OK, let's see how well you know the thinking of some military commanders.

You're an American commander in Iraq. In a sea of negative media coverage of the current war, one independent journalist covers the troops' efforts with consistent respect for them and their efforts. Sure, he is occasionally critical of things that stymie the troops ability to operate, and covers things that aren't pleasant, like wounded and fallen Heroes, but he does it all with a keen eye, respect for OPSEC concerns, and compassion for families who may not have heard the news yet. He's a darned good journalist, and has repeatedly won the respect of the troops he's embedded with, and of folks on both sides of the issue. So when he's on his second trip to Iraq, when media coverage and the shrill choruses of the politicians are getting more and more negative, when the public could really stand to hear about what is actually going on in Iraq, what are Heroes are doing over there, do you....

A) Assist him in doing his job - after all, if you've finally got a journalist who really wants to tell the truth, why not help him? Make sure that he has the resources to get the word out, so the American people know why what their troops are doing is so important, and why they are worthy of respect and support.

B) Instruct your Public Affairs folks to assist him - this fits right in with their efforts to counteract all of the smear going on in the press. Sure, you'll need to work out some details and make sure rules and expectations are clarified, but this is a great way to get the word out.

C) Threaten to kick him out. Who needs honest journalism anyway?



To see how you did, visit Michael Yon's newest post - RUBS

Labels: media coverage, Michael Yon

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Insurgents Who Killed Five GIs in Brazen Karbala Attack Captured
Man Tied to Al-Sadr Held in Ambush on GIs
U.N. Chief Dodges Iraq Rocket Blast - VIDEO
Michigan Rep Says Baghdad 'Safe' as Detroit
Democrats press deadline for Iraq pullout - Video
U.S. Captures Shiite Insurgent Leaders

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Brits Nab 3 for '05 Transit Bombings
Israel's Peres says wouldn't have entered Lebanon war
Somali gov't names Qaeda leader as fighting rages - Video
Palestinian child killed in Fatah-Hamas clash
WTC staircase debate threatens schedules
In video, al-Qaida urges unification

Troops on Trial
Sex Assault Reports Rise in Military

Fallen Heroes
Body Found in Boston Harbor is That of Missing Navy Officer

Other Military News
Despite strains, U.S. could fight a third war: Gates

Religion of Peace??
Bearhugs in Riyadh as EU diplomacy gathers pace

Worldwide Wackos
Iran sanctions resolution due for a vote Saturday
North Korea nuclear talks break down

Politics / Government
No Compromise on Rove
Reid demands top Bush aide testify under oath - VIDEO
Creator of Anti-Hillary Clinton YouTube Ad is Ex-Employee of Firm Linked to Obama Campaign (Is anybody surprised here?)
Elizabeth Edwards' Cancer Returns, John Edwards Campaign to Continue (Here's hoping that she has the best outcome possible.)
White House aides face more potential subpoenas - Video
Bush promotes peace process as Rice heads to Mideast

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Cricket Coach Strangled After Loss - Jamaican police say there are no suspects yet
Was Houdini Murdered?
Cops Break Alleged Abduction Ring
NYC Man Receives 240-Year Sentence for Taking Bar Patrons Hostage in Hate Crime
Teacher Accused of Affair With Student Who Was Shot to Death Attempts Suicide
Pennsylvania Man Convicted of 971 Sex Crimes for Abusing Girl for a Decade
Lawsuit: Couple Claims Fertility Clinic Used Wrong Sperm
Pennsylvania Family Charged with Treating Captive Woman as Their 'Slave'
Cops: Man Filmed Female Roommates in Shower With Camera Hidden in Shampoo Bottle
Off-Duty Chicago Police Officer Accused of Beating Up Female Bartender
'Love Triangle' Astronaut Pleads Not Guilty
Justice Not Blind: Looks Play Part in Verdicts
Texas Women Admit Kidnapping Hoax
Cardinals' Tony LaRussa Arrested for DUI
Report: All Duke Rape Charges to Be Dropped
Cops: Dad, Son Took Turns Molesting Ga. Boy

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
NBC, News Corp. Working on YouTube Rival
Viacom sued over YouTube parody removal
U.S. judge blocks 1998 online porn law

Science / Medicine / Technology
Cosmetic surgery rates up, breasts most popular
Breast cancer radiotherapy gentler on the heart
Primordial rocks show early Earth as dynamic place
Food fight: Cheese bacteria fight off viral attacks
Global tuberculosis rates level off
Man who had 3 hearts leaves Pa. hospital

Mother Nature
Tiny rare owl spotted in Peru reserve

Oddities
Reality Check: 'American Idol' Fan on Hunger Strike Until Sanjaya Gets the Ax
God-fearing villagers snub "satanic" bar codes
Another cop show called "Monk"?

Fox News
Pop Tarts: Did Tom Curb Katie’s Shopping Freedom?
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Likely Guests at Cannes
Letterman Regular Calvert DeForest, aka Larry 'Bud' Melman, Dead at 85
China's New Adoption Laws Will Affect Many Waiting Parents in U.S.
Anna Nicole Autopsy to Be Released Monday

Reuters: Top News
Deadly TB strain seen in Africa now in rich nations
Italian government under fire over hostage deal
Officials downplay wider risks of subprime failures
Google building software, not cell phone: analyst
Sierra Leone draws Americans seeking slave roots - Video
British court halts leaks of Britney rehab details - Video
Oil surges 4 percent as U.S. gasoline stocks tighten
Stocks end flat as Fed stance questioned
Dollar rallies on view that rates are on hold
Palm shares fall as buyout hopes fade, earnings loom
New York & Co. outlook disappoints, shares drop
Would Fed offer U.S. banks rate relief?
Fed tone signals dollar down but not out
Trend Micro sees U.S. market share gains
Blackstone Group files for $4 billion IPO
Nike profit up but U.S. and margins disappoint
Avery says to buy Paxar for $1.3 billion
Oracle sues rival SAP, charges "corporate theft"
Control of advertiser at stake in Media vs Google
Wal-Mart pays bonuses to hourly store workers

AP World News
Chef Wolfgang Puck bans foie gras
Kobe tops 50 for the 3rd straight game
Streaking Memphis 1 win from Final Four
Fla. judge issues warrant for Foxy Brown
Blackstone unveils plans to go public
Jayhawks escape against scrappy Salukis
Tubby Smith bolts Kentucky for Minnesota
Papelbon heading back to Red Sox bullpen
Dina Lohan: Don't call me a 'party mom'
Stocks end mixed as investors await data
Study: Seniors prefer to exercise alone
Jobs help prop up economy, data show

Military.com
DT: Air Force Budget Challenge
Blog: Gary Trudeau's 'The Sandbox'
Military.com Career Fairs Coming Soon
Opinion: Troops Need More Than Prayers
Prepare for the ASVAB
Find Your Old Military Buddies
Women at War

USJFCOM
"Jointness matters" -- USJFCOM commander speaks before Senate Armed Services Committee - podcast
Marine Corps commandant visits U.S. Joint Forces Command - podcast
USJFCOM signs cooperative research and development agreement with Alion - podcast
More about cooperative research and development agreements

DefenseLink
Peace in Middle East Necessary for U.S. Security- Story
Gates: Situation in Iraq Dynamic, Changing - Story
Gates: Delayed Funding Will Hurt Army Readiness - Story
Medal of Honor Heroes Set the Standard - Story
Chinese Leaders Welcome Pace to Beijing - Story
Photos: Chairman Visits Beijing
Reconstruction Efforts Proceeding in Iraq - Story

More Headline News
Deployed Marine Units Extended on Okinawa
Iraqi Policemen are Working Independently
Retirement Care ‘First, Foremost’ Concern
Najaf Factory to Make Garments for Retailers

Military News
Future SEALs Get Lesson in Northern Exposure
Army Launches Wounded Warrior Hotline
Sailors, Marines Honor Iwo Jima Veterans

War on Terror
Troops, Tribal Leaders Tamp Down Violence in Baghdad - Story
Eight Suspects Captured
Two Soldiers, Marine Killed
Troops Detain Scores of Suspects

America Supports You
Mile-Long Yellow Ribbon - Story
Gifts Boost Troops’ Morale
Groups Help with College Plans
Multi-Million-Dollar Donation

Transformation
Globemaster Delivers Supplies - Story
Soldiers Bring Chow to Outpost
Soldiers Armor Up Vehicles
Command Welcomes C-130J

Face of Defense
Marine Balances Career, Life - Story
Injured Soldier Inspires Troops
Pilot Closes Military Chapter
Bulldozer Operator Provides Security

DefendAmerica
Changing Attitudes Bolster Renewed Multidimensional Effort - Story
Ambassador Daniel Speckhard bio
Transcript: Roundtable (pdf)
Bloggers' Roundtable Web Site

NEWS UPDATES
Bush: Peace in Middle East Necessary for U.S. Security - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Engineer Battalion Clears Routes, Saves Lives - Story
Med Evac Flies First Non-stop to Germany - Story
Afghan, U.S. Troops Discuss Future with Elders - Story
C-17 Missions Play Vital Role in War on Terror - Story
Well-drilling Team Helps Save Girl’s Arm, Life - Story

IN IRAQ
Iraqi Soldiers Take Lead on Riyadh Mission
Engineers Help Iraqis Hone Construction Skills
Investigative Techniques Counter Terrorists
Iraqi Army Move Marks First Steps in Transition
Support Soldiers Bring Hot Chow to Outpost

IN AFGHANISTAN
Soldiers Transform Quarters into Aid Station
Coalition Forces Conduct, Supervise Training

IN DJIBOUTI
Sailors Help Feed Babies at Djibouti Orphanage
Local Contractors Improve School Buildings

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
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report
'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: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

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

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Today in History
1026 - Koenraad II crowns himself king of Italy
1066 - 18th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1153 - Treaty of Konstanz between Frederik I "Barbarossa" & Pope Eugene III
1568 - Treaty of Longjumeau: French huguenots go on strike
1579 - Friesland joins Union of Utrecht
1593 - English Congressionalist Henry Barrow accused of slander
1630 - French troops occupy Pinerolo Piedmont
1657 - France & England form alliance against Spain; England gets Dunkirk
1708 - English pretender to the throne James III lands at Firth of Forth
1775 - Patrick Henry proclaims "Give me liberty or give me death"
1794 - Josiah Pierson patents a "cold-header" (rivet) machine; Lieutenant-General Tadeusz Kosciuszko returns to Poland
1801 - Murder attempt on Czar Paul I
1806 - Lewis & Clark reach Pacific coast
1808 - Napoleon's brother Joseph takes the throne of Spain
1832 - British Parliament passes reform bill
1835 - Charles Darwin reaches Los Arenales, in the Andes
1836 - Coin Press invented by Franklin Beale
1839 - 1st recorded use of "OK" [oll korrect] (Boston's Morning Post)
1840 - Draper takes 1st successful photo of the Moon (daguerrotype)
1849 - Battle of Novara (King Charles Albert vs Italian republic)
1857 - Elisha Otis' 1st elevator installed (488 Broadway, NYC)
1858 - Streetcar patented (Eleazer A Gardner of Philadelphia)
1861 - London's 1st tramcars, designed by Mr. Train of New York, begin operating
1862 - Battle of Kernstown VA-Jackson begins his Valley Campaign
1864 - Encounter at Camden, AR
1865 - General Sherman/Cox' troops reach Goldsboro NC
1867 - Congress passes 2nd Reconstruction Act over President Johnson's veto
1880 - Flour rolling mill patented (John Stevens of Wisconsin)
1881 - Boers & Britain sign peace accord; end 1st Boer war; Gas lamp sets fire to Nice France opera house; 70 die
1889 - President Harrison opens Oklahoma for white colonization
1901 - Dame Nellie Melba, reveals secret of her now famous toast
1903 - Wright brothers obtain airplane patent
1910 - 1st race at Los Angeles Motordrome (1st US auto speedway)
1912 - Dixie Cup invented
1915 - Zion Mule Corp forms
1917 - 4 day series of tornadoes kills 211 in Midwest US
1918 - Crépy-en-Laonnoise: German artillery shells Paris France, 256 killed; Lithuania proclaims independence; Paris bombs "Thick Bertha's Dike" (nickname for the widow Krupp)
1919 - Bashkir ASSR, in RSFSR, constituted; Benito Mussolini forms Fascist movement in Milan, Italy; Moscow's Politburo/Central Committee forms
1920 - Perserikatan Communist of India (PKI) political party forms
1922 - 1st airplane lands at the US Capitol in Washington DC
1923 - Frank Silver & Irving Conn release "Yes, We Have No Bananas"
1925 - Tennessee becomes 1st state to outlaw teaching theory of evolution
1929 - 1st telephone installed in White House
1933 - Enabling Act: German Reichstag grants Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers
1934 - US Congress accepts Philippines independence in 1945
1936 - Italy, Austria & Hungary sign Pact of Rome
1940 - All-India-Muslim League calls for a Muslim homeland
1942 - 2,500 Jews of Lublin massacred or deported; Japanese forces occupy Andaman Islands in Indian Ocean; US move native-born of Japanese ancestry into detention centers
1943 - German counter attack on US lines in Tunisia
1944 - Bomb attack against Southern Tirol congregation in Rome - 33 die; Nicholas Alkemade falls 5,500 meter without a parachute & lives
1945 - British 7th Black Watch crosses the Rhine; Largest operation in Pacific war, 1,500 US Navy ships bomb Okinawa; Prime Minister Winston Churchill visits Montgomery's headquarter in Straelen
1948 - John Cunningham sets world altitude record (54,492' (18,133 meter))
Crawford & Olivia de Havilland win
1950 - Sophocles Venizelos forms liberal Greeks government; UN World Meteorological Organization established
1956 - Pakistan proclaimed an Islamic republic in Commonwealth (National Day); Sudan becomes independent
1957 - US army sells last homing pigeons
1960 - Explorer (8) fails to reach Earth orbit
1962 - JFK visits San Francisco
1964 - UNCTAD 1 world conference opens in Geneva
1965 - Gemini 3 launched, 1st US 2-man space flight (Grissom & Young); Moroccan army shoots on demonstrators, about 100 killed
1966 - 1st official meeting after 400 years of Catholic & Anglican Church
1968 - Reverend Walter Fauntroy, is 1st non-voting congressional delegate from Washington DC
1969 - Rally for Decency (Miami)
1971 - Dutch 2nd Chamber accept simplified divorce
1972 - Evil Knievel breaks 93 bones after successfully clearing 35 cars
1973 - Yoko Ono is granted permanent residence in US
1976 - International Bill of Rights goes into effect (35 nations ratify)
1980 - Shah of Iran arrives in Egypt
1981- Supreme Court rules states could require, with some exceptions, parental notification when teen-age girls sought abortions; Supreme Court upholds law making statutory rape a crime only for men
1982 - Guatemala military coup under General Rios Montt, President Romeo Lucas flees
1983 - US President Ronald Reagan introduces "Star Wars"-plan (SDI)
1987 - US offers military protection to Kuwaiti ships in the Persian Gulf; West Germany SPD chairman Willy Brandt resigns
1989 - 2 Utah scientists claim they have produced fusion at room temperature; Joel Steinberg sentenced to 25 years for killing his adopted daughter
1990 - Former Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood ordered to help clean up Prince William Sound & pay $50,000 in restitution for 1989 oil spill
1991 - 20 Tornadoes kill 5 in Tennessee
1993 - Belgian government of Dehaene, resigns
1994 - Amy Fisher's lover, Joey Buttafuoco, released from jail after 4 months & 9 days; Howard Stern formally announces his Libertarian run for New York Governor; Russian Airbus A-310 crashes in Siberia (74-75 killed)

Birthdays
1699 - John Bartram, naturalist/explorer, father of American botany
1736 - Iman Willem Falck, Dutch Governor of Ceylon (1765-83)
1761 - John W. de Winter, Dutch Vice-Admiral (Battle at Kamperduin)
1818 - Don Carlos Buell, Union Major General
1823 - Schuyler Colfax (R) 17th Vice President (1869-73)
1825 - Edward Lloyd Thomas, Confederate Brigadier General
1854 - Alfred Milner Giessen, British Governor (Cape colony)
1857 - Fannie Farmer, actress (namesake of a candy company)
1858 - Ludwig Quidde, German historian/politician (Nobel prize 1927)
1863 - Godfried C.E. van Daalen, Dutch General/Governor of Atjeh
1881 - Hermann Staudinger, chemist/plastics researcher (Nobel '53)
1883 - Faisal I ibn Hussein ibn Ali, 1st King of Iraq/Syria
1887 - Felix Felixovitch Yussupov, Russian prince/murderer of Rasputin
1898 - Georgios Grivas Greek General/opposition leader on Cyprus
1901 - Jan H. de Groot, Dutch resistance fighter/co-founder (Free Netherlands)
1905 - Ralph Perring Lord Mayor (London)
1907 - Daniel Bovet, pharmacologist (Nobel 1957); Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, politician
1908 - Dominique de Menil arts patron/human rights advocate
1911 - Charles Joseph A. Russhon, USAF Lieutenant Colonel/liaison (James Bond films)
1911 - Denis Wright, diplomat; Edward Warner, diplomat
1912 - Werner von Braun Wirsitz, rocket expert (I Aim at the Stars)
1919 - Michael Lyne British air Vice-marshal
1920 - Neal Smith (Representative-IA)
1928 - 11th duke of Beaufort, English landowner/multi-millionaire; Alfred Morris, British MP
1929 - Albert H. Crews, astronaut
1931 - Norman F. Lent (Representative-NY)
1938 - Christopher Glenn, news anchor (CBS Nightwatch)
1949 - Karen English (Representative-AZ)
1953 - Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, British MP
1956 - Andrew Mitchell, British MP

Passings
1169 - Shirkuh Kurd General/vizier of Cairo/Saladin's uncle
1237 - Jan of Brienne King of Jerusalem/Emperor of Constantinople
1369 - Pedro the Cruel, King/tyrant of Castile & Leon
1555 - Julius III [Giovanni M del Monte], Pope (1550-55), dies at 67
1653 - Johan van Galen, Dutch Admiral (Dunes Monte Christo), dies at about 48
1676 - Paulus Wirtz [Würtz], German/Netherlands army commander, dies at 63
1801 - Paul I, Tsar of Russia (1796-1801), strangled at 46
1862 - Karl Robert von Nesselrode, German chancellor, dies at 81
1902 - Kálmán Tisza, premier of Hungary (1875-90), dies at 71
1907 - Constantine P. Pobedonostsev, Russian reactionary senator, dies at 79
1925 - Aleksei Kuropatkin, Russian General/minister of War, dies at 76
1944 - O.C. Wingate, British General-Major (Burma), dies in air crash
1952 - Klaas Schilder, Dutch vicar/theologist/antifascist, dies at 61
1957 - L. Patrick Abercrombie, English architect, dies at 77
1961 - James Edward Murray (Senator-MT 1935-61); Valentin Vasilyevich Bondarenko, cosmonaut, dies in accident at 24
1962 - Josephus R.H. van Schaik, lawyer/vice-premier of Netherlands, dies at 80
1963 - Davey Moore dies seconds after being KOed in feather-weight championship
1983 - Dr. Barney Clark, 1st artificial heart recipient , dies after 112 days at 62
1985 - Patricia Roberts Harris (Representative-D), dies at 60
1991 - Dominic Bellissimo, created buffalo chicken wings, dies at 68
1994 - Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican Presidential candidate, assassinated at 44

Reported Missing in Action
1961
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their C47 was shot down:
Bailey, Lawrence Robert (NM); passenger, released August, 1962 - alive as of 1998

Bankowski, Alfons A. (CT); flight engineer, KIA - remains ID'd November, 1991

Garside, Frederick T. (MA); assistant flight engineer, KIA, remains ID'd November, 1991

Magee, Ralph Wayne (LA); pilot, KIA - remains ID'd November, 1991

Matteson, Glenn (TX); navigator, KIA, body not recovered

Sampson, Leslie V. (MT); radio operator, KIA - remains ID'd November, 1991

Weitkamp, Edgar Wilken (PA); passenger, KIA, body not recovered

Weston, Oscar B., Jr. (VA); co-pilot, KIA, body not recovered

1966
Clark, Donald E., Jr., USAF (VI); F100F shot down, remains returned by SRV September, 1977

Dawson, Clyde Duane USAF (WI); F100F shot down, remains returned by SRV Septeber, 1977

Hewitt, Samuel Eugene, USMC (IN); disappeared near perimeter wire, presumed Killed

Tapp, John B., USN (KY); A4C disappeared en route to ship, presumed Killed

1968
Franks, Ian J., US Army (NY); OV1C crashed in water, presumed Killed

1969
Davis, Robert C., USAF (NJ); A26A shot down (w/Widdis), remains returned 1994 - 1995

Widdis, James W., USAF (NJ); A26A shot down (w/Davis), remains returned 1994-1995 - ID'd October, 1996

1972
Jackson, James T., USAF (FL); F4D crashed (bombardier/navigator, w/Whitt), Killed, body not recovered

Pike, Dennis S., USN (AZ); A7E disappeared on mission

Whitt, James E., USAF (IL); F4D crashed (pilot, w/Jackson), Killed, body not recovered

1975
Martin, Earl; released from Saigon July, 1975

Labels: Headlines, History