Clipmarks | Rustee's Military collection

Victory in Anbar

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:58:45 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: outsidethewire.com

The road Abraham travelled passed through villages and cities whose names have changed or been lost to the ages.

One of those is the ancient city of Anbar.

Persians, Romans and Arabs all fought battles over this ancient city.

The Roman leader Gordian died at Anbar.

The Arab General Khalid wrested the city from the Persians.

Centuries later, U.S. Marines and Soldiers fought house to house in the same city. We know it now as Fallujah.

Scarsely two years ago, Al Anbar province was thought to be lost. But just yesterday, control of the province was handed over to the Iraqi government.

This victory will not be splashed across the headlines above the fold. It will be buried under a hurricane, a Vice Presidential nominee and the Republican Convention.

But it is a victory worthy of the ages as the coalition and Iraqi citizens defeated one of the greatest evils of our time.

Like Abraham, Gordian and the others of history who tread the banks of the Euphrates river--they have made their mark.

U.S. Navy Faces an Old Foe - Pirates

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:20:29 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

Armed attacks on cargo ships, oil tankers and cruise ships are estimated to cost more than $1 billion a year, said Peter Chalk, a senior security analyst at Rand Corp.

Piracy in Nigeria is leading to a drop in oil shipments because shipping companies are reluctant to risk ships, cargos and crew, he said, adding, “That has implications for U.S. strategic energy supplies.”

Clip Source: www.militarytimes.com

The U.S. and international military forces are taking more aggressive action off the African coast as bolder and more violent pirates imperil oil shipments and other trade.

A U.N. Security Council resolution, pushed by the U.S. and passed June 2, allows the U.S. and its coalition allies to intervene by “all necessary means” for the next six months to stop piracy off the Somali coast. Coalition ships have since scared off pirates in at least two attacks, said the London-based International Maritime Bureau.

African coastlines have surpassed Asian shipping lanes as the most dangerous in the world. Hijackings and hostage takings are increasing off the coasts of Somalia in the east and Nigeria in the west.

Pirates near Somalia, the Gulf of Aden, Nigeria and Tanzania took 172 hostages in the first half of the year.

Ships alter course by hundreds of miles and expend as much as a day’s supply of fuel to avoid Somali pirates

Tags: military, navy, africa

Perfect Justice Dealt to a Liar

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:12:51 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: www.militarytimes.com

LOS ANGELES — A suburban water official who lied about being a Marine and receiving the Medal of Honor was sentenced Monday to more than 400 hours of community service at a Veterans Affairs hospital.

Xavier Alvarez, 50, was arrested following his comments at a Claremont water board meeting last July. The Pomona man also told a former Marine in private that he won the medal for rescuing an ambassador in Iran, according to court documents.

Alvarez, who could have been sentenced to one year in federal prison, was placed on three years of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. He must also perform community service once a week for one year at the Loma Linda VA Hospital.

Tags: military

Airman May Receive Medal of Honor

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:16:01 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

The 2009 defense authorization bill contains a section that would authorize Etchberger’s Medal of Honor. It passed in the House of Representatives in May, but still must be passed by the Senate before Bush can sign it into law.

This September a monument will be dedicated at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., to Etchberger and the 13 other men who died at Lima Site 85 in Laos.

Clip Source: www.militarytimes.com

Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger may receive the Medal of Honor 40 years after he died on a Laotian mountaintop. Etchberger was working in Laos at a top secret radar station responsible for locating hundreds of North Vietnamese bombing targets.

In March 1968, more than 1,000 North Vietnamese soldiers surrounded the station, named Lima Site 85. Etchberger was the last to board the rescue helicopter dispatched to save the U.S. troops fighting off waves of mortars and artillery. An armor piercing round ripped through the bottom of the helicopter, hitting Etchberger.

He bled to death, but not before he was credited with saving the lives of three men he worked with.

Air Force officials recommended Etchberger for the Medal of Honor, but President Johnson couldn’t award it without revealing U.S. troops were stationed inside neutral Laos. Instead, Etchberger’s family received his Air Force Cross during a secret ceremony inside the Pentagon.

Tags: military, air force

Happy 233rd Army!

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:29:46 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: The picture shows Fort Riley Soldiers representing the Army from the Revolutionary War to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress authorized the enlistment of 10 companies of riflemen in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The next day, George Washington was appointed commander in chief of this “grand American army.”

And thus the U.S. Army was born.

Clip Source: www.army.mil

Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, the United States Army was established to defend our Nation. From the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror, our Soldiers remain Army Strong with a deep commitment to our core values and beliefs.

Their willingness to sacrifice to build a better future for others and to preserve our way of life is without a doubt, the Strength of our Nation.

Tags: military, army

Margaret Corbin - Soldier for Liberty

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:06:44 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

Life was difficult because of her injury, and in 1779 she received aid from the government...the first woman in the United States to receive pension from Congress.
After Congress’s decision, Margaret was included on military rolls until the end of the war. After being discharged, Margaret remained near West Point, known to officials and acquaintances as “Captain Molly”.

In 1926, the Daughters of the American Revolution had Margaret’s remains reburied in the West Point military cemetery, becoming the only Revolutionary War soldier to be buried there.

Clip Source: usinfo.state.gov

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Margaret Corbin was born in West Pennsylvania on November 12, 1751 in what is now Franklin County.

In 1756, when she was five years old, Margaret’s parents were attacked by Native Americans. Her mother was kidnapped and her father was killed.

On November 16, 1776 she and her husband, John Corbin, both from Philadelphia, along with some 600 American soldiers, were defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 4,000 attacking Hessian troops under British command. John and Margaret crewed one of two cannons the defenders possessed.

During an assault by the Hessians, John was killed, leaving his cannon unmanned. Margaret had been with her husband on the battlefield the entire time, and, after witnessing his death, she immediately took his place at the cannon. She fired away until her arm, chest, and jaw were hit by enemy fire. The British ultimately won the Battle of Fort Washington, resulting in the surrender of Margaret and her comrades.

Tags: history, american revolution, military

Green Beret Receives Distinguished Service Cross

Tue, 06 May 2008 04:02:04 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

O’Connor, 47, said he doesn’t believe he is a hero. He said that police officers and firefighters are courageous every day and that he was only completing his mission.

“I am being recognized for a moment of courage,” said O’Connor, whose wife and four children attended the ceremony. “I firmly believe other soldiers in my place would have done the same thing.”

Clip Source: www.militarytimes.com

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A Special Forces soldier who crawled 200 feet while being fired upon to save a wounded colleague, then led a group of besieged soldiers to safety, received the Army’s second-highest award for valor Wednesday.

Master Sgt. Brendan O’Connor, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group, received the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony Wednesday at Fort Bragg for his actions in Afghanistan.

With his Special Forces team surrounded by Taliban fighters, O’Connor volunteered to lead a relief force to rescue two wounded colleagues. He got to the edge of a field, but intense Taliban machine-gun fire made him turn back. After shedding his body armor so he could press himself flat in a ditch, he crawled the last 200 feet to the wounded soldiers.

Taliban fire was so close that it sheared off the blades of tall grass around the ditch as he crawled.

Finally reaching the two wounded soldiers, he stabilized them and led the relief force back to safety.

Tags: afghanistan, military

Kentucky Vietnam Memorial Sundial

Sun, 04 May 2008 21:13:46 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: Near the center are 154 names of those who died in one month during the worst slaughter of 1968. At 11:11 AM, each Nov. 11th, the shadow touches a marker for the WW-I armistice.

Clip Source: www.kyvietnammemorial.net

The design concept is in the form of a large sundial. The stainless steel gnomon casts its shadow upon a granite plaza. There are 1,100 names of Kentuckians on the memorial, including 23 missing in action. Each name is engraved into the plaza, and placed so that the tip of the shadow touches his name on the anniversary of his death, thus giving each fallen veteran a personal Memorial Day.

The location of each name is fixed mathematically by the date of casualty, the geographic location of the memorial, the height of the gnomon and the physics of solar movement. The stones were then designed and cut to avoid dividing any individual name. The resulting radial-concentric joint pattern suggests a "web", symbolic of the entangling nature of this war.

Clip Source: www.kyvietnammemorial.net

Tags: history, military

Navajo Nation Considers Own Medal of Honor

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:19:44 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: www.militarytimes.com

The leader of the Navajo Nation Council wants to recognize all honorably discharged Navajo veterans with a special medal adorned with bow and arrows and geometric shapes that represent tribal ceremonies performed on warriors returning from battle.

The Dine Nation Medal of Honor would be similar to the Congressional Medal of Honor but with a different meaning, Council Speaker Lawrence Morgan said.

But some Navajo veterans say the medal would be a waste of money and would belittle the U.S.’s highest award for valor in action.

“We got veterans with a lot of needs. What good is another medal going to do us, a medal we can’t wear on our uniforms, a medal that is not honored by the U.S. government?” said Leon Curley, a former Marine who heads a veterans group at the tribe’s Church Rock Chapter.

Leila Help-Tulley, a staff assistant in Morgan’s office, said no input was sought from veterans before the medal was designed.

Tags: military

Russian Bombers Intercepted Off Alaska's Coast

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:33:11 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: www.militarytimes.com

More and more American and Canadian fighter jets are scrambling and intercepting Russian bombers flying off the Alaskan coast, exacerbating tensions between the former Cold War foes.

There have been 16 such intercepts since July, Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Howie Chandler told the Anchorage Daily News on March 27. That compares with just one in 2005, and none in the previous 10 years, Chandler said.

The most recent incident occurred March 25, when two F-15s from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, scrambled to intercept two Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers.

The bomber patrols also raise the possibility that a routine encounter between Russian bombers and American fighters could escalate beyond the intentions of either side

But the flip side is that the bomber patrols encourage the U.S. military to be more vigilant

Tags: military, russia, air force

The First Barbary War

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:57:17 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

On Jefferson's inauguration as president in 1801, Yussif Karamanli, the Pasha (or Bashaw) of Tripoli, demanded $225,000 from the new administration. (In 1800, Federal revenues totaled a little over $10 million.) Putting his long-held beliefs into practice, Jefferson refused the demand. Consequently, in May of 1801, the Pasha declared war on the United States, not through any formal written documents but by cutting down the flagstaff in front of the U.S. Consulate.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). Upon inquiring "concerning the ground of the pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury", the ambassador replied:

It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise.

The U.S. paid Algiers the ransom, and continued to pay up to $1 million per year over the next 15 years for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. Payments in ransom and tribute to the privateering states amounted to 20 percent of United States government annual revenues in 1800.

Jefferson continued to argue for cessation of the tribute, with rising support from George Washington and others.

Tags: history, war

Medal of Honor Awarded to Navy SEAL

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:18:23 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: The best of the best, in more ways than war.

Clip Source: www.militarytimes.com

SAN DIEGO — A California-based SEAL who threw his body on a grenade to save his comrades in Iraq will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor, a Defense Department official has confirmed.

Master-at-Arms 2nd Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor, of Garden Grove, Calif., was holed up on the roof of a Ramadi house with three other SEALs on Sept. 29, 2006, when an insurgent grenade landed nearby.

Monsoor, a 25-year old with SEAL Team 3, grabbed the grenade and clutched it to his chest. The blast killed him, but his actions, officials said at the time, saved the men on the rooftop.

Monsoor, a platoon machine gunner, had received the Silver Star, the third-highest award for combat valor, for his actions pulling a wounded SEAL to safety during a May 9, 2006, firefight in Ramadi.

Watch

A YouTube memorial to Master-at-Arms 2nd Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor

Tags: military, navy, iraq

'Should Be' News

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:04:02 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

That Iraq has disappeared from the news--save the stories of suicide bombings that, because the way they are the opposite of the way things 'should be,' are judged to be news--is a dangerous trend.

Clip Source: outsidethewire.com

As it pertains to Iraq, the disappearance of coverage is based on the more tried and true definition of news: News is the opposite of what 'should be.'

Compounding the problem is the people who decide what 'should be' as in this modern era most reporters go into the business to affect some form of change in the world or to make the world a better place according to their vision.

But, there is still the disconnect between the reality of war, the armed competition between two forces to impose the way things 'should be,' and what the media thinks war 'should be.'

In the conduct of war, the media has only established a 'should be' standard on one side

The behaviour of coalition forces is tested against the standard of what should be, but the Mohammedan Jihadist's conduct is never questioned

The success of coalition actions, tactics and strategies are constantly compared to a standard, but the absolute failure of the Mohammedan Jihadists is never noted

An arbitrary standard, is a biased standard.

Tags: iraq, media, military

Al Qaeda in Iraq - Extremism in U.S.

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 06:30:10 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: Only a snippet of the interview. Read and judge for yourself.

Clip Source: www.frontpagemag.com

Osama al-Magid, a former police officer in Iraq (1992- 2003).

FP: Can you talk about Al Qaeda in Iraq before and after 2003?

Al-Magid: I have discussed some points about Al Qaeda being in Iraq for many years before 2003. This seems to only be a surprise to Americans, but everyone in Iraq knew Al Qaeda was being protected by Saddam in Iraq. The Al Qaeda people had their own mosques in Nasiriyah and only Al Qaeda could go to the mosques. One of their mosques was near the Saddam hospital that Private Jessica Lynch was being held as a prisoner.

Americans do not understand how much they helped the Iraqis when they removed Saddam.

FP: Your thoughts on Islamic extremism in America?

Al-Magid: I have met people since 2004 who are recruiting new Muslims arriving in America to join the ‘Wahhabi’ movement. These people want to start a Wahhabi nation in America. They have tried to recruit me.

The Saudi Arabian government is behind the training of Islamic scholars with the Wahhabi ideology.

Tags: terrorism, al qaeda, iraq

Silver Star Awarded to Female Medic

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:12:15 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: www.militarytimes.com

CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan — A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest medal for valor.

Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.

After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.

Brown, of Lake Jackson, Texas, is scheduled to receive the Silver Star later this month.

Tags: military, army, afghanistan