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Monday, June 26, 2006

RADIO REPORT —U.S. Army Capt. Chad Foster, from the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, delivers a situation report over the radio during an Air Assault raid on suspected insurgent sanctuaries in Mushahda, Iraq, June 23, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Larson

What is a Blanket Worth?

If it's a blanket from Soldiers' Angels' Blankets of Hope project, the answer is best given through the following:

Patty I wanted to personally thank you for all you've done for our family!

When my son was injured May 6th you called me and became my lifeline to a link half-way around the world.


your care and compassion for our family was amazing!

Our son flew home to the states then eventually to our home for 30 days. This morning he left for Camp Pendleton or further treatment and return to light duty.

I wanted to share the pictures of the Hero blankets he received along the way in hopes that the wonderful people who made these quilts will see them.

Thank you so very much for your support.

Joy N---------
Mom of Cpl. David L-----, USMC















HOOAH to Soldiers' Angels and especially to the Angels who made these quilts.

To learn how you can help with Blankets of Hope, go here.

A Hero's Tale

Received by Soldiers' Angels from one of our adopted Heroes...

Today marks our units 125th day in Iraq and the days are dwindling fast. The Marines here have been working hard to keep the flight line running and insurgents from planting road side bombs and various other tedious tasks.

I want to share a moment when a Marine from our unit really had a gut check and to tell you how serious road side bombs can be here. A SSgt here, now GySgt; was called to duty one evening for a possible roadside improvised explosive device (IED). The IED found was about 45 minutes drive from our base. Once on site the SSgt was unable to see with the night vision goggles any visible signs of buried munitions past were the unit that had called in the threat had showed our security the location of a presser switch. Approximately 75 to 85 feet away from the pressure switch the SSgt, on his hands and knees started to shuffle his hands slowly back and forth just under and over the top soil along the road. After nearly 60-65 feet the SSgt located the explosives that were buried in a shallow hole, just enough to not be spotted by passing convoys. The SSgt ran his hand the length of the round only to feel that the detonation cord was taped along the length of the round and that there may have possibly be munitions right under the very round he was feeling. After the discovery, the SSgt's team was able to dispose of the ordnance in a proper manner in which they have been trained. Once the ordinance was removed they later found out that if the SSgt had attempted to move the top round at all he would no longer be with us today. His courage that night meant the world to me and to my Marines. In his eyes he is just doing his job, in mine he saved someone's loved ones and or one or more of our own that night.

So when we say thanks for the support me mean it! After a night like this and then receiving packages and letters from the US, our day is brightened for that moment in time. As we all know; our days are numbered but our brother'en will stand in our shoes and carry forth the mission after we are long gone.

Thanks again....
An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron One Nine Five (VFA-195) prepares to land on the flight deck aboard the conventionally-powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).

Anti-War but Pro-Troop?

You've heard my skepticism about the whole "I don't support the war, but I support the troops" line. For the most part, I think it's bunk.

But take a look at how Cher is putting her money where her mouth is as far as supporting the troops in a war she doesn't agree with:

Cher supports effort to modify soldiers' helmets

NEW YORK (AP) - Cher, who opposes the war in Iraq but supports the troops, says using her celebrity to promote effective helmets for U.S. soldiers is rewarding -- and "the right thing to do."

"To be able to use your celebrity for something that you really think is worthwhile is so rewarding," the 60-year-old singer-actress says in an interview that was to air Wednesday night on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" (10 p.m. EDT).

"It just makes you feel like this is the right thing to do. This is the American thing to do," she tells Cooper. Excerpts of the interview were released in advance.


Read the rest here.

HOOAH, Cher - and HOOAH to Operation Helmet (who currently has a backlog of troops awaiting helmet upgrade kits, and could use some help)

Related Links:
Operation Helmet
Press Release


H/T to Tony.

by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

June 23, 2006

Capt. David Best, a platoon leader from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, checks up on his favorite Iraqi family during a foot patrol in Badush, a town to the west of Mosul. "The family has kind of adopted me," he said.

In Today's News - Monday, June 26, 2006

Quote of the Day
"I always considered statesmen to be more expendable than soldiers."
-- Harry Truman

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
A Dubious Assumption (Saddam thinks we'll ask him for advice)
Iraqi Prime Minister Offers Amnesty to Insurgents- Video: Encouraging Dialogue
Iraq insurgents claim to kill 4 Russians
U.S. lawmakers denounce Iraq amnesty plan

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghan President: Taliban Is 'No Match for Our Power'

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Talks, threats over Israeli soldier held in Gaza - Video
Olmert orders military operation in Gaza
Top Sri Lanka general killed in suicide attack - Video
Court ruling could halt Guantanamo trials

Troops on Trial
Trial Shows Another Coast Guard Academy

Other Military News
VA Credit Counseling Promo Halted After ID Thefts
Japan agrees to US deployment of missiles

NSA / CIA
Specter: Agreement Over Wiretap Legislation Near

Worldwide Wackos
South Korea: North 'Volatile'

Homegrown Moonbats
Rep. King: Charge Papers Over Terror Reporting
Rep. King on 'FNS'
Video: Congressman's Call

Politics / Government
Bush should consider direct N. Korea talks: senators
Bush may allow wiretapping review: Specter

Oddities
88-year-old woman loves triathlons

Other News of Note
European Muslims resort to virginity ploys
Northeast Floods Cause Evacuations in Maryland
Video: Storms in Northeast

Fox News
Buffett's Billions
'Unsafe' Work Conditions - One killed in Denver workplace shooting
Moscow Surpasses Tokyo as World's Most Expensive City
U.S. Population to Hit 300 Million Likely This Fall
Stocks to Watch: Walgreen
England, Portugal Advance
FULL CUP COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
East Timor PM quits
Gunman opens fire in Denver Safeway warehouse
Hunter kills first Bavarian bear seen in 170 years
Coming soon -- mind-reading computers
Garcia Marquez hometown rejects name change
Study links pesticides with Parkinson's
Cell phone signals excite brain, study finds
Nicole Kidman weds Keith Urban in Australia
Look, up on movie screens, "Superman Returns"
Pfizer to sell consumer health business for $16.6 bln
Phelps Dodge to acquire Inco, Falconbridge
Mittal heads for Luxembourg to toast Arcelor deal
Hynix shares jump after $1.5 bln stake sale
Saudi Telecom cuts prepaid card, phone call costs
Bollore wants to call Aegis AGM in Sept -report
Stocks to rise, Phelps Dodge eyed on bid report
Nikkei at highest close in 3 weeks, steel gains
Stocks in Fed countdown mode
Australia OneSteel to buy Smorgon
Hynix shares jump after $1.5 billion stake sale
Portfolio ideas
Gerstein: In Wal-Mart's shadow
Too slick for hedge funds

AP World News
Beavers force deciding game against UNC
Study eyes obesity-prostate cancer link
9-man Portugal team staggers past Holland
Gay pride parades held across nation
Yates retrial to test mental illness views
Test may help answer Alzheimer's question
Crazy Horse sculptor's wife runs memorial
`Railroad Killer' faces execution Tues.
Congressman wants island open to hunting
Japanese look to export octopus dumplings

Military.com
New War Demands New Training

Department of Defense
ON THE GROUND
Medics Always On Call, Ready to Provide Aid - Story
Marines Nab Insurgents, Train Iraqi Troops - Story
New Fire Department Opens in Husseniya - Story

IN IRAQ
Marines, Insurgents Clash in Recent Firefights
Airmen Train Soldiers for Protection Mission
Iraqis Take Lead in Northern Baghdad Region

IN AFGHANISTAN
Agriculture Day in Afghan Province Brings Hope
C-130 Crew Evacuates Wounded Afghan Girl
Uruzgan Governor Visits District

IN KUWAIT
'Operation Thin Mint' Delivers Cookies to Troops

BACKGROUND
IRAQ

Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (PDF)
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

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

Today in History
1483 - Richard III seizes the English throne.
1862 - Union troops repel Confederates at the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek.
1917 - The First American Expeditionary Force arrives in France.
1924 - U.S. troops withdraw from the Dominican Republic, after 8 years of occupation.
1940 - The U.S.S.R. ends use of its experimental calendar, and readopts the Gregorian one a day later.
1941 - Finland enters WW II, against Russia.
1945 - Fifty nations sign the UN Charter.
1948 - The U.S. denounces the Soviet blockade of Berlin.
1958 - Vanguard SLV-2 is launched for an Earth orbit; it fails.
1960 - Somalia gains independence from Britain.
1963 - President John F. Kennedy visits West Berlin, making his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.
1968 - The U.S. returns Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands to Japan.
1978 - Brittany separatists bomb France's Palace of Versailles.
1982 - The U.S. vetos a UN Security Council resolution for a limited withdrawal of Israeli and P.L.O. forces from Beirut.
1984 - The first flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery (41-D) isscrubbed at T -4 seconds.


Birthdays
1742 - Arthur Middleton, signer of the Declaration of Independence
1901 - Stuart Symington (Sen-Mo)
1925 - Pavel Belyayev, cosmonaut (Voskhod 2)
1934 - John V. Tunney (Rep/Sen-Calif)
1939 - Charles Robb (Sen-Va)/Lynda Bird Johnson's husband
1964 - Zeng Jinlian Hunan China, tallest woman known (8'1")

Reported Missing in Action
1968
Cornelius, Johnnie C., USAF (AZ); O2A shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Woods, Robert Francis, USAF (UT); O2A shot down, KIA, body not recovered

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