Need some Spiritual Warfare

Matt of Blackfive has been following the story of 6 year old Evan Pertile who has been fighting a brain tumor since late last year. Evan has just gone through his last chemo treatment, and this just in from Matt:

In the past, the chemo made him so weak that he refused to eat until Soldiers got involved and told him he needed to eat if he wanted to be a Soldier and Army Strong. It worked. Evan began eating and fighting again.

If you would be so inclined, you can leave a word of encouragement (and ask your readers to do the same) for Evan here at his Caring Bridge site.

Let's go, people.

(If you're new to CaringBridge you'll have to register, but it only takes a moment. Thanks.)

Raven launch

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Adam Jeter launches a Raven unmanned aerial vehicle during a joint air assault operation planned and led by Iraqi forces in the Ma'dain area east of Baghdad, Iraq, June 26, 2009. Jeter is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. The Raven is being used to provide real-time observation of the objective during a search for weapons caches and insurgent activity. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. James Selesnick.

Let slip the dogs of war

An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the "Pukin' Dogs" of Strike Fighter Squadron 143 launches off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations as part of a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as well as Maritime Security Operations. MSO in the U.S. 5th Fleet are focused on reassuring regional partners of the United States' commitment to security, which promotes stability and global prosperity. Photo by Seaman Apprentice Jon Dasbach.
The "Pukin' Dogs", that is. I can only imagine why they're named that...

"Any nation that does not honor its heroes, will not long endure."- Abe Lincoln

Lt. Brian Bradshaw, killed in Afghanistan the same day Michael Jackson passed away.

Regrets Media Didn't Memorialize a Soldier Killed Same Day Jackson Died

By Brent Baker
July 6, 2009 - 14:30 ET

Army 1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw was killed in Afghanistan, fighting in a war to protect all Americans, the same day that Michael Jackson died, prompting a letter to the Washington Post, which the paper published on Sunday, from Bradshaw's aunt, Martha Gillis, who scolded media priorities:

My nephew, Brian Bradshaw, was killed by an explosive device in Afghanistan on June 25, the same day that Michael Jackson died. Mr. Jackson received days of wall-to-wall coverage in the media. Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week? There were several of them, and our family crossed paths with the family of another fallen soldier at Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies come “home.” Only the media in Brian's hometown [in Washington State] and where he was stationed before his deployment [Alaska] covered his death.

In the letter the Post headlined, “A Life of Worth, Overlooked,” Gillis, a resident of the Washington, DC suburb of Springfield, Virginia, fondly recalled: “He had old-fashioned values and believed that military service was patriotic and that actions counted more than talk. He wasn't much for talking, although he could communicate volumes with a raised eyebrow.”

She then asked:

He was a search-and-rescue volunteer, an altar boy, a camp counselor. He carried the hopes and dreams of his parents willingly on his shoulders. What more than that did Michael Jackson do or represent that earned him memorial 'shrines,' while this soldier's death goes unheralded? It makes me want to scream.

Kudos to the Washington Post for printing the letter and making it the top one in the letters section on Sunday.

See Bouhammer's post of June 27, Someone More Important Than Michael Jackson Died. Please be sure to read the comments from Brian's parents, family members, and friends. I hope they know that all of us at Soldiers' Angels will always remember Brian.

CSAR Gunners Provide Cover for Lifesaving Missions

Staff Sgt. Sean Pellaton Aerial Gunner, 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron provides security during a medevac mission, Helmand province, Afghanistan, June 26. Photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller.

Aerial Gunners Provide Cover for Lifesaving Mission

U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs
Story by Staff Sgt. Stacia Zachary
Date: 07.03.2009

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan -- Air Force Combat Search and Rescue crews fly throughout Afghanistan, providing airlift and medical care to service members wounded on the battlefield. More often than not, this requires them to fly into and operate in extremely hostile and precarious situations and locations.

Aerial gunners are charged with protecting their CSAR teammates and do their best to bring everyone on the helicopter back safely.

"The HH-60s need to be able to land virtually on top of the point of injury to quickly recover the wounded," said Tech. Sgt. Scott Matthews, 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron aerial gunner. "The helicopters are a huge target for the enemy and we need to have our heads on a swivel making sure the PJs [pararescuemen] have the cover they need to recover injured people."

The rescue crews are successful in recovering the wounded largely because of the speed in which they can get to a location and extract the wounded on the ground.

"Speed is everything, so you need to be very familiar with your job so that you don't cause any delays," said Staff Sgt. Tim Chase, 129th ERQS aerial gunner, deployed from the 41st Rescue Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga. "We constantly train for these missions. This allows us to work confidently and quickly when we are on a mission. All that training helps us keep our guys safe in a hostile environment."

The irony of the aerial gunner's role in a rescue flight is that it often requires them to take a life in order to save another.

"The aspect of this job I love more than anything else is that we're here saving lives," Sgt. Matthews said. "On the flip side, we need to make sure that when PJs step off the bird to get the wounded, they have the protection they need. This may require taking out the bad guys so the good guys succeed."

For the crews, flexibility is important, as they never encounter the same situation twice.

"The challenges that come with being in the back are constantly changing and dynamic because the combat search and rescue platform changes according to whatever theater we operate in," said Staff Sgt. Sean Pellaton, 129th ERQS aerial gunner, a native of Castro Valley, Calif.

A common observation among the crews of the rescue flights is the amount of chaos they fly into when recovering the wounded.

"When we're on a mission, we're seeing all this chaos and right in the middle of that, there's this odd organization that exists," said Sgt. Matthews, deployed from the 129th Rescue Squadron at Moffett Federal Airfield, Calif. "We're right in the middle of these crazy situations. While we're observing what's going on all around us as thoroughly as possible for threats - whether natural or enemy - we're also playing an active part using the radios and manning a weapon."

The team, through training and experience, are completely in synch with one another, allowing the mission to become a well-orchestrated symphony of events. Once the helicopter lands, the gunners relay the signal for the pararescuemen and combat rescue officers to disembark from the helicopter to recover the wounded, while simultaneously alerting the operations center that the aircraft is wheel's down.

The flight engineers and aerial gunners man their .50 cal machine guns providing a virtual 180 degrees of security on each side, monitor the blaring radios, update the crew on the activity out their doors and prepare the ground forces for the helicopters' departure.

"It's all going down in a matter of seconds," Sgt. Chase said. "In that time, I'm looking for bad guys, the PJs are triaging their patients, I'm giving a 30 second call for liftoff, the [flight engineer] is making sure the systems are working and the pilots are focusing on getting us out of there and back to base camp. I don't know how or why, but everything just comes together."

Indeed, it's not until afterward that the crew has a moment to reflect on all the possibilities that could have happened during the mission. And it's a process built into the mission itself. Each flight results in a thorough debriefing, where the entire scenario is re-stepped and evaluated. With so much happening all at once, there can be a lot missed from one seat in the helicopter to the next.

"Everything happens so rapidly that it's only after the mission is complete that you realize how well everything went despite the chaos," Sgt. Matthews said. "That's when you realize how easily things could have gone wrong if you weren't focused enough, had enough training, or confidence in your crew's teamwork."

At the end of the day, it's the goal of the rescue mission that leaves the biggest impression on the crew.

"Being a gunner - I'm part of something much bigger than myself," Matthews said. "We go in and get guys who, if we weren't there, may not make it to the next day or even the next hour."

"One of the greatest things a person can do is risk his life for another's," Sgt. Pellaton said. "It's an awesome thing and something any of us is willing to do. It's not just a motto to us, it's the soul of the mission."

Op Khanjar photos

HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN - JUNE 30: Dust billows from behind a Marine military convoy as it drives to Camp Dwyer from Camp Leatherneck on a re-supply mission on June 30, 2009 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of a stepped up effort by American troops fighting Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan. Getty.

HELMAND PROVINCE- JULY 1: U.S. Marine Private Michael Spurling from Stewarts Town, Pennsylvania reads a letter from his mother as he sits on his cot at Camp Dwyer on July 1, 2009 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of a stepped up effort by American troops fighting Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan. Getty.








U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, along with approximately 650 Afghan soldiers and police officers from the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF), prepare to board CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters at Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. The Marines and ANSF are partnered for a major operation in the Helmand Province to transition security responsibilities to the Afghan forces. The Marines and ANSF will move into towns and villages along the Helmand River Valley in an effort to secure the population from the threat of the Taliban and other insurgent intimidation and violence. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philippe E. Chasse/Released)

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 02: A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a fighting position after off loading from a helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 2: U.S. Marine Captain Eric Meador from Laurel, Mississippi of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a fighting position during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 2: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. look to return fire during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

U.S. Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Marines temporarily occupy a house after arriving in an overnight air assault near the Taliban stronghold of Nawa in Afghanistan's Helmand province Thursday July 2, 2009. Thousands of U.S. Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages in southern Afghanistan on Thursday in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize the country. AP.

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ryan Pettit (left) and Cpl. Matthew Miller with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment fire their service rifles during an operation in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan on July 3, 2009. The Marines are part of the ground combat element of Regiment Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. DoD photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)


See also Life with the Marines in Helmand (more photos) and Afghan flag raised above Khan Neshin for the first time (article, video).

Security and EOD in Wardak

U.S. soldiers of 10th Mountain Division secure the area after discovering improvised explosive devices (IED) on the road near Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. Photo: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov.


U.S. Staff Sergeant Blake Lundsfrom of 775A EOD from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division prepares for demining operation after an improvised explosive device (IED) was discovered on the road near Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. Reuters.

A Hometown Hero

Hometown Hero

By Katie Ussin, KULR8.com, "The Spirit of Montana"

BILLINGS - Just days before a Shepherd soldier was set to return home on leave from Afghanistan, he was killed in the line of duty.

Army Sergeant Terry Lynch was 22 years old and was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle and killed him Monday.

Lynch was a Cavalry Scout deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team last January in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was serving with the 10th Mountain Division Stationed in Fort Drum, New York. Sergeant Lynch joined the army in July 2005.

His awards and decorations are extensive. They include: the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, and Combat Action Badge.
...
Sergeant Terry Lynch, a hometown hero who sacrificed his life for this country.

SGT Lynch is survived by his sister and his father.

Operation Khanjar

Marines from 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, prepare to board a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, July 2, during the launching of Operation Khanjar. Nearly 4,000 Marines and Sailors from Regimental Combat Team 3, Combat Logistics Regiment 2 and the MEB-Afghanistan Command Element constitute the bulk of the U.S. forces conducting this operation, along with approximately 650 Afghan national army and Afghan national police forces.

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, July 2 -- Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.

The operation will involve about 4,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was dispatched to Afghanistan this year by President Obama to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in Helmand and other southern provinces. The Marines, along with an Army brigade that is scheduled to arrive later this summer, plan to push into pockets of the country where NATO forces have not had a presence. In many of those areas, the Taliban has evicted local police and government officials and taken power.

Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of mounting a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.

Godspeed, Marines.

Missing

One of our soldiers is missing in Afghanistan and is believed to have been captured by the Taliban. His family has been notified.


St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.