November 11, 2006
Veteran's Day, 2006.
Today we celebrate the living. The survivors. We honor the dead in May. Except today we honor the dead, too. We can't help it. The bonds of combat soldiery are tightest because of those who went with us but didn't come back, they took the low road while we took the high. Most of us have an "absent companion" or four that we drink to, when the time is right. Today it will be right. I have 14 17 that I will drink to. 14 17 little shots of tequila. Actually, I won't do it tonight when I get home, either. I spread 'em out between Veteran's Day and Memorial Day. My father doesn't even try. If he toasted all his ghosts, his liver would rip itself out of his belly and run. I have friends who will be making a trip to a military funeral this weekend (for #16, LTC Paul Finken).
I honor my two favorite veterans: SWWBO, and my Father. I honor my two favorite people who sweated out what their veterans were off doing: Mom and my sister.
I honor the veterans of my family, stretching back in America's wars to one of Roger's Rangers, even the ones who fought on the wrong side of the Civil War.
I will be in the Leavenworth Veteran's Day Parade today. The theme is Supporting America. I'll be on the Rotary Club float - with the Castle Vickers, made up as it is of British, Australian, and Canadian parts - and I'll be wearing the Aussie slouch hat given me by an Australian soldier I served with - because our theme is Rotary Honors All the Veterans, foreign and domestic, who have, in one way or another, Supported America.
So, as it's Remembrance Day elsewhere in the world - there's this Canadian song: Remember.
At 11:00AM, the parade will stop where it stands, Taps will be played, and we will observe two minutes of silence.
Take two minutes... it's a pittance of time.
We have bonds, we veterans. Bonds that sometimes our closest family don't understand. Why does Grampa Joe keep bailing that wino out of trouble? Because that wino lost two fingers tossing a grenade out of a two-man fighting position during the a vicious night fight on Guadalcanal, that's why. Because that stranger that Dad greets like a long lost brother once a year is, in fact, a long lost brother, who shared the exhilaration of the night combat drop on Point Salines. Because the quiet guy you've never seen before extracted your Dad's best friend's body from a helicopter crash in Mogadishu by cutting off his legs - so that no man would be left behind. Because that guy over there negotiated with Aideed to get the legs back.
Because that woman sitting at the table comforted many of your grandfather's friends as they lay dying, the last thing they ever saw, or heard. Because that janitor in your school spent a long night on LZ X-Ray, cut off from his unit, keeping his squadmates alive. Because that Bank President looking at ties over there drove an AMTRAC across the reef at Tarawa under a withering fire so your uncle wouldn't have to slog in on foot, fighting both the sea and the Japanese. That man in Lions with your great-uncle? Your uncle helped him walk out from the Frozen Chosin.
Because that man serving turkey at the shelter helped Uncle Bob deal with Esther's "Dear John" letter, that arrived right before "Big Push." And him, that guy playing with his grandkids, who always seems to have some candy for you... well, he's a Glow-worm, a fighter pilot who jumped from a burning aircraft after he lost that dogfight with the Bf-109, and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp - and survived the forced marches to the west, as the germans were falling back from the onslaught of the Red Army. His buddy? The wingman whose 'six' was being covered. We are also a maudlin, sentimental group. We honor ALL of our veterans. Especially the ones who didn't really volunteer, but would and did give their lives freely for their brothers in arms, too.
We have the bond of shared experiences, whether it's Basic, Jump School, the JRTC, Graf, Pahakuloa, Camp Red Cloud, Hof, Okinawa, Tay Ninh, Vung Tau, Suwon, Phenix City, El Paso, Biloxi, the convoys across the Atlantic, storming over a beach, busting bunkers, hunkering under artillery, rescuing families caught in the middle, finding that cask of cognac and... and the list goes on and on and on. And your newest veterans - they will have their traumas, too.
I am proud of my place among you, you men and women who simply did their duty. Who didn't run. Who came when asked. I am among giants. But my thoughts will be with the newest wave of veterans.
by Spc. Nathan Hoskins November 8, 2006
Pvt. Michelle Young, Pvt. Zachary Smith and Spc. Courtney Brenton from 3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, beautify Dining Facility 1 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Paintings like this one are found throughout the camp. This photo appeared on www.army.mil.
The Republic is well served. Well served indeed. And as long as we find men and women willing to do the hard, dirty work - there will be a Republic.
We have not fought most of our wars this last hundred years alone. And other nations, other armies, with whom we have much in common also honor the living and remember their dead. I have a significant Canadian readership. So, I honor our Canadian and Commonwealth brothers, who shed blood with us in Afghanistan, and sadly, a good chunk of it was shed by us... so it's only fitting.
Usually around Christmas you see the poems about the American soldier and his sacrifices. The Canadians have one too.
Who Is HeHe is profane and irreverent, living as he does in a world full of capriciousness, frustration and disillusionment. He is perhaps the best-educated of his kind in history, but will rarely accord respect on the basis of mere degrees or titles.
He speaks his own dialect, often incomprehensible to the layman. He can be cold, cruel, even brutal and is frequently insensitive. Killing is his profession and he strives very hard to become even more skilled at it.
His model is the grey, muddy, hard-eyed slayer who took the untakeable at Vimy Ridge, endured the unendurable in the Scheldt and held the unholdable at Kapyong.
He is a superlative practical diplomat; his efforts have brought peace to countless countries around the world. He is capable of astonishing acts of kindness, warmth and generosity. He will give you his last sip of water on a parched day and his last food to a hungry child; he will give his very life for the society he loves. Danger and horror are his familiars and his sense of humour is accordingly sardonic. What the unknowing take as callousness is his defence against the unimaginable; he whistles through a career filled with graveyards.His ethos is one of self-sacrifice and duty. He is sinfully proud of himself, of his unit and of his countryand he is unique in that his commitment to his society is Total. No other trade or profession dreams of demanding such of its members
and none could successfully try.He loves his family dearly, sees them all too rarely and as often as not loses them to the demands of his profession. Loneliness is the price he accepts for the privilege of serving. He accounts discomfort as routine and the search for personal gain as beneath him; he has neither understanding of nor patience
for those motivated by self-interest, politics or money.
His loyalty can be absolute, but it must be purchased. Paradoxically, the only coin accepted for that payment is also loyalty. He devours life with big bites, knowing that each bite might be his last and his manners suffer thereby. He would rather die regretting the things he did than the ones he dared not try. He earns a good wage by most standards and, given the demands on him, is woefully underpaid.He can be arrogant, thoughtless and conceited, but will spend himself, sacrifice everything for total strangers in places he cannot even pronounce. He considers political correctness a podium for self-righteous fools, but will die fighting for the rights of anyone he respects or pities.
He is a philosopher and a drudge, an assassin and a philanthropist, a servant and a leader, a disputer and a mediator, a Nobel Laureate peacekeeper and the Queen's Hitman, a brawler and a healer, best friend and worst enemy. He is a rock, a goat, a fool, a sage, a drunk, a provider, a cynic and a romantic dreamer. Above it all, he is a hero for our time.
You, pale stranger, sleep well at night only because he exists for you, the citizen who has never met him, has perhaps never thought of him and may even despise him. He is both your child and your guardian. His devotion to you is unwavering.
He is a Canadian Soldier.
Hell, he's any soldier of a true democracy. And he too is one of my brothers-in-arms.
A worthy cartoon. H/t, Barb of Righty in a Lefty State.
H/t to CAPT H for the Canadian input. A nod to Sheldon P (1 PPCLI) and Jim Cope (USA, ret'd) for the link to Remember.
» The AnarchAngel links with: A Pittance of Time
Valour-IT and Sheep-shearing???
Haven't given to Valour-IT yet? Here's some inspiration...
Flag Gazer tells us how sheap-shearing and Valour-IT are connected:
When she got here, we were talking about our troop support activities - something she always asks about. When we finished shearing, and I was getting ready to pay her, she said, "I have a proposition for you....Read the rest here.
Project Valour-IT Last Day
Ah, those were the days. Bloodspite offers incentive!
That's just for me.
From She Who Will Not Be Swayed:
It's the last day of the Valour-IT Competition (Yay, we can rest tomorrow!).EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Online team donations as of Friday night: over $155,000
Online non-team donations as of Friday morning: over $15,500
Online total: over $170,00.
Donations via check: Unknown at this time.Therefore: Goal of $180,000 is most definitely within reach.
Looking at the team totals is very deceiving! We have received over $15,500 online in NON-TEAM donations as of Friday morning, so our online total is actually well over $170,000. And that doesn't include checks (I haven't got numbers on the checks yet).
SO.... $180,000 is eminently reachable. :D
Fuzzybear Lioness also notes this:
Valour-IT and Blood Brothers Valour-IT auction has something new and very special: Two copies of Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy and wrote:This one's a must-read. Go get it. And it wouldn't hurt to thank Mr. Weisskopf for the service it's going to do to wounded warfighters and those of us who love them, either. John Donovan and I have been in personal contact with Mr. Weisskopf, and for all his journalistic "objectivity," his response upon hearing of Valour-IT tells us where his heart was in writing this book: "I wrote Blood Brothers for the very people your organization helps."
Now,we offer two signed-to-order copies of this book that explains better than anything else what faces the wounded warriors Valour-IT helps. Go and bid. They're worth every penny.
They are, and you can get them by clicking here, opening up the Army auctions... and bidding.You *do* now that if you have gnomes and have been treating them well, they deploy with you, right? Doing their little gnomish bit? C'mon, how many of you out there don't remember all those little things that usually went wrong, or missing, but sometimes went right or showed up? Gnomes.
Well, just as sometimes we warriors never get past our vocation and deployments, so to it is with your Gnomes. So, sure, before you deployed (or your neighbor did) their gnome may have lived in something that looked like this:
But you know your gnome would looooove one of these:
Custom-built pre-manufactured homes (with window, not shown) hand-crafted (literally, Murray pours the aluminum and hand-paints 'em all himself) in New Zealand by a Kiwi who donates one dollar from each normal sale to Soldier's Angels for Project Valour-IT and has offered up these custom Gnome Homes to Castle Argghhh!!! for this fundraiser. Comes complete with instructions!
First four receipts for $50 scores a Military Gnome Home!
C'mon, you know you want one. Or one of these...
But that's not the worst thing. Good golly no. I checked the Project Valour-IT totals to find the Marines *and* the Navy ahead - but worse, they met their goals, and, well, we Army guys are just punks. And not just by a nose, but by a few amphibious carrier lengths... to the tune of better than $10,000 ahead. Eeeep! We aren't likely to catch 'em, but geez, this is embarassing. Give people!
So, spend some of your hard-earned dollars helping wounded soldiers... and take some of that off the amount that the Social Engineers and Pork Barrellers are going to want from you next April!
The Cluebats of Argghhh! are back on the table too. If you missed out last time - send me a receipt for a $100 (or more!) donation, dated between 8-11 November, and I've got 20 bats available! And since the work is all done, these will ship quicker than the last ones, I promise! BTW - there's two of you from last time who never sent an address... it's hard to mail 'em without one! And don't feel compelled to donate electronically if you aren't comfortable with that. Even if the 20 bats go to Paypal donees, if you send me a snail mail receipt, I'll send you a bat.
And don't forget the Gnome Homes!
It's a tax-deductible donation and eligible for matching funds from companies who do that sort of thing (see: http://soldiersangels.org/valour/irsinfo.html for proof for the cautious).
The snail mail address for those who'd rather donate that way (be sure to put ARMY in big letters on the check):
San Antonio, TX 78248
November 10, 2006
From the White House.
Another Medal of Honor. This time to a Marine. This post will stay on top all day, new stuff comes in below.
President Bush Dedicates The National Museum Of The Marine Corps And Announces He Will Award Corporal Jason Dunham The Medal Of HonorToday, At The Dedication Of The National Museum Of The Marine Corps, President Bush Announced He Will Award The Medal Of Honor (Posthumous) To Corporal Jason Dunham.
On April 14, 2004, Corporal Dunham Heroically Saved The Lives Of Two Of His Fellow Marines By Jumping On A Grenade During An Ambush In The Town Of Karabilah . When a nearby Marine convoy was ambushed, Corporal Dunham led his squad to the site of the attack, where he and his men stopped a convoy of cars trying to make an escape. As he moved to search one of the vehicles, an insurgent jumped out and grabbed the corporal by the throat. The corporal engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. At one point, he shouted to his fellow Marines, "No. No. No. Watch his hand." Moments later, an enemy grenade rolled out and Corporal Dunham jumped on the grenade to protect his fellow Marines, using his helmet and body to absorb the blast. Corporal Dunham succumbed to his wounds on April 22, 2004.
Today Would Have Been Corporal Dunham's 25th Birthday. Corporal Dunham was a native of Scio , New York.
The Medal Of Honor Is America's Highest Decoration For Valor. The Medal of Honor, established by Joint Resolution of Congress, is awarded in the name of Congress to a person who, while a member of the Armed Forces, distinguishes himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against any enemy of the United States, while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. Corporal Dunham's family will be presented the medal at an upcoming ceremony at the White House.
Since Taking Office, President Bush Has Awarded Six Medals Of Honor. Three were for Vietnam , one was for World War II, one was for Korea , and one was for Iraq .
Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance: In Memoriam.
A good way to honor Corporal Dunham would be donating to Project Valour-IT.
» Stop The ACLU links with: Friday Free For All
» America's North Shore Journal links with: Jason Dunham - Medal of Honor
» Random Thoughts Of Yet Another Military Member links with: In Honor Of Veterans Day Tomorrow
H&I Fires November 10, 2006
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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Well, thank GOD they didn't decide on 20 lashes with a wet noodle! * rolls eyes * ~AFSis
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And let's not forget that it's the Marine's birthday! Via one of my Church Lady friends, I've been reminded why WE LOVE OUR MARINES!!
The United States Marine
MARINES come in all shapes, shades, weights, sizes, & states of sobriety, misery, & confusion. He is sly as a fox, has the nerve of a dope addict, the stories of an old sailor, the sincerity of a politician, & the subtly of Mt. Saint Helen. He's extremely irresistible, totally irrational & completely indestructible.
A Marine is a Marine all his life. He is a magical creature. You can kick him out of your house but not out of your heart. You can take him off your mailing list but not off your mind. Marines are found everywhere... in love...in battle... in lust... in trouble...in debt... in bars & behind them. No one can write so seldom and yet think so much of you. No one else can get so much enjoyment out of a letter or clean clothes or a 6 pack.
A Marine is a genius with a deck of cards. A millionaire without a cent and brave without a grain of sense. He is the PROTECTOR OF AMERICA, with the latest copy of Playboy in his back pocket. When he wants something it's usually 30 days leave, music that hurts the ears, a five dollar bill...or A WOMAN HE CAN COUNT ON.
Girls love them, mothers tolerate them, fathers brag about them, the government pays them, the police watch out for them & somehow they all work together. You can beat their bodies but not their minds.
You can tame their hearts but not their souls. He likes girls, females, women, ladies. He dislikes small checks, working weekends, answering letters, eating chow, waking up, maintaining a uniform, & the day before payday. You may as well give in. He is your long distance lover... He is your steel eyed, warm smiling, blank minded, hyperactive, over reacting, curious, passive, talented spontaneous, physically fit, good for nothing bundle of worry.....
And will always be there for you regardless of how long its been since you've last talked.
Yeah. WE LOVE OUR MARINES!
~AFSis
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And while whoever posted that stuff up there gets their blue dress cleaned... how about a new, um, er, oh just watch this - all the way to the end. H/t, SWWBO, who has some new directions of her own. -the Armorer
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And the world wonders... where's Noonan? El-tee? El-tee? -the Armorer
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Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee interviews some Baghdad MPs. -the Armorer
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Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Fitting... on today, the Marine's 231st birthday, and the day before Veteran's Day. CNN does a nice job with his story... I'm just sorry to say that it's being awarded posthumously. Semper Fi, Cpl. Dunham. Thanks for guarding the Gates of Heaven for us these days... ~AFSis
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Jules Crittenden - Live from Ramadi, Enemy of my Enemy! -the Armorer
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Project Valour-IT
Today marks the observance of Veteran's Day. Me, being the stick-in-the-mud traditionalist that I am, will observe it tomorrow, because 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month just has significance far greater than a sale at Sears.
It's the Marine's birthday today.
And we're still shilling for cash for Project Valour-IT.
Project Valour-IT, a program which has provided over 650 voice-activated laptops to wounded warriors so they can reconnect with family, friends, and the Internet, needs your help! The campaign in Iraq is a war of IEDs, which results in many traumatic amputations and blindness among the wounded. And the generation of warriors fighting this war are wired. Taking away hands and eyes takes them away from a whole swath of the world that is integral to them. You are reading this post. Without something like Project Valour-IT - they can't. Isn't that worth a few bucks?
So, with that in mind. Give, so that we can help blinded Marines like Corporal Michael Jernigan.
Give so that we can help people like Staff Sergeant Mike Graunke...
Skip lunch, and donate that money, so that guys with a sense of humor like this Marine:
...can stay connected to the world, should his sign not work out. That's not asking too much, is it?
The Cluebats of Argghhh! are back on the table too. If you missed out last time - send me a receipt for a $100 (or more!) donation, dated between 8-11 November, and I've got 20 bats available! And since the work is all done, these will ship quicker than the last ones, I promise! BTW - there's two of you from last time who never sent an address... it's hard to mail 'em without one! And don't feel compelled to donate electronically if you aren't comfortable with that. Even if the 20 bats go to Paypal donees, if you send me a snail mail receipt, I'll send you a bat.
It's a tax-deductible donation and eligible for matching funds from companies who do that sort of thing (see: http://soldiersangels.org/valour/irsinfo.html for proof for the cautious).
The snail mail address for those who'd rather donate that way (be sure to put ARMY in big letters on the check):
San Antonio, TX 78248
» La Shawn Barber's Corner links with: U.S. Marine Corps Celebrates Birthday; Veterans Day
Maybe I should start dealing in arms...
CAPT H sends us a link to this article on CTV.ca.
Military to buy new shells costing $150,000 each Updated Thu. Nov. 9 2006 11:09 PM ETThe Canadian Forces are investing in a new high-tech shell to be used in Afghanistan. But at $150,000 per round, it could be the most expensive ammunition ever fired by the military.
"It's like shooting a Ferrari every time you use one of these things," Steve Staples of the Polaris Institute told CTV News on Thursday.
"These are incredibly expensive weapons. And really, it's overkill for the kind of mission we're doing."
What caught my eye was the price tag. Last I saw on Excalibur was $220K a pop, with a hope for full-rate production to drive it down to $33K (pretty optimistic based on past experience). I did some checking, and $150K is in the neighborhood. What really caught my eye was this:
But the Excalibur costs roughly $100,000 more than a regular shell, and critics like New Democratic MP Dawn Black argue the extra money would be better spent on reconstruction projects.
Heh. Just what is a "regular" projectile to these people? Last I saw a price, oh, 2003 or so, a standard 155mm HE went for $240 w/o fuze. I did some digging, and I found some pricing for some stuff in the works, usually a form of special fuze or add-on guidance package that can go as high as $20K for some long-range navy stuff in the works.
Well, gosh! I've got inventory in the basement I'll let go for, oh, shucks, $15K each, delivered! And I've got some friends with inventory, too.
The problem is that the article, written by someone who doesn't know much about the subject, I'm guessing, implies that that cost is a standard cost for artillery ammo, which it isn't - at least not currently. Shoot, a GMLRS round only costs $65K per light-off... hmmmmm.
Anyway, for a more Canadian view of this topic, I recommend Damian's post at The Torch.
» Murdoc Online links with: Friday Linkzookery - 10 Nov 2006
» Murdoc Online links with: Friday Linkzookery - 10 Nov 2006
November 09, 2006
USAREUR Becomes well, a *lot* smaller...
Cold Warriors! Brats! Take a look here, as some Cold War Military Archaeology...
Oh, for normals: USAREUR - United States ARmy, EURope.
Take a look at those numbers...
Cold War - 858 installations in 38 communities and almost a half-million people (including families). I lived there for over 13 years all told (including when we still had troops in France).
Current: 234 installations (which can mean a radio tower on a hill, too) in 14 communities with around 125k people.
Future (2010 or so): 88 installations in 5 communities, and around 70K people.
Every place I was stationed, or lived, in fact, where I was born, have been or will be, returned to the Germans. The high school my sister graduated from no longer exists.
Easier to read version? Click here.
No OPSEC was harmed in the posting of this message.
Project Valour-IT
First off - thank all of you who have participated so far - we've raised almost enough for 200 laptops, by my rough calculation. If that seems like a lot - we've given out over 600 to date. The need continues, and will until the last IED explodes.
Team Air Farce seems to be having a bit of a marketing problem, but since they're a renegade element of the Army, I've decided to offer them some assistance.
So - if you're a Thunderbirds fan, and would like a shot at getting some Thunderbirds memorabilia - and at the same time contribute to Project Valour-IT, go visit Laurie at Soldier's Angels, New York and she'll hook you up! Or, if one more blog will just make your head explode - go direct to eBay, here.
C'mon, a signed team poster and other good swag!
Moving back to more important things, i.e., Army Team stuff - ya can't forget your Gnomes! You *do* now that if you have gnomes and have been treating them well, they deploy with you, right? Doing their little gnomish bit? C'mon, how many of you out there don't remember all those little things that usually went wrong, or missing, but sometimes went right or showed up? Gnomes.
Well, just as sometimes we warriors never get past our vocation and deployments, so to it is with your Gnomes. So, sure, before you deployed (or your neighbor did) their gnome may have lived in something that looked like this:
But you know your gnome would looooove one of these:
Custom-built pre-manufactured homes (with window, not shown) hand-crafted (literally, Murray pours the aluminum and hand-paints 'em all himself) in New Zealand by a Kiwi who donates one dollar from each normal sale to Soldier's Angels for Project Valour-IT and has offered up these custom Gnome Homes to Castle Argghhh!!! for this fundraiser. Comes complete with instructions!
First four receipts for $75 scores a Military Gnome Home!
C'mon, you know you want one. Or one of these...
The Cluebats of Argghhh! are back on the table too. If you missed out last time - send me a receipt for a $100 (or more!) donation, dated between 8-11 November, and I've got 20 bats available! And since the work is all done, these will ship quicker than the last ones, I promise! BTW - there's two of you from last time who never sent an address... it's hard to mail 'em without one! And don't feel compelled to donate electronically if you aren't comfortable with that. Even if the 20 bats go to Paypal donees, if you send me a snail mail receipt, I'll send you a bat.
It's a tax-deductible donation and eligible for matching funds from companies who do that sort of thing (see: http://soldiersangels.org/valour/irsinfo.html for proof for the cautious).
The snail mail address for those who'd rather donate that way (be sure to put ARMY in big letters on the check):
San Antonio, TX 78248
» Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator links with: Man in NYC jailed over actress' death
» Sgt Hook - This We'll Defend links with: Army Strong…Navy Song
Kansas National Guard News
The First Kansas Volunteers are coming home today!
Welcome home, Roger and the rest of ya!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 7, 2006
No. 06-118
2nd BATTALION, 137th INFANTRY COMING HOME NOV. 9
Approximately 450 soldiers of the Kansas National Guard?s 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry (Mechanized) will be welcomed home to Kansas on Thursday, Nov. 9. The ceremony which is tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. (See Note) will be held at the Kansas Expocentre, 1 Expocentre Dr., Topeka.Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the adjutant general, will greet the soldiers and welcome them home after their year-long deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The public is encouraged to attend and support the soldiers as they return from their deployment.
The soldiers will be released to join family and friends at the conclusion of the ceremony.
The battalion is headquartered in Kansas City, Kan., and has units in Wichita and Lawrence.
While in Iraq, the unit was responsible for operating the Joint Visitor?s Bureau (JVB) in Baghdad and for providing security for the many high level visitors that pass through Iraq. They were also responsible for area security for the JVB and areas near Baghdad.
Approximately 350 soldiers from the battalion were mobilized to Germany in 2002 for force protection duty under Operation Enduring Freedom.
NOTE: The 2 p.m. time is based upon current travel arrangements for the unit. Due to unforeseen circumstances this time could change.
Message from the Gov:
November 9, 2006
Our nation will pause once again on Saturday, November 11 to honor the veterans who have served our nation and the cause of freedom.
All across our state, communities will stop to reflect and remember our military veterans and what their service means to us and to our nation. This year it is especially relevant to do so since so many American men and women are in harm?s way overseas.
In Kansas we have a proud tradition of supporting our veterans, and I have been privileged as governor to hold a Veterans Day ceremony inside our Capitol each year to honor those who have served. I hope you will join me for this year?s ceremony.
The traditional time for Veterans Day ceremonies is 11:00 a.m., but we have consciously set a 9:00 a.m. start for the Capitol ceremony so attendees can also attend other commemorations later in the morning.
Since this year?s ceremony will occur on Saturday, it provides an opportunity to bring family and friends to help honor our nation?s veterans. I look forward to seeing you on this important day, but if you?re not able to attend a Veterans Day ceremony, I?d ask that you pause for a moment of silence at 11:00 a.m. in honor of our veterans? service.
Kathleen Sebelius
Governor of the State of Kansas
Myself and the Castle Vickers will be riding in the Leavenworth parade.
November 08, 2006
H&I* Fires 8 NOV 2006
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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Cliff May got it best, I think, at The Corner:
In a Nutshell [Cliff May]
The Democrats said: “Had enough?”
The Republicans said: “It could be worse!”
The voters said: “Let’s find out.”
Then there's this:
Dem House [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Remember all those claims by Democrats about how awful it was that GOP passed things in Congress with narrow GOP majorities?
From Steny Hoyer this morning: "In fact, as Nancy and I have stated, our intention is to run a more civil institution that is open and transparent, and to seek bipartisan support for our agenda. However, if the other side chooses to obstruct rather than to cooperate, we must be prepared to secure the votes necessary to move our legislative priorities. And, I believe that I have established a strong track record in this regard over the last four years."
-the Armorer
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ABC sNooze just posted a flash -- evidently the SecDef decided the temperature was getting a tad too warm and has left the kitchen. No link yet -- 'twas a live announcement just prior to the POTUS bipartisan pep-talk. -- BillT
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Heh. If he'd done it a month ago, it might have mattered yesterday. -the Armorer
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