11.26.2004
Air Force by Service, but Army by Trade
Air Force News
Army Sgt. Frank Magni
18 Nov 2004
FORWARD OPERATING BASE ORGUN-E, Afghanistan - They are a unique breed of servicemembers on the frontline -- Air Force by service, but Army by trade.
Joint terminal attack controllers can be found throughout Afghanistan, planning, communicating and facilitating the execution of close-air support for ground forces.
For the Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment working in the Paktika Province, JTAC support comes from Airmen of the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. Located everywhere from tactical headquarters to smaller operations in the field, the JTAC Airmen act as the liaison for all air support that comes from every service and all coalition partners...
JTAC is one of the few jobs in the Air Force that is so far forward on the battlefield, Staff Sgt. Robert Pena of the 25th ASOS said...
The US Air Force parted company with the US Army in 1944
But, if the mission calls for it...
Army Sgt. Frank Magni
18 Nov 2004
FORWARD OPERATING BASE ORGUN-E, Afghanistan - They are a unique breed of servicemembers on the frontline -- Air Force by service, but Army by trade.
Joint terminal attack controllers can be found throughout Afghanistan, planning, communicating and facilitating the execution of close-air support for ground forces.
For the Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment working in the Paktika Province, JTAC support comes from Airmen of the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. Located everywhere from tactical headquarters to smaller operations in the field, the JTAC Airmen act as the liaison for all air support that comes from every service and all coalition partners...
JTAC is one of the few jobs in the Air Force that is so far forward on the battlefield, Staff Sgt. Robert Pena of the 25th ASOS said...
The US Air Force parted company with the US Army in 1944
But, if the mission calls for it...
11.24.2004
They Call Them "Charlie's Angels"
They Call Them "Charlie's Angels"
from National Guard
Sgt. Angela Magnuson, Sgt. Kristen Pagel,
and Sgt. Jessica Fisher
Angel 1: Sgt. Jessica Fisher
Fisher grew up in Jamestown, N.D. She lives in Fargo, where she is studying to be a dental hygienist...
Within days of arriving in Iraq, this 26-year-old had already spent a very dark and scary night in March near Samarra, Iraq, trying desperately to save the life of an unknown soldier who was crushed when a Humvee rolled over. That soldier without a name would literally die in Fisher's arms. He wore a wedding ring on his left hand. That he was married is all that Fisher would ever know about him. After the incident was over, the combat patrol returned to their base camp so Fisher could change into a clean uniform before going right back out on an IED patrol again.
Read the rest here
Angel 2: Sgt. Angela Magnuson
Angela Magnuson grew up in Fingal, N.D. She lives in Aberdeen, S.D., where she is studying to be a laboratory technician. This 28-year-old single mother has aspirations of becoming a pharmacist or chiropractor "after I grow up."
The most difficult part of serving in Iraq was leaving her 6-year-old daughter, Abigail. "I can't hold her. I can't kiss her goodnight. I am missing out on her whole first year of school," she said.
Still, Magnuson has no regrets. "We're doing a good job here. It is nerve-racking. We are doing a good thing here for the people and other Soldiers ¡ª keeping the roads safe. This makes me feel like I am an active part of history."
Read the rest here
Angel 3: Sgt. Kristen Pagel
Kristen Pagel lives in Fargo with her husband, Dave, stepson Ryan, and her 82-year-old grandmother, who is a veteran of World War II. Pagel's grandmother served as a nurse who, among other duties, helped treat and clean up the concentration camps at the end of the war. She writes to Pagel twice a week because, as Pagel says, "She understands how important mail call is."
Pagel serves as the senior medic for C Company.
Read the rest here
from National Guard
Sgt. Angela Magnuson, Sgt. Kristen Pagel,
and Sgt. Jessica Fisher
Angel 1: Sgt. Jessica Fisher
Fisher grew up in Jamestown, N.D. She lives in Fargo, where she is studying to be a dental hygienist...
Within days of arriving in Iraq, this 26-year-old had already spent a very dark and scary night in March near Samarra, Iraq, trying desperately to save the life of an unknown soldier who was crushed when a Humvee rolled over. That soldier without a name would literally die in Fisher's arms. He wore a wedding ring on his left hand. That he was married is all that Fisher would ever know about him. After the incident was over, the combat patrol returned to their base camp so Fisher could change into a clean uniform before going right back out on an IED patrol again.
Read the rest here
Angel 2: Sgt. Angela Magnuson
Angela Magnuson grew up in Fingal, N.D. She lives in Aberdeen, S.D., where she is studying to be a laboratory technician. This 28-year-old single mother has aspirations of becoming a pharmacist or chiropractor "after I grow up."
The most difficult part of serving in Iraq was leaving her 6-year-old daughter, Abigail. "I can't hold her. I can't kiss her goodnight. I am missing out on her whole first year of school," she said.
Still, Magnuson has no regrets. "We're doing a good job here. It is nerve-racking. We are doing a good thing here for the people and other Soldiers ¡ª keeping the roads safe. This makes me feel like I am an active part of history."
Read the rest here
Angel 3: Sgt. Kristen Pagel
Kristen Pagel lives in Fargo with her husband, Dave, stepson Ryan, and her 82-year-old grandmother, who is a veteran of World War II. Pagel's grandmother served as a nurse who, among other duties, helped treat and clean up the concentration camps at the end of the war. She writes to Pagel twice a week because, as Pagel says, "She understands how important mail call is."
Pagel serves as the senior medic for C Company.
Read the rest here
11.20.2004
The Price of Freedom
The Department of Education has created a fabulous online exhibit, called The Price of Freedom. It includes a timeline of America's wars, from the Revolution to Iraq. Read an overview of each conflict; learn about its causes, major events, and consequences. Gain a sense of how wars have shaped our history. Created with the help of the National Museum of American History, supported by the Smithsonian Institution
You must see it
You must see it
11.19.2004
Pentagon Going P.C.?
Pentagon To Cut Boy Scouts From Bases
Associated Press
November 16, 2004
CHICAGO - The Pentagon has agreed to warn military bases worldwide not to directly sponsor Boy Scout troops, partially resolving claims that the government has engaged in religious discrimination by supporting a group that requires members to believe in God.
The settlement announced Monday is part of a series of legal challenges in recent years over how closely the government should be aligned with the Boy Scouts of America, a venerable organization that boasts a membership of more than 3.2 million members. Civil liberties advocates have set their sights on the organization's policies because the group bans openly gay scout leaders and compels members to swear an oath of duty to God. The ACLU believes that direct government sponsorship of such a program amounts to discrimination.
The rule does not prevent service members from leading Scout troops unofficially on their own time, and Scouts will still be able to hold meetings on areas of military bases where civilian organizations are allowed to hold events.
The settlement does not resolve other ACLU claims involving government spending that benefits the Boy Scouts, such as money used to prepare a Virginia military base for the Boy Scout Jamboree and grants used by state and local governments to benefit the Boy Scouts, Schwartz said.
He said the Pentagon spends $2 million every year to prepare the Virginia base for the jamboree, held once every four years. He said the Defense Department also makes annual allocations of $100,000 to support Boy Scout units on military bases overseas and $100,000 to improve Boy Scout properties, such as summer camps.
Attorney Marcia Berman, who represented the Defense Department, declined to comment on the settlement Monday. But Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said the message that will be sent to bases represents "a clarification of an existing rule that DOD personnel cannot be involved in an official capacity."
The original ACLU lawsuit named as defendants the Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Chicago Board of Education. The schools settled, agreeing not to engage in official sponsorship of scouting activities.
Say it ain't so.
Associated Press
November 16, 2004
CHICAGO - The Pentagon has agreed to warn military bases worldwide not to directly sponsor Boy Scout troops, partially resolving claims that the government has engaged in religious discrimination by supporting a group that requires members to believe in God.
The settlement announced Monday is part of a series of legal challenges in recent years over how closely the government should be aligned with the Boy Scouts of America, a venerable organization that boasts a membership of more than 3.2 million members. Civil liberties advocates have set their sights on the organization's policies because the group bans openly gay scout leaders and compels members to swear an oath of duty to God. The ACLU believes that direct government sponsorship of such a program amounts to discrimination.
"If our Constitution's promise of religious liberty is to be a reality, the government should not be administering religious oaths or discriminating based on religious beliefs," said ACLU attorney Adam Schwartz.
The Pentagon said it has long had a rule against sponsorship of non-federal organizations and denied the rule had been violated. But it agreed to send a message to posts worldwide warning them not to sponsor Boy Scout troops or other such groups.
|
The settlement does not resolve other ACLU claims involving government spending that benefits the Boy Scouts, such as money used to prepare a Virginia military base for the Boy Scout Jamboree and grants used by state and local governments to benefit the Boy Scouts, Schwartz said.
He said the Pentagon spends $2 million every year to prepare the Virginia base for the jamboree, held once every four years. He said the Defense Department also makes annual allocations of $100,000 to support Boy Scout units on military bases overseas and $100,000 to improve Boy Scout properties, such as summer camps.
Attorney Marcia Berman, who represented the Defense Department, declined to comment on the settlement Monday. But Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said the message that will be sent to bases represents "a clarification of an existing rule that DOD personnel cannot be involved in an official capacity."
The original ACLU lawsuit named as defendants the Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Chicago Board of Education. The schools settled, agreeing not to engage in official sponsorship of scouting activities.
Say it ain't so.
11.16.2004
Native Americans in the US Army
I came across a wonderful exhibit from the U.S. Army's Center for Military History: Native Americans in the U.S. Army
Comanche code-talkers of the 4th Signal Company
(U.S. Army Signal Center and Ft. Gordon)
Comanche code-talkers of the 4th Signal Company
(U.S. Army Signal Center and Ft. Gordon)
Ellsworth B-1 named after former senator's WWII bomber
Staff and wire reports.
November 12, 2004
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. The Dakota Queen is flying again.Sixty years after Lt. George McGovern, who would go on to a distinguished Senate career and a run for the presidency, flew bombing missions in World War II, a B-1B Lancer at Ellsworth Air Force Base has taken the name he gave the B-24 Liberator he flew in the Army Air Corps.McGovern and his wife, Eleanor, who was the inspiration for the name Dakota Queen, were the guests of honor at a ceremony Nov. 10 to commemorate new nose art that declares the B-1 the Dakota Queen.
* * *
For his bombing missions, McGovern received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
November 12, 2004
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. The Dakota Queen is flying again.Sixty years after Lt. George McGovern, who would go on to a distinguished Senate career and a run for the presidency, flew bombing missions in World War II, a B-1B Lancer at Ellsworth Air Force Base has taken the name he gave the B-24 Liberator he flew in the Army Air Corps.McGovern and his wife, Eleanor, who was the inspiration for the name Dakota Queen, were the guests of honor at a ceremony Nov. 10 to commemorate new nose art that declares the B-1 the Dakota Queen.
* * *
For his bombing missions, McGovern received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
11.12.2004
Veterans Day Ceremony in Iraq
Photo taken by Spc. Joe Alger
Soldiers from different battalions of the 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, stand in formation during a Veterans Day ceremony at Forward Operating Base Dagger, Tikrit, Iraq on Thursday.
Thanks to BlackFive
11.11.2004
USAF Drops First 500-Pound JDAM
USAF Drops First 500-Pound JDAM
GORDON TROWBRIDGE
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq
The U.S. Air Force hopes within days to begin using a new, lightweight, satellite-guided bomb here, giving F-16 crews a new option to strike Iraqi insurgents and reduce unwanted destruction...
The bomb is half the size of what had been the smallest Joint Direct Attack Munition in use, and its corresponding lack of explosive force is designed to reduce 'collateral damage'...
"Our job is to destroy things if need be," Tech Sgt. Robert Franks said Nov. 4. "But why not use as little explosive as possible" "If we don't have to destroy something, we don't want to."
Well put
Read the rest here
GORDON TROWBRIDGE
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq
The U.S. Air Force hopes within days to begin using a new, lightweight, satellite-guided bomb here, giving F-16 crews a new option to strike Iraqi insurgents and reduce unwanted destruction...
The bomb is half the size of what had been the smallest Joint Direct Attack Munition in use, and its corresponding lack of explosive force is designed to reduce 'collateral damage'...
"Our job is to destroy things if need be," Tech Sgt. Robert Franks said Nov. 4. "But why not use as little explosive as possible" "If we don't have to destroy something, we don't want to."
Well put
Read the rest here
