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For those who post here, you'll notice a change in the dashboard. We've upgraded to the latest version of Movable type. Different look, familiar features and some new. Probably still a few bugs to kill, too. Let me know if you have any problems.
Back in Ye Olde Times (ie. 1945, when the USSR/Japan Nonagression Pact being allowed to lapse is an example that springs to mind) something like this would be considered just this side of a declaration of war.
Today, I am not sure what it means. The Norks have made a living off of weird and threatening talk, crazy or threatening action and then sitting down to "talk" after being given a whole bunch of money/food/aid. Their Chinese enablers have not seen much necessity to restrain them at all, and the US and her allies have not tried particularly hard either.
I sure hope everyone in S. Korea is prepared and ready for .... whatever is (or is not?) coming this time.
Where does technology meet honoring the fallen during what I still call the Long War?
I highly recommend that you go over to Map The Fallen - download the latest versions of GoogleEarth and The Map referenced in the upper-right hand corner.
The detail and context is incredible. The upper right is a screen shot honoring Specialist Norman Lewis Cain III or Oregon Ill who died on 15 MAR 2009 in Kot in Afghanistan (of note - this family also lost his Grandfather Norman Lewis Cain Sr in NOV of last year.)
That is a micro sample. The global reach of the map shows you who died where and where their home is. I highly recommend you look at Europe in order to fully understand the contribution of the UK, The Netherlands, and the Danes. Those are not large nations. The casualty density is well represented there.
Explore, and honor.
My co-blogger, CSM Bones is in the fight in Afghanistan, with TF Phoenix. Some observations on how they honor their Fallen are here.
Memorial Day weekend is a great time to join.
From the team that brought you Band of Brothers
Time to get your HBO.
THE PACIFIC is based on the books "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa," by Eugene Sledge, which was hailed by historian Paul Fussell as "one of the finest memoirs to emerge from any war," and "Helmet for My Pillow
," by Robert Leckie (recipient of the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Annual Award), as well as original interviews conducted by the filmmakers. Continuing the World War II oral history work begun by his father Stephen E. Ambrose (author of the book "Band of Brothers"), Hugh Ambrose serves as a consultant on the miniseries.
Ask Ensign Pulver. The drinking of it was less important than the thought of it.
This year I am spreading the word about The National Memorial Day Parade which will take place on Monday, May 25, 2009 at 2:00PM on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 17th streets NW, Washington, DC. The parade has been held every year since it was re-established in 2005 after a 70 year hiatus in our nation's capital.
The parade will also feature a special tribute to the U.S. Navy, and include Navy vet and Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine, fellow actors and veterans' supporters Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna, and music star Lee Greenwood. Also participating is Edith Shain, the nurse from the famous World War II “V-J Day in Times Square” kiss photograph. (How excited do you think she will be??)
x-posted at Some Soldier's Mom
Nothing against LtGen McChrystal - but unlike some, I am not all that happy with this rumor coming out of AP.
The Pentagon will replace its top general in Afghanistan as President Barack Obama tries to turn around a stalemated war, defense officials said.I hope this report is wrong. Gen. McKiernan is the right man at the right time in the right job. Only now are his ideas starting to be put in place. He needs, no - deserves - another year.The exit of Gen. David McKiernan comes as more than 21,000 additional U.S. forces begin to arrive in Afghanistan, dispatched by Obama to confront the Taliban more forcefully this spring and summer.
McKiernan, on the job about a year, has asked repeatedly for additional forces. Obama’s revamped strategy for Afghanistan does markedly increase the number of U.S. forces in the country but focuses on nonmilitary solutions as a better long-term solution.
Military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said McKiernan will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was likely to announce the new leadership in Afghanistan later today, an official said.
If true, I would be interested in the reasons and hope they are health related, as again - nothing against LtGen McChrystal - but General McKiernan is, well; the right man, right now.
It's the oldest one in North America.
Largely built by slaves, used by the Confederates, attacked by the Union, and now a yacht route.
As explained here.
If you ever get invited to the milblogs conference "after party" - take it from me: pass it by.
It sounded okay at first - Jimbo saying there was going to be a private screening of the new Star Trek movie in the War Room at the Pentagon, and he could get us in. They'd debuted the film for the troops in the CENTCOM AO, some of the Senior Leadership in DC had gotten wind of that, and demanded one for the "troops on the homefront", too.
We met in the lobby of the Westin, where Jimbo had a surprise for us:
The BBC's Ian Pannell, from Wardak Province, Afghanistan:
The deputy governor has been pleading with the new US troops deployed to Wardak province to come to the rescue. The last time the 2nd battalion, 87th infantry came here, in March, they were attacked.And more news from Wardak via MaryAnn:The response is operation Call of Duty, rather aptly named after the video game.
It is an integral part of America's new strategy. The troops of the 10th Mountain Division are the first to have been deployed as part of the US-led "surge". Their mission is to push the Taleban away from Kabul, which neighbours Wardak.
About a year ago, a handful of US soldiers were tasked with holding down the entire Wardak province. (To understand the impossibility of that task, read this.) Now, thousands of troops led by the 10th Mountain's TF Spartan have a chance of making real progress.Follow that "read this" link and you'll learn the fate of the man who commanded the handful of troops that once did the job shared by well over 1,000 today. They'll need more than numbers, skill, and training to get the job done - the "no right answer" decision Cpt Hill was forced to make (and that ended his career) had nothing to do with those factors. Without effective and coherent policies and support from on high, the twentyfold increase in troops will simply bring failure on a larger scale.Michael Phillips of The Wall Street Journal has written a good, solid article about the challenges facing the Task Force and what they've achieved so far.
Army Newswatch episode 09-10: Medical correspondent, Col. Paul Little, M.D., introduces us to a courageous and strong Soldier who is serving as the point of the spear for the next generation of prosthetic limbs.
Awesome!
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Sydney, Australia.
Diego Suarez, Madagascar.
For some, a dream trip.
For others, it was different.
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