....You are not alone nor forgotten nor unappreciated.............We the People of America will FOREVER have your backs.........

http://videos.komando.com/2009/09/06/a-day-to-remember/

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VETERAN'S DAY....
 

A WELCOME HOME.....
 

Another example of an EXTRAORDINARY American soldier.......
 

Worth watching
 

ANOTHER American HERO.....
 

To the thousands of supporters of Michael Behenna,

Many of you have been asking about the latest on Michael's appeal. Michael’s appellate brief was filed on December 22, 2009 and the military’s response brief was due January 21, 2010. The military asked for and was granted a three-month extension to April 21, 2010. Then sometime in early April the military filed for and received yet another three-month extension making their response brief not due until July 22, 2010! But most amazing of all was that the extension was granted without notice being provided to Michael’s attorneys to argue against it.
From the start of this hell we have tried to put our trust in the military justice system. But time and time again this ‘justice’ system has failed this young man who defended our liberties in the face of a ruthless enemy. First it was the withholding of evidence in Michael’s trial and now this. The government will have had seven months to respond to Michael’s appellate brief when it should have taken only seven weeks. It appears to us that the Army is deliberately doing everything it can to delay Michael’s appeal process. And for what end you ask? We may never know, just as we may never know what was really behind the Army prosecuting Michael in the first place. But in the face of these delay tactics we have become even more convinced of the strength of Michael’s appeal (which the military is struggling to counter.) As Thomas Paine wrote, 'Tyranny is not easily conquered, but our consolation is that the harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.'

Despite everything Michael is faring well. He draws strength from the many letters he receives and your continued correspondence will help him leave Leavenworth the way he arrived – with his head held high. Michael ‘celebrates’ his 27th birthday behind bars on May 18th. This will be his second birthday in Leavenworth Prison and is yet another reminder of how long he has been away from family and friends. Please consider sending Michael a birthday card to let him know he is not forgotten and to encourage him to keep the faith. You can send your cards and letters to:

Michael Behenna #87503
1300 N. Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2304

Finally, good news was received this week concerning the two Navy SEALS exonerated of injuring an Al Qaeda leader. In addition, Sgt Larry Hutchins, a Marine held at Leavenworth, had his case overturned in the Navy Court of Appeals. These men are decorated heroes who have served this country honorably and deserve our support. It is my hope that the pendulum is truly swinging back in favor of our soldiers and away from a capricious and political military justice system led by people who have NEVER been in harms way. Please continue to contact your Congressmen and Senators and let them know that our soldiers deserve our unending support, especially when they are defending themselves in a combat zone.

Bless each of you for supporting all of our troops,

Sincerely,

Scott and Vicki Behenna
Proud Parents of 1LT Michael Behenna
www.defendmichael.com

REMEMBER

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN ,not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.

Veterans still serving.......
 

Minorities

We need to show more sympathy for these people.
* They travel miles in the heat.
* They risk their lives crossing a border.
* They don't get paid enough wages.
* They do jobs that others won't do or are afraid to do.
* They live in crowded conditions among a people who speak a different language.
* They rarely see their families, and they face adversity all day ~ every day..




I'm not talking about illegal Mexicans ~ I'm talking about our troops! Doesn't it seem strange that many People are willing to lavish all kinds of social benefits on illegals, but don't support our troops.

Thanks to ALL our military for EVERYTHING they do! Remember who DIDN'T support our military come NOVEMBER!

AMEN Rudy. Could not have said it better....

I just got this in from AFA (American Family Association) urging the president to re-think "Dont ask, don't tell" ... I signed an e-mail this morning about it. Here are the details:


Tell President Obama to listen to the troops and his own commanders
June 15, 2010


Dear Casey,


Despite vigorous resistance from the heads of each of the military's branches, President Obama is determined to overturn the ban on open homosexual service before a survey of rank and file members of the military is completed on December 1.

If this ban is overturned, it will have a catastrophic effect on military morale, unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and readiness.

The Senate intends to repeal the existing law as early as next week. Moving ahead without receiving input from the men and women who wear the uniform tells them that their opinions don't matter. This is the ultimate sign of disrespect for the military members who put their lives on the line to protect our freedom. It's inexcusable and unconscionable.

Yet on April 19, at a fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer, the president said, "We need to repeal don't ask, don't tell."

It is urgent that we instruct President Obama to listen to his military commanders, who are putting their careers on the line to challenge the commander-in-chief.

Please take a moment to read the following excerpts from letters written to Congress by the men in charge of the armed services.

"[T]he value of surveying the thoughts of Marines and their families is that it signals to my Marines that their opinions matter." ~ Gen. James T. Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps

"I...believe that repealing the law before the completion of the review will be seen by the men and women of the Army as a reversal of our commitment to hear their views before moving forward." ~ George V. Casey Jr., General, United States Army

"My concern is that legislative changes at this point, regardless of the precise language used, may cause confusion on the status of the law in the Fleet and disrupt the review process itself by leading Sailors to question whether their input matters." ~ G. Roughead, Admiral, U.S. Navy

"I believe it is important...that the Secretary of Defense commissioned review be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the DA/DT law. Such action allows me to provide the best military advice to the President, and sends an important signal to our Airmen and their families that their opinion matters." ~ Norton A. Schwartz, General, United States Air Force

Send an e-mail today insisting that he listen to the voice of his commanders and the voice of his troops and stop the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

It is very important that you forward this alert to your friends and family members.

Sincerely,



Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association

“The real heroes were my good buddies who died during the battles.” Marine Corporal Ira Hayes (one of five Marines and a Navy Corpsman who raised Old Glory atop Mt Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Feb 1945)

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“Shall ne’er go by, from this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”
William Shakespeare's
King Henry V, Act 4, Scene III
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“I like Marines, because being a Marine is serious business. We’re not a social club or a fraternal organization and we don’t pretend to be one. We’re a brotherhood of “Warriors” – nothing more, nothing less, pure and simple. We are in the ass-kicking business, and unfortunately, these days business is good.”
Colonel James M. Lowe, Commander, Marine Corps Base Quantico

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Rudy,
Every single photo I see of OUR troops NEVER fails to give me shivers of PRIDE and LOVE for those ordinary but EXTRAORDINARY Americans who fill the shoes and boots of our military HEROES. God be with every single one of them.

It pains me GREATLY to hear and see the DISDAIN our 'government', from the TOP down, has for OUR Military and their mission. God will judge them....

http://wethepeoplehaveyourbackstour.webs.com/

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"To save your world you asked this man to die; Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?“
Wystan H. Auden, Epitaph for an unknown soldier.

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"The only way for evil men to triumph is for good men to do nothing," said Lt. Col. Michael Hudson, MAG-39 executive officer, quoting Edmund Burke. "These Marines were here because for them doing nothing was not an option."

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“Going to a memorial is the toughest thing you are going to do when you get home. It is also the most honorable. It is our time to talk about not only how the Soldier lived, but how he touched our lives and be able to express ourselves while letting him know that as we live we will never forget the ultimate sacrifice that they gave to us so we can continue to live as a free nation.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Philip Johndrow, 1st Cavalry Division, Iraq

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“We are here to honor the memory and service of seven men, seven of our brothers in arms ... why do we have to lose such good men? Part of the answer is only good men like these volunteer to serve and defend their country ... For those who want to support us by getting us out of Iraq as soon as possible, without a victory, I have but one comment. You’re too late. We have sacrificed too much and all we ask of you is the necessary time to finish the job ... So I ask you ‘Wolfpack’ to make this promise with me. They will not have died for nothing. We owe them a victory. We owe them a win. We owe them our own lives if necessary. If the enemy comes out to fight he will be met with a disciplined lethal ferocity he has never before endured. If he plays the sly game of intimidating, beheading and torturing the innocent people of Iraq when he thinks we’re not looking, he will be met with a cunning, a sophistication and a relentlessness that will lead to his utter defeat. This is my promise to you as your commander and from all of us to our honored dead.”

LTC Rod Coffey, Commander, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, The "Wolfpack”, Diyala Province, Iraq, January 22, 2008

He has seen the Elephant....
 

Old soldiers in the Civil War coined a phrase for green troops who survived their first taste of battle: "He has seen the elephant." This Army lieutenant sums up the combat experience better than many a grizzled veteran:

"Well, I'm here in Iraq, and I've seen it, and done it. I've seen everything you've ever seen in a war movie. I've seen cowardice; I've seen heroism; I've seen fear; and I've seen relief. I've seen blood and brains all over the back of a vehicle, and I've seen men bleed to death surrounded by their comrades. I've seen people throw up when it's all over, and I've seen the same shell-shocked look in 35-year-old experienced sergeants as in 19-year-old privates.

"I've heard the screams - 'Medic! Medic!' I've hauled dead civilians out of cars, and I've looked down at my hands and seen them covered in blood after putting some poor Iraqi civilian in the wrong place at the wrong time into a helicopter. I've seen kids with gunshot wounds, and I've seen kids who've tried to kill me.

"I've seen men tell lies to save lives: 'What happened to Sergeant A.?' The reply: 'C'mon man, he's all right - he's wondering if you'll be OK - he said y'all will have a beer together when you get to Germany.' SFC A. was lying 15 feet away on the other side of the bunker with two medics over him desperately trying to get either a pulse or a breath. The man who asked after SFC A. was himself bleeding from two gut wounds and rasping as he tried to talk with a collapsed lung. One of them made it; one did not.

"I've run for cover as fast as I've ever run - I'll hear the bass percussion thump of mortar rounds and rockets exploding as long as I live. I've heard the shrapnel as it shredded through the trailers my men live in and over my head. I've stood, gasping for breath, as I helped drag into a bunker a man so pale and badly bloodied I didn't even recognize him as a soldier I've known for months. I've run across open ground to find my soldiers and make sure I had everyone.

"I've raided houses, and shot off locks, and broken in windows. I've grabbed prisoners, and guarded them. I've looked into the faces of men who would have killed me if I'd driven past their IED (improvised explosive device) an hour later. I've looked at men who've killed two people I knew, and saw fear.

"I've seen that, sadly, that men who try to kill other men aren't monsters, and most of them aren't even brave - they aren't defiant to the last - they're ordinary people. Men are men, and that's it. I've prayed for a man to make a move toward the wire, so I could flip my weapon off safe and put two rounds in his chest - if I could beat my platoon sergeant's shotgun to the punch. I've been wanted dead, and I've wanted to kill.

"I've sworn at the radio when I heard one of my classmate's platoon sergeants call over the radio: 'Contact! Contact! IED, small arms, mortars! One KIA, three WIA!' Then a burst of staccato gunfire and a frantic cry: 'Red 1, where are you? Where are you?' as we raced to the scene...knowing full well we were too late for at least one of our comrades.

"I've seen a man without the back of his head and still done what I've been trained to do - 'medic!' I've cleaned up blood and brains so my soldiers wouldn't see it - taken pictures to document the scene, like I'm in some sort of bizarre cop show on TV.

"I've heard gunfire and hit the ground, heard it and closed my Humvee door, and heard it and just looked and figured it was too far off to worry about. I've seen men stacked up outside a house, ready to enter - some as scared as they could be, and some as calm as if they were picking up lunch from McDonald's. I've laughed at dead men, and watched a sergeant on the ground, laughing so hard he was crying, because my boots were stuck in a muddy field, all the while an Iraqi corpse was not five feet from him.

"I've heard men worry about civilians, and I've heard men shrug and sum up their viewpoint in two words - 'F--- 'em.' I've seen people shoot when they shouldn't have, and I've seen my soldiers take an extra second or two, think about it, and spare somebody's life.

"I've bought drinks from Iraqis while new units watched in wonder from their trucks, pointing weapons in every direction, including the Iraqis my men were buying a Pepsi from. I've patrolled roads for eight hours at a time that combat support units spend days preparing to travel 10 miles on. I've laughed as other units sit terrified in traffic, fingers nervously on triggers, while my soldiers and I deftly whip around, drive on the wrong side of the road, and wave to Iraqis as we pass. I can recognize a Sadiqqi (Arabic for friend) from a Haji (Arabic word for someone who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca, but our word for a bad guy); I know who to point my weapons at, and who to let pass.

"I've come in from my third 18-hour patrol in as many days with a full beard and stared at a major in a pressed uniform who hasn't left the wire since we've been here, daring him to tell me to shave. He looked at me, looked at the dust and sweat and dirt on my uniform, and went back to typing at his computer.

"I've stood with my men in the mess hall, surrounded by people whose idea of a bad day in Iraq is a six-hour shift manning a radio, and watched them give us a wide berth as we swagger in, dirty, smelly, tired, but sure in our knowledge that we pull the triggers, and we do what the Army does, and they, with their clean uniforms and weapons that have never fired, support us.

"I've given a kid water and Gatorade and made a friend for life. I've let them look through my sunglasses - no one wears them in this country but us - and watched them pretend to be an American soldier - a swaggering invincible machine, secure behind his sunglasses, only because the Iraqis can't see the fear in his eyes.

"I've said it a thousand times - 'God, I hate this country.' I've heard it a million times more - 'This place sucks.' In quieter moments, I've heard more profound things: 'Sir, this is a thousand times worse than I ever thought it would be.' Or, 'My wife and Sgt. B's wife were good friends - I hope she's taking it well.'

"They say they're scared, and say they won't do this or that, but when it comes time to do it they can't let their buddies down, can't let their friends go outside the wire without them, because they know it isn't right for the team to go into the ballgame at any less than 100 percent.

"That's combat, I guess, and there's no way you can be ready for it. It just is what it is, and everybody's experience is different. Just thought you might want to know what it's really like."