Camp Pendleton Marine Awarded 2nd Bronze Star
1st Sgt. Curtis Rice Awarded Honor For Actions In Afghanistan In July 2009
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- One of the highest honors for valor in combat was presented to a Camp Pendleton Marine during a ceremony at the base on Tuesday.
1st Sgt. Curtis Rice was awarded the medal for his actions on July 27, 2009 in the Uzbin Valley in eastern Afghanistan.
"We were coming back from a village when our patrol was attacked," said Rice.
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Camp Pendleton Marine Awarded 2nd Bronze Star
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Darkhorse Marine to receive Victory motorcycle
L-R: Sgt.Maj. Kent, Lt.Col. Morris, LCpl., Gen. Amos in Sangin, AFG; 12/25/10Home from war, Marine to receive his Victory Motorcycle
By Ann Hamilton
May 24, 2011 - 5:51:49 PM
Blackanthem Military News
VAN NUYS, Califonia - Operation Gratitude today announced that on Sunday, June 5 a Marine infantryman recently returned from Afghanistan will be given the Victory Vegas 8-Ball Motorcycle promised in the organization's milestone 600,000th Care Package assembled in December, 2010.
The milestone package was delivered on Christmas day by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Amos, to a Lance Corporal with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, who at the time was serving a seven-month deployment in the deadly Sangin district of Afghanistan's Helmand province.
The name of the Marine who received the 600,000th care package will be revealed at the event on June 5.
The 3/5, also known as "Dark Horse Battalion," experienced heavy combat throughout the deployment, with 25 of its men killed and more than 150 wounded. The 600,000th package recipient, along with his 3/5 comrades, returned to Camp Pendleton in April. The Marine, who received the package containing symbolic keys attached to a letter describing the bike, was recently promoted to Corporal and will join the Operation Gratitude volunteers and guests at the armory to receive the motorcycle generously donated by Victory Motorcycles.
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Home from war, Marine to receive his Victory Motorcycle
Wounded Marine cheered at Angel Stadium
Angels honor local Marine's sacrifice in Afghanistan
Bob Tompkins
As Marine sergeant Micah Crooks walked with a slight limp to to the pitcher's mound at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the Alexandria native was introduced to some 43,000 fans settling in to watch the Los Angeles Angels host the Atlanta Braves Saturday night.
Crooks, 25, had been invited by the Angels, as a Marine combat engineer who had been injured in Afghanistan, to help the team celebrate Armed Forces Day by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
"There was a low murmur from the crowd (during the intro), but when they said 'United States Marine,' everybody started cheering," Crooks said.
Crooks and his wife, Raelena, from Orange Country, Calif., live at the Marine base in Camp Pendleton, Calif., and they have season tickets for Angels home games.
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Angels honor local Marine's sacrifice in Afghanistan
Bob Tompkins
As Marine sergeant Micah Crooks walked with a slight limp to to the pitcher's mound at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the Alexandria native was introduced to some 43,000 fans settling in to watch the Los Angeles Angels host the Atlanta Braves Saturday night.
Crooks, 25, had been invited by the Angels, as a Marine combat engineer who had been injured in Afghanistan, to help the team celebrate Armed Forces Day by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
"There was a low murmur from the crowd (during the intro), but when they said 'United States Marine,' everybody started cheering," Crooks said.
Crooks and his wife, Raelena, from Orange Country, Calif., live at the Marine base in Camp Pendleton, Calif., and they have season tickets for Angels home games.
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Angels honor local Marine's sacrifice in Afghanistan
Ft. Hood massacre victim posthumously awarded the Secretary of the Army's Award for Valor
Ft. Hood massacre victim awarded by Army
The only civilian to die in the Fort Hood Shootings received high honor on Monday.
Michael Cahill was posthumously awarded the Secretary of the Army's Award for Valor, the highest honor possible for a civilian.
On November 5th, 2009, Cahill was working as a physician's assistant on Fort Hood when gunfire rang out. The retired National Guardsman threw a chair at the gunman before he was shot and killed.
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Ft. Hood massacre victim awarded by Army
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
War hero to prisoner
War hero to prisoner: Would all that he valued slip away?
The war at home
Last of three chapters:
By Moni Basu, CNN
May 24, 2011 08:00 a.m. EDT
The war hero's reputation fell hard around parts of Georgia.
Disorderly conduct. Obstruction of an officer. DUI. Since his return from Iraq, the former sheriff's deputy had found himself time and again on the other side of the law.
He was accused of taking a 12-pack of beer out of a convenience store on a Sunday, when alcohol sales are prohibited in Georgia, and almost ran over the store clerk with his truck. Twice, he tried to kill himself.
A year ago, an unexpected message popped up on my Facebook page. It was Spc. Shane Parham's sister, Mandi. Her brother was in jail.
He was incarcerated in neighboring Newton County, so he would not have to deal with former colleagues in the Walton County Sheriff's Office and jail.
They were tired of dealing with him.
Some whispered that his Iraq knee injury occurred during a volleyball game at Camp Striker, not a vehicle rollover. They suggested Parham was an angry man even before Iraq and was using battle scars as a crutch to get away with belligerent behavior.
Some of his fellow soldiers in Alpha company said Parham was making up his Iraq stories in a cry for attention.
Capt. Ty Vance of the sheriff's office said Parham developed an image as a whiner who was leading life with an "I deserve better" attitude. I asked him if he felt sorry for his former colleague.
"Not anymore," Vance said. "Not after the way he's handled things."
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War hero to prisoner
The war at home
Last of three chapters:
By Moni Basu, CNN
May 24, 2011 08:00 a.m. EDT
The war hero's reputation fell hard around parts of Georgia.
Disorderly conduct. Obstruction of an officer. DUI. Since his return from Iraq, the former sheriff's deputy had found himself time and again on the other side of the law.
He was accused of taking a 12-pack of beer out of a convenience store on a Sunday, when alcohol sales are prohibited in Georgia, and almost ran over the store clerk with his truck. Twice, he tried to kill himself.
A year ago, an unexpected message popped up on my Facebook page. It was Spc. Shane Parham's sister, Mandi. Her brother was in jail.
He was incarcerated in neighboring Newton County, so he would not have to deal with former colleagues in the Walton County Sheriff's Office and jail.
They were tired of dealing with him.
Some whispered that his Iraq knee injury occurred during a volleyball game at Camp Striker, not a vehicle rollover. They suggested Parham was an angry man even before Iraq and was using battle scars as a crutch to get away with belligerent behavior.
Some of his fellow soldiers in Alpha company said Parham was making up his Iraq stories in a cry for attention.
Capt. Ty Vance of the sheriff's office said Parham developed an image as a whiner who was leading life with an "I deserve better" attitude. I asked him if he felt sorry for his former colleague.
"Not anymore," Vance said. "Not after the way he's handled things."
read more here
War hero to prisoner
Blue Angels Nix Naval Academy Show After Incident
Blue Angels Nix Naval Academy Show After Incident
May 24, 2011
Associated Press
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The Blue Angels have canceled a practice and show this week at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., days after announcing a safety standown after four of the six jets flew below a specified altitude at a recent air show.
The famed flight squadron said it is scrubbing Tuesday's scheduled practice and Wednesday's show. Navy Lt. Kaitie Kelly, the Blue Angels spokeswoman, says it hasn't been decided yet if the team will perform its traditional flyover at the academy's graduation Friday.
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Blue Angels Nix Naval Academy Show After Incident
May 24, 2011
Associated Press
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The Blue Angels have canceled a practice and show this week at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., days after announcing a safety standown after four of the six jets flew below a specified altitude at a recent air show.
The famed flight squadron said it is scrubbing Tuesday's scheduled practice and Wednesday's show. Navy Lt. Kaitie Kelly, the Blue Angels spokeswoman, says it hasn't been decided yet if the team will perform its traditional flyover at the academy's graduation Friday.
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Blue Angels Nix Naval Academy Show After Incident
When you don't hold a job but it holds you
When you don't hold a job but it holds you
Chaplain Kathie
There are days when I get up too early, start searching the headlines and then wish I had stayed in bed a few hours longer. When you see just a few posts on this blog, more than likely it was one of those days or like yesterday, I just tied up with projects for Digital Media. Today began like one of those days when the headlines looked great but the stories ended up being written as if the reporter regretted having to cover the story. I saved a few I found then started to search for pictures for a new project. I found the above picture, being a sucker for dogs, especially puppies, I followed the link to the story. I was stunned and happy I got up early this morning.
This is a job that I do not hold. It is a job that holds me. There is no walking away from it. I didn't get a gold watch when 25 years of marriage reminded me of how long I've been doing this. But there are many more people in the country with jobs holding onto them instead of the other way around.
Less than a week from now this nation is supposed to be remembering all the men and women willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation. Usually I am in Washington DC but this year I will be at the Navy Exchange for their 65th anniversary celebration. Many of my classmates will be going away, having parties, taking very little notice of what this day is for. That is why I thought this article written last year holding a video from a Marine giving a speech to his men was so powerful. These young men and women, serving this nation, know full well what Memorial Day is for and Gunnery Sgt. Brian Walgren speech reflected the fact some in this country have no clue what it is like to have this job.
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John Glenn speech to Marines in Afghanistan
Chaplain Kathie
There are days when I get up too early, start searching the headlines and then wish I had stayed in bed a few hours longer. When you see just a few posts on this blog, more than likely it was one of those days or like yesterday, I just tied up with projects for Digital Media. Today began like one of those days when the headlines looked great but the stories ended up being written as if the reporter regretted having to cover the story. I saved a few I found then started to search for pictures for a new project. I found the above picture, being a sucker for dogs, especially puppies, I followed the link to the story. I was stunned and happy I got up early this morning.
This is a job that I do not hold. It is a job that holds me. There is no walking away from it. I didn't get a gold watch when 25 years of marriage reminded me of how long I've been doing this. But there are many more people in the country with jobs holding onto them instead of the other way around.
 |
| This puppy wandered up to Marines with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, in Afghanistan in January, and later starred in a video about 1/6 that has gone viral on the Web. (Photo by Cpl. Charles Mabry/Marine Corps) |
Less than a week from now this nation is supposed to be remembering all the men and women willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation. Usually I am in Washington DC but this year I will be at the Navy Exchange for their 65th anniversary celebration. Many of my classmates will be going away, having parties, taking very little notice of what this day is for. That is why I thought this article written last year holding a video from a Marine giving a speech to his men was so powerful. These young men and women, serving this nation, know full well what Memorial Day is for and Gunnery Sgt. Brian Walgren speech reflected the fact some in this country have no clue what it is like to have this job.
The real story behind the John Glenn speech to Marines in Afghanistan
NOVEMBER 10TH, 2010
POSTED BY DAN LAMOTHE
Times were tense before the initial February assault on Marjah, Afghanistan. A narcotics hub and Taliban stronghold, it was expected to be booby-trapped with improvised explosive devices and filled with insurgents waiting for a fight.
Obviously, the Corps took control of Marjah within days. It’s still a dangerous place, but one where Marine officials say they see hope, at least.
Before the assault, Gunnery Sgt. Brian Walgren, the company gunny for Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, fired up his troops with a gritty, heartfelt speech.
”Howard, I can’t believe you said that. I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I went through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions.
”I ask you to go with me as I went the other day to a veterans’ hospital, and look those men with their mangled bodies in the eye and tell them they didn’t hold a job. You go with me to any Gold Star mother and you look her in the eye and tell her that her son did not hold a job.
”You go with me on Memorial Day coming up and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends than I like to remember, and you watch those waving flags, and you stand there and you think about this nation and you tell me that those people didn’t have a job.
”I tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men – some men – who held a job.”
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John Glenn speech to Marines in Afghanistan
Monday, May 23, 2011
Army mulls future of National Guard, Reserve
Army mulls future of National Guard, Reserve
Declining demand, budget pressures are behind the review
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Monday May 23, 2011 8:03:02 EDT
Leaders of the National Guard and Army Reserve are looking to theater security cooperation missions as a way to keep their forces ready, even as demand for boots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan declines after almost a decade of war.
The Reserve already is involved in these missions — working with partner nations; building schools and roads; providing medical and dental care, administering immunizations and giving lessons on diet and nutrition.
“This past year, I visited soldiers who’ve been to Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, El Salvador, Uganda, Kenya, doing these types of missions,” said Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, chief of the Reserve. “It’s very fulfilling for the soldier because they feel like they’re making a difference, but we’re usually there for three to four weeks, then we go home.”
In the future, when the demand in Iraq and Afghanistan diminishes, Stultz envisions more and longer missions like this.
“We have these units that are in the available year, why wouldn’t we let them go do something like that for a longer period of time?” he said. “Three months instead of three weeks, for example, and really make a huge impact and build relationships.”
The Reserve also could partner with Southern Command or Army South and assign available units to those commands to use for their missions or exercises, Stultz said.
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Army mulls future of National Guard, Reserve
Declining demand, budget pressures are behind the review
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Monday May 23, 2011 8:03:02 EDT
Leaders of the National Guard and Army Reserve are looking to theater security cooperation missions as a way to keep their forces ready, even as demand for boots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan declines after almost a decade of war.
The Reserve already is involved in these missions — working with partner nations; building schools and roads; providing medical and dental care, administering immunizations and giving lessons on diet and nutrition.
“This past year, I visited soldiers who’ve been to Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, El Salvador, Uganda, Kenya, doing these types of missions,” said Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, chief of the Reserve. “It’s very fulfilling for the soldier because they feel like they’re making a difference, but we’re usually there for three to four weeks, then we go home.”
In the future, when the demand in Iraq and Afghanistan diminishes, Stultz envisions more and longer missions like this.
“We have these units that are in the available year, why wouldn’t we let them go do something like that for a longer period of time?” he said. “Three months instead of three weeks, for example, and really make a huge impact and build relationships.”
The Reserve also could partner with Southern Command or Army South and assign available units to those commands to use for their missions or exercises, Stultz said.
read more here
Army mulls future of National Guard, Reserve
Tenn. guardsmen come to stricken man’s aid
Tenn. guardsmen come to stricken man’s aid
The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun
Posted : Sunday May 22, 2011 15:38:45 EDT
JACKSON, Tenn. — Quick thinking on the part of four Tennessee guardsmen who recently provided medical assistance to an elderly man at a Jackson restaurant may have saved his life.
While on their lunch break at about 1:15 p.m. May 15, Staff Sgt. Shane Hutchens, Staff Sgt. Kenji Yamauchi, Sgt. Loren Steele and Spc. James Davis of the Union City-based 913th Engineers, 230th Engineer Battalion, were standing in line at a Subway restaurant when they noticed an elderly man lose his balance and catch himself on the edge of the vegetable counter, according to a news release.
“He began to sway back and forth,” Davis said in the release. At this point, the soldiers asked the man if he was all right.
When the man failed to respond, Yamauchi and Hutchens caught him as he began to fall to prevent him from being injured. Davis pulled up a chair so he could sit down. But before he could be seated, the elderly man blacked out.
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Tenn. guardsmen come to stricken man’s aid
The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun
Posted : Sunday May 22, 2011 15:38:45 EDT
JACKSON, Tenn. — Quick thinking on the part of four Tennessee guardsmen who recently provided medical assistance to an elderly man at a Jackson restaurant may have saved his life.
While on their lunch break at about 1:15 p.m. May 15, Staff Sgt. Shane Hutchens, Staff Sgt. Kenji Yamauchi, Sgt. Loren Steele and Spc. James Davis of the Union City-based 913th Engineers, 230th Engineer Battalion, were standing in line at a Subway restaurant when they noticed an elderly man lose his balance and catch himself on the edge of the vegetable counter, according to a news release.
“He began to sway back and forth,” Davis said in the release. At this point, the soldiers asked the man if he was all right.
When the man failed to respond, Yamauchi and Hutchens caught him as he began to fall to prevent him from being injured. Davis pulled up a chair so he could sit down. But before he could be seated, the elderly man blacked out.
read more here
Tenn. guardsmen come to stricken man’s aid
Fort Carson honors volunteers
Fort Carson honors volunteers
May 19, 2011
By Staff Sgt. Wayne Barnett (Fort Carson)
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Exemplary Volunteer Service Awards line the table at the Elkhorn Conference Center Tuesday 17. Thirty five awards were given for at least 500 hours of service to the Fort Carson Community.
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Five Fort Carson volunteers were honored for donating more than 750 hours of their time in 2010, during the annual awards luncheon held Tuesday at the Elkhorn Conference Center.
Robin Arnold, Tessa Hebert, Clara Huff, Alicia Michael and Martha Reed each received Volunteer of the Year awards during the "Celebrating Fort Carson Volunteers in Action" luncheon that honored nearly 150 post volunteers for their efforts.
"I feel that volunteers are pivotal to keeping Fort Carson running; I feel that they are giving their hearts, souls and time," said Ginger Perkins, wife of Maj. Gen. David G. Perkins, commanding general, U.S. Division-North and 4th Infantry Division. "I really don't think Fort Carson could survive without its volunteers."
"I work a lot with the Families of wounded warriors making sure they are supported while their Soldier heals," Hebert said.
Nearly 2,400 registered Mountain Post volunteers logged a combined 147,532 hours in 2010, saving Fort Carson an estimated $2.5 million, according to Joey Bautista, Fort Carson volunteer coordinator.
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Fort Carson honors volunteers
May 19, 2011
By Staff Sgt. Wayne Barnett (Fort Carson)
Photo credit Staff Sgt. Wayne Barnett (Fort Carson)
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Exemplary Volunteer Service Awards line the table at the Elkhorn Conference Center Tuesday 17. Thirty five awards were given for at least 500 hours of service to the Fort Carson Community.
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Five Fort Carson volunteers were honored for donating more than 750 hours of their time in 2010, during the annual awards luncheon held Tuesday at the Elkhorn Conference Center.
Robin Arnold, Tessa Hebert, Clara Huff, Alicia Michael and Martha Reed each received Volunteer of the Year awards during the "Celebrating Fort Carson Volunteers in Action" luncheon that honored nearly 150 post volunteers for their efforts.
"I feel that volunteers are pivotal to keeping Fort Carson running; I feel that they are giving their hearts, souls and time," said Ginger Perkins, wife of Maj. Gen. David G. Perkins, commanding general, U.S. Division-North and 4th Infantry Division. "I really don't think Fort Carson could survive without its volunteers."
"I work a lot with the Families of wounded warriors making sure they are supported while their Soldier heals," Hebert said.
Nearly 2,400 registered Mountain Post volunteers logged a combined 147,532 hours in 2010, saving Fort Carson an estimated $2.5 million, according to Joey Bautista, Fort Carson volunteer coordinator.
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Fort Carson honors volunteers
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