I Understand Completely

From the father of a [British] soldier recently returned from service in Afghanistan:

"As you can imagine it's obviously a great relief as far as I'm concerned to see him home in one piece," Prince Charles said before leaving the air base. "I'm enormously proud of what he has done."

I understand completely. And to Prince Harry -- Hooah, young man. Well done.

Story here (including increased security concerns for the young Prince as extremists call for his kidnapping and execution.)

And be sure to watch the extended SkyNews video (link in story) as proof it was no pufter assignment... and to hear Harry "the soldier"...

Welcome Home

Semper fi:

Our son's Marine battalion, the 3/3, has returned to its base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, from the hinterlands of Fallujah after a 7-month deployment. He and his Marines are full of praise for the battalion that went before them, which did most of the heavy lifting in the destruction of al Qaeda in that corner of Anbar Province. Both are entitled to high praise, and we can all be grateful that the 3/3 returns to America without losing a single Marine during their deployment.

Al Doura, Baghdad — As I step out of the humvee into the street, I have two facts in mind: I’ve been here before; and this time, I don’t have a weapon.

Recalling the tension of my first patrol in this neighborhood as a platoon leader, my five senses are sharp. The dusty road below greets my boots, some of the smells are eerily familiar, and the sound of idling humvees is my only comfort. My head swivels to scan the street. My hands are naked without an M-4, so I find the nearest soldier.

Soon — as a young child approaches — the wary familiarity gives way to fascination. I may be in the same geographic location, but I’m not in the same neighborhood. This is not Al Doura, at least not as I knew it. Where did all these people and shops come from? Where is all the trash, and the open sewage? Where is the fear — the deep-seated fear?

Air War Looms

...in America

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force decision awarding a $35 billion aircraft contract to a team including the European parent of Airbus landed like a bomb in Congress on Friday, drawing howls of protest from lawmakers aligned with the loser, America's Boeing Co .
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Although Boeing was favored to win the contract, the Air Force awarded it to a partnership between Northrop Grumman and Europe's EADS.

Conventional wisdom was running so strongly against Northrop-EADS in some corners of Capitol Hill that Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's office issued a statement late on Friday declaring Boeing the winner. It was swiftly retracted.

Lawmakers from Alabama, where Northrop and EADS plan to do some tanker work, were effusive in praising the Air Force.

"I thought all along that the Northrop Grumman-EADS proposal was the best," Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, told reporters. He said the contract would bring nearly 7,000 jobs to the state.
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The Congressional delegation from the Seattle area said they were "outraged." Kansas Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt vowed to seek a review of the decision "at the highest levels of the Pentagon and Congress" in hopes of reversing it.

Boeing has big facilities in both Seattle and Wichita, which stood to gain from the long-term project to build up to 179 aerial refueling tankers.