Bikini Atoll

I have always found this footage fascinating. Bikini Atoll and American Nuclear Testing.

To Any Young Person Who Thinks They Have No Future - Witness This

I joined the Arny when I was 18. As my father and his father before him. All my uncles also served in the military in one capacity or another. I get so angry when I hear young people say they have no options after high school. The military is always there and there is no excuse for an able-bodied person not to serve. So, for any young person out there consider this video and trust me when I tell you that you will never have greater satisfaction in your life than serving your country.

The Internationalization of the U.S. Military

This new program purports to offer a "path to citizenship". How about this? Why not use the military to require a path to benefits? A path to freeloading. At a minimum, can't we require all the able-bodied deadbeats already here in America to have served 4 years in the military before they're eligible to receive any government benefit?

Stretched thin in Afghanistan and Iraq, the American military will begin recruiting skilled immigrants who are living in this country with temporary visas, offering them the chance to become United States citizens in as little as six months.

Immigrants who are permanent residents, with documents commonly known as green cards, have long been eligible to enlist. But the new effort, for the first time since the Vietnam War, will open the armed forces to temporary immigrants if they have lived in the United States for a minimum of two years, according to military officials familiar with the plan.

Recruiters expect that the temporary immigrants will have more education, foreign language skills and professional expertise than many Americans who enlist, helping the military to fill shortages in medical care, language interpretation and field intelligence analysis.

The program will begin small — limited to 1,000 enlistees nationwide in its first year, most for the Army and some for other branches. If the pilot program succeeds as Pentagon officials anticipate, it will expand for all branches of the military. For the Army, it could eventually provide as many as 14,000 volunteers a year, or about one in six recruits.

American Troops to Get Pizza and Beer for the Super Bowl

It's the least of what they deserve, but it's nice to see that they can get their drink on during the big game. But a two drink limit? Come on. Two beers is just to get your liver's attention.

It took three planes to get free beer to troops in Iraq in time for the Super Bowl.

U.S. troops in Iraq will be allowed to drink up to two 12-ounce beers apiece for the Super Bowl, after the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. Ray Odierno, issued a waiver of the U.S. military’s strict prohibition on alcohol imbibing in the war zone.

More than 15,000 cases of beer were shipped to Baghdad for the occasion, said Judd Anstey, spokesman for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. It will be served in the dining facilities during the game and will be free to the troops.

The Army’s 4th Infantry Division ordered 3,034 cases of beer, including Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, Budweiser, Bud Light, Heineken and Guinness Draught.

Multi-National Force-Iraq ordered 12,207 cases, including Coors Light, Guinness Draught, Heineken, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, Budweiser and Bud Light.

Anstey said the beer flew from the AAFES Giessen Distribution Center in Germany to Baghdad on three planes — a 747, an Airbus 340 and another aircraft that took three pallets.

Although no beer went to Afghanistan, where the brief waiver apparently does not apply, troops in Afghanistan are getting some of the 2,000 pizzas sent by the nonprofit group Pizzas 4 Patriots, in an effort led by retired Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Evans.

His group sent Lou Malnati’s Chicago pizzas to Camp Victory, Iraq, and to Kabul, Afghanistan. In addition, more than 6,000 bottles of Schlitz beer went with the pizza to Iraq.

Democrats Crap on Fallen Vets

I saw this over at RedState. These folks need to read about what happens to people who come out on the shirt end of a revolution.

Wow. An email from a friend:

Tonight in the House Rules Committee, Rep. Thad McCotter (R-MI), introduced an amendment to the President’s stimulus bill (H.R. 1) that would require any new infrastructure project – roads, bridges, schools, post offices or any other buildings — created by funding provided in H.R. 1 to be named after a member of the United States Armed Forces who was killed in combat or an emergency response provider who was killed in the line of duty.

The amendment was voted down on with all 9 Democrats on the Committee voting no to the 3 Republican yea votes.

It seems that Democrats are determined to name any new projects after themselves. West Virginia may actually be renamed “Byrdland”…

Man Buys Used Ipod Containing Military Files

Nothing sensitive was obtained (aside from social security numbers), but good grief, can we be a little more careful.

Apparently you can pick up outdated U.S. military files for less than $10. That's what happened to New Zealand's Chris Ogle when he bought a used MP3 player for $9 in Oklahoma. The 29 year old then took his new device home and synced it to his computer, only to discover that it contained U.S. military personnel lists that included social security numbers and cell phone numbers of soldiers stationed overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. The files, most of which dated from 2005, also contained details of equipment inventories from U.S. bases in Afghanistan, and one mission briefing.

"The more I look at it, the more I see and the less I think I should be!" Ogle told TVNZ's ONE News. While the discovery may prove embarrassing to U.S. officials, the outdated files seem to be of little consequence to national security. However, personal information like social security and phone numbers could have put individual soldiers at risk for identity theft and personal harm.

A similar situation was uncovered in Afghanistan in 2006 when U.S. investigators bought stolen flash drives with military information outside Bagram base--a major U.S. military outpost in Afghanistan.

Rangel Wants to Bring Back the Draft

Anyone reckon Obama will sign off on this?

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) likely will introduce his controversial legislation to reinstate the draft again this year, but he will wait until after the economic stimulus package is passed.

Asked if he plans to introduce the legislation again in 2009, Rangel last week said, “Probably … yes. I don’t want to do anything this early to distract from the issue of the economic stimulus.”

Rangel’s military draft bill did create a distraction for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) soon after Democrats won control of Congress after the 2006 election.

In the wake of that historic victory, Pelosi said publicly that she did not support the draft and that the Democratic leadership would not back Rangel’s legislation. She also said Rangel’s legislation was not about reinstating the draft but was instead “a way to make a point” about social inequality.

Reintroducing the military draft bill, which would attract media attention, will be trickier for Rangel in 2009 than it was a couple years ago because the Ways and Means Committee chairman is now under investigation by the House ethics committee.

Mexicans Concerned About U.S. Military Invasion

Great. Just what this country needs. More people who won't pay taxes.

ACLU Sues North Carolina School for Barring Peace Activist

Something tells me the ACLU has never been to the schools in this district. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so opposed to the job opportunities that the military provides these students.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against a rural North Carolina school system that barred a peace activist from talking to high school students about alternatives to joining the military.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, says the Wilkes County school district and its superintendent violated the First Amendment by preventing Sally Ferrell from distributing pamphlets and other materials that warn students to think twice before joining the military.

The legal group is asking a judge to issue an injunction to allow Ferrell, a member of N.C. Peace Action, to distribute the materials and give her the same access to students as military recruiters who are allowed in the schools.

The case began in early 2005 when Ferrell, 63, a Quaker and longtime peace activist, became involved in the counter recruiting movement.

In recent years, thousands of people like Ferrell have joined dozens of counter recruiting groups. They say military recruiters have given students misleading information and often target high schools in poor and rural areas where options for graduating students are limited. And after years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan - and more than 4,600 soldiers killed and 64,000 wounded in both wars - the activists want students to know they have other prospects.

Most schools have allowed counter recruiters. So Ferrell was optimistic when she began collecting materials from anti-war groups. In March 2005, she asked the district for permission to talk to students.

But Laws reviewed the materials and told her he wasn't going to let her in the district's five high schools. He said the military was a good career choice for students who weren't going to college. He also said he didn't think people should say anything negative about the military.

"Why rip apart the military because you don't like it?" Laws said. "It's wrong. I'm not going to allow that in my schools."

The school board backed Laws' decision.

U.S. to Withdraw Troops from Iraq and Send to the Mexican Border

This idea actually makes sense. Albeit for the wrong reasons.

Mexico's self-proclaimed "Grand Warlock" says the United States will pull troops out of Iraq in 2009 and send them to the border with Mexico in an attempt to expand its territory.

The prediction from Antonio Vazquez comes with a word of warning though: his record of projecting the future is spotty at best.

Vazquez has been making predictions since 1980 on events ranging from international events to the private lives of celebrities, based on his reading of tarot cards.

Vazquez erroneously predicted last year that oil prices would be stable and that Cuba's Fidel Castro and singer Britney Spears would die. This year, he says Spears will continue to triumph.

Military Worries About Obama: "Nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief"

The concern is warranted.

When asked how they feel about President-elect Barack Obama as commander in chief, six out of 10 active-duty service members say they are uncertain or pessimistic, according to a Military Times survey.

In follow-up interviews, respondents expressed concerns about Obama’s lack of military service and experience leading men and women in uniform.

“Being that the Marine Corps can be sent anywhere in the world with the snap of his fingers, nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief,” said one lance corporal who asked not to be identified.

For eight years, members of the U.S. military have served under a Republican commander in chief who reflected their generally conservative views and led them to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Now, the troops face change not only at the very top of the chain of command, as Obama nears his Jan. 20 inauguration, but perhaps in mission, policy and values.

Underlying much of the uncertainty is Obama’s stated 16-month timetable for pulling combat troops out of Iraq, as well as his calls to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to allow gays to serve openly in the military, according to survey responses and interviews.

“How are you going to safely pull combat troops out of Iraq?” said Air Force 1st Lt. Rachel Kleinpeter, an intelligence officer with the 100th Operations Support Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, England. “And if you’re pulling out combat troops, who are you leaving to help support what’s left? What happens if Iraq falls back into chaos? Are we going to be there in five years doing the same thing over again?”

Iraqi Sniper Caught

A very well done bit of war porn.

Your Heart Goes Out to this Man

A tragic story. A heroic response.

A Korean immigrant who lost his wife, two children and mother-in-law when a Marine Corps jet slammed into the family's house said Tuesday he did not blame the pilot, who ejected and survived.

"Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident," a distraught Dong Yun Yoon told reporters gathered near the site of Monday's crash of an F/A-18D jet in San Diego's University City community.

"He is one of our treasures for the country," Yoon said in accented English punctuated by long pauses while he tried to maintain his composure.

"I don't blame him. I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could," said Yoon, flanked by members of San Diego's Korean community, relatives and members from the family's church.

On the Ground Video Footage of the San Diego F-18 Crash

Taken in the aftermath, shortly after the crash.

Earmarks Backed by Hillary Clinton Putting Our Troops Lives at Risk

Just another example of corrupt politicians putting their own bottom line ahead of America's interests.

Scientists have discovered a lotion that can save the lives of U.S. soldiers exposed to chemical weapons — a product vastly superior to the standard-issue decontamination powder.

Naturally, the Defense Department wants to scrap the powder and switch to the more-effective lotion.

But there's a problem: After being lobbied by the companies making the powder, several members of Congress pushed through two earmarks worth $7.6 million that forced the military for the past two years to keep buying the inferior product.

The product, known as M291, is made from a resin sold exclusively by a Pennsylvania chemical company, which is then processed into powder by a New York company, then assembled into individual kits at a facility in Arkansas.

Among the lawmakers who championed the earmarks are Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.; Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Clinton, who is poised to become secretary of state, received nearly $7,000 in campaign donations from the beneficiaries of these earmarks in recent years.

Borderline treasonous behavior from our soon to be Secretary of State.

U.S. and Nato Vehicles Destroyed by Militants in Pakistan

Once again Pakistan shows us why it cannot be trusted in the war on terror.

Militants blasted their way into two transport terminals in Pakistan on Sunday and torched more than 160 vehicles destined for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, in the biggest assault yet on a vital military supply line, officials said.

The U.S. military said its losses in the raid near the northwestern city of Peshawar would have only a "minimal" impact on its operations against resurgent Taliban-led militants in Afghanistan.

Up to 75 percent of supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan pass through Pakistan after being unloaded from ships at the Arabian sea port of Karachi. NATO is already seeking an alternative route through Central Asia.

The attack at the Portward Logistic Terminal reduced a section of the vast walled compound to a smoldering junkyard.

Terminal manager Kifayatullah Khan said armed men flattened the gate before dawn with a rocket-propelled grenade, shot dead a guard and set fire to a total of 106 vehicles, including about 70 Humvees.

An Associated Press reporter who visited the depot saw six rows of destroyed Humvees and military trucks parked close together, some of them on flatbed trailers, all of them gutted and twisted by the flames.

Khan said shipping documents showed they were destined for U.S. forces and the Western-trained Afghan National Army.

The attackers fled after a brief exchange of fire with police, who arrived about 40 minutes later, Khan said.

The nine other guards who were on duty but stood helplessly aside put the number of assailants at 300, Khan said, though police official Kashif Alam said there were only 30.

UPDATE: Video report:

Pakistan and U.S. Have a Deal on Airstrikes

I think this arrangement has been obvious for some time considering the Pakistanis don't do anything but whine every time we kill people inside their borders. I mean, they don't shoot at us anymore. It also explains the neophyte Obama's comments during the debate that he would strike Al Qaeda in Pakistan even without Pakistan's permission. That is to say, he already knew we had their permission. He was just acting all John Wayne for the cameras. By the way, it doesn't make feel all that safe when Obama and the Washington Post announce our foreign policy strategies to the public.

The United States and Pakistan reached tacit agreement in September on a don't-ask-don't-tell policy that allows unmanned Predator aircraft to attack suspected terrorist targets in rugged western Pakistan, according to senior officials in both countries. In recent months, the U.S. drones have fired missiles at Pakistani soil at an average rate of once every four or five days.

The officials described the deal as one in which the U.S. government refuses to publicly acknowledge the attacks while Pakistan's government continues to complain noisily about the politically sensitive strikes.

The arrangement coincided with a suspension of ground assaults into Pakistan by helicopter-borne U.S. commandos. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said in an interview last week that he was aware of no ground attacks since one on Sept. 3 that his government vigorously protested.

Officials described the attacks, using new technology and improved intelligence, as a significant improvement in the fight against Pakistan-based al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. Officials confirmed the deaths of at least three senior al-Qaeda figures in strikes last month.
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Zardari said that he receives "no prior notice" of the airstrikes and that he disapproves of them. But he said he gives the Americans "the benefit of the doubt" that their intention is to target the Afghan side of the ill-defined, mountainous border of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), even if that is not where the missiles land.

Here's a really cool video that details how the U.S. military works those drones.

An Absolutely Awesome Video: Footage from the War in Afghanistan

Why am I linking to this? It's simple. I think it will help people to understand the sacrifice our young men and women are making for us overseas.

U.S. troops discover a fallen comrade and react.

God Bless these men.

View the video here.

WAS U.S. RAID INTO SYRIA TO GET AL MASRI?

More details of the daring of the alleged raid into Syria by U.S. special forces.

Syrian officials claim the US military conducted a cross-border raid into Syria from Iraqi territory.

The raid was reportedly carried out in the town of Sukkariya near Abu Kamal in eastern Syria. According to witnesses, four US helicopters crossed the border and two of the helicopters landed to drop off special operations forces.

Syrian television claimed nine people were killed and 14 were wounded during the raid. Syria claimed of those killed and wounded were construction workers.

The raid occurred close to the main border crossing point between Iraq and Syria. Al Qaeda declared an Islamic Emirate in Al Qaim right along the Iraqi border during the spring of 2005. Al Qaeda terrorized the local tribes and attempted to institute a Taliban-like rule. Al Qaim was the main infiltration route into Iraq until US Marines and Iraqi troops launched a campaign to dislodge al Qaeda from the region.

The US has neither confirmed nor denied the operation took place. If the attack occurred, it would have been carried out by Task Force 88, the special operations hunt-killer teams assigned to target al Qaeda operatives as well as Shia terrorists in Iraq.

Syria has sheltered Iraqi insurgents and foreign al Qaeda fighters, and allowed the groups to run camps inside the country. Syria also facilitates the movement of foreign fighters into the country and across the border into Iraq.

If the raid occurred, the US military must have detected a senior member of al Qaeda in Iraq in the region. Abu Ayyub al Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, is reported to have left the country earlier this year after the terror group lost its sanctuaries in Diyala province.

The US military may be closing in on al Qaeda’s senior leadership. US forces killed Abu Qaswarah, al Qaeda in Iraq's second in command, during a raid in Mosul in northern Iraq on Oct. 15. The military has also killed and captured numerous al Qaeda leader and couriers over the past several weeks. The information obtained during these raids help to paint a picture of al Qaeda’s command structure inside of of Iraq as well as in neighboring countries.

AMERICA'S SECRET WAR WITH IRAN

Is the US already at war with Iran? In "America's Secret War", Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to the Iraq-Iran border to investigate claims that the United States is supporting militant groups that are attacking Iran. In the rugged Qandil mountains, she meets with up with anti-Iranian guerillas who have been launching deadly raids against the Islamic Republic. A good percentage of the fighters are women, and Mariana accompanies a small group of them through what many believe has become the frontline of the US's secret war with Iran.

Two parts: