Well a decision has finally been made, and it looks like the Army leadership listened to some of the feedback. The Army Service Uniform is official, and on Monday a website dedicated to it will go live. The Jump Boots will stay, combat stripes and other accouterments from the Dress Greens will be rolled over to the uniform once known as the Dress Blues. You can read about the official decision at http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,174185,00.html
All this talk about whether the surge has worked is just that…talk. Allow me to put all the talk into a graphic that is easy to understand.
What am I talking about? The US Military isn’t involved in the Olympics. No, but Afghanistan has four athletes competing in the 2008 Summer Olympics. And today, Rohullah Nikpai won the Bronze Medal for Men’s -58kg weight class Tae Kwon Do. This is the first time EVER that Afghanistan has won ANY medal. I think our Soldiers who made their participation possible deserve some of the credit for this feat! So, congratulations to Rohullah Nikpai AND the US Military.
“I Hope This Will Send A Message Of Peace To My Country After 30 Years Of War,” Nikpai said after winning the medal.
Soldiers are forced to buy 300 minute calling cards that last…50 minutes!! That and more in David Bellavia’s report from Iraq.
This is from an email sent to a good friend that I think is worthy of passing along:
I haven’t had the opportunity to write to you since we chatted back and forth about my blog in Iraq, 365 and a Wakeup, so I hope this doesn’t strike you as inopportune. Please know that if this wasn’t an issue I felt deeply about I wouldn’t clutter your inbox with this email.
More then two years have passed since those fire bright days in Iraq, but several Soldiers I served alongside still struggle to recover from the physical and psychological wounds of our deployment. Within the last year the Veterans Administration (VA) has started to implement a new recreational therapy program to help my Soldiers, and others like them, begin to become whole again. The program utilizes cycling to help injured Soldiers regain a sense of normalcy and accomplishment during their recovery process. Cycling is a low impact activity that combines the health benefits of physical activity with the psychological benefits of being outdoors, and it has been shown to reduce depression and accompanying issues.
The Fitness Challenge Foundation and the VA would like to expand this program to allow more Veterans to take advantage of this important program, and I am committed to helping them meet this challenge. On September 28 of this year I will take part in the Road 2 Recovery, a charity ride from the San Francisco VA facility to the West Los Angeles VA facility to help fund the expansion of this program. 100% of the funds raised from this ride will be used to expand the cycling trauma recovery program to other Soldiers in need.
You can help expand this important program, and help build a therapeutic path that injured Soldiers can use to reconnect with their community by making a tax deductible donation to the Road 2 Recovery. Making a donation takes only a moment, but it will have a profound impact on those most in need of help. To make a donation simply navigate to: http://www.r2rriders.com/sponsor/, annotate Danjel Bout as the rider you are sponsoring, and make your donation.
America’s heroes didn’t hesitate to sacrifice their very lives in the defense of this nation, please don’t hesitate to help me support them in their time of need.
Thank you for caring,
Danjel
The events occurring in Georgia between the country and Russia have required the Georgian Army assisting with the security and stabilization of Iraq to return to their homeland. With those Soldiers no longer patrolling the streets in Iraq, who is picking up the slack?
Most in this country think that we American Soldiers are having to pick up the slack. If you’re one of those, you’d be wrong.
Iraqi Security Forces will partner with the 41st Fires Brigade and occupy several checkpoints and patrol bases previously manned by the 1st Georgian Brigade.
“We want to train and work with the U.S. Army,” said Sergeant Namel Watak, 32nd Iraqi Army Infantry Brigade.
Namel is with a contingent of soldiers from the 32nd IA Infantry Bde., who are working together with soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment at checkpoints in Wasit to keep the province stable and secure.
“We like our job here of running the traffic control point and providing security at the entrance of the patrol base,” he said.
The plan is to have a complete partnership with the Iraqi Soldiers, said 2nd Lt. Charles Hines, with the 2-20 FA Regt., and the IA liaison at the patrol base.
“Right now, the Iraqi soldiers have taken over the responsibility of the traffic control point, but we are going to train them to be able to take over the entire patrol base, go and do presence patrols and set-up temporary traffic control points in our area,” he said.
The 41st Fires Bde. established a very good working relationship with both the Iraqi Police and the IA, said Col. Richard M. Francey, Jr., 41st Fires Bde commander.
“We are integrating with the ISF to make us a better fighting force,” he said. “They have stepped up to the plate, and their partnership is why we are able to take over the mission that the Georgians had to leave behind, with no change in the security and safety of the Iraqi people.”
For Namel, working with the Americans is a chance to get better training, and learn as much from the U.S. Soldiers as he can. “I want to fight fiercely alongside the U.S. Army,” he said. By working with the Americans, “I get more training to be able to do the job.”
The past few weeks have been crazy. I’ve been gone more than I’ve been home. My weekends have been wrecked by travel and work and it seems as soon as I recover from one trip, the next one sneaks up on me. But, I’m not complaining – I could be deployed (though, I wouldn’t mind!). A few days ago I spoke with a friend of mine who manages PatriotWatch.com. I won’t give his name since he didn’t ask me to do this. Hopefully, when he sees it he won’t be upset. But first, some history.
Continue reading this post…
The Milblog Conference is fast approaching. Last year, more than 225 people attended. This year looks like it blow out all records of attendance. The milbloggers are converging on Las Vegas and crashing the party of the Blog World Expo. The blogging world will never be the same when JP, Marcus, B5, Greyhawk, John, me and other get together and bring the house down. You think those techno geek blogs are going to be interesting? Just wait. But you have to register quickly! To register, simply follow this link and sign up. Hey, Vegas is calling!!
Marcus and I will be there to cover the entire thing for THIS blog and THIS blog alone!! Our reports will NOT be written on ASP, so make sure you tune in!!
When the numbers of troops killed in Iraq was at all-time highs, the media stumbled all over itself to bring the pain of those families to the forefront of television screens and the front pages of newspapers across the country. When times were tough, the stories of suffering of our troops was everywhere. Have you noticed that as the situation in Iraq improved, the level of press coverage equally DECREASED?
The mainstream media – and most every other media outlet – gets most of its information either from the Associated Press or Reuters. When the numbers of fallen troops was high, the reports came loud and clear from the AP. The media couldn’t find enough to talk about. Now, the AP is reporting a different story, but have you seen it anywhere?
The monthly U.S. toll in Iraq fell to its lowest point since the war began, with 11 American deaths as July drew to a close Thursday after the departure of the last surge brigade.
Iraqis also are dying at dramatically lower numbers with the war in its sixth year. July saw the lowest civilian toll since December 2005, though a series of suicide bombings this week and rising ethnic tensions in northern Iraq reflect the fragility of the security successes. An Associated Press tally shows at least 510 Iraqi civilians and security force members were killed in July, a 75 percent drop from the 2,021 deaths in the same period last year as the U.S. troop buildup aimed at quelling rampant Sunni-Shiite violence was nearing its peak.
Another common dead horse that beat beyond belief is the lack of progress of Iraq’s security forces. It was also force fed into our homes and workplaces as the drumbeat for why Iraq was a lost cause. What you aren’t hearing about now should be criminal in response.
Iraq has nearly doubled its police force to nearly 300,000 officers. The Iraqi Interior Ministry under Jawad Bolani said that more than 200,000 police officers were hired since 2006. The ministry said police have taken security responsibility in 10 provinces. “These steps have not come without great sacrifice,” Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, the ministry’s operations director, said. “We have had 10,000 police officers killed or injured trying to bring peace to our communities.”
Why is good news so hard to find?
“Spotlight on Military History” is an ongoing feature on You Served, VA MortgageCenter.com’s Military Blog.
Outnumbered more than 2 to 1, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeated Union General Joseph Hooker in a deadly battle from May 1, 1863 – May 5, 1863. General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker, was newly appointed command of the Union Northern Virginia Army early in 1863. He devised a battle plan that he believed was the perfect plan for defeating General Lee’s much smaller Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Had Hooker not trapped himself in an area of woods known as “The Wilderness” his plans may have worked.
Hooker’s army was nearly 130,000 strong, while Lee’s men numbered only 60,000. Hooker intended to first send 10,000 men of his Calvary to cut off Lee’s communication with Richmond. His remaining 120,000 troops he would split; 60,000 to cross the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers to attack the Confederate troops from behind and 60,000 to cross the river at Fredericksburg and attack Lee from the front. Without the ability to communicate with his capitol Lee would be fighting two battles each against an army that equaled his own.
Continue reading this post…
You Served's Claire talks about the life of a military spouse - the hardships, the joys, and everything in between.
Join the discussion in our new Spouse and Family section!
