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.
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John writes: "Continue Mission - Out" Or something to that effect. - David M
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In today's From the Front: (Click on link to read stories highlighted below)
Cassandra: While We Were Grilling Hot Dogs
Loving A Soldier. Living the Life: Is This Really Happening?
Knottie's Niche: More Abuse of Military Families
Bouhammer: Mrs. Bouhammer Guest Post; FRGs are Priceless in the time of Crisis
Felix Kuehn: Kandahar Eyewitness Account
Iron Camel: Condoms, Latex, 20 EA
After a Tour in the N.B.A., a Life of Duty Over There
Biden, on Iraq Trip, Will Meet Maliki
In Checkpoint Scrawl, Reality's Counterpoint
Calls for Justice for Cameraman Slain in Iraq
Some Afghans will move to Canada more easily
Military Chief Suggests Need to Enlarge US Afghan Force
Senate struggles with Afghanistan
At least nine Taliban dead in clashes with Germans, Afghan police
AND MORE...
-David M
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After son's death in Iraq, father embeds with unit to tell his story:
-David M
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************************
John writes: "Continue Mission - Out" Or something to that effect. - David M
************************
In today's From the Front: (Click on link to read stories highlighted below)
Cassandra: While We Were Grilling Hot Dogs
Loving A Soldier. Living the Life: Is This Really Happening?
Knottie's Niche: More Abuse of Military Families
Bouhammer: Mrs. Bouhammer Guest Post; FRGs are Priceless in the time of Crisis
Felix Kuehn: Kandahar Eyewitness Account
Iron Camel: Condoms, Latex, 20 EA
After a Tour in the N.B.A., a Life of Duty Over There
Biden, on Iraq Trip, Will Meet Maliki
In Checkpoint Scrawl, Reality's Counterpoint
Calls for Justice for Cameraman Slain in Iraq
Some Afghans will move to Canada more easily
Military Chief Suggests Need to Enlarge US Afghan Force
Senate struggles with Afghanistan
At least nine Taliban dead in clashes with Germans, Afghan police
AND MORE...
-David M
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After son's death in Iraq, father embeds with unit to tell his story:
Read the rest...you won't be sorry.After he buried Darrell "Skip" Griffin Jr. and after the sympathy calls faded, the elder Griffin, like every American who has ever lost a beloved soldier, struggled to resume life's normal rhythms.
But this is where Griffin's journey veered from others and took a twist so unique that it made the U.S. Army bend its rock-hard rules. The 55-year-old accounting consultant, who opposed Vietnam and had never served in combat, traveled to the epicenter of the Iraq war. There, he would trace his son's last days.
The result, "Last Journey: A Father and Son in Wartime," is a common story about a father-son relationship, told in an uncommon way.
-David M
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*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires. Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute. Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is. The UAVs we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now. Of course, now I have to call them UAS's, because someone got a Legion of Merit for the name change. Anyway, I call the post H&I Fires because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to that particular topic. Another term of art that might be appropriate is Free Fire Zone.
I should know better than to read some of this stuff at work. Good thing everyone else is gone for the day....
Thanks for the link. That is a book I will look for.