Because many of the Soldiers from the Louisana Army National Guard will be returning home in the next few weeks, Soldiers' Angels is mobilizing some efforts to help. It'll take a bit to get ramped up so please stay tuned.
All I can say is that I can't imagine what those troops are going through right now - after a year in a combat zone to come home to this disaster - it will be tough on them.
Hurricane Katrina has devastated New Orleans and South Louisiana. The homes and lives of an untold number of our friends and families have been decimated. Included in the ranks of victims are the family members of our soldier's serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Many of these soldiers will be returning home in the next few weeks to find that their families have been displaced and their homes and businesses destroyed.
Soldier's Angels has established a relief fund to help our soldiers and their families cope with and recover from this devastation. Your donation will help these families obtain essential personal items, temporary shelter and any other needs that can be met. Soldier's Angels will also work to provide information to the soldiers concerning their families whereabouts and needs. Now is the time to help protect those who have given up so much to protect us.
The McCormick Tribune Foundation Hurricane Katrina Relief Campaign has
been established as an effort between
McCormick Tribune Foundation and many of its Communities Program
Partners to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The McCormick
Tribune Foundation will match the first $1,000,000 contributed to the
campaign at 50 cents on the dollar. All administrative costs will be
paid by the foundation so that all funds can be distributed directly to
disaster relief organizations that provide short and long-term aid to
those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Watch for a mobilization later this week. Illinois Guard will be heading to Louisiana to help with the recovery, protect people, and (more) to prevent widespread looting as the water recedes from residential areas.
Keesler Air Force base has survived a direct hit by a Hurricane Katrina a Category 4 hurricane. Initial assessment shows extensive damage to our industrial and housing areas. We are deploying assessment crews and are in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and with commanders of many military bases who have offered assistance. The damage is severe enough that we are unable to leave our shelters until Thursday at the earliest in order to assure our recovery teams have cleared debris and made it safe for us and our families to return home. Brigadier General Lord and your leadership promises to keep you apprised of the progress of our recovery teams and release you to go home and assess your own damage as soon as it is safe for your family to travel. All pets at the Keesler pet shelter are in good health and weathered this extremely dangerous storm safely. We are doing everything within our power to clear the way and provide the best immediate and long term assistance to help each one of us in order to recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Brigadier General Lord wants you to know we are not alone and will do everything we can to keep you safe and get you home as soon as possible. Please be patient. We all need to pull together and help us all make it through this difficult time safely.
If you are trying to report into Keesler, do not report in. Call your assigned unit ASAP.
If any of you get relief aid info for Keesler, please email me.
Received this message from Gail Bozik, Joey's mother:
Joey received the Bronze Star Award last Friday, August 26th, 2005, at
Walter Reed. This award is for duty to his country; whereas the Purple
Heart is award for injuries for his country. Seven soldiers came from Ft.
Bragg to do the honors and several staff and doctors attended. I have
attached a video of the ceremony. I hope you can open it. Thanks for
your continued love and support.
Rob B. of File It Under has a great post about a story that his grandfather told recently at his 80th birthday party. Rob B's grandfather was a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division and ran into General Patton after the relief (by Patton) of Bastogne which is better known as "the Battle of the Bulge". It's a great story.
Be sure to check it out. I'm sure that if that happened today, the paratrooper would be brought up on charges.
Spc. Nicholas McCray from 3rd Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st
Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, emerges from a natural cave
while on patrol along the Euphrates River looking for caches of weapons
in Rawah, Iraq, Aug. 4, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kyle Davis
Marines secure the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan - a hiding spot for Taliban:
Lance Cpl. Ryan R. Irving, infantryman, from Elburn, Ill. and Lance
Cpl. Curtis D. Land, infantryman, from Cedar Falls, Iowa take security
posts during a meeting between Marines and villagers. In preparation
for elections next month, Marines conducted a preemptive attack on
known areas of anti-coalition militia activity. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Robert M. Storm
One sign of progress - one item in demand more than candy is pens:
Ahmadullah Taraki, an interpreter with the 362nd Psychological Operations Battalion, gives out pens to young Afghan boys in the town of Dand, Afghanistan, Aug. 18, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Andre' Reynolds
"Grab it before the Pentagon orders it burned..." - Vanity Fair
"...nonpartisan patriotism is the common thread tying together these reflections, love letters and stories of combat. They make for riveting reading." - The Washington Post
Winner of the 2006 Gold Medal for Anthologies - Military Writer's Society of America
"This collection is an excellent introduction to an emerging form of war reporting." - Booklist
"...there is much to tell, and celebrate, in the tough, day-to-day work that our soldiers are doing in one of the most challenging environments any army has ever faced..." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"...the collection is riveting...a worthy tribute." - The American Prospect
Click here
for more information and list of blogger/authors
Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, "Blackfive" started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved. Email: blackfive AT gmail DOT com
Retired Special Operations Master Sergeant, Jim Hanson ("Uncle Jimbo") is now focused on writing about the military, politics, intelligence operations and foreign policy. Email: jimbo AT unclejimbo DOT com
Writer, photographer, and raconteur C. Blake Powers is the Laughing Wolf. He is independent in politics and covers topics including journalism, military, weapons, preparedness, space, science, cooking, food and wine, product and book reviews, and even spirituality. Email: wolf1 AT laughingwolf DOT net Laughing Wolf's Amazon Wish List
Grim -- an Old Norse name that means 'one who wears a mask' -- blogs on issues of intelligence, information operations, and foreign relations. Email: grimbeornr AT yahoo DOT com
Instapinch
Bill Paisley, otherwise known as Pinch, is a 22 year (ongoing) active and
reserve naval aviator. He blogs over at www.instapinch.com on a veritable
cornucopia of various and sundry items and will bring a tactical naval
aviator's perspective to Blackfive. Readers be warned: any comments of or
about the F-14 Tomcat will be reverential and spoken in low, hushed tones.
Email: wpaisley AT comcast DOT net
Mr. Wolf has over 26 years in the Army, Army NG, and USAR. He’s Airborne with 5 years as an NCO, before becoming an officer. Mr. Wolf has had 4 company commands. Signal Corp is his basic branch, and Public Affairs is his functional area. He recently served 22 straight months in Kuwait and Iraq, in Intel, PA, and senior staff of MNF-I. Mr. Wolf is now an IT executive. He is currently working on a book on media and the Iraq war. Functional gearhead.
In Iraq, he received the moniker of Mr. Wolf after the Harvey Kietel character in Pulp Fiction, when "challenges" arose, they called on Mr. Wolf...
Email: TheDOTMrDOTWolfAT gmail DOT com
Deebow is a Staff Sergeant and a Military Police Squad Leader in the Army National Guard. In a previous life, he served in the US Navy. He has over 19 years of experience in both the Maritime and Land Warfare; including deployments to Southwest Asia, Thailand, the South Pacific, South America and Egypt. He has served as a Military Police Team Leader and Protective Services Team Leader and he has served on assignments with the US State Department, US Air Force Security Police, US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He recently spent time in Afghanistan working with, training and fighting alongside Afghan Soldiers and is now focused on putting his 4 year Political Science degree to work by writing about foreign policy, military security policy and politics.
McQ has 28 years active and reserve service. Retired. Infantry officer. Airborne and Ranger. Consider my 3 years with the 82nd as the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. Interests include military issues and policy and veteran's affairs.
Email: mcq51 -at - bellsouth -dot- net
Chris Carter is a former USAF firefighter and now civilian firefighter who covers military history, national security, and baseball. Find out more at his website.
Twitter: @CrushingChris EMAIL: crushnik AT yahoo DOT com
Tantor is a former USAF navigator/weapon system officer (WSO) in F-4E Phantoms who served in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is now a curmudgeonly computer geek in Washington, DC, picking the taxpayers pocket. His avocations are current events, aviation, history, and conservative politics.
Twenty-three years of Active and Reserve service in the US Army in SF (18B), Infantry and SOF Signal jobs with operational deployments to Bosnia and Africa. Since retiring he's worked as Senior Defense Analyst on SOF and Irregular Warfare projects and currently ensconced in the emerging world of Cyberspace.
Major Pain --
A Marine who began his blog in Iraq and reflects back on what he learned there and in Afghanistan. To the point opinions, ideas and thoughts on military, political and the media from One Marine’s View. Email: onemarinesview AT yahoo DOT com
Uber Pig was an Infantryman from late 1991 until early 1996, serving with Second Ranger Battalion, I Corps, and then 25th Infantry Division. At the time, the Army discriminated against enlisted soldiers who wanted use the "Green to Gold" program to become officers, so he left to attend Stanford University. There, he became expert in detecting, avoiding, and surviving L-shaped ambushes, before dropping out to be as entrepreneurial as he could be. He is now the founder of a software startup serving the insurance and construction industries, and splits time between Lake Tahoe, Boonville, and San Francisco, CA.
Uber Pig writes for Blackfive a) because he's the proud brother of an enlisted Civil Affairs Reservist who currently serves in Iraq, b) because he looks unkindly on people who make it harder for the military in general, and for his brother in particular, to succeed at their missions and come home in victory, and c) because the Blackfive readers and commenters help keep him sane.
COB6 spent 24 years in the active duty Army that included 5 combat tours with service in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 1st Special Forces Group . COB6 was enlisted (E-7) and took the OCS route to a commission. COB6 retired a few years back as a field grade Infantry officer.
Currently COB6 has a son in the 82nd Airborne that just returned from his third tour and has a newly commissioned daughter in the 4th Infantry Division.
