Godspeed Chris Kyle

Posted By Laughing_Wolf

A few words are all I have, as I still can't quite wrap my mind around it.  May the light shine down on those you leave behind. 

LW

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Support Wounded Paratroopers at an Awesome Event Tomorrow Night in Addison, Texas!

Posted By Blackfive

Defenders of Freedom is hosting a fundraiser at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, TX, this coming Saturday night to raise funds to fly any of the wounded from all units of the 173rd ABCT who are currently in US hospitals back to Italy and Germany for the memorial services of each unit post-deployment.  Medal of Honor awardee, SSG Sal Giunta, who served in that unit, is the guest of honor.

As part of the fundraiser, they have five auction items.  Three of the items, an American Airline simulator experience, a sporting clays/shooting range experience with a wounded Soldier at Fossil Pointe Sporting Grounds and a round of Golf with a wounded Soldier at the Dallas Cowboys Golf Club will only be bid on by those at the actual fundraiser.  However, they have two items that they would like for folks across the nation to bid on. 

Those two items are (1) a print called "Shared Valor" and (2) the 3rd Edition of the Medal of Honor book which is signed by several of the Medal of Honor recipients.   The Medal of Honor awardees that signed the book will be listed on the Defenders of Freedom page.

Each item, Shared Valor print and the Medal of Honor book, will have a separate thread on Defenders of Freedom's facebook page.  Anyone who would like to bid will need to "Like" the Defenders of Freedom facebook page and then can bid on either or both items.

 

Defenders of Freedom's facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/DefendersOfFreedom?fref=ts

 

They will have someone monitoring the bids on facebook and someone monitoring the bids at the event and updating at each place.  The bidding will begin at 6:30 PM Central time on Saturday February 2, 2013 and will end at 8:15 PM Central time Saturday February 2, 2013.  The highest bidder will be required to be available immediately via phone to provide payment method and shipping address.  If they are not immediately available the item will go to the next highest bidder.

 

SHARED VALOR

COMMEMORATIVE PRINT OF MEDAL OF HONOR

RECIPIENT SSG SAL GIUNTA AND HIS TEAM

This Fine Art Giclee print, titled “Shared Valor”, was created and donated by Colin Kimball of Military Legacy Portraits www.militarylegacyportraits.com.

Currently the original and 13 copies of this portrait exist.  The original portrait was commissioned by Leta Carruth for SSG Sal Giunta to commemorate the Shared Valor of his service.  SSG Giunta has the original portrait on canvas.  The members of SSG Giunta’s team who were in the ambush with him, the Gold Star families of SGT Josh Brennan and SPC Hugo Mendoza who were killed in the ambush, Ms Carruth and members of SSG Giunta’s Command during OEF VII also have copies on canvas.  A copy printed on metallic paper is displayed in the Honors Room of the 173^rd, 2-503d in Vicenza, Italy.

This framed print measures 16” X 20”.  The size of the actual print is 11” X 14” and was printed on fine art paper. The frame is gold/bronze/wood with an olive green matte and museum glass.  This particular print is a one of a kind.

A certificate of authenticity signed by SSG Giunta and other members of his team are included with the framed commemorative print.

Wording below the print:

They are just as much of me as I am
SSG Salvatore A. Giunta
Battle Company, 2nd Battalion
503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment
173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team

The second auction item is below:

2012 MEDAL OF HONOR, Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, Third Edition book donated by SSG and Mrs. Sal Giunta.

This book contains photos and Citations of all of the Medal of Honor Recipients who were living at the time of the reunion in 2012.  The book was signed by some of the Medal of Honor Recipients at their annual Convention which was held in Hawaii in 2012.  SSG Giunta is asking additional Medal of Honor recipients to sign the book before he brings it with him to the event on February 2, 2013.  They will not know how many signatures of the living Medal of Honor Recipients the book will have until the day of the event.  Once they have the names and numbers of signatures, they will post them on Defenders of Freedom’s facebook page.

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Into The Light: Ed Koch

Posted By Laughing_Wolf

For many, he was the face of New York. Many either loved him or hated him as Mayor, as he was ready with a friendly quip or a cutting remark at the drop of a hat.  His legacy may be debated, but few argue that he did not bring the city back from the edge of the abyss (or at least start the process). 

For others, he was SGT Koch, combat infantryman, WWII.  Word is, he did indeed earn the CIB and saw action in the Hurtgen Forest among other places. 

May the light have welcomed you home SGT Koch, and at the Green your friends await.

LW

 

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God Speed Stormin' Norman...

Posted By Deebow

If you missed the news about the General...

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the U.S. led international coalition to drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991, has died.

For those veterans of our battles today, who may have been watching Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird while this was going on (or maybe your Dad...or Mom {my bad} was serving), this was the man in action.  He laid it out for us and if you have ever worked in a TOC, JOC, or EOC; then you know what the term "briefing slide" means now and where it comes from.

  

He is something to watch...

"If it had been our intention to overrun the country, we could have done it unopposed."

This is perhaps the textbook way to do a briefing for the media.  He controlled the room, gave definitive answers, and ensured that he could tell them everything he could and most important to me, he let the fifth column leftists in the Lamestream Media who deep down wanted to publicly hate this war (because all wars are started by the U.S. of course) exactly what their place was.  Please take note of each of the whiners that get their hash settled in due course.

I am not sure that there hasn't been a briefing given this way since.

He didn't spend his time hanging out at a firebase somewhere either...

In 1966 he volunteered for Vietnam and served two tours, first as a U.S. adviser  to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S.  Army's Americal Division. He earned three Silver Stars for valor -- including  one for saving troops from a minefield -- plus a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and  three Distinguished Service Medals.

Kind of makes that question to the reporter about being in a minefield mean a bit more....

God Bless you General and your service to this nation, God Bless your family and God Speed to you sir.

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The Burden of the Sheepdog...

Posted By Deebow

“There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men.” 
―Edmund Burke

Answering the call of being a sheepdog in this society isn't easy.  It isn't an easy choice, given the amount of ridicule it usually comes with by those that are or live among the sheep.  We are looked at by the sheep as if we are the crazy ones because we have chosen to be the people who do the hard and necessary work of keeping evil from taking over.  Honestly, most of the time, I have neither the time nor inclination to explain myself to likes of people who sleep comfortably under the blanket of safety that sheepdogs like me provide by just going about their daily work.  Not listening to the likes of ass-clowns like Martin Bashir, Chrissy Tingles, Special Ed and Soledad O'Brien makes for a better day.

This calling to be a sheepdog comes with a number of burdens.  The equipment that you sometimes have to carry and use is heavy, hot and cumbersome.  You have to spend hours and days away from your family over a lifetime missing Thanksgivings, Halloweens, Christmas programs and birthdays year after year training or working.  You get to see the sun rise when you are going home and see it set when you are heading to work.

The sheep and the lambs know not the sacrifices of the sheepdog, made to keep them safe.  They happily go about their lives blissfully unaware of the nature of the world and all of the evil that never reaches them.  They don't know about the bad actors, the dark places and the daily stress of being out there ensuring that they never know evil.

But these burdens are not the most heavy of burdens.

There will come a time in your life and career when you might have to decide who lives and dies out there. It's a terrible responsibility, you can't delegate it to anyone else, and it's one you will have to make on your own. The bigger reality is, it is also a decision that you are going to have to live with as a human being, for the rest of your life. There will come a time when you will have to say "no" to that person who needs you because the most important person to keep alive at that time, is going to be yourself. You could be facing a situation where there will be people, some of them your friends, all saying "save me, save me."  They're looking for a miracle and you are going to have to decide if being that miracle is within you, and even worse, the person that may need that miracle might be you.

Some of you will recognize a version of that speech, and I heard it myself a long time ago from a wise old man who had to make a few of those terrible decisions in his life.  

Sheepdogs can't be everywhere at once.  Sometimes the sheep are on their own, and evil people know this. They chose to attack at that moment because they know that there will be no one there to stop them.  If someone has an insatiable darkness in their heart, there is no law given by man or God that will stop them in their quest to act upon their terrible desires.  Out of sheep, sometimes a sheepdog arises.  God Bless Victoria Soto for knowing that one of the miracles that day was her.  God Bless Maryrose Kristopik for doing what she could that day and being that miracle for her music class.  God Bless Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach for running toward the sound of gunfire and being a miracle to their school.  They moved to stop an armed man engaged in the rapid mass murder of little children armed only with their fists.

A Sheepdog's Burden, carried with them everyday, is at the moment that evil appears, that they will not be there in time to stop it.  That evil will be able wreak havoc and by the time the Sheepdog arrives, the damage will be done and the evil men who have done evil deeds will be long gone. It is, without a doubt, the emptiest feeling in the world.  Sheepdogs bear this burden because we know evil, we know that it sometimes pays a visit to the most cherished of places.   

The tools needed to stop evil when used by evil men are not the problem.  We don't need to know why evil is or why evil does or what evil will do.  The problem is evil itself, and the people that embody it and act on it.  It cannot be negotiated away, it cannot be wished away and it does not just go away.

The only way to stop evil, and evil people, is to meet that evil, shake it, stomp it or kill it if it is mortal.

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Laying the Wreaths Across America

Posted By Blackfive

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Micheal A. Cornelio pays respect after placing a wreath at a grave marker during Wreaths Across America at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Dec. 15, 2012. Cornelio is assigned to Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion on Fort Meade, Md. DOD photo by Sebastian Sciotti Jr.

A section of Arlington National Cemetery, Va., shows a fraction of the 110,000 wreaths placed at the graves of fallen service members during Wreaths Across America, Dec. 15, 2012. DOD photo by EJ Hersom

A member of the U.S. Army Honor Guard, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, carries a wreath donated by Wreaths Across America at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Dec. 15, 2012. DOD photo by EJ Hersom

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SEAL Team Six Member Killed in Raid to Rescue Doctor, Identified

Posted By Blackfive

From ABC News:

...A U.S. official confirmed the service member killed in the raid was a member of SEAL Team Six, the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011...

And some statements from the brass:

From SecDef Panetta:  The special operators who conducted this raid knew they were putting their lives on the line to free a fellow American from the enemy's grip. They put the safety of another American ahead of their own, as so many of our brave warriors do every day and every night. In this fallen hero, and all of our special operators, Americans see the highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service upheld. The torch of freedom burns brighter because of them.

And from the President:  Yesterday, our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day. Tragically, we lost one of our special operators in this effort. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, just as we must always honor our troops and military families. He gave his life for his fellow Americans, and he and his teammates remind us once more of the selfless service that allows our nation to stay strong, safe and free.

So, what are your thoughts on sending in SOF/Tier1 to rescue a kidnapped civilian who was knowingly operating in hostile territory against all warnings for him to be there?  Are the NGOs that valuable to the mission of succeeding in Afghanistan that we risk one of our best operators to get them out?  Seven dead Taliban for one SEAL?

When more details emerge, I'm sure things might change a bit; however, I'm not certain that we should be using these assets in the rescue of civilians who knowingly venture into hostile territories.  I'm sure we'll also be hearing about how important Morning Star Development is to the Afghan people.

Last, can we (our government) stop advertising SEAL Team Six/DevGru/whatever-you-want-to-call them's activities?

Update:  CBS reports the identity of the fallen SEAL as Petty Officer First Class Nicolas Checque of Monroeville, Pa.

Godspeed, Petty Officer First Class Nicolas Checque.

Update 2:  Tangentially related, USNI has a piece about the role of Navy SOF (how much).

Update 3:  What about Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl?  Is it then worth going to get SGT Bowe Bergdahl should we locate him?

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Never forget ...

Posted By McQ

~McQ

 

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Tango Mike Mike

Posted By McQ

In remembrance. We build upon the legacy of those who've gone before us:

 

~McQ

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I Know The Answer...

Posted By Deebow

And have a look at this article and see if you know too....

“Larry,” you’ve studied the plan and you know that we’re committing every available combat unit to this fight.”

“Yes, and you want me to go back out with the Fourth Battalion again. Is it still commanded by that coward, Uy?”

“Yes it is,” I said.

“Colonel, you know as well as I that at the first shot fired, he will turn tail and run and the battalion will fall apart, just like it did last week.” He was stating simple, unemotional fact.

After a long pause he added, “If I go, I won’t come back. The North Vietnamese Army won’t let me get away twice.”

“I know,” I replied looking away, feeling pain deep down inside.  “Do you want me to go in your place?”

“No,” he countered sharply. “You’ve got your job to do and I’ve got mine.”

Simultaneously we pushed our metal folding chairs back, stood, and shook hands. “Goodbye, Colonel,” he said. “We won’t meet again … at least not in this life. Write my wife, tell her I love her.” I nodded and he was gone

Happy Veterans Day to Mrs. Deebow, EMC (SW) R. Bowman, My Stepdad Bob from the 101st Airborne (Rakkasans) all the men at B5, Luq, Captain Jack, Major Morrow, Colonel Day, Hoback, Terrel, Bradley, Luq, Mo' Fough, 1SG Fruitt, Barney, Frank, Jeff, Tiffany, Nina and Her Hubby, Katie C, and her hubby Brandon, Lee, Illiad, John C. Kingnut, Steve C., Steve S. Eric H (still a vet to me baby), AIr Force MSGT R. Coleman, Steve S. Ron C. and His Dad, all the soldiers who have served under me and to all those still serving and who have served.  Thanks for your service and my life is richer because of knowing all of you.

And for my comrades Earl, Bernard, and Larry; all of you are not here for me to thank you for your service to our great nation.  I will miss you today.  May your families and children be comforted by the passing of time and may your memories never fade from our hearts... 

I hope very much to see you again, on this side or the other....

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