WASHINGTON (Nov. 28, 2007) - The Army announced today that it has taken initial steps to plan for reduced operations at all Army bases while the congressional review continues on funding for operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and requirements associated with the Global War on Terror.
With no funds provided for GWOT requirements since the beginning of the fiscal year, the Army has had to use operation and maintenance dollars budgeted to organize, train, equip, and field forces, as well to sustain Soldiers and their Families, to fund war related activities.
Less than 1% of the American population volunteers to serve and do our nation’s biddin’ and the gottdamned suits on Capitol Hill can’t reach an agreement to fund it! What exactly do they mean when they flap their lips spoutin’ their support for the troops?
That’s right, one of your Soldiers could be the next Miss America. Sergeant Jill Stevens of 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment from the Utah National Guard is competing for the title of Miss America 2008. I happen to know SGT Stevens, we served together in Afghanistan and she was a huge supporter of Operation Shoe Fly. She went to the hospital every Sunday that she was available to help deliver shoes and other donations to the Afghan children.
Then Specialist Stevens visits Afghan children being treated at the Egyptian Hospital on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
The divide between Soldier and beauty queen, beret and tiara, evening gown and Army combat uniform, is not so vast to Sgt. Stevens.
“To me, they go hand in hand. The military wants people to get an education, to be fit and, above all, to serve. It’s the same with Miss America. They also want you to be educated; they also promote fitness; and the biggest part is service. Both teach you to be leaders.”
Which title best suits her?
“Oh, definitely the Soldier,” she said. “I show up to my Miss Utah events in uniform. In parades, I’m in uniform instead of an evening gown to show that this is who I am.”
I cannot imagine a more fitting candidate for the title of Miss America. And if memory serves me, she has a pretty good singing voice too. Good luck Sergeant Stevens, you’ve got an Army of supporters pulling for you. Sgt Hook out.
An American soldier who was seriously wounded during a bomb attack in Iraq on Nov. 13 re-enlisted just hours after the ambush, telling Army officers he still had a job to do, the Army reported Monday.
Spc. Christopher Hoyt, an infantryman from California with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Lewis, Wash., was injured after an improvised explosive device — or IED — exploded near him while he was out on a foot patrol near Zaganiyah, Iraq.
“He said he wasn’t finished,” Hoyt’s battalion commander Lt. Col. Mark Landes said.
Landes conducted the re-enlistment himself. “He said, ‘I still have a job to do.’ ”
Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell, the brigade’s top non-commissioned officer, who was also present during Hoyt’s re-enlistment at Anaconda, said Hoyt was the epitome of what a soldier should be.
“It takes a person of very strong character to go through an incident where another soldier five feet away was killed, and he was severally wounded, and still say ‘I believe in what we are doing and I want to stay on the team. I want to support the United States Army and my country,’ ” Troxell said.
I’ve asked before, but where does America find these guys. You are a real hero SPC Hoyt, thank you for your continued service to this nation; I’m proud of you. Sgt Hook out.
In case you weren’t aware… your Soldiers have been quite busy as of late and I thought to brief you on just a few of their activities as the Army Goes Rolling Along…
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2007 – Afghan and U.S. forces killed a suspected al Qaeda agent and captured three other suspected insurgents during separate actions in Afghanistan’s Zabul and Nangarhar provinces today, military officials said.
The suspected al Qaeda operative had fired on Afghan and U.S. troops as they approached a reputed militant safe house located in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar province. The house was allegedly used by al Qaeda to funnel weapons and explosives for terrorist operations. Coalition forces returned fire, killing the militant.
A search of the house yielded numerous weapons, including timers and grenades used to make improvised explosive devices. No coalition casualties were incurred during the operation.
The detained threesome will be questioned about their identities and involvement in terrorist activities, officials said.
SHUKRAN, Iraq– For just about every cordon and search operation in Iraq, there is a special two-Soldier team that provides an extra sense to the efforts to find anti-Iraqi forces and hidden weapons. One of those teams at Forward Operating Base Q-West is Staff Sgt. Chuck Shuck and his dog, Sgt. 1st Class Gabe, both with 178th Military Police Detachment, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade.
On this particular morning, Shuck and Gabe are helping Battery A, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment Soldiers search the nearby village of Shukran for any weapons that may be hidden in the area.
“The dog has a nose like no human has, that’s just a given,” Shuck said. “A dog is able to smell stuff that humans can’t smell because they can pick up on residue and stuff like that. Even if Soldiers miss something, 95 percent of the time the dog is going to pick up on it.”
In the eight and a half months Shuck and Gabe have been in Iraq, they have worked primarily with 5/82 FA Soldiers. They have conducted approximately 140 searches both on and off the base and have been on more than 90 combat missions off the FOB. To date, one of their biggest finds was 36 122 mm rounds back in Oct. 2006.
Gabe and Shuck have also seen their fair share of action in theater.
“Last month, we were on a raid with Alpha Battery, 5/82 FA, and a guy started shooting through the door. Gabe and I were right there in the thick of things with them, and it was pretty amazing,” Shuck said. “Gabe actually got put in for a Combat Action Badge.”
The US military in Iraq says it has detained 32 suspected militants in a series of overnight raids. Some 16 were seized in Sadr City in Baghdad, a stronghold of Shia militias where US and Iraqi troops have been searching for five abducted Britons.
In north-western Iraq, at least nine people died in a suicide truck bomb attack on a police post in Rabia.
The new spokesman for the US military in Iraq has defended the recent “surge” in troops aimed at tightening security.
The US military said the men detained overnight were suspected members of a network involved in bringing sophisticated bomb components into Iraq from Iran.
Others were held in raids targeting al-Qaeda fighters around Falluja and Hit, west of Baghdad.
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Sounds from roaring engines and spinning rotors from the British CH-47 Chinook pierce through the night as the aircraft carries paratroopers of the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, on an air assault mission into the lower Sangin Valley near the Gereshk District.
Landing under the cover of darkness in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, the “heart of Taliban country,” the back ramp of the Chinook drops and paratroopers make their way off the helicopter to pull security duty. The Chinook begins to kick up dirt and debris as it roars off into the darkness, leaving the paratroopers in the poppy fields of the Sangin Valley.
This is the latest air assault mission for the 1/508th in a series of sub-operations under “Operation Achilles,” an operation ongoing since early March. Many of these paratroopers spent more than 40 days in the first and second sub-operations of Achilles, only to return to the battlefield after a six-day regrouping period.
It is just another day for the elite group from the 82nd Airborne Division. The paratroopers have a rich history since World War II of living up to their “all the way” motto by doing whatever it takes to accomplish what their country asks of them.
These parachute troops are going into places that have not previously had a U.S. presence and they are met with heavy resistance at times, said Army Lt. Col. Brian Mennes, battalion commander, 1/508th. “It shows there is nothing they can’t handle with competence, and that is impressive,” he said.
Achilles was launched at the request of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government and is the largest coalition operation to date. It involves about 5,500 International Security Assistance Force soldiers, including 1,000 soldiers from the Afghan National Security Force and close to 1,000 paratroopers from Fort Bragg’s 82nd Airborne Division.
Nicknamed the “Red Devils,” the 1/508th continues to play a key roll in conducting the largest air assault missions of Operation Enduring Freedom in a region that has not seen military operations since the Soviet Union’s occupation in the 1980s.
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 8, 2007) - Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials yesterday activated the second and third companies focused solely on overseeing the health, welfare and morale of “warriors in transition.”
Walter Reed officials activated Battle Company and Chosen Battery of the Warrior Transition Brigade, while the much-maligned Medical Hold Company was deactivated, during a ceremony.
Battle Company and Chosen Battery join Able Troop, which was activated April 27, as part of the new Warrior Transition Brigade “to facilitate the healing process of warriors in transition and their families physically, mentally and spiritually,” said Col. Terrence McKenrick, the brigade’s commander.
“The surge has assisted civil military operations by putting more coalition eyes on the environment, so that we get a more responsive analysis of what essential services and economic development services are needed by the populace,” said Lt. Col. John Rudolph, the assistant chief of staff of civil military operations for Multi-National Division - Baghdad.
Lt. Col. Rudolph said civil military operations in MND-B’s area of operation, which run the gamut from governance to agriculture to infrastructure to economic improvements, have already dedicated more than $163 million of Commander’s Emergency Relief Project funds to projects all aimed at improving the quality of life for Iraqis living in and around Baghdad.
“This really is about improving the quality of life for the Iraqis,” said Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the deputy commanding general for support with MND-B. That “support” role not only touches the lives of the 50,000-plus troops working under MND-B, but also the Iraqi people. He said it’s challenging to move ahead with quality of life initiatives in the face of extremist efforts to stop them.
“There is a perception that I’ve seen in every sector of this region we have responsibility for - when I talk to the Iraqis - that the Americans have the ability to put a man on the moon, and yet they can’t provide us with electricity,” Brig. Gen. Brooks said. “That whole idea of an expectation that we promised and haven’t delivered causes a great deal of problems.”
“You saw areas favored by Saddam and his regime see power longer throughout the day, but they still didn’t get power 24/7,” Lt. Col. Rudolph said. “They still had to use what they called the ‘generator men,’ who were entrepreneurs who had their own generators and supplied power to local neighborhoods for the ‘off power’ periods - even during Saddam’s period.”
Thank GOD that your Army keeps rolling along. Sgt Hook out.
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 1, 2007) - Two weeks after Walter Reed Army Medical Center made national headlines for poor outpatient care, the center’s top leader has been relieved of command.
Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and WRAMC, was relieved of command this morning by Secretary of the Army Dr. Francis J. Harvey.
This entire episode is tragic and never should have happened but for whatever reasons it did. SecDef Gates hit the nail on the head…
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates approved the action. “A bedrock principle of our military system is that we empower commanders with the responsibility, authority and resources necessary to carry out their mission. With that responsibility comes accountability,” Gates said last week.
I remain extremely proud to be a member of my organization. Sgt Hook out.
My organization has been around for awhile. It is a non-profit organization; however, our bottom-line is non-negotiable. We have all total over a million and a half employees, both full-time and part-time. There are doctors, mechanics, water purifiers, R&D, technicians, pilots, truck drivers, police, firefighters, IT, chefs, musicians, mariners, clerks, photographers, HR, electricians, nurses, fuelers, engineers, divers, tankers, snipers, and warriors on the payroll. My organization is capable of establishing a small city in the middle of nowhere and conducting business for an indeterminate amount of time. The men and women in my organization are highly trained and for the most part, fiercely loyal. We strive for success and hold honor above all else.
My organization is amazing; though it is not perfect. At times, mistakes are made and members of my organization fuck up, but when they do, the leadership of my organization does not bury their heads in the sand.
“We will do what’s right for our soldiers and their families. And our soldiers and their families need to know that the Army leadership is committed and dedicated to ensure that the quality of life and the quality of their medical care is equal to their quality of service and sacrifice,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody said at a Pentagon press conference.
“I’ll take responsibility. I’m the vice chief of the Army and I’ll make sure it’s fixed,” he said.
Responsibility and accountability are not just buzz words in my organization, but words with meaning. We cannot define honor without the two.
“We all share in the responsibility and accountability. We accept that accountability. One of the matters I hope to learn about is why the problems and concerns were not raised up. I never received concerns from a soldier or family member,” Winkenwerder said.
No one has been relieved of command or fired, Cody said, but he did not rule that out.
“We will do the right thing across the board as we continue to assess where leadership failure and breakdowns were. In some cases, I’ll just say as plainly as I can, we had people put in charge who did not have, in my mind, in my experience, the right rank and the right experience and authority to be able to execute some of the missions that was required,” he said.
As a 19+ year full-time employee of my organization, I am equally outraged as I am embarrassed by the conditions recently found in building 18 at Walter Reed, and my heart aches for those wounded warriors and their families who were subjected to that. And I’m pissed the hell off.
I have a lot respect for General Cody and have absolute faith that he will get it fixed, and then some (I’ve seen him fix things), but I’m mad as hell because my organization is better than that! No matter how full our plates get, and how demanding the op-tempo becomes, we never ever fail at taking care of soldiers. I have no idea what circumstances led to the abhorrent conditions in building 18, but I’m certain they will no longer exist by the time you finish reading this post.
I intend to visit Walter Reed and building 18 when I travel to Washington D. C. for the Milblog Conference in May. I have every confidence that I’ll be reporting good news.
I’ll take responsibility. I’m the vice chief of the Army and I’ll make sure it’s fixed.
I remain extremely proud to be a member of my organization. Sgt Hook out.
Admittedly, it is difficult to define the meaning of the word heroic, and to determine just what heroic feats deserve the awarding of our nation’s highest medal, the Medal of Honor, but I’m pleased that we don’t stop trying.
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 9, 2007) - The White House announced today that President Bush will present the Medal of Honor to Bruce P. Crandall in recognition of his actions at Landing Zone X-Ray during the Battle of Ia Drang, Vietnam, in November 1965
This site is a collection of my writings, thoughts, and ramblings and in no way reflects the official positions of the United States Army or the Department of Defense. OPSEC trumps everything.
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In view of a recent tendency to identify characters in fiction with real people, it seems proper to state that there are no real people in this volume: both the characters and their names are ficticious. The names or designations of any military units are ficticious. There are no living people nor existing military units presented in this book.
-Ernest Hemingway
Halfway down the road to hell,
In a shady meadow green,
Are the souls of all dead troopers camped
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddler's Green.
-Author Unknown
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