Best Video

Soldier Medics Re-enlist in Nation's Capital

Soldier Medics Re-enlist in Nation's Capital
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2008 - A group of soldier-medics, whose duties adhere to the Hippocratic Oath to provide ethical medical treatment, pledged allegiance to another credo today -- the oath of re-enlistment.
Between the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool here, nearly 80 troops stood at attention as Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Eric B. Schoomaker, Army surgeon general, recited a passage from Lincoln's second inaugural address.

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right," he said, "let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Before administering the oath of re-enlistment to the formation of troops standing at attention, Schoomaker said, "Your willingness to raise your hand and re-enlist speaks volumes about you and your love of country."

One soldier re-enlisting today was Spc. Crystal Conner, a respiratory therapist, who along with many of the soldiers at today's ceremony works at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.

She originally enlisted in 2002 to prove to her family that she is dependable, and that she could do something without them "hovering over" her. "I know I've done that," she said, "and more."

Having achieved her original goal, Conner said, she continues serving in the Army – with today marking her second re-enlistment -- because she feels it's her calling.

"I've been deployed to Iraq before, so I can kind of sympathize with the soldiers coming back, and I know what they've been through," said Conner, who deployed to Baghdad in 2004 for a year. "I wouldn't rather do anything than take care of them."

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Rudy DelValle, command sergeant major of Walter Reed Health Care System, said those re-enlisting represent troops who love their duties as soldiers.

"They love what leadership is doing for them right now. They love their country, the sacrifices they're making, they want to be a soldier, they want to take care of people," he said. "There are only about five soldiers getting re-enlistment bonuses. The rest of them are doing it only because they want to be a soldier."

Army Col. (Dr.) Norvell Coots, commander of Walter Reed Health Care System, said the re-enlistment of medics illustrates a show of support to the military and provides a boost to morale within the unit.

"Usually, you hope to get this many throughout an entire year," he said of re-enlistments. "And here we've accomplished that on the second day of the fiscal year. It's just an amazing sense of patriotism on the behalf of these medical soldiers."

Staff Sgt. Clayton Eric Cunningham re-enlisted today for the second time in his seven-year tenure in the Army. As a warrior transition squad leader at Walter Reed, Cunningham's job involves helping wounded troops transition after returning home from deployment. His favorite part of the job is interacting with veterans, he said.

Cunningham recalled a special bond he forged with a young Army specialist who was injured when a makeshift bomb struck his Humvee in Iraq. As a result, the soldier suffered from traumatic brain injury, a mental condition characterized by headaches, dizziness, lack of motor coordination, memory loss and other symptoms.

"It threw him out of the vehicle. It killed the other three people inside," Cunningham recalled. "He got really messed up -- really bad TBI. He couldn't remember his name a lot of the time."

Cunningham said it was great to see the young soldier's condition improve under the warrior transition program.

"It's really cool to see them advance in their medical treatment and get better," he said.

Story Here

Victory Dance

Our Troops In Iraq Having A Good Time!

Iraqi Forces To Take Over Security In Al-Anbar Province, Iraq

BAGHDAD- The U.S. military will transfer control of security in Iraq's Anbar province to Iraqi forces this week, a remarkable turnaround given the vast western region was considered lost to insurgents less than two years ago.

Anbar will be the 10th of Iraq's 18 provinces returned to Iraqi security control since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but it will be the first Sunni Arab region handed back.

Mamun Sami Rasheed, Anbar's governor, said the handover ceremony would take place on Saturday.

"We have been dreaming of this event since 2003," he said.

The commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq, Marine Major-General John Kelly, said the impending handover showed Iraqi forces were increasingly ready to defend Iraq against threats such as those posed by al Qaeda.

"Anbar province is ... an important milestone. It changes the nature of our security relationship here".

What it represents is the improving capability of Iraqi security forces to deal with the threat."

Anbar was once the heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency against U.S. forces and successive Shi'ite-led administrations that took over in Baghdad following the downfall of Saddam Hussein, who was from Iraq's minority Sunni Arab community.

Sunni Arab al Qaeda militants also found Anbar to be fertile ground for operations.

But in late 2006, Sunni Arab tribal leaders sick of al Qaeda's indiscriminate killing of civilians and harsh version of Islam joined with the U.S. military to largely expel the group. Sunni Arab insurgents who sometimes killed dozens of U.S. troops a month turned their guns on al Qaeda instead.

"One of the significant aspects of this turnover is that it occurs in a province that was all but written off," said Kelly.

U.S.-led forces have so far transferred security control for three Kurdish provinces in the north and six Shi'ite provinces in the south, all areas which largely escaped the Sunni Arab insurgency or bitter sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007.

Anbar was also scene of some of the bloodiest battles in the more than five-year Iraq war, including two all-out assaults by U.S. forces on the city of Falluja in 2004.

On the security front, the Anbar model of Sunni Arab tribes forming "Awakening Councils" to work with U.S. forces has spread to other parts of Iraq and helped sharply cut violence.

"The citizens of this province rejected the terrorists and their intrusive extremist ideology," said Sheikh Raad Sabah al-Mukhelif, a member of the Anbar Awakening Council.

Kelly said U.S. forces would stay at current levels in Anbar for now, but gradually reduce. He did not give details.

"Eventually, we will move into an overwatch posture, away from the population centers," he said.

Story Here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is HUGE and we dont here this reported on the evening news!

Moderate Detainees Help to Identify Extremists in Iraq

Moderate Detainees Help to Identify Extremists in Iraq
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2007 - Moderate Muslims held in coalition detention centers in Iraq are turning in radical Muslim detainees on a daily basis, the deputy commanding general for Multinational Force Iraq detainee operations said yesterday.
Thousands of Muslim detainees identified to coalition forces as "extremists" have been siphoned from "moderate" populations and placed in separate confinement areas called modular detainee housing units, Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone said during a conference call with Web journalists.

"What we had were moderates who said, 'Listen, you know, we don't want that (extremist) direction,'" he said. "The moderates will turn in the extremists, ... (and) now that we can physically do that, almost every day groups of 50 to 100 to 150 to 200 (detainees) will self-identify the guys, will pull them out."

Describing what he called a "moderate revolt," Stone described several instances where middle-of-the-road Muslims actively repudiated Islamic extremism inside the walls of coalition compounds.

"The fundamental messaging from the extremists outside who have been reporting about detention and inside is 'We've lost control; we're losing control,'" he said. "I think they genuinely believed that they had ideological recruiting and training control over the compounds inside the theater internment facilities, and they have genuinely lost it."

Helping to drive the shift away from extremist Islam are Iraq's provincial and tribal leaders, who Stone said set "the tone and tenor" that radical Muslims should no longer be tolerated in their respective of Iraqi societies.

Stone expressed guarded optimism about recent detainee developments at Multinational Force Iraq, which currently holds 25,188 detainees, including 20,581 Sunnis and 4,562 Shiites.

Since July, coalition forces have released 3,305 detainees. None of those released have been re-detained, and only three have been recaptured for questioning unrelated to insurgent activity, Stone said.

"The command is encouraged by the low recapture and recidivist rate," he said. "That's a combination of the situation on the ground and the great work of the coalition forces to provide the degree of security."

Furthermore, compared to five weeks ago when troops averaged 61 detentions per day, today the average has dropped to around 40. Detainee releases have remained "very constant" for the better part of the last two months at 49 a day, Stone added.

The steady flow of releases is in part the result of a new curriculum offered to detainees at coalition compounds, Stone said. The courses include offerings that reinforce basic Islamic tenets such as the sanctity of life and property, loving humanity and avoiding hatred, earning a living, and practicing respect and tolerance for humanity.

"It's embedded in its religion, so it needs to put things in the context of the Muslim faith, and that's how they do it," he said. "Each one includes in there a Quranic sort of reference to give these guys some reason why it has a lynchpin."

More than 7,000 detainees are enrolled in basic education courses. Roughly 1,000 others are participating in mixed Sunni and Shiite religious discussions led by imams hired by coalition forces, a course that will become mandatory for detainees who have been deemed ready for release.

"They are genuinely engaged in a conversation -- a Socratic conversation -- without our presence in there, about the Quran," Stone said of the religious course. "They come out understanding the difference between what the extremists have said, or what the extremists have made them memorize, vs. what's actually in the Quran."

America Supports You: Chefs Let Wounded Troops Taste Gratitude

America Supports You: Chefs Let Wounded Troops Taste Gratitude
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2007 - In an effort to lift spirits and say "thank you" during the holiday season, 10 area chefs presented recovering servicemembers and their families with a mouth-watering meal last night.

Army Staff Sgt. Mia Sidlasky receives a bowl of stew during the fifth annual Virginia Ann Wiedmaier Holiday Dinner prepared by local chefs for injured troops and their families at the Mologne House Hotel at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Dec. 2, 2007. Sidlasky is recovering from a broken back and internal injuries she suffered in July 2006 in Iraq. Photo by Linda Hosek
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

"As chefs here in the nation's capital, we do a lot of fundraisers for a lot of different organizations, but this one means so much," said Chef Robert Wiedmaier, owner of Marcel's and Brasserie Beck, in the dining room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Mologne House. "For us to be able to come up here at Christmas and use our talents to do something really nice for them makes us feel good, and hopefully they warm their bellies and feel really good about it."

The residents dined on fare that included barbequed brisket, beef stew with potato puree and roasted chestnut soup, among other delicious entrees. Two restaurants provided pecan pie and other assorted deserts.

The idea for the dinner, which is completely apolitical, Wiedmaier said, started with his mother, Virginia Ann Wiedmaier. While a patient at Walter Reed, she told her son he needed to go to the hospital and cook for the wounded troops.

The event, which was renamed the Virginia Ann Wiedmaier Holiday Dinner when she passed away a little more than two years ago, celebrated its fifth year last night.

Wiedmaier, whose father is a retired Army colonel, said the dinners would continue "as long as we need to keep doing it."

"It's in honor of my mother ... so I feel strongly about it," he said. "I'm also hoping that one day we won't have to do this any more."

Until that day arrives, the dinner is just the best medicine the doctors can't order, said Pete Anderson, manager of Mologne House.

"It's kind of a compilation of the community coming together and taking care of the servicemembers ... and showing them a good time," he said. "I think it's as beneficial for all of the restaurants to come up here and be around the servicemembers as it is for the servicemembers to come and enjoy some really, really wonderful food."

The servicemembers tended to be of like opinion.

"It was fantastic," said Army Spc. Cory Smith, who's recovering from injuries to his right eye and hand. "(I tried) everything; really, everything."

Army Spc. Travis Webb, a bilateral leg amputee, agreed the food was good, but said the event was a step better than just a good meal.

"It was better than the food I ate in Iraq and in the hospital," he said. "We appreciate people coming out here and doing stuff like this."

Stuff like the dinner serves as a reminder to the troops that they still have support back home, said Adrienne Trout, vice president of communications and development for United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington.

"It's not just the meal," she said. "I think it's a symbol that America is behind them, that people are thinking of them and they're not forgotten."

USO of Metropolitan Washington has helped to organize the event from the first year, and once again provided volunteers to help out at last night's event. USO volunteers helped to hand out door prizes and took boxed meals to hospital inpatients.

For the second year in a row, USO volunteers also took the same meal to sailors and Marines recovering at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md.

As the evening concluded and Santa Claus finished handing out gifts to the children, the chefs gathered in the lobby to thank the servicemembers for their sacrifices. But they weren't the last thanks the troops and their families would receive.

Vice Adm. John G. Cotton, chief of the Navy Reserve and commander of the Navy Reserve Force, offered his gratitude and holiday greetings on behalf of the Defense Department and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

"Of all the countries in the world, there's about 112 constitutions, (but) there's only one constitution that starts with the word 'We,'" he said. "We're special. But we're extra special because of our forces we send overseas to give peace and freedom to other countries like you all have done in Afghanistan (and) in Iraq ... so they can enjoy the words 'freedom' and 'democracy' and celebrate their happy holidays and their own religions in their own way."

Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals, groups and organizations that are helping support the troops, visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America Supports You directly connects military members to the support of the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their quest to find meaningful ways to support the military community.

Gates Praises Progress of Afghan Security Forces

Armed forces Press Service:

Gates Praises Progress of Afghan Security Forces
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service


KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 4, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today reaffirmed U.S. support for Afghanistan and said he continues to press coalition partners to live up to their commitments here.
Gates praised progress in the Afghan National Army and its operations with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force to take on the Taliban and other extremists. He said he arrived in Afghanistan concerned about the increase in violence over the past two years, but came to understand during his meetings here today that more violence is occurring because Afghan and ISAF forces are conducting more aggressive operations in more parts of the country.

The secretary acknowledged gaps in Afghan security forces' resources and said he continually presses some 70 nations and organizations working to help Afghanistan, including NATO, to help fill them.

"I have continued to press our allies in Europe and elsewhere to fulfill the commitments that they have made here in Afghanistan," Gates said during a joint news conference here today with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Gates said the United States has allocated "significant dollars" to train and equip Afghan security forces, both in fiscal 2007 and in the proposed fiscal 2008 budget, particularly in the supplemental funding bill now under consideration by Congress. "And it is our hope we will be able to allocate those resources as soon as possible for this mission," he said.

But Gates said it's also time for other countries to do more to help the new Afghan democracy. "I think it is incumbent upon all of them to do what they can to provide the assistance that it requires," he said.

"I have made a point of this at every meeting of NATO defense ministers I have attended," Gates told reporters traveling with him while en route to Afghanistan. He noted that he plans to raise the matter again at the upcoming NATO defense ministers meeting in Scotland scheduled for mid-December.

Gates emphasized that taking on responsibilities in Afghanistan "was a joint commitment" by the coalition. "Now they need to fulfill their promises," he said.

The secretary joked before arriving in Afghanistan that he feels like "the salesman around the world for Afghanistan" as he works to garner more international support.

Karzai thanked the United States and coalition partners for their support to Afghanistan. "Afghanistan was liberated by the United States of America and the international community, who brought us to where we are today. So we are very, very grateful," he said.

Gates also toured the Kabul Military Training Center, where he witnessed military training under way that ranged from basic training to noncommissioned officer-level instruction and junior officer training.

The center is considered "the jewel in the crown of training of the Afghan National Army," Col. James Gludo, a Canadian army officer assigned to Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, explained. In addition to basic military training, the center offers high-level military instruction for officers and the Afghan army's fledging NCO corps, he explained.

Gen. Bismullah Khan, the Afghan defense chief, told Gates today of his interest in professionalizing the Afghan National Army, emphasizing quality over quantity. Khan hinted at an interest in increasing the army, currently slated to grow from 50,000 members to 70,000 by the end of next year, by as many as 10,000 additional troops.

But Khan pointed to shortfalls that hamper such an effort, such as in equipment, particularly small arms and mortars, and troop trainers.

Ollie North 4th Of July For The Troops

Dear Proud American,

Two hundred and thirty-one years ago this July 4th, a committee of five patriots, headed by a young farmer from Virginia, presented the final draft of the Declaration of Independence to 55 of his colleagues in the Second Continental Congress. After making relatively few changes to Thomas Jefferson’s work and then, pledging “to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor,” all 56 members signed their names to this Declaration of Independence. In so doing, they created something that was then unique on the planet earth: a country based on the concepts of individual liberty, religious freedom, private property and democratic government. Since then, the people of this nation have taken great risks to offer others the hope of that same freedom.

As Americans celebrate our 231st Independence Day, we do so with more than 150,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen and Marines in Iraq and over 27,000 in Afghanistan. Those who celebrate this Independence Day on lonely outposts in Afghanistan and Iraq are a magnificent reflection of who we are as a people.

As you and your family celebrate this July 4th, please take a moment to show your support for our troops in TWO important ways. First, by sending a greeting to those who have pledged THEIR LIVES to defend our country. You can send best wishes to our troops by completing the form here. Freedom Alliance will print your message on a card and send it to a service member either serving abroad or recuperating in a military hospital in the United States.



Secondly, while I won’t ask you to pledge your FORTUNE, would you also make a generous “Independence Day” contribution to the Freedom Alliance Support Our Troops program? This year-round outreach honors and supports members of our Armed Forces – those who have been wounded and are recuperating at military hospitals and rehab centers throughout the United States – as well as those currently serving on the front lines. We also provide support and comfort to grieving military families, whose loss is immeasurable.

On Independence Day we might do well to remember that we have enjoyed “the blessings of Liberty” for 231 years, since our Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, because true heroes – our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Guardsmen sacrifice their tomorrows for us.

More than 3,500 men and women have been killed in Operation Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom, leaving behind thousands of young children. I’ve seen these heroes make that final sacrifice for our country. It is never easy. What makes it more difficult is to know that this American's dying prayer is for a loved one back home.

The children who are left behind deserve our help. With your support, these children will not only attain a college education, but they’ll know that their parents are heroes not because of the way they died, but because of the way they lived.

This is why I founded the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund: to honor the bravery and dedication of our military heroes who have sacrificed life or limb, by providing educational scholarships to their children. To date we have provided more than $1 million in scholarships to the sons and daughters of our brave defenders of freedom.

The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund is a Living Memorial to America’s military heroes. Please honor our men and women in uniform with a tax-deductible contribution to the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund.

At Freedom Alliance we are motivated by a love for our country and our work pays tribute to all of the men and women who wear this nation’s uniform and fight for our freedom. Please keep them, and their families, in your prayers.

God Bless you and God Bless America.

Semper Fidelis,



Oliver L. North, USMC (Ret.)
Founder and Honorary Chairman
FREEDOM ALLIANCE



P.S. For five years now, my good friend, Sean Hannity, and I have teamed up to rally support for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. This year, we will be holding five Freedom Concerts with entertainment by some of the hottest performers in country music, including Montgomery Gentry, LeAnn Rimes and Lee Greenwood.



THE 2007 FREEDOM CONCERT SCHEDULE
July 10 - Gwinnett Center, Atlanta, GA
July 26 - Coors Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA
August 9 - Kings Island, Cincinnati, OH
August 14 - Nokia Theatre, Dallas, TX
September 11 - Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ


The Freedom Concerts benefit the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. For details visit www.freedomalliance.org and to order your tickets, call (800) 329-5454.
Sean and I look forward to seeing you at a Freedom Concert this summer!

Memorial Day

CLICK THIS...Beautiful Tribute

To all those who have given the Ulimate Sacrifice for our Country, I remember you.









Just remembering if it wasnt for you, we wouldnt be having our BBQ's and event's this Holiday weekend.

I dont want to damper anyone's spirits, I would just like to take this time to reflect on our Freedoms and Celebrate the lives of those who fought for our right to have them :-)

Semper Fi

Video Courtesy Of Wordsmith

America The Beautiful

Hat Tip To Gayle for this Gem :-)