What a country

My Dad loves to go to Atlantic City and play Blackjack so we went today. Day trip on one of those buses. 2 hours each way, costs $27. When we arrived a casino employee got on the bus and gave each of us twenty bucks.

What a country.

One of my favorite things

While in the US one of my favorite activities is going to the gas station. Gasoline is so incredibly, unbelievably cheap here! Just put a half a tank of gas in my Dad's car for $20 (!!!)

Maybe my Mom will let me take her car and fill it up later...

...and now more Hornets

F-18 Hornet from the USS Abraham Lincoln flies past sailors on swim call in the Gulf of Thailand. Notice that the aircraft is flying so low on the first pass that it actually parts the water.

More fixed-wing love

U.S. Marine Corps photo by LCpl Andrew WilliamsA 2003 aerial shot over Iraq of a KC-130 USMC tanker firing flares used to counterattack surface-to-air missiles.


An AC-130H gunship dispenses IRCM flares.


This is a time lapsed photo of an AC-130 gunship firing its guns and cannons while flying a circular pattern over Afghanistan. Every fifth round is a tracer, so you can imagine how many are raining down on the enemy. You do not want to be under this.

Fill 'er up with JP-8, please

Another Vietnam?

In a recent speech, President Bush outlined the dangers of not completing the mission in Iraq. Max Boot argues he didn't go far enough:

That assessment actually understates the terrible repercussions from the American defeat, whose ripples spread around the world. In the late 1970s, America's enemies seized power in countries from Mozambique to Iran to Nicaragua. American hostages were seized aboard the SS Mayaguez (off Cambodia) and in Tehran. The Red Army invaded Afghanistan.

It is impossible to prove the connection with the Vietnam War, but there is little doubt that the enfeeblement of a superpower encouraged our enemies to undertake acts of aggression that they might otherwise have shied away from. Indeed, as Mr. Bush noted, jihadists still gain hope from what Ayman al Zawahiri accurately describes as "the aftermath of the collapse of the American power in Vietnam and how they ran and left their agents."

If you were an Iraqi faced with a choice right now - to work with the Coalition toward a unified Iraq or to throw your lot in with a sectarian group - would you trust us not to run and leave you?

No End but Victory.

Now his mama raised him right...

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Serena Hayden, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.
While conducting a foot patrol in support of Operation Lightning Hammer in Mukeisha, Iraq, Sgt. Nic Root, a Soldier from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, holds the door open for a local woman returning from the canal, Aug. 14.

Happy Birthday, DJ!

DJ in the Physical Therapy room at Walter Reed. Look at that smile!
Can't think of anyone I'd rather share a birthday with than this guy! DJ will be celebrating at home in Bellafonte, PA. I hear he's been very busy already, but there's events lined up during the rest of his visit including the Spikes Military Appreciation Night (Aug 26) and DJ's Riders Motorcycle Ride (Sept 2).

See the "DJ Emery: Our Hometown Hero" website for more event information and other news.


Click to read more stories about DJ here at SAG.

Lonestar

In early July the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team began work on Fire Base Lonestar in preparation for the "Return to Tora Bora" and other operations. The new base is situated 20 km from the Pakistani border and is along one of the major infiltration routes for Taliban and al Qaeda operatives.



Click here for more 173rd ABCT Afghanistan posts.

Rest in Peace, Warriors