H&I* Fires 14 JUN 2007

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...

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I gotta pull pitch for the office - but... am I the only person on the planet who has seen not.one.episode of The Sopranos... and still doesn't care? I should admit I have not.seen.one.episode of the Survivor series, either, I suppose. Just wond'rin. -the Armorer

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I've seen one episode of the Sopranos. - Kat

Now I have an opportunity to remind everyone that today is Flag Day. Do you have your flag on?
This is a little piece I wrote (castle philosopher like) on why we should honor our flag:
O'er the Land of the Free

If you need a little motivation today and would like to see a little countryside, Soldiers' Angels KC has our video of the Operation Aces High Poker Run: Radar Love It was so good, Soldiers' Angels founder Patti wants to put copies of it in the First Response Backpacks we purchased with the funds we raised.

Somewhere on the coast, Soldiers' Angels [UPDATE: sorry I'm late with the correction] supported the Marine Corps Semper Fi Fund, Military.com and several military wives you should know [hint: one was at the milblog conference] organized a day of fishing for our wounded vets. It was an awesome event.

Finally, you may have missed it yesterday, but Wednesday Heroes has some great hero stories. This one you may or may not have heard around the net:

Soldiers of a 10th Mountain Division battalion, deep in the heart of Iraq’s bloodiest region, are alive and well today because one young soldier from Norwood was on lookout Sunday afternoon.

Spc. Brandon Rork, a 24-year-old 2002 graduate of Norwood High School, was on guard atop Patrol Base Warrior Keep on Sunday, manning a 240 Bravo machine gun and keeping a lookout for danger.

What he found could have reduced Patrol Base Warrior Keep to rubble and left dozens, possibly hundreds, of his fellow soldiers in the 2-14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, dead on the ground.

8,000 pounds of explosives in the back of a dump truck is what he found after he fired into the cab of the truck and the driver jumped out to run. You'll definitely want to catch the rest of these heroes stories.

Just so I'm not hogging the space strictly for the Angels, have you been reading Michael Yon's: Death or Glory posts?

-Kat
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How the Italian Reporter Was Ransomed in Afghanistan and many other "What happens when you and your coalition partners don't operate the same way or your country is full of leftist crackpots who just want to hug the Taliban to death."

Peace Jirga between Afghanistan and Pakistan? That would be Afghanistan do nothing and the Pakistanis will come over the border and "love you" to pieces.

You know there are Germans in Afghanistan? I did, but wondered if some had forgotten.

A year in Afghanistan

[yes - I've been saving up for a day when no one was posting anything; now it's all kat, all the time - muwahahaha]
-Kat

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Today, our Army celebrates its 232nd birthday! On June 14th 1775, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Continental Congress voted to raise ten companies of riflemen—the first soldiers to be enlisted directly in the Continental service—in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to march north to join the army before Boston. The creation of a truly American Army on June 14, 1775, was significant to the history of our emerging nation--the first ten companies of Continental Army soldiers were a 'national' force, even before the nation was fully formed. The first continentals were recruited from several states and were sent from one end of the thirteen colonies, then states, to another. In time a nation would grow out of the seeds planted by each continental soldier as he signed up not as a "summer soldier" or "sunshine patriot," to use the immortal words of Tom Paine, but as an American soldier in service to his nation whenever and wherever needed.

Over the next several years, those soldiers fought the mighty British Empire and won the American Revolution. Since then, U.S. soldiers have fought in more than nine wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. Soldiers also fought and re-forged our divided nation in the Civil War; they fought in the trenches of World War I, and across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific to defeat the Axis Powers in World War II. Soldiers fought the evils of communism in the Korean and Vietnam wars; they liberated oppressed peoples in Mogadishu, Haiti, and Panama; they fought across the deserts of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, led peace-keeping operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, and they continue to fight the ongoing War on Terror in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other known and unknown locations across the globe. Today, their service is commemorated in the 175 campaign streamers that adorn the Army Flag—from Lexington & Concord to the battlefields of today.

As Americans, it is important to remember our glorious history. It is also important to remember, particularly during times of war, that it is soldiers who pay the greatest price of freedom. To date over 3400 brave men and women have died fighting the Global War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. I would encourage everyone to keep these heroes, their loved ones, and those who continue to serve overseas in your thoughts and prayers. Soldiers are truly America’s heroes.

Today, as we celebrate this important milestone, every soldier – whether active, reserve, retired, or separated – should be proud of his or her service to the country and to the United States Army. On behalf of a grateful nation, we salute you and thank you for a job well done!

Quoted by courtesy of the Commander, Missile Defense Agency -the Armorer

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So there, Kat! -the Armorer

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"Hi, Dad, it's me. So this is it. I made it and you were right. It didn't kill me. I remember that day I told you you were going to have to lose weight because I didn't want you to have a pot belly at my graduation. Now all I wish is that you were here."

Read "Military kids get their pomp without parents" at the Chicago Tribune. I was born in Wuerzburg, btw. H/t, Jim C. -the Armorer

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Priceless oratory from Dennis Miller [h/t to a commenter at Neptunus Lex]. - FbL

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