- [The Sun]
TOUGH soldier Luke Reeson was hit in the face by a Taliban bullet - and SPAT it out. He then yomped two miles to base, carrying his heavy kit, for treatment .

Minus A Leg, Still On A Mission In Afghanistan -- [NPR]
apt. Dan Luckett of the Army's 101st Airborne Division is assigned to one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, the Zhari district just north of Kandahar city, where Taliban attacks are common. He goes on patrols, lifts weights in his spare time and is second in command of his company.
That may not sound unusual.
What is unusual is that Luckett is a double amputee, after injuries he received in combat in Iraq in 2008. Recovered and fit, he's now in Afghanistan as part of the U.S.-led military effort to take control of Kandahar province and drive out the Taliban.

Twinkle Twinkle -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
There's no doubt things are hotting up. Our convoys are being hit every day by IED and ambushes - often, combined. The bad guys seem to be moving in larger groups and, to us, it seems that they are operating with virtual impunity on certain sections of Hwy 1, in particular in the vicinity of Hawz-e Madad where we can guarantee running an ambush as the convoy passes through the gardens that border the road. We've lost four KIA in that 10km stretch in the past week alone...
Our stats came out last night and make for interesting reading. The three that stood out for me are insurgent ambushes have risen while our convoy damage / destruction has fallen, at the same time as our ammo expenditure has declined...

On Patrol in Karamanda -- [Weekly Standard - Bill Ardolino - in Afghanistan]
Scenes from the war in Afghanistan.
A dozen Marines streamed from Patrol Base Griffin about two hours after dawn on Thursday, July 1, descending a rocky gravel slope leading straight into the village of Karamanda. The Americans were joined by two Afghan police officers, two Afghan soldiers, an interpreter, and a black bomb-sniffing dog named Bandit. The men walked in rigid single-file "Ranger formation," each mimicking the footsteps of the person to his front to minimize the chance of stepping on a pressure plate IED. They moved in relative silence broken by greetings to villagers, occasional commands, and the odd joke. "Frankie," a young Afghan interpreter from Kabul, began to tunelessly sing a song.

Petraeus' First Big Afghanistan Gamble: Militias Local Cops -- [Danger Room - Spencer Ackerman]
Ever since the Sunni insurgents of Iraq's Anbar Province broke from al-Qaeda in 2006, the U.S. has strained to find a way to replicate the move in Afghanistan. With remarkable frequency, senior U.S. military officers have approached Hamid Karzai's government and ask if they can set up some structure outside of the formal Afghan army and police to get local auxiliaries to pick up the security slack. And each time, the Karzai government balked, fearing an entrenchment or acceleration of Afghanistan's warlords, power brokers and militias. Until now.
General David Petraeus has persuaded Karzai to set up a new force to supplement Afghan soldiers and police...

Elusive Game in Afghanistan -- [At War]
The sniper encounters started in late May, in Paktika's Yahya Khel district. On patrols near the insurgent-dominated village of Palau, Company A, of the Third Battalion, 187th Infantry, took sporadic but accurate fire, seemingly from marksmen more skilled than the average insurgent.
NYTBattalion intelligence overheard Afghans talking about foreign fighters in the village. A few days later, ...

Afghanistan OKs new local defense forces -- [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
KABUL, Afghanistan • After intensive discussions with NATO military commanders, the Afghan government approved on Wednesday a program to establish local defense forces around the country, to help remote areas thwart attacks by Taliban insurgents.
The NATO-backed program, which will be supervised by the Interior Ministry, will pay salaries to the members of these new forces, an inducement that could aid recruitment.
Nonetheless, the Afghan government's agreement to establish the program represents a concession by President Hamid Karzai, who had resisted it.

Officials: Afghan villagers repel insurgents -- [Afghanistan Crossroads]
Kabul, Afghanistan -- Villagers in eastern Afghanistan repelled an insurgent attack Tuesday, an incident that left an Afghan civilian and "numerous" Taliban dead, the NATO-led command said.
...The event is one in a series of examples of villagers withstanding and repelling insurgent attacks, including the successful defense of a village in the Gizab district in southeast Afghanistan in April that resulted in several insurgent deaths and four arrests, the statement said.

U.S. senators voice doubts on Afghanistan plan -- [Reuters]
The Obama administration has not done enough to explain its goals for the war in Afghanistan, including what its exit strategy will be, U.S. senators said on Wednesday.

Malaysia makes first deployment to Afghanistan‎ -- [AFP]
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia will make its first military deployment to Afghanistan Thursday, sending a unit of medical personnel as ties with the United States ...

IRAQ

Iranian-backed Shia terror group remains a threat in Iraq: General Odierno -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
Hezbollah Brigades has imposed an "increased threat" over the past several weeks, the US' top commander in Iraq said. The terror group remains tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Commander in Iraq Warns of Attacks on U.S. Bases -- [NY Times]
Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of United States forces in Iraq, said Tuesday that Iranian-backed Shiite militias might increase attacks on American military bases this summer as thousands of American soldiers begin leaving Iraq.

Car Bomb Kills 6 in Northern Iraq -- [Voice of America]
Iraqi officials say a car bomb targeting a police patrol has killed six people and wounded at least 11 more in a city north of Baghdad.

Iraqis Take Control of Last US Prison in Iraq‎ -- [Voice of America]
The United States has handed over control of its last military prison in Iraq to Iraqi officials. US military officials transferred control of ...

Iraq: US hands over Tariq Aziz, other detainees -- [Breitbart]
The U.S. this week handed over nearly 30 former members of Saddam Hussein's inner circle, including the longtime international face of the regime, Tariq Aziz, officials said Wednesday.
The announcement comes a day before U.S. authorities are to transfer authority of Camp Cropper, the last American-run detention facility to the Iraqi government.

To Iraq....Again -- [Outside the Wire - JD Johannes - in Iraq]
Just when I think I'm out...I get an assignment to cover Iraq. But since the assignment is to cover the 1st Infantry Division as part of a project for the Cantigny First Infantry Division Museum, I couldn't say no.
The Headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division--The Big Red One--is running the United States Division--South out of Basra.
I flew from Kabul to Dubai on Kam airlines and stayed the night at the Holiday Inn Express Airport. I'm becoming an authority on the H.I. Expresses of Dubai, so far I like the Airport one the best. I flew Emirates Airlines to Kuwait and then took a Blackhawk from the military transit point Contingency Operating Base Basra.

Iraq's Imperiled Modern Art -- [At War]
If a blog about war seems an unlikely place to see photographs of paintings and sculptures, consider this. In May, the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment of the Third Infantry Division organized an art exhibition with a black-tie opening night in Dora, still one of Baghdad's most troubled neighborhoods, if less troubled than before.
In Muthanna Province, the provincial reconstruction did something similar awhile back, commissioning paintings by Iraqi women that made their way to the State Department in Washington for a brief exhibition this spring.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Obama Plan Outlines Reductions in U.S. Nuclear Arsenal -- [Washington Post]
The Obama administration's 20-year plan for the U.S. nuclear arsenal would reduce the number of deployed and stored warheads from 5,000 to a range of 3,000 to 3,500 and significantly increase spending on the complex that maintains them, according to newly disclosed documents.

Iran: Nuke Scientist? What Nuke Scientist? -- [Danger Room]
Shahram Amiri, the maybe-nuclear scientist who was maybe kidnapped by the CIA, has landed in Teheran. Now come the denials about what he actually did and who he actually was.
Apparently dressed in the same white shirt and tweed sportsjacket from his calm-academic YouTube video, Amiri held a press conference at Imam Khomeini Airport after de-planing to say he rejected what he described as a $50 million bribe not to come home.

Nuclear Scientist Receives Hero's Welcome in Iran -- [Voice of America]
Iranian researcher Shahram Amiri arrived home in Tehran Thursday to a hero's welcome, amid further allegations that he had been abducted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -- a claim that Washington strenuously denies. He had spent more than a year in the United States, at one point saying in a video posting that he was studying in Arizona of "his own volition."
Iranian government television has played a series of webcam interviews with him in recent weeks, each containing new and conflicting tales about his alleged abduction in Saudi Arabia, last year.
Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied the charges, saying that he was "free to leave," as he had been "free to come," in the first place.

Russia Urges Iran to Explain Nuclear Program‎ -- [Voice of America]
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev is calling on Iran to explain its nuclear program and to fully cooperate with the international community.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Martyrdom tape of failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad released -- [Long War Journal]
A martyrdom videotape of failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad has appeared today on the Al Arabiya news channel. The videotape shows Shahzad wearing a black turban, Pakistani clothes, and a military-styled vest. He is seen holding an AK-47 and is often seen reading from the Koran.
In the tape, Shahzad said he is "getting revenge for the killing of Baitullah and Zarqawi, and for all the weak and oppressed and martyred among the Muslims," Arif Rafiq, the president of Vizier Consulting and editor of the Pakistani Policy Blog told The Long War Journal. "Shahzad says jihad is an integral part of Islam and emphasizes the need to spread Islam worldwide."
...Shahzad said the war against the West and countries that are insufficiently Muslim has only just begun.

Petraeus wants Taliban in Pakistan on terror list -- [AP]
The new military commander in Afghanistan and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee are urging the State Department to add to its terrorist list some Afghan insurgent commanders who operate from hiding places in neighboring Pakistan.
Commander of NATO forces Gen. David Petraeus wants some leaders of the Haqqani network added to the list, a senior U.S. Defense official in Washington said Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to describe internal administration discussions.
On Tuesday, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., urged the State Department to take the same action. Levin is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Both asked for sanctions against the al-Qaida-linked group, led by Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Siraj. The Haqqani network launches attacks against U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan from the Waziristan tribal region in Pakistan.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

Support Cooking with the Troops! -- [causes.com]
Mission: Provide aid, comfort, and support to U.S. and Allied Troops, their families, and caregivers.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Salutes U.S. Troops by Donating over $144,000 to the USO -- [MarketWatch (press release)]
"We are thrilled with the results which will help the USO Charter Centers continue to support our troops!" Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is the only global

As a Brigade Returns Safe, Some Meet New Enemies -- [NY Times]
..."Being back in garrison is what we don't do well, because since 9/11 it seems we've spent more time deployed than at home," Lt. Col. David Wilson said.
As the United States military continues to reduce the number of troops in Iraq -- to 50,000 by Sept. 1 from about 85,000 now -- it has begun to shift some focus to the home front in an effort to ensure a smooth transition for soldiers, a move prompted by lessons learned from returning veterans who have struggled to adjust to lives away from war.
Leaders of the Fourth Brigade said its problems had not only been deeply embarrassing, but had revealed institutional ignorance about combat stress and traumatic brain injury that forced the unit to use a holistic approach not typically associated with the military as it confronted its issues.

How the U.S. Army's Diann Traina and other young military personnel are getting ripped off--and what's being done to help them Red, White, and Scammed -- [VeteransPlus]
.S. Army Spc. Diann Traina signed a contract, took out a loan, and traded in her pickup to buy the sedan at a dealership in Fayetteville, N.C., right outside the gates of Fort Bragg. What she didn't know was that the dealer had taken out a loan against his inventory and didn't actually own the vehicle he sold her. Spc. Traina was never able to get the title to the BMW, so when the dealership shut down soon afterward, she was stuck--without a car and with an $11,000 debt. In the meantime, she had been deployed to Iraq, leaving her helpless to do much about it.
Like thousands of service members engaged in fighting America's battles overseas, Spc. Traina had encountered a foe here at home. Young, inexperienced, and often drawing their first paychecks, enlisted men and women are easy marks for sleazy car dealers, insurance scammers, predatory lenders, and identity thieves. So pervasive are the rip-offs--and so troubling the debt incurred by military personnel as a result--that U.S. Department of Defense officials recently labeled the situation a threat to national security. "You don't want them distracted while they're out on the front lines," says Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. "But they will be if they're worrying about what's going on at home."

MILITARY

Kids today... too violent for the military? -- [Greyhawk]
I've read (and believe) studies demonstrating the majority of American youth are unfit for service based on physical fitness or education levels, criminal records (some related to violent acts) and other considerations. And I've seen unrelated claims that exposure to violent media - movies, games, music - serves to indoctrinate youth into some sort of "military mindset."
But I believe this is the first time I've encountered this intriguing thought: the military should take steps to reverse some of that media conditioning:

Scottsdale Man Who Posed as Marine Found Guilty -- [Fox News]
A bench warrant has been issued
A Scottsdale man accused of posing as a U.S. Marine has been found guilty. John Rodriguez was charged with 13 counts, including fraud and forgery.
Rodriguez didn't show up to his court date and a jury quickly found him guilty.
Police say he wore a uniform and ribbons indicating he'd been awarded the prestigious Navy Cross and Silver Star.
Rodriguez even tried to postpone a court date by claiming he was going to be deployed to Iraq.

Gay ex-officer to testify against military's ban‎ -- [AP]
If the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy were lifted today, Mike Almy would not think twice about returning to the Air Force.

WELCOME HOME

300 Fort Gordon Soldiers Return Home From Iraq‎ -- [WJBF-TV]
300 troops arriving home after an 11 month deployment to Iraq, ... Brice Maygreen, Home from Iraq: "He said welcome home, I'm grateful that I could be here

VETERANS

VA eases PTSD claim process -- [Fort Leavenworth Lamp]
Currently, VA decision makers are required to confirm that a noncombat veteran actually experienced a stressor related to hostile military activity

New hopes for women veterans making claims for PTSD benefits -- [WTKR]
Christine Brooks is a Navy veteran who says she suffers from PTSD, including painful headaches that make it hard to sleep. She's been trying to receive PTSD

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted (A Nigerian Scam) -- [A Soldier's Perspective - CJ]
I've been covering these military dating scams for a number of years from the early days when the emails were simply "you won a kabillion dollars in an internet lottery". The latest buzz that seems to be working for the Nigerian Scammers has been to use photos and images of troops to perpetrate their scams. With two long wars going on and respect for troops at a high, they have found a willingly ignorant society to scheme money from. That doesn't make the victims idiots or stupid; they don't understand the military and just want to help. Often time, they fall in love with the image of man in the photos. Unfortunately, in my experience almost every Soldier used in these scams is already married, which breaks their hearts.

STRATEGY & TACTICS

The Past Bites The U.S. Army In The Ass -- [Strategy Page]
...The main problem with COIN is that the American armed forces takes it for granted. U.S. troops have been defeating guerilla movements for centuries. Through all that time, COIN has been the most frequent form of warfare American troops have been involved with. But COIN has always been viewed as a minor, secondary, military role. It never got any respect. Even the U.S. Marine Corps, after half a century of COIN operations, were glad to put that behind them in the late 1930s. All that remained of that experience was a classic book, "The Small Wars Manual," written by some marine officers on the eve of World War II. That book, which is still in print, contained timeless wisdom and techniques on how to deal with COIN operations, and "small wars" in general. Much of the work the army has done in the last five years, to revise their manuals, could have been done just by consulting the Small Wars Manual. In some cases, that's exactly what was done.
The basic truth is....

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

British-Designed 'Bulletproof Custard' Liquid Armor Is Better than a Kevlar Vest -- [Instapundit]
AND DELICIOUS!

Smart Phones Go To War -- [Strategy Page]
Three years ago, the iPhone, a very popular smart phone design, went on sale. Since then, over 300 million iPhones, and similar "smart phones" have been sold. Some of the most eager buyers of this technology have been American soldiers.
...The effort to deliver a useful MSP was long seen as a lost cause. But the demand is strong, and growing. The Department of Defense, and especially the army, is increasingly addressing the need for smart phones that can do things the troops need. Money is being spent to create military apps, and troops are encouraged to write these apps. It's not just training and electronic documents, but doing calculation heavy battlefield chores, like navigation, intel analysis and mission planning. The demand is growing, and so is the supply.

POLITICS

Let the games begin! -- [The Armorer]
The DoD fires the Administration's opening salvo in Budget Chicken with Congress. You young'uns may not have seen too much of this in your lifetimes, but it was pretty much a staple during the 80's and early 90's.
July 14, 2010 - Because Congress has yet to pass a supplemental funding bill, the Defense Department must start taking measures to ensure uninterrupted war operations, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today.
If Congress doesn't act on the fiscal 2010 request for supplemental war funding, Defense Department employees may not get paid, Morrell said during a news conference.

Illinois Mayor violates Stolen Valor Act; files defamation suit to silence opponent...
-- [Burn Pit]
In September of last year, I wrote a piece on The American Legion's Burn Pit blog about anti-war phony Marine Rick "Duncan" Strandlof, whose tales of surviving 9/11 at the Pentagon (and whose injury during the Battle of ...

Politics and the Military -- [At War]
There have been several articles recently which have portrayed the military as a force that has become dangerously politicized. In April, Mother Jones magazine featured a cover story entitled "Age of Treason," with a picture of a U.S. Army soldier.
The article went on to discuss the Oath Keepers, an organization that has ties to the Tea Party movement, and how some service members are involved with the group.
Additionally, there have been persistent rumors about and calls for Gen. David H. Petraeus to consider a run for the presidency. All of this, compounded with the Rolling Stone article about Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, would probably lead the everyday observer to believe that indeed the military has become politicized.
Bruce Ackerman, a law professor at Yale, asserts in The Los Angeles Times that "Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's criticism of Obama administration officials symbolizes an accelerated partisanship of the officer corps."

My Biggest Mistake in the White House -- [WSJ - Karl Rove]
Failing to refute charges that Bush lied us into war has hurt our country.
Seven years ago today, in a speech on the Iraq war, Sen. Ted Kennedy fired the first shot in an all-out assault on President George W. Bush's integrity. "All the evidence points to the conclusion," Kennedy said, that the Bush administration "put a spin on the intelligence and a spin on the truth." Later that day Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle told reporters Mr. Bush needed "to be forthcoming" about the absence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Thus began a shameful episode in our political life whose poisonous fruits are still with us.
...At the time, we in the Bush White House discussed responding but decided not to relitigate the past. That was wrong and my mistake: I should have insisted to the president that this was a dagger aimed at his administration's heart. What Democrats started seven years ago left us less united as a nation to confront foreign challenges and overcome America's enemies.

MILITARY HISTORY

Two Years Ago Today 9 Brave Men Gave Their Lives For Our Nation at Wanat, Afghanistan. Many other lives were changed forever. -- [From Cow Pastures To Kosovo]
As the two year "anniversary" of the Battle of Wanat" approached I kept wondering what I could write to honor the fallen and encourage the wounded and survivors. Nothing I write is enough but I want to remind anyone who reads here about these men and ask everyone to NEVER FORGET those who have died in service to this nation and those who are trying to heal from the emotional scars of seeing their brothers-in-arms be taken away from this earth.

Along the Sacred Road -- [Greyhawk]
More combat action from Lt Churchill in a moment, but first, a brief description of the terrain where our battles took place:The outpost, surrounded by soaring mountains on all sides, was isolated and hard to defend. "It felt like we were living in the bottom of a Dixie cup," one of Brown's soldiers said.
The "Dixie cup" reference probably gave it away - that's actually a modern description of Camp Keating, which (until it was abandoned following a Taliban attack last year) "along with two other outposts,

RIP Vernon J. Baker -- [This Ain't Hell]
The Washington Post reports that the sole liveing African American MOH recipient of WWII has left us.
First Lt. Vernon J. Baker, 90, an Army infantryman who, more than 50 years after the end of World War II, became the only surviving African American to receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the war, died July 13 at his home near St. Maries, Idaho.
The article goes on to describe Lt. baker's actions agaionst the Germans in Italy. It reads like something out of a movie:

HUMOR/SATIRE

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AFGHANISTAN

Thoughts -- [A Major's Perspective - in Afghanistan]
I was starting to write my thoughts on my second hundred days here -- and not planning to publish until next week when I hit that milestone -- so I thought I would fire out a few thoughts quickly right now.
I'm not going to discuss the great loss of General McChrystal -- but I will say the positive and dedicated energy here with the arrival of General Petraeus is comprehendable and feel-able where-ever you go. It is deffinitely a good thing. In all honesty its very much a great honor to be under his command...

Returning to a Different ISAF -- [Field Notes: One Soldier's Perspective - in Afghanistan]
While no one man alone can run a war, much of the positive change experienced this past year in Afghanistan can be directly attributed to General McChrystal. He took command at a pivotal time and was able to build upon the strong foundation General McKiernan started putting in place during his tenure in 2008 to 2009. General McChrystal's drive and energy invigorated the command. He brought a new perspective and appreciation for the complexity of counterinsurgency to theater that concurrently drove and reinforced the notion that it was time for the US and the world to make Afghanistan a priority.

Not really in the publishing business but... -- [My View/Our Mission - in Afghanistan]
By happenstance the article on ANP came out yesterday (see yesterday's blog entry) and then my blog posting on the DoD site about mentoring...

Medical Monday: Mentoring in Kabul, Lessons Learned -- [Cmdr. Tim Weber - in Afghanistan]
...any mentoring mission in Afghanistan is a worthy one that can bring great personal and professional satisfaction, particularly when you are fortunate to be teamed up with Afghan leaders who are motivated to improve.
Nonetheless, questions still persist in reflection. How do you define progress? Whose timetable are we on? Are my expectations of success the right expectations? Until recently I don't think I could have given good answers to these questions.
However, they are more easily answered with the lessons I've learned...

Picture Of The Day - 12 JUL 2010 "A Medic's Goodbye" -- [FaST Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
It's all very fast. The wounded arrive. They're descended upon by the team trained to perform rapid resuscitative interventions to stabilize them. Surgery. ICU. Rapid preparation for evacuation out of the battle space. The medics comfort them. They wrap them in thermal blankets like burritos. Head warmers, donated from volunteer organizations, get donned. Finally, eye and ear protection get placed. The flight medics receive vital information for transport. Then.. they move quickly to the HLZ on a rickshaw-stretcher. The medics always turn to their patient. They say goodbye - good luck. Its quick...

On Patrol in Karamanda -- [Bill Ardolino - in Afghanistan]
...Lieutenant Cook - the "folk hero" of Karamanda - was injured with secondary shrapnel (debris) and burns to his face and eyes. Quickly medevac'ed, Cook was expected to recover and keep his eyesight, but officers with Charlie Company doubted he would return to his platoon.
"He's 20/40 in one eye, 20/30 in the other, a little cloudy, but getting better," said Captain Chandler several days after the blast, as he updated Fourth Platoon on a visit to PB Griffin. "What he told me was, 'I got another appointment on Wednesday, if I'm good they're gonna send me right back.' He didn't even mention the lacerations or the second degree burns on his face, but bottom line is they are going to send him to Germany. I think he's going to make a full recovery, but as you all probably know, it takes an act of God to get back. He wants to be here, it's killing him to not be here."

Fight For Fuel -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
At about 0730 this morning a fuels convoy, escorted by us, was contacted by enemy elements... The contact was intense and prolonged ... Our guards quickly gathered up the convoy and pushed on towards the destination while leaving teams behind to defend the bogged tankers. These teams were still in contact with the bad guys 6 hours later, taking casualties and running low on ammunition. Despite this, they remained with the stranded tankers.
In the meantime...

East Afghanistan -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Spencer Ackerman over at Danger Room wrote a post last week with the disturbing title of East Afghanistan Sees Taliban as "Morally Superior" to Karzai. This assessment came from the after action slides of Col Randy George who commanded Task Force Warrior this past year. There is nothing in the article or Col George's slides which is a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. What is not obvious to those outside of Regional Command East is that there is the distinct possibility that change is afoot...
Sami the Finn from Indicium Consulting was the first to raise the alarm as he watched the incident rate in Kunar drop at the height of fighting season and his take was the local Taliban was going to mass and try something dramatic...

Inside the Cave: A Review of the M-ATV -- [J.D. Johannes - in Afghanistan]
...the M-ATV is a case study in the news media, risk averse officers and defense contractors driving tactics.
Here is how it works:
1. The news media runs endless stories about how military vehicles are not armored enough to withstand road side bombs
2. Risk averse officers who don't want to be on the bad end of a headline demand more armor
3. A defense contractor builds and armored monstrosity of a vehicle, sends press kit to the media
4. The Pentagon and risk averse officers purchase the monstrosity of a vehicle no matter how useless it is...

The Commander and Zombie Killers II: On Mission -- [J.D. Johannes - in Afghanistan]
Getting them to be effective counter insurgents will be a herculean task but once they start fighting effectively the war will be over quickly. No one has exactly figured out how to do that. Some say it cannot be done, but Westerners can lead Afghans. Josiah Harlan, a quaker from Pennsylvania--the real life Man Who Would Be King--led the Afghan Army in the 19th century. British Officers in what is now Pakistan successfully led corps of Afghans. Special Forces Teams and private logistics/security contractors mold effective Afghan units.
The Western way of war is standardized so that any person with the right training can fill a slot. A Western infantry unit is like a franchise--people can rotate in and out and as long as the procedure and doctrine are followed the unit will function.
The Afghan way of war is personality based. It requires a strong leader, a true Alpha who derives his authority from his bravery, strength, guile and charisma rather than rank...

'Foreign Taliban' direct the insurgency in Musa Qala: Deputy district governor -- -- [Bill Ardolino - in Afghanistan]
When ISAF forces retook much of the area from Taliban forces during Operation Snakepit in December 2007, they appointed a defected local Taliban field commander, Mullah Abdul Salaam Alizai, as the district governor of Musa Qala. By all accounts, Mullah Salaam's time in office was a disaster...
About three months after the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine regiment took over responsibility for Musa Qala in March of this year, Mullah Salaam was out...
While the incoming district governor has been training in Kabul and Lashkar Gah, and attempting to pass the exam that certifies all district governors (he just passed the exam on his second try Monday), the interim responsibility for government in Musa Qala has fallen to Deputy District Governor Mohammad Akbar Khan.
The interview with Deputy District Mohammad Akbar Khan follows...

IRAQ

Not in My Baghdad Yard - Civic Protest, Iraqi-Style -- [Yasmine Mousa/NY Times At War blog - in Iraq]

I was driving past Qadisiya Park and I saw six shiny white banners strung tree to tree. The banners read, in neat blue and green print, "We urge Baghdad City Hall not to turn Qadisiya Park into a commercial plaza." It was signed by "The people of Qadisiya district."
So began protests, arguments and shouting in the park itself, and letters to City Hall. This act may seem normal elsewhere in the world, but not amid the mayhem of Baghdad, a city where sticky bomb explosions are a regular occurrence amid piles of uncollected trash. Protests and raising banners were unheard of under the previous regime.
The dispute is over plans to build a plaza on land that is currently a green park, with two floors of residential apartments above...
"Look at it, just imagine what it would look like. Instead of these lovely flowers, there will be high concrete walls," said Abu al-Hassan, who lives in a nearby house. "We just don't want this commercial building. This is why we raised those banners, and we will take all the measures we have to through Baghdad City Hall to keep it as it is."
The banners did not last long. I drove past one day later, and they were gone. It did not take long to find out why.
"I burned them. I pulled down all the banners in the evening and I burnt them. Yes I did, here," said Mr. Ghazi, the would-be developer...

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Somali militants say they carried out deadly Uganda World Cup blasts -- [The Guardian]
Commander of al-Shabab, linked to al-Qaida, says group was behind twin explosions that killed 74 in Kampala
WARNING: This video contains disturbing images
A Somali militant group with links to al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for the twin explosions that killed 74 people watching the World Cup final in Kampala last night, and has threatened to carry out attacks "against our enemy" wherever they are.
The blasts came two days after a commander with the group, al-Shabab, urged militants to attack sites in Uganda and Burundi, two countries that contribute troops to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.
Al-Shabab, whose ranks are swelled by militant veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, has long threatened to strike beyond Somalia's borders, but the bombings late on Sunday are the first time the group has done so...

President Obama, White House: Al Qaeda Is Racist -- [Jake Tapper/ABC News Political Punch blog]
In an interview earlier today with the South African Broadcasting Corporation to air in a few hours, President Obama disparaged al Qaeda and affiliated groups' willingness to kill Africans in a manner that White House aides say was an argument that the terrorist groups are racist.
Speaking about the Uganda bombings, the president said, "What you've seen in some of the statements that have been made by these terrorist organizations is that they do not regard African life as valuable in and of itself..."
Earlier today a senior administration official said the Obama administration believes that Al Shabaab carried out the attack.
Explaining the president's comment, an administration official said Mr. Obama "references the fact that both U.S. intelligence and past al Qaeda actions make clear that al Qaeda -- and the groups like al Shabaab that they inspire -- do not value African life..."
Additionally, U.S. intelligence has indicated that al Qaeda leadership specifically targets and recruits black Africans to become suicide bombers because they believe that poor economic and social conditions make them more susceptible to recruitment than Arabs," the official said. "Al Qaeda recruits have said that al Qaeda is racist against black members from West Africa because they are only used in lower level operations." ...

Neighbors on edge after box left at home explodes -- [ABC News Houston]
Around 6:30pm Friday night, a woman opened a package she'd received at her northwest Houston home weeks ago. The lady's friends say her face was instantly pelted with nails and tacks. Shrapnel blew so high, it landed on her rooftop.
"Our neighbor came out, and had blood on her, and she was walking out with her husband," Turpin said.
Neighbors who saw the package but didn't want to appear on camera describe it as a box of chocolates that was left inside a gift bag. One neighbor says there was a card attached that simply read, "Thank you." It included the woman's name, but it was misspelled.
"I can't believe that anybody would do anything as terrible and tragic to a person like this lady," neighbor Karen Gennity said.
Neighbors say the woman often performed random acts of kindness for her neighbors -- perhaps one reason she thought this box of chocolates was a thank you in return.

Box left at woman's door explodes -- [ABC News Houston]
It wasn't immediately clear whether the house was targeted, however, Eyewitness News found out the home is owned by an oil company executive.

AFT investigating bomb targeting woman -- [ABC News Houston]
...there are still many unanswered questions about where this disguised bomb may have come from.
As the victim, Vennie Wolf, 58, now rests at home, neighbors still cannot make sense of why anything like this happened here.
"It's a very strange thing," said one neighbor. "It's a quiet neighborhood."
It's a puzzle the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms is trying to piece together, too.

Pipe bomb targeted wife of Houston oil executive -- [Houston Chronicle]
Houston police and federal authorities confirmed Tuesday that a pipe bomb sent to the home of a local oil executive was meant for his wife and not him... Wolf was taken to Memorial Hermann-Northwest Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. She was later released and is now recuperating, police said.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS (or not)

Opening the door to PTSD fraud -- [CDR Salamander]
...Make no mistake - there is $$$$$ in PTSD fraud. If you make it easier to practice that fraud - ECON 101 tells you all you need to know. Sure - you may help one; but you create enough fraud to smear thousands.
As a friend put it in correspondence with me yesterday, it DEFINES PTSD as "something a veteran says they have." It follows that legally there can be no such thing as PTSD fraud. (unless someone claims vet status fraudulently.) The fraud is the one the government is perpetrating on the American people.
This also separates veterans into two classes - those who admit they have PTSD and those who deny it. I believe Orwell saw this coming. "there is $$$$$ in PTSD fraud" - there is even more money in treating an "epidemic."...

VETERANS

Stolen Valor: Mayor Lies About Medals; Files Defamation Suit to Silence Opponent -- [Mark Seavey/Big Peace]
...Not only does DuPar's civil suit seem to rest on an erroneous reading of his own discharge papers, but his claim may open him up to a criminal prosecution for violation of the Stolen Valor Act ... The case of DuPar is a textbook example of a violation of that law, and yet no legal action has been taken against him. Why?
I contacted the FBI agent working the case on four occasions. (I didn't get express permission to use his name, so I will call him Agent P.) Agent P is not only a longtime FBI agent, but also a former Marine who served during Desert Storm, and he's decidedly unhappy with Mayor DuPar and his false claims of valor. I asked Agent P why no charges have been levied, and he asked me to contact the U.S. Attorney's office and find out from them, and that I should call him back and let him know. I called Patrick Fitzgerald's office three times, and like with Felizia Frazier, I received no response.
...Agent P had repeatedly asked me over the past few weeks to hold off writing this piece. He maintained that the U.S. Attorney would (almost at any second) see the light and file charges. Today when I called he sounded exhausted and frustrated, telling me "do what you have to do."...

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

COIN by Ke$ha -- [Knights of Afghanistan]
Until today, I confess that I wasn't familiar with the pop artist known as Kesha.
...Not exactly to my taste musically... However, this video from the IDF on patrol in Hebron is still worth watching.
I have no doubt that the squad leader will probably lose his job over this, and the rest of the squad will face disciplinary action. Still, I can't help but smile at the way young soldiers in every conflict try to make it their own and express a little optimism and individuality despite their conditions...
Update: As it turns out, the two squad leaders responsible for the video have been disciplined by the IDF...

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Taranis: The £143million unmanned stealth jet that will hit targets in another continent -- [MailOnline]
Defence firm BAE Systems today officially unveiled its first ever high-tech unmanned stealth jet.
The Taranis, named after the Celtic god of thunder, is about the same size as a Hawk jet and is equipped with stealth equipment and an 'autonomous' artificial intelligence system.

Dr. Who's Taranis -- [Neptunus Lex]
I was OK until I read the bit about an "autonomous artificial intelligence system."
"Skynet becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug."

POLITICS

When the media attacks a veteran's wounds... -- [Blackfive]
Nick Popaditch - a medically retired Gunnery Sergeant, wounded in Fallujah, received the Silver Star - is running for Congress in California...
When you jump into the political ring, you know (and Nick and April Popaditch know) that politics can get dirty. You expect attacks on your politics, your conduct of your life, etc.
But you don't expect the media to attack you war wounds with an editorial cartoon...you don't really expect a blatant disrespect for your service...like this cartoon that appeared in Saturday's (July 10th) edition of the Imperial Valley Press:

Satirizing Nick's wounds sustained by fighting his way through Fallujah is is not just an insult to Nick and his Marines, but a disgrace as it is an affront to every Purple Heart recipient...

Rep. Filner blasts newspaper cartoon of his GOP opponent, a wounded Iraq veteran -- [LA Times]
Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) has added his criticism to those of readers who feel that a newspaper cartoon showing his GOP opponent, a wounded Iraq veteran, was inappropriate.
"The cartoon was in poor taste and does not reflect the Imperial Valley's strong support for our troops and veterans," Filner said in reference to a political cartoon in the Imperial Valley Press...

Cartoon not meant to offend -- [Brad Jennings/Imperial Valley Press]
We all make mistakes. On Saturday, I clearly made a mistake.
We ran a political cartoon from our local cartoonist which depicted a couple of kids looking at a poster of congressional candidate and veteran Nick Popaditch and trying to decide what he looked like because of his eye patch. Frankly, I interpreted the cartoon as making a comment on how misinformed people are -- especially young people.
Many others, apparently, did not take it that way...
I have met Popaditch on one occasion, when he came into the newsroom early in his candidacy. I don't know him at all, but he seemed like a nice, admirable man. As a veteran myself, I absolutely thank him for his service and the sacrifice he made for his country.
I called Popaditch on Monday and apologized to him. He accepted that apology with much grace and didn't appear to be that offended by the cartoon himself...
Sadly, I see that this has been e-mailed around to partisans who are trying to make this some kind of rallying cry. I am getting calls from conservative radio and bloggers who are apparently trying to make this more than it really is. That is politics in 2010 America...

Mocking war hero Nick Popaditch: A teachable moment -- [Michelle Malkin]
Everyone should know this man's incredible story of courage and sacrifice. Forget Lindsay Lohan's disgusting fingernails. Tell your kids about how Popaditch lost his eye, survived, and returned to public service stronger than ever.
...instead of calling on the cartoonist to be fired, perhaps he deserves thanks -- thanks for inadvertently creating an opportunity for the rest of us. It's a moment not merely to complain about a boneheaded media slap, but to spread the word about Nick Popaditch.

HUMOR/SATIRE

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Always updating - refresh for updates.

Gen. David H. Petraeus assumes command of NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during a July 4 ceremony at the command's headquarters in Kabul. (Photo by: Staff Sgt. Bradley Lail)

AFGHANISTAN

Born on the Fourth of July -- [MaryAnn Phillips/Big Peace]
...In 2007 Jake deployed to Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. He was there just three weeks when his vehicle drove over two 500-pound bombs buried in the road...
Jake was first medevaced to Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center in Germany for stabilization and then on to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. A dozen operations followed. The bones of his leg were held together by an array of surgically placed rods and pins. He spent countless hours in rehab.
But all Jake could think about was getting back into the fight. He inundated the Corps with letters and phone calls from his hospital bed. After two painful years recovering from his injuries, he was finally healthy enough to serve again. In May of this year he deployed to Afghanistan with the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Bn, 1st Marine Division.
On Thursday May 27, 2010, while on foot patrol in Helmand province, Cpl. Jacob Leicht stepped on a land mine and became the 1000th U.S. service member to make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty in Afghanistan...

Freedom -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
...I sat with two of my West Point classmates from the incoming Stryker unit. The two Lieutenants stared blankly at their paper plates, trying to make sense of the oddly hostile display that had just occurred. Was he joking? Is he seriously mad?
An anger induced trance blinded the memory of what I had said; the social inhibitions I had let fall in an amicable discussion. My face winced, maliciously staring down my friend across the table. I came to, only to find myself in this stunningly awkward moment where I had clearly verbally aggressed my friend, my brother, a fellow officer...someone's son, someone's husband, and now someone's father.
"Hey," I broke the silence, "listen...sorry about that. I just lost it--"
"Don't worry about it, Raj," interrupted the peer who I assailed. "You guys have had a rough year..."

LT Wompum Returns (to the New York Times) -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
Former AHOD contributor 1LT Mark Larson (aka. LT Wompum) has a new article up over at the New York Times 'At War' blog, this time writing regrettably about the death of a friend...

Death on Facebook -- [Lt Mark Larson (in Afghanistan)/NY Times At War blog]
For the first time since the war began, I now regrettably count myself amongst those who personally know the terrible cost of war. A friend, First Lt. Joe Theinert of Sag Harbor, N.Y., was killed in an ambush in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on 4 June.
I found out about this sad loss on Facebook...

The Perils Of Blogging (For Soldiers) -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
Two comments were posted to AHOD yesterday that illustrate the hazards (namely friendly fire) that unfortunately seem to come with the territory for soldiers blogging, be it from a war zone or otherwise. ...
So apparently this person still has a gripe with LT Wompum (notice 'Joe' the correct spelling of Wompum) despite the fact that he hasn't appeared on this blog for over a month. More irksome is the allegation that Wompum didn't follow proper blogging procedures. I can state categorically that this is false...
Furthermore, why Joe feels Wompum can't 'blog about war' is just as baffling...

Critical Thinking? -- [Old Blue/Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
...To be sure, one must be able to measure one's activities, but those activities must be aimed at an effect that is oriented on establishing a relationship between the people and their own government. Granted, COL Gentile's quote was taken somewhat out of context, but it is consistent with lines of information briefed by units here in Afghanistan. One unit, conducting what amounts to a PR campaign to salvage its reputation after having been removed from its original operational area after failing to conduct effective COIN operations, literally produced a slick document in which it provided "proof" of its excellent COIN operations. The preponderance of information, provided in easy-to-read pie chart and bar chart format, was on how much money they spent. To a counterinsurgent, that could just as much be a damage estimate as a measure of effectiveness. We can do a lot of damage with our money...

Jalalabad Rocks -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Last Wednesday morning the local Taliban sent eight guys to attack the US Army base at Jalalabad Airfield known as FOB Fenty. They initiated the attack with a car bomb in a rarely used entry point on the southeastern side of the airfield which is well away from the Torkham to Jalalabad road. The remaining attackers tried to bum rush the damaged gate and got shot all to hell by the American soldiers who man the guard towers. Adding insult to injury there just happened to be a section of fully armed and fueled Apaches in the air and they were instantly able to pounce on the survivors of the futile charge at the damaged gate as they fled back towards a small village called Moqamkhan. A joint force of ANA and 101st Paratroopers went into the village and finished off the survivors in a short fire fight. FOB Fenty was back to normal by noon but the attack did generate plenty of news which may have been the point.
The attack on FOB Fenty has had zero impact on the local citizens or the troops stationed on the FOB - it was stupid and recognized as such. But...

IRAQ

Deployed Soldiers "unleash the Chaos" for Independence DaySoldiers with Company C "Chaos", 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, "Unleash the Chaos" by throwing chemical lights into the air to take the place of fireworks during an Independence Day celebration at Camp Liberty, Iraq, July 4. The 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Soldiers conducted counter-indirect fire patrols all day throughout Abu Ghraib, Iraq and ended with an awards ceremony and barbecue here. (Photo by Pfc. Kimberly Hackbarth)

The Forgotten War -- [Greyhawk/The Mudville Gazette]
Beyond any doubt that term applies to Iraq.
But yesterday I took the opportunity to join in a roundtable with 3ID's Colonel Thomas James...
Colonel James mentioned there are some 50 members of the headquarters staff on their fourth rotation with the division in Iraq. As if they hadn't already accrued enough time in country, this week they got the news their current deployment has been extended by one month...

Fighting, but Not Calling It Combat -- [Tim Arango (in Iraq)/NY Times At War blog]
Nothing, said Maj. Bryan L. Logan, the squadron operations officer for the Third Squadron, Seventh Cavalry Regiment, makes the wives back home (there are only men here) more angry than when an acquaintance makes a remark such as, "You must be happy your husband is in Iraq rather than Afghanistan."
The soldiers understand Iraq is still a dangerous place - more dangerous, in fact, for the local population than in Afghanistan...

Institutionalized Habits -- [Fraser from _____ - in _____]
We fly over the same crappy little cities and crappy deserts, drive through the same guard shacks that are guarding nothing; but the guards are still there. We get mortared from the same ass-clowns at the same time we have been for the last 7 years. Just not mortared as frequently.
We scare ourselves in freaking brownout landings just like we've done for the last 7 years. More helicopters have been lost to brownout conditions in the two theaters than to enemy action. That's why it scares the shit out of us. In the last 10 feet above the ground, when the downwash kicks up that miserable dust and you can't see crap, you need faith that what you saw at 50 feet is the same level field you are about to impact in the next few seconds.
We say the same thing after we've completed a brownout landing. After a gathering of wits and pulling pitch out of the zone, it's; " I NEVER F%$#ING WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN!" But yet we do it again the very next night...

Projects in Iraq -- [Ramblings from a Painter (Home from Iraq)]
I'm normally a fan of the New York Times, particularly when it comes to reporting in Iraq. They are one of only a couple of major international news organizations that maintain a full-time presence in the country. (The only other one I know of is Al Jazeera). Usually, Times reporting is very accurate and insightful.
Not this time...

Paragliding Over Mosul - Because Iraq Just Isn't Dangerous Enough Already -- [Zaid Thaker AND Timothy Williams (in Iraq)/NY Times At War blog]
The risk-averse will tell you that it takes a special sort of foolishness to jump from a mountain with just a paraglider strapped to your back.
So what, then, does that make the members of the Falcon Club, an Iraqi group of daredevils who sail through the air above Mosul, which is perhaps Iraq's most dangerous city?

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

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WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

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SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

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MILITARY/MILITARY LIFE

Commander's wife banned from brigade -- [Military Times]
Lt. Col. Frank Jenio was hit by an ear-splitting hourlong tirade from his commander's wife, Leslie Drinkwine, complaining about the roster of his battalion family readiness group.
"Go ahead, and get me fired," Jenio was heard shouting into his phone. Afterward, he emerged from a conference room, red-faced and furious, a source who was present said...
In January, less than a year later, Jenio and his command sergeant major Herbert Puckett were relieved of command while deployed in Afghanistan by Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the 82nd Airborne's commander. An investigation found they used "poor judgment which fostered a command climate that was not consistent with our Army values."
Puckett said in a statement to investigators that Leslie Drinkwine later "bragged" to the rear detachment commander, "One team down, five to go."
The confrontation between Leslie Drinkwine and Jenio was emblematic of an environment within the 4th Brigade, particularly its family readiness group, that was so toxic that it triggered an investigation by a three-star general.
..."I literally spent every other night on the Iridium phone with my Rear D or [wife] discussing the latest issue vice focusing on the OEF fight," Jenio said in his statement.

WELCOME HOME

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VETERANS

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BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

Big Peace: The July 4th Happy Birthday to America Launch! -- [Andrew Breitbart/Big Peace]
...As the site's resident skeptic of main stream media accountability, I have noticed that the amount of reporters and media outlets covering national security and the war has dwindled and skepticism over American military commitment has waned now that there isn't a Bush or a Republican in charge. The war beat is getting short shrift. Big Peace was created to fill this void and to provide biased coverage.
The site is pro-freedom, pro-liberty, and pro-American but will not be an outlet for false information or propaganda. The unique mix of Schweizer, Gaffney, and Blackfive and our collective reputations will provide a check and balance.

Southern Living Mama Blogger of The Week July 4 Edition: Honoring Greta Perry & Military Families -- [Southern Living Magazine]
In honor of July 4 we wanted this week's Southern Living Mama Blogger of The Week to feature a mom who has devoted a good part of her life, and her blogging, to supporting her military family.
Yesterday we called for suggestions via Twitter (we're @Southern_Living) and were overwhelmed by the response. Turns out there is an active military blogging community -- fantastic!
One name came up again and again: Greta Perry, who, by her own admission, is "The Princess of Positive." Greta runs Hooah Wife and Friends which she started when her husband was deployed to Iraq. It is filled with resources for military spouses. She also runs Kiss My Gumbo. We took one look at her blog and it was clear: she had to be this week's Southern Living Mama Blogger of The Week!

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

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STRATEGY & TACTICS

The Commander and Zombie Killers II: On Mission -- [J.D. Johannes - in Afghanistan]
...Every military mission, every patrol, should have a defined purpose, a commander's intent with at least a few measurable objectives and milestones.
The way of war for the modern Afghan National Army reared its head at this point and summed up exactly why the war here has been such a struggle. There was no purpose to the patrol--unless the patrol was to determine the presence of enemy improvised explosive devices by driving around until you got blown up. Nbard and his higher headquarters can be forgiven for their error because numerous US units still drive around for no other apparant reason than to get blown up.
Mounted patrols, also known as driving around in Humvees, MRAPs, M-ATVs, are useless wastes of human life, time and diesel fuel. They are often called "presence patrols" and are devised by fools who have no clue how to fight a war. Sometimes these fools have read a little Army doctrine and then call these patrols 'movement to contact' or 'meeting engagement'--fancy terms for driving around until the enemy blows you up.
Mounted patrols, like the one Nbard was to lead us on through Musahe gather no intelligence, they do not protect the population from the Taliban, they do not perform anything close to the essential functions of an infantry unit--namely to seek out, locate, close with and destroy the enemy...

Letter to the Troops -- [Gen. David H. Petraeus]
We must also continue our emphasis on reducing the loss of innocent civilian life to an absolute minimum. We must never forget that the decisive terrain in Afghanistan is the human terrain.
Protecting those we are here to help nonetheless does require killing, capturing, or turning the insurgents. We will not shrink from that; indeed, you have been taking the fight to the enemy and we will continue to do so. Beyond that, as you and our Afghan partners on the ground get into tough situations, we must employ all assets to ensure your safety, keeping in mind, again, the importance of avoiding civilian casualties...

Petraeus advisor predicts changes in Afghan strategy -- [Doyle McManus/LA Times]
"The rules have been interpreted too restrictively," Kilcullen said. "They've been too legalistic -- and also too apologetic." That's a significant statement from a man who has condemned U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan for causing civilian casualties, and whose latest book, "Counterinsurgency," lists "respect for noncombatants" as a fundamental principle of irregular warfare.
One more important change Kilcullen recommends: Both Petraeus and Obama need to make it clearer that there won't be a wholesale U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan beginning in July 2011...

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Use of Humvees restricted in Afghanistan -- [Military Times]
The Humvee's fatal flaw, a 2008 Pentagon inspector general's report found, is that its "flat bottom, low weight, low ground clearance and aluminum body" leave it vulnerable to IEDs buried in roads. Military officials had known of that weakness since 1994, according to the report.
At the time of the attack in June, troops needed at least a lieutenant colonel to approve leaving a protected base in a Humvee, according to Maj. Patrick Seiber, an Army spokesman for forces in eastern Afghanistan.
This month, the commander of coalition forces in the region raised the authorization for Humvee use to the level of colonel, Seiber said in an e-mail...
The all-terrain version of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle was designed specifically for Afghanistan's poor roads and rugged terrain...
A Marine battalion commander in restive Helmand province reported that insurgents had destroyed 50 of the all-terrain vehicles with improvised explosive devices, Brogan said. The most serious wound suffered in the attacks was a bad concussion. Nobody died, the commander told Brogan in an e-mail. The trucks have seats for four troops and a turret for a gunner.
"The troops really love these vehicles," Brogan said...

CLIMATE AND SECURITY

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POLITICS

Petraeus Urged to Change Rules of Engagement for U.S. Troops in Afghanistan -- [FoxNews]
Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday urged Gen. David Petraeus to change the rules of engagement "as soon as possible" for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, saying the strict policy has "hurt morale" among American military.
The Connecticut independent senator, speaking from Kabul on "Fox News Sunday," said the incoming commander told him he was "committed" to reviewing the rules...
Lieberman is in Afghanistan with Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

MILITARY HISTORY

About that Medal of Honor -- [Starbuck/Wings over Iraq]
The dearth of Medal of Honor recipients has stirred quite a bit of controversy in past years. Some attribute the lack of awards to partisan politics during an unpopular war. Others cite the changing nature of modern counterinsurgency warfare; a shift from large, set-piece battles to sporadic engagements and reconstruction efforts.
Yet, the US military has been performing these sorts of missions--peacekeeping, peace enforcement, counterinsurgency, and the like--throughout its entire history. As such, our "small wars" show no lack of Medal of Honor recipients...

HUMOR/SATIRE

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Always updating - refresh for updates.

After a rain at the Combat Outpost Sayed Abad, Wardak province, Afghanistan, June 16, 2010. Photo by Sean McKenna.

AFGHANISTAN

The Last Patrol -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
26 June was my final combat patrol as a platoon leader forward deployed to Afghanistan... Four infantry companies will now cover the same sector we owned with four maneuver platoons.
On the morning of the 26th, I stood on my platoon's motor pool line watching the COP's profile against the Afghan sunrise. I shook my head in disbelief, "How did this baseball diamond sized outpost turn into this massive battalion FOB practically overnight?!"
...I called up my REDCON1 status before I led the convoy out the gate and onto the Highway. Like a tour guide, I pointed out areas of attraction over the net...
We drove to a village north of the highway. I wanted to show them a well I had built for them as a development project. This war isn't all "shoot, move, and communicate." I wasn't about to leave our discussion to just the kinetic stuff. As we approached the well, a dire voice came on the net, "Hey D6, we got six FAMs with RPKs and man dresses down south!" With nervous tension, the soldiers of the new infantry unit all turned their weapons in one direction hoping for a taste of the action. They wanted blood...

Fable Illustrated -- [Old Blue/Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
...I was recently asked if I am still optimistic. Yes. I am. Hastings did us no service, but the answer to that void is powerful. GEN McChrystal's resignation was a distraction, true. But in the days surrounding the end of his tenure there are initiatives that continued that he had a hand in, or generated by direction. The key troop-contributing nations here are making giant strides towards training units in COIN more effectively. These efforts will begin to bear fruit in a short time. I'm still talking months, but the fruit is already forming. Wait till the critics get a load of what's on the way...

Welcome LT Cornelius Hossenfeffur -- [A Handful of Dust]
I first want to apologize that no new material was posted this past week. I was traveling to India and my fellow contributors were in various states of disarray as well.
Next I want to announce the arrival of LT Cornelius Hossenfeffur, the first of infantry LTs to arrive in Kandahar. He got there only a day ago but should be providing some quality posts in short order.

Ice To Meet You LT McBain -- [A Handful of Dust]
Our second Kandahar infantry LT is now in country and online as well. LT McBain plans on treating the Taliban a little something like this:

Petraeus Comes East -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
...The President made a choice which probably seemed to be wise under Chicago rules but was not too damn bright when viewed through the lens of Grand Strategy. Petraeus made President Obama, his V.P. Joe Bidden and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton look bad. Really bad. When he appeared before the Senate before the Iraq surge those three senators made asses of themselves. Now they give Petraeus a slight demotion (I guess because he still reports to CENTCOM) and an impossible task as a little payback for past slights and whatever hand Petraeus had in engineering the relief of McChrystal's predecessor Gen McKiernan. They sent Petraeus here to fail because even our President and the group of home town dim wits he surrounds himself with know that the military cannot win this thing alone...

The Times Aren't a Changing -- [J.D. Johannes - in Afghanistan]
General McChrystal being replaced by his chain of command superior, General Petraeus, may not change much here in Afghanistan because Afghanistan simply does not change. The only way things will change here is if Petraeus and his subordinates turn Afghanistan's resistance to change to their advantage...

-- []

IRAQ

So where's everybody going? I mean when? -- [Fraser from ______ - in ____]
We're all waiting for the whistle to blow to signal that: "Hey guys, game over. Check the score board. WE WIN!" But this thing drags on forever. I thought that the whistle was just about to blow, but now it seems they want us to come to the middle of the field for a coin toss to see who gets the ball for the overtime!...

Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army militiamen slowly resurface -- [LA Times]
Reporting from Baghdad -- Mohammad and his gang are back. There may not be a Glock semiautomatic strapped to his waist anymore, but the terrifying mystique of the Mahdi Army still shrouds the Shiite Muslim militiaman like the menacing black uniform he once wore...

Beer Day Gone Wild -- [Fraser from ______ - in ____]
To celebrate this auspicious occasion - we get BEER. The Army has issued a temporary suspension of General Order Number One (a- b - xyz?? I can't remember which one it is). This suspension authorizes forward deployed troops to ingest alcohol.
Intoxication control measures have been implemented...

Poolside -- [Texas Music - in Iraq]
...When we were leaving, we saw two third country nationals (TCNs) raking moss out of the lake. The pool is right on the lake. They were doing the same thing when we arrived, dressed in blue coveralls, faces wrapped in scarves, yellow hard hats, balancing in a rickety boat, raking moss in a wet brown pile in the bottom of the boat. I don't know why they are doing this, but you see them all over, in the canals and lakes, raking up seaweed and moss. They were staring at all the soldiers, male and females who were laughing and splashing and playing in the cool blue water of the pool while they toiled away.
"I bet they hate Americans," I said.
"I was just thinking that," Said SFC Monty...

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

The last post: McChrystal's bleak outlook -- [The Independent (UK)]
Details of General McChrystal's grim assessment of his own strategy's current effectiveness emerged as the world's most powerful leaders set the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, a five-year deadline to improve security and governance in his country.
The G8 summit in Toronto called for "concrete progress" within five years on improving the justice system and for Afghan forces to assume greater responsibility for security...
It was this briefing, according to informed sources, as much as the Rolling Stone article, which convinced Mr Obama to move against the former head of US Special Forces...

G-20 Toronto Summit Declaration -- [Washington Post]
Preamble
1. In Toronto, we held our first Summit of the G-20 in its new capacity as the premier forum for our international economic cooperation.
2. Building on our achievements in addressing the global economic crisis, we have agreed on the next steps we should take to ensure a full return to growth with quality jobs, to reform and strengthen financial systems, and to create strong, sustainable and balanced global growth.
3. Our efforts to date have borne good results...

G-20 leaders strike delicate balance -- [Washington Times]
Leaders of the world's 20 most powerful economies said this weekend that they must control deficits in the long run but not stifle a nascent economic recovery in the short term, in what President Obama described as "violent agreement" on principles...

Protests Turn Violent at G20 Summit in Toronto -- [Voice of America]
Hundreds of demonstrators protesting the G20 global economic summit in Toronto broke windows and set fire to some police cars during a noisy march near the site of the summit Saturday. At least 75 people are in custody and police say there will be more arrests.
A column of thick black smoke rose from the burning police cars in a chaotic scene...

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

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SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

The Prince and the Marine -- [Soldiers' Angles Germany]
Geez, do you think Todd will remember us "little people" after this? :-)

Britain's Prince Harry, right, helps push U.S. Marine veteran Todd Nicely along the route while participating in the Achilles Hope and Possibility Race Sunday, June 27, 2010 in New York's Central Park. The Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans trains and sponsors recently wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to participate in races nationwide. AP Photo/Stephen Chernin.

MILITARY/MILITARY LIFE

irresponsible "sources" -- [Chuck Z/From my Position ... On the Way!]
(Photo) This is my (most of) hand. Although swollen, it's smaller than it was the day before. I left the rest of it in a canal near Baqubah, Iraq. This is only one of the horrors of war...
(Photo) This is (most of) my leg. I also left the rest of it in a canal near Baqubah, Iraq. The black stuff held together by red cord is there because other things, like constantly trying to keep my heart beating, took precedence over peeling off layers of my skin to fix it. All the dark brown dots are shrapnel, which sets off metal detectors to this day...
I helped launch a charity program called Project Valour-IT through soldiersangels.org from my hospital bed. In the five years since, we have helped over 5000 wounded soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen find ways to speed their recovery and return to their new normal lives...

WELCOME HOME

White House to let McChrystal retire with 4 stars -- [CNN]
While the general is short of the time needed to retire at his current pay grade, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama would ensure he keeps his rank as he steps down.
"The president believes and has talked with Secretary Gates about this, and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure he, somebody who has served the country as he has, can retire at a four-star level," Gibbs told reporters.

VETERANS

From (hostile) fire to Brinestone -- [Mudville Gazette]
Matt (who was also a milblogger) staffed his company with other vets. You'll see an ad for Brinestone here on Mudville - that's one we've provided at no charge. Click through, take a look around, and bookmark 'em. Next time you're in the market for a computer (Mac or PC), software, or game system you'll know where to start.
And spread the word.

VA hospital may have infected 1,800 veterans with HIV -- [CNN]
Dr. Gina Michael, the association chief of staff at the hospital, told the affiliate that some dental technicians broke protocol by handwashing tools before putting them in cleaning machines.
The instruments were supposed to only be put in the cleaning machines, Michael said.

MILITARY HISTORY

Remembering Operation Redwing -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
...Killed in action Kunar Province, Afghanistan June 28, 2005.
We will love you and miss you always...

This just in! New Commander named for Afghanistan. -- [Castle Argghhh]
Well finally someone is listening to Robert E Lee:
"It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers..."

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

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THE MEDIA/CULTURE

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STRATEGY & TACTICS

Afghanistan: Eyes Wide Shut -- [Bret Stephens/Wall Street Journal]
...Gen. Petraeus won in Iraq because George W. Bush had his back and the people of Iraq, friend as well as foe, knew it.
By contrast, the fact that we have been unable to secure the small city of Marja, much less take on the larger job of Kandahar, is because nobody--right down to the village folk whom we are so sedulously courting with good deeds and restrictive rules of engagement--believes that Barack Obama believes in his own war. The vacuum in credibility begets the vacuum in power...

Is Obama's 2011 Afghanistan Deadline a Mistake? -- [Spencer Ackerman/Danger Room]
The Obama administration argues that the date sends "a message of urgency" to the Afghan government to get its act together and start governing. Less clearly stated but still salient is that the war has stretched out for over nine years with minimal progress and the public is tired of waging it. Advocates for the Obama administration's strategy don't say that they think their approach to the war will work. They say that it's the least-worst strategy to secure U.S. interests against al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Whatever that says about the administration's intellectual honesty, it's not a rallying cry to fight...
But Sen. John McCain and company are right that the July 2011 date is problematic. Even the most stalwart defender of the administration's decision to set the date has to concede that it hasn't been quite the "forcing mechanism" for the Afghan government that Obama intended...

A Turning Point in the War -- [Tunku Varadarajan/The Daily Beast]
A testy Lindsey Graham had asked the general to comment on these words ascribed to Biden in a book by Jonathan Alter: "In July of 2011 you're going to see a whole lot of people moving out [of Afghanistan], bet on it." Gen. Petraeus not only said that Biden had offered him (Petraeus) his "100 percent" support, but also that Robert Gates, the defense secretary, had never heard Biden say those words. When a general publicly quotes a defense secretary saying, in effect, that a vice president has been misquoted, one can be certain that the vice president in question will acknowledge a major political debt to said general. Expect Biden, henceforward, to be as near to silent on the question of Afghanistan as it is possible for a vice president to be. The two men are dining together Tuesday night, and I can see the general say to Biden: "Promise me, Mr. Vice President, that you won't say anything on Afghanistan before running it by me first." One trusts that President Obama, too, will tell his No. 2 to be more circumspect. (How do you say "zip it" in Pashto?)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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CLIMATE AND SECURITY

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POLITICS

Who had the worst week in Washington? Gen. David Petraeus. -- [Chris Cillizza/Washington Post]
The challenges of Afghanistan mean that Petraeus is risking the reputation he earned in Iraq as one of the greatest generals of his generation for what is, at best, a jump ball. The move feels even more dicey considering Petraeus's alternative: polishing his legacy at Centcom on the way to the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Finally, Petraeus has been regarded in some GOP circles as the best (only?) candidate with a chance of beating Obama in 2012. While that has always been a long shot, it now seems like a no-shot...

Kagan makes bipartisan appeal in Supreme Court confirmation hearings -- [Washington Post]
During the first day of questioning at her confirmation hearings, Kagan said that she respects legal precedent that upholds people's right to own guns and that she supports the use of military commissions to prosecute enemy combatants -- positions favored by many conservatives.
...And she adamantly defended her reluctance as dean of Harvard Law School to sponsor military recruiters on campus because of the ban on openly gay men and women serving in the armed forces.

SPORTS

Annual Congressional Baseball Game -- [The Hill]
The Democrats beat Republicans 13-5 on Tuesday night at Nationals Park in the annual congressional baseball game.
The game was tied 4-4 at the bottom of the sixth inning. But in the seventh inning, GOP pitcher Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) was lit up, resulting in nine runs for the Democrats.

HUMOR/SATIRE

There would be joy in Mudville (Gazette)... -- [Castle Argghhh]

Jason Sigger wins the Internet today -- [Wings Over Iraq]

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Always updating - refresh for updates.

AFGHANISTAN

Answer To A Comment On "RC South" -- [Old Blue/Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
One of the comments on the last post, "RC South," brought me to realize that the ASCOPE/PMESII crosswalk needs some explanation...
The ASCOPE/PMESII crosswalk is a combination of two sets of information that are found in the FM 3-24. The manual doesn't link them per se, but alludes to the linkage. What the Counterinsurgency Training Center - Afghanistan has done is create a crosswalk so that critical elements of information are not ignored when gathering information about the specific area of operations (AO)...

When Humvees Still Aren't Big Enough -- [Lt Gorman/A Handful of Dust - in Afghanistan]
...Since the MRAP is a hulking monstrosity with a very high center of gravity, it's not exactly an ideal fit for rugged terrain or the cramped city streets of Afghanistan. The M-ATV is its smaller, slightly less gigantic cousin that is meant to be more geared towards off-road than the MRAP which was designed with flat Iraq in mind.
Having worked with the new M-ATVs I can say they have some distinct advantages as well as some drawbacks...

Ralph Peters, Special Operations and the Perils of Secrecy -- [The Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
The latest exercise in Karzai-bashing from media curmudgeon Ralph Peters is an interesting case study in confusing cause with effect. As usual, you can ignore Peters's assertions. President Karzai really doesn't want to stop night raids by special operations forces, and SOF activity in Afghanistan actually has increased dramatically under the leadership of the "conventionally minded generals and Are-we-there-yet? pols" that Peters derides. What you should pay attention to is Peters's anonymous source within the SOF community and that source's intent...

$1 trillion USD of.......oh, screw it. -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
ISAF military operations, corruption in the government, strategic planning by the Obama administration, the weaknesses of current counter-insurgency theory, and all sorts of other Afghanistan-centered topics generate a predictable response in the blogosphere. Often the commentary is juvenile, hyperbolic or just plain wrong, but generally it barely rises beyond the level of nitpicking among COIN specialists or partisan hackery. There's often an undertone of negativity and defeatism, as the old saying about "bad news selling more papers" applies just as accurately to blog traffic, but no single article usually creates quite the firestorm that seems to have ignited over this article in the NY Times...

A Trillion Dollars -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Yesterday the New York Times reported a stunner which was that the United States has discovered 1 Trillion dollars in untapped mineral wealth in Afghanistan. That news would seem to be a potential game changer and I went out this afternoon to downtown Jalalabad to conduct a couple man on the street interviews with local Afghans...

Picture Of The Day - 20 JUN 2010 - "Fathers Day" -- [FaST Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
..Suffice it to say that it was as good as any neighborhood BBQ that I've ever attended (minus the beer). Thank you T&J! .. and thanks to the grill masters... the food was awesome...

Lost Boys: Father's Day Post -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
...But every now and then, a ray of good fortune shines upon us, and the explosion we hear is not a planned enemy attack but a failed attempt at one. IED emplacement is a dangerous business. Thankfully for us, sometimes the enemy blows himself up, taking both another Talib and another IED off the streets.
Last week, three Pakistani men were planting an IED when such an explosion occurred...

Undisciplined Afghans endanger Marjah Marines -- [Dan Lamothe/Marine Corps Times - in Afghanistan]
...Marines aren't universally down on the ability of Afghan security forces, who are partnered with each Marine unit in Helmand province. Some say they have met good Afghan soldiers who fight with courage, take pride in their work and are proficient with weapons ranging from the 5.56mm M249 squad automatic weapon to rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
But the general consensus from rank and file infantrymen is that for every good ANA soldier, there are at least five or six who are lazy, incompetent or both.
"They're not willing to do the job it takes to defend their country," said Lance Cpl. Lucas McGary, a rifleman with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. "They're so worthless that their worthlessness doesn't faze anyone anymore."
Such frustration is fostered by incidents that span a variety of categories...

Afghan forces' apathy starts to wear on U.S. platoon in Kandahar -- [Washington Post/Ernesto Londoño - in Afghanistan]
As a 31-year-old platoon leader in the military police, Rathmann arrived in Kandahar nearly a year ago, bracing himself and his unit for pitched battles against shadowy bands of Taliban fighters. Instead, their war has become a slog. With a larger American offensive postponed, firefights have been few and far between. Instead, the Americans have been battling more vexing enemies...

Afghanistan Strategy Focuses on Civilian Effort -- [NY Times/Rod Nordland - in Afghanistan]
The commander of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, insisted that there never was a planned offensive. "The media have chosen to use the term offensive," he said. Instead, he said, "we have certainly talked about a military uplift, but there has been no military use of the term offensive."
Whatever it is called, it is not happening this month...

Soldiers race against political clock in Afghanistan -- [BBC]
As the US military dramatically increases its numbers in Afghanistan there are real fears among British and US soldiers that they may have been given an impossible mission...
[Gen Petraeus], whose success in Iraq produces reverence on Capitol Hill, had already described his approval of the president's withdrawal timetable as "qualified".
From a man who chooses his words as carefully as Napoleon might have done his fighting ground, this sent a clear enough signal...
Yet the Obama surge will only provide a window of maximum troop strength for just eight or nine months.
No wonder some officers use the phrase "mission impossible"...

White House: Afghan pullout will start in 2011 -- [AP/Military Times]
The Obama administration reaffirmed Sunday that it will begin pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan next summer, despite reservations among top generals that absolute deadlines are a mistake...

US, Afghan forces kill 38 Haqqani Network fighters in Khost -- [Bill Roggio/Long War Journal]
The battle began Friday night in the Musa Khel district in Khost province, along the border with neighboring Paktia province, and near the border with Pakistan, and continued into today. US and Afghan forces were conducting an operation in the district when more than 200 Haqqani Network fighters attacked...

IRAQ

At least 33 killed in bomb attacks across Iraq -- [AP/Military Times]
The explosion capped a week in which about 100 people were killed in bombings and shootings nationwide, including at least 26 who died in a commando-style assault against the central bank in Baghdad on June 13. An al-Qaida in Iraq front group, the Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it targeted the institution responsible for funneling "oil money and the stolen wealth of Muslims" to the West.

Baghdad Nights Glitter, Behind Shatterproof Glass -- [Anthony Shadid/NY Times]
A slew of new restaurants have opened in the capital this year, from Tomorrow and Tool al-Lail to Toast and City Chief, offering a respite for a city spectacularly bereft of nighttime destinations. All have evolved to the conditions of contemporary Baghdad, a city that teases with hints of the ordinary but remains a barricaded warren of blast walls and barbed wire. Namely, nearly all boast of having thick shatterproof glass...

Turkey's PM Erdogan vows to 'annihilate' PKK rebels -- [BBC]
...Rebels killed nine soldiers in a raid on an outpost near the Iraqi border early on Saturday, in the deadliest attack against the Turkish military since April 2009, when nine soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb that was blamed on the PKK.
Later on Saturday, two soldiers were killed in a mine explosion while attempting to capture rebels near the border.
As well as responding with helicopter attacks, Turkey launched air raids on PKK positions inside Iraqi territory...

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

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WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

25 Saudi Guantanamo Prisoners Return to Militancy -- [Reuters/NY Times]
Around 25 former detainees from Guantanamo Bay camp returned to militancy after going through a rehabilitation program for al Qaeda members in Saudi Arabia, a Saudi security official said on Saturday...
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, has put the returned prisoners along with other al Qaeda suspects through a rehabilitation program which includes religious re-education by clerics and financial help to start a new life.
...Around 11 Saudis from Guantanamo have gone to Yemen, an operating base for al Qaeda, while others have been jailed again or killed after attending the program, said Abdulrahman al-Hadlaq, Director General of the General Administration for Intellectual Security overseeing the rehabilitation.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

Jack Nicklaus donates design for VA course -- [AP/Military Times]
THWACK! The white ball soars into the sunny Northwest sky, past lush evergreens and lands about 150 yards down the driving range.
Dudek's drive -- specifically the dedication and promise for renewal it represents -- is why Nicklaus is here outside Tacoma. The golf great is donating his expertise to design what will perhaps be the most appreciated course he'll ever build.
Nicklaus is helping combat veterans by redesigning and expanding the American Lake Veterans Golf Course. It's going to be a one-of-a-kind, 18-hole layout geared specifically for disabled golfers...

MILITARY/MILITARY LIFE

9-month deployments, 3 years of dwell favored -- [Army Times]
The Army wants to reduce combat zone deployments to nine months and increase dwell time to three years, Gen. George Casey, Army chief of staff, told Army Times.
"We're actively studying right now the timing and the possibilities of going to nine-month deployments as a standard," Casey said in an exclusive interview...

WELCOME HOME

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VETERANS

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BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

Victory for WikiLeaks in Iceland's Parliament -- [NY Times The Lede blog]
At 4 a.m. on Thursday, at the end of an all-night session, Iceland's Parliament, the Althing, voted unanimously in favor of a package of legislation aimed at making the country a haven for freedom of expression by offering legal protection to whistle-blower Web sites like WikiLeaks, which helped to craft the proposal...

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

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STRATEGY & TACTICS

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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CLIMATE AND SECURITY

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POLITICS

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MILITARY HISTORY

Korea, War Without End, Casts a Long Shadow -- [AP/NY Times]
Distant thunder rattled the windows as Hong Il-sik, 14-year-old schoolboy, awoke that Sunday. It was the sound of artillery fire, the morning of June 25, 1950, the dawn of a war that never ended.
Looking back, ''I couldn't even have imagined that -- 60 years,'' says the gray-haired ex-university president.
Gen. Paik Sun-yup, on the contrary, is unsurprised by the endurance of Korea's endless standoff.
Knowing the enemy, North Korea's communists, ''we sensed back in the 1950s it could be a very long conflict,'' the sturdy 90-year-old Paik, a legendary Korean War commander, told a visitor to his memento-filled office above Seoul's War Memorial, the huge museum he helped build.
The war without end began that long-ago Sunday when North Korea invaded the south to try to reunify the nation, a liberated Japanese colony sliced in two in 1945 by the U.S. and Soviet victors of World War II...

HUMOR/SATIRE

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AFGHANISTAN

US, Afghan forces kill Haqqani Network commander during raid in Khost -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
Coalition and Afghan forces killed a Haqqani Network commander who is known to help al Qaeda fighters enter Afghanistan and carry out attacks in the region.
The commander, Fazil Subhan, was killed along with an undisclosed number of Haqqani Network fighters last week during a two-day-long military operation in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, the International Security Assistance Force said in a press release.

Intelligence services are funding, training Taliban...--[France24]
Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency provides funding, training and sanctuary to the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to a study Sunday which claimed to have the strongest evidence yet of their links.
The report for the London School of Economics (LSE), based on interviews with nine Taliban field commanders in Afghanistan between February and May this year, claims their relationship goes far beyond what is currently known.
"Although the Taliban has a strong endogenous impetus, according to Taliban commanders the ISI orchestrates, sustains and strongly influences the movement," wrote author Matt Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University.
"They say it gives sanctuary to both Taliban and Haqqani groups, and provides huge support in terms of training, funding, munitions, and supplies. In their words, this is 'as clear as the sun in the sky'."

Afghan Taliban deny being supported by Pakistan -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
The Taliban's executive council has denied a recent report that stated the Pakistani military and government provides direct support to the Afghan group.
In a statement released on it website, the Voice of Jihad, the Afghan Taliban described a study released by the London School of Economics as "a merely baseless propaganda launched to promote British and American interests" and "a dictated drama of the political rulers of the West."
The Taliban claimed that it is fighting the US and Afghan governments with the support of the people in Afghanistan and that it has no need for Pakistani support.

As Afghan Fighting Expands, U.S. Medics Plunge In -- [NY Times - C. J. CHIVERS, embedded in Afghanistan]
...For Company C's detachment in Helmand Province, the recent duty had been harried.
Over several days the crews had retrieved a Marine who had lost both legs and an arm to a bomb explosion; the medic had kept that man alive. They had picked up two Marines bitten by their unit's bomb-sniffing dog. They landed for a corporal whose back had been injured in a vehicle accident.
And day after day they had scrambled to evacuate Afghans or Marines struck by bullets or blasted by bombs, including a mission that nearly took them to a landing zone where the Taliban had planted a second bomb, with hopes that an aircraft might land on it. The Marines had found the trap and directed the pilots to a safer spot.
A few days before the Marine was shot in the skull, after sandstorms had grounded aircraft, another call had come in. A bomb had exploded beside a patrol along the Helmand River. Two Marines were wounded. One was dying.
For hours the airspace had been closed; supervisors deemed the conditions too dangerous to fly. The crews wanted to evacuate the Marines. "I'll go," said Sgt. Jason T. Norris, a crew chief. "I'll walk."

RC South -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
I've traveled to the south (Helmand Province) several times now. Much of my time has been spent with the Brits at Camp Bastion, Nad e Ali, and now Lashkar Gah. From a COIN standpoint, while there is work to do, the Brits are doing better. The current Brigadier has taken a quantum step forward with a directive to execute a standardize tool pack that includes an ASCOPE/PMESII crosswalk for each operational area.

Lost Boys: Father's Day Post -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
Explosions are a daily occurrence in the Zhari District. Most blasts are IEDs, some are RPGs or recoilless rifles. Generally, all are followed by machine gun fire or a secondary boom, if not both. The detonations reverberate throughout our combat outpost as we continue our daily grind. Whether I'm out on patrol or within the security of the wire, my eyes roll in exasperation, my pulse hastens, and I thrust my radio hand-mic to my ears, anticipating the call to respond to the emergency.
But every now and then, a ray of good fortune shines upon us, and the explosion we hear is not a planned enemy attack but a failed attempt at one.

Training a Kandak -- [AfghaniDan, Part II - in Afghanistan]
A few days ago I tagged along on a media "engagement" to catch some of a Kandak Validation/Assessment. What the hell am I talking about, you ask? Good question. A kandak, as loyal readers of Afghanidan may recall, is an Afghan battalion-sized unit...and a validation/assessment is a necessary step each one must pass, prior to being deployed in operations. So the kandak is evaluated on its performance in the areas of command & control, training, sustenance, equipment, and personnel...whether it even has soldiers in key positions, for example. To draw back the lens a bit, this critical series of tests lets the Afghan National Army (ANA) leadership and the Coalition know whether a not a kandak is 'fit for duty', something NATO Training Mission Afghanistan is called upon to do.

A Tale of Three Commanders - A Reintegration Parable -- [ISAF - in Afghanistan]
Three battalion level commanders in Afghanistan had very different views on their roles.
The first battalion commander saw his task as killing or capturing the enemy. Issues such as governance, development, and interaction with local leaders and people were someone else's problem.
The ISAF counterinsurgency guidance and other directives were mildly interesting. Reintegration was a waste of time. He was taking the fight to the enemy with the conventional tools at his disposal.
Image
The second commander...

Paying Retail for Peace -- [Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
...a recent post on ISAF's Afghan Hands blog by Col. Chris Kolenda makes an important point about Taliban reintegration and the politics of conflict resolution in Afghanistan writ large. The most successful efforts at bringing insurgents back into their communities take place through individual initiatives at the retail level, as does the most effective modeling of official behavior that addresses community grievances that fuel the insurgency. When enough local efforts begin to flourish, momentum starts to shift. Effective national efforts -- rather than being sui generis solutions -- tend to reinforce local success.
The retail aspect of reintegration has important implications for media coverage of Afghanistan.

Can NATO troops ever get their message across to Afghans? -- [Reuter's Afghan Journal - Michael Georgy, embedded in Afghanistan]
I was with Western forces the other day as they tried to persuade a group of Afghan farmers to come to them for help if they saw Taliban militants plant an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or intimidated them.
A NATO soldier had urgency in his voice. To prove his point, he told the villagers that a Taliban IED had killed a five-year-old boy a few days earlier . Unlike many other NATO soldiers, he had actually taken the time to learn the local language. This made him popular. Many people smiled and shook his hand when he walked through villages - although he was constantly on the lookout for suspicious activity.
He explained why NATO troops had arrived in their troubled country in the first place - to punish the Taliban for sheltering Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders after the 9/11 attacks. But the farmers said they did not know why Western forces were here - after nine years of war.

Can't Win, Won't Go -- [Strategy Page]
The Taliban are using a traditional method to deal with their enemies; by assassinating Afghan leaders in the government, especially the reconstruction effort.
...Peace talks with the Taliban continue, with the Taliban admitting that they are hated by most Afghans, but pointing out that while the Taliban are unlikely to return to power, they can keep the nation unstable (and unsuitable for foreign investors) for a long time. But in the meantime, the Taliban are hurting. Many individual Taliban gangs are fleeing Helmand and Kandahar provinces for neighboring ones. This causes problems, as the tribes and government officials there must now deal with typical Taliban nastiness (intimidation, kidnapping, murder and extortion.) Not very pleasant at all. But back in Kandahar, many Taliban groups have been ordered to stay and resist the foreign troops. This means putting more pressure on local civilians to not cooperate with the government or foreign forces. This can get nasty,

Karzai, McChrystal in Kandahar to sell military operation -- [CNN - Nic Robertson, embedded Afghanistan]
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, say they've secured backing from local leaders for an upcoming military operation in the province.
McChrystal took Karzai and some of his security chiefs to Kandahar, considered the heartland of Taliban country.

$1 trillion USD of.......oh, screw it. -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
ISAF military operations, corruption in the government, strategic planning by the Obama administration, the weaknesses of current counter-insurgency theory, and all sorts of other Afghanistan-centered topics generate a predictable response in the blogosphere. Often the commentary is juvenile, hyperbolic or just plain wrong, but generally it barely rises beyond the level of nitpicking among COIN specialists or partisan hackery. There's often an undertone of negativity and defeatism, as the old saying about "bad news selling more papers" applies just as accurately to blog traffic, but no single article usually creates quite the firestorm that seems to have ignited over this article in the NY Times.
...Tomorrow, a sampling of some reactions from actual Afghans to the supposed news that their country holds impressive mineral wealth, along with a few thoughts of my own. In the meantime...

Women of the Afghan Army -- [Shoulder to Shoulder - NTM-A]
Afghan National Army (ANA) Logistics Command's Women's Center Ministry of Defenses' Acquisitions, Technology, and Logistics' Headquarters Logistics Command continues to be pioneers of progress, equality, and opportunity for women by facilitating the union of women in the ANA. These women have become present-day pioneers. They are the future's role models, breaking free from traditional molds. While walking around Log Command, seeing the women work in a military capacity, the future of their role being that of an equal in the ANA is more than just hopeful, it is rapidly becoming a reality.

Kabul's mysterious Obama rug -- [Checkpoint Kabul]
It is one of the most-talked-about rugs in the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
Hanging outside an embassy conference room is a silk and wool rug with an unusual portrait of President Obama.
...Khan Baba, the Kabul rug maker, says that the images in the top corners are indeed supposed to be one of Obama's daughters. But he can't quite remember which one.
...Baba said four of his kids -- ages 9, 11, 16 and 17 -- spent six months working on the rug to present as a gift to the US Embassy.
The family turned up at the embassy last July 4th to present the rug to US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. Baba said that embassy officials graciously accepted the rug and told the kids that the ambassador would offer his thanks in person some time soon.
Nearly a year later, Baba said his kids are still hoping that promise will be fulfilled.

IRAQ

Wounded Warrior Returns to Iraq, Finds Closure -- [DVIDS]
When Staff Sgt. Christopher Bain was ambushed in Iraq, April 8, 2004, it was only the beginning of his fight. He died for ten minutes and received four blood transfusions from Iraqi soldiers to stay alive. After the injured sergeant returned to the states, he faced years of torment.
...But Bain is now one-step closer to healing. A recent trip to Iraq with a program called Operation Proper Exit brought Bain back to the place where six years earlier the blast of a mortar threw him yards away from his troops.
War and Remembrance -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
Mary Katharine Ham recently took a trip to Iraq along w/ ret. COL Tom Manion who went there to meet some Iraqis who his son 1LT Travis Manion had trained. Unfortunately Travis caught a sniper round while pulling some other Marines to safety, but as the Hammer let's us know he is certainly not forgotten.

Leaving Iraq not as simple as it sounds‎ -- [Korea Times]
Iraq's new parliament met for 18 minutes this week, just long enough for the members to be sworn in and postpone indefinitely their first

Brig. Gen. May departs SC's Fort Jackson for Iraq‎ -- [Chicago Tribune]
They know good and well they are probably going into combat," said May, who has seen his share of the fight in Iraq. In 2004, he was in command of the 2nd

Five killed in Iraq attacks‎ -- [AFP]
BAGHDAD -- Attacks across Iraq claimed the lives of five people on Monday, including a police colonel who was killed by a bomb in the south of the capital,...

State Department wants a mini-army in Iraq -- [Army Times]
... State Department wants a mini-army in Iraq ... So shifting 50 to the State Department could be easily handled as the troops leave

Iraq war crimes case: marine freed‎ -- [The Press Association]
A marine sergeant convicted of murder in one of the biggest war crimes cases to emerge from the Iraq war was allowed to walk free by a US military judge,

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Explosives Found In Vehicle At Army Base -- [WSBTV]
Fort Gordon military police said a civilian impersonated a soldier in order to steal military equipment.
Officials said the military police were notified of a suspicious person impersonating a soldier on post around 12 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities located the person's vehicle just before 4 p.m. on post and apprehended the man.
Officers said they believe the man was involved in a theft of military equipment on Fort Gordon in April.
Spokesman Buz Yarnell said an initial search of the man's vehicle uncovered a backpack containing military hand grenades.

Man, Woman Accused of Trying to Enter Fla. Air Force Base Illegally With Weapons -- [FOX News]
Military-style gear and weapons were found inside the vehicle of a man and woman who attempted to gain illegal entry to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida on Monday, the military said.

Gulf oil spill: Obama uses military fervor in Florida speech on leak -- [LA Times]
Hours before he was to speak to the nation, President Obama on Tuesday spoke about the fight against the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with the same patriotic, military language usually reserved for fighting wars abroad.
...In a televised appearance at Florida's Pensacola Naval Air Station, Obama used the forum of a military base to pledge again that his administration would fight what he called an unprecedented environmental disaster with an unprecedented response of people and resources.
More than 27,000 people and 5,000 vessels are fighting the leak, Obama said as he praised the military efforts to help by putting sandbags in place and even aiding the processing of claims

Cuba preparing for possible arrival of oil spill‎ -- [AP]
... residents for the oil spill fouling the Gulf of Mexico, and a top military official ... US and Cuban officials have put aside nearly 50 years of frigid

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen in hot seat over Gulf oil spill -- [AP]
The Gulf oil spill spoiling the teeming marshes and white-sand beaches of the Gulf Coast is also threatening the pristine image of the burly, take-charge leader who has become the federal government's go-to guy in a disaster.

Pakistan wants combat copters -- [Washington Times]
Pakistan is seeking advanced U.S. attack helicopters and other weapons as part of a comprehensive arms package to bolster preparations for what its military is calling a "silent surge" of more than 100,000 troops into the mountain lairs of al Qaeda's senior leadership in the country's Northwest Frontier Province. "I have been ambassador here for two years, and all I have to show for it is eight secondhand Mi-17 transport helicopters for a war that requires helicopters to root out al Qaeda and the Taliban," Pakistan's ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, said in an interview with The Washington Times. The ambassador said, "Military operations would have been quicker and much easier to plan and execute if we had the equipment.

US Marines storm Estonian beachhead in exercise -- [AP]
...The head of the U.S. Marine Corps in Europe said it was the first time Marines had carried out such an amphibious landing on the Baltic Sea. It took place just 140 kilometers (90 miles) from the Russian border.
Estonian Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said the drill represented a pledge from the United States and other NATO allies to provide security for Estonia and its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Lithuania.

N. Korea Warns of Response to U.N. -- [NY Times]
North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations said his country's military would respond forcefully to any Security Council condemnation over the sinking of a South Korean warship.

Iran to send aid ships to Gaza‎ - [Aljazeera.net]
Two Iranian vessels carrying aid supplies are due to set sail for Gaza in the coming week, in a move likely to further heighten tensions in the region.
Iranian news media reported on Tuesday that four tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine and clothing would be sent to Gaza within coming days.
"This ship will pass through territorial waters of Oman, Yemen and Egypt before it reaches Gaza. It is said that the ship contains only humanitarian aid and there are no peace activists on board," Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Terrorism: New warning to US in 'Bin Laden' message -- [AKI]
Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has purportedly issued a new terror threat to the United States in an audio message posted to jihadist websites. If the US executes the alleged '9/11' mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and other militants on trial in the US , Al-Qaeda will kill any American citizens it has taken hostage, the message states.
"The day America takes this decision, it will have made a decision to execute whoever is taken captive by us," said the brief 90-second message, which has not been authenticated.
The message accuses US president Barack Obama of escalating the hawkish foreign policy of his conservative predecessor George W. Bush, backing Israel against the Palestinians, and "oppressing" the wider Arab and Muslim world.

Call Him Crazy, but bin Laden Bounty Hunter May Have Been Close -- [At War - NY Times]
By now, you've probably heard the news: a middle-aged construction worker from Colorado was arrested in a forest in northwest Pakistan, carrying a samurai sword and a pistol, looking for Osama bin Laden.
He didn't find him.
Before you chuckle, let me just say: Whatever else we might conclude about Gary Faulkner, our arrested American bounty hunter, we should give him this: He was looking in the right place.

Pakistan: Doctor examines bin Laden hunter from US -- [AP]
"Our military has not been able to track Osama down yet. It's been 10 years," Scott Faulkner told reporters in Denver. "It's easier as a civilian, dressed in the local dress, to infiltrate the inside, the local people, gain their confidence and get information and intel that you couldn't get as an American soldier, Navy SEAL, whoever you might be."

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Into the jaws of hate: Soldiers' parade marred by Muslim extremists and far-Right -- [Daily Mail]
Screaming hate and brandishing vile placards, Muslim extremists and far-Right groups clashed yesterday in ugly scenes that marred a parade by soldiers.
Around 40 members of a group called Muslims Against the Crusades (MAC) arrived with inflammatory banners featuring slogans such as 'Butchers return' and 'What are you dying for? £18k'.
They were soon confronted by 100 people, some wearing English Defence League T-shirts, who shouted 'scum' and 'Muslim bombers off our streets'.
...MAC supporters shouted slogans such as 'murderers, murderers' and 'British troops go to hell', while the mainly white crowd opposite, some of whom are believed to have been BNP supporters, threw frozen pork sausages and chanted 'scum' and 'Allah, Allah, who the f*** is Allah?'

Yarmouth High School Students Support The Troops -- [WBZ News]
A big show of support Monday at a Cape Cod high school after an anti-war protest disrupted an assembly honoring seniors who joined the military.
...On Friday, six seniors who are going into the military received plaques at an assembly at the school.
During the introductions, two teachers, Marybeth Verani and Carrie Koscher, stood up and held a sign that said "end war."
When the audience gave the six students a standing ovation, Verani and Koscher remained seated and didn't clap.

What a C.O.W. -- [CDR Salamander]
Bad C.O.W.
I know that chick ... or at least one like her. I don't know who I feel sorry for - her Col. husband or his Brigade.
The commander of Fort Bragg has barred the wife of an 82nd Airborne Division colonel from nearly all interaction with her husband's brigade and the unit's families after an investigation found her influence "detrimental to the morale and well-being of both."
Sworn statements from the investigation, ordered in January by Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, accuse Col. Brian Drinkwine's wife, Leslie Drinkwine, of using her husband's position as leverage to repeatedly harass and threaten soldiers and their families.

MILITARY

Report: Most Philadelphians Not Fit For Military -- [Philadelphia Region Local News]
A nonprofit group says that up to 90 percent of young Philadelphians are ineligible for military service because of criminal records, obesity or lack of education
Pennsylvania-based Mission: Readiness released its report Monday. It says 1 million Pennsylvanians are ineligible for the same reasons.

They're Back - [A Little Pink in a World of Camo - Gold Star Wife]
Advon came back last night. Jonny would have been advon. I should be sitting on my porch with him this very moment. Or doing other activities, but either way with him. But I'm not. I took it pretty hard. Luckily last night I had friends here with me to occupy me and keep me company. But this morning when everyone had gone home, I was left with myself, my thoughts, and that sinking feeling in my stomach.

Getting on the Bus -- [Red Bull Rising]
"Daddy, are you going to a war yet?"
I'm getting Lena, 5, and Rain, 3, ready to go out the door to daycare. We haven't yet told the kids about my deployment to Afghanistan. Partly, that's because I didn't want them to get confused during my Annual Training. I wanted to avoid telling them that Daddy would be leaving for a long time, only to have him come back after 3 weeks. Luckily, I suppose, Lena doesn't wait to let me answer her question.
"Is it because you're not tall enough? Because, I think you're pretty big."
It's another one of those ball-peen hammer moments. I blink a couple of times, not feeling very big at all.

WELCOME HOME

Soldiers who left together, will return together‎ -- [Knoxville News Sentinel]
... the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment won't get a mass welcome home this summer ... The first troops start coming home this week - nearly six months ahead ...

Maryland Welcomes Home Soldiers, Airmen From Iraq And Afghanistan‎ -- [Gov Monitor]
The Governor began at Fort McHenry with a welcome home to 112 Army Reserve ... in our power to fully equip and train our troops with whatever is needed to

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

Michael Yon- Proudly violating OPSEC -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
There are few things more dangerous than publicizing our security procedures, but publicizing any lapses in them sure qualifies. That is exactly what Mike Yon is doing and congratulating himself for. He published an email from a troop in Afghanistan complaining about some supposed lapses in security at his base. The email contains numerous violations of Operational Security (OPSEC) and anyone with an ounce of common sense would have emailed the kid back and told him to take it up w/ his chain of command or if they ignore him then the Inspector General. But not Mike, oh no the great speaker of truth to power publishes it and there are plenty of details about which guard towers are unmanned and response times for air support and which base it is to constitute a huge violation. But you see Mike is above petty concerns like that he simply announces our weaknesses to the world.

Moving on ... -- [armyhousehold6]
There have been some changes in the Munson household lately -- of course SGT Daddy coming home has been the most important. We are all doing very well. It has been a very easy transition for us , thank goodness. I've alluded to the BIG announcement on Facebook and Twitter so if you follow me over there you know what I'm about to say. Several months ago, SGT Daddy decided to NOT re-enlist to continue his career in the Army. Today, he officially started with ACAP (Army Career and Alumni Program) as part of our transition out of the army. Yes by the end of the year, we will no longer be an Army family. The BIG Announcement is that as of today I will not be continuing with my ArmyHousehold6 blog.

Afghanistan email -- Follow-up from last night: -- [Michael Yon Facebook]
"Well Michael I know we probably messed with the bee's nest
... and crossed the line on OPSEC but guess what. Great news
this FOB its running like a real one now security improved
100% since you published the issue. Someone higher is keeping close eye on you and
your work. As for me what can I say I took the risk to tell you and give
you the ok to publish the issue knowing the consequences (UCMJ) but sometimes we have to take drastic measures in order to keep our unit and fellow
soldiers safe!!!! Thank you and again keep up the great job"

Michael Yon- The end game -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
If you are sick of this topic, trust me I am with you but when someone starts exposing our security vulnerabilities to the world I can't just ignore it and hope it goes away. Yon published an email chock full of information that had no business being discussed in a public forum. I wondered just what his standards were, or if he had any. Then the next day he published another email from a troop in Afghanistan w/ more complaints about the rules they are forced to fight under by Yon's nemesis McChrystal. He didn't publish the kid's name, but in the interest of fair play I will, along w/ Mike's response to him.

An open letter to Mike Yon -- [Greyhawk]
...In the future, If you get more emails like this one you claim is from Afghanistan (and I suspect you will) it might be a good idea to check with the folks on scene who know the answers before you publish them. Give them a chance to verify accuracy and correct problems before you publish something that may or may not be true, may or may not include OPSEC violations, and may get troops killed. If for some reason you can't do that, forward them to someone like Jeff Shogol at Stars and Stripes. He's not in Afghanistan, but his journalistic insight and contacts are obviously useful at separating fact from fiction. His efforts at running down the truth about an earlier email are exemplary - think how much better it would have been for all involved in that case if you had turned to him first. Or me, whose experience at this sort of thing is exceeded only by my concern for the lives of troops. Either of us can provide you with that much needed filter, do a bit of fact checking, get problems solved with no risk to the troops (I'd be perfectly happy to credit you with that result), and save you from potential embarrassment.

Michael Yon: The Decider -- [Villainous Co]
Back in 2006 I criticized NY Times editor Bill Keller for using suspected lawbreaking and his distrust of George Bush to justify his own deliberate law breaking.
In that post I tried to point out the problems with Keller's argument. First of all, justifying your own wrongdoing by saying, "But he did it first!" is a non-starter. Two wrongs do not make a right. But more importantly, Keller tried to justify leaking sensitive information on the grounds of exigency. Mere suspicion of wrongdoing justified the illegal disclosure of sensitive national security information. Never mind that the law provides a legal mechanism for handling such allegations. That didn't matter.

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

The Sound of Guns -- [Greyhawk]
"More than 170 media representatives are expected to be embedded with military units in southern Afghanistan this summer," says Tadd (Quatto) Sholtis, "a statistic that is at best a mixed blessing for public understanding of the war."

Slander From Uranus -- [Castle Argghhh!!!]
It seems that they have "discovered" that the U.S. Army is crawling with Neo-Nazi's and West Coast Gang-Bangers. Buried in his piece, by his own admission, out of 1.6 Million U.S. service personnel that have cycled through Afghanistan and Iraq during these past eight years, 203 (two-hundred and three) veteran soldiers are "supposedly" Neo Nazis.
The HORROR!
The following video is chock-full of full blown lies, innuendos and distortions, for me grace the author with a response. I am however very concerned that as this leftists "news" organizations have taken root all throughout Europe and here in North America, the filth that comes out of his mouth is taken as gospel by many in the Western World.

POLITICS

Republicans focus on terrorism at confirmation hearing for deputy attorney general -- [Washington Post]
Republicans renewed their criticism of President Obama's national security policies Tuesday, using a confirmation hearing for a top Justice Department official to argue that the administration is failing to aggressively fight terrorism.
The latest flare-up of the politics of terror centered on Obama's nomination of James M. Cole as deputy attorney general, a critical position that has been vacant for months. Cole is a white-collar defense lawyer and longtime friend of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and has held numerous jobs in government, including serving 13 years at the Justice Department.
...But the partisan exchanges showed that the debate over where terrorism suspects should be tried and whether they should be read their Miranda rights against self-incrimination is not ending. During the hearing, the staff of committee chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) distributed a document backing federal court trials and saying that "military judges and lawyers have little experience with complex terrorism cases.''
Cole would handle far more than terrorism in the deputy attorney general post,

Why are so many Lefties AWOL on Afghanistan? -- [Hot Air]
Cohen's remaining rationale is that "in contrast to the war in Iraq, liberals generally support the objectives of the war in Afghanistan--and for a good part of the past seven years have been calling on the U.S. to devote more attention to the war there, rather than Iraq." How does that square with the facts on the ground? Congressional Democrats were threatening a one-year deadline last year. Both the Obama administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to twist Democratic arms to pass the emergency war-spending bill in the House by eight votes. Pelosi later said that Obama would have to make the case himself to the Democratic caucus for votes to support a "surge" in Afghanistan this year; those votes are going to be hard to find. Furthermore, two-thirds of Democrats do not think the Afghanistan mission has been worth its costs. It seems doubtful that liberals would be more committed to the mission than Democrats generally.

Kirk's military service controversy: 45% of voters say Kirk not truthful, PPP poll shows; Green Party looms as factor -- [Chicago Sun-Times (blog)]
Mark Kirk (D-Ill.) is taking a hit from disclosures he embellished his military record, the first polling since the controversy broke shows.

Pentagon: Kirk mixed politics with military duty‎ -- [AP]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Pentagon said Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk has been cautioned twice for improperly mingling politics with his military

STRATEGY & TACTICS

Petraeus hedges on Afghanistan withdrawal -- [Washington Times]
Gen. David H. Petraeus on Tuesday softened Obama administration rhetoric that a U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan would begin in July 2011, telling a Capitol Hill panel that such a move would be "based on conditions." "July 2011 is not the date where we race for the exits," the general told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It is the date where, having done an assessment, we begin a process of transition of tasks to Afghan security forces." Gen. Petraeus gave the testimony moments before he slumped at the witness table and excused himself from the room. The general returned about 20 minutes later, but committee Chairman Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat, postponed the rest the hearing. A spokesman for Gen. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees all U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the general was likely dehydrated and jet-lagged from recent travels.

US insists exit strategy for Afghanistan is on track -- [AFP]
US President Barack Obama's top military planners on Wednesday defended their exit strategy for Afghanistan, saying that despite setbacks US troops could still begin withdrawing by July 2011.
Under questioning from senators, General David Petraeus, the commander of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, repeated his support for Obama's goal of transferring security duties to Afghan forces starting in July 2011.
"But it is important that July 2011 be seen for what it is: the date when a process begins, based on conditions; not the date when the US heads for the exits," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Petraeus back on Capitol Hill, clarifies July 2011 (Video)‎ -- [NECN]
Gen. David Petraeus returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, a day after he fainted before a Senate hearing on Afghanistan.
Lawmakers had questioned President Barack Obama's plan to start withdrawing troops in July 2011 if conditions on the ground allow. Senators argued that Afghans see the date as the timeline for U.S. troops to abandon the fight in Afghanistan.
Gen. Petraeus said the date is the beginning of a process of withdrawal, not a hard date for complete troop removal.
David Petraeus returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, a day after he fainted before a Senate hearing on Afghanistan. Lawmakers had questioned President ...

MILITARY HISTORY

Happy Birthday to the US Army -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
235 years young and hardly looks a day over two centuries. I have said before that our military is one of the great forces for good ever on this planet and the Army has a huge role in that. A big Hooah to all those wearing the uniform now and to those, including several of our authors here, who wore it previously.

War and History, Ancient and Modern -- [Michael Totten]
I recently spoke with military historian and former classics professor Victor Davis Hanson in his office at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University. He is the author of more than a dozen works of history, and his new book The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern was just released by Bloomsbury Press.
We discussed military history, Peace Studies programs, warfare in the ancient and modern Mediterranean, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iran's push for hegemony in the Middle East, and the Obama Administration's foreign policy.

HUMOR/SATIRE

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Always updating - refresh for updates.

AFGHANISTAN

The press, the shakeup & a TV moment -- [Afghani Dan - in Afghanistan]
Yesterday I attended a press conference in the morning, and by evening was shown on Afghan television channels alongside three of my colleagues. In between, the Minister of the Interior (whose department held the unrelated-but-later-much-quoted conference) tendered his resignation...
Back to the departure of Minister Atmar, while trying to steer clear of the politics involved: I think it's unfortunate, and not just because he's the only key government figure who I've personally witnessed in action. He was presiding over enormous improvements in the training of national police, gendarmarie, border patrol, highway patrol and other units, and it seemed he was making progress in curbing the rampant corruption that impedes progress for the people everywhere...

The Heat Is On -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
It is 88˚ Fahrenheit during the day in Jalalabad making this the coolest start to summer in memory. Unfortunately the number of security incidents in Jalalabad and around the country have started climbing like the temperature normally does. Yesterday, for the first time since a one-off attack in 2008 the villains struck at the U.S. army inside Jalalabad City...

Marines face continued ambushes around Marjah -- [Dan Lamothe/Marine Corps Times]
With the sun dropping lower on the baked horizon, two squads of Marines pushed north into the countryside here, uncertain what dangers were ahead.
Stepping out May 24 from Combat Outpost Reilly, the Marines knew a firefight was possible. The night before, insurgents used 82mm mortars and accurate sniper fire to repel a 100-man force of British troops from a nearby village, the Marines said. Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., planned to patrol a few miles farther north than normal, an experiment to see how stiff resistance was in another part of Helmand province.
The answer came at 6:11 p.m., nearly two hours after the second of the two squads left the wire...

Marjah: 'It's like a petting zoo in hell' -- [Dan Lamothe/Marine Corps Times Battle Rattle blog]
Marines on patrol regularly pass sheep, goats and cattle grazing through the area....
Not long after a group of Kilo Company 3/6 Marines we were traveling with east of Marjah were ambushed, I was surprised to see a 6-year-old girl slit the throat on a chicken, assumedly to prepare it for dinner. Five minutes later, she stepped on her pet dog's head to keep it from moving as Marines patrolled by...

NATO death toll hits 24 in June -- [AP/Washington Times]
Two American troops were killed by a roadside bomb and a British soldier was fatally shot on patrol Tuesday, raising the NATO death toll in Afghanistan to two dozen in little more than a week.
The bloodshed spiked ahead of a major NATO operation in the Taliban's southern heartland. U.S. commanders have warned of more casualties as the alliance gears up to clear Kandahar, the biggest city in Afghanistan's south and the former headquarters of the Taliban.

Afghanistan Strategy Shifts to Focus on Civilian Effort -- [Rod Nordland/NY Times]
The prospect of a robust military push in Kandahar Province, which had been widely expected to begin this month, has evolved into a strategy that puts civilian reconstruction efforts first and relegates military action to a supportive role...

NATO helicopter shot down in Afghanistan -- [AP/Army Times]
A NATO helicopter was shot down in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing four troops, the alliance said.
The helicopter was brought down by hostile fire in volatile Helmand province, NATO said in a statement. It gave no other details.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility on behalf of the insurgents, saying militants shot down the helicopter with two rockets.

Gates: Progress in Afghan war must come this year -- [AP/Stars and Stripes]
Public support for the war in Afghanistan will evaporate unless the nations leading the fight against insurgents can show by the end of this year that the eight-year war is not locked in stalemate, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.
"All of us, for our publics, are going to have to show by the end of the year that our strategy is on the track, making some headway," Gates said ahead of meetings with NATO allies long weary of the war.

In Afghanistan's North, Ex-Warlord Offers Security -- [NY Times]
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan -- In a country still gripped by war, the families picnicking around the azure-domed shrine in the central square here are perhaps the clearest sign that this northern provincial city has distinguished itself as one of the most secure places in the country. An estimated one million people visited Mazar-i-Sharif for Afghan New Year celebrations in March and in the weeks after without incident.
It helps, of course, that Mazar-i-Sharif and the surrounding Balkh Province lie far from the Pakistani border and the heartland of the Taliban insurgency in southern and eastern Afghanistan. But there is something else that sets Mazar-i-Sharif apart, almost everyone here agrees, and that is the leadership of the provincial governor, Atta Muhammad Noor.

Afghans burn pope effigy over proselytizing claims -- [AP/Stars and Stripes]
MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan (AP) -- ...U.S.-based Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid deny spreading Christianity. The government suspended them last week while investigating allegations in an Afghan television report.
More than 1,000 people marched Tuesday in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, demanding organizations that proselytized in Afghanistan be banned.
The crowd roared approval as protesters doused the effigy of the pope in kerosene and lit it.
They shouted: "Death to America! Long Live Islam!"

Flight Home & Scary Questions -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
...Significantly, I've begun thinking about why I'm there and whether the whole thing is worth it. Is there any point in my being there? Do we make a difference and is Afghanistan worth it all? Frankly, right now, I answer 'no' to all of the above. I just can't see the point. The country is a basket case - always has been and always will be. It seems to me the government does not have popular support, and Karzai spends more time criticising the West and 'reaching out' to the Taliban than he does prosecuting the war. Warlords run the country and pose as significant a risk to overall stability, and to the security of my convoys, compound and men, as the Taliban. Everyone knows what will happen to this place when the west pulls out - at best, continued fighting as warlords and their factions vie for power and, at worst, all-out civil war. I'm no expert but I simply cannot imagine a scenario that includes a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
It just seems to me, right now, that it's all a gigantic waste of time, money and lives...
I'll be signing off for a while. ...

Tough Questions -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
The anonymous author of Kandahar Diary asks some tough questions of himself and his mission while waiting for a long-anticipated leave flight home...
I confess to thinking the same thoughts all too often...

Ice Cream Music -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
During the summer months in Kabul, street food is available in large quantities on many major roads. In addition to the fixed stalls and shops, wandering vendors push carts of fruit, vegetables and nuts through every neighborhood. Some of the more ubiquitous vendors are the ice cream men...
I'm considering buying all of his ice cream tomorrow in exchange for him leaving the neighborhood permanently. Failing that, I may finally crack and shoot him...

Destination Kabul -- [Ismene/A Handful of Dust]
...Afghanistan, in particular, with its stunning landscapes has much to offer the Himalaya/Karakorum trekking crowd. Sign me up for September!
Still, I think that opening a B&B in Kabul might be a bit premature. Beyond the obvious problems of the security situation (nobody wants his adventure holiday to turn into an actual adventure), I think that the underlying cultural forces which have fuelled the conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia will prevent a mass tourist industry from gaining a foothold anytime in the near future. Nobody likes to say it - and liberal academics like me are not supposed to say it - but...

Epic Taliban Fail -- [Starbuck/Wings Over Iraq]
These are the people that have been resisting invaders since Alexander the Great? I've seen better coordination and tactical prowess from ROTC cadets.

IRAQ

Iraqi Kurds seek help to halt Iranian incursion -- [Reuters]
The Kurdish regional assembly unanimously adopted a memorandum calling on the Iraqi government, the United Nations, the United States and other powers "to press Iran to stop its bombardment of Iraqi border villages and to end its occupation of a position inside Iraqi Kurdistan."
...Iranian forces frequently clash with rebels from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which took up arms in 1984 for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey.
Iran considers the PJAK a terrorist group.

Iranian troops building fort in Iraq -- [Los Angeles Times]
A small Iranian force crossed into the Kurdish-controlled region of northern Iraq on Thursday after a bomb attack that killed several Iranian soldiers. The assault was carried out by the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan, an Iranian Kurdish militant movement based in northern Iraq that is known by its Kurdish acronym, PEJAK.
About 35 Iranians remained behind, in an area near the Perdunaz border crossing, and have since been observed building a fortified structure high on a mountain, said the Kurdish regional government's defense spokesman, Jaber Yawer.
From a nearby Kurdish observation post, two bulldozers, alongside a small tank, can be seen digging fortifications.
Iran also retaliated with artillery strikes, which last week killed a 14-year-old girl. There was renewed shelling of the area Tuesday, but most civilians have fled the area and no one was killed, Yawer said...

Iran denies pursuing Kurds over Iraq border -- [Reuters]
On Wednesday, Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region demanded the central government in Baghdad take steps against an incursion into its territory by Iranian forces. A Reuters witness saw Iranian soldiers manning a small position some two kilometres (1.2 miles) inside Iraqi Kurdistan.
In a report by Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency, Ambassador Hassan Kazemi-Qomi denied such military manoeuvres...

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

U.N. Is Set to Vote on Iran Sanctions -- [NY Times]
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled on Wednesday to impose new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, taking aim at the financial might of the Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as Iran's military and nuclear industries with the addition of 41 enterprises to the blacklist.

U.N. Security Council Passes New Sanctions Against Iran -- [NY Times]
The United States, moving firmly away from the Obama administration's previous emphasis on wooing Iran, pushed through a new round of United Nations sanctions against the nation on Wednesday...
The new sanctions, a modest increase from previous rounds, took months to negotiate but still did not carry the symbolic weight of a unanimous Security Council decision. Twelve of the 15 nations voted for the measure, while Turkey and Brazil voted against and Lebanon abstained.
Beyond the restrictions imposed by the sanctions themselves, the vote sets stage for harsher measures that the United States and the European Union have promised to enact on their own once they had the imprimatur of the United Nations. European leaders are likely to discuss new measures at a summit meeting this month...
Susan E. Rice, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, said the body had "risen to its responsibilities" by approving the measure, and that "now Iran should choose a wiser course."...

Mexico anger high as US Border Patrol kills teen -- [AP]
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Mexicans are seething over the second death of a countryman at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol agents in two weeks, an incident near downtown El Paso that is threatening to escalate tensions over migrant issues.
U.S. authorities said Tuesday a Border Patrol agent was defending himself and colleagues when he fatally shot the 15-year-old as officers came under a barrage of big stones while trying to detain illegal immigrants on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande...

Administration Delays Release of Report Tying Meth to Mexico -- [NY Times]
In an apparent effort to minimize diplomatic turbulence with the Mexican government, the Obama administration has been delaying for weeks the release of a Justice Department report that describes a "high and increasing" availability of methamphetamine mainly because of large-scale drug production in Mexico.
The report, obtained by The New York Times, is called the 2010 National Methamphetamine Threat Assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center of the Justice Department...

Methamphetamine Threat Assessment -- [U.S. Department of Justice/National Drug Intelligence Center]

Russia Urges Global Struggle Against Afghan Heroin -- [Voice of America]
Speaking at an international anti-drug forum in Moscow, President Medvedev issued a call for a common global fight against narcotics, saying the entire world is threatened by drug-producing countries, especially those that make hard drugs - narcotics that are more addictive and damaging.
He said Afghanistan does not have the resources for a breakthrough in the fight. He said ongoing efforts by various international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, are not enough...
Mr. Medvedev told the forum that nearly one-million people under the age of 35 have died around the world in the past eight years from Afghan heroin. Russia's federal drug control agency says the country loses about 30,000 people to heroine abuse each year...
The United Nations says Afghanistan cultivates 92 percent of the world's opium poppies...

Russian-Afghan trade needed in fight against drug trafficking -- [Ria Novosti]
Bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan could reduce drug trafficking from the war-torn state, a deputy Russian economics minister said on Wednesday.
"We think that besides military and political efforts, a whole complex of measures are needed to develop the Afghan economy," Igor Manylov told the international anti-drugs forum in Moscow.

Communities bid Guard armories farewell -- [USA Today]
The closing of the small, aging facility and many like it across the USA is the result of shifting demographics, tight state budgets and changes in the way America's citizen soldiers are being trained and deployed, says Sgt. Katherine Perez, a National Guard public affairs officer.
More than 100 armories nationwide have closed or been targeted for closing in the past five years -- many in smaller communities -- and more are closing this year, USA TODAY research found. Some are being replaced by larger joint Army National Guard, Army Reserve and Air National Guard Readiness Centers.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

U.S. hopes to share prison with Afghanistan -- [Los Angeles Times]
The Obama administration wants to retain the ability to hold terrorism suspects from other countries at its largest prison in Afghanistan, even after it hands control of the facility to the Afghan government next year, according to U.S. officials.
If Afghan officials agree, it would give the administration a place to interrogate terrorism suspects captured in countries such as Somalia or Yemen. President Obama made a high-profile pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after taking office last year. But that would leave the administration without a lockup for those suspected of plotting attacks against the United States...

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS... (or not...)

JROTC guy for... -- [Jules Crittenden/Forward Movement]
So ... JROTC guy for govenor. If someone as politically inept and tone-deaf as Deval Patrick has been for the last four years can leap to the head of that race, how hard could it possibly be? How about JROTC guy for Congress? Worcester is currently represented by U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Caracas. Heck, JROTC guy for president. What, you have a better idea? What, you think some guy with virtually no political experience no one's ever heard of before can't do it?

Army Fires Top Two Administrators Over Mismanagement of Arlington Cemetery -- [Fox News]
Army Secretary John McHugh has fired the top two officials overseeing Arlington National Cemetery over allegations of mismanagement, including burying a service member's body on top of another, Fox News has confirmed...

MILITARY/MILITARY LIFE

Innocent until Proven Guilty -- [Bouhammer]
"The Army said Friday that Spc. Jeremy Morlock had been charged with three counts of premeditated murder and one count of assault."
...To read this and especially to write about it is very tough. As a soldier it is tough to see other soldiers even be accused of it. However I have a personal connection to Jeremy's family and in fact I know this soldier and knew him as a young boy. His family has been through a lot already and this does not help...

WELCOME HOME

Family, friends welcome Lewis-McChord soldiers home -- [NWCN.com]
It was an early morning homecoming in Tacoma for hundreds of soldiers.
About 300 soldiers from two battalions of the 3rd Stryker Brigade returned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord around 5:30 a.m.
...This is their third tour of Iraq since 2003. Their last deployment was in 2006-07, which involved hard combat that lasted 15 months. This time, their area of operations was in the Diyala Province, which is a quieter area.

VETERANS

About 1 in 10 Iraq veterans develops a serious case of PTSD, researchers say -- [L.A. Times]
It's well known that combat takes a toll on the mental health of soldiers -- for instance, studies of people who served in the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have found that those who experienced combat were two to three times more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than their counterparts who remained out of harm's way. But studies have been less consistent in determining how many soldiers develop PTSD and other mental health disorders after deployment.
So a group of experts from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command examined 13,226 anonymous surveys completed by veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom...

Junger's War , Review by Karaka Pend -- [Small Wars Journal]
That is one question Junger, nor the soldiers of whom he writes, seems capable of answering. In the end Junger poses the question to the nation these men serve: how do we welcome home men who long for a bullet-stained combat outpost? How does one heal from that wound? (Excellent comment thread here.)

The Vet Question -- [Greyhawk/MVG]
...the question any company in America should be asking isn't "golly - should we hire vets?" It's "how soon can you start?"
But again, if you don't ask those questions, someone else will.

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

Army Leak Suspect Is Turned In, by Ex-Hacker -- [NY Times]
...So the former renegade, who in 2004 pleaded guilty to hacking into the internal computer system of The New York Times, did something he had not expected when Specialist Manning first contacted him: He turned him in.
On Monday, the Department of Defense announced that Specialist Manning, of Potomac, Md., had been arrested and was under investigation...
In the interview on Monday, Mr. Lamo said he had contacted the Army about Specialist Manning's instant messages because he was worried that disclosure of the information would put people's lives in danger. He said that Army investigators were particularly concerned about one sensitive piece of information that Specialist Manning possessed that Mr. Lamo would not discuss in more detail.
"I thought to myself, 'What if somebody dies because this information is leaked?' " he said.
In Twitter messages on Monday, Wikileaks denounced both Mr. Lamo and Kevin Poulsen, a co-author of the lengthy Wired Threat Level blog post, as "notorious felons, informers & manipulators" and said that "journalists should take care."
...Mr. Lamo said he had promised the F.B.I. he would testify against the specialist. "I'll keep my word, but I won't do it happily," he said. "I hope that his parents can forgive me. I'm sorry about what happened to their boy. But I was backed into a corner ethically."
In Twitter messages on Monday, Mr. Lamo continued the theme. "I outed Brad Manning as an alleged leaker out of duty," he said in one. "I would never (and have never) outed an Ordinary Decent Criminal. There's a difference."
In another Twitter message, Mr. Lamo said: "I know what it's like to be 22, scared, and in shackles too. I've been there. I hope none of you ever have to make a choice like this."
After Mr. Lamo pleaded guilty to hacking into The New York Times -- he had also hacked into Yahoo, WorldCom and Microsoft -- he was sentenced...

"Hysteria" vs. Inability to Read -- [Cassandra/Villainous Company]
Here's a suggestion for Mr. Smith: if he feels the need to respond at such length to a post which only mentions him tangentially, he would do better to read it carefully. That might help him avoid making a lot of accusations that, given what I actually said, seem... how shall I say it?... a bit overwrought...

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

Iraq/Afghanistan fatigue in the book industry -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
About once a week, I receive an email from an enterprising writer looking to publish his (or her) war tales from Iraq or Afghanistan, seeking advice on how to accomplish such a goal. Of those that share some selections, most really are excellent - after nine or so years, a lot of insanity has ensued that needs to be shared with the larger world.
The problem though, is the marketplace is "fatigued with Iraq and Afghanistan stories." (I could attribute this quote to about ten different people in the publishing or literary industry). And for everyone not named Sebastian Junger (whose book, WAR, I loved) it can be a struggle to get the right people to read their manuscript, let alone purchase it.
The obvious question is - why is the marketplace fatigued? It's certainly an indictment on American society in general, but that's nothing new. In times of economic turmoil, people don't tend to like being reminded that others are suffering far more than they are...

Human Rights Watch Film Festival -- [Small Wars Journal]
Via e-mail from Sterling Yee of Human Rights Watch:
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns to New York, 10-24 June. This year we are proud to present two astounding documentaries that focus on the obstacles the Afghan citizens and US military face during times of war and rebuilding...

STRATEGY & TACTICS

The State of COIN 2010 -- [Andrew Exum/Abu Muqawama]
It seems as good a time as any, then, to write a "State of COIN" post, which I have been meaning to do for quite some time. When this blog started, in February of 2007, counterinsurgency was very much in the ascendant, but the U.S. community studying it was still improbably small given the nature of the wars the U.S. military was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. So very much has changed in the years since. For one, this blog is now less about counterinsurgency and more about national security and the Middle East (and Central and South Asia) more broadly. For another, counterinsurgency and its defenders are no longer the plucky underdogs in the national security community.
A few weeks ago, I was at USIP listening to the secretary of state speak with Hamid Karzai, and Sec. Clinton, at one point and in response to a journalist's question, went on at length about the theory and practice of counterinsurgency operations. It struck me then - but not for the first time - that the things theorists and proponents of counterinsurgency had wanted in 2005 have largely come to pass...

The Heat Is On -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Talking with the American soldiers is always a treat for me. Paratroopers from the 101st are now in charge of RC East and they seem to be a confident, cocky bunch which is exactly the right attitude. One of the sergeants told me they get out all the time doing COIN which he describes as talking to and being friendly with the people instead of hunting down and killing bad guys. He said their pre-deployment training stressed that the Afghan people generally remain friendly towards Americans which he said he didn't really believe until he saw us pop out of the crowd wearing casual western clothes; smiling at and joking with the men around us as we passed through. I told him to always smile warmly when greeting Afghans and to learn four cuss words and two mullah jokes in Pashto. Those modest skills will make him a hero wherever he goes as long as he stays out of the Korengal and Pech valleys in Kunar Province. He thought that was a great heads up and laughed and laughed as he told his buddies the sage advice I had imparted to him. I love being around good infantry and these guys have the look of world class fighters.
Here is the thing; the soldiers, through no fault of their own, really aren't doing COIN...

The CENTCOM Af-Pak Conference: Lessons from a Failed Military Conference -- [Anonymous/Abu Muqawama]
Over the last two days we posted reports on CENTCOM's AF-PAK COE conference at a friend's blog under the collective pseudonym "The Conference Guys." In doing so, we learned that some people closely associated with that blog were, like us, government employees (the blog is remaining officially nameless). We became concerned that our posts might put them in an awkward position, so we used another venue: Ghosts of Alexander. The following post is our last from the conference, and gives some overarching takeaways concerning U.S. Military outreach to non-military parties, as opposed to the more specific and substantive critiques in our previous posts.
So some of us got together and talked about the reports we've been posting about CENTCOM's Afghanistan-Pakistan Center of Excellence (COE) conference in Tampa. We couldn't help but notice that we've painted a pretty bleak picture of the Army's attempt to leverage the expertise of academia, NGOs, think tanks, and other non-government sources to help address various aspects of the Central Asian conflicts.

Serving Pork Chops at a Bar Mitzvah: Some Thoughts on Aid in COIN Operations -- [Colonel Gary Anderson/Small Wars Journal]
Just as a mid-term election in the United States can force an American president (as well as Congress) to change course, many American soldiers and State Department civilian officials in Afghanistan believe that a large number of local successes against the Taliban will force change within the Karzai regime - that Karzai and the national government will feel pressured by rising local stars to reform from the bottom up.
Until then, the most our tactical commanders and Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) leaders can do at the local / tactical level is use combat power to provide security and buy time for the Afghans to create effective security mechanisms and use aid in a way that best enhances the COIN fight by convincing the population that there is a viable alternative to what the Taliban offers...

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Gobar Gas -- [Greyhawk/MVG]
Or can more bullshit save Afghanistan?
I heard Mike Yon mention this during his call-in from Afghanistan to the milblogs conference, and was hoping to hear more. More is here.
Americans tend to think big, and Afghanistan needs more little things. In Afghanistan we need more thinking like this.

New Cyber Chief: Cyberspace Must Become a National Security Priority -- [defense.gov]
The command will lead the day-to-day defense of all military networks, support military and counterterrorism missions and, under the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, assist other government and civil authorities and industry partners.
Alexander, who is also the director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and chief of the Central Security Service, said that protecting cyberspace is a national security priority and that the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command will represent the intersection of military, intelligence and information-assurance capabilities.
Recently, a Cyber Joint Operations Center was established to combine the existing staffs of the Joint Functional Component Command for Net Warfare and the Joint Taskforce Global Network Operations.
U.S. Cyber Command also gained service elements that will act as the boots on the ground in support of its mission. These include the Army Forces Cyber Command, the Marine Forces Cyber Command, the 24th Air Force and the Navy's 10th Fleet, Fleet Cyber Command.

CLIMATE AND SECURITY

Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces -- [CNAS Report]
Broadening Horizons is an edited volume featuring four chapters and a capstone piece that explores the dual pressures of climate change and energy on each U.S. military service and combatant command and offers a road ahead to improve the country's ability to promote national security in the face of a changing climate. Authors include CNAS Senior Military Fellow Commander Herbert E. Carmen, USN, CNAS Bacevich Fellow Christine Parthemore and CNAS Research Assistant Will Rogers.
Chapters include:
Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces
By Commander Herbert Carmen, USN, Christine Parthemore
and Will Rogers
Climate Change and the Maritime Services
By Christine Parthemore
Climate Change and America's Air Forces
By Will Rogers
Climate Change and U.S. Ground Forces
By Christine Parthemore
Climate Change and the Combatant Commands
By Commander Herbert E. Carmen, USN, Christine Parthemore
and Will Rogers

Sustaining Security: How Natural Resources Influence National Security -- [Christine Parthemore, Will Rogers/CNAS Report]
In the 21st century, the security of nations will depend increasingly on the security of natural resources, or "natural security." Countries around the world rely on the availability of potable water, arable land, fish stocks, biodiversity, energy, minerals and other renewable and nonrenewable resources to meet the rising needs and expectations of a growing world population. Yet the availability of these resources is by no means assured. This report - authored by Christine Parthemore and Will Rogers - points to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Mexico and Yemen as examples of how natural security challenges are directly linked to internal stability, regional dynamics and U.S. security and foreign policy interests...

POLITICS

'Lying face to face -- [New Britain Herald]
A member of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's staff, himself a former major and judge advocate in the U.S. Marines, is calling Blumenthal a liar and disgrace to the Marine Corps for representing himself repeatedly as having served in Vietnam.
Richard Hine, state assistant attorney general and New Britain resident, told the New Britain Herald Tuesday that Blumenthal had lied about his service in Vietnam at least five times. Hine has worked for Blumenthal for more than 20 years but said he felt he had to come forward after Blumenthal's recent actions.
"This has to do with integrity, has to do with qualifications for office and with a very personal conversation back in January or February, 1991," he said.
Surrounded by the mementos of his own life as a Marine, Hine said what Blumenthal did went against the code of being a Marine... (Via)

Jim DeMint gets the kind of opponent candidates dream about -- [Dave Weigel/The Washington Post]
In 2008, the South Carolina Democratic establishment supported attorney Michael Cone for the thankless task of taking on Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). He raised almost no money and lost, in a massive upset, to an even-lesser known candidate named Bob Conley -- a supporter of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) who managed to alienate most of his party with hardline conservative stances.
You'd think the local Democratic Party would avoid a disaster like that this year. Vic Rawl, a former state legislator, was not the party's first choice -- he raised about $230,452 and looked set to be the party's sacrificial lamb against Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). He just went down by a 16-point margin to Alvin Greene. Who is Alvin Greene? A 32-year-old unemployed army veteran who paid the filing fee to run then promptly disappeared. When reached by Corey Hutchins to talk about his campaign, on the suspicion that he was a Republican plant, Greene was incoherent.

Senate candidate facing obscenity-offense felony -- [Ed Morrissey/Hot Air]
Dave Weigel called Alvin Greene the "the kind of opponent candidates dream about," but he didn't know the half of it. Jim Geraghty noted that the new Democratic nominee to run against conservative stalwart Sen. Jim DeMint in South Carolina hadn't filed any paperwork with the FEC on fundraising, but perhaps he just didn't want to get in any more trouble with the law than Greene already faces. The Democratic nominee isn't just "wholly unserious" -- the AP reports that he's been charged with a felony obscenity offense that could get him five years in prison...
I guess this eliminates the whole family-values campaign, then?

S.C. Dems ask Senate nominee to withdraw after felony charge -- [The Hill]
Less than 24 hours after Alvin Greene's surprise win in the South Carolina Democratic Senate primary, the state party has asked him to withdraw from the race because of a pending felony charge...
The party said that as of Wednesday afternoon it had not received a response from Greene.
...Greene stunned observers Tuesday when he won the nomination. He raised no money and put up no campaign website but beat former four-term state lawmaker Vic Rawl 59 percent to 41.

HISTORY/MILITARY HISTORY

Retrospective -- [Karaka Pend/Permissible Arms]

...The above photograph is from a Foreign Policy article on Afghanistan (Kabul) in the '50s and '60s.
That's the stark difference of fifty years...

USS Constitution Hosts Wounded Warriors During Battle of Midway Ceremony -- [Boston Maggie]
BOSTON (NNS) -- In recognition of the observance of the Battle of Midway, approximately 125 Wounded Warriors from all five branches of the military joined the crew of the USS Constitution for a morning at sea June 4.
"Today we honor Navy history, celebrate past victories at sea and recognize the sacrifices service members have made, and continue to make, in support of our ongoing fight for freedom," said Capt. Key Watkins, program director of Navy Safe Harbor, the Navy and Coast Guard's Wounded Warrior program...

USS Constitution sails into Boston Harbor. The crew of Constitution hosted approximately 150 members of the Wounded Warrior Project during an underway Battle of Midway commemoration. Photo by James Devine, Navy Visual News Service

HUMOR/SATIRE

-- []

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Always updating - refresh for updates.

AFGHANISTAN

Where's Quatto? -- [The Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
The long break in the blog has been the result of the practical application of the Department of Defense's social media policy in the Afghanistan theater. Ostensibly designed to expand government transparency, improve information sharing, boost morale and cure cancer, the real local impact of the policy has been to allow military communications specialists to exercise their basest bureaucratic instincts. By declaring that government systems should permit access to social media except in cases where operational security, bandwidth or other considerations require local limitations, the policy has served mainly to identify exemptions that can justify widespread restrictions on access. The exceptions have become the rule, with the result that unofficial bloggers in Afghanistan are forced to turn to a limited number of clogged commercial lines. Where blogs once could be knocked out around 15-minute mental breaks from the daily grind, they're now published in the wee small hours of the morning after 18-hour work days...

Enjoying The Little Things -- [Lt Gorman/A handful of Dust - in Afghanistan]
First of all, I'd like to say hello and welcome to the readers of AHOD. Since LT Wompum had to leave, I contacted Sosostris about joining the blog in his stead. Like Wompum, I'm an infantry officer with a non-infantry mission. I have been in country only a few weeks now and don't have any real job yet other than Gopher LT: running around Camp Phoenix doing various tasks and putting out fires when needed. Hopefully that will change soon enough when they find me a real position, which at least from the chatter I hear, will have something to do with working with the ANA. Either way, though I've only been in country a relatively short time, there are already a few random little things that make life so distinct here.
-The Bazaars: Although we can't actually go out into the "real" bazaars in Kabul, the DOD approved venders on or around FOBs often have the same...

Market Rates -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Proper, authentic booze is anywhere from $75 to $150 USD a bottle, depending on brand. The fake rotgut stuff distilled from Russian brake fluid is cheaper, but you wake up with your intestines in your socks and can't focus your eyes for 36 hours.
Cigarettes, even the premium brands, are dirt cheap, as low as $0.50 a pack for the crappy Afghan/Pakistani brands. Even for the imported high-end smokes like mine, you won't pay more than $2.50 a pack.*
*And by "imported" I mean "fell off a truck in Tajikistan and smuggled across the border in a donkey's rectum." Gives them extra flavor...
Under no circumstances should a Westerner new to Kabul try to buy weapons other than a knife. There are plenty of guns for sale, but...

What it's like... -- [AfghaniDan - in Afghanistan ]
I'm liking the work more than hating it [of course it was easier to say on the lightest day since I'd been here -- Afghans were all on declared holiday due to the 3-day Peace Jirga, so we had work but not the usual volume]. It's very frustrating much of the time, from both sides: Those working at the tactical or technical areas vent of often having to 'babysit' their Afghan counterparts and hold the hands (both figuratively and literally) of grown men through the simple process of talking to their own counterparts. At the same time, we must comply with (and if you have the stones, sometimes rebel against) the droppings from the "good idea fairy" above...well-intentioned but misguided tasks that only get more cumbersome as they roll downhill. But positive signs make our day every now and then, and the fact that we're involved in trying to build something good is still rewarding.
I'm not sure that I can sustain the pace in decent health...
"So what is it, you'd say, you do here?" Allow me to paraphrase a note I sent back to my cousin yesterday for the answer...

What is the Problem Here? -- [Free range International - in Afghanistan]
My son Logan spent the last three months in Jalalabad with me teaching a class on digital photography for the MIT Fab Folk at the Jalalabad Fab Lab. Here is the link to his blog (blogs are required on all Fab Folk missions) and I think it is hysterically funny which was not his intent. This is probably his last visit to Afghanistan - the security situation has degraded to the point where keeping him safe was a major operation. Many thanks to my Afghan colleagues JD and Zaki for devising and maintaining a safety box in which Logan could operate. I'm inserting pictures of Logan and I on the range because it's my way of bragging on my boy. The remainder of the post is from Chim Chim.
With the recent spate of NYT blather about the U.S. Military's use of contractors to conduct intelligence activities, the "official" kneejerk response from the Department of Defense (DoD) was to announce that the original contract was shut down, and that the Department was conducting investigations...

Blood Brothers - A Story of Training Afghanistan's Next Generation Of Life Savers -- [FaST Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
The sun climbs over the eastern mountains near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank in Logar Province, Afghanistan. Its an early morning for the 4th Kandak Afghanistan National Army (ANA) medics as they inspect their medical aid bags, ensuring they are ready for the day ahead...
The medical lectures were provided by SGT Fielder of the 173d Airborne BSB and SSG Penn of the 909th FST. But what makes this especially difficult was not just the language barrier, but the fact that many of these Afghan medics also required lessons in basic reading and writing...

The Kabul Marathon -- [AfghaniDan - in Afghanistan ]
The following are shots of some other runners, framed by the most ridiculously steep ramps you could ever include in a road race...it's not the grind up the incline that gets you, though that did suck, but the "Holy crap, I'm not going to be able to turn on a dime when I get to the bottom!" speed you build up on the descent. Avoiding the opposing direction runners in a single-lane-each-way narrow track while banking a turn and feeling your patella bounce around within your knee is an experience you don't wish to replicate, much less knock out 16 times over 13.1 miles.
Do you think the photographers posted near the tunnels must have been male, by any chance? I'm just guessing...

Trending Positive -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
The second question had to do with the President's "run away date.". It's not a run away date. It is a date that he hopes to start drawing down from the surge. This has caused some problems domestically, although the Democratic Party leadership is happy; it's what they always demanded from President Bush. It has caused more problems in Afghanistan...

10 NATO Soldiers Die in Afghanistan -- [NY Times]
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents killed 12 NATO soldiers on Monday, 7 of them Americans, military officials said. It was the worst single day for the foreign forces operating in Afghanistan in over seven months...

IRAQ

Iraq violence set to delay US troop withdrawal -- [The Guardian (UK)]
The White House is likely to delay the withdrawal of the first large phase of combat troops from Iraq for at least a month after escalating bloodshed and political instability in the country.
General Ray Odierno, the US commander, had been due to give the order within 60 days of the general election held in Iraq on 7 March, when the cross-sectarian candidate Ayad Allawi edged out the incumbent leader, Nouri al-Maliki.
American officials had been prepared for delays in negotiations to form a government, but now appear to have balked...

Odierno: Iraq Moves Toward Stability, US Drawdown on Track -- [Voice of America]
The top U.S. commander in Iraq says his forces and Iraqi troops have captured or killed 34 of the top 42 leaders of al-Qaida in the country, significantly hurting the organizations ability to conduct attacks. General Ray Odierno also says Iran is taking a less violent but still destructive approach in its involvement in Iraq.
General Odierno says the number of violent incidents, the number of casualties and the number of high-profile attacks in Iraq are all at their lowest levels since the conflict started...

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

Soldiers' Angels competing for $50k "Pepsi Challenge" Grant - Need your vote! -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
The Pepsi Refresh Project allows ordinary people to vote for their favorite projects that will have a positive impact on the community. Each month brings a new set of projects. This month, Soldiers' Angels is one of the projects.
All you have to do is go to the page for Hire a Hero - Soldiers' Angels Project SAVE Support A Vet's Employment.
Soldiers' Angels is competing for $50,000! Only 10 projects will be selected, so we need your votes, every day, from now until June 30!

MILITARY

General Odierno Nominated for New Job -- [FoxNews/Liveshots blog]
The military announced Monday that President Obama has nominated General Raymond T. Odierno to head Joint Forces Command (JFCOM). Odierno is a four-star general who serves now as the head of US Forces - Iraq.
If confirmed by the senate, Odierno will replace Marine Corps General James Mattis...

Murder charges may spur military to revise soldier screenings -- [Seattle Times]
An Army spokeswoman said Saturday the murder charges against a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier accused of killing three Afghan civilians could lead the military to examine its screening of soldiers.
Specialist Jeremy Morlock, 22, was charged Friday with premeditated murder in the slayings of the civilians, which allegedly occurred earlier this year while his unit was assigned to the remote Kandahar province of Afghanistan. He also is charged with assaulting a fellow soldier.
If found guilty of the slayings, Morlock could face the death penalty.
Morlock, who was sent on his first deployment in July, had a history of U.S. criminal charges.

WELCOME HOME

Duty, Honor, Country -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
VIDEO
Lt. Dan Berschinski, wounded August 2009 in the Arghandab River Valley of Afghanistan, at his recent homecoming celebration in Peachtree, GA on Memorial Day weekend.
Thanks to Andrea Taber for this abridged version of Dan's speech. The orignal, in two parts (here and here), courtesy of Dan's father. Dan has a blog, too.
Well done, Dan. Much love to you from everyone at Landstuhl.

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

Loony Tunes -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
There's always one.
It seems at every book event that discusses Iraq or Afghanistan, be it mine or someone else's, there's always one individual who turns the question and answer session into their very own pulpit. Sometimes, they're crazy professors who think that my pro-bacon stance in Kaboom is somehow anti-Islam; others are old hippies still angry about the 2003 invasion/Vietnam/life. No matter the type though, they all try to bait the author into saying something sweeping in nature and inflammatory.
My latest dalliance with the bookstore fringe occurred at Politics & Prose in DC, with a Loony Tune of the aging hippie variety...

Since U Been Gone! -- [Jules Crittenden/Forward Movement]
Good clean fist-pumping American Idol/blowing-shit-up pop fun compliments of Rage Company: A Marine's Baptism By Fire.
My rate of reading slowed dramatically due to various issues over the past couple of weeks, but I am back into this and enjoying it immensely. As mentioned before, I had some issues with the title and cover, but it is well worth cracking. The above remark notwithstanding, this is a serious book that is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what just happened, and what is still going on.
Thomas P. Daly recounts the frustrations of conventional operations followed by an abrupt, unexpected shift to counterinsurgency tactics in Ramadi in 2006-2007, where he was a Marine rifle company's FO and intelligence officer...

Junger's War , Review by Karaka Pend -- [Small Wars Journal]
On May 21, 2010, I saw Sebastian Junger speak on the subject of his book War. It was standing room only, with several servicemen and women present; but the audience was mostly older folks. The parents of Private Misha Pemble-Belkin, one of the soldiers Junger writes about in his book, were present that evening, and Junger took care to welcome them. It was clear from that moment on, even before his reading or before I had the chance to read the book, that Junger had written about people who had come to mean a great deal to him. To understand that is to understand the impetus of his account...

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

One less blog -- [BruceR/Flit]
Canada's own "milblog", The Torch (aka, toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com) has shut its doors, suddenly and apparently permanently. Correspondence with the authors confirms it's over. I'd give a link, but obviously there's no point now. They'll be missed. Best of luck to the contributors in their future endeavours...

Can troops in Afghanistan chamber a round on patrol? -- [Jeff Shogol/The Rumor Doctor/Stars and Stripes]
The Rumor Doctor has seen blogs claiming that U.S. troops in Afghanistan can't have a round in the chamber when they go outside the wire...
"While it is not our policy to comment on the specifics of those force protection measures, I can tell you that individual unit commanders have the flexibility and latitude to increase or decrease their force protection posture as needed and as appropriate for the situation," Master Sergeant Brian Sipp, of CJTF-101 public affairs said in an e-mail.
So Rumor Doctor gave ISAF public affairs the name of the unit in question. Shortly afterward, the soldier on the ground informed the Rumor Doctor that soldiers in his company were suddenly authorized to chamber a round outside the wire.

Phishing for the General -- [NY Times At War blog]
If you get an Internet appeal from Gen. Ray Odierno, the senior American commander in Iraq, asking you to pay lots of money to get your son or daughter out of combat duty, don't believe it. And certainly don't send the $200,000.
General Odierno acknowledged Friday that he is but one more victim of a social networking scheme offering a big -- but fake -- benefit, if you send big amounts of real money...

Scammers hit Gen. Odierno Facebook page -- [AP]
The top American general in Iraq says scammers have been making use of his Facebook page.
Looking at General Ray Odierno's Facebook page, you find out he's an Aerosmith fan -- and that Animal House is one of his favorite movies. If you see a plea for money, though, don't buy it.
Odierno says he's had several scam artists use his Facebook page to ask for money. He says one asks for $200,000 to have a loved one sent home early.
Odierno says Army investigators are chasing scammers who use social networking and mass emails to bilk military families. In the meantime, Odierno has posted a warning on his Facebook page.
He says anybody asking for money in his name is a scammer.

Press Conference -- [General Odierno]
Q There's an e-mail scam going out purportedly from the command sergeant major from USF-I [U.S. Forces - Iraq].
GEN. ODIERNO: Okay.
Q Guy can't decide whether he's a major or a sergeant major, but some people may actually take it seriously. Is USF-I putting out any guidance saying, "If you receive an e-mail from Lawrence K. Wilson that says he has $20 million in Saddam's money, don't trust it"?
GEN. ODIERNO: Yeah. Yeah, we do. And in fact, there's been people scamming my name for money, as well. And this has been going on for quite some time. You know, I've had several scam artists on Facebook use my Facebook page and then go out asking people for all kinds of money: if you pay $200,000, your son can get sent home early and -- you know. So we're constantly going after these scam artists that are out there. And we are very aware of all of these that are going on, and we have a very robust capability to attempt to take care of it.
It's more about notifying people who get these e-mails. I have this big thing on my Facebook that says don't believe -- "If anybody asks you for money in my name, don't believe it," you know. And we do that for everyone else, as well. But it's a problem.
<...>
Because what I have found, and what's frustrated me sometimes inside of Iraq, is we win, we're doing exactly what we need do on the ground and eliminating cells and terrorists. But if you look on their website, what they're telling their people is completely different than what's really happening on the ground. And they have videos that are years and years old, and they keep replaying them and replaying them and replaying them and saying, "We've killed over a thousand Americans in 2010" and "They're lying about their numbers" and, you know, "We're being very successful. We need you to continue to contribute money to the al Qaeda organization. You need to help come, we need suicide bomber" -- I mean, you know, these are all the kind of things that go on. And so those are real challenges to us that we really have to get after as well as scams and other things that go on.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Press Conference -- [General Odierno (con't from above)]
And actually, since you brought that subject up, I will just say -- you know, one of the things -- you asked me about Joint Forces Command, and one of the things -- one of the things that we have to really continue to work hard is the change that's occurred in terms of global communications and access to global communications and impact on warfare, impact on asymmetric warfare, impact on counterinsurgency, impact on future warfare. It's significant.
We've just stood up a cyber command, which I fully support. I think it's extremely important that we've stood up this command. It's the guy who gets that who they support out in the field. It's absolutely essential that we start really taking a hard look at how we're going to deal with these very difficult issues. And it makes it difficult, because you've got to figure out: How am I going to deal with this issue and still sustain the rights that we want of freedom of expression and information? It's very tough issues that we have to continue to work through here.

IED beam could change face of war -- [Jim Michaels/USA TODAY ]
Anti-bomb technology carries risk to civilians
The military has developed technology that uses a high-tech beam to detonate hidden IEDs, an insurgent weapon responsible for the deaths and maiming of thousands of U.S. servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some in the military caution that widespread use of the weapon could cause civilian casualties when the beam triggers improvised explosive devices.
"This is an offensive capability that will change the face of this war," said Marine Gen. James Mattis, head of the U.S. Joint Forces Command that looks to transform military capabilities. Mattis, a supporter of the technology, acknowledged that civilians could be killed if the weapon is activated over widespread areas. But ultimately the technology would save lives, he said. "A lot more innocent people are going to die if we don't do it," he said...

CLIMATE AND SECURITY

Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces -- [CNAS Report]
Broadening Horizons is an edited volume featuring four chapters and a capstone piece that explores the dual pressures of climate change and energy on each U.S. military service and combatant command and offers a road ahead to improve the country's ability to promote national security in the face of a changing climate. Authors include CNAS Senior Military Fellow Commander Herbert E. Carmen, USN, CNAS Bacevich Fellow Christine Parthemore and CNAS Research Assistant Will Rogers.
Chapters include:
Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces
By Commander Herbert Carmen, USN, Christine Parthemore
and Will Rogers
Climate Change and the Maritime Services
By Christine Parthemore
Climate Change and America's Air Forces
By Will Rogers
Climate Change and U.S. Ground Forces
By Christine Parthemore
Climate Change and the Combatant Commands
By Commander Herbert E. Carmen, USN, Christine Parthemore
and Will Rogers

Sustaining Security: How Natural Resources Influence National Security -- [Christine Parthemore, Will Rogers/CNAS Report]
In the 21st century, the security of nations will depend increasingly on the security of natural resources, or "natural security." Countries around the world rely on the availability of potable water, arable land, fish stocks, biodiversity, energy, minerals and other renewable and nonrenewable resources to meet the rising needs and expectations of a growing world population. Yet the availability of these resources is by no means assured. This report - authored by Christine Parthemore and Will Rogers - points to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Mexico and Yemen as examples of how natural security challenges are directly linked to internal stability, regional dynamics and U.S. security and foreign policy interests...

MILITARY HISTORY

The ARPA Net, Granddaddy of the Internet -- [Cold Fronts/Jack Sharp]
...At first, AFGWC commander Colonel Danny Mitchell was dubious about Global becoming a node on the Net. His fear was that someday, somewhere, some graduate student would run a program that would clog the network, no matter how fast it was transmitting, but he agreed anyway to put Global on-line. In a real sense, Colonel Mitchell was anticipating the damage that computer hackers would one day wreak with their viruses.
It didn't take long for AFGWC's Development Branch to begin sending preliminary versions of a true global model plus necessary canned test data through the ARPA Net to various universities where they would be run on large scientific computers which would have otherwise sat idle overnight. As envisioned, the ARPA Net made resource sharing a reality on a national scale.
A few years later the DoD began looking for sponsors for their pioneering communication network within the civilian community and eventually found some. The ARPA Net would eventually grow to become the Internet - the Information Super-Highway - and my son Douglass would go to work for Microsoft, participating in the development of the tools necessary to unleash the potential of this complex wiring system that encircled the globe mimicking the human nervous system, the World Wide Web...

The best information available -- [Greyhawk/Mudville]
"Three things are certain concerning the Forecasts for D-Day," writes James R. Fleming: "1) the invasion was postponed on June 5, 1944; 2) the invasion occurred under marginal weather conditions on June 6; and 3) the German meteorologists decided that the weather conditions were too poor to permit an invasion attempt. That is about all that is certain."
Regardless of the forecast, the actual weather was good enough. But success, of course, has no shortage of fathers - more from Fleming...

STRATEGY & TACTICS

Army Gen. Odierno Raises Internet Concerns -- [ExecutiveGov]
Odierno is one of several military leader to voice worries about how online communications could potentially undermine security efforts. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq before becoming commander of U.S. Central Command in October 2008, communicated similar apprehensions during budget hearings on Capitol Hill earlier this year.

Meanwhile, in Marja -- [Starbuck/Wings Over Iraq]
In case you missed it, milblogger CJ Chivers had an article in the New York Times which chronicled many of the difficulties ISAF is facing in the town of Marjah. Among ISAF's woes are perennial issues with the Afghan National Police, including this gem:
"The police also said that establishing connections with residents had been difficult. Part of their problem, they said, was that many sergeants are Tajik, and do not speak Pashto, southern Afghanistan's dominant language..."
As much as I despise PowerPoint (and believe me, I do), I always think back to a presentation made by the late Captain Travis Patriquin which touches upon this very issue...

The Long March -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
As our readers know, LT Wompum is an ANA trainer in Kabul and even though he is currently on hiatus from the blog, ANA training is a topic of particular interest to the authors of AHOD. LT Gorman also has the privilege of working with the ANA on a consistent basis and has his own views on the force he will be sharing in upcoming posts.
Today I wanted to pass along a policy paper that delves into the details of building the Afghan National Army...

More Bullets vs Bigger Bullets -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Obviously, in a modern counter-insurgency fight, pinning the enemy down with a high volume of supressing fire and then anihilating them with airstrikes is problematic. Even before the new restrictions on close-air support and indirect fire, U.S. and British troops were having a very hard time successfully engaging the enemy without leveling half a village in the process. Now that the restrictions are in place, many engagements consist of a brief firefight in which the Taliban fire a few volleys from long-range and then disappear before ISAF troops can close and destroy them. We take a few casualties and the Talibs melt away. So, the thinking goes, re-equip our guys with longer-range weapons so that they can effectively engage the enemy at 300+ meters without having to rely on tactical air or artillery.
All well and good, but the article propogates a particularly annoying falsehood...

POLITICS

Obama talks with Gen. Odierno about Iraq -- [The Oval/USA Today]
White House spokesman Bill Burton provides us with this readout of today's meeting between President Obama and Gen. Ray Odierno, who is moving on from his post as top U.S. commander in Iraq...

HUMOR/SATIRE

-- []

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Updating - Refresh for updates.

AFGHANISTAN

Kabul to meet you -- [Afghani Dan - in Afghanistan]
That would be the flag of the United States Marine Corps high over the multinational camp at Kabul's airport...naturally, among the flags of other nations with contingents here. Yep, that's jes' how we roll. Here's more from my first day in the capital...

A Can of Coke and a Close Recce -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
...As the worker and his partner glanced at them, one of the three men accidentally dropped his blanket from his shoulder to reveal chest rigging and AK magazines...

Campaign Season, 2010 -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Now that it's June, the campaign season for 2010 is fully upon us. Not that the bad guys waited for June, they actually got started a little earlier with a series of high-profile attacks across the country just to remind everyone that they're still here.*
*Not that anyone had really forgotten...

Jalala-Not So Bad and Not So Good -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Security incident rates around Afghanistan are skyrocketing and this year it appears that Jalalabad is, for the first time, going to get its fair share of attention. This unfortunate fact is forcing outside the wire implementers to spend an inordinate amount of time tea drinking and jaw jacking with various local officials and ISAF people in order to get a handle on just how safe we are. My assessment? We're in for a bad summer...

1st Recon to aid in Marjah fight -- [Marine Corps Times/Dan Lamothe - in Afghanistan]
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- The Marine Corps will send elite reconnaissance Marines to the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah to buttress combat operations already underway by two conventional infantry battalions there, a top officer here said.
..."First Recon, before they even left [the U.S.], were training in more of a ground combat-type of role," Osterman told Marine Corps Times...

Flag ceremony marks new command and control structure in southern Afghanistan -- [Defence News (UK)]
Changes to the command and control of ISAF forces in southern Afghanistan that sees the current Regional Command (South) split in two come into force today, Tuesday 1 June 2010.
The changes, which were announced on 21 May, are based on the military advice of ISAF commanders on the ground and reflect a number of significant changes over recent months...

Maybe the CF could stay in Afstan post-2011 after all -- [The Torch]
Looks like some politicos may be getting reasonable; a ball with considerable pressure may end up in grumpy Stephen's court--can he do a 180? From Matthew Fisher of Canwest News...

Afstan: Brits de-wobble, eventual shift to Kandahar still possible? -- [The Torch]
But don't always put that much stock in The Economist's musings: The wars over the war
A new government gets to grips with another foreign-policy priority
...Officials said the Chequers meeting was not a "review" of policy, but only a "seminar" intended to "take stock". Mr Cameron, it is said, told the gathering that his government was not about to change course, and would support America's war. On the same day, the prime minister called the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, for what officials say was a "warm" talk about the "peace jirga" being held in Kabul, and about preparations for military operations in Kandahar...

"Restrepo" - from The Kitchen Dispatch -- [FaST Surgeon (in Afghanistan)]
Most of these men and women start off just out of high-school and get injected into Army "medic school". They are the 2nd most common specialty (68W) in the Army (the most common is 11B - Infantry). Once they're trained up, they're pushed out into some of the most intensely challenging life-and-death scenarios most of us can never imagine. We ask them to be "docs" in the field. Its a heck of a thing to ask of someone so young. They continually strive to learn as much as they can, as fast as they can. They meet the challenge. So once again - Here's to the combat medic. Hooah.

The things they carry in Afghanistan -- [Denver Post/David Fennell - in Afghanistan]
David Fennell of Littleton is a major in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is stationed in Marjah, Afghanistan, as head of the Civil Affairs Group there. Before that, he served a tour in Iraq. His father, Denny, asked David to sum up his experiences as he nears the end of his deployment.
Although I've gotten used to things around here, this place can wear on you. Don't get me wrong, I truly believe in our mission and its importance to both the Afghan people and security back home. Still, southern Afghanistan is a hard place.
The question Marines ask themselves most when talking with folks back home is "Where do I start?" There are no easy answers.
Sand, moon dust, terrain, weather, enemy...

Memorial -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
My Platoon Sergeant and I saunter behind the massive formation of Attack Company soldiers heading towards the Chapel on FOB Ramrod. Heads hang low under a somber overtone. There are no drums to synchronize our steps; we march only to the beats of our heavy hearts. The chapel is a hideous building with tawdry colors and chipped paint. A large gravel patch forms a courtyard outside the chapel's entrance. Around its edges are twelve Strykers, stylistically postured to add a military touch to the scene and create a closed setting in the Kandahar desert...

IRAQ

Memorial Day Weekend -- [Ramblings from a Painter - just back from Iraq]
Now it's the Memorial Day weekend. I observed it a few days ago, on the 25th. That's the anniversary of the date that two of my friends were killed in Fallujah by a roadside bomb. I had never had any friends lose their lives during my career in the Navy, so Memorial Day was a meaningful but not personal event. Now it's personal, and for me it will always be on May 25th...

Catching up with ... Hot Wheels -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
One of the soldiers I'll be thinking of is Corporal Matt Wheeler - known as Hot Wheels in the Kaboom universe - a Gravedigger critically injured in a 2008 fire during our deployment to Iraq. Still at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas, where he's preparing to receive his honorable discharge, Wheels was kind enough to answer some questions for the interwebz.
The last many readers heard from you, was June 2008, after you got hurt. Walk us through your recovery process since then - where have you been, who have you worked with, and how has the experience gone for you?

A Farewell to the Green Zone -- [Anthony Shadid/NY Times/At War]
Perhaps it is inevitable, the way momentous beginnings have small endings.
The destruction of the Salam Palace was big, wrecked by the Americans as they invaded in 2003 and established the Green Zone. With the yet-to-be-rebuilt palace as its backdrop, the ceremony Tuesday to mark the formal American withdrawal from the last checkpoints it helped staff in the zone was a subdued affair...

Drawdown in Iraq: The Lights Are Going Out -- [Eric Rudie/NY Times/At War]
There's an eerie silence settling over our Forward Operating Base. The generators are shutting down one by one, and every night there are fewer lights.
The hundreds of people that made the base a cozy, bustling, American outpost have left, taking their equipment with them, leaving only abandoned buildings. Our unit is the last out, manning the guard towers, defending a quiet shell. In a few days, we'll turn the lights out at our command post, our battalion commander will make a short speech and shake hands with an Iraqi general, and we'll get in our waiting trucks and drive away.
Until that time, we have the place to ourselves. Or we would, if it weren't for the imagined presences that haunt any place that was once alive, but is now deserted and quiet...

Remembering Iraq -- [Henry Brewster/NY Times/At War]
Reports from Baghdad after a coordinated attack by Al Qaeda on May 10 were grim. The bombing was the latest in a series of large-scale attacks by Sunni extremists that began last August after a long and uneasy period of relative peace in the capital. The news of this and the previous attacks held importance for me. For nearly a year, my men and I patrolled areas fewer than ten miles from where Iraqi emergency personnel sifted through the smoldering remains...

DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski, III, 26, of Ocean, N.J. died May 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Amilcar H. Gonzalez, 26, of Miami, Fla., died May 21 in Ash Shura, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Maj. Ronald W. Culver Jr., 44, of Shreveport, La., died May 24 in Numaniyah, Iraq, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Shreveport, La.

DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Alvaro R. Regalado Sessarego, 37, of Virginia Beach, Va., died May 30 at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of injuries sustained April 18 from a non-combat related incident at Dahuk, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

NKorean Official Says War Possible at 'Any Moment' -- [NY Times]
A senior Pyongyang official has warned that the Korean peninsula could see ''all-out war'' as tensions mount from North Korea's believed sinking of a South Korean warship.
North Korea's deputy ambassador in Geneva, Ri Jang Gon, accuses Washington and Seoul of causing the crisis...

U.S. Commander Says Korea War Unlikely But Prepared -- [Reuters/NY Times]
Admiral Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said there were no signs North Korea was preparing a nuclear test or moving troops toward the South, a major U.S. ally.
"Right now we're not seeing indications that North Korea is intending the next provocation," Willard told reporters in Singapore on the sidelines of a major security conference.
"The rhetoric from North Korea is not unusual..."

MILITARY

Canadian general sacked for hanky-panky within the rankys -- [Starbuck/Wings Over Iraq]
A few months ago, military blogger Michael Yon leveled a number of accusations against Canadian Brigadier General Daniel Bernard, the commander of Canadian (and a contingent of American) forces in Southern Afghanistan. Among them were accusations of an improper relationship with a subordinate soldier...

First woman picked to lead carrier air wing -- [Navy Times]
Cmdr. Sara Joyner, who was selected for promotion to captain, is the first women selected to head a Carrier Air Wing, according to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead
Roughead made the announcement Thursday at the 23rd annual Women's Leadership Symposium in Washington.

WELCOME HOME

Announcing my
latest project: -- [The Returned Warrior/Sgt Danger]
Three weeks ago, I left Afghanistan. I signed my DD214, flew home to Utah, walked into my living room, played with my kids, and then slept with my wife. I'm no longer SGT Danger. I'm Drew, Brother Dangerfield, and Daddy. Instead of escorting Afghan truckers or guarding plots of dirt, I've been eating at Del Taco, pulling weeds, visiting my shrink, and planning a family road trip. The transition to the 'real world' - all 22 days of it, so far - has been just fine.
But returning from a combat zone is not like waking up from a dream...

Goodbye Deployment Mode! -- [Semper Fi Wife/SpouseBuzz]
This morning as I was going through emails, my daily blog reads and facebook updates, the doorbell rang. Unexpectedly. And for a moment, my heart raced as I pictured a Marine in dress blues standing there.
Then I remembered. The Dark Prince was upstairs sleeping and NOT in Afghanistan.
I think, just as it takes us a little while to get into the mode, it takes time to get out of it...

Forscom Chief Retires After 40 years -- [Defense News/AFPS]
FORT McPHERSON, Ga. , June 3, 2010 - After 40 years of service dating back to the Vietnam War, Gen. Charles C. "Hondo" Campbell, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, will relinquish his command and retire today during a ceremony here.
Campbell took over the Army's largest command Jan. 9, 2007, becoming Forscom's 17th commander. When he turns over command and steps into retirement, another chapter in the legacy of the Vietnam War comes to a close, because Campbell is the last continuously-serving general officer who saw action in Vietnam to leave active duty.

VETERANS

Veterans' job numbers improve in May -- [Rick Maze/Military Times]
The job market for veterans appears to be improving, with the veterans' unemployment rate falling to 7.8 percent in May, down from 9.1 percent in April.
Younger veterans -- those discharged since 2001 -- continue to have a higher unemployment rate that the national average...

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

I Hate to Love Blogging (and Love to Hate it) (and such) -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
...I mean, Christ, I owe my entire writing career (whatever that means) to blogging and the benefits of reaching a mass audience instantaneously. Write quick, descriptive pieces, then move on to the next one when something happens worth telling. And that style worked for Kaboom, even in book form, because war is nothing else but a collection of insane episodes that shouldn't - and don't - fit together. Don't trust a combat memoir that flows too smoothly - fa rizzle.
But as I've taken up the keyboard again...

Change Step, March! -- [Red Bull Rising]
It's been a few years since Sherpa had to concern himself with spit-and-polish problems such as calling the cadence, drill and ceremony, and marching up and down the square. Still, in shifting my battle-blogging rhythm in preparation for field duty, I was reminded of a little trick from Army Field Manual 22-5 (now renamed FM 3-21.5).
The trick is the change-step...

LT Wompum Will No Longer Be Blogging -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
The title says it all. Rest assured he is fine and well and still serving in Afghanistan but unfortunately he has been told to stop blogging...

Meet LT Gorman -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
In an effort to replace LT Wompum who was forced to take a hiatus, we have recruited another Army infantry officer currently serving in Afghanistan to take his place...

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

Film Review: Restrepo -- [The Kitchen Dispatch]
The movie ended, but I couldn't move. Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington had just taken the mantle from Ken Burns as documentary makers extraordinaire with Restrepo. This war documentary is a gripping chronicle of the lives of a platoon through some of the heaviest fighting in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.
"You can't tame the beast," shouts the late PFC Juan Restrepo, the late Army medic for the 2/503 Battle Company, 173rd Airborne. He says this with the bravado one would expect of a twenty year old, early on in the filming. It's the beast within, which binds this platoon as they set to deploy to place described by CPT Dan Kearney as "where the road ends and the Taliban begins."...

Review: Restrepo -- [Red Bull Rising]
Our unit's public affairs officer wanted a couple of Joes' reactions to the film, to see whether they thought it a potentially useful pre-deployment learning tool for our Red Bull soldiers. We've got a good mix of experiences and specialties in the TOC, he knew, and certainly no shortage of opinions.
About 90 minutes later, even the combat veterans among us called the film "eye-opening."

STRATEGY & TACTICS

Trending Positive -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
A couple of commenters on the post "Trending Positive" deserve answers. I'm going to take them in logical instead of chronological order. So the first question is, "Is this (COIN) what we our troops should be doing?".
Yes. The why of it requires an answer that spans a number of subjects ranging from the purpose of having armed forces to the dangers of foreign national/regional instability in the era of globalization. We have, in part, created this very situation with our own might. By that I don't mean that our various "nefarious plots" are coming home to roost. I mean that we are too strong for others to take on toe-to-toe with any reasonable assurance of possible success.
Insurgents are not insurgents because they always aspired to be insurgents. They are insurgents out of weakness in the face of vastly superior physical strength...

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

CF-18 Hornet replacement update: Can Canada afford the F-35? (Can anyone?) -- [The Torch]
...Neither of those estimates seems to include in-service costs. But at $133 million--without those costs--65 for our Air Force would be some $8.7 billion (then there's the future exchange rate). That's already awfully close to our $9 billion which includes in-service costs.
Meanwhile others interested in the F-35 are having price problems...

CLIMATE AND SECURITY

Virginia will not let military use HOV lanes -- [AP/Military Times]
Virginia has lost its bid to exempt uniformed active-duty military members from high-occupancy vehicle lane restrictions in Hampton Roads.
The Federal Highway Administration rejected the state's request to allow military members traveling to and from a base or other facility to drive alone in HOV lanes.
The federal agency said specific criteria must be met before a vehicle transporting only a driver is allowed to travel in the HOV lanes.
Legislation passed earlier this year by the General Assembly had sought the exemption.

The Gulf War:

Send military to fight oil spill, Florida senator urges Obama -- [CNN]
Last week, Nelson told CNN that if the "top kill" operation to stem the oil leak did not work, the president must not only take more control, but use the military to do so. In the letter, Nelson urges the president to enlist the military to "augment the massive public and private response to the growing oil spill in the Gulf."
"While the Coast Guard, under the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Guard both are involved, it is my belief that the broader assets and command and control capability of the Department of Defense could better translate your directives into prompt, effective action," Nelson wrote...

Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico: Military Supports Federal Oil Spill Response -- [Special section/defense.gov]

POLITICS

Sen. candidate misstated Navy record -- [AP/Military Times]
CHICAGO -- Senate candidate Mark Kirk apologized Thursday for making inaccurate statements about his service in the Navy Reserves, while acknowledging more discrepancies.
"I apologize to everyone for these errors," the Illinois Republican said. "They were my responsibility entirely and I will fix them."
The five-time U.S. representative, who is competing with Democrat Alexi Giannoulias for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, also acknowledged new incidents where public statements didn't match reality about his service.
Kirk said a letter sent by his congressional district office last year described him as a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, the first Persian Gulf war, but he did not participate in that operation.

Calif. congressman corrects info on Army stint -- [AP/Military Times]
The staff of Republican Rep. Gary Miller of California has taken steps to correct biographical information that misstated his military service.
Miller went through Army boot camp in 1967 and then was honorably discharged for health reasons in his seventh week of service because he had ulcers as a child, according to an Army document provided by Miller's office.
However, several publications over the years have reported that Miller served in the Army in 1967-68, the peak of the Vietnam War. The official House website contains the correct information, and Miller's own congressional website doesn't mention his Army stint.
The error in Miller's biography was first reported this week by Harper's Magazine...

MILITARY HISTORY

"Newspaper correspondents with an army, as a rule, are mischievous. They are the world's gossips, pick up and retail the camp scandal, and gradually drift to the headquarters of some general, who finds it easier to make reputation at home than with his own corps or division. They are also tempted to prophesy events and state facts which, to an enemy, reveal a purpose in time to guard against it. Moreover, they are always bound to see facts colored by the partisan or political character of their own patrons, and thus bring army officers into the political controversies of the day, which are always mischievous and wrong. Yet, so greedy are the people at large for war news, that it is doubtful whether any army commander can exclude all reporters, without bringing down on himself a clamor that may imperil his own safety. Time and moderation must bring a just solution to this modern difficulty."

- General William T Sherman, Memoirs

HUMOR/SATIRE

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Updating - Refresh for updates.

Round up!
U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua Morris shoots a mortar round from a 120 mm mortar tube during a training and certification test at a combat outpost in Afghanistan on May 18, 2010. DoD photo by Sgt. Derec Pierson, U.S. Army. (Look closely at center of cloud... click for high-res)

AFGHANISTAN

What's in a Name? Marines of 1/3 in Nawa Honor Fallen BrothersLance Cpl. Jeffrey P. Grivois, a fire team leader with 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, wears a metal bracelet to honor his friend, Lance Cpl. Noah M. Pier, who was killed in action in January and has a road in Nawa named in his honor. Grivois is currently serving at Patrol Base Meinert, named for another fallen Marine from Bravo Company, and both Meinert and Pier's photos are displayed at the post's entrance. Grivois, 21, is from Ocala, Fla. Photo by Sgt. Brian Tuthill. Associated News: What's in a Name? Marines of 1/3 in Nawa Honor Fallen Brothers

Trending Positive -- [Old Blue/Afghan Quest]
...I have been back in Afghanistan for about ten months now, and my perceptions have run the gamut during that time. There have been times that I have been so frustrated that I could spit. I have seen things from time to time that have just flat disgusted me. That being said, the overall trend is very positive.
I know that there are those who decry the changes in the Rules of Engagement that are nearly a year old now. Michael Yon has recently begun spreading what I can only describe as a meme about Soldiers patrolling around some corner of Afghanistan and being prevented by their command from chambering a round in their weapons. This is not and has never been the intent of COMISAF. If this is indeed true, which I have never seen or heard any evidence of, concealing the identity of the commander who has generated this type of directive is in itself a dangerous and irresponsible act. Personally, you would have to prove to me that anyone is actually doing that.
What I do see is more and more Soldiers and Marines doing their level best to apply creative solutions to complex tactical situations, both kinetic and non-kinetic...

Recycled: The Nerve Center of War -- [LT Wompum/A Handful of Dust - in Afghanistan]
The junior people in the room actually went through the buffet first so as to have eaten prior to the VIPs arriving... Once everyone had arrived and the briefing began, one of the Senators quickly stopped it. He first wanted everyone in the room to introduce themselves and their position.
After the generals and colonels from the US, Canada, Poland, Italy and Britain around the main table explained who they were and what they did, the people in the outer ring of chairs began to do the same. I didn't think that they would expect a lowly 2LT to say anything but when the colonel next to me introduced himself and looked to me next I followed suit.
"I'm 2LT Wompum and soon to be Platoon Leader."
The certain Senator from Rhode Island with a military background laughingly asked; "Second Lieutenant? What are you doing here?"

A junior officer's experience on the front line post Op Moshtarak -- [Helmand Blog - in Afghanistan]
"There is far less fighting around Group-e Shash than there was during Op Moshtarak. However, in the last few weeks we've had a number of shoots onto the sangers in the patrol base, which has helped keep the guys focused that it could very quickly turn kinetic," said Lieutenant Landon...

TF No Mercy Assists Villagers and Coalition -- [Spc. Tracy Weeden/101st Combat Aviation Brigade]
Task Force No Mercy provided air support to Australian coalition partners in the detainment of four suspected insurgents, including one high-level insurgent leader, in Gizab, May 1.
The coalition also recovered weapons and a large amount, 100,000 Pakistan rupees ($5,000), along with the detainment of the suspected insurgent leader, said Capt. Tammy Price, TF No Mercy security officer.
The villagers in Gizab captured the insurgents and then called on the coalition forces for assistance, said Price. They did not want the repercussions of detaining the insurgents and requested help from the coalition...

U.S. puts hopes in bedraggled Afghan police -- [David Zucchino/Los Angeles Times]
"The force-protection posture is not really all that great," Sgt. 1st Class Arnaldo Colon, a U.S. Army military policeman, said as he arrived Wednesday morning for an inspection. He gestured toward dilapidated concrete barriers, a few sad strands of concertina wire and a yelping guard dog tied to a tree...
When his company arrived in July as the only U.S. unit stationed in downtown Kandahar, Colon said, the police "didn't have a clue." They were incapable of patrolling on their own.
"Now, they're better prepared and know the minimum standards for patrol and security," Colon said as he led a foot patrol of seven U.S. MPs and six Afghan officers through busy streets filled with vendors hawking vegetables and shopkeepers selling sodas and snacks...

Afghan Soldier Embodies Warrior Spirit -- [Pfc. Christopher McKenna/3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division]
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan - Embodying the warrior spirit, an Afghan National Army Soldier showed the lengths some men will go to put duty before self May 20.
In Zormat, Paktya Province, Afghanistan, Said Ajan Abrahim's 203rd ANA Corps element came under heavy fire from insurgents at an ANA checkpoint.
In the ensuing combat, Abrahim's leg was nearly severed. Being an ANA medic and having the overwhelming urge to remain in the fight, Abrahim placed a tourniquet on his own leg and severed the remaining attachment with a medical knife...

Sgt. Maj. Robert J. Cottle, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, pays tribute to one of his fallen Marines on March 8, 2010 at South Station, Helmand province, Afghanistan. A little more than two weeks later, Cottle, a seven-year active-duty veteran and high-ranking SWAT officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, was struck by a roadside bomb killing him and 19 year old Marine Lance Cpl. Rick Centanni. (Photo by Marine Corps 1st Lt. Joshua Diddams)

Pakistani Taleban leader may have been killed by Afghan forces -- [Time (UK) Online]
A senior Afghan police officer said that Mullah Fazlullah was killed on Wednesday with six of his commanders in a clash with troops in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan, when about 300 militants led by Fazlullah tried to capture Barg-e-Matal district near the Pakistani border.

Afstan: A first last spike -- [The Torch]
This should also help ISAF supplies somewhat: HAIRATAN, AFGHANISTAN - Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda today inaugurated a 75-kilometer stretch of railway line that connects the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif to the country's bustling northern border with Uzbekistan.
"The new rail link between Mazar-e-Sharif and Hairatan will help reduce trade bottlenecks, boost commerce, and speed the flow of much-needed humanitarian assistance," Mr. Kuroda said at the opening ceremony in Hairatan...

The WolfPack Grows -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
This is 'Lucky'. He is another of our 'rescues' and still only a pup, but is growing every day... Kandy and Junior have obviously been instructing Lucky. He just snarled at an LN and chased him across part of the compound...

IRAQ

The boots, rifle, helmet, and identification tags representing a fallen Airmen stand at the head of the memorial prior to the Security Forces Memorial Ceremony at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, May 15. The ceremony was the final event of police week at JBB and was in honor of those Tuskegee Airmen security forces who have given their life in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by Master Sgt. Linda Miller

Soldiers take flight to support Iraqi Army -- [Pvt. Zachary Zuber/3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division PAO]
DIYALA, Iraq -- Shortly after sunrise, the typically peaceful farms of the Udaim River Valley were bustling with activity for three hours, March 25. While an Air Weapons Team of two Kiowa helicopters circled overhead for security, nearly 100 Soldiers rushed out of Chinooks, then divided into three elements to search over 30 structures throughout the small community outside Udaim...
"We spent a month collecting the information from our sources to get warrants for terror suspects," said Capt. Ahmed Mustafa Al Ali, the operations officer for 2/19th IA. "The final planning and rehearsals have gone on for the last three days to prepare."
Although they did not apprehend the individuals they were after, they still had the opportunity to interact with community members and show their strong focus on a safe village for local citizens.

British Iraq war probe quizzes Bremer, Crocker on US trip -- [AFP]
Members of the five-strong panel, which is investigating the March 2003 invasion and subsequent operations until Britain's pull-out last year, also met with the current French and Australian ambassadors in Washington.
The inquiry said the May 17-21 trip, which also included Boston, was intended to "receive a wider international perspective on the UK's involvement in Iraq".
But it added: "As the meetings were not formal evidence sessions, records of the conversations are not being published."

Iraq war badly planned, poorly resourced: Bremer -- [Reuters]
Planning for the 2003 invasion of Iraq was inadequate and not enough troops were sent to ensure post-conflict security, the former U.S. diplomat who led the civilian occupation authority after the war has told a British inquiry.

An OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter from Task Force Saber, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, pulls away after destroying its target with a rocket during an air-to-ground integration training exercise with the Iraqi Army outside of Camp Al Asad May 21. Photo by Spc. Roland Hale. (Associated News: Fire for Effect: U.S., Iraqi Army Train in Air-to-ground Integration)

KOREAN CONFLICT

Seoul protesters demand revenge for North Korean torpedo attack -- [Times (UK) Online]
Thousands of people marched through Seoul yesterday to demand revenge on the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, for the sinking of a South Korean ship, while the country's navy conducted exercises that focused on finding North Korean submarines.
The media in Seoul reported that the South Korean-US joint military command raised its degree of alert to the second highest level...

North Korea Scraps Military Safeguards with South -- [Voice of America]
The general staff of the North Korean People's Army issued a notice Thursday dismantling a wide range of security guarantees it has observed for years.
Pyongyang says it will completely nullify a bilateral agreement with the South that was put in place to prevent clashes...

Britain Deplores North Korea Action; Supports South Korea Response -- [Voice of America]
British Foreign Secretary William Hague says there is no doubt North Korea was responsible for the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel in March that killed 46 sailors. He also lent full support to South Korea's response to the crisis.
Speaking to foreign journalists in London, Foreign Secretary William Hague called North Korea's action "deplorable."

Young South Koreans worry about rising tensions with North Korea -- [The Washington Post]
"If this crisis continues for much longer, it will hurt my chances of getting a job," said Yoo Youn-seong, 24, a senior at Chung-Ang University...
Three years ago, in a poll conducted before a presidential vote, only 3 percent of voters named North Korea as a primary concern. They were more concerned about economic growth and higher salaries. The young, many polls found, were particularly indifferent to North Korea and the fulminations of its odd dictator...
The Cheonan incident appears to have significantly altered that view...

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Sailors and Marines on board the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima pass by the Statue of Liberty en route to Fleet Week New York 2010. Approximately 3,000 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are participating in the 23rd Fleet Week New York, which will take place May 26 through June 2. Fleet Week has been New York City's celebration of the sea services since 1984. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class John Stratton

NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY -- [President Barack Obama/White House]
We live in a time of sweeping change... globalization has also intensified the dangers we face - from international terrorism and the spread of deadly technologies, to economic upheaval and a changing climate...

Barack Obama highlights threat posed by homegrown terrorism -- [Times (UK) Online]
America's "war on terror" was formally laid to rest yesterday as President Obama laid out his first national security strategy -- a sweeping repudiation of the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive military strikes.
The "Obama doctrine" lays out an agenda of global engagement but also highlights the threats of home-grown terror...

New U.S. Strategy Focuses on Managing Threats -- [NY Times]
President Obama's first formal national security strategy describes a coming era in which the United States will have to learn to live within its limits -- a world in which two wars cannot be sustained for much longer and the rising powers inevitably begin to erode some elements of American influence around the globe...

Obama redefines national security strategy, looks beyond military might -- [Washington Post]
The strategy cites four "enduring national interests" that are "inextricably linked:" security, prosperity, values and international order.

Sailors and Marines salute Ground Zero as the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima passes by en route to Fleet Week New York 2010. (US Navy photo, click for high res)

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Terror link alleged as Saudi millions flow into Afghanistan war zone -- [Times (UK) Online]
Millions of dollars of Saudi Arabian money have flowed into Afghanistan over the past four years, the country's intelligence officials say, with the sponsorship of terrorism its most likely use.
According to members of the Afghan financial intelligence unit, FinTraca, the funds, totalling more than £920 million, enter from Pakistan, where they are converted into rupees or dollars, the favoured currency for terrorist operations.
"We can trace it back as far as an entry point in Waziristan," said Mohammed Mustafa Massoudi, the director-general of FinTraca in Kabul. "Why would anyone want to put such money into Waziristan? Only one reason -- terrorism."
The revelations illuminate the difficulties in dividing the Taleban from al-Qaeda influence and the continuing involvement of Saudi donors in sponsoring the insurgency.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

President Obama will skip Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery -- [Washington Post]
Paul Rieckhoff, the founder and executive director of the group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, expressed disappointment at the White House move. "Arlington is hallowed ground, and the center of our nation's attention on Memorial Day," Rieckhoff said. "Unfortunately, President Obama and his family will not be there with us."

MILITARY

Etched in eternity: USASOC unveils new memorial wall -- [ Gregory Phillips /Fayetteville Observer]
When the black curtain was pulled back Thursday afternoon to unveil a new wall honoring slain special operations soldiers, some relatives touched the names of their loved ones.
Some placed red roses at the foot of the wall. Some had their photographs taken next to the names.
Others just stood and wept...
The new granite wall is reminiscent of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It bears the names of 1,078 special operations soldiers killed in conflicts since the Korean War. There's space enough for another 20 years of casualties based on current rates, according to the command.

Lisandra Metzger is comforted by a soldier as he points out the name of her son, Sgt. 1st Class David Metzger, on the USASOC memorial Thursday on Fort Bragg. David Metzger died in October while deployed to Afghanistan. (Fayetteville Observer photo by Emma Tannenbaum)

WELCOME HOME

'Iron Horse' troops back from Afghanistan -- [North County Times]
The "Iron Horse Marines" that make up Camp Pendleton's 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion are almost all home from a seven-month assignment in Afghanistan.
The second wave of more than 1,000 Marines and sailors from the reserve battalion arrived at Camp Pendleton late Thursday morning after conducting combat operations in the southern region of Afghanistan's Helmand province.
An initial wave arrived home late Wednesday, and a third wave is due Friday...
Among the activated troops was Sgt. Maj. Robert Cottle, a member of the Los Angeles Police Department's SWAT team, who was killed March 24 by a roadside bomb.
Cottle was one of five battalion members killed during the deployment...
Also killed during the deployment were Sgt. David J. Smith and Lance Cpls. Rick Centanni, Carlos Aragon and Jeremy Kane.

VETERANS

John Finn, oldest WWII MoH recipient, dies -- [From my position... on the way!]
Retired Navy Lt. John Finn, the oldest Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, has died at his Southern California home. He was 100.
Navy Lt. Aaron Kakiel says Finn died early Thursday on his ranch near Live Oak Springs, where he lived for more than 50 years.
Finn earned the nation's highest military valor award for his heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He received the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, 1942, from then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Born July 23, 1909, in Los Angeles, Finn was the oldest of the 97 Medal of Honor recipients still living...

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

The Michael Yon Rumor Mill -- [Cassandra (USMC spouse)/Villainous Company]
What standard should we apply to Mr. Yon's reporting? He has repeatedly stated that he's not a blogger. OK, I'll buy off on that. According to Colonel Steve Boylan, who had the temerity to object when Yon published information on American KIA before their families had been notified (a practice that normally brings the wrath of the entire Milblogging community down on a journalist's head) and who left a comment on my last Yon post, Yon says he's not a journalist, either. Just one who makes his living reporting...
If Yon isn't a blogger and isn't a journalist, what is he? By what standard do we evaluate his work? Or do we just throw away the rule book because after all, he's Michael Yon? That doesn't seem right to me...

Here is the latest... -- [Mike Yon]
This blog is emotionally written... It's riddled with errors. It also makes serious and erroneous accusations against my ethics on reporting soldiers killed in action before family members are notified. This is an outright lie, and I'm calling the author on it to provide proof...
Now, I know Colonel Steve Boylan, and he was the Public Affairs Officer for General David Petraeus. I will email to Colonel Boylan now asking him to comment.

Lone Gun in War Reporting -- [James Rainey/Los Angeles Times]
When the blogger left Iraq for a break and then tried to return in September, the Army said no. Lt. Col. Steven Boylan wrote to Yon, telling him he had violated his embed agreement, which requires withholding photos of dead and injured soldiers until their family members had been notified.

Comment -- [Col Steve Boylan /Villainous Company]
...As for bloggers and citizen journalists, we in the military are still working on how to deal with the various issues of this still new medium. With the traditional media, we get to have a reasonable path to figure out and correct errors in fact, violations of ground rules, etc. The traditional media have a system in place that we can use to discuss issues with the editors and so forth until a resolution is found. This is not the case with most bloggers/citizen journalists.
Many are one-person shops and if they don't like the answers, the rules, etc then they ignore them. There is no recourse for the military to try to correct an issue if they choose not do listen. Usually our only recourse is to deny access due to lack of faith and confidence that they will provide an accurate representation of the facts.

THE MEDIA/CULTURE

Should We Be in Afghanistan? -- [Sebastian Junger]
I'm on book tour, and even though War is not a political work, people are asking me very political questions about it. Should we be in Afghanistan? Should we pull out? What about civilian casualties? Is there any such thing as a "good" war, or are all wars by definition evil? There are no easy answers -- I wish there were -- and coming to any useful conclusion requires a person to let go of any political freight they may be carrying...
I first went to Afghanistan in 1996. I was on assignment to investigate jihadist training camps in the Tora Bora mountains south of Jalalabad. Weeks after I left, Taliban forces swept through most of the country and established a repressive regime that waged war for the next five years against an alliance of warlords in the north. As always, it was the civilian population that suffered...

Should We Be in Afghanistan? -- [Kanani/The Kitchen Dispatch]
...Sure, I'm an Army wife now, but for 23 years I was just a regular civilian wife with absolutely no ties to the military, and any engagement with world events was entirely selective.
I think that's how most Americans live. We can turn off the tragedies, violence, inequities, murder and suffering at our choosing...

STRATEGY & TACTICS

COIN Spring Symposium, Interim Report -- [USA and USMC Counterinsurgency Center Blog]
The US Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Center hosted its 2010 Counterinsurgency (COIN) Symposium with special emphasis on COIN in Afghanistan from May 11-13, 2010. Twelve featured speakers and 120-plus attendees discussed COIN theory and best practices coming from the field in Afghanistan. The purpose was to identify common themes for inclusion in pre-deployment training and professional military and interagency education curricula.
This report contains the common themes immediately below and more detailed summaries of each speaker's presentation farther down.

COIN Symposium Recap -- [Armchair Generalist]
If you've been unaware of the US Army's COIN Symposium at Fort Leavenworth, but want to know what all the hubbub was about, you need to check out the recaps at Travels with Shiloh. Here's a summary of the recaps. [Via]

Allright...one more COIN post. -- [Travels with Shiloh]
Here's a scene from The Men Who Stare at Goats. I've had this suspicion that this is what a lot of critics think of when they hear COIN...

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Supporting Human Studies Of Novel Treatments For Battlefield Injuries And Scars -- [Medical News Today]
A two-year, $12 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Technology Transition (OTT) will jumpstart human trials of three innovative research programs that aim to replace scars and defects with healthy, functional tissues, announced officials of the University of Pittsburgh and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine today at the Institute's Second Annual Open Session, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, Oakland.
The OTT mission emphasizes the rapid translation of preclinical research into human studies...

CLIMATE AND SECURITY

Natural Security in the NSS: By the Numbers -- [Natural Security]
A little pop analysis. Here are the number of mentions of our major natural security topics in the just-released National Security Strategy:
Energy: 49
Climate Change: 28
Food: 9...
That's right, folks. The new NSS mentions "energy" more than "engagement" or "military." And "climate change" appears more than "intelligence."

POLITICS

House Votes to Permit 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal -- [NY Times]
"On Memorial Day, America will come together and honor all who served our nation in uniform," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a floor speech, noting the symbolic timing of the debate. "I urge my colleagues to vote for the repeal of this discriminatory policy of 'don't ask, don't tell' and make America more American."

Gates Addresses Troops on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal -- [defense.gov]
[Secretary] Gates recorded a special message that will be broadcast on the American Forces Radio and Television Service and the Pentagon Channel to speak directly to servicemembers and their families about the moves toward repeal of the law that bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

House passes defense policy bill -- [Politico]
The House on Friday passed its version of the defense policy bill for fiscal 2011, drawing a new veto threat from President Barack Obama, even though the legislation includes language that would allow the Pentagon to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
The bill, which passed by a vote of 229 to 186, also includes language authorizing funding for a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Earlier this week, Obama, through the Office of Management and Budget, said if funding for the second engine was included in the final version of the bill, his senior advisers would recommend a veto, endorsing a warning from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Obama Backs Gates in Budget Debate -- [defense.gov]
President Barack Obama today promised to veto any legislation that includes funding for an alternate engine for the F-35 joint strike fighter or more C-17 cargo jets, expressing his "strong support" for Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' budget-reform effort.
"As the Congress continues its work on funding bills for the Department of Defense, I want to reiterate my strong support for the reforms Secretary Gates is advancing at the Pentagon," Obama said in a written statement the White House released today. "He has kept me fully apprised of his efforts to reform how our military operates and bring needed efficiencies to the Department of Defense."
Obama said he stands "squarely behind" Gates' position on the second F-35 engine and the C-17 program.
"As the statement of administration policy made clear," the president said in his statement, "our military does not want or need these programs being pushed by the Congress, and should Congress ignore this fact, I will veto any such legislation so that it can be returned to me without those provisions."

MILITARY HISTORY

Memorial Day History -- [usmemorialday.org]
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War... While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day... It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery...

Memorial Day History -- [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs]
It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays...
Gen. Logan's order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 "with the choicest flowers of springtime" urged: "We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic."

HUMOR/SATIRE

Stuff COIN People Like: Abu Muqawama -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust in Afghanistan]
As a new occasional feature here on AHOD, today we introduce 'Stuff COIN People Like'. It is our hope that, like these fellows, we too can nab a six-figure book contract when this goes viral and takes the COIN world by storm.
First up on our list of Stuff COIN People Like is Abu Muqawama...

Blog Drama -- [Starbuck/Wings Over Iraq]
I'm never one to be one-upped, so I'm hereby starting blog drama with Great Satan's Girlfriend. She'll probably mark the beginning of our "fight" with a picture of chicks pillow fighting, so you can't lose.

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Updating - Refresh for updates.

AFGHANISTAN

Car bomb strikes outside Kandahar NATO base‎ -- [Reuters UK]
A powerful car bomb exploded outside a NATO base in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar city Wednesday, destroying scores of...

Kilo Company Squads Engage Insurgents After Ambush -- [Battle Rattle - Military Times]
COMBAT OUTPOST REILLY, Afghanistan - Last night, I went on my last foot patrol of this embed assignment.
It was eventful, to say the least.
Military Times photographer Tom Brown and I pushed north from this outpost east of Marjah with Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. Two groups - 3rd Platoon's 2nd and 3rd Squads - left on routine security patrols within a half-hour of each other. Tom and I joined 3/3, the second group - 13 Marines, a Navy corpsman and four Afghan National Army soldiers - as they stepped off at about 4:30.

In Afghanistan, U.S. Military Was Warned Of Recent Kabul Suicide Attacks -- [Big Government]
On Tuesday, May 18, in busy rush hour traffic, a suicide bomber drove his Toyota minivan, packed with 1650 lbs. of explosives, alongside a NATO convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan and detonated. Eighteen people were killed, including five American soldiers and one Canadian. Forty-seven others were wounded.

Marjah's 'Government in a Box' Flops as McChrystal Fumes -- [Danger Room]
The plan was to overwhelm the Taliban stronghhold with coalition forces -- and then instantly install a new civilian infrastructure in the town of Marjah. "We've got a government in a box, ready to roll in," said top commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
The reality has been different. A new governor has been installed. Construction projects have begun. "By day there is government," one tribal leader tells McClatchy's Don Nissenbaum. "By night it's the Taliban."

Is US Army Outgunned in Afghanistan? -- [FOXNews]
Despite the ages-old rifles in Taliban hands, reports suggest our soldiers may be outgunned in Afghanistan's hills.

Red Cross gives first aid lessons to Taliban -- [Guardian]
The Red Cross in Afghanistan has been teaching the Taliban basic first aid and giving insurgents medical equipment so that fighters wounded during battles with Nato and Afghan government forces can be treated in the field, it was revealed today.
More than 70 members of the "armed opposition" received training in April, the Red Cross said - a move likely to anger the government of Hamid Karzai, which is losing large numbers of police and soldiers in insurgent attacks.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had introduced the classes because pitched battles, landmines and roadblocks stopped people in the most volatile areas from getting to hospital.

Red Cross defends first aid courses for Taliban -- [Miami Herald/AP]
The international Red Cross has defended its first aid training for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan after media reports sparked criticism from Afghan officials.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says it trained "over 70 members of the armed opposition" in first aid last month.
The group says it also provided first aid kits to fighters and civilians living in conflict areas.

On the road to Gereskh -- [Frontline bloggers - in Afghanistan]
Captain Grant Winkles of 204 Signal Squadron is working as an advisor to the Afghan National Army at the ANA 3/215 Brigade headquarters in Shorabak.

Soldiers 'demoralised' when suspects go free‎ -- [The Herald]
Speaking to The Herald during a large-scale training exercise on Salisbury Plain, he said it was demoralising to have to set free captured individuals ...

US to command UK's Helmand force -- [Financial Times]
Britain's 8,500 troops in Helmand province will go under the direct control of a US Marine Corps general next month as Nato restructures its military operations in southern Afghanistan.
Following Washington's decision to pour an extra 20,000 troops into the south this year, the Ministry of Defence announced on Friday that all Nato forces in Helmand would come under the overall command of Maj Gen Richard Mills of the US Marine Corps.

Camp Life, Kabul -- [AfghaniDan, Part II - in Afghanistan]
Today was my first Friday back in A-stan, which here at Camp Eggers means a light day if work permits...a day to do some laundry, spend a chunk of time reading with some coffee, sleep late and re-charge the batteries (not that my newly-arrived butt needs re-charging!). I still took advantage of that particular privilege though. For one thing, no amount of military service has converted me from a night owl to a morning person, and for another, the two all-nighters spent traveling earlier this week still left me bleary and far from 'caught up.' I don't take my time easing into a job or location; I do everything possible to hit the ground running, and some of my new crew here were happy to oblige.

A day in the life: Transient. -- [AfghaniDan, Part II - in Afghanistan]
A word on transit within the Area of Operations...a primer, if you will, for those that have never had the pleasure. Let's say for purely hypothetical sake that you needed to fly from a notional desert airfield in the Gulf, serving as a major air transit hub, to another major transit hub located in a notional war-torn central Asian nation's capital region. Your initial feeling is a hopeful one...the reception cell has picked you up at the international airport, found you some temporary billeting, and signed you up at the 'terminal' for Space-R (reserved) travel on the next manifest. Imagine then that a couple of days creep by...

Troops in Afghanistan Now Outnumber Those in Iraq -- [At War - NY Times]
For more than a year it has been called "Obama's War,'' but on Tuesday the numbers made it official: For the first time since the United States led the invasion of Baghdad during the Bush administration in 2003, there were more American troops deployed to Afghanistan than Iraq -- 94,000 compared with 92,000.

IRAQ

Iraqi election results closer to being certified -- [AP]
‎BAGHDAD -- Iraq's election commission says it's sending the final results of the March 7 elections to the Supreme Court for certification.

Pentagon tries to steer media coverage on Iraq -- [Washington Post]
The Pentagon may be sharply reducing its combat forces in Iraq, but the military plans to step up efforts to influence media coverage in that country -- as well as here at home.
"It is essential to the success of the new Iraqi government and the USF-I [U.S. Forces-Iraq] mission that both communicate effectively with our strategic audiences (i.e. Iraqi, pan-Arabic, international, and U.S. and USF-I audiences) to gain widespread acceptance of core themes and messages," according to the pre-solicitation notice for a civilian contractor or contractors to provide "strategic communication management services" there.
Calling strategic communications "a vital component of operations in Iraq," the notice says...

IRAQ: Baghdad mosque breaks with Islamic tradition to display religious paintings -- [Babylon & Beyond - LA Times]
The Zulfiqar Mosque's minaret rises over Sadr City, curving at the top into the shape of the double-tipped sword from which it takes its name, the sword of Imam Ali.
But its unusual minaret is not all that distinguishes the mosque in this Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad. Inside, worshipers gaze up at something that was illegal under Saddam Hussein's rule and even now could put the mosque at risk: paintings.

'CIA planned to depict Saddam gay before 2003 Iraq invasion' -- [Expressindia.com]
Washington The CIA devised a campaign to discredit Saddam Hussein, by depicting him as gay, during the planning for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, ...

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Obama to Send Up to 1,200 Troops to Border -- [NY Times]
President Obama will send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border and seek increased spending on law enforcement there to combat drug smuggling after demands from Republican and Democratic lawmakers that border security be tightened.
The decision was disclosed by a Democratic lawmaker and confirmed by administration officials after Mr. Obama met on Tuesday with Republican senators, several of whom have demanded that troops be placed at the border. The lawmakers learned of the plan after the meeting.

US orders escalation in secret operations in Middle East -- [Telegraph]
The United States has ordered a major escalation of clandestine military operations in Iran and other parts of the Middle East, according to a secret directive.

Losing the Media War in Pakistan (VIDEO) -- [NY Times]
The Pakistani media boom is propelling anti-American conspiracy theories, with the Times Square bomb as the latest example. The United States is doing virtually nothing to counter the trend.

Clinton Says World Must Respond to Sinking of S. Korean Warship -- [Voice of America]
The attack has been blamed on North Korea and the US Secretary of State is calling for a 'strong but measured response'

Marines on Okinawa: Staying for Now? -- [USNI Blog]
From the Associated Press a few minutes ago:
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has backtracked on his campaign promise to close the U.S. Marine base in Okinawa.
Hatoyama had pledged to close the base but now says he's decided to keep Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on the strategically important island, which is close to Taiwan and the Chinese mainland and not far from the Korean peninsula.

Korean Defense Ministry Hints at Reviving Team Spirit Exercise -- [ROK Drop]
Could U.S. troops see the return of Team Spirit?
The military is reportedly considering reviving large-scale South Korea-U.S. joint military drills, including "Team Spirit" exercises.

South Korea Decides to Restart Radio Broadcasts & Send Propaganda Balloons Across the DMZ -- [ROK Drop]
The South Korean government has announced their response to the sinking of the ROK naval vessel by the North Koreans and fortunately many of the punitive actions being taken by the ROK matches the recommendations I offered. To echo One Free Korea, what I was really glad to see is that the South Korean government has decided to fight the information war against the North Koreans by supporting the balloon launches:

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

White House Official Says US Actively Seeking American-Born Terrorist -- [Voice of America]
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the US government is actively pursuing American-born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki. White House Press Secretary Robert

Radical Cleric Freewheeling in Jamaica -- [Counterterrism Blog]
Faisal Shahzad, the man accused of placing a car bomb in Times Square on May 1, reportedly claimed to authorities that he was inspired by Jamaican cleric Abdullah al-Faisal and the American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
Anwar al-Awlaki's ability to circulate messages has been significantly diminished in the wake of revelations of his connections to the Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan and the would-be Christmas Day airline bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. However, Abdullah al-Faisal's ability to communicate remains relatively unhindered.
Despite serving a prison sentence in the U.K. for inciting violence, having been recognized as a spiritual mentor to 7/7 bomber Germaine Lindsay and to American James Ujaama, who attempted to establish a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon, and getting bounced out of Kenya in January 2010 due to concern over his detrimental influence in the Muslim community, Faisal is still able to communicate freely with followers through his online broadcasts from Jamaica.

Yemeni airstrike kills deputy governor, al Qaeda operatives -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
The deputy governor of Marib province, five of his bodyguards, and two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives, including a local leader, were killed in an airstrike today, sparking retaliation from local tribes. Jabir al Shabwani, the deputy governor of Marib, was killed while conferring with an al Qaeda leader in an attempt to negotiate a settlement with the government. Shabwani was killed while meeting with al Qaeda leader Mohammed Saeed bin Jameel at his farm, the Yemen Observer reported.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

Iraq war amputee gets a new home‎ -- [ABC7Chicago]
... in about 90 days," said Donna Morsovillo, Operation Welcome Home. ... Since 2004, they have built 57 homes for disabled troops and have 40 more under ...

Soldiers' Angels partners with DCoE's Real Warriors Campaign -- [Soldiers Angels Germany]
May 2010 marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury's (DCoE's) Real Warriors Campaign, which focuses on combating the stigma associated with seeking treatment for psychological health and traumatic brain injury concerns.
The Real Warriors Campaign Web site features articles and resources on a variety of psychological health issues, as well as video profiles of service members who reached out and received treatment, and went on to maintain successful military and civilian careers. By sharing their stories, these Real Warriors are proving to their fellow service members that they are not alone, that reaching out makes a difference and that individuals who have sought psychological health care can continue successful careers.

Medic receives Distinguished Service Cross, military's second-highest award for valor -- [Soldiers Angels Germany]
On May 17, 2010, Sgt. Joseph L. Lollino was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart by Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, surgeon general of the Army.
Lollino retrieved and treated five casualties when his convoy was ambushed June 20, 2008, in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan. He was serving with Company C, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team on his second deployment to Afghanistan.

Extreme Medicine Gets Pentagon Push; Human Trials Rushed -- [Danger Room]
Some of the most debilitating war injuries, from lost limbs to mangled muscle tissue to permanent burn scars, could soon benefit from cutting-edge regenerative procedures.
Human clinical trials of the latest in extreme regenrative medicine -- including bone-fusing cement and muscle-growing cell scaffolds -- are being fast-tracked, thanks to an extra $12 million in funding from the Department of Defense.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are working on some of the most promising Pentagon-backed medical research projects.

TABER: Cross our hearts -- [Washington Times]
Thieves stole the cross-shaped Mojave Desert World War I Memorial during the night of May 9, less than two weeks after the Supreme Court had ruled that the 76-year-old memorial could stay. Because the memorial was on U.S. property, the thieves committed a federal crime; worse, they desecrated a national war memorial that was erected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to honor American service members who have died in battle.
A combat-wounded veteran and recipient of our nation's third-highest medal for bravery - the Silver Star - immediately contacted my nonprofit foundation to offer anonymously a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the criminals. When asked why such a generous reward, the donor simply said, "I wanted to do the right thing."

WELCOME HOME

The Returned Warrior - Announcing my next project: The Returned Warrior -- [Sgt Danger]
Three weeks ago, I left Afghanistan. I signed my DD214, flew home to Utah, walked into my living room, played with my kids, and then slept with my wife. I'm no longer SGT Danger. I'm Drew, Brother Dangerfield, and Daddy. Instead of escorting Afghan truckers or guarding plots of dirt, I've been eating at Del Taco, pulling weeds, visiting my shrink, and planning a family road trip. The transition to the 'real world' - all 22 days of it, so far - has been just fine. But returning from a combat zone is not like waking up from a dream. In both cases we sit up and say, "Damn, that was weird." But

My new address suits me fine! -- [Mob 2009 Blog - home from Afghanistan]
Well, I know it's been a while since I posted here. I assure you, that I'm alright. In fact, I'm better than alright, I'M HOME!!!!
That's right; I'm back in NJ, USA and loving it! I've got my dog and cat cuddling up to me and life is good!

I survived! -- [Army Houshold6]
Just taking a quick minute to let you know that we have BOOTS ON THE GROUND! Yes that is right my friends -- SGT Daddy will be coming home today!!

Friends And Family Welcome Home 150 Troops After Year-Long Mission ...‎-- [WCTV]
Military leaders, friends and family gathered at the Henry W. McMillan Armory in Tallahassee to welcome home more than 150 members of the Florida Army

Final 188th Guardsmen Return Home‎ -- [KHBS-KHOG Northwest Arkansas]
He and other guardsmen were met with welcome home signs and hugs. ... Their mission was to help protect ground troops from enemy fire in the War on Terror. ...

Troops from 177th Fighter Wing return from war directly to loved ones‎ -- [Press of Atlantic City]
As the troops descended the stairs, someone yelled, "Walk faster. ... hair and a pink T-shirt that summed up everything: "Welcome home Daddy, I missed you. ...

144th may be coming home‎ -- [Jackson County Floridan]
Jackson County may soon be planning a welcome-home party for its deployed National Guard troops. The soldiers of the 144th ...

MILITARY

Defense Secretary Gates's war of necessity against wasteful spending‎ -- [Washington Post]
DEFENSE SECRETARY Robert M. Gates spent his first two years focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in each case backing a "surge" to turn around US ...

Answers sought for how man faked way as NCO -- [Military Times]
A Colorado congressman wants Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to provide answers on how a Texas man apparently tricked the Army into allowing him to enter the reserves as a noncommissioned officer.
Mike Coffman, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered a letter to Gates' office on Monday asking him to address issues raised by an Associated Press story last Friday detailing the case of Jesse Bernard Johnston III.
The AP reported that Johnston, 26, was given the rank of sergeant when he enlisted in the reserves in February despite no military experience other than spending six weeks in a 12-week Marine officer candidate course while he was in college in 2004. Because Johnston didn't complete the course, he never became a Marine.

VETERANS

Theresa Flannery, Iraq War veteran and former beauty queen, dies at 32 -- [McClatchy News]
Theresa Flannery went to Iraq in 2004 and walked into one of the hottest firefights of the war. She and other U.S. soldiers were trapped on the roof of a government compound at Najaf, dodging rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades from renegade militiamen. Flannery traded gunfire with enemy snipers, shattering bones in her wrist diving for cover. A photo of Flannery, taken during the two-hour fight, circulated around the world, and the former Miss Madison County was recommended for a Bronze Star.
Back home in Kentucky, Flannery got a hero's welcome. But only family members and close friends knew of the price she paid, and her struggles with post traumatic stress disorder.
Last Thursday, Flannery, 32, died while on a visit in Lexington, N.C. She apparently died in her sleep.

BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIA

Don't be too quick to blame Facebook -- [Wings Over Iraq]
Noah Shachtman posted an article at Wired.com's Danger Room implying that word of an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper's death was leaked via Facebook.
...However, a careful reading of the article and a little knowledge of the casualty notification process might indicate differently.

THE MEDIA

Let's Leak Classified Intelligence To NYT's Because Gen Petraeus's Name Is On It -- [Jawa Report]
Gawd. Iran is really going to be happy after reading this. Might as well say goodbye to those hikers accused of spying.
NYSlimes:
WASHINGTON -- The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region, according to defense officials and military documents.

Losing the Media War in Pakistan (VIDEO) -- [NY Times]
The Pakistani media boom is propelling anti-American conspiracy theories, with the Times Square bomb as the latest example. The United States is doing virtually nothing to counter the trend.

STRATEGY & TACTICS

Many Paths up the Mountain: Population-Centric COIN in Afghanistan -- [SWJ - Major Nathan Springer]
The reality of how Troops implement and execute Population-Centric Counterinsurgency (COIN) in Afghanistan and the associated narrative spin in the Western COIN community of interest are at odds. A misguided and mistaken narrative surrounds ISAF's Population-Centric strategy in Afghanistan. I have listened to countless experts describe Population-Centric COIN as soft, focused on anything but the enemy, and extremely left leaning while Enemy-Centric COIN gets pegged the right-wing counter-terrorism approach, wholly focused on the enemy. This over-simplifies both schools of thought and fails to accurately describe either of them.

Gates Orders Services To Adopt McChrystal's COIN Standards -- [Defense News]
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has directed the U.S. military services to adopt a set of counterinsurgency tools modeled after ones instituted in Afghanistan by Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, said a senior Pentagon official.
Gates on May 24 signed a directive ordering the services to "take McChrystal's COIN training and proficiency standards ... and adapt those for the whole force," Garry Reid, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combat terrorism, told Defense News May 25.
The idea is to take the kinds of COIN training and "proficiency" standards that McChrystal, the top American general in Afghanistan, implemented there with his "AfPak Hands" program.

CLIMATE AND SECURITY

U.S. to Toughen Drill Rules -- [Wall Street Journal]
... fighting to stay ahead of the political storm over the Gulf oil spill, ... called on the president to put the military in charge of the cleanup.

Effort to seal well may be delayed -- [LA Times]
The much-anticipated attempt to seal the explosion-damaged well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico may not start on Wednesday, officials of oil giant BP said Tuesday morning.
Equipment is in place to begin the "top kill" -- an effort to stop the leak by pumping heavy drilling mud into the well at a rate of 40 to 50 barrels of per minute, followed by concrete -- said Kent Wells, BP senior vice president for exploration and production.

Amid criticism over oil spill, Obama will visit Gulf Coast again -- [WaPo]
... As criticism of the federal response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continued to increase, President Obama will travel to the region ...

POLITICS

Obama to tour solar cell factory -- [USA Today]
The president said he told the GOP senators that he's willing to make "decisions that aren't always comfortable for me politically" and that "I need you to make some decisions that aren't always comfortable for you politically."
As an example, Obama cited immigration. "You've got to meet me on solving the problem long term," he said he told his Republican hosts. "It's not enough just to talk about (the) National Guard down at the border," added Obama, who sent 1,200 members of the Guard to Arizona yesterday.
He's not expecting much in the way of results from his outreach to the GOP, Obama told his fellow Democrats. "The day has passed when I expected this to be a full partnership," he said.
After catching flak from his right flank at the GOP lunch in Washington, Obama caught more from his left in San Francisco. At one fundraiser, a heckler, later identified by his PR rep (yes, these days even hecklers have flacks) as Kip Williams, hollered at the president to "move faster" on repealing don't ask, don't tell, the policy that allows gays to serve in the military only if they conceal their sexual preference.

MILITARY HISTORY

"Happy" Memorial Day? -- [Homefront Six]
A friend shared this with me the other day and it really struck a nerve. I have several friends for whom this day holds special, and painful, meaning. It is not a "happy" day but it is a day for reflection and gratitude for those whose sacrifices preserve our freedoms. .

HUMOR/SATIRE

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)