Obama-mania is in full swing, and between catching up on reading and trying to decipher the real from the fiction, my head is virtually swimming.
Frankly, I don’t give a whit if the Senator visited the wounded troops in Germany as in my mind it is his loss not theirs.
There is nothing [...]

Andrea Mitchell interviews General Petraeus.
The General wastes no time in making his positions crystal clear..now only if the media would listen.

While the Democrats attempt to jockey for position to take credit for us “winning” in Iraq, (we all know it had to be that pressure they put on the President), their steady drumbeat [...]

Senator Lieberman, much like President Bush is a man I admire for his courage to follow his convictions even in the face of abandonment of his party.
Once again the Senator delivers remarks to Generals Petraeus and Odierno which only serve to reinforce my feeling toward him as an American first, Senator second:

The Senator’s remarks coupled [...]

Berkeley has not redeemed themselves but then neither has Congress.
From Senator DeMint:
February 13th, 2008 - Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) made the following statement in response to the decision by the City Council of Berkeley, California not to apologize to the Marine Corps and their families and reaffirming their support for [...]

Shame on any city in this country who would not allow our Military to film a recruiting ad in their midst.
Via Gateway Pundit:
Here is the latest US Marine recruiting ad.
San Francisco officials refused to allow the US Marines to film in their city for this ad.

What a stunning tour of our beautiful country incorporated with [...]

A must read “Letter to the Candidates” from Sgt. Hook.
HT:Lone Wolf at Blackfive where he writes:
Sgt. Hook has a Letter to the Candidates that should go to every politician, not just those running. It is well worth reading, and well worth sharing. It also echoes a message that I was asked to send by multiple [...]

Courtesy of Soldiers Angels Germany, comes this compelling video.

Dramatic and moving images of US Army Paratroopers and Afghan Army soldiers being evacuated after a November 2007 ambush near Forward Operating Base Bella, home of Chosen Company, 2-503rd PIR, 173rd ABCT in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan.
The troops were on their way back from a meeting [...]

Josh Groban has become a star in the music business and it is not any wonder why. He has a beautiful, smooth voice which does every song he sings justice.
As much as this particular song reduces me to tears no matter when I hear it, I thought this particular rendition and the accompanying [...]

In case you haven’t had the opportunity to see the Freedoms Watch Ad, Holiday Thank You To Our Troops I have posted it below.

If you would like to send along a holiday greeting to those far away from home, the organization has made it possible here.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace had his say before he left the spotlight today.
In a parting shot to Bush administration opponents and antiwar protesters, newly retired Marine Gen. Peter Pace on Monday scolded Americans who use the war debate to try to debase the efforts of military leaders [...]

From Patterico’s Pontifications is the following quote from a returning Marine chaplain:
“As we came in for the final approach to Oakland a Lieutenant who served in Afghanistan with the same unit in 2006 mentioned how when they landed in Oakland they were not allowed in the terminal. He said, “they made us get out by [...]

Folks, I hope you will bear with me as this post will be lengthy. There was sad news at Blackfive late yesterday afternoon:
A respected member of the blogging community who also happened to be serving our nation was killed in Iraq Wednesday.
There was a piece published by this young man in February at the [...]

Speaks for itself.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to advise President Bush to reduce the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half, potentially creating a rift with top White House officials and other military commanders over the course of the war.
Administration and military officials say Marine Gen. Peter [...]

Speaks for itself.
U.S. troops in Iraq will receive at least 1,000 fewer special armored vehicles than expected this year due to the amount of time needed for shipment, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the Defense Department expected defense contractors to produce 3,900 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles this year. [...]

The Pentagon will fall far short of its goal of sending 3,500 lifesaving armored vehicles to Iraq by the end of the year. Instead, officials expect to send about 1,500.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Wednesday that while defense officials still believe contractors will build about 3,900 of the mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicles by year’s end, [...]

I wonder if his parents think that it’s all show. If there is a God in heaven, Kensinger and everyone that participated in this dishonoring of a fallen soldier, would at the very least be sent to prison.
The Army censured a retired three-star general Tuesday for a “perfect storm of mistakes, misjudgments and a failure [...]

Are you kidding me? This has got to be wrong.
Well people, if you want something outrageous to comment on, this story is it.
Twenty soldiers deployed to Iraq from this Army base were killed in May, a monthly high. That same month, the base announced a change in how it would honor its dead: instead of [...]

We had a very full week-end with our son, daughter in law and two wonderful grandchildren in Texas. The weather didn’t get unbearably hot and humid until Sunday and when we left Monday it was supposed to get to 104. At 8 AM CDT it already felt as though it were 90 degrees [...]

I received an email from my friend and former partner at HRP, COgirl, who has asked me to help get out the word to our readers to see if you will send some money over to Operation A/C.
If you saw the post yesterday about Michael Yon’s latest report you saw that it is extremely hot [...]

Taps
Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.
Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.
Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night [...]

PFC Joseph Anzack, Jr.
The US Military identified the remains of the US Soldier found in the Euphrates River as PFC Joseph Anzack, Jr.
The military confirmed Thursday that the body found a day earlier in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad was that of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., who had been missing since militants ambushed [...]

Instead of doing the Constitutional thing and voting to defund the war Congress has decided to let our soldiers die by a thousand cuts.
The Democrats still want to tie supplemental funding to withdrawal dates while knowing the president will veto it. This time we have waivable timelines, whatever their definition of “waivable” is.
We are [...]

President Bush said today he accepts the idea of including benchmarks for progress in Iraq as part of an emergency war spending bill, but he rejected what he called a “piecemeal” funding approach now under consideration in the House and vowed to veto it if it reaches his desk.
In a news conference at the Pentagon [...]

This just might be the straw that breaks the Iraqi camel’s back.
Congress may be divided on whether to keep U.S. troops in Iraq, but there is one area where lawmakers are finding common ground: They are furious that Iraqi politicians are considering a lengthy break this summer.
“If they go off on vacation for [...]

This afternoon Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid had a signing ceremony of their own on the Supplemental War spending bill. With great fanfare Speaker Pelosi signed the bill she has been pushing for several weeks.
It has been reported Speaker Pelosi needed to read the bill and understand it thoroughly in order to sign this [...]

Nine American military personnel were killed in a car bombing in Diyala province in Iraq.
BAGHDAD — A homicide car bomber struck a patrol base northeast of Baghdad on Monday, killing nine U.S. soldiers and wounding 20 in one of the deadliest attacks on American ground forces since the war started more than four [...]

I will make no comment but instead send you to the link with the email from Marine Corporal Tyler Rock.
Today, from Corporal Tyler Rock in an outpost in downtown Ramadi. His first sentence is in response to an email from me:
“yeah i know how you feel. its going to be very weird leaving [...]

As Congress continues its’ preening and posturing, General Petraeus forwards the following letter:
Letter From Gen. Petraeus to Families of Deployed Soldiers
Apr 16, 2007
BY Gen. David H. Petraeus
Gen. David H. Petraeus, MNF-I commander Photo by Army
The following is a letter to families of Soldiers serving in Multinational Force-Iraq from Gen. David H. Petraeus, MNF-I [...]

No matter what your political allegiances, please read this:
April 11, 2007
Honorable Robert C. Byrd
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Room S-131 Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510-6025
Dear Mr. Chairman:
At recent hearings before the Congress, the latest on March 29 before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, General Pace and I have been asked about the impact that delaying enactment of the [...]

I received this in my email a few minutes ago from Caleb, who wrote a post about Gen. Petraeus the other day, and I am posting it in its entirety.
From Ramadi, Iraq
I wanted to share an article my son Eddie sent me from Iraq. I was not going to send it out through [...]