‘If the enemy is in range, so are you.’ - Infantry Journal-
‘It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.’ - US.Air Force Manual -
‘Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons.’ - General MacArthur -
‘You, you, and you … Panic. The rest of you, come with me.’ - U.S. Marine corps Gunnery Sgt.-
‘Tracers work both ways.’ - U.S. Army Ordnance Manual-
‘Five second fuses only last three seconds.’ -Infantry Journal -
The three most useless things in aviation are:
Fuel in the bowser; Runway behind you; and Air above you. -Basic Flight Training Manual-
‘Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once.’ - Maritime Ops Manual -
‘Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.’ - Unknown Marine Recruit-
‘If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him..’ -USAF Ammo Troop-
‘Yea, Though I Fly Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 50,000 Feet and Climbing.’ - Sign over SR71 Wing Ops-
‘You’ve never been lost until you’ve been lost at Mach 3.’ -Paul F. Crickmore (SR71 test pilot)-
‘The only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire.’ -Unknown Author-
‘If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage it has to be a helicopter — and therefore, unsafe.’ - Fixed Wing Pilot-
‘When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane, you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.’ -Multi-Engine Training Manual-
‘Without ammunition, the USAF is just an expensive flying club.’ -Unknown Author-
‘If you hear me yell;”Eject, Eject, Eject!”, the last two will be echos.’ If you stop to ask “Why?”, you’ll be talking to yourself, because you’re the pilot.’ -Pre-flight Briefing from a 104 Pilot-
‘What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots? If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; but If ATC screws up, …. The pilot dies.’ -Sign over Control Tower Door-
‘Never trade luck for skill.’ -Author Unknown-
The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in military aviation are: ‘Did you feel that?’ ‘What’s that noise?’ and ‘Oh S…!’ or (appended from the Arkansas Air National Guard):”Hold my beer and watch this!” -Authors Unknown-
‘Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.’ -Basic Flight Training Manual-
‘Mankind has a perfect record in aviation – we have never left one up there!’ - Unknown Author -
‘Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it.’ - Emergency Checklist-
‘The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.’ - Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot) -
‘There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.’ -Sign over Squadron Ops Desk at Davis-Montham AFB, AZ-
‘If something hasn’t broken on your helicopter, it’s about to.’ - Sign over Carrier Group Operations Desk-
‘You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal.’ - Lead-in Fighter Training Manual -
As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck arrives. The rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks,’What happened?’ The pilot’s reply: ‘I don’t know, I just got here myself!’
Community resource mapping is not a new tool, and I am so happy to see the military using it to develop an understanding of what’s available to the families of deployed soldiers who do not live on military installations. I bolded the part at the bottom that explains where you can access the information.
Community Partnerships Assist Families of Deployed Soldiers
Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs Story by Rob McIlvaine Date: 12.30.2009 SOURCE LINK
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Due to multiple military deployments that have occurred for nearly a decade, many Army families choose to remain in their established neighborhoods or return to a relative’s hometown when their soldier deploys.
In many cases this means that family resources commonly found on a military installation aren’t available for the duration of the soldier’s deployment.
The Army has hired 61 community support coordinators located across the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and Japan to help connect these geographically dispersed military personnel with community-service systems.
Community support coordinators work to engage and invite community organizations to partner with the Army, which has led to new programs and support initiatives. Partnership with community organizations provides an extension to the services traditionally offered on Army posts. Army families, therefore, can access services wherever they reside while their military sponsor is deployed.
Community support coordinators work to identify resources and build partnerships with community organizations, said Karen Conrad, a family programs specialist at the Army’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command here. These services then are made available to family programs staff of the active Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve to build connections for soldiers and their family members, so they have a link to information and services even if they don’t live on or near an installation.
“The CSCs have been very instrumental in connecting geographically dispersed soldiers and families to services,” Conrad said. “Community organizations want to step up and partner with the military, but don’t always know how they can make the connection. The CSCs provide them with the information they need to build that partnership.”
CSCs have been trained by Army family specialists at the University of North Carolina’s Odum Institute for Research in Social Science at Chapel Hill.
The CSC program is a result of an Army Family Action Plan issue and the Army Family Covenant. All Army components and family-service agencies are developing a strategic partnership to standardize soldier- and family-support programs and services regardless of component or geographical location, officials said.
Most civilian community programs and agencies, such as schools, non-profit agencies, faith-based, legal and financial service organizations, as well as behavioral health and government organizations — state and local government, Veterans Affairs, for instance — are unaware of the number of Army personnel or families who live in their community or use their services, officials said.
The Army Community Covenant is a way of formally introducing these servicemembers and the organizations.
“We’re in the [ninth] year of this war, the longest in our nation’s history with an all-volunteer force,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. Craig Whelden, the covenant’s national outreach coordinator.
Whelden is a former commander of the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center, now redesignated as Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.
“The secretary of the Army thought this would be an opportunity to engage the American public in their communities and raise the level of visibility of the dedication and sacrifices [of] our servicemembers,” Whelden said at this year’s community covenant signing with the American Legion.
Since April 2008, 85 communities have signed community covenants
“It’s incumbent upon us to look in our own backyards … and to figure out who’s out there serving our country and what kind of support they need,” First Lady Michelle Obama said during a visit to Fort Bragg, N.C., in March. “We need to make sure, as a community, that we’re coming together around those [military] families.”
The Army OneSource online portal provides easy access to many services for families living far outside garrison borders.
Besides offering family-service connections initiated by community support coordinators, Army OneSource also compiles up-to-date information in a single location for access at any time of day.
The AOS portal features Army family-services-oriented articles, videos and resources in categories, such as programs and services, health care, soldier and family housing, child, youth and school services; education, careers and libraries; recreation, communities, marketplace and travel, as well as information about the Army’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program.
By using the Army OneSource portal, soldiers and families “can have local services at their fingertips and access information regardless of their component or whe
This Holiday season has opened up a couple of great opportunities for me to pass on a family value to my youngest daughter who is five-and-a-half now. I know that most people who read this blog are very supportive of our troops. I know most of you would agree with me that support means we don’t just say kind words, but we also do many kind deeds that show the support we verbally profess. Actions speak louder than words, or so we are told. I agree with that assessment.
There is another old adage that I like to keep in mind when I am finding teachable moments for my kids. In the South we say “Being born in a chicken coop doesn’t make you a chicken!” It’s a good adage to remind us that just because our children are raised in military families or military supporting families does not mean they are guaranteed to grow up understanding what troop support means.
One morning we were at a local shopping center and we spotted the typical bell ringers standing at the front door. I try and keep a little change on hand so Emma can put some into the kettle. This particular morning, however, was horribly bitter with very gusty wind. I bundled up my little one and headed for the door. I planned on smiling at the bell ringers and charging full force into the warm entrance of the door, but the decor on the vests, jackets and hats of the bell ringers caught my eye. They were Vietnam Veterans who were serving our community by collecting money for the needy.
I stopped, put my bundle of joy down and grabbed a couple of ones out of my wallet. I stopped thanked both of the Vets at that entrance and walked into the store with purpose. I told Emma why I stopped after all and why I thought it was important to support the service those four men were offering to the community. On the way out of the store we went to the other side and stopped and talked with those men. They were shaking from the cold, but they seemed genuinely pleased to be helping. I asked the men at both entrances if Emma and I could get them a cup of coffee — our treat. A couple of guys took us up on the offer. We went back inside and asked Subway if they would brew a fresh pot for our Veterans. They did, and in a few minutes the guys were sipping hot coffee to help keep them warm.
It was a simple act. It was spontaneous, but it was a great opportunity for Emma to talk to a couple of Veterans outside of our own family and to see that there are always opportunities to say thank you with more than your words. From that point forward she would ask when she saw bell ringers “Mama, are they our Veterans?” I’m glad she is learning to keep her eyes open.
Another opportunity for her to see this kind of support from another angle came yesterday while we ate lunch at a small restaurant with my parents. My son Nate was with us and was in uniform, much to his own chagrin — he wore it after much begging by his grandmother. Nate sat down and ordered a burger and when the waitress brought it to our table the waitress informed him that another patron had asked to have his meal added to his own bill. We were all kind of shocked and we were not expecting it. As a matter of fact, for some odd reason, it made me cry.
My son asked the waitress who the patron was and she pointed at a man in a red shirt who was leaving. Nate hopped up and approached the man to tell him thank you and to shake his hand. The man is a retired Marine. He laughed and told Nate “I can’t believe I bought an Army guy a lunch!” Nate laughed and offered the man an “Oorah!” The Marine appreciated that Nate was bilingual and they had a good chuckle about it.
I think that those of us who love and appreciate the military, whether we are active, reserve, retired, family, friend, or community supporters, understand that it is a lifetime commitment of actively showing that support — in both word and deed.
The award is given to “a Texan (or Texans) who has had uncommon impact; who exemplifies Texas traits of trailblazing, independence and staring down adversity; and who has affected or influenced lives.” In their story, the DMN tells the story of one of those heroes, SFC Karl Pasco.
He deployed to Iraq in 2004 with a 1st Cavalry Division scout platoon. Two months later, he was mangled by a roadside bomb that killed his driver. During eight days of unconsciousness, doctors couldn’t say whether Pasco would live or die.
But he recovered and returned with his unit to Iraq, staying alive and largely bomb-free for 14 months. With 45 days left on his tour, another roadside bomb riddled his armored Humvee with chunks of hot metal, killing his driver and an interpreter. One chunk hurtled upward through his right shoulder before destroying his jaw and shredding his face.Two Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars later, Pasco cracks jokes while working at Fort Hood between hospital trips for reconstructive surgery. “If it wouldn’t destroy my marriage,” he says, “I’d go back in a minute.”
Though he would deny it, Pasco is emblematic of Fort Hood’s endless list of heroes, one that goes far beyond the casualties and responders involved in the Nov. 5 shooting rampage.
Read the entire story about the 2009 Texans of the Year HERE.
USA Cares is an awesome organization dedicated to the United States servicemen and women. I wanted to share with you just one of MANY reasons why Troy and I are such ardent supporters of the charity.
The wife of a decorated Marine contacted USA Cares for help this past summer. Her husband, a medically-discharged veteran who was deployed to Iraq in 2003-2004, had been dealing with medical issues including multiple foot surgeries, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Since the family first contacted USA Cares back in August, the service member entered an in-patient facility for much-needed treatment for his PTSD. USA Cares, through the Warrior Treatment Today and Quality of Life programs, has provided the family with grants of $2,948—funds which paid for rent, utilities and food.
Recently while on a follow-up call, the service member’s wife told our Family Resource Coordinator (FRC) that she did not know how she would provide a Christmas for their two children, ages two and one. A very caring USA Cares FRC responded by contacting the local Toys for Tots who informed him that the deadline had passed for 2009 applications. Undaunted, the FRC tried another Toys for Tots agency who were eager to help this family. Not only did they collect a pile of age-appropriate toys for the children, they delivered them personally along with a $100 food card to provide for a wonderful Christmas meal.
Much like my buddy at Flopping Aces, I need to make a confession – Emily and I went and saw Avatar tonight. Not only did we pay full price for two in a packed theater, we also spent good money on a large popcorn, large soda, and box of candy with which we could “enjoy” the movie.
Let me get something out of the way before I continue. I thought it was a pretty good movie overall. The special effects were amazing, the sound was impressive, and everything was so vivid one could almost believe the place exists. The world that James Cameron created was absolutely stunning and creative.
What wasn’t creative was distracting and just plain disappointing political stupidity laced throughout the entire movie. One had to suspend reality and after two hours, it was tired and played. Humans are evil. The Iraq War is wrong. The president is a cowboy bent on imposing our will violently around the world. Corporate America drives wars. We’re killing the planet. We don’t respect nature. Blah blah blah blah.
I’m so fed up with this Hollywood crap that portrays our military as callous, cold-blooded killers without hearts or emotions. Then there was the overt “it’s okay to just quit when you’re in the military. You don’t HAVE to fight. Go AWOL, disobey orders, sabotage our efforts.” Avatar is probably IVAW’s wet dream on film, something they wish they could have accomplished with all the other anti-war movies combined.
After the movie, I even heard some retarded, ignorant teenagers talking about how true the movie was and how evil this country is. It took everything I had (and my wife’s firm hand) to keep me from slapping someone silly. We’re indoctrinating our youth through what I admittedly call a “stunning and creative” movie. Stunning in its visual effects and creative in its hidden agenda and message.
Should you go see it? Yes, I think so. Just make sure you let out a loud “oh, come on!” when the stupidity is just too blatant to ignore.
Last year around this time, we interviewed LTG Jerry Boykin. Having worked under Boykin, I know the kind of man he is. He’s inspirational and someone I’d follow anywhere. Thankfully, I know a few general officers that fit that bill.
Boykin is now speaking out about the Nidal Hasan case in which the Army dropped the ball on removing an Islamic extremist from within the ranks while attempting to shut me down and a man like Boykin was forced out of uniform for talking about Christianity and denouncing extremism. His frankness was labeled “Islamaphobia” by the MSM, including the New York Times and spelled the end of his career.
The commitment to one’s fellow Soldiers is part of the Army Strong mentality that guides Soldiers’ daily decisions and actions, especially when deployed. When his unit came under enemy attack during a combat operation in Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Michael Norton risked his own life to rescue two of the Rangers in his unit who were injured by enemy fire. His gallant actions not only saved the lives of his squad members, but his leadership led to the destruction of an enemy headquarters camp.
On Aug. 4, 2009, Norton led his team on a raid to a known heavily armed enemy camp in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. However, as the squad approached the camp in Khowst Province on a dismounted patrol, they were ambushed and began receiving heavy fire at close range. Trapped on foot in the valley, Norton and his squad returned fire from their position, but continued to receive enemy fire from all directions.
When two Rangers were injured by rocket-propelled grenades and lay unconscious in the line of fire, Norton risked his own life in order to revive and extract his injured squad mates. Re-entering the kill zone to recover his downed Rangers, Norton acted immediately and without hesitation.
“Any Ranger would have done the same thing,” he said. “The Ranger Creed says, ‘I will never leave a fallen comrade.’ There was no moment of thinking about what to do. I had to get my brothers and the most important thing in my mind was how hurt they were.”
Relying on other squad members to continue attempting to suppress the insurgents, Norton began administering medical attention to the Soldiers, crouching on the ground next to them and gently shaking them while repeating their names. After successfully reviving the Soldiers, Norton then led them to cover, using his own body to shield them from enemy fire.
“We receive a lot of great training here at 3rd Ranger Battalion and I was just acting on instinct,” said Norton.
A true team player, Norton chooses to focus on the brave actions of his squad that day, not just his own heroics.
“I’m proud of the actions of my squad, because we continued the mission after that,” he said. “It was just two minutes out of our overall mission.”
In addition to saving the lives of two Rangers, Norton also brought his entire squad out of the enemy onslaught intact. Throughout the two-day assault, the squad was able to disrupt the enemy headquarters and prevent the insurgents from interfering with the then-upcoming Afghani national elections. For his distinctive heroism, risking his life for the call of duty and the lives of his fellow Soldiers, Norton was awarded the Silver Star Medal, which he received in a ceremony last month.
Since joining the Army in June 2004, the NCO has deployed four times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and twice in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Norton returned home from his most recent deployment in September, and currently resides at Fort Benning, Ga., with his wife and his two daughters.
At a time when the nation has been focused on health care legislation, winter storms, and the post office hostage issue, our nation has lost a hero and will probably never realize it.
Retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard, a Medal of Honor winner and one of America’s most decorated soldiers, died Wednesday in Waco after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Howard was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Vietnam. His citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Howard (then Sfc .), distinguished himself while serving as platoon sergeant of an American-Vietnamese platoon which was on a mission to rescue a missing American soldier in enemy controlled territory in the Republic of Vietnam. The platoon had left its helicopter landing zone and was moving out on its mission when it was attacked by an estimated 2-company force. During the initial engagement, 1st Lt. Howard was wounded and his weapon destroyed by a grenade explosion. 1st Lt. Howard saw his platoon leader had been wounded seriously and was exposed to fire. Although unable to walk, and weaponless, 1st Lt. Howard unhesitatingly crawled through a hail of fire to retrieve his wounded leader. As 1st Lt. Howard was administering first aid and removing the officer’s equipment, an enemy bullet struck 1 of the ammunition pouches on the lieutenant’s belt, detonating several magazines of ammunition. 1st Lt. Howard momentarily sought cover and then realizing that he must rejoin the platoon, which had been disorganized by the enemy attack, he again began dragging the seriously wounded officer toward the platoon area. Through his outstanding example of indomitable courage and bravery, 1st Lt. Howard was able to rally the platoon into an organized defense force. With complete disregard for his safety, 1st Lt. Howard crawled from position to position, administering first aid to the wounded, giving encouragement to the defenders and directing their fire on the encircling enemy. For 3 1/2 hours 1st Lt. Howard’s small force and supporting aircraft successfully repulsed enemy attacks and finally were in sufficient control to permit the landing of rescue helicopters. 1st Lt. Howard personally supervised the loading of his men and did not leave the bullet-swept landing zone until all were aboard safely. 1st Lt. Howard’s gallantry in action, his complete devotion to the welfare of his men at the risk of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
Howard has the distinction of being the only Soldier in our nation’s history to be nominated for the Medal of Honor for three separate events. The other two nominations were downgraded to a Silver Star and Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second and third highest awards for valor. He served FIVE tours in Vietnam.
“As one of America’s most decorated veterans, Colonel Howard inspired everyone he met to consider their own commitment to our nation’s essential values, and was the bravest soldier I ever met. His unshakable commitment to freedom, displayed in countless episodes of battlefield gallantry, lives on in the actions of our military men and women who continue to serve in hostile conditions overseas. On behalf of all Texans, Anita and I extend our condolences and prayers to his family in their time of grieving.”
If you’re a reader, check out John Plaster’s book that includes Howard’s story, SOG: The Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam.
Update: NBC News actually mentioned his passing and gave a little more information.
