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May 2007

Defending Rick Rescorla

Rick Rescorla is one of my personal heroes.  Background - You can read about him here and here (this is the link where I first heard about a blog called The Mudville Gazette).  I also featured Rick as Someone You Should Know Radio on Pundit Review.

Unfortunately, during a visit to the hallowed Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, ArmyWifeToddlerMom had to step up and "educate" someone who didn't know who Rick was...we (and the MSM) should follow her lead to make sure that everyone knows the man that was a hero's hero - the man who cut Al Qaeda's potential victory to shreds by saving thousands of human beings...read why AWTM kicks ass.  Regulars here will recognize some Blackfive-like irony (call it karma) at the end of her post.


Every Wall is a Door

One of the emails I got today had the following quote at the bottom.

Every wall is a door- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A nice reminder that just because you can't see a way through, one exists. Funny that wasn't quite the way I envisioned it though.
Breach_wall
One of the more enjoyable things I did was blowing holes through the walls of a hotel to gain rapid access from one room to another. Why you ask? Oh maybe there might be some of our secret squirrel guys in one room maybe meeting with some flavor of bad guy, and a couple of wall-blowin', scunion bringin', door-kickers in the other room in case things turned craptastic. It only took us about three walls before we had it dialed in.

via HotAir and reader Steven G.

Widow of fallen Marine enlists to honor his sacrifice. Wow that's impressive, I wonder if she has a sister?

Alec from ProsebeforeHos sends a link to a few photos from Iraq on Memorial Day. Kinda poignant to see an Iraqi kid take shelter behind a soldier when gunfire breaks out.
Iraqibombin21


Marine Sergeant DJ Emery - Update

For those of you not familiar with Marine Sergeant DJ Emery, below are the links to his story.  Be sure to read the first one.

New update on DJ is posted after the Jump (you won't want to miss this one).

Continue reading "Marine Sergeant DJ Emery - Update" »


The Denver Post's Tribute to Colorado's Fallen - Danny (DJ) Dietz

Mr. Wolf sends this link from somewhere in the ME.

Click on this link, either listen to the intro of Taps or click "skip intro", then there are several testimonials about Colorado's Fallen.  Be sure to click on Danny (DJ) Dietz's name and listen to what his sister has to say about him...

More about US Navy SEAL DJ Dietz at the links below:


Good news from Iraq- The Weekly Fishwrap 29 May 07

LT Fishman delivers the open source goods

Baghdad tribes close to fighting al-Qaida

Zeke Minaya, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Monday, May 21, 2007 TAJI, Iraq — Mirroring a nationwide trend, tribes near Baghdad are on the verge of banding together against al-Qaida and have met with U.S. military officials seeking aid and guidance in fighting the terrorist network. Acceptance of — if not outright support for — al-Qaida among the tribes eroded after the strict Islamic law imposed by insurgents clashed with the authority of the sheikhs, according to U.S. military officials. On Saturday, a group of local chieftains met with military commanders and a representative of the State Department at Camp Taji, about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, and tentatively agreed to form a council that would oversee the creation of a provincial security force similar to the tribal militia created in western Iraq. “I think we all agree that our common enemy are extremists and that’s who we must defeat,” Col. Paul E. Funk II said to the roughly dozen sheikhs at the gathering. Funk, commander of the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Tam, 1st Cavalry Division, presided over the meeting.With the fledgling alliance still in its early stages, the gathering at times resembled a negotiation. Several sheikhs asked for improvements in water treatment and electricity service as well as for inquiries into the detention by Iraqi security forces of relatives and tribal members.“Are you going to support us, or do we have to go knock on someone else’s door,” one sheikh asked.But even while U.S. commanders courted tribal support, they were wary of creating a new, separate fighting force and potentially further complicating the crowded battlefield around Baghdad that includes not only al-Qaida, but also Shiite militias.“We are not here to build another militia,” Funk said. Volunteers from the tribes must cooperate with the Iraqi government’s security forces, he said

Continue reading "Good news from Iraq- The Weekly Fishwrap 29 May 07" »


Military Posts Today

Mike Yon, awesome as usual, on Memorial Day and happenings in Anbar.

JD Johannes of Outside the Wire concurs with Mike in this great post about debunking some myths but warns that things change quickly in Iraq.

Mike was a guest on Pundit Review Radio to discuss the Awakening in Anbar (the awakening of our forces, not the tribes).

Bruce McQuain of QandO really knocked the cover off of the ball with this Someone You Should Know Radio segment on Pundit Review Radio.  there are two segments with Bruce - the first is about Memorial Day and the second is about how Marine Sergeant Mitchell fought along side Brad Kasal (who y'all better know!) in Fallujah.  Bruce tells the story from a different perspective.  It's well worth your time to listen.

More Moonbattery at the Coast Guard Academy and the Gathering of Eagles team was there.

"May No Soldier Go Unloved" is a book about Soldiers Angels that goes is available for pre-sales now.  Of course, some of the proceeds will go towards supports our returning heroes.  Order your copy now!

I'm a little late with this, but the most excellent David Axe at Aviation Week has an article about the new and improved A-10 Thunderbolt (better and more affectionately known as the Warthog).  And for you Warthog junkies, David's Flickr page has some really cool A-10 photos.

Bill Roggio's Fourth Rail is an amazing resource to find out what is happening in the war on terror.  Be sure to check out Bill's daily Iraq report.


Media Day

Obviously I'm not very shy, but my constant attention-seeking is paying off.

I will be on shortly at 2 pm Central with Vicki McKenna our very cool conservative talk host here in Madison at WIBA, they have a live stream if you want to listen.

Plus I will be on KMOX in St. Louis tonight at 11 pm Central with Mark Reardon.

I may have committed a St. Louis faux pas because that show is on a competitor station to my main man Jamie Allman from 97.1 Talk who will be haveing me on alternate Monday mornings 830 Central starting next Monday June 4. Jamie has an excellent blog now at BullMooseAmerica that is a smart read.