Four Year Old Ranger Completes Mission

Parade brings the scaries out

By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer

CHARLESTON -- The wind blew strongly against pint-sized paratrooper Dayton Black’s deployed parachute Saturday afternoon.

Nevertheless, the 4-year-old completed his mission: taking part in Charleston’s annual Halloween costume parade on the square. In fact, he won grand prize with his camouflage outfit topped with a plastic tubing facsimile of a deployed parachute.

Dayton was one of dozens of children who marched in the parade, sponsored by the Charleston Jaycees, Junior Women’s Club and Kiwanis Club.

His mother, Rhonda Black, said the costume was inspired by Dayton’s uncle Mike, who is a paratrooper with the U.S. Army Rangers.

“He loves uncle Mikey,” Black said.

Story

Happy Halloween

http://www.iconacraft.com/Flash/Haunted-Man.html

God Bless My Soldier Too

'God Bless My Soldier Too' is a beautifully touching video by Eric Horner.

'The Footsteps of a Hero' is worth a view as well.

SSG George T. Alexander

My old Army unit, B co. 1st and 15th, 3rd Id, was known for having been Audie Murphy's old unit. It now can add another hero to it's roll.

From Blackfive:

"Not A Number - Godspeed Staff Sergeant George T. Alexander

On Saturday, SSG George T. Alexander, of Killeen, Texas, died at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. On October 17th, Alexander's vehicle was hit by an IED. SSG Alexander was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga. The 1st/15th is a top unit in the Army - Audie Murphy is just one of it's more well-known WWII combat soldiers. Another from the Gulf War is Special Forces MilBlogger Jack Army.

I've done a lot of digging to try to find more about SSG Alexander. I believe that this was his second tour in Iraq and, during his first tour, he was deployed from Fort Hood, Texas, with the 4th ID.

There are two groups that will celebrate and use George Alexander's sacrifice.

The morally bankrupt anti-war movement.

And Al Qaeda.

I found this picture in an old Soldiers magazine from 2003 (US Army photo by SPC Goff). It's a picture of Staff Sergeant Alexander's young son showing support for him.

Remember George Alexander. Because his death was no more terrible, and no more horrible, than any other soldier who gave their life. Remember Staff Sergeant Alexander for those he left behind.

Others will seek to marginalize his sacrifice into a number, a sideline marker.

Don't let them.

Update: This post has offended some on the left. My response is here."

You Think You're Tough?

From Mens Health Magazine. As I have a son who is a Ranger, I know that what this guy did is exceptional and, yes, that makes him, tough!

Peter Springer lost an eye to an Iraqi suicide bomber -- and then joined the Army Rangers

By: Peter Moore, Photographs by: Lynda Churilla
Posted on 10/06/2005

On the morning of December 9, 2003, Peter Sprenger was 2 weeks from the end of an eventful tour in Iraq. He'd been at the "tip of the spear," in army parlance, spending the preceding 10 months roaring through the invasion of Iraq, occupying Baghdad, securing other restive towns. As a member of the 101st Airborne Division, he had a clear mission: to probe for trouble and take care of it. But on that particular morning, the trouble found him.

Corporal Sprenger drew radio duty that day in company headquarters in Tal Afar, 60 miles southwest of Mosul. He felt relatively safe in the shadow of a two-story guard tower, behind barbed wire and barricades, sheltered by a 12-foot-high cinder-block wall. The front doors of the building were open to the morning air. Sprenger wore no flak jacket, no helmet.

At 4:40 a.m., he heard gunfire and suspected that it issued from neighboring buildings. But, no, it had come from the guard tower, and the bullets and barricades had failed to halt a suicidal insurgent bent on delivering 1,000 pounds of TNT to the 101st's doorstep. The bomb detonated 10 to 15 yards from where Sprenger was standing.

Knocked down and blinded by the explosion, he crawled back to his position and patted himself down for missing parts. He felt warm blood, punctured flesh, and a confused tangle of facial features. He peeled back a tattered eyelid and saw a spiderweb of lines radiating out from a bloodred center. He remembers thinking, Yes, well, we'd better let a professional deal with that one.

The eye that Corporal Sprenger sacrificed that morning, the seven units of blood he left on the walls and floor, are real costs. "Going through all that changes you," he notes, with typical understatement. For a lot of men, it would embitter or destroy them. But in Sprenger's case, it focused his vision of who he is and what he hopes to gain from his life. "People don't look far enough into the future," he says, "and gauge what's realistic for them to accomplish."

But he has. And that vision drove him to rehab his many wounds, turn down the desk job the army offered, and gear up for the most rigorous training any infantryman can endure: Ranger School.

Sprenger not only passed it, but was also singled out as the epitome of the Ranger creed--"Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to . . . complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor"--and asked to recite that creed at his graduation ceremony last July.

Since the army began keeping records a quarter century ago, he is the first man with his kind of physical disability to earn the Ranger patch. And by the time you read this, he will have returned to Iraq. As he puts it, he needs to finish what he started.

Article.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

Today is my mother's birthday. It is the first one, in more than half a century that I will celebrate without her.

When you're a child, you think that life goes on forever. As you get older, you learn that sometimes people die. But, it is always other people. It isn't someone that you know. Ever.

So, you're annoyed when they call at an inopportune-for you-moment. Or they 'drop by' when you had other plans. Or, in any way, take up your important time. Why not feel that way? Aren't we all going to live forever?

I urge you to take the time for family or friends or loved ones.

Write someone, far away from you, a letter that lets them know, "I wish that you were here."

Pick up that ringing phone, when your caller ID tells you that you could talk to them later. Don't listen to it. Listen to them.

Don't say, "Daddy's tired" or "Not now. Mommy's busy".

Or, "Can't this wait Dad?" Or, "Mom, let's talk about this some other time."

Hug a friend, as if it is you that needs the hug.

Look in the eyes of your lover, before you kiss them, as if it is, at that very moment, that you realize just how much you love them.

Take the time.

Make the time.

Before, there is

no time.

Still Here!

Click to view

There are so many strong feelings that run deep in times of war especially with those who suffer great losses. During such times it is easy to lose sight of the end goal. Over 30 years ago, this nation sold a part of it's soul to purchase peace. The hole left behind continues to fester to this day in the hearts of men and women who gave so much for what they felt was a just cause. They returned to an ungrateful nation that had bought into the spin of certain poorly-principled, ill-informed, and perhaps even over-privileged individuals. We have learned our lesson to be supportive of those we send to defend us. But once again the spin begins spouted by strangely familiar voices. This presentation is dedicated to those who will "stay the course." They know that if we do not, it is our children or their children that will have to finish or even repeat what we have started and those who have sacrificed so much will be all for not. Music - Portions of "Suite from Forrest Gump" Performed by Alan Silvestri - © 1994 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Courtesy of GCS Distributing. These people have done some wonderful videos is cupport of the United States Military.

http://www.gcsdistributing.com/?pv=tr&tf=TDP&DT=SH

Military Idol Competition

'Idol' quickly becomes coveted military title


By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, October 22, 2005

Courtesy of Military Idol Sgt. William Glenn, an Army National Guardsman assigned to Darmstadt, Germany with the 258th MP Company, sings “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” made famous by the Temptations, during Wednesday’s elimination round in the Military Idol competition at Fort Gordon, Georgia. How to watch The Military Idol competition will begin at 2 p.m. EDT Oct. 22. Fans of the Military Idol competition can only watch Saturday’s final rounds on the Internet, through the Army Knowledge Online site, https://www.us.army.mil. Links there are also available through the competition’s main site, www.militaryidol.com. Video of earlier rounds of the competition is also available online. All soldiers should have already set up their e-mail and Internet accounts through the site and can access the competition through with that log-in. Non-Army personnel can set up a guest account to view the final competition through the Military Idol site. In order to watch the live broadcast, viewers will need a fast Internet connection and the latest version of Quicktime, available at www.apple.com/quicktime. Organizers have also set up a troubleshooting guide and an online help form at the AKO site to deal with technical problems related to the broadcast.

WASHINGTON — Sgt. William Glenn didn’t join the Army to sing, but he keeps finding ways to stretch his vocal cords.

As an active-duty soldier in the 1980’s, he sang at events around the world with the 82nd Airborne Division’s choir. Now, as a guardsman with the 258th MP Company currently assigned to Darmstadt, Germany, he’s competing in the first servicewide singing competition.

And he couldn’t be happier about the mission.

“It’s just been so much fun,” he said between rehearsals at the Military Idol finals on Friday. “I’ve been more nervous than a cat in a dog pound. But just to be able to do it has been great.”

Glenn, 42, is one of five finalists in the competition, which combed the Army for the best singer/soldiers in the world. This week 36 crooners who won regional competitions in the contest descended on Fort Gordon, Ga., to compete with the best.

The final five, who will sing for the title Saturday, include three U.S. soldiers from Germany: Spc. Festus Tobeola of Schweinfurt, Spc. Richard Sianoya of Würzburg and Glenn.

Tobeola is a native of Nigeria who has served with the 177th Armored Battalion since 2001. He said he studied drama and was friends with musicians in college, but his only real vocal experience before the competition was “just singing in the bathroom for kicks.”

Sianoya, a 21-year-old from the Philippines who has served with the 523rd Medical Company for three years, says that although he has performed on stage in the past, “it’s overwhelming and exciting, but this is nerve-wracking as well.”

The five finalists are competing for a $1,000 cash prize and unofficial title of “ambassador for Army entertainment,” with the chance to travel around the world for various MWR events.

The format is based on the popular reality show format, with judges critiquing soldiers on their tone and talent.

When Glenn belted out the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” during one elimination round on Thursday, country singer Michael Peterson gushed that he wished his voice had Glenn’s soulful sound.

Glenn, a pastor in civilian life, said he didn’t know about the competition until he stumbled upon auditions in a base dining hall on his dinner break. Several of his friends egged him on to show off his voice.

“I didn’t know I had a fan club,” he said, laughing. “But here (in Georgia), my mother drove all the way from Alabama to watch me, and it’s just wonderful to have that support, too. She just keeps yelling, ‘Sing, baby, sing!’”

The winner of the competition will be announced in a special online show on Sunday.

Whiney Terrorist Bastard

From the blog page: IowaHawk. Thanks.

Stop Questioning My Patriotism

Iowahawk Special July 4 Guest Commentary
by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi

Americans are famous for their diversity, and nowhere is this diversity more on display than in the various ways we celebrate the Fourth of July. Whether you are a traditional infidel enjoying hot dogs and cold watermelon, a recent immigrant infidel celebrating your new citizenship with a colorful piñata full of sweet treats, or like me, a not-as-yet-arrived-there-American who celebrates our independence through videotaped beheadings, we Americans have an almost infinite variety of ways of ‘lighting up the Fourth.’

Unfortunately, there are some who are angered by this rich Independence Day tapestry of watermelon and piñatas and decapitations, and express their anger through intolerance. Ironically, these angry voices have chosen to ignore the message of the Founding Infidels, and have instead lashed out against their fellow Americans, and aspiring-Americans, by openly questioning our patriotism and threatening our civil liberties with their GPS-guided ‘Bunker Busters.’

Sadly, this chorus of intolerance has grown since America embarked on its disastrous campaign of militarism in the Mideast. Instead of focusing on the real issues that trouble us -- like rampant poverty, Zionist aggression, and our immodestly dressed female cousins who have dishonored our clans -- these ‘neocon’ voices have sought to distract us with a stupid war for oil and empire. Those of us who have stood up in principled, armed opposition to Bush’s misadventure have been branded “unpatriotic.”

This chilling wind should alarm the millions of Americans and future-Americans everywhere who have called for the immediate timed withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, and have expressed their opinion through their local newspapers, peace marches, and rocket-propelled grenades. It sometimes seems that the Administration is more interested in the “rights” of their foreign Iraqi clients than the rights of their own citizens, and their own inevitable invading conquerors.

If nothing else, the Fourth of July should prompt all Americans, whether they are an infidel fornicating whore-woman in a Miami strip club or a fresh-faced enlistee in a secret Prague martyr cell, to reflect on the true meaning of ‘patriotism.’ To me, patriotism is not some empty flag-waving gesture, or spouting jingoistic slogans. To me, dissent is the real patriotism. And what could be more patriotic than the ultimate in dissent – bloody jihad against the kufr and their heretic puppets in Baghdad?

So, on this day when we mark the birth of the Great Satan, let us remember that true patriotism is not a “one-size-fits-all” idea. While there may be precious little to celebrate America as it is, millions of us real patriots will continue to celebrate the idea of America as it could be. Allah willing.

Frozen Body May Be WWII Airman

A very interesting story.

FRESNO, Calif., Oct. 20, 2005

---

The mostly ice-encased body found by climbers. (AP) Quote "We're not going to go fast. We want to preserve him as much as possible. He's pretty intact." Kings Canyon National Park spokesperson Alexandra Picavet on the excavation process

(CBS/AP) Rangers in Kings Canyon National Park and a military recovery expert started excavating a glacier-entombed corpse on Wednesday. The body is believed to be a World War II airman who died in a 1942 plane crash.

Two ice climbers reported seeing a frozen head, shoulder and arm while climbing the glacier on the side of 13,710-foot Mount Mendel in the Sierra Nevada on Sunday, park spokesperson Alexandra Picavet said. The body was 80 percent encased in ice, and still wearing an Army-issued parachute.

Officials say the man's torn sweater reveals skin, and parts of his sandy-blonde hair are still intact, reports (video) CBS News correspondent Teri Okita. Several numbers discovered on the icy body could help the Fresno, Calif. coroner's office and the military identify the body.

"I think it's more the mystery that everyone is intrigued by … the fact that here's this plane that crashed more than 63 years ago, and there's still somebody up there," Picavet said.

A crew of rangers and specialists are camped on the mountainside, in subfreezing temperatures, ready to stay there during the entire excavation process, Picavet said. The ice is thick in the area but rangers, trained in high altitude rescue operations, expect to be able to free it by Thursday, Picavet said.

"We're not going to go fast," Picavet said. "We want to preserve him as much as possible. He's pretty intact."

The crew includes an expert from the Joint Prisoner of War Accounting Command, which recovers and identifies missing military personnel.

Park officials believe the serviceman may be a member of the crew of an AT-7 navigational training plane that crashed on the mountain on Nov. 18, 1942 — one of several military planes that have crashed among the craggy peaks.

The wreckage and four bodies were found by a climber in 1947.

This body may be connected to that expedition, although it's hard to tell until the recovery is complete, Picavet said.

The remains were found at the base of the glacier, in remote and stark wilderness that takes days to reach by foot. Park officials don't know exactly where the plane landed. A decades-old file on the crash marked the spot on a map with an "X" but noted that the engine broke off and rolled to the bottom of the glacier, Picavet said.

Rest of the story.

Sheehan thrashing 'war hawk' Hillary

Is this a trick? Is Sheehan just a stooge, being used to make Hillary look more palatable to the right? Or is she just plain stupid?

THE LEGEND OF CRAWFORD
Sheehan thrashing 'war hawk' Hillary
Cindy tears into Clinton for Iraq support,
compares her to radio's Rush Limbaugh
Posted: October 19, 2005
2:15 p.m. Eastern
By Joe Kovacs
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan, the so-called "peace mom" on a crusade to end U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, is publicly blasting Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for her continued support of the ongoing conflict.

"I think she is a political animal who believes she has to be a war hawk to keep up with the big boys," Sheehan writes in an open letter posted on anti-Bush filmmaker Michael Moore's website. "I would love to support Hillary for president if she would come out against the travesty in Iraq. But I don't think she can speak out against the occupation, because she supports it. I will not make the mistake of supporting another pro-war Democrat for president again: As I won't support a pro-war Republican."

"I believe that the intelligent thing for Democrats to do for 2006 and 2008 would be to come out strongly and correctly against the botched, bungled, illegal, and immoral occupation of Iraq," Sheehan added.

Oh Mama!

Powered by Castpost

Funny video of what REALLY goes on in Iraq.

Footage comes courtesy of the Mullet Mafia

"Get a Life"

Recently I was advised to "get a life". I thought that I would post it today, which is my birthday. I made the appropriate update to reflect my ancient age of 59.

It is annoying for some pup to tell me to get a life. Here's why:

In my lifetime there have been:

11 U.S. Presidents and 6 Popes.
26 military conflicts involving the Unted States.
15 Summer Olympic games, 58 World Series and all 39 Super Bowls.
134 countries were added to the world map.
The Nuremberg Trials were finished and the Berlin Wall was erected and torn down.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was settled and WW III was avoided. (As a first grader in 1952 we were taught to get under our desks in case of a nuclear attack. We should have been learning our ABC's.)
Sputnik as launched and man set foot on the moon.
TV and the Internet were invented.
Churchill, Stalin and Elvis died.
Rock and Roll was born.
Small pox was eliminated, Polio all but erased and Aids has become the new epidemic.

I have survived cancer, 3 marriages and 2 divorces.

I was a single parent.

I have 2 biological sons, 2 adopted daughters, 3 stepdaughters and more than 12 grandchildren.

My country thanks me for my service as a Cold War and Vietnam-era veteran of the Army.

I have attended 3 colleges and have earned 2 degrees.

I have celebrated 59 Christmases, New Years, 4th's of July and birthdays.

I have buried both mother and father.

I was even briefly homeless.

I own a computer because I couldn't reach my oldest son (the Ranger) on the morning of 9/11. I knew that he would be deployed before the second plane hit the Trade Center and I had no way to e-mail him. I bought a copy of Blackhawk Down only because it involved Rangers. I would play it more often if not for a 3 year old grandson. He is often waiting for me when I get home from my job with Homeland Security (which I took to do my part in the war on terror). He prefers to play on the Game Cube for 4-5 hours at a time for 4-5 days a week.

If it wasn't for little Johnny, I might play online even more.

It seems to me that I have earned the right to do whatever I want. Whenever I want. Wherever I want. Even to the annoyance of some kid who has no idea of what anything I have said is all about.

"Get a life", he said. O.K.

Burning Manure Pile in Nebraska Finally Goes Out

Makes me wonder all long it would take all of the 'liberal' news reports to burn out.

MILFORD, Neb. (AP) — It took nearly four months, but to the relief of neighbors miles around, a burning manure pile has been extinguished.

David Dickinson, owner and manager of Midwest Feeding Co., said Wednesday that several weeks of pulling the 2,000-ton pile apart proved effective by late last week

"We got far enough through it, that it quit," Dickinson said. Dickinson's feedlot, about 20 miles west of Lincoln, takes in as many as 12,000 cows at a time from farmers and ranchers and fattens them for market.

Byproducts from the massive operation resulted in a dung pile measuring 100 feet long, 30 feet high and 50 feet wide. Heat from the decomposing manure deep inside the pile is believed to have eventually ignited the manure.

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality told Dickinson that his smoldering dung pile violated clean-air laws and it worked with him as tried to extinguish it.

Dickinson said his pile may have been ignited in part because of grass clippings his feedlot had been accepting from the city of Milford. The clippings could be more combustible and he plans to stop accepting them, Dickinson said.

Kevin Sites-unbiased journalism at its worst!

For some reason, Yahoo has been heavily promoting 'Kevin Sites-in the Hot Zone From Yahoo' . For those of you who don't remember, this is the 'journalist' who taped the much publicized video of the Marine shooting the insurgent in the Falluja Mosque. Sites chose to make it an international incident. He had to have known would inflame the Muslim world and would likely cost the very lives of the young Marines that he was embedded with. I thought that it was wrong for Sites to have done so. I believed that he should have given the Pentagon time to respond.

I wondered why he would choose to release that particular piece of film. After all, he must have shot miles of film. At the time of the incident, I checked Sites out and learned that he maintained a blog page that was tantamount to an anti-war site. To me, that equals anti-military.

The Marine was absolved of all charges. Sites seemed to disappear from the limelight for awhile. But, here he is again. I will have to 'smoke' him with words and he seems want to do to the military. I can't trust a man who protests with words and film against war, yet makes his entire living off of war. As Frank' (portrayed by Henry Fonda, in 'Once Upon a Time In The West', as an evil villain who was totally devoid on any redeeming qualities-a role so much better suited for his daughter) said, "How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can't even trust his own pants."


I don't trust Kevin Sites and neither should you. From his blog page 'apology' to the Marines, comes this:

" While I continue to tape, a Marine walks up to the other two bodies about fifteen
feet away, but also lying against the same back wall. Then I hear him say this about one of the men:
"He's fucking faking he's dead -- he's faking he's fucking dead."
Through my viewfinder I can see him raise the muzzle of his rifle in the direction of the wounded Iraqi. There are no sudden movements, no reaching or lunging."


The italics are mine. Why would Sites feel that it was necessary to write that?

More from Sites (written during the Falluja battle and, I think, indicative of his anti-war mindset):


" The Marines I'm embedded with are nearly ebullient. This looks to be a cakewalk.
One jokes they'll be sipping 'Pina Coladas by the Euphrates River by fifteen-hundred.' "


" They are eager "to get some," to pay "haji" back for the car bombs and IED's
(improvised explosive devices) that have killed or maimed so many of their brother 'Devil Dogs.'"


"We're going to let loose the dogs of war," says Staff Sgt. Mortimer, "before the
Falluja offensive begins. "It will be hell," he says, smiling after."

From comes this:

"Smearing Kevin Sites

Warfloggers are busy shooting the messenger. Poor Kevin Sites. All his war reporting in Kosovo and Afghanistan and Iraq, and the fact that he's embedded in the most dangerous place in Iraq isn't enough to save him from Republicans on Auto Smear. As with the Abu Ghraib torture photos, the problem for the pro-war With Us Or Against Us crowd isn't the act that horrifies the world, it's the fact that the pictures came out.

I guess InstaWarPundit won't be recommending Kevin Sites anymore."

And neither will I!!!

Liberalism

LOOKING GOOD/ FROM THE BLOG PAGE: ONE MARINE'S VIEW

Saturday, October 15, 2005

LOOKING GOOD
As the sun came up today no one really knew what to expect to happen as Iraq began their democratic elections. One thing for sure Marines & Soldiers were ready to do their job and provide the necessary security required to ensure the scumbags didn’t interfere with our mission at hand.

Across the entire AO (Area of Operations) the tempo was mild although not without fighting. The typical in your face IEDs and RPGs were ever present but your armed services prevailed and insured a safe voting atmosphere for the Iraqi people. Although the news probably wont have much to say about it, it was a success for the country of Iraq, its Army and its people. Unfortunately there were service members wounded and unfortunately paid the ultimate price today in surrounding fighting throughout the AO. We knew it wouldn’t be totally quiet and the few contact (IEDs) today took their toll on some units. Across the board the area was eerie silent as streets and markets were empty. Only polling sites were the busy places. The famous purple finger that voters get when they vote was the popular sign of the day. Unfortunately some service members will receive Purple Heart medals for their actions this day.

Now as the country has made a milestone achievement they have democracy in motion. As Americans we want things done yesterday and have little patience for things not produced now. Patience is what is needed here and the coward left wing bed wetters won’t understand that. Iraq is where the US was 200 yrs ago. Will their constitution change? Yes of course as ours still changes to this day. Will there be continued fighting? Yes, there are plenty of scumbags here that need to be delt with as they recognize that their days are numbered now since they couldnt alter the elections. The fact that there wasn’t a major mass casualty of voters, SBVIED in polling centers or assassinations conducted that the foaming mouth reporters could get in the middle of just reinforces how far the Iraqi forces have come and how they are getting stronger than the scumbags. Reporter’s countrywide saturated the area days prior to the elections to hopefully catch the US forces failing. Well to damn bad it didn’t happen so pound sand! You be the judge on just how much coverage there is of the actual elections on the news tomorrow. My bet is that there won’t be much beside some BS doubters or what if this or what if that negative crap on. I know that if there were an unsuccessful election, it would have been nothing but “Breaking News” shots about how we failed. It’s a good day to be an American, stand tall America we helped a country get on its feet today. Semper Fi-Capt B

American Snipers

From the AmericanSnipers.org website:

Please help us help working snipers in combat zones around the world.

Snipersonline UA and Sniper's Paradise have several members and Sniper friends actively engaged in the battle against terrorism. Our friends are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the number of snipers deployed around the world right now. These snipers are deployed in the theaters of combat, both in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as other locations overseas. Many of these are full time law enforcement officers that have been activated for regular duty action.
Our memberships have chosen to help support our fellow snipers, and brothers in arms, by helping supply them with items that they need to get the job done better as well as things to make their lives easier while on deployment. This has been everything from the basic hygiene type items such as handy wipes to tactical products such as holsters, high speed rucksacks, new optics, rifle accessories, to mini binoculars and batteries.
Who are We? We are active local, state, and federal police snipers as well as snipers from the various military branches.We are a tight-knit group that believes strongly in supporting our brothers that are deployed to the front lines. In return for that support, they then pass on their gained knowledge upon their return.We work hard and believe in our missions.We train hard so that when the time comes, we can accomplish our missions to the fullest of our abilities.We are snipers that need support in the form of advanced gear as well as "creature comfort" items to help us pass the time while we are away from our jobs and our families.We are the ones putting our lives on the line to help keep this great country safe and free from terrorism. We are your sons, your brothers, your husbands, your fathers, as well as your friends.We invite you to directly support the effort of those that are going in harms way on your behalf.

View the AmericanSnipers.org Flash Movie

AmericanSnipers.org Photos

List of Things Needed

Al Qaeda "barber" arrested in Iraq

One by one, these terrorist son's-a-bitches go to prison or to see Allah. No virgins for any of these losers.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Iraq said on Saturday that they were holding a man suspected of acting as a barber to senior al Qaeda militants and helping them change their appearance to evade capture.

The man, named as Walid Muhammad Farhan Juwar al-Zubaydi -- "aka 'The Barber,"' the U.S. military statement said -- was arrested in Baghdad on September 24, the day before U.S. troops caught up with and killed a militant they described as the most senior al Qaeda leader in the capital, Abu Azzam.

"'The Barber's' duties included altering senior al Qaeda in Iraq members' appearances by dying hair color, altering hairstyles and changing facial hair in their efforts to evade capture," the military said in the statement.

Also detained on September 24 was Ibrahim Muhammad Subhi Khayri al-Rihawi, the military said, naming him also as Abu Khalil and calling him a "close associate" of Abu Azzam.

"(He) served as an executive assistant for the terrorist emir. He also acted as a banker for Azzam and stored the terrorist organization's funds so they would not be confiscated should Abu Azzam be killed or captured," it added.

Abu Azzam was described by U.S. commanders after his death as second only to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the Islamist network's organization in Iraq.

U.S. forces are keen to show progress in tracking down insurgents in Iraq after two and a half years in which the militants have inflicted thousands of casualties on Iraqi civilians and security forces and killed hundreds of Americans.

White House Remembers Sailors Killed in USS Cole Attack

By Rudi WilliamsAmerican Forces Press Service
ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 13, 2005 – The sailors who died on board the USS Cole in a terrorist attack were remembered Oct. 12 at Arlington National Cemetery on the fifth anniversary of the attack.

Retired Navy Cmdr. John Alexander, director of

communications and public affairs, Navy-Marine

Corps Relief Society, reads the roll call of remem-

brance - the names of the 17 sailors killed in the

Oct. 12, 2000, terrorist attack on the USS Cole.

Ben Barbin (center) strikes the triangle after each

name, as retired Navy Capt. William Perry strums

his guitar honoring the dead sailors.

Photo by Rudi Williams

The White House Commission on Remembrance hosted the ceremony at the site where three of the guided missile destroyer's crewmembers are buried.

As the Cole was refueling in the harbor of Aden, Yemen, a small craft approached the port side of the guided missile destroyer and exploded, blasting a 40-by-40-foot hole in the ship's side. The attack took the lives of 17 crewmembers and 39 others were injured. The repaired ship returned to duty a year later.

Carmella LaSpada, director of the White House Commission on Remembrance, read a message from President Bush.

"On the anniversary of this tragedy, we pay tribute to those who were lost and recognize their courage and determination to fight for freedom," the message read in part. "Each answered a noble call and demonstrated a love of country and a devotion to duty that have inspired countless Americans. Today, the vital work of spreading liberty continues, and our country will persevere until we see freedom's victory.

"We'll always remember those lost aboard the USS Cole, and we honor their bravery by continuing to defend liberty and lay the foundation of peace for our children and grandchildren," the president's message noted.

This year, the commission sponsored the remembrance ceremony with the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Rest of the Story.

We should have kicked some al Qaeda ass right there and then. But, we had the wrong guy in the White House.

Syria Says Official Committed Suicide

Sure he did. I don't think so.

Syria Says Official Committed Suicide

AP - 2 hours, 3 minutes ago

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria's interior minister, who ran Lebanon for many years and was one of several top officials caught up in the U.N. probe of the slaying of that nation's former prime minister, died Wednesday. The country's official news agency said he committed suicide in his office. The death of Brig. Gen. Ghazi Kenaan - just days before the final U.N. investigation report is due - was a new and startling sign of turmoil in Syria, whose authoritarian regime is girding for the chance that the U.N. report might implicate high-ranking officials in the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri.

STORM SURIVAL KIT

Red Neck Storm Survival Kit:

Mustard...................................................$0.95

Cheetos..................................................$ 0.75

Toilet Paper........................................ $ 0.45

7UP ................................................... $1.00

Bottled Water ..................................... $2.00

Bud Light........................................... $ 3.75

Keystone Ice........................................ $ 3.75

Budweiser........................................... $3.75

Red Dog............................................. $3.75

Misc. other cans of alcohol......................$ 3.75

Sheet of foam, plywood or door

to float your chick (and supplies) on...priceless

For everything else, there's Master Card.

TO BOTH OF THE al's (Zawahiri and Zarqawi)

Letter from al-Zawahiri to al-Zarqawi

October 11, 2005
ODNI News Release No. 2-05

Today the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a letter between two senior al Qa'ida leaders, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, that was obtained during counterterrorism operations in Iraq. This lengthy document provides a comprehensive view of al Qa'ida's strategy in Iraq and globally.

The letter from al-Zawahiri to al-Zarqawi is dated July 9, 2005. The contents were released only after assurances that no ongoing intelligence or military operations would be affected by making this document public.

The document has not been edited in any way and is released in its entirety in both the Arabic and English translated forms. The United States Government has the highest confidence in the letter's authenticity.

Al-Zawahiri's letter offers a strategic vision for al Qa'ida's direction for Iraq and beyond, and portraysal Qa'ida's senior leadership's isolation and dependence.

Among the letter's highlights are discussions indicating:

• 
  The centrality of the war in Iraq for the global jihad.
• 
  From al Qa'ida's point of view, the war does not end with an American departure.
• 
  An acknowledgment of the appeal of democracy to the Iraqis.
• 
  The strategic vision of inevitable conflict, with a tacit recognition of current political dynamics in Iraq; with a call by al-Zawahiri for political action equal to military action.
• 
  The need to maintain popular support at least until jihadist rule has been established.
• 
  Admission that more than half the struggle is taking place "in the battlefield of the media."

Letter in Arabic Letter in English


And, if you think that the 'liberal' media isn't a factor, read this excerpt from the letter:

"However, despite all of this, I say to you: that we are in a battle, and that more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media. And that we are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our Umma. "

http://www.dni.gov/letter_in_english.doc

Just another day at the office for Capt. B.

MONKEY STOMP AWAITS
Today was a good day. However, one of our convoys was hit by and IED, there were no injuries. That was just one of many IED attacks beginning last night along with a single rocket impact (no factor). A couple detonations went off through the night but I just inched a little closer to the hesco and sandbags as they are the last line of defense for keeping red hot shrapnel giving me a new orifice. Near by, the engineers dropped a building that had been used by dirt bags to sharp shoot at Soldiers. Chalk up one abanded building collapsed and turned to useless rubble. The explosion was different that that of a rocket or IED but the shock wave scared the hell out of us as we knew it was getting demolished but didn’t know exactly when. Curfew begins around here at 2300. But that doesn’t mean Haji wont lob a few rockets on timers or mortars at you at sunset or sneak out late in the night and quickly fire that RPG your way, F’ers. They have to set that crap on timers because they know they are dead if they stick around after they shoot them. If they do stick around or see the fire at us we will have a Plt on them with circling air support so fast their head will swing. Im sure Haji is up to something as the elections approach on the 15th and they don’t have the logistics to maintain a steady fight so they will do their thing then lay low to dig up their resupply and get ready for another attack on us. Its getting harder for them though as we see everything they do…………silly Haji’s we are always ready for a good fight.

From the blog page 'One Marine's View'. The page is maintained by Capt. B.. He is articulate and he is there, in the 'sandbox'. The site is worth the view and be sure to thank a good man for his service to his country.

SYRIANA

If you go by the trailer, this movie looks very good. It has an outstanding cast and I am a big Chris Cooper fan.

Exclusive - See George Clooney in the trailer for 'Syriana'

Watch the Trailer Robert Baer (Clooney), a 21-year veteran of the CIA, spent his entire career investigating terrorists around the globe. As the dangers of terrorism increased, Baer watched as the CIA's funding was cut, politics overtook judgment, and warning signs were ignored. But the struggle becomes personal when and oil executive (Damon) an his wife (Peet) are faced with a family tragedy. Genres: Drama and Thriller Release Date: November 23rd, 2005 (limited); December 9th, 2005 (wide). MPAA Rating: R for violence and language. Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Cast and Credits

Starring:	George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, Tim Blake Nelson
Directed by:	Stephen Gaghan
Produced by:	Jennifer Fox, Michael Nozik, Georgia Kacandes
	More Cast and Credits...

Production Photos

View All (4) Production Photos...

Cindy Flashing for Peace

Troop Tribute Spotlights National Guardsman

By Linda D. Kozaryn

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2005 – Country music fans phoned WMZQ radio throughout the day Oct. 8 asking one question: would the heavy rains stop the Tribute to the Troops?
Luke Stricklin (above), an Arkansas National Guardsman and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, and members of his band perform Oct. 8 at the Tribute to the Troops at Nissan Pavilion in Manassas, Va.

Not to worry, the disc jockeys said. The show would go on. People with tickets for lawn seats at the Nissan Pavilion in Manassas, Va., could now sit inside the open-air concert arena.

One caller vowed the sporadic downpours wouldn't keep her away. "I'll be there," she said. "The troops don't stop fighting just because it rains."

Thousands of other country-music-loving troop supporters showed the same determination.

They coped with the wet weather and dodged local flooding to attend the concert starring country music stars Montgomery Gentry, with special guests Chely Wright and Keith Anderson.
Information Manufacturing Corp. and the United Service Organizations were among the show's sponsors. Proceeds would benefit Paralyzed Veterans of America.
As people filled their seats, a public service video aired on the pavilion's big screens telling fans they could send a message of support to the troops by logging onto http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/AmericaSupportsYou/index.html, a Defense Department Web site that highlights troop support events across America.
A newcomer on the country music scene, Luke Stricklin, an Arkansas National Guard specialist and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, opened the show. After singing songs off his debut album, Stricklin sang his hit single "American, by God's Amazing Grace."

Rest of the story.

Unicef bombs the Smurfs in fund-raising campaign for ex-child soldiers

By David Rennie in Brussels
(Filed: 08/10/2005)

What are the UNICEF people thinking? (my words)

The people of Belgium have been left reeling by the first adult-only episode of the Smurfs, in which the blue-skinned cartoon characters' village is annihilated by warplanes.

The short but chilling film is the work of Unicef, the United Nations Children's Fund, and is to be broadcast on national television next week as a campaign advertisement.

	The Unicef advert, which shows the Smurfs' village being bombed

The animation was approved by the family of the Smurfs' late creator, "Peyo".

Belgian television viewers were given a preview of the 25-second film earlier this week, when it was shown on the main evening news. The reactions ranged from approval to shock and, in the case of small children who saw the episode by accident, wailing terror.

Unicef and the family company, IMPS, which controls all rights to the Smurfs, have stipulated that it is not to be broadcast before the 9pm watershed.

The short film pulls no punches. It opens with the Smurfs dancing, hand-in-hand, around a campfire and singing the Smurf song. Bluebirds flutter past and rabbits gambol around their familiar village of mushroom- shaped houses until, without warning, bombs begin to rain from the sky.

Tiny Smurfs scatter and run in vain from the whistling bombs, before being felled by blast waves and fiery explosions. The final scene shows a scorched and tattered Baby Smurf sobbing inconsolably, surrounded by prone Smurfs.

The final frame bears the message: "Don't let war affect the lives of children."

It is intended as the keystone of a fund-raising drive by Unicef's Belgian arm, to raise £70,000 for the rehabilitation of former child soldiers in Burundi.

Philippe Henon, a spokesman for Unicef Belgium, said his agency had set out to shock, after concluding that traditional images of suffering in Third World war zones had lost their power to move television viewers. "It's controversial," he said. "We have never done something like this before but we've learned over the years that the reaction to the more normal type of campaign is very limited."

Belgium prides itself on being the home of some of the world's most famous cartoon characters - from Tintin to Lucky Luke and the Smurfs, known to the Dutch- speaking half of the country as "Smurfen" and as "Schtroumpfs" to Belgium's French speakers.

The advertising agency behind the campaign, Publicis, decided the best way to convey the impact of war on children was to tap into the earliest, happiest memories of Belgian television viewers. They chose the Smurfs, who first appeared in a Belgian comic in 1958.

Julie Lamoureux, account director at Publicis for the campaign, said the agency's original plans were toned down.

"We wanted something that was real war - Smurfs losing arms, or a Smurf losing a head -but they said no."

The film has won tentative approval from the official Smurf fan club. A spokesman said: "I think it will wake up some people. It is so un-Smurf-like, it might get people to think."

Hendrik Coysman, managing director of IMPS, said: "That crying baby really goes to your bones."http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/08/wsmurf08.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/10/08/ixhome.html

Rangers Versus Special Forces: Hostage Rescue

The Chief of Staff of the Army asked his Sergeant Major, who was both Ranger and Special Forces qualified, which organization he would recommend to form a new anti-terrorist unit. The Sergeant Major responded to the General's question with this parable: If there were a hijacked Boeing 747 being held by terrorists along with its passengers and crew and an anti-terrorist unit formed either by the Rangers or the Special Forces was given a Rescue/Recovery Mission; what would you expect to happen?

Ranger Option

Forces/Equipment Committed: If the Rangers went in, they would send a Ranger company of 120 men with standard army issue equipment.

Mission Preparation: The Ranger Company First Sergeant would conduct a Hair Cut and Boots Inspection, while the officers consulted SOPs and held sand table exercises.

Infiltration Technique: They would insist on double timing, in company formation, wearing their combat equipment, and singing cadence all the way to the site of the hijacked aircraft.

Actions in the Objective Area: Once they arrived, the Ranger company would establish their ORP, put out security elements, conduct a leaders recon, reapply their camouflage, and conduct final preparations for Actions on the OBJ.

Results of Operation: The Rescue/Recovery Operation would be completed within one hour; all of the terrorists and most of the passengers would have been killed, the Rangers would have sustained light casualties and the 747 would be worthless to anyone except a scrap dealer.

Special Forces Option

Forces/Equipment Committed: If Special Forces went in, they would send only a 12 man team (all SF units are divisible by 12 for some arcane historical reason) however, due to the exotic nature of their equipment the SF Team would cost the same amount to deploy as the Ranger Company.

Mission Preparation: The SF Team Sergeant would request relaxed grooming standards for the team. All members of the team would spend a grueling afternoon at a quality spa ensuring physical abilities would be honed.

Infiltration Technique: The team would insist on separate travel orders with Max Per Diem, and each would get to the site of the hijacking by his own means. At least one third of the team would insist on jumping in HALO.

Actions in the Objective Area: Once they arrived , the SF Team would cache their military uniforms, establish a Team Room at the best hotel in the area, use their illegal Team Fund to stock the unauthorized Team Room Bar, check out the situation by talking to the locals, and have a Team Meeting to discuss the merits of the terrorists' cause.

Results of Operation: The Rescue/Recovery Operation would take two weeks to complete and by that time all of the terrorists would have been killed, (and would have left signed confessions); the passengers would be ruined psychologically for the remainder of their lives; and all of the women passengers would be pregnant. The 747 would be essentially unharmed, the team would have taken no casualties but would have used up, lost, or stolen all the "high speed" equipment issued to them.

Navy Petty Officers have it tough...

A Marine stands in the rain with a 35-pound pack on his back, 15 lb. weapon in hand, after having marched 12 miles, and says, "This is the sh!ts!"

A Green Beret stands in the rain with a 45 lb. pack on his back, weapon in hand, after having jumped from an airplane and marched 18 miles, and says with a smile, "This is good sh!t!"

An Army Ranger lies in the mud, 55 LB pack on his back, weapon in hand, after swimming 10 miles to shore, crawling through a swamp and marching 25 miles at night past the enemy positions, says with a grin, "This really is great sh!t."

A Navy! SEAL, up to his nose in the stinking, bug infested mud of a swamp with a 65 LB pack on his back and a weapon in both hands after jumping from an aircraft at high altitude, into the ocean, swimming 12 miles to the shore, killing several alligators to enter the swamp, then crawling 30 miles through the brush to assault an enemy camp, says, "I love this sh!t."

A Navy Petty Officer, sitting in his easy chair aboard his air-conditioned, state of the art warship 50 miles off shore says, "My e-mail's out? What kind of sh!t is this?!"

The Story of Uncle Bob

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.

Kathy said, "My father's a farmer and we have a lot of egg-laying hens. One time we were taking our eggs to market in a basket on the front seat of the pickup when we hit a bump in the road and all the eggs went flying and broke and made a mess"

"And what's the moral of the story?" asked the teacher.

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket!"

"Very good," said the teacher.

"Now, Lucy?" "Our family are farmers too. But we raise chickens for the meat market. We had a dozen eggs one time, but when they hatched we only got ten live chicks. And the moral to this story is, don't count your chickens until they're hatched."

"That was a fine story Lucy.

Johnny do you have a story to share?"

"Yes, ma'am, my daddy told me this story about my uncle Bob. Uncle Bob was a Green Beret in Vietnam and his helicopter got hit. He had to crash land in enemy territory and all he had was a bottle of whiskey, a machine gun and a machete. He drank the whiskey on the way down so it wouldn't break and then he landed right in the middle of 100 enemy troops. He killed seventy of them with the machine gun until he ran out of bullets, then he killed twenty more with the machete till the blade broke and then he killed the last ten with his bare hands."

"Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, " What kind of moral did your daddy tell you from that horrible story?"

"Don't f*ck with Uncle Bob when he's been drinking."

Injured Marine Defies Attackers

Injured Marine defies attackers

BY C. DAVID KOTOK

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RAMADI, Iraq - Once Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt realized he could wiggle his toes and fingers, he had one message for the insurgents who wounded him - defiance.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt signals defiance at his Iraqi attackers after being injured by an improvised explosive device near Ramadi. Attending to the Marine were Nebraska 167th Cavalry members Spc. John Adams (far left, in front) of Hastings, Neb., and Pfc. Darin Nelson of Fremont, Neb.

Burghardt, of Huntington Beach, Calif., started his third tour in Iraq trying to beat the insurgents to the IEDs - improvised explosive devices - and disarm them before the insurgents could set them off.

As is often the case, Burghardt and his Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were accompanied to a bomb site Monday by the First Platoon, 167th Cavalry of the Nebraska National Guard.

One IED had blown up a Bradley fighting vehicle and killed a U.S. soldier. As often happens, the insurgents left behind more IEDs. Burghardt disarmed two bombs that were found - quick action that probably saved the lives of several Nebraska soldiers.

But he couldn't get to a third.

When word spread that the third device had been found, 167th Capt. Jeff Searcey of Kearney, 1st Lt. Matthew Misfeldt of Omaha and their men hit the ground as a blast exploded skyward.

Burghardt was wounded.

But with two new young Marines in his ordnance disposal unit - and the insurgent attackers undoubtedly looking on - "I didn't want them to see the team leader carried away on a stretcher," he said.

So after the Nebraskans tended to wounds that reached from his boot tops to the small of his back, Burghardt rose to his feet and reached back with a one-finger salute for his attackers.

"I was angry," Burghardt said.

%20style="font-size:85%;">http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1490526/posts

To My Helpers

From the Camp Katrina Blog:

09/29/2005

To My Helpers

Sometimes it's the simplest and most unpolished forms of gratitude that can touch us the most.

After a long, sweaty day of heaving heavy boxes of food and ice and water for thousands of locals

in Diamondhead, Mississippi, we soldiers from Ohio's 73rd Troop Command were feeling tired

but content. We had helped a lot of people, and they had all been encouraging and grateful.

Southern hospitality isn't a myth.

As we were cleaning up for the next shift, a smiling woman came and handed me a piece of paper.

"This is from my son, Anthony," she told us. "He's eight years old, and he wanted to thank all of you for giving

us food and water today."

We looked at the paper. On it, Anthony had drawn two helmeted soldiers smiling in the sunshine, one of them saluting.

"To my helpers," he had written on the picture. "God bless you and America."

God bless you too, Anthony. We loved being your helpers.