Posts Tagged ‘Military’
Ambush of the Common Sort
by Michael Yon
08 November 2009
Got a ping today about an attack on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul. It’s a dangerous road and I don’t like to drive it. The source has always been reliable, so I pinged Tim Lynch (who often is on that road), and Tim just sent these pics and a quick narrative. (Unedited, and my post also coming via Blackberry.) Tim writes:
The ambush happened around 0845 or so on the west side of the Duranta Tunnel. Steve and I rolled out to look – the fuel convoy had security escorts from Compass security and they plus some ANP are who you see up in the ridges. Three tankers were burning and three more were shot up and leaking fuel all over the place. There was a section of OH-58’s up and after about 20 minutes of figuring out who was who on the ground they started in on the bad guys with rockets and mini gun.
There was still some fighting going on when we arrived and few rounds came our way but were very high and not to close. The bad guys had one belt fed which opened up briefly – the Blue Compass/ANP guys clearly had the momentum and used damn good fire discipline – we only heard volleys when the Taliban exposed themselves and those volleys were not that long.The Army claims four KIA from the OH’s which is not doubt true given how low they were scouting about for targets – there is no cover out there just fingers and draws and the security guys were putting pressure on the Ambush team to keep moving which exposed them to the birds.
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Obama Parable?: Brownshirt Lizards Return in ‘V’
by Jeff VargaThis is my first “coming out” article as a conservative and Christian because Hollywood is taking its last breath before dying and I don’t really have much to lose. I’m a director, but made a good living for about seven years compositing visual effects. That is, until I was blacklisted for objecting to anti-Christian and anti-American propaganda that I was forced to listen to 8 hours a day by 90% of the people around me. But that’s a story for a different time.
Today, I’m writing to comment on “V,” as I’m sure many viewers missed the parallels of the questions raised in the show regarding our own politics today.
Hollywood script-writing 101 classes tell writers, “If you want to write a good script, write what you know.” Kenneth Johnson, creator of the original “V” series and story writer of the resurrected version, apparently knows his history. For disclosure purposes, I have met him and visited his home many years ago, but don’t know really much about him other than he has a good grasp on good and evil and human, albeit lizard, nature. (Possible political jab that the Left is slimy … even though lizards are not?)
What completely blows my mind is that all these comic book and sci-fi loving fans embrace and cheer for the underground rebels and immediately suspect the Visitors as wolves in sheep’s clothing (or lizards, in this case). So why is it so impossible for these same fans to see who the real-life lizards are? The aliens arrive and we don’t know anything about them other than they all look like celebrities too old for the CW Network, and they come offering hope and in the shows own words: “universal health care.” No, President Obama, nor Harry Reid, nor Nancy Pelosi didn’t arrive in a spaceship (or did they… hmmm?). No, they came with years of very questionable history behind them that anyone not rushing to embrace the empty promise of “hope” and “change” would immediately see. (more…)
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Great Britain Loses One of its Finest
by Michael Yon
Olaf in Combat.
03 November 2009
British soldiers at war are an incredible group. Courageous, competent, and committed in very difficult conditions. An email came today from London, from a BBC correspondent who has been to Afghanistan saying that Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid had been killed. (more…)
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Lonewolf Diaries: Leftists Hate Your Right to Free Speech
by Steven Crowder
I know, I know, at first glance, the title may seem like I’m blowing things out of proportion. After all, Fox News is an isolated incident, right? Wrong. This is just another leg in a multi-pronged approach from the Obama administration to stifle dissent. (I just used some big words — which is out of character, I know — but go with me on this one.) Am I the only one who sees this as a wind of attacks looking to ultimately culminate into a “Fairness Doctrine” storm?
- “Those forwarding falsehoods against the health care bill” must be reported.
- “’Racists’ must be silenced.”
- “Opinion journalism masquerading as news” must not be given legitimacy, or equal access.
- David Axelrod: “We won’t treat Fox News that way, and you ought not treat them that way.”
This was the administration’s equivalent to the schoolyard bully’s call for a “PILE ON!!” (more…)
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Part II: Obama Controls Your Televison Set — Search and Ye Shall Find…Left-Wing Advocacy
by Stage RightMy ten-year-old daughter loves “So You Think You Can Dance.” I suspect most eight to eighteen-year-old girls do. So, my question to the producers of this hit show is: “Why are you pointing my daughter to a web page asking her to work at Planned Parenthood?”
Next week the networks will coordinate their shows’ story-lines to promote volunteerism. At the September 10 press conference in New York announcing this unprecedented message coordination, Ashton Kutcher got his famous Twitter feed displayed on the Times Square jumbo screen. It said: “2Day, I activate my citizenship by participating. I Participate! Do u? www.iparticipate.org.” (Damn he’s good at this whole “Under 14o characters” thing.)
In the press release announcing the initiative, all four network execs were positively boastful about their ability to inspire their viewers to ask “How high” when told to jump: (more…)
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Afghan Lunacy
by Michael Yon
[This dispatch was written by me in December 2008 in southern Afghanistan. It was never published though I recently found it in the unpublished archives. The photos came from the same period.]
Published: from Nepal on 14 October 2009
On May 25, 1961, the President of the United States of America said:
“Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take. Since early in my term, our efforts in space have been under review. With the advice of the Vice President, who is Chairman of the National Space Council, we have examined where we are strong and where we are not, where we may succeed and where we may not. Now it is time to take longer strides—time for a great new American enterprise—time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth.”
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Market Garden: A Remembrance During Time of War
by Michael Yon
Published: 12 October 2009 from Nargarkot, Nepal
Kandahar City, Afghanistan
Slowly, surely, the city is being strangled. Signaling the depth of our commitment, security forces are thinner in Kandahar than the Himalayan air. During the days and evenings, there were the sounds of occasional bombs—some caused by suicide attackers, and others by firefights. The windows in my room had been blown out recently and now were replaced. We came here to kill our enemies, but today we want to make a country from scratch.
A world away from Afghanistan, over in Holland, was approaching the 65th anniversary of the allied liberation from Nazi occupation, and I had been invited to attend by James “Maggie” Megellas. Maggie, who had fought his way through Holland and is today remembered there as a hero, is said to be the most decorated officer in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division. Now 92, Maggie has recently spent about two months tooling around the battlefields of Afghanistan, and though it would be an honor to finally meet him, there was the matter of extracting myself from Kandahar City and getting through about forty minutes of dangerous territory to the military base at Kandahar Airfield. (more…)
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McConaughey Gets It: Rom-Com Star Supports Veterans
by Christian Toto
Matthew McConaughey won’t be in the mix for any Oscar nominations this year, and probably not in 2010 or 2011, for that matter. But the routinely shirtless actor has one up on some of his A-list peers.
At a time when many celebrities risk alienating their fan base by voicing political views, McConaughey is opting to speak out on behalf of our men and women in uniform.The “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” star will appear in a new public service announcement that encourages giving back to veterans, politics be darned. (more…)
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Ride 2 Recovery Day 1: How Do You Know?
by Ride 2 Recovery
Day one of the 2nd annual Golden State Challenge with more than 150 participants headed of from the San Francisco VA towards the seaside town of Santa Cruz. The 75-mile ride took the riders thru scenic Northern California coastline including Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, and the climb of Bonnie Doon. The weather could not have been more perfect with sunny skies and a nice 15 mph tailwind. The ride is made up of groups from the Palo Alto, San Francisco, Livermoore, Fresno, Antelope Valley, West LA, and Sepulveda VA’s. Military groups come from Walter Reed, Brooke Army MC, San Diego Naval MC, Ft Irwin, Ft. Eustice, California National Guard, and several Viet Nam vets. One of the best scenes of the day was SF VA’s Eric Downing come out on his tandem with his 5 year old son. (more…)
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The G.I. Film Festival and Gary Sinise: Supporting Our Troops
by Frank DeMartiniLast week, I had the pleasure of attending the GI Film Festival at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. The Festival took place in one day and showed films that portray American enlisted men and women in a favorable light as opposed to the usual Hollywood fare. This festival was an offshoot of the main GI Film Festival which takes place in May every year in Washington D.C. The main event lasts seven days and includes showings of approximately 50 films. This was a one day shortened version in which the crème of the crop were exhibited. You can find out more details about the festival at: http://www.gifilmfestival.com. I also recommend that if you are so inclined, you make a donation to this worthy cause.
Among the screened films was a documentary entitled “About Face,” which was directed by Steve Karras. To me, the film is a masterpiece. It depicts a group of Jewish Refugees from both Germany and Austria that joined the American and British Armed Forces in WWII to fight against their native lands. The film was both moving and educational. In fact, I must state I was not even aware there was so many of these refugees. Apparently, they numbered approximately 10,000. And, because of their knowledge of the native languages of the enemy, many of them were placed in positions that put them directly into contact with the same Germans who were persecuting their family and relatives. (more…)
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Pedro Inspired the Vikings
by Michael YonNote: I asked Danish journalist Camilla Fuhr Nilsson to write a couple of stories about the Air Force Pedros. After publication of her first installment, she emailed from Afghanistan, surprised to have gotten “thank you” notes from readers. As a journalist, Camilla had never gotten “thank yous” before. In the about five years I have covered the wars, it is safe to say that British and American service members, their families and others, have thanked me 100% of the time, for each of hundreds of dispatches. That would be tens of thousands of thank yous…maybe more. If not for those thank yous, I would have quit after just a few months in combat. The power of a sincere “thank you” can never be measured. And now Camilla’s second story:
By Camilla Fuhr Nilsson
Published: 30 September 2009
“These things we do that others may live” is the current motto of the US Air Force combat search and rescue team, or Pedro as they are called when deployed to Afghanistan. They fly into the battlefield with their smooth Pave Hawk helicopters and evacuate the wounded infantry soldiers and Marines. On a recent evacuation of two Danish soldiers in the middle of a battle with the Taliban, the Viking ancestors made a memorable difference to the 129th American Air Force Pedros crew. (more…)
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Ideology of a Liberal
by Frank DeMartiniSince the health care debate has wound down a little as a result of President Obama’s speech on Wednesday which, by the way, was pure rhetoric and seen by the general public and pundits as a failure because of its lack of new ideas and detail, I have decided to tackle a subject other than health care reform in this article. What makes a liberal tick? Why are there such major differences between the two parties in this country?
The other day I was playing on Facebook and saw a number of posts from my liberal friends regarding health care. The comments posted were all similar. No one should go without health care in this country and no one should go broke because they got sick. Why only liberals would post this amazes me, because there are not too many people in the world that disagree. However, it is just not that simple. (more…)
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Honoring September 11th: We Need Not Be Told
by Joseph Lindsey
Before we can be of service to those who still breathe, we must remember those whose breath was taken from them on this day, and who took it. The current administration has changed this day into a national day of service, another move to further remove us from the reality of life as it is and towards the Utopian life that lives inside their head. And to help nudge society and our popular culture into that imaginary world, the administration has a covert operative in Hollywood.
Hollywood has beneath it a core of self-hatred, mostly because those who run it are engulfed in a glowing guilt rivaled by no religion or ideology. A guilt which silently tells them that their white skin is not worthy of the riches they have. And most are not. (more…)
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Why You Should Read and Support Michael Yon
by J.R. HeadWhen I saw that Michael Yon had joined us here at Big Hollywood, I was overjoyed. This is a great opportunity to expand his audience and, frankly, everyone should read his stuff. Yon has been embedding with military units in combat for the better part of the last four years and has been bringing the ground-level truth to those that care to read it.
I can’t remember exactly when I first discovered his writings but it was at a point where he was disagreeing with the spin coming from the Bush White House regarding progress in Iraq. I was disturbed to have confirmation that things were not quite as we were being told but Yon’s critiques, while serious and undiluted, were constructive in nature. I could tell that he was supportive of the effort even though he sometimes railed against the execution of it. Michael Yon pulls no punches and I checked back often to see what else he had to say. Eventually, the network news would catch up and start reporting things that Yon had written about weeks, often months, earlier. This is a pattern that continues today. (more…)
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America, Join the Obama Coup or Get Out of the Way
by Evan SayetDear America,
I hate you.
I hate you because you’re stupid, you’re bigoted and you’re dangerous.
I know that you’re stupid because you believe in an invisible man in the sky. Not only does that make you stupid, it makes you dangerous. After all, if you’re that easily led to believe in some invisible man in the sky then you might be led into believing in witches and you might burn people at the stake. I don’t care if you “cling” to your religion because you’re not as rich as I am, the fact that you cling to that stupidity makes you a threat to the utopia that would come if only there were no religion.
I know that you’re bigoted because you love America. I’m a citizen of the world, not xenophobic or nativist like you. I don’t believe in false borders falsely imposed on me by corporations and evil, white men seeking to exploit the world. Remember what my Messiah’s mentor said, it’s “white man’s greed that rules a world in need.” Why do you think America is better than any other nation? It’s only your bigotry and bigotry is evil. You’re evil. And you’re standing in the way of my utopia, the peace and prosperity that would come if only there were no countries. (more…)
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Trailer: Clooney Mocks American Military **UPDATED**
by Big Hollywood
With so many tales of military heroism left to tell, Clooney and Company choose this… (more…)
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Remembering Our Veterans: My Best Fourth of July
by Michael MandavilleOur Heroes are everywhere. They pass by us at the market. They work for us. They walk our streets. I’m talking about the men and women of our Armed Forces who serve and have served our country ably, courageously and without acclaim. We all know one such individual. They don’t talk much about it, except with hesitation and humility. And they believe that their unbelievably difficult sacrifices have been forgotten.
Letter of Appreciation [click to enlarge]
And they live across from us. One such Hero is Adolph Arujo who served in the Korean war as a medic in the 2nd Infantry Division in the Punchbowl. This area had some of the fiercest fighting of the war such as Heartbreak Ridge.
We have never spoken in detail about the War nor will we. Courtesy of Hollywood movies, I can imagine the devastation of a friend’s horrible death at your side. I can imagine the onslaught of an attack and gut-bending fear that does not deter one from duty. I can imagine the alienation between a soldier and civilian life. But, of course, I’m still just imagining and not living this role. My words are wholly insufficient. Their valor, courage and service is far too incomprehensible in my experience. (more…)
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Troopathon 2009: Saying Thanks for Freedom
by Jeffrey JenaSometimes I sit at my desk and I think about what I do for a living. Some people say comedy is hard but comedy is a byproduct of our society. Everything that we have and everything that we do in America from telling jokes to curing cancer to turning bolts in a factory is the result of a culture in our country that says country is more important than self. From the early revolutionaries to the men and women standing a post in Iraq tonight, Americans have always stepped up to do what is necessary to protect our freedoms.
I believe that the average person in America, and I include myself in that number, has become complacent about the liberties with which we are provided. Most of us don’t vote. Most of us don’t pay much attention to what the government is doing. Most of us don’t care that little by little, freedoms won and protected by the blood of our young man and women, are being whittled away. Smoking is banned, but hey, most of us don’t smoke. They kicked an old lady out of her house, but we all got a great new shopping mall. The government decides that AIG or GM is too big to fail but that’s OK because my insurance or my uncle’s pension was saved. Each time one of our freedoms is chipped away it is an insult to those who have laid down their lives protecting them. (more…)
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Troopathon 2009: We Really Do Love Care Packages
by Kurt SchlichterI got a phone call yesterday from my buddy who is currently commanding a combat arms battalion in Iraq. Things are calm – at least, they were yesterday. He’ll be coming home in the next few months just as a bunch of other folks I know will be going over themselves. And I know there’s another ungodly hot and shooty place in my future too.
Just because our fighting men and women disappeared from the nightly news and off the front pages does not mean that the war is over. Far from it – there are hundreds of thousands of Americans out there right now, and that’s easy to forget when all the media is talking about are cheating governors and Perez Hilton beatdowns.
That’s why supporting Troopathon 2009 is key. Every package is a loud and clear message to our people that we remember them, we honor them, and that we will not forget them. (more…)
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Troopathon 2009: Letters Like Clockwork
by John NolteNot long after our present wars began in Afghanistan and Iraq the letters started to arrive. One a month, two, sometimes more… We received one just last week. They come from most every military organization you can imagine. Some are about care packages, others are about air conditioners, and a few have to do with adopting a soldier to share correspondence with. None ask for money. They’re thank you notes, thanking “Mr. and Mrs. John Nolte for your generosity.”
Only through these letters do I ever learn of my generosity. This is my wife’s doing.
Since the arrival of the first letter we’ve had some lean years and some flush, but still they come. Only the amount we’re being thanked for ever changes. Frequently, during those leanest of times, my wife would get angry because what she could afford to donate barely covered the costs involved in the sending of the thank you. So she’d scrape up another donation and send it along with an attached note politely advising: “To Whom It May Concern: No reply is necessary. Please use the money for the troops.” (more…)
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Troopathon 2009: If Our Politicians Had Half Your Courage
by Bosch Fawstin
[click to enlarge]
For more on my work, please visit my blog
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Boxer Demotes Herself From ‘Ma’am’ to ‘Senator’
by Jeffrey JenaIn the spirit of full disclosure I have to say that I find pretty much anything Senator Boxer says irritating. However, her recent disrespectful and condescending request to a Brigadier General — who had respectfully called her “Ma’am” — to call her “Senator,” made me laugh.
Generally speaking, I will call someone whatever they want to be called as long as they are willing to return the courtesy. My given name is Jeffrey but you can call me just about any variation of that you want as long as you do it in friendly manner. However, if your name is Charles and you insist on me calling you “Charles” and not “Charlie” or “Chuck” then you will only call me Jeffrey. If you are a Doctor or a Professor and insist I use your title when addressing you then you must address me as Mister.
I also have a few nicknames and if you know me well enough and long enough you can call me by one of those. My golf buddies can call me any number of names that are not printable here as long as they are also marveling at my shot-making ability at the same time. I also try to treat everyone I meet in daily life with respect. I address everyone I do not know with the title “Sir” or “Ma’am.” The cop who pulls me over for speeding or the person who takes my money at the grocery store get the same treatment.
I recently did a show at a military base where the commanding officer was a woman. I was unsure how to address this much decorated military person so I asked a tough-looking guy with a bunch of stripes on his arm to guide me. He told me that “Ma’am” was the proper term of address, just as I would say “Sir” if the commander were a man. Then he added some information for which I had not asked. (more…)
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Barbara Boxer: A Bad Actor
by Chuck DeVoreBarbara Boxer’s snippy confrontation with Brigadier General Michael Walsh on Capitol Hill on June 16, 2009 (Don’t call me “Ma’am,” call me “Senator”) wasn’t a display of a lack of proper military respect for Boxer, it was an open display of contempt from Boxer towards the people who serve in the military. That the Senator’s contempt was open and obvious shows Boxer’s lack of acting skills – most liberals have mastered the art of at least acting like they respect the men and women in the armed services.
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Liberal contempt towards those who take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States has deep roots in the hard left that Boxer epitomizes. Look at how Boxer manipulates concern for the casualties of war to ram home her political attack against former President Bush in this email from 2007: (more…)
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An Alternative to War
by Schizoid MannDisclaimer: What you are about to read is fiction. It is a story about peace. Peace at any cost.
THE WORLD TODAY: A News Summary
May 2009
BONN (EU News) – The current CSPEU administration has decided to increase productivity by lowering the age that children are required to enter the workforce from nine to eight years of age. The EU Vice Minister for the Interior states the lowering of the work age is due to an increased shortage of youthful workers. “It’s a reflection of the ongoing fighting between our peaceful union and the obstinate Russians.”
Citizens and subjects in the 18-25 age bracket have seldom been seen in recent years. The Vice Minister commented on this by stating, “This temporary downturn in our youthful population is insignificant compared to the tremendous loss of life on the Russian side. Though our rockets delivering Vemork V weapons obliterated St. Petersburg and most of Moscow years ago, the Russians, though scattered and ill equipped, still choose to resist to this very day. It staggers the mind why they wish to continue their own misery. ” (more…)
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The Troops Support Us. Support Them.
by Bosch Fawstin
Bosch Fawstin is the creator of Pigman, the jihadist’s worst nightmare, who wears pigskin leather to exploit the enemy’s pigotry. To see Pigman’s 1st appearance in print, check out ProPiganda: Drawing the Line Against Jihad.
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Daily Gut: Soldiers on Drugs
by Greg Gutfeld
Their valor is second to none. But are drugs helping them get the job done? According to Men’s Health, American troops are taking piles of prescription meds – citing a U-S army survey that found 12 percent of soldiers in Iraq and 15 percent in Afghanistan reported taking antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, or sleeping pills.
But– not mentioned in this strange article: Their prescription med use is actually lower than the national average.
Funny, that. We actually did some digging and found that 10 percent of Americans take drugs to combat depression and 25 percent take sleep medications. That’s a total of 35 percent – double that of those brave folks in the military.
In short, Men’s Health should stick to flat abs. (more…)
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Lonewolf Diaries: Time to Body Check Obama
by Steven CrowderI was back in junior high when my dad used this unforgettable analogy: “The role of the government is similar to that of a hockey referee. His job is to keep the players safe and keep the pace of the game. No more, no less.”
Granted, my dad was really just trying to simplify an explanation for me amidst a time in my life where I’d rather be lighting my own flatulence than engaging in true political discourse, but looking back… I realize that my father is a genius! Step aside Thomas Edison and Guy-who-invented-PopTarts, there’s a new sheriff in town.
The simple, yet brilliant description should be one of the “go to” weapons in any conservative’s quiver when it comes to debating the left. See, liberals hate it when you have a firm grasp on the role of government and more importantly, the founding fathers original intent. It makes their run-around, situational ethics a lot harder to peddle. Now of course using the “hockey referee” analogy may be blatantly Canadian of me, so for all you Southerners just replace “hockey” with “football”, and if you’re gay…. “Soccer.” (more…)
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