A few months back I posted from USAG Graffewoehr, Germany.  I was blessed to spend a month in Germany with my son, his wife and my new grand baby. I stayed in the German state of Bavaria, and technically we were just an hour outside of the Czech Republic. I stayed in a small town called Weiden (in der Oberpfalz). I got to visit Amberg, Nuremberg, and Floß.

Since we were just a few miles outside of Floß my son took me to the Floßenbürg Concentration Camp. The Camp has been preserved and the Country of Germany has done a very good job at tastefully and respectfully telling the stories of the victims of Floßenbürg. If you are ever in Germany I recommend going to at least one Concentration Camp site to pay respects to the victims and to those who fought, bled and died liberating it!

Germany has preserved many of the camps to remind the world what can happen… what did happen. No matter what the holocaust deniers in this world try to assert, the proof in the preserved evidence either silences them or proves them to be fools. Below is a link to the pictures I took. You will not see tons of pictures and I did not pose in any of them. It was a very solemn and very sad visit.

I took pictures to share with those of you who have never been there, and may never see it. I took pictures to share the story of those who lost their lives and those who survived. There are some tribute plaques donated by survivors for their gratitude to the US Troops who liberated this death camp… and to the two US unidentified airmen who died fighting for those who were prisoners in this hell.

As you walk through the processing hall it is now a museum. There are little stations with original documents, letters form prisoners, clothing, pictures, logs, and the most amazing part are recorded stories told by survivors. Their voices are heard and they speak not only for themselves but in memory of the friends, family and inmates who died brutally in Floßenbürg.

Below are the pictures with commentary. If you click on an individual picture it should take you to a larger version. I left the gallery on my personal website since it has over 30 pictures. It’s a private and safe website to view:

CLICK HERE to go to the gallery

It was this day 70 years ago when war was first brought to our shores. Unfortunately it would not be the last time it would happen. It happened in 1993 at the World Trade Center and again in 2001.

Map of Pearl Harbor with my son pointing to USS Arizona

For many young people I am afraid that the significance of Pearl Harbor has been lost on them. Besides seeing a movie about it or just hearing about it, I don’t think the up and coming generations of today realize what a significant day this really is. It was 9/11 times 1000 in my opinion. It was not a rogue bunch of idealogical terrorists, but rather a nation-state that deliberately planned and executed an attack against us unprovoked. Our might pacific fleet sat almost defenseless as the Japanese unleashed wave after wave of attack against them and the civilians of Hawaii.

The spot where the USS Arizona was moored up to

It was as noted, “a day that will live in infamy”. I really hope that holds true and does not become a day forgotten and ignored. May God Bless all of those that endured that attack and their families who have and probably still suffer today.

The oil still coming up from the USS Arizona. Also known as the tears of the Arizona

The wall of names of those lost which is inside the memorial

18 years ago today Operation Gothic Serpent took place in a little unknown (at the time) place called Mogadishu, Somalia. Yes the Battle now known as Black Hawk Down happened.

The interview below is with Keni Thomas who is now a country music recording artist and author, but 18 years ago he was a Team Leader with Task Force Ranger in “The Mog”.

We are working with Keni to have him on You Served Radio soon after he gets back from his current USO tour.  Believe it or not he just ran into our very own CJ Grisham who is currently deployed to Afghanistan while on the tour.

Stay tuned to this blog and You Served Radio as I am sure Keni will join the likes of other great country recording artists like Craig Morgan, Rockie Lynne, Cowboy Crush, Amanda Nourgany and of course Mark Wills as Friends of You Served Radio.

I am one of these soldiers. I took the PB tablets they made us take. I was forced to take the unapproved Anthrax shot, and I was near the huge Ammo dump at Khamisiyah. As I mentioned in the 2008 blog post I wrote on this site at http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2008/03/23/possible-gulf-war-syndrome-cause/ who knows what effects any of this has had on me, if anything?

All I know is that it was not come scam cooked up by 700,000 plus live and now many dead Gulf War veterans. 

New research released today indicates that veterans with Gulf War illness faced different toxins depending on where they served.  About one-fourth of the 700,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War developed symptoms including chronic headaches, widespread pain, fatigue, and memory and concentration problems among others.  A research study found Gulf War illness was most prevalent in the veterans who served in Iraq or Kuwait and were taking small doses of nerve agent meant to help troops build up a resistance in case of a chemical attack.  Those Servicemembers also reported being within one mile of an exploding Scud missile.  Army veterans have suffered from Gulf War illness at higher rates than those from other services.  However, troops from other services who said they also took the nerve agent pills report Gulf War illness at similar rates to Soldiers.  To read this article in full, please go to: http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-19/gulf-war-illness-study/50459462/1

The Senate’s version of the fiscal 2012 Defense spending bill was approved by the Appropriations Committee last week.

The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2012, provides $630.6 billion in base and overseas contingency operation funding. The base budget appropriation is $513.0 billion which is a spending freeze at the fiscal year 2011 level. This freeze represents a $25.9 billion reduction from the budget request, consistent with the spending cuts directed by the Budget Control Act of 2011. The defense bill also contains $117.6 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) of the Department of Defense, the same amount requested by the President.

The bill:

* Funds an active duty end strength of 1,422,600, and reserve component end strength of 847,100;

* Funds a 1.6 percent authorized pay raise for military personnel;

* Adds $255 million above the budget request to cover shortfalls in military personnel accounts which were identified by the Services;

* Recommends $33.8 billion for the Defense Health Program, an increase of $1 billion from the fiscal  2011 level. This provides medical services for military personnel and their families, continues advancements in medical research, modernizes and maintains medical infrastructure, and develops the next generation of electronic health records;

* Recommends an additional $60 million for peer-reviewed psychological health and traumatic brain injury programs, and an additional $194 million for peer-reviewed breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer research programs;

* Fully funds key programs to strengthen military readiness. The operation and maintenance funding in the bill sustains training, base operations support, and equipment maintenance, as well as high tempo operations such as aircraft flight hours, and vehicle miles;

* Fully funds family support programs and provides enhancements for programs such as Impact Aid and the Educational Partnership Program that assist military dependent students;

* Funds new equipment and upgrades to existing programs to ensure that military forces have the hardware needed to support training and military operations during a time of war;

* Adds $500 million in the National Guard and Reserve equipment account to ensure that Reserve Components are prepared for their national defense and homeland security missions;

* Funds the request for Army Chinook and Apache helicopters and adds funds for an additional six Army Black Hawk helicopters.  It also adds $89 million for Army tactical UAVs to replace aircraft lost in combat and increases funding for an additional 49 Abrams tank upgrades;

A statement released by the Committee outlines how they will comply with the spending reductions directed in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The bill proposes 580 reductions to programs requested in the budget.  These cuts are made as a result of program terminations or delays, changes to policies or programs since submission of the budget in February 2011, inadequate justification, or corrections to poor fiscal discipline in the Department of Defense.

Two of the more visible reductions are the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the Ground Combat Vehicle.  The committee terminated the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program based on excessive cost growth, unstable requirements, and new alternatives.  They say that savings from this program will help support Army and Marine Corps efforts to recapitalize and competitively upgrade HMMWV fleets.  The Committee proposed cuts to the Ground Combat Vehicle due to schedule delays and changes to the acquisition strategy.

What’s next:  The bill could go the Senate floor for a full vote; however, it will probably be included in an omnibus bill.

Congress is expected to clear a stopgap spending bill by the end of this week which would provide funding for government programs through Nov. 18 and avoid a government shutdown when the next fiscal year begins  Oct. 1.  The additional time could allow Congress to pass their routine stand-alone fiscal 2012 spending measures.  But it is more likely that they will use that time to assemble an omnibus spending agreement that would contain most, if not all, fiscal 2012 spending bills, and could move to the full House and Senate before Thanksgiving.

With all the embarrassment of the screw-ups at Arlington National Cemetery it is amazing to think that some technology company has achieved in a few months what our Federal Government couldn’t even do right over many, many years.

Arlington-based information technology service provider Segue Technologies Inc. has developed a free smartphone app that helps locate grave sites at the Arlington National Cemetery. The app, available free-of-charge for both iPhone and Android phones, lets the user identify the location of a specific grave using first, last and/or middle name as well as dates of birth or death. A map is provided  in addition to the grave’s location .To find the app for the iPhone, please go to: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/arlington-national-cemetery/id455238628?ls=1&mt=8.

This video clip is of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld holding his first press briefing in the Pentagon on the day of the attacks. In fact this briefing happened just hours after the SecDef was outside helping evacuate wounded from the Pentagon.

As a reminder, we will have Mr. Rumsfeld on You Served Radio this week on Tuesday, 9/13 at 8PM EDT as our first guest of the evening. Be sure to tune and not to miss it.

As we count down over the next 11 days to the 10th anniversary of the horrific attacks that changed our lives, this country and essentially the planet I will be running a daily series with video clips and footage from that terrible day and the days that followed.

For this first one in the series. Here is Fox News 5 (Washington DC) news coverage from that morning. You will notice at 21:26 into this clip they dump the commercial and go right to the emerging story.

While most Americans were celebrating Independence Day with BBQs, time with family, parades, and fireworks, a few American patriots that protect those liberties recommitted themselves to serving as the sheepdogs responsible for securing and ensuring that way of life.

235 U.S. service members from all branches of service reenlisted today during a ceremony called “Operation Enduring Commitment – The Red, White and True” at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. One Soldier for every year since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On hand for the ceremony was U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commanding general of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. In this photo, General Petraeus smiles for a photo with U.S. Army Spc. Don Ellen after administering the oath of re-affirmation and re-enlistment. As you know, General Petraeus served as the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom 1. Both Soldiers are sporting the unit patch in this photo by Lt. JG. Haraz Ghanbari.

If you haven’t tuned into You Served Radio in a while, this Tuesday (the Army’s Birthday and Flag Day) is a show you won’t want to miss. We are fortunate enough to have two living and breathing legends in the defense of this country on the this very special show.

It would be a special show if we had either of them, but to have both of these very fine gentlemen on the same is truly awesome. We will be joined first by Army SGM (ret) Billy Waugh, and then in the second hour we will have Marine MG (ret) James Livingston.

Sergeant Major (SGM) William “Billy” Waugh (US Army-Ret.), is a highly decorated American Special Forces soldier and a Central Intelligence Agency Paramilitary Operations Officer who served in the United States military and CIA special operations for more than fifty years. SGM Waugh served in the U.S. Army’s elite Green Berets and the CIA’s famed Special Activities Division.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Waugh

http://www.billywaugh.net/

He is one of only a handful of people to have a documented combat HALO jump into North Vietnam and many other accomplishments under his very long service to this country. He will be joining us to talk about some of those and many other current topics.

Next up is Major General James Everett Livingston. MG Livingston is a retired United States Marine Corps Major General. He is a recipient of the United States’ highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for heroic actions in 1968 during the Vietnam War. Maj Gen Livingston served on active duty in the Marine Corps for over 33 years before retiring on September 1, 1995. His last assignment was the Commanding General of Marine Forces Reserve in New Orleans, Louisiana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Livingston