The damage is almost unfathomable. Far more than the cost of buildings, property, possessions, is the impact of having one's life completely turned upside down. Here at my house, the last remnants of Katrina are blustery and wet. But down south....

The pictures don't even look real.

Many of our deployed heroes are worried about their families. Many more returned from war, only to now face the war zone that used to be their hometown. And then there's Keesler AFB...

Soldiers' Angels is stepping up to help, and Operation AC is joining them:

Operation AC, Inc. (Operation Air Conditioner) www.operationac.com has joined Soldier's Angels in this effort and pledges $1,000 as a match to the Operation Katrina Relief Fund.

Patti and I are also going to combine our forces and vast supporters for not only this, but for Operation Christmas. Look for a Joint Press release on Friday.

Organizations like ours must band together to make the most impact. My husband Mathew and I pledge Operation AC's support for this cause. We have been answering emails from troops who are deployed from these affected states all day. I can assure you they are very worried about their family back here.

We will urge all of our supporters to help.

Frankie & Mathew Mayo,
President/Vice President
Founders
Operation AC, Inc.
a 501(c)3 non-profit troop support company.

You can donate via paypal here: Operation Katrina Soldiers' Relief Fund

To send a check, use the following address:

Soldier's Angels Foundation
Operation Katrina Relief
1792 East Washington Blvd.
Pasadena, California 91104

If you are looking to donate goods or services to this effort, you can contact Soldiers' Angels at the address above, by phone at (626) 398-3131, or by email at mackay.donaldw@gmail.com.

And if you are a Hero, or the family member of a Hero, in need of assistance, click here.

Atlantic Ocean (June 18, 2005) – The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) shown underway with all eight MV-22 Osprey assigned to Marine Tiltrotor Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22), “turning” and ready for takeoff. VMX-22 is conducting the final operational test phase of the tiltrotor aircraft. The MV-22 is an advanced technology, vertical/short takeoff and landing (VSTOL) multipurpose tactical aircraft, and is scheduled to replace aging CH-46E Sea Knight and CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters currently in service. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Airman Jeremy L. Grisham

US Navy News
Hurricane Katrina Knocks JASS Career Managment System Server Offline
CNE/C6F Warfighting Staff Underway for JFMCC Exercise
Bataan Prepared to Assist in Hurricane Katrina Aftermath
Pascagoula Ships Sortie to Evade Hurricane Katrina
Surged Ships Return to Norfolk
CNO: Sea Power a Force for Good
USS Dextrous Crew Constant Prepares for Maritime Security Operations
USS Winston S. Churchill, USS McFaul Return to Homeport
Navy Plus JR Equal NASCAR Excitement
Theater Commanders Meet to Discuss EUCOM’s Future

for these posts:

Hero Joey Bozik gets a bronze star

Hurricane Katrina hits Keesler AFB

As always, lots of other good stuff there, too.

August 29, 2005
Soldiers from Company B, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, search a house for insurgents and weapons in Rawah, Iraq. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kyle Davis

From Fox News
Over 600 Iraqis Killed in Bridge Stampede
Energy Dept. Approves Release of Oil From Petroleum Reserves

From Military.com
Army to Crack Down on Military Bloggers (Matt at Blackfive and John of Argghhh! are mentioned in this article)
Navy Sending Ships to Gulf Coast
The Military Swings Into Action
Military Chaplain Charged in Sex Assaults
Navy SEALs Thanked for Anti-Terror Work
Soldier Gets 75 Days in Afghan Abuse Case
Coast Guard to Send Units for Hurricane Relief
Coast Guard Continues Katrina Rescues
Marines Rescue Stranded Hurricane Victims
Flooding Forces Relocation of National Guard's New Orleans Command Center
U.S. Ambassador Hints Iraq Constitution not Final
Judge Stalls Base Closing Recommendation
Storm Cleanup may be Biggest in U.S. History

Global Hawk
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle provides Air Force and joint battlefield commanders near real-time, high-resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery. The 12th Reconnaissance Squadron here is the home unit for the Global Hawk mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Jenkins)

Dear American Soldiers,

My name is Ryan Kathleen P-----, and I am a seventeen year old girl, about to enter my senior year in high school. You don't know me, nor do you have any reason to. I'm just a regular teenager, going about life and doing what teenagers do. However, in light of recent events I wanted to take the time to let you know how true Americans really feel. There isn't much I can say, except THANK YOU!!! Thank you for fighting for our freedom, and for being the one's to show terrorism that no one can make our country fall. No matter what they throw at us, we will not, and cannot be shaken. You are the ones who prove that every single day. There are a few people who say that we're getting ourselves into something that we shouldn't, they say that the war isn't something worth fighting, but the way I see it, our country will ALWAYS be worth fighting for, and it will always be worth dying for. What the people who don't support the war don't understand, is that you're not just fighting to liberate the Middle East, your fighting so that people like me can sleep safe at night. You're fighting so that I can grow up and have children of my own, in a free and great United States of America; not in one that ran, and gave up. I can't imagine how hard it is for you, being in a war zone, and away from your families for so long, and I can't imagine how hard it is for your families. However, know that you will never be alone, for you have an entire country standing behind you. We will always have your back! So whether you're a soldier going to the Middle East, or one that's already there, hear me when I say that words can not express how grateful I am to you. You inspire me, and give me the strength and courage to face the world, and life. Terrorists don't scare me, because I see you standing up to them every single day, and I know that you are protecting me, always. I always wish that there was something that I could give back to you, some token of appreciation, but the perfect thing to give you, isn't something that I can hand you; it's my faith, and hope, and now, and forever, you will always have that. So if you ever get discouraged, read this letter, and know that we're fighting with you…always!

Thank you, with all my heart and soul,

Ryan Kathleen P------
(Just a regular American Teenager)

Ryan, thanks for letting me post this. And I'll be passing it along to my Soldiers' Angels adoptees, too.

Gulf of Mexico (Aug. 29, 2005) - Crew members assigned to the “Blackhawks” of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fifteen (HM-15), stationed at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, prepare to unload personnel and equipment from MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters on board the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). HM-15 embarked three MH-53E helicopters in preparation for possible relief efforts along the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Airman Jeremy L. Grisham

The Seattle Times
AP: FBI to do prisoner 'threat assessment'
AP: Asian militants sharing bomb designs
Indonesia frees rebel prisoners from Aceh
U.N. names Lebanon assassination suspects
Ky. governor appears before grand jury
Bush: U.S. must protect Iraq from terror
NYPD criticized over GOP convention
Bush foes on Iraq lack unity
Reviews mixed on Iraq constitution
Fight over Iraq charter taken to streets
Soldier killed as U.S. copter forced to land
Roberts to face questions regarding "Bybee memo"
Democrats want demotion of Pentagon official probed
Religious tolerance new Air Force goal

Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
U.S. General Says Iraqis Will Need Longtime Support From Air Force

Department of Defense
War in Iraq Honors Heroes of the Past — Story
Rumsfeld Defends U.S. Position in Iraq
Rumsfeld: Iraqis Will Accept Constitution — Story
Families Say Goodbye as Alaskan Units Deploy — Story

ON THE GROUND
Servicemembers Deliver Supplies to Clinics — Story
Airmen Undergo Training for Convoy Duty — Story
Close-air Support Mission Nabs Terrorists — Story

FACE OF DEFENSE
Army Boxer Captures Gold, Recognition — Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Troops Can 'Connect' with Families — Story

TOP NEWS
IN IRAQ
Suspected Terrorists Detained
Response to Violence Improved
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Iraq Daily Update
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
Iraq Progress Fact Sheet (pdf)
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
IED Strike Kills American
Afghanistan Daily Update Maps
Afghan Reconstruction Group Recruiting

WAR ON TERRORISM
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
BRAC Commission Wraps Up
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualty — Story

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
1535 - Pope Paul II excommunicates King Henry VIII of England.
1842 - Congress authorizes the U.S. Naval Observatory.
1864 - Battle of Jonesborough (Atlanta campaign).
1886 - Charleston, SC, is the site of the first major earthquake recorded in the eastern U.S.
1887 - Thomas A. Edison patents the Kinetoscope (produces moving pictures).
1907 - England, Russia and France form the Triple Entente.
1919 - In Chicago, the Communist Labor Party of America is formed; the Ukranian Army kills 35 members of a Jewish defense group.
1935 - FDR signs an act prohibiting the export of U.S. arms to "belligerents."
1954 - The U.S. Census Bureau is established; Hurricane Carol (the first major named storm) hits New England, killing 70.
1955 - Lufkin, TX sees the first microwave TV station; Chicago, IL sees a demo of the first solar-powered automobile.
1962 - Trinidad and Tobago gain independence from Britain.
1965 - Congress establishes the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
1971 - Dave Scott becomes the first person to drive a car on the Moon.
1978 - Symbionese Liberation Army founders William and Emily Harris plead guilty to the 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst.
1979 - The Howard-Koomur-Michels comet collides with the Sun; Donald McHenry is named to succeed Andrew Young as ambassador to the U.N.
1980 - Poland's Solidarity labor union is founded.
1985 - Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, is captured in East Los Angeles.
1988 - A 5-day power blackout of downtown Seattle begins.

Birthdays
0012 - Caligula (Gaius Caesar), third Roman emperor (37-41 AD)
1907 - Ramon Magsaysay, statesman (U.S. Legion of Merit-1952)
1916 - Daniel Schorr, broadcast journalist (CBS)
1928 - James Coburn, actor (Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape)
1931 - Dan Rather news anchor (CBS-TV)
1935 - Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther turned Republican
1945 - Leonid I. Popov, cosmonaut (Soyuz 35, 40, T-7)
1977 - Paul Garber, helped establish Washington, DC's Air and Space Museum.

Passings
1057 - Leofric, husband of Lady Godiva
1879 - William Barber, 6th U.S. chief engraver (1844-79)
1888 - Mary Ann Nicholls, prostitute, first of at least five murders by Jack the Ripper

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Carey, David J., USN (PA); A4E shot down (pilot, wingman to Stafford - on his first operational mission), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive and well as of 1998

Perry, Richard C., USN (NV); A4E shot down (pilot, section leader to Stafford and Carey), remains returned November, 1986

Stafford, Hugh A., USN (MD); A4E shot down (pilot), released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

1968
Bartocci, John E., USN (NY); F8H crashed during a night-time carrier landing (pilot)