Theodore's World

Mounted gunners seeing clearer thanks to new turrets
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200651054548
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 9, 2006) — Duty in the turret of Regimental Combat Team 5’s seven-ton trucks just got clearer with new ballistic-glass and steel encased firing positions.
The new turrets, called Marine Corps Armored Turret Systems, are being installed on seven-ton trucks, the first in an upgrade to give gunners greater visibility and beefed-up protection for convoy operations.

“The advantage of these turrets is the protection it provides the gunner,” said Master Sgt. Adam Lyttle, the 42-year-old Motor Transport chief for the regiment. “The most noticeable change is the ballistic glass. They also have higher turrets and they traverse a lot easier.”

Ballistic shields replaced steel plates in front of the gunner’s position and side ballistic glass allows Marines to scan from side to side without having to expose themselves to fire. It’s an important feature. Until now, Marines had to crouch down behind their guns.

“The gunner can stay higher on the guns now,” Lyttle explained. “Their field of view is a whole lot better. The gunner plays a major part on all convoys.”

Higher blast protection and windows that will deflect gunfire and shrapnel now allows gunners to perform duties with a greater degree of confidence. Marines aren’t just gripping .50-caliber machine guns behind the ballistic shields. They’re on the lookout for improvised explosive devices – or roadside bombs.

“I feel a lot safer,” said Cpl. Jose M. Ramirez, a 22-year-old from Lemoore, Calif., assigned to RCT-5’s motor transport platoon. “Before I was afraid of standing up. Now, there’s no fear to get up and peek at something suspicious.”

Ramirez is one of the few gunners in the regiment’s motor transport platoon who has already conducted several missions riding in the new turret. He said it has a lot more room, space to keep his rifle and other tools handy and best of all, better protection.

“It’s a blessing from the gods to get these here,” Ramirez said. “They’re a lot better. This is a big improvement. Everybody likes these.”

Lyttle said the turrets are being added as fast as they arrive in theater, with help from 1st Marine Logistics Group’s, Combat Logistics Battalion-5. It’s not just the regimental headquarters getting the new turrets. Each battalion is getting outfitted as well.

“The hope is before the month is out, we’ll have new turrets on every truck,” Lyttle said.

Lance Cpl. Trevor A Chapman, a 20-year-old from Norwich, Conn., has also ridden a couple of missions in the new turret and said Marines have a lot in which to look forward.

“I figured it would be good with having the windows on each side,” said Chapman, assigned to RCT-5 Motor Transport Platoon. “I felt a lot safer. The armor goes all the way around.”

Chapman makes sure his M-2 .50-caliber machine gun is mounted correctly in the new Marine Corps Armored Turret System. The new turret offers gunners greater protection and visibility with ballistic glass shielding.
Chapman explained the old turrets had gaps that left him feeling exposed to hazards. Now, he’s completely encased in a turret system that allows him to see more and move quicker.

“It’s a lot easier to use,” Chapman explained. “You don’t have to swivel as far because of the windows. That makes the gunner’s job easier because he can react faster.”

Lance Cpl. Trevor A. Chapman, a 20-year-old from Norwich, Conn, and Lance Cpl. Antonio Mendoza, a 20-year-old from Los Angeles, mount a M-2 .50-caliber machine gun in the new Marine Corps Armored Turret System that Regimental Combat Team 5 is installing on their seven-ton trucks. The new armor increases protection and allows for greater visibility with ballistic glass.
Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva
Lyttle witnessed the change the Marine Corps has made over the past several years with armoring. Initially, gunners were exposed with nothing protecting them but helmets and flak vests. Then barrel-style turrets were installed and now, the angular turret with ballistic glass has taken force protection to a new level.

“The Marines are pretty pleased,” he said. “They were excited about getting them. The Marines are eager to ride in anything, but you see these big improvements … it built their confidence up, big time.”

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Cuba, Saudis, China on Rights Council
AP) Cuba, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia won seats on the new U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday despite their poor human rights records, but two rights abusers _ Iran and Venezuela _ were defeated.
Human rights groups said they were generally pleased with the 47 members elected to the council, which will replace the highly politicized Human Rights Commission. It was discredited in recent years because some countries with terrible rights records used their membership to protect one another from condemnation.

“The spoiler governments, the governments that have a history of trying to undermine the protection of human rights through their membership on the old commission are now a significantly reduced minority when it comes to the council,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “That doesn’t guarantee that the council will be a success, but it is a step in the right direction.”

Yvonne Terlingen, U.N. representative for Amnesty International, said it was “fairly pleased” that the countries elected would provide a good basis for a new “strong and effective human rights body.”

“Some countries have been elected with weak human rights records, but they also are now committed to uphold the highest human rights standards,” she said.

The United States opposed the establishment of the council, saying it did not go far enough to prevent rights abusers from winning seats, and the U.S. decided against being a candidate.
But U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kristen Silverberg said “on the whole, we think it is an improvement over the commission.”

“We are committed to engaging actively in the coming weeks with all of the elected members … to make sure that this body is effective,” she said. “We think think that the real test of this council will be whether it can take effective action in serious cases of human rights abuse like Darfur, … Burma, North Korea and other places.”

U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., a critic of the U.N., said Cuba’s election showed the new council suffers from the same weakness as the commission and “is the perfect example of the U.N.’s failure to reform.”
Russia was a candidate in the most hotly contested regional group _ Eastern Europe _ which fielded 13 candidates for six seats. It was the only group where a second round of voting was needed. The other winners were Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.
The 13 African winners were Algeria, Cameroon, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia.
The 13 Asians elected to the council were Bangladesh, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka. The defeat of Iran in that category “just shows their lack of standing in the international community,” said Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
In Latin American and the Caribbean, the eight seats went to Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.
The seven countries elected from the Western bloc were Britain, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland.
Wild Thing’s comment…….
Unbelievable. That’s like having Charles Manson as a male nurse.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream.
It must be fought for, protected,
and handed on for them to do the same,
or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children
what it was once like in the United States when men were free.”
— Ronald Reagan

Click to see VIDEO
Families swarm to greet former prisoners of war moments after they landed in the C-141 “Hanoi Taxi” on Friday, May 5, 2006, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The “Hanoi Taxi” was the first aircraft to arrive in Hanoi in February 1973 to pick up POWs returning to the United States. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons)



Airman 1st Class Humberto Alcocer leads the honor guard during a ceremony recognizing the last mission of the C-141 “Hanoi Taxi” on Friday, May 5, 2006, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Airman Alcocer is a member of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base honor guard, and is with the 88th Medical Operations Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons



While walking through it you see the equipment box that the POW’s signed as they flew back home.



Note in the corner the signature of Col. George “Bud” Day – Medal of Honor winner and outspoken critic of John Kerry He was a POW in North Vietnam, 1967-1973.

For more than five years, Col.Bud Day resisted the North Vietnamese guards who tortured him. On one occasion in 1971, when guards burst in with rifles as some of the American prisoners gathered for a forbidden religious service, Major Day stood up, looked down the muzzles of the guns, and began to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The other men, including James Stockdale, the ranking U.S. officer in the prison, joined him.

Jim Lamar (left) talks to Tech. Sgt. Rick Sforza on Saturday, May 6, 2006, about an aerial photograph of the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner of war camp where he was held captive in Vietnam. The two men were flying on the final mission of the C-141 “Hanoi Taxi” over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Sergeant Sforza is a Reserve photographer with the 4th Combat Camera Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons)

Col. Doug Moe looks out the window while flying on one of the the last missions of the C-141 “Hanoi Taxi” on Friday, May 5, 2006 over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The “Hanoi Taxi” was the first aircraft to arrive in Hanoi in February 1973 to pick up prisoners of war returning to the United States. The C-141 landed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force where it will be on display this summer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons)
DAYTON, Ohio (AFPN) — The first aircraft to return Vietnam prisoners of war to the United States arrived at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at 9:30 a.m. May 6.
The C-141 “Hanoi Taxi” was the first aircraft to arrive in Hanoi in February 1973 to pick up POWs returning to the United States. The “Hanoi Taxi” was one of several aircraft involved in repatriating more than 500 American POWs held by the North Vietnamese.
The Hanoi Taxi — the last C-141 Starlifter still serving in the Air Force — made two of its final three flights May 5. Former POWs gathered for a reunion and to take part in a weekend of activities created by the Air Force Reserve Command’s 445th Airlift Wing here that included retirement of the famed aircraft.
The aircraft made several passes before its final landing on the runway behind the museum May 6. Crewmembers from the 445th AW flew the aircraft from nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to the museum.
A ceremony was held following the aircraft’s arrival at the museum. Speakers included Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, commander of Air Mobility Command; Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, commander of Air Force Reserve Command; and retired Maj. Gen. Charles D. Metcalf, museum director. Former Vietnam POWs and past crewmembers were in attendance to witness the event.
During the ceremony, Lockheed Martin presented the museum with a painting of the Hanoi Taxi flying over the museum. The painting is titled “The Airlift Legend: Celebrating the 43-Year Career of the C-141 Starlifter.”
Herv Stockman – flew more than 50 combat missions during WWII piloting a P51. Flew the first U-2 mission over the Soviet Union. Watched Migs scramble in futility, two colliding, and follow helplessly, far below.
Speaking before the public about his Hanoi captivity:

The last of the morning’s speakers was Hervey Stockman, a fighter pilot who saw action in all our hot and cold wars: World War II, Korea, the first U2 flight over the Soviet Union, and Vietnam, where his plane crashed and he spent six years in a sevenbysevenfoot prison cell in Hanoi. He had been reluctant to talk about that ordeal as a prisoner of war, but the class officers asked him to try, feeling that in his character and his generous heart he represented the best of what the class set out so long ago to be.
“Preparing these words was much like visiting an old, untended graveyard,” Hervey Stockman said, looking out at us from the lectern, a trim man with a warm smile. He began by describing the brutal treatment he received in the early months of his imprisonment — “I was a foul, decrepit wreck of a man” — and then recalled the slow process by which at last “my mind was awakened and reunited to my body and I had the will to live and regain my strength.” He spoke slowly, barely controlling his emotions, but without selfpity, and when he walked back to his seat, his slightly stiff gait betraying his long captivity, the class rose in an ovation that had no relation to the applause usually heard at the end of a speech: mere handclapping. It had tremendous solemnity — it was emotional without being sentimental — and it rumbled through the auditorium.

Robert Lewis Stirm

I was shot down over Hanoi 27 October 1967 while leading a flight of F-105Ds on Canal Des Rapides Bridge. They captured me immediately on landing and I was displayed in Hanoi that night. I was detained in various cells of five different POW camps and was in solitary confinement a total of 281 days. They turned me over to US control on 14 March 1973.
I never once lost faith in our government, our President, or my family.

The museum plans for the Hanoi Taxi to be on public display this summer.
Wild Thing’s comment…………
If our government would have done what John F’n Kerry recommended when he came back from Paris after consorting with the enemy, everyone of those names would have belonged to a dead man! Kerry said we should immediately abandon South East Asia, and pay whatever damages North Vietnam decided we owed them.
my POW MIA page
my Vietnam page

My other post announcing C-141 “Hanoi Taxi” is Retiring
In that post there are also comments of one that flew this plane and others that shared their experiences.

* Argghhh
* Mudville Gazette

Army Staff Sgt. Roman Ramos checks
grid coordinates on a map during a
route clearing mission in southern
Afghanistan’s Uruzgan District.
Ramos is a combat engineer assigned
to the 37th Engineer Battalion.

By Army Pfc. Anna K. Perry
19th Public Affairs Detachment
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD,
Afghanistan —
Getting service members from point A to point B successfully is essential to mission accomplishment in time of war.
The mission for the Soldiers of A Company, 37th Engineer Battalion is to make sure troops arrive safely at their destinations.

“We’re here to provide assured mobility for American and Coalition forces,” said Army Staff Sgt. Roman Ramos, a combat engineer assigned to one of the unit’s route-clearing packages.

The small team of route-clearing Soldiers is always on the prowl for improvised explosive devices and unexploded
ordnance in their theater of responsibility. Ramos and his troops use various pieces of equipment and tactical vehicles to help detect IEDs and UXOs along the roads they travel throughout Afghanistan.

“We’re looking for indicators, like wires or anything that doesn’t seem to belong,” Ramos said. Indicators could be random patterns or a break in a natural pattern, he added. Handling IEDs and UXOs is a task taken seriously by the team.

“We’re in a position where we get hands-on and face-to-face with whatever the munitions might be,” he said. “So we take whatever steps we can to mitigate the risk prior to dismounting.” The team also focuses on the perimeter of the area bein cleared.

The team also focuses on the perimeter of the area being cleared.

“We want to avoid taking one bad situation and creating two or three more with a secondary device or a coordinated attack,” Ramos added. If a Soldier is injured, the route-clearing package relies on a medic who always
travels with them. “I’m here to bring my battle buddies back alive if anything happens,” said Army Pfc. Adam Peters, a medic attached to the 37th Eng. Bn. Despite the risk, Ramos said he realizes how beneficial his team’s mission is to his fellow service members and the Afghan people.

“Afghanistan is littered with land mines, and we have places where people are putting more devices into the roads,” he said.

Ramos said he believes route clearance is a never-ending operation.

“This is extremely important,” he said. “There’s no number of clearances that we could do that would be enough.”

Soldiers dismount from a RG-31 Mine Protected Vehicle during a route clearing mission in southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan Province. The combat engineers are assigned to the 37th Engineer Battalion.

Army Staff Sgt. Roman Ramos uses a metal detector on the road during a route clearing mission in southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan District. Ramos is a combat engineer assigned to the 37th Engineer Battalion.
Wild Thing’s comment…….
Prayers for all our troops, stay safe and thank you for all you do. We are all so proud of you.
my Troops Today page

11 Bodies found dumped in Tigris near Baghdad
SUWAYRA, Iraq (Reuters) – The bodies of 11 Iraqis, including the headless corpse of a 10-year-old boy, were found dumped in the Tigris river south of Baghdad on Tuesday, police sources said.
The bodies, nine of whom were beheaded, were discovered near the Sunni town of Suwayra, 25 miles southeast of Baghdad. Seven of them were wearing Iraqi security forces uniforms.
Police said the victims had been killed four or five days ago. All had their hands tied.
Police could not confirm the motive for the killing but sectarian violence has increased sharply since the February 22 bombing of a Shi’ite shrine sparked a wave of reprisals.
The dumping of bodies — many of them bearing signs of torture — is a common occurrence in Iraq.
Wild Thing’s comment…….
This news and the pictures the Media should show the world – let the people world wide see what torture really is – what evil people they are. The Media should also show photos of our troops and all the great things they are donig. Can you imagine if the Media showed these two things, the evil of our enemy and our awesome troops. Just wishing here anyway!
But instead we have the Media telling us this crap from this slime!
The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not “insurgents” or “terrorists” or “The Enemy.” They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow — and they will win.
–Michael Moore

Moussaoui Asks to Withdraw Guilty Plea
Convicted Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui says he lied on the witness stand about being involved in the plot and wants to withdraw his guilty plea because he now believes he can get a fair trial.
In a motion filed Friday but released today, Moussaoui said he testified March 27 he was supposed to hijack a fifth plane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House “even though I knew that was a complete fabrication.”
federal court jury spared the 37-year-old Frenchman the death penalty last Wednesday. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema gave him six life sentences, to run as two consecutive life terms, in the federal supermax prison at Florence, Colo.
At sentencing, she told Moussaoui: “You do not have a right to appeal your convictions, as was explained to you when you plead guilty” in April 2005. “You waived that right.”
She said he could appeal his sentence but added, “I believe it would be an act of futility.”
Moussaoui’s court-appointed lawyers told the court they filed the motion even though a federal rule “prohibits a defendant from withdrawing a guilty plea after imposition of sentence.” They did so anyway because of their “problematic relationship with Moussaoui” and the fact that new lawyers have yet to be appointed to replace them.
Wild Thing’s comment……
So he got one look at SuperMax and changed his mind, did he?

In terror war, American ‘outreach’ has US Muslims wary
By Caroline Drees, Security Correspondent
DEARBORN, Michigan (Reuters) –
When U.S. soldiers raid a cave in Afghanistan, FBI agent William Kowalski knows to expect a call at his office in Detroit.

“When a military raid goes on in Kabul, or in a cave, and they find a computer that contains an address book or names and phone numbers, invariably I’m going to get a call here that says, ‘We did a raid and there was this 313 (Detroit-region) area code phone number in it. Check it out,'” Kowalski said.

The Detroit area, and especially the suburb of Dearborn, is home to the largest Arab American community in the United States, potentially fertile ground for U.S. officials looking for information and help to fight the war on terrorism.
Counterterrorism officials are trying to build closer ties to Muslim and Arab Americans through so-called outreach efforts. These include townhall meetings, discussions with community leaders and one-on-one talks with local residents at mosques, schools or cultural events.
Officials hope closer ties will encourage community members — who are just as eager to live in safety as other Americans — to tip off authorities to suspicious newcomers or militant activities, allowing agents to foil possible plots before it’s too late.
Agents believe immigrant communities may have unique links to conflict areas and can help them distinguish between useful leads and red herrings after incidents such as the raids Kowalski described.
But many Muslim and Arab Americans fear the bridge-building initiative that began after the September 11 attacks means little more than propaganda, recruitment and spying.
“It’s not about reaching out to us and including us,” said community activist Kenwah Dabaja, whose family emigrated to the United States from Lebanon. “The community is nervous.”
Federal, state and local counterterrorism officials say bridging this gap in understanding is key to protecting the country, but efforts are stumbling over deep-seated mistrust and suspicions.
Many Arab and Muslim Americans say they have felt the target of racism and discrimination after the 2001 attacks, and they accuse law enforcement officials of singling them out for scrutiny in the fight against terrorism.
“One thing everybody is taught in this country is that you are innocent until proven guilty, but it seems this is not working with regard to the Muslim community anymore,” said Imam Hassan al-Qazwini, the Iraqi-born head of one of the largest U.S. mosques in Dearborn.
“HAVEN’T DONE ENOUGH”
One senior U.S. counterterrorism official in Washington acknowledged that “we haven’t done enough” to cooperate with Arab and Muslim immigrants against terrorism.
He said the government had to beef up intelligence gathering at home by building trust between officials and Americans of Middle Eastern descent, linking local police more closely into communities and encouraging residents to volunteer information.
Government agencies as well as state and local law enforcement also say they are eager to hire Arab Americans so their workforce better reflects the community.

“Our job is to convince them (community members) that they can trust us so that they can come forward with information that will further our investigations, or points us in the right direction if they see suspicious individuals,” said Kowalski, who is the FBI’s acting special agent charge in Detroit.

He said the number of Arab Americans was so large in his area that almost every U.S. security investigation at home and abroad touched his community in some way.
Brian Moskowitz, the Detroit-based special agent in charge for the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said intense outreach efforts to community members since the 2001 attacks — including monthly sessions with Arab and Muslim American leaders — had certainly enhanced security cooperation.
“I don’t think it (terrorism) is different than any other crime in the sense that you need to have your sources, your ears and eyes as close to the action as possible,” he said. “Law enforcement in general terms has gotten information from the community here. They come because they feel they can.”
COMMUNITY WARY
Michael Bouchard, a Detroit area sheriff who is the only Arab American running for the Senate this fall, said law enforcement had begun to take steps to improve security cooperation with the community, “but it takes time. Every time you have a long-standing misunderstanding and distrust, it takes times to break that down.”
Several community members — and even one Washington-based official who spoke on condition of anonymity — said the authorities were probably not plugged into the communities well enough to know if any extremists were lurking there.
Dearborn activist Dabaja said government “outreach” was a misnomer. “It’s not really outreach. To some it’s recruiting and propaganda spreading,” she said, adding there was a need for genuine closer ties.
Some community members also feared they were under surveillance, especially after the disclosure of domestic wiretapping as part of counterterrorism efforts.
Imam Qazwini praised the regular meetings senior administration and law enforcement officials have held with community leaders such as him, but he said it wasn’t enough.
“Outreach means that you treat me equally and respect me like any other U.S. citizen. You don’t look at me with a suspicious eye unless you have overwhelming evidence,” he said.
Wild Thing’s comment……
Well this ticks me off!!!! It seems very simple to me, you raid a cave in Afghanistan and find a computer with address book or names and phone numbers connecting the terrorists to (313) area code in Michigan. OK how hard is that to understand for these freaking Muslims in America. ( insert steam coming out of my nose, ears and eyes with anger and my blood boiling). BUT do the Muslims react innocently HELL NO! Once again they react with the stop picking on me BS. And complain about the outreach to kiss up to them.
Help stop the insanity! Stop giving in to the enemy, stop being diplomatic with them.

Atwar Bahjat was murdered by inhuman pieces of flesh walking the face of this earth. And even though this is a hoax and it was not her in the video, it should never take away from this womans murder.
The Jawa Report explains that the Times and Halal Jabar, the author of the article, are victims of a hoax. The video actually shows the gruesome murder of a Nepalese man by the Army of Ansar al-Sunna in Iraq from August of 2004. The man was one of 12 victims executed by the terrorist organization–the other 11 were shot.
The Army of Ansar al-Sunna has murdered dozens of civilians in Iraq. The organization is an offshoot of the Army of Ansar al-Islam–a Kurdish Islamist organization. The group routinely murders those suspected of collaborating with the U.S. and Iraqi governments. Before the group murders their hostages they accuse them of ‘apostasy’, a crime punishable by death under Islamic law. They therefore justify their murders as ‘executions’ for ‘crimes’ committed against Islam.
Here is a link to the original video being circulated on jihadi discussion boards as the Atwar Bahjat beheading video (WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC). Disgusting, cruel, and graphic images from it are posted below.

* The Jawa Report
* Michelle Malkin
My original post about Atwar Bahjat….The Killing of Atwar Bahjat ~ Her Killers Straight From Hell

DOD
By Sgt. Joe Lindsay, USMC
Special to American Forces Press Service
KORENGAL VALLEY, Afghanistan, May 8, 2006 – Afghan National Army and coalition forces have been taking the war on terrorism to their adversaries in this enemy safe haven in Afghanistan’s Kunar province for the past month.
Operation Mountain Lion began April 11 with night helicopter insertions of Afghan and coalition forces at strategic points throughout the valley, followed shortly by troops pushing up on foot through the mouth of the valley.
“We’re taking the fight to the terrorists in their own backyard,” Army Command Sgt. Maj. James Redmore, of Task Force Spartan, said. “They gave their victims no sanctuary. They’ll receive none from us.”
An estimated 2,500 Afghan and coalition forces are in the Korengal and surrounding valleys in what military officials are calling the most significant effort yet to bring stability to this war-torn region.
“The enemy has very few options,” said Marine Lt. Col. James Bierman, commanding officer of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, whose Hawaii-based unit is the main thrust of the operation. “The first option he has is to run. If he runs, he leaves the safety and sanctuary of the villages where he’s mixed with the local population, and he now becomes detectable by air support.”
The next option would be to blend in with the local populace, Bierman added. “The last option (the enemy) has is to fight. If he does that, he’s going to have a world of hurt put on him.”
Every single company from 1/3 has been in firefights and received fire, said Marine 1st Lt. Kevin Frost, platoon commander for 3rd Platoon, Company C. “It is a credit to our abilities as coalition forces that they’ve shot at us but haven’t come close to winning any engagements,” Frost said.
The Marines frequently get into skirmishes with the remaining enemies, and the ones that are left “are just stubborn,” said Marine Sgt. Michael Chambers, platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Company C. “They pop off a couple rounds at us and then run back along the ridgeline, trying to get away.”
Marine Staff Sgt. Jason Butler, an operations chief with 1/3, said he agrees. “There have been dozens of firefights so far, but the enemy is finding out that they pretty much can’t do anything effective against us,” he said.
The Afghan army has played a significant role in the success of the operation, so has outstanding support from the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, which cordoned off the other valleys, Butler said. Air support from the U.S. Air Force also has been key. “This has truly been a joint effort,” he said.

The Afghan National Army has played the central role in this operation, said Marine Gunnery Sgt. Donald Vollmer, an operations watch chief with the 1/3. “We are here to support them,” he said.

Additional support to the mission has included a medical civic assistance program as part of the coalition’s humanitarian mission in Afghanistan.

“Our Navy corpsmen have treated over 3,000 Afghan locals in the Korengal Valley since the start of Operation Mountain Lion,” said Marine 1st Sgt. John Armstead, of Headquarters and Service Company of the 1/3. “We are here to help make their lives better and to provide whatever support and assistance we can.”

Marine Maj. Michael Miller, the battalion’s executive officer, said Operation Mountain Lion has the potential to be the catalyst that changes the makeup of the entire region.

The operation essentially has taken away a major enemy sanctuary, which has increased stability and welfare among the people, Miller said. “We are here for the long haul,” he said.

All the beneficial factors and accomplishments of Operation Mountain Lion will continue to resonate throughout the Korengal Valley for a long time to come, he added.

“This was ANA and coalition teamwork at its best. We were together shoulder to shoulder on this operation, and it establishes a foundation of support from the local populace when the ANA taking charge,” Miller said.

“The operation is stabilizing the area and helping the people of Afghanistan,” Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Craig, the battalion’s operations chief, said.

“Operation Mountain Lion has put us five to 10 years ahead of where we were before the operation started,” he said.
(Marine Sgt. Joe Lindsay is assigned to Task Force Lava Public Affairs.)
Troops Today

Nuestro Himno: Is It Really “Our Anthem?”
By Rahel B. Avraham of CustomerServant
The pro-illegal immigration folks now have their own campaign song. It’s called “Nuestro Himno,” (our anthem), and it’s peddlers say it’s just a re-interpretation of our national anthem, “The Star-spangled Banner.” Let’s see if that claim actually holds water.
First, an English translation of “Nuestro Himno.”

Verse 1
It’s sunrise. Do you see by the light of the dawn
What we proudly hailed last nightfall?
Its stars, its stripes
yesterday streamed
above fierce combat
a symbol of victory
the glory of battle, the march toward liberty.
Throughout the night, they proclaimed: “We will defend it!”
Chorus
Tell me! Does its starry beauty still wave
above the land of the free,
the sacred flag?
Chant:
It’s time to make a difference the kids, men and the women
Let’s stand for our beliefs, let’s stand for our vision/What about the children, los ninos ?
These kids have no parents, cause all of these mean laws.
See this can’t happen, not only about the Latins.
Asians, blacks and whites and all they do is adding
more and more, let’s not start a war
with all these hard workers,
they can’t help where they were born.
Verse 2
Its stars, its stripes,
Liberty, we are the same.
We are brothers in our anthem.
In fierce combat, a symbol of victory
the glory of battle,
(My people fight on)
the march toward liberty.
(The time has come to break the chains.)
Throughout the night they proclaimed: “We will defend it!”
Tell me! Does its starry beauty still wave
above the land of the free,
the sacred flag?

And now, to put things in perspective, the lyrics to “The Star-spangled Banner.”
The Defense of Fort McHenry
September 20, 1814
By Francis Scott Key
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
As you can see, there’s very little similarity between these two pieces, and that’s just scratching the surface. The fact is “Nuestro Himno” is not a simple translation of our national anthem into Spanish. It’s an attempt to take what is now a very familiar tune, which carries with it very vivid associations for some of us, and slap a pro-invader anthem on top of it.
The Star-spangled Banner was written in response, to a real life-or-death battle. If we had lost that part of the war of 1812, we’d be British subjects. On the other hand, this new cheap imitation that wants so desperately to be our national anthem is a plea for acceptance on behalf of those who have broken the laws of this country, and yet want to be forgiven for their trespass without paying any penalty.
“We know we’ve broken your laws, but can we have some of your hard-earned liberty anyway? After all, we’re brothers. And if you don’t give us some of your freedoms and rights, more than we already have, we say that your flag no longer flies over the land of the free and the home of the brave, because we’re in this land, and we’re not free, and though we were brave enough to cross through Central America and Mexico to sneak across the border, you don’t call us brave. But we are brave! We sneaked past your border guards, and we believe we can halt your economy in one day, and we don’t care if you give us free schooling, government subsidies for every baby born in this country. We’ll wave Mexican flags, and even cover your flag with ours, and we’ll even claim that your entire southwest region is ours and we’re going to take it back, but all the same, we want you to accept us as perfectly legal.”
This, at least, is how I interpret this anthem’s message.
And some record company’s CEO has ingeniously figured out how to cash in in a big way on the immigration fight going on in this country. By asking that “Nuestro Himno” be played simultaneously on Latino radio stations yesterday, and marketing it as simply a re-interpretation of the national anthem that will allow Hispanics who don’t speak English to understand what they’re singing, that CEO stands to make a huge amount of cash, and gain himself a lot of publicity.
If anyone is really interested in understanding what the national anthem’s lyrics mean, they could very easily have the lyrics translated in non-poetic form. But this is poetic license gone horribly wrong. And the national anthem isn’t copyrighted, so no one has to pay any royalties. No record producer could have missed that.
To conclude, I would answer the question I posed in this way. “Nuestro Himno” is a shining example of criminality and greed. Nothing more.

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This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we’re going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our Blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to euphoricrealitynet at gmail dot com.