He That Shall Live This Day

Associated Press
Curt Anderson
August 27, 2004

Al-Qaida may attempt to attack Veterans Affairs hospitals as an alternative to more heavily guarded U.S. military installations, the FBI and Homeland Security Department warn in a new nationwide terrorism bulletin.


VA personnel believe the hospitals may be potential threats because of their close relationship to the U.S. military and because the hospitals care for the nation's heroes.

Although U.S. authorities say there is no credible intelligence regarding a specific threat against such hospitals, the bulletin said there have been persistent reports of "suspicious activity" at medical facilities throughout the United States.
That includes "possible reconnaissance activities" this year at unspecified military medical facilities in Bethesda, Md., and Aurora, Colo., the bulletin said. Even though later investigation of these two incidents uncovered no links to terrorism, the bulletin urges vigilance at VA hospitals on the part of police and security personnel.
"These facilities may be considered attractive targets due to their association with the military and a perception that such an attack may be more successful than an attack against traditional military targets, which generally maintain a more robust security posture," the bulletin says.
Read the rest here
Maybe I'll send my wife down to pick up my prescriptions.

Honoring those who fought and died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom

Check out Faces of Valor and Frontline Voices

Stars and Stripes Pacific Edition
Fred Zimmerman

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION FUTENMA, Okinawa Ten steps. That's how close Lance Cpl. Christopher Teague came to possible death Aug. 13.
Teague, the first Marine to respond to a helicopter crash just outside the base fence line, had pulled a pilot out of the burning wreckage of a CH-53D Sea Stallion {R.}; he was about 10 steps from the helicopter when it exploded.

Aug. 13 was a typical day for Teague and fellow Marines from the 1st Stinger Battery on Futenma. They were holding a 2 p.m. formation when they saw the helicopter go down.

"We noticed the tail rotor came off," said Teague, a stinger gunner. "The first sergeant said to call 911 and told us to go help."
More than 100 Marines instantly responded, said 1st Sgt. Darryl Sisneros. With no nearby gate, the Marines scaled an 8-foot fence inside their compound and a 15-foot fence to get off base to the crash site.

Read the rest here

San Quentin Inmates Join 'Operation Mom' to Support Troops

American Forces Press Service
Donna Miles
2 Aug 2004

WASH, DC About 50 military veterans in California's San Quentin State Prison joined forces with volunteers from "Operation Mom" over the weekend to wrap 430 care packages for shipment to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Vietnam Veterans Group of San Quentin worked side by side with members of Operation Mom, a support group based in the San Francisco Bay area, to wrap boxes of hygiene items, snacks and letters of encouragement.


The San Quentin group, made up of honorably discharged Vietnam veterans, saw television coverage of Operation Mom earlier this year and donated money and supplies to the cause.

The inmates also routinely send donation-request letters to businesses, according to Gloria Godchaux, president of Operation Mom.
Godchaux, who was hurrying to the post office today to ship the packages, called the joint effort a great example of community support for America's troops.
More

American Forces Press Service
Samantha L. Quigley
25 Aug 2004

WASH, DC Sixty years ago, a mother wrote to her three sons fighting in World War II. Her request of them was simple: "Make it home, make it safe."

Award-winning Christian musician Mark Schultz performs in the Pentagon courtyard Aug. 25 at the Army's invitation. Schultz has teamed with the Army Safety Center as part of its "Be safe - Make it home" safety campaign. His song "Letters From War" is the centerpiece of the campaign. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley (Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available.

They all did. And her great-grandson, award-winning Christian musician Mark Schultz, has told her story inspired by those letters and her diary.

"Letters From War" tells of a mother writing her son, only to receive a letter one day from a man he helped to rescue. The son was captured, but the mother "kept on believing, and wrote every night."

The song relates the fear the mother had of being told her son wouldn't be coming home. Instead, he arrives to tell her he was just "following orders, from all of your letters, and I've come home again."

Because of "Letters From War," Schultz has teamed with the Army Safety Center on its new campaign, "Be Safe - Make it Home" in an effort to reduce the number of accidental deaths.

More

American Forces Press Service
Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA
16 Aug 2004

Though he's earned fame and fortune portraying rough and tough military figures on television and in feature films, R. Lee Ermey has a soft spot when it comes to caring for troops.
Ermey, popular host of the History Channel's "Mail Call," in which he answers questions about military technology, has put together the R. Lee Emery Celebrity Experience, a three-day event to raise money for servicemembers and their families.
The event benefits the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society and the Young Marines Association, for which Ermey is a spokesman.
The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society provides financial, educational, and other assistance to members of the Naval Services of the United States, eligible family members and survivors when in need.
The Young Marines is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through completion of high school, which focuses on character building, leadership, and promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
Ermey said the fundraiser begins at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Sept. 10 with more than 20 of his Hollywood friends putting on a free six- hour show for troops there. "They're who I call the Hollywood 'good guys,'" he said. "They show up at all the charity events I do," he said in a Pentagon Channel interview last week.
Read the rest here


If the Sarge will let you, you can visit his website

American Forces Press Service
23 Aug 2004
Samantha L. Quigley

The sports world is awash with war analogies, and today the Marine Corps' top officer turned the tables by applying a sports term to war.
The Marines are looking for a "Big W" in Iraq, Gen. Michael W. Hagee told an audience at the National Press Club here.
"We don't want a 'Little W,'" he said. "There is no one in Iraq who does not understand that if we wanted to come in and level Fallujah, level Ramadi, level An-Najaf, we could do that, but that's not mission accomplishment. That's the 'Little W.' We need the 'Big W' here."
Read the rest here


General Michael W. Hagee

from BLACKFIVE

The following is an email from a Marine Staff Sergeant who has been fighting around Najaf over the last two weeks. Kevin is a Reservist from Nashville and one of the most fearsome combat multipliers on the battlefield - he's a Sniper.

Family and Friends, On August 12th my Lt got a phone call from 1st Marine Division, Gen. Mattis!
Once again he called upon 3/24 Scout Snipers. I get called into the Col.?s Office around 1400 on the 12th. "Pack your s---" he tells me? Where we going sir? An Najaf to fight against Sadr's militia. We are attached to the 11th MEU, BLT 1/4, Scout Sniper Platoon. By 2200 that night my entire platoon was sitting on the runway waiting for our 53 (helo). We flew from TQ to FOB Duke south of TQ. When we landed we had two 46's (helo) waiting for us fueled and ready.(this is not normal VIP unless the big dog is in on it).
We flew out of FOB Duke headed for FOB Hotel (Forward Operating Base: FOB) located in An Najaf. On our way in our birds took RPG attacks from the ground. Thank GOD they are not good at aiming. The .50 cal gunners opened up and everyone got a charge for action. We landed at 0200. Linked up with the watch officer and got settled in???? By noon we were on three vehicles headed into Najaf with 1/4 snipers to attach to 2/7 Cav from the Army!
What a day! I did not have time as you can see to write or call anyone! Ha!
Anyhow, we were attached to 2/7 Cav and teams were being inserted by that night. The fight was on! We were south of the Al-Imam Ali Shrine (Sadr's location, and the second most holy shrine. Mohammed's nephew is buried here). By day two we pushed up north several blocks and set up another position. THis time,being on top of the bldg you could see the Mosque! It is Huge. Gold covered top, with three towers flanking it. Sadr was injured the day we arrived and by the second day he was giving a speech at 2300 from the Mosque. The guy is crazy! Needless to say we were supporting 2/7 Cav and their advancement towards the mosque. Navy SEAL sniper team came in and operated with our teams. Hell, every sniper in the service was called upon.
No Callaterial damage to the mosque! What better way to do that. However, everyone of us had the dope on our guns for the damn place! Ha! 18 +3 holding 1 mil. If I am going to take one over here I am knocking off some gold on that damn dome! Ha!
Anyhow, we faught for 6 days straight. We ran out so fast we only had on our backs the uniform we were wearing. as the days progressed, so did our odor.
I had to tie my socks down at night so they would not walk away! Ha! During the day you sweet, During the evening you sweet, and again in the night. We had some close calls. The 5th day I was sitting manning the radio and a mortar round landed 12ft from me and another Marine on top of our bldg ledge. It blew the window glass out and I got some debris blown on my right hand, I was lucky because one of the Marines had his blouse hanging over my shoulder and it took most of the glass. I was behind a wall so most of the shrapnel hit the wall. One of the Lcpl's was setting the radio and took some glass to his head and face. He had just lowered his head below the wall when it hit so he lucked out with only a few pieces of glass. I lost some hearing for about an hour! I'll take that any day. I looked at the impact later that day and it was amazing how close it was!
We loaded up and moved to another bldg. They had registered our bldg with mortars so we did not want to take any more casualties. While we were waiting they brought in 4 civilian boys who were struck by a mortar! It was terrible.
We moved our loaction to the other bldg and at 0300 I finally got some sleep, just to be awaken by RPG's at 0700! Ha! I gave up on the sleep.
These guys started out on the roof tops and by the time day one was over...........you never saw anyone on top of the roofs again! We dominated the roof tops. That was our mission. Tanks rolling in needed cover from the tops. Apache helo's did HELLFIRE missions right over us. It was amazing. AC 130 did night runs and the light show was awsome. The only thing lit at night was the mosque. By day six they had brought in the army SF and SOCOM Snipers. We were no longer needed for their fight. The boys did well and completed their mission. We had shots out to 1800m on some Forward Observers. I had a Sgt record a shot at 1200m with his M40A1. To you who don't know - this is impressive!
We came back to our FOB Hotel and was looking to get some rest before heading in with the BLT 1/4. Not so, that same night I sent out a team to support fighting in Kufa! Another town adjacent to Najaf full of radicals. Each night now we have supported the BLT and each night they have been engaged heavily. They return dirty and tired but they get some sleep and head right back out the door.
The boys have earned their spot! When we always arrive they look at us like, "Reservist"? They now want our support any chance they get! It feels good.
You can't tell the Marines are Reservist.......you can tell they are Marines!
So, I sit here outside hooked up to a wire sending a message to all so that you know where I am and what we are doing. Peace talks are useless with these groups. They have had peace talks the entire time I have been here, and everyday we have fought? Anyhow, I will be here for about another 2weeks. I will keep intouch the best I can. Pray for the boys of 3/24 snipers and that we make it back to our unit safely.
Brian, I read your email today? I did not know we lost a Marine in India company? I will try and find out what happen. I know I was getting ready for the INDOC, but then this came up. I'm sure Lewzader is standing post at my base! Ha! They were flying in the next day for the INDOC. Cpl McCormick? I would have to find out what platoon he was with. I have been gone from the company for so long I don't remember who is who anymore. It is sad to hear and toward the end of the deployment as well. That's why I won't count the days!
Tell everyone I said hello and to pray. Christa, tell Brianna and Kevin I love them and I will call them when I get the chance. I will see them soon.

I will be home soon.

Love Kevin

Why I Serve: Love, Pride and Honor Drive Two Soldiers

I love my country. I love my family. Serving makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my family ... It makes me feel like I'm doing something with my life, something I can be proud of ...

Tam Cummings
Special to American Forces Press Service
Ft Hood TX
19 Aug 2004

"I love my country. I love my family. Serving makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my family," said Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Prater. "It makes me feel like I'm doing something with my life, something I can be proud of."
Prater said he always wanted to join the service because he grew up with an uncle who was an Army Ranger. "He always talked about how much he loved the service," Prater, a light-wheeled mechanic with Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 546th Personnel Services Battalion, 64th Corps Support Group, 13th Corps Support Command, said recently.
A single father, the Dallas native said, "The people I work with in the motor pool have become family."
Prater re-enlisted recently with Sgt. Charles Hall, another battalion soldier. The two men took their oath and then celebrated with a helicopter ride around Fort Hood.

Like Prater, Hall said he always wanted to join the Army. "I feel it's an honor to serve my country. I feel everybody should serve. It would give younger people more responsibility, maturity and character," he said.
"Knowing my wife, Mary, and my family are safe, because of what I do," Hall said, gives him great satisfaction, even though he admits it is difficult to spend time away from his family.

Both men said professionally, the Army is teaching them how to be leaders. "There are all kind of job skills to learn, not just mechanics," Prater said.
"It's the experience of leading others, learning how to deal with different situations that's important," Hall agreed.

Hall and Prater said they recognized the importance of their jobs more fully after deploying to Operation Iraqi Freedom. "We provide the power in the field when we are deployed," Hall said.
"And as a mechanic," Prater said, "the Army doesn't move without the vehicles. We keep the vehicles serviced, so we can help the battalion accomplish its mission."
Their experiences overseas have left stories for both men to share with their children. For Prater it was his first sight of the pyramids of Egypt. For Hall, it was the 18-inch spiders in Kuwait.
(Tam Cummings is news editor for the Fort Hood Sentinel.)

STANDING WATCH A soldier maintains security while a Humvee carrying troops is towed from a river by another vehicle in Afghanistan, Aug. 19, 2004. The soldiers are assigned to the Oklahoma Army National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade, serving as part of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Army photo

Army Spc. Joshua Strickland sings Happy Birthday from Iraq via videoconference to his daughter, Shelby, who celebrated her first birthday in Valdosta, Ga. The July 14 event was more like a birthday present for him, as he heard Shelby say "dada" for the first time and she kissed the image of her father on the screen. Strickland hadn't seen his daughter since she was 4 months old. Photo by Maj. Richard Durost, courtesy of Freedom Calls Foundation

From BLACKFIVE

Strength At Home
By Ben Stein
August 18, 2004; Wall Street Journal, Page A10

(This is a letter I wrote to the newsletter of an Army unit called The Strykers, stationed in Iraq out of Ft. Lewis, Wash. The editor asked me what I would say to make the wives feel appreciated while their husbands are in Iraq. This is what I wrote to one soldier's wife.)

Dear Karen,

I have a great life. I have a wife I adore, a son who is a lazy teenager but I adore him, too. We live in a house with two dogs and four cats. We live in peace. We can worship as we please. We can say what we want. We can walk the streets in safety. We can vote. We can work wherever we want and buy whatever we want. When we sleep, we sleep in peace. When we wake up, it is to the sounds of birds.
All of this, every bit of it, is thanks to your husband, his brave fellow soldiers, and to the wives who keep the home fires burning while the soldiers are away protecting my family and 140 million other families. They protect Republicans and Democrats, Christians, Jews, Muslims and atheists. They protect white, black, yellow, brown and everyone in between. They protect gays and straights, rich and poor.And none of it could happen without the Army wives, Marine wives, Navy wives, Air Force wives -- or husbands -- who go to sleep tired and lonely, wake up tired and lonely, and go through the day with a smile on their faces. They feed the kids, put up with the teenagers' surliness, the bills that never stop piling up, the desperate hours when the plumbing breaks and there is no husband to fix it, and the even more desperate hours after the kids have gone to bed, the dishes have been done, the bills have been paid, and the wives realize that they will be sleeping alone -- again, for the 300th night in a row.
The wives keep up the fight even when they have to move every couple of years, even when their checks are late, even when they have to make a whole new set of friends every time they move.
And they keep up the fight to keep the family whole even when they feel a lump of dread every time they turn on the news, every time they switch on the computer, every time the phone rings and every time -- worst of all -- the doorbell rings. Every one of those events -- which might mean a baseball score or a weather forecast or a FedEx man to me and my wife -- might mean the news that the man they love, the man they have married for better or worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, is now parted from them forever.
These women will never be on the cover of People. They will never be on the tabloid shows on TV about movie stars. But they are the power and the strength that keep America going. Without them, we are nothing at all. With them, we can do everything.
They are the glue that holds the nation together, stronger than politicians, stronger than talking heads, stronger than al Qaeda.
They deserve all the honor and love a nation can give. They have my prayers, and my wife's, every morning and every night.

Love, and I do mean Love,

Ben.

Mr. Stein, a television personality and writer, is co-author with Phil DeMuth of "Can America Survive," forthcoming from Hay House.

From Fox News

Bringing "Steve-O" to the States
17 Aug 2004
Teenage Ally Helps Soldiers in Iraq

Fort Carson, CO Ever since the soldiers of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment returned home to Fort Carson from their first tour in Iraq in May they've been working hard to bring back one of their comrades left behind - an Iraqi boy nicknamed "Steve-O."
When Steve-O met the soldiers in December 2003 he offered them intelligence that helped them get enemy fighters - including his own father - off the street. But the teen's decision to turn in his father and cooperate with Americans cost him dearly - his mother was killed later as payback.
The U.S. soldiers were now all Steve-O had, and they vowed to bring him to safety in America, but their deployment was coming to an end.
Once back in Colorado the soldiers contacted the boy's uncle asking him to sign paperwork allowing Steve-O to travel to America, but that is just one step in an arduous process that isn't over yet.

Pentagon officials say they are "working with all the appropriate agencies to bring Steve-O here as soon as possible for medical assessment and treatment."
In a few weeks Steve-O will be brought to America to treat an eye injury. The soldiers at Fort Carson have great hopes for his future, that he'll be out of harms way and receive an education.
The soldiers have already set up a fund to help Steve-O begin a new life in America:

Iraqi Youth Trust
6660 Delmonico Drive
Suite D
#410
Colorado Springs, CO 80919

American Forces Press Service
Rudi Williams
It's amazing what wonderful feelings and bright smiles a dozen calendar models can bring to the faces of hospitalized servicemen recovering from war wounds
That's what happened when Dawn Glencer and the "U.S. Angels" 2005 calendar models rode their motorcycles to the Fisher House on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus to visit troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

National Guardsman Spc. Dean W. Schwartz, 21, surrounded by eight of the 12 "U.S. Angels" 2005 calendar models at the Fisher House; Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Back row {l to r} : Tessie Foreman, Melissa Foreman, Sarah Camden, Tricia Grierson , Crystal Wood. Front row, {l to r}: Georgia Maltezos-Neary, Crystal Virts, Schwartz and Katrina McConkey. Photo -- Dawn Glencer

The Fisher House Foundation donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military and Veterans Affairs medical centers to enable family members to be close to hospitalized loved ones.
"It turned into a big cook-out when we brought tons of food to the Fisher House for patients and their families," said Glencer, the training coordinator for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Policy Training Center. "I'm sure we supplied enough for their picnic for the rest of the year."

Apehanger's, a "biker" bar and grill in Bel Alton, Md., supplied a sheet cake with the Fisher House and Harley-Davidson logos.

"It really touched the girls -- seeing how badly wounded the soldiers were," said Glencer, a former Marine. "But finally getting a chance to meet and talk with them and their families has really renewed the spirit that's carrying this calendar project."

NAJAF, Iraq - A radical Shiite cleric vowed to fight to the death as his loyalists battled U.S. troops for a fifth straight day Monday, and bombings in Sunni regions outside Baghdad - including a failed attempt to assassinate a deputy governor - killed at least 10 Iraqis.
* * *
Explosions and gunfire were heard throughout the holy Shiite city of Najaf, south of the capital, the main scene of fighting between U.S. troops and the militiamen. As U.S. helicopters hovered overhead, troops tried to drive militiamen from a vast cemetery they have used as a base, and a U.S. tank rolled within 400 yards of Najaf's holiest site.
Seven militants were killed since Sunday evening in Najaf, an al-Sadr official said.
A senior U.S. military official in Baghdad estimated Monday that 360 insurgents died in Najaf in the first four days of the battle, although al-Sadr's militia insists the toll has been far lower.
A fight to the death, eh? Hmmm ...

By K.L. Vantran
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 19, 2004 On a baseball field in Vermont Aug. 7, a group of National Guardsmen joined forces with families of troops deployed in the war on terror to honor the 11 Vermonters who have paid the ultimate price for freedom.
The event, designed to promote the Freedom Fund, also will feature a baseball game, according to organizer Beth Cornwell-Friese. The Freedom Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting those deployed in the fight for democracy around the world.
Read the rest here

Story by Lance Cpl. Heidi E Loredo
Arabic music echoes through the narrow trash-strewn streets of a mock Iraqi village on a sunny afternoon. Saddam loyalist posters and raggedy clothes for sale are posted on shacks built on dirt-paved roads plagued with donkey droppings and broken glass. A mock Iraqi family stands outside their home shouting anti-America slogans while Marines patrol the area.
A bomb explodes and sends fragments in every direction and for a brief moment the Marines seem paralyzed by the shock. What do they do next?
Read the rest here




A mock Iraqi village located on San Diego?s only TV and movie studio, Stu Segall Productions, is the new scene for units prior to their deployment.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Heidi E. Loredo

BLACKFIVE brings you news from Camp Abu Ghurayb, posted by LtCol Willy Buhl