Kinda makes you forget you’re in a combat zone.

Marines with Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 10th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 8, patrol through a poppy field in the Kajaki green zone, Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 19. An artillery unit by doctrine, Bravo Battery has served as a provisional infantry rifle company for the last several months while protecting the area around the Kajaki Dam.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

One of my complaints last Thanksgiving was that I didn’t get any pumpkin pie. There is no such thing as a Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. A reader sent me this photo of a menu that belonged to her father. He was a WWII veteran and based at Luzon, Phillipines during Thanksgiving 1945. Even THEY had pumpkin pie.

This is just such a cool piece of history and I wanted to share it, as untimely as it may be. I personally found myself staring it for a long time just in aww of its significance.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

This is a great story that has been largely ignored by much of the media. Not surprising since the media benefits from military commanders running their mouths. The story was covered by ABC but there just has not been a lot of talk about it.

You can read the entire story at http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/navy-seal-commander-advised-to-get-the-hell-out-of-the-media/

However make sure you watch the video below to watch and listen to LTG (ret) James Vaught rip into Admiral McRaven about a continuing release of information from Top Secret Special Operation missions which all seemed to be focused on Navy Seals.

You know how I love these sillhouette photos.

Operations Specialist 2nd Class Basilio Pamanian, assigned to Riverine Squadron 3 Detachment 3, Riverine Security Unit maintains security during Exercise Bold Alligator 2012, the largest amphibious exercise in the past 10 years. The exercise represents the Navy and Marine Corps’ revitalization of the full range of amphibious operations. The exercise focuses on today’s fight with today’s forces, while showcasing the advantages of seabasing. This exercise will take place Jan. 30 – Feb. 12, 2012, afloat and ashore in and around Virginia and North Carolina.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

The St Louis welcome home parade for Iraq campaign veterans was a huge success. I had a great time and was able to meet up with my good friend Mark Seavey who is also a veteran of the Iraqi Campaign in the Global War on Terror. We briefly discussed the topic of if a parade honoring Iraq veterans was appropriate when we still have so many troops fighting in Afghanistan (many of whom are Iraq veterans). We came to the same conclusion; it is very appropriate and we’ll just have another parade to honor Afghanistan veterans.

However, DoD doesn’t feel the same way when it comes to a “New York-style ticker-tape parade” for veterans according to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Douglas B. Wilson. DoD leadership feels it is “too soon” primarily because of the number of Iraq veterans now serving in Afghanistan, but is waiting really the right answer?

The answer is a resounding no. The Iraq war costed our nation the lives of some our finest men and women and many more were wounded physically and mentally. Honoring their sacrifice and that of their families now is the right thing to do.

A mistake was already made after the invasion of Iraq by allowing the Afghanistan campaign become the forgotten war. The Iraq campaign becoming the new forgotten war would be a grave disservice to those that served, a majority of whom are not currently deployed to Afghanistan. Waiting for the end of the Afghanistan campaign is not an option especially when there is no telling when American forces will withdrawn despite plans by the current administration and DoD in the works.

I felt a feeling of closure when I attended the St Louis parade that was amazing even though I returned from my deployment to Iraq in 2007. I’m sure many veterans will experience the same feeling and they deserve to have closure sooner rather than later.

Image courtesy flickr user twbuckner

It’s cold. Now for all you northerners, don’t laugh. I’m from Texas. But the highs are only in the 30′s now! To me, that’s cold!! However, I have it pretty good. Here in Kandahar, that’s about as bad as it gets. We get snow flurries here and there, but nothing like what Kabul and Bagram are getting right now. Regardless of the cold and freezing snow or rain, we have a mission to complete. Our troops perform in all sorts of weather.

U.S. Army Pfc. Dewey So, a native of San Diego, endures the harsh blast of an Afghan winter storm in the village of Marzak. Marzak has been a haven for insurgent fighters over the past decade. A new police checkpoint is being constructed through the winter in Marzak to disrupt the movement of insurgent forces through the area, located just 6 km from the site of the Battle of Takur Ghar. Photo by Staff Sgt. Charles Crail.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

When Giants quarterback Eli Manning hit wide receiver Victor Cruz for a 2-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVI , nearly 7,000 miles from Indianapolis, in a tent just north of the Afghan-Pakistan border, the crowd erupted, breaking the early-morning silence on the dark, muddy forward operating base.

Groggy and sleepy from their middle-of-the-night viewing party of Super Bowl XLVI, soldiers from the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas, are snapped back to consciousness as they cheer a Giants touchdown during the game’s first quarter.

Although they conducted combat operations as usual on Super Bowl Sunday, the soldiers of the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, deployed here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from Fort Hood, Texas, also got a chance to watch the 46th annual NFL championship, and in doing so, experienced a duality that brought back memories of Super Bowls past, yet at the same time, subtly reminded them they were still in a war zone.

There were still paper plates heaping with food – hot wings and pizza, meatballs and onion rings – all the snack items that are parts of the Americana they’d swore to protect. Yet, when the soldiers raised their glasses to celebrate a touchdown, it was with non-alcoholic beers and carbonated beverages instead of the potent potables that would have overflowed had they been home.

Sitting on a wooden table that normally served as dinner table, Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Ribas studied the content of near-beer that had been shipped in just for the game. Reluctantly, the Bengals fan took a swig.

“Man, this beer is outstanding,” Ribas said with a chuckle. “It’s almost as intense as cranberry juice.

Old Bill’s Dining Facility at Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, was the site of Super Bowl XLVI’s viewing party for soldiers of the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. Deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the soldiers washed hot wings, pizza rolls, meat balls and other snacks with non-alcoholic beer.

“This is my second [near-beer] on this deployment,” he continued. “And it will be my last.”

Despite the beer not tasting as good as he’d hoped, Ribas said he is appreciative of the event because it gave soldiers a chance to relax and took them out of the daily grind of war – even if only for a few hours.

“Obviously, we’re surrounded by a different kind of family here, and the game is lot earlier than it normally is, but this builds morale,” he said. “We needed this to clear our heads.”

Spc. Michael Chandonnet had hoped to clear his head by catching the game and a few chuckles from the commercials the Super Bowl is known for. Sitting close to Ribas, the Fort Worth, Texas, native got in-house commercials instead. While there were still the familiar voices of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth calling the game, during commercial breaks, Chandonnet and other soldiers were treated to public service announcements made by the Armed Forces Network, as well as pre-recorded messages of thanks and appreciation from Giants and Patriots players.

“I was looking forward to seeing the commercials,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite parts. If I were home, I’d be barbequing and watching that.”

Still, Chandonnet said he is also appreciative of the event, and particularly the grateful messages recorded by players from both Super Bowl teams.

“It sort of feels good that they recorded the messages to thank us,” he said. “It does mean something.”

Capt. Alan Vargo, too, is thankful for the event. Yet, he could not help but recall Super Bowls of the past, and particularly the last time the Patriots and his Giants met, when he was closer to home and had loved ones by his side.

“This is a replay of their last meeting in the Super Bowl,” Vargo said. “Last time, I was in New York with my family, though I am now with them in spirits. But this is definitely a morale booster.”

Groggy-eyed from the early-morning wake-up, Master Sgt. Marvin Morgan munched on snacks as he cheered on the Giants. With his Cowboys long eliminated from playoffs, Morgan said he came out to support the Giants because they are in the same NFC East division as his Cowboys, and because of the camaraderie the event provided.

“I saw how well they did Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I wanted to come out here to see how there were going to do the Super Bowl,” he said.

That the event was successful wouldn’t have been possible with people like Barbara Wilson, the civilian contractor in charge of the dining facility here. Of Houston, Texas, Wilson was decked out in a Texans jersey and hat. Like many other soldiers, Wilson is fan to a team that did not play in the Super Bowl. Despite this, Wilson said she put efforts into the event because it boosts morale and gives soldiers the opportunity something they would have missed entirely.

“This is a really big deal back home,” she said. “The Super Bowl is really big back the States, and if the soldiers weren’t here, they’d be watching the Super Bowl at home. We just wanted to bring them home for a while.”

And for a while, the soldiers were brought home. With weapons by their sides, the soldiers clapped and cheered as the Giants and Patriots went back and forth, almost as if forgetting that just outside the tent, the muddy and frosty fields await them, and that just a few more hundred meters down the road, outside of the proverbial wire that separates the confines of Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak from southern Afghanistan, enemy fighters could have very well been preparing for their next attacks.

By the latter part of the fourth quarter when Manning hit wide receiver Mario Manningham for the 38-yard connection that would eventually propel the Giants to scoring the go-ahead touchdown, the sun had already peaked over the mountain ranges just south of Spin Boldak.

As quarterback Tom Brady heaved the ball into the end zone in a last-ditch effort to save the Patriots’ season, the soldiers stood up and collective held their breath as the ball fell to the ground. Some groaned while other celebrated. Just as quietly as they’d filed into the tent, the soldiers picked up their weapons and quickly exited, stepping into the bright and crisp late-winter Afghanistan day.

Super Bowl Sunday had turned into Monday morning, and for these soldiers, Monday would be just another day.

Story and photos by SGT Marc Loi.

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tony J. Spain, Third Army/ARCENT Public Affairs
Lt. Col. John Palo, a 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment planner, hugs his son, Aiden Palo, at Oakland Primary School in Sumter, S.C. Friday after a surprise reunion. Photo and story by SFC Tony Spain.

The best reader of the day never read a word, but was the story of the day during a community reading event at Oakland Primary School in Sumter, S.C., Feb. 3.

First grader Aiden Palo was among students paying close attention as members of the community took turns reading children’s books to the class. It was after the third reader that he got the surprise of his life.

Aiden had no idea his dad came home early from a six-month deployment to Qatar until Lt. Col. John Palo, Third Army/ARCENT, 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment, plans officer, walked through the door still in his Army Combat Uniform to greet his son.

Aiden smiled big and the crowd filled the room with applause as the 6-year-old raced into his father’s arms and buried his head in his dad’s shoulder.

John said it was good to be home, and he was looking forward to catching up and spending time with his son.

“It’s like being a kid at Christmas. You’re incredibly excited, but it doesn’t get old at all. It doesn’t get easier having to leave every time either, that’s the hard part. Coming home is the easier part, the fun part,” said John, a Nashua, N.H. native. “I got a feeling we’ll be playing a lot of Legos, but I’ll do whatever he wants me to do, and I’ll have no problems doing it.”

Aiden’s mother Angela Palo said it’s hard on Aiden to be away from his father, and she wanted the homecoming to be special. The surprise had been in the works since Christmas.

One of the things Aiden and Angie did to count the days was put 180 M&Ms in their own separate jars and ate one everyday to keep track of how much time was left before John came home.

“Some people count cards, others mark days off the calendar, we ate M&Ms,” said Angie.
The Palos try to get as much face to face time with dad while he is gone. They set aside time usually on Saturday and Sunday so they can see each other each week, but there are some things you just can’t capture through technology.

“I’m gone for large chunks of time. He’s a lot taller, and he has no teeth,” said John.

The best phrase that best captured the moment of the day came from Aiden Palo, “It’s awesome!”

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

No country in the world posses a greater threat to global stability than Iran. Their nuclear program has lead to intense sanctions on the country with many still considering the military option. Recent developments especially show how fragile the situation really is.

Iran’s Nuclear Ambition

Senior UN nuclear officials have been conducting talks in Tehran over the last several days. Their goal was to have Iran discuss the West’s growing suspicions that Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran wasted the final day of talks.

According to one Vienna-based diplomat briefed on the discussions, it contained a procedural “new work plan” at odds with the nature of the discussions until then, in which the U.N. experts had tried to focus on concrete steps required by Iran.

In the view of Western officials, the Iranian move was further proof of the kind of stalling tactics Tehran has often used during the decade-long dispute over its nuclear program.

“It is delay. It is talks about talks,” a senior Western envoy said about the Iranian negotiating strategy.

Reuters then reported today that Iran is increasing work in one of their most secure nuclear sites.

(Reuters) – Iran is believed to be expanding uranium enrichment activity deep inside a mountain, diplomatic sources said Monday, a move likely to add to tension with Western powers that suspect Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

The move to increase sensitive nuclear work at the Fordow underground site near the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Qom, even if expected, underlines the Islamic state’s defiance in the face of intensifying Western pressure to curb such activity.

Sanctions Heightened

Iran has been actively enriching nuclear material for several years despite objections from Western nations. Fears of a nuclear Iran fueled sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. Just today, President Obama signed an executive order further restricting Iran’s access to it’s assets.

The White House announced Monday it was freezing all property owned in the U.S. by Iran or the Central Bank of Iran. President Barack Obama, in an executive order signed Sunday, said the Central Bank of Iran was concealing transactions of sanctioned parties and that Iran was not making progress in halting money laundering.
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The U.S. is already implementing sanctions that aim to cut off Iranian oil exports, a major source of revenue for Iran’s government. Top U.S. officials recently met with Japanese and Chinese leaders, who are being asked to cut off Iranian crude oil imports.

The European Union also approved an embargo on Iranian oil that goes into effect in July. Collective efforts to block Iran oil shipments have forced Asian and European countries to look for alternative supplies from Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers.

The US and EU hopes that regime change is the the end result of sanctions being place on Iran. There is hope of Iranian citizens rising up much like the Twitter revolution of a couple of years ago and replacing the current government with one more friendly to the West. Sanctions along with the diplomatic weight currently being applied to Iran is the ideal path for President Obama.

Israel is right to be concerned about Iran’s push to join the league of nations that possess nuclear weapons, but diplomacy – not military intervention – remains the “preferred solution” to averting a potential arms race in the Middle East, President Barack Obama said Sunday [5 February].

During a live interview with TODAY’s Matt Lauer, the president left the military option open if there’s evidence that economic sanctions and diplomatic efforts fail to convince the Iranian regime to give up its nuclear ambitions and threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic gateway to the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

Military Option

President Obama isn’t the only one still leaving open a military option. A near majority of respondents to a poll conducted by The Hill would also consider military action.

Nearly half of likely voters think the United States should be willing to use military force to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to this week’s The Hill Poll.

Forty-nine percent said military force should be used, while 31 percent said it should not and 20 percent were not sure.

Americans aren’t the only ones that would like to keep a military strike a possibility. A high ranking member of the Israeli intelligence community does as well.

Amos Yadlin, the recently retired chief of of Israeli military intelligence, told CNN’s David McKenzie today that while newly announced sanctions against Iran were certainly welcome, the option of using force against the country’s nuclear program should not be taken off the table.
…
“All strategies all options should be on the table simultaneously,” Yadlin said.

LtGen Gabi Ashkenazi (ret), former IDF chief of staff, feels the same.

“In comparison to 10 years ago, the possibility of a conflict is not something that we just need to talk about. We also need to prepare for it,” Ashkenazi said at a conference in Tel Aviv.

Calling for a strategy that combines “everything that can be done under the radar” – likely a reference to covert action – with “painful and crippling sanctions,” Ashkenazi also said that Israel needed to create a military option and declare its readiness to use it.

However, other members of the Israeli government have said to stop suggesting a military strike as an option.

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned his officials to stop “blabbing” about the possibility of an attack targeting Iran’s nuclear program, the newspaper Maariv reported on Monday.

Netanyahu is said to have directed the instruction at a number of military officials and government ministers who he believes have been speaking too freely about a potential Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

A military strike is also opposed in other parts of the Middle East.

Reuters reports that in a speech to the Munich Security Conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a gathering of security officials and diplomats: “A military option will create a disaster in our region. So before that disaster, everybody must be serious in negotiations. We hope soon both sides will meet again but this time there will be a complete result.”

Iran’s military and intelligence community are no doubt working overtime to plan for and prevent any possible attack or invasion. Their military recently concluded exercises aimed at combating an invasion.

Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the ground forces in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, said commando teams and aerial combat squads successfully defended against “the hypothetical enemies’ armored and mechanized columns,” Iran’s state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

What does the future hold?

To say that future relations between Iran and the West are anything short of fragile would be a gross understatement. The world hasn’t been so on edge concerning the possibility of a nuclear attack since India and Pakistan entered into an arms race. Iranian leadership has expressed their desire to wipe Israel off the map numerous times in the past. They have assured the world that their nuclear program is one of peaceful energy production, but those assurances have been tempered by past rhetoric.

I predict the next twelve months to be the key time in the sanctions and negotiations process between the West and Iran. If Iran does not slow it’s nuclear material enrichment and make full disclosure to nuclear watchdogs there may very well be a military strike by Israel, the US, and/or members of the EU.

Former Secretary of the Navy and deputy defense secretary Gordon England wrote an OpEd for the Washington Post that perfectly describes why budget cuts at the DoD will only erode military readiness and impede our ability to respond to future threats.

Consider for a moment the state of the American military four months prior to 9/11 according to Mr. England.

The Navy did not have enough funding to steam ships or to fly airplanes for the rest of the fiscal year [the fiscal year runs from 1 Oct to 30 Sept -M]. Submarines were being deployed with many of their cruise-missile tubes empty. Warships could not deploy until test and repair equipment was transferred from ships returning to port. The Navy’s deferred maintenance account was billions of dollars in the red. Sailor and Marine Corps housing and bases were, literally, a mess. Military salaries were low, housing allowances below rental costs and medical facilities needed upgrades.

The Army and Air Force were in similar straits. Ammunition stocks were dismally low and precision weapons a luxury. The peace dividends of the 1990s had left the military ill-equipped and ill-prepared for conflict — hardly a situation to be repeated in today’s uncertain and troublesome world. And hardly a way to treat our valiant warriors and their families.

Click to enlarge

Mr. England was exactly correct in stating peace in the 1990s lead to the gutting of the American military. DoD’s budget in 1990 was just under 504 billion dollars. It fell to a low of $356 billion in 1998 before climbing back to $379 billion in 2000 before the 9/11 attacks and invasion of Afghanistan. It would take another three years and the invasion of Iraq for DoD spending to equal what it did prior to the Gulf War. The table to the left gives a visual of DoD budget changes from 1990 to 2003. Note: figures in this paragraph were adjusted for inflation to 2011 dollars.

Former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld once said, “As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” The context of his statement is a bit different from this writing, but it rings true nonetheless. Wars have broke out since before the time of the first nation-states and will undoubtedly occur in the future as well. The United States will at some point go to war after the Global War on Terror concludes and we’ll have to fight that war with the army we have, “not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”

The key to winning future conflicts lies in the DoD being able to maintain more of it’s manpower and some, but not all, equipment projects. Budget cuts that have been announced and cuts coming in the future will serve as death by a thousand paper cuts. We will be unable to respond to threats without enormous spending increases and incurring new debt like we were forced to do after the attacks of September 11. History has a way of repeating itself and we do not want to be caught improperly equipped and trained like after September 11.

Sources: DoD Budget, Inflation calculator

Update: Current Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta characterized current plans to cut defense spending as “crazy”.

Munich (dpa) – Mandated budget cuts that would deeply slash US military spending are “crazy” and need to be excised from current budget planning by lawmakers, warned US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Saturday.

“We are not planning on it happening. If it did, I would have to throw the plan I just made out the window and I think that would be dangerous for America and for the world,” said Panetta.