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Tuesday, October 18, 2005

The Passing of a Hero


SlagleRock points out that some of us in the MilBlog community failed to note the passing of a hero - the first Blue Angel, Retired Navy Capt. Roy "Butch" Voris. It is an omission that for my part I really need to correct.

Voris was hand-picked by Admiral Chester Nimitz to organize the elite flight demonstration team. He followed his career as a pilot with work that, among other things, included helping to develop the F-14.

He passed away last Wednesday at his home in Monterey, CA, at the age of 86.

You can read more about Capt. Voris here.


Godspeed to this Hero, and our condolences to his family and loved ones.

Private planes fly back to National
10/18/05 10:59 AM, EDT
Private aviation returned to Reagan Washington National Airport Tuesday, more than four years after restrictions were imposed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
FULL STORY - from CNN.com

Community joins Marines for good clean dirty fun

from Marine Corps News


More than 1,500 participants are expected to show for the 7th Annual Marine Mud Run at Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The 10K (6.3 mile) course will be loaded with tons of mud and more than 30 challenging obstacles to overcome. The event serves as the kick-off for the 2005 Dallas/Fort Worth Toys for Tots campaign, an annual tradition in the Metroplex that has grown tremendously in recent years. Funds raised from the charity Mud Run are to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina through the Toys For Tots program and a portion will be distributed to the Dallas and Tarrant County Young Marines Program.
Photo by: USN Photo by PHC(AW/SW) Eric A. Clement


Story by Lance Cpl. Jason D. Laseter

NAVAL AIR STATION-JOINT RESERVE BASE FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 15, 2005) -- Over 1,600 participants and 2,000 spectators gathered on the Marine Aircraft Group-41 flight line Saturday for the 6th annual MAG-41 Mud Run at Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas.

“The Marine Mud Run is really becoming an annual tradition in Fort Worth,” said Maj. Paul Courtaway, Mud Run event director and Marine Reservist. “This is probably one of the few times that people can actually roll in the mud and do something good for the community at the same time.”

Participants had to slog through the 10K (6.3 mile) course, tons of mud and more than 30 obstacles.

“We like mud and we like running and it just seemed great to combine the two,” said Ellie Slack, member of the all-female team “Dirty Darlings.” “Instead of walking through the mud, if it was deep enough, we swam.”

Obstacles along the way included a cargo net, a wall, a 25-foot “stairway to heaven” ladder, tunnels, and several pits and pools all filled with muck. The signature obstacle is a pair of 75-foot-tall mud hills with a 4-foot-deep pool of mud between them.

“The tunnel was a little scary, I’m not going to lie, it was fun, but it was scary,” said Haley Heard, a member of a co-ed team from Dallas. “I wasn’t expecting how heavy I was going to be when I got done.”

The event, which is open to anyone, is broken down into different classes, with races for single runners, all-male, all-female, co-ed, corporate, government service, and kids teams. Runners may either compete based on time, or they may choose to just take it easy and have fun.

Though they may race individually, many runners like the motivation and support they get from racing with a team.

The “Dirty Girls,” a junior ROTC team from Stony Point High School in Round Rock, Texas, ran for the motivation.

“As a team the obstacles were great,” said Micki Eubanks, “but if you’re doing them by yourself, for us short folk the wall would have been one of the most difficult.”

The event drew runners from all branches of the military as well as police and firefighter units, college students, athletes, and participants from all over the surrounding community.

Mark Lippa, and his team, “SRT,” a tactical unit with the Department of Homeland Security--Immigration and Customs Enforcement, came out for the camaraderie and do a little "team building," he said.

Some race for the exercise, some for the experience, and some just to get dirty and have fun.

“It was a lot harder than I imagined,” said Lydia Prodanovich, a runner from Dallas. "But it was fun, it was challenging.”

The event began at 8 a.m. with the national anthem and a performance by the Marine Forces Reserve Marching Band, recently displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and ended with a trophy ceremony recognizing 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in the following categories: Individual Male/Female, Co-ed, Government Services (Firefighters, Police, Game Warden) and Corporate Team.

Following the main event was a post-race celebration, sponsored by Miller Lite, featuring the local Fort Worth band Latin Express.

The event serves as the kick-off for the 2005 Dallas/Fort Worth Toys for Tots campaign. Funds raised from the charity Mud Run are to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina through the Toys For Tots program and a portion will be distributed to the Dallas and Tarrant County Young Marines Program
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Members of the 818th Contingency Response Group-Element, McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and the 437th Airlift Wing, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., offload airfield operations equipment. Airmen from the units arrived here Oct. 12. (U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Erick Saks)

What Happens When a Drill Sergeant Takes the Field

from the U.S. Army Website:

The Montour High School football team has had a rough few years with last year's season 1-8 record. This year, with the help of NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus and Army Drill Sergeant Alex Self, the hopes are to build the team and its players into a real success on and off the field. Drill Sergeant Self will be focusing on making the team both physically and mentally tough. He'll work on conditioning with Army Physical Training (PT) drills and help them mentally by using the tools the Army has taught him throughout his military career.

You can watch the show tonight, and following Tuesday nights, at 10pm on ESPN

Click here for more on Drill Sergeant Alex Self
Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Division, stay in shape playing basketball following their unit physical fitness training, at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, in Africa, where they are stationed for six months. Photo by Stacy Pearsall.

In Today's News - Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Quote of the Day
"Courage and resolution are the spirit and soul of virtue."
-- Thomas Fuller

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraqis Go Over Ballots
First Saddam Trial to Begin Wednesday
Saddam heads to Iraq court, two years after capture
Saddam Trial: Few Knew About 1982 Massacre
Allawi, Other Centrists Announce Coalition

Operation Enduring Freedom
Coalition Forces Kill 4 Afghan Policemen

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Venezuela Citizens Train to Fight U.S.
Bush: Muslim leaders should denounce terror

Hurricane Season
Wilma Stalls Over Caribbean
Wilma set to become intense hurricane
FEMA Memos Show Bureaucratic Chaos

Pakistan Earthquake
Pakistan Aid Flights Resume
Pakistan quake relief accelerates, problems remain
Feared toll from earthquake hits as high as 100,000
Kashmiris question Pakistan's response to quake

Supreme Court
Miers Mum on Abortion
Miers Meets With Senate Leaders on Hill
Video: What About Miers?

Politics
Key CIA leak detail disputed as announcement nears
DeLay Turns Down Deal

U.N. News
Global Violence Has Decreased, U.N. Says
U.N. Considers Extending Hariri Probe

News from My Neck of the Woods
Mass. Town Evacuates as Dam Threatens to Burst
Charles Rocket commits suicide

Sports News
Pujols Keeps Cardinals Alive

News of the Weird
Policemen steal ambassador's phone
Half-century in mental asylum a mistake..

Other News of Note
Britain to rethink its role in human space travel
Krakow Gets First Rabbi Since Holocaust
Last Australian WWI Veteran Dies at 106
Nazi war criminal, 91, hunted in Europe
Somali Ex-Militia Chief Arrested in Sweden
New Center-Left Norway Gov't Takes Office

Fox News
Producer Prices See Biggest Increase in 15 Years
Mudslides, Blackouts in Calif.
EU: Bird Flu a Global Threat
Truck Driver in Wisc. Crash Had Suspended License
U.S. Murder Rate Hits Low
Officials Investigating Brain-Wasting Disease in Idaho
Dutch Cops Bust Bikers
Mayor: I Couldn't Stop Nazis
Could Be Anyone (Pamela Vitale murder)
Video: Murder Mystery

Reuters: Top News
Groups sue California over minors video game ban
Antarctic ice melts as sea warms but cause unknown

AP World News
Civilians Killed in Clashes, Sudan Says
Shooting Again Breaks Out in Russian Town
China Cancels Foreign Minister Japan Trip
Israel Restricts Palestinian Travel
Dutch Police Arrest 45 Hell's Angels

The Seattle Times
Climate change means big changes in Sound
N.Y. Times' story on Miller draws questions and criticism
Supreme Court doesn't bar inmate's abortion
Guardsman's sons to travel from Cuba
FBI investigates theft of ceremonial tomahawk
Iraq election commission checking ballots
Health officials trying to get to bottom of Idaho Creutzfeldt-Jakob cases
Many abroad would love U.S. gas prices
100-day-old panda gets a name at last
Wives literally sick of their spouses in Japan

Boston Globe: World
Warlord lays claim to assault in Russia
EU lifts freeze on aid for Haiti development
WHO warns bird flu will spread, says key threat is in Asia
Azerbaijani opposition leader held
Israel moves to tighten West Bank control
US puts $10m bounty on Indonesian suspect
Chinese celebrate the return of second manned space flight
Palestinians discuss arms with Lebanese

Military.com
Rumsfeld Arrives in China
Invaders Threaten Military Readiness
(Wildlife causes problems on military bases)
Grandmothers Arrested at Iraq War Protest
Two U.S. Marines Killed in Western Iraq
Days-Long Dig Yields Thousands of Munitions
Military Continues Daunting Task Recovering Remains
Former Sailor Gets 10 Years For Role in Beating Death
No Tears for Saddam in Iraq
Mugabe Calls Bush, Blair 'Terrorists'
China's Secretive Military
Navy Proposes a Combat Force

CENTCOM: News Release
U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AIR FORCES SUPPORT PAKISTAN AID
MARINES DESTROY TERRORIST CAVE COMPLEX
CFC-A CONTINUES PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORTS
CITIZEN'S TIP HELPS SOLDIERS FIND TERRORIST WEAPONS CACHE
KARABILAH TERRORIST SAFE HOUSE RAIDED
AN ESTIMATED 70 TERRORISTS KILLED NEAR RAMADI
SOLDIERS, MARINES DISCOVER WEAPONS CACHES FOLLOWING IRAQI TIP

Department of Defense
Rumsfeld in China for Security Talks — Story
Pace Salutes Troops at Italian-American Event — Story
Banquet Honors Guard, Reserve Employers — Story
Defense Award Salutes Guard, Reserve Employers
Al Qaeda Leader's Letter Questions Tactics — Story

ON THE GROUND
10th Mountain Soldiers Witness Historic Vote — Story
Paratroopers Aid Election Security in Tall Afar — Story

IN IRAQ
Civil Affairs Team Assesses Kirkuk's Present, Past
Mobile Trauma Team Provides Critical Care
Texas Guard Troops Maintain Combat Edge Photos
Iraqi Police, U.S. Troops Trap Terror Suspects Photos

FACE OF DEFENSE
Georgia Native Proud to Serve Third Tour in Iraq — Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Fisher House Distributes Tickets — Story

TOP NEWS
SPECIAL REPORTS
Hurricane Coverage
Iraq Transition of Power

IRAQ
Mosul Police Stations Rebuild
Bush Congratulates Iraqis on Voting
Millions of Iraqis Cast Ballots
Iraqis Win, No Matter Results
U.S. Marine Dies in Attack
Rice Topic: Iraq in Terror War
U.S. Still on Offensive After Vote
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Iraq Daily Update
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
Iraq Progress Fact Sheet (pdf)
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

AFGHANISTAN
Army Reservists Help Rebuild
Coalition Remains Strong
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Mini-plane Aids Intel Collection
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Defense Officials Identify Casualties — 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

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1016 - The Danes defeat the Saxons at the Battle of Assandun.
1648 - The Boston Shoemakers become the first U.S. labor organization.
1685 - Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes, and outlaws Protestantism.
1748 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of Austrian Succession.
1767 - The Mason-Dixon line, the boundary between MD and PA, is agreed upon.
1776 - Colonel John Glover and the Marblehead Regiment meet the British Forces in the Bronx, NY; in a NY bar decorated with a bird tail, a customer first orders a "cock tail."
1862 - Morgan's Raiders capture the federal garrison at Lexington, KY.
1867 - The U.S. takes formal possession of Alaska from Russia (cost was $7.2 million).
1873 - Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale set rules for collegiate football.
1898 - The American flag is raised over Puerto Rico.
1908 - Belgium annexes the Congo Free State.
1909 - Comte de Lambert of France sets an airplane altitude record of 300 m.
1912 - The First Balkan War begins; the Italo-Turkish was ends.
1922 - The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is established.
1944 - Soviet troops invade Czechoslovakia.
1953 - Willie Thrower becomes the first black NFL quarterback in modern times.
1954 - Hurricane Hazel (the third of that year) becomes the most severe to hit the U.S.
1962 - The U.S. launches Ranger-5 for lunar impact; it misses the Moon; Dr.'s Watson (US), Crick (Britain), and Wilkins (Britain) win the Nobel Prize for their work in determining DNA structure.
1967 - The Soviet Venera-4 becomes the first probe to send data back from Venus; Walt Disney's "Jungle Book" is released.
1968 - The U.S. Olympic Committee suspends Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving the "black power" salute as a protest during a victory ceremony.
1969 - The Federal government bans the use of cyclamates (artificial sweeteners); Soyuz-8 returns to Earth.
1973 - Congress authorizes the bicentennial quarter, half-dollar, and dollar coins.
1984 - The Space Shuttle Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of the STS 51A mission.
1988 - Israel's supreme court upholds the ban on Kahane's Kach Party as racist.
1989 - The U.S.' 62nd manned space mission (STS-34; Atlantis 5) launches into orbit.

Birthdays
1859 - Henri Bergson, French philosopher (Creative Evolution-Nobel 1927)
1893 - Sir Sidney, PM of New Zealand (1949-57)
1919 - Pierre Elliot Trudeau, 15th Canadian PM (1968-79, 1980-84)
1921 - Jesse Helms (Sen-NC)
1922 - Little Orphan Annie, comic strip character
1926 - Chuck Berry, rocker (Roll over Beethoven); George C. Scott, actor (Patton, Bible, Taps, Hardcore)
1927 - Katherine Fanning , editor (Christian Science Monitor-1983)
1928 - Keith Jackson, sportscaster (ABC Monday Night Football)
1930 - Frank Carlucci, National Security Advisor / Secretary of Defense (1987-89)
1939 - Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK assassin; Mike Ditka, coach / tight-end (Bears, Cowboys)
1956 - Martina Navratilova, tennis great (Wimbledon 1989,79,82-87)
1958 - Jean-Claude Van Damme, actor (Kickboxer, No Retreat)
1960 - Emily Arth, Playboy playmate (Jun, 1988)
1961 - Wynton Marsalis, jazz trumpeter (Grammy 1983)
1966 - Angela Visser, Miss Universe (1989)

Passings
1676
- Nathaniel Bacon, rebelled against the Jamestown government, collapsed and died during rebellion
1862 - James Creighton, from bladder ruptured while hitting HR on Oct 14th
1876 - Francis Preston Blair, newspaper editor (Washington Globe)
1931 - Thomas Alva Edison, inventor, at 84
1982 - Bess Truman, former First Lady, at 97
1984 - Jon-Erik Hexum actor, at 26; shot by a gun loaded with blanks

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Hamilton, Walter D.; escaped October, 1965

Brudno, Edward A., USAF (MA); F4C shot down (w/Collins), released by DRV February, 1973 - committed suicide

Collins, Thomas E., III, USAF (MS); F4C shot down (pilot, w/Brudno), released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel, decorastions include 2 Silver Stars, Merit Service Medal, Bronze Star, 2 Purple Hearts and eight other medals, was Republican nominee for Congress in 1988 from Mississippi, served as Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor under G.H.W. Bush - alive and well as of 1998

North, Joseph, Jr., USMC; escaped October, 1965

Pyles, Harley Boyd, USAF (OH); O1E crashed (pilot, w/Sisson)

Sisson, Winfield Wade, USMC (CA); O1E crashed (passenger, w/Pyles)

Thorne, Larry A., US Army SF (CT); CH34 shot down (passenger)

1966
Adams, Steven H., USAF (IA); HU16 disappeared while on mission to rescue downed pilot (pararescue)

Angstadt, Ralph Harold, USAF (PA); HU16 disappeared while on mission to rescue downed pilot (pilot)

Clark, Lawrence, USAF (IN); HU16 disappeared while on mission to rescue downed pilot (radio operator)

Hill, Robert L., USAF (MI); HU16 disappeared while on mission to rescue downed pilot (flight mechanic)

Long, John H., USAF (PA); HU16 disappeared while on mission to rescue downed pilot (co-pilot)

Rackley, Inzar M., USAF (TX); HU16 disappeared while on mission to rescue downed pilot (navigator)

Shoneck, John R., USAF (CT); HU16 disappeared while on mission to rescue downed pilot (flight mechanic)

1967
Barr, John F., USN (AR); A4E shot down (pilot), remains returned in two phases, April, 1988 and September, 1989

Ogden, Howard, Jr., USMC (NE); KIA, body not recovered

1970
Strait, Douglas F., US Army (WA); OH6A shot down (observer)

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