Teflon Don is back in Iraq

Gordon Alanko, a/k/a Teflon Don, recently arrived back in Baghdad. This time he’s there as a photojournalist with credentials from Public Multimedia, Inc. rather than as part of an Army EOD team performing route clearance. Also read his thoughts on what he learned the last time he was there.
Bookmark his site. Check it [...]

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Emails from an orthopedic surgeon in Mosul, Iraq

“All bleeding stops eventually or so the saying goes. Blood is another great dual purpose word; symbolic and yet so practical. It can be red or blue Here it is a precious commodity that I periodically stand in pools of. It drips and spurts. From an economic perspective it is like standing on gold dust. [...]

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Miss Utah, Jill Stevens, Is America’s Choice

Congratulations to Miss Utah, Jill Stevens!
America’s Choice

Miss Utah, Jill Stevens (Keith Johnson, Deseret Morning News)
Deseret Morning News reporter, Joseph M.Dougherty, has a nice article, “Jill Stevens: ‘America’s choice’ — Yet Michigan’s Kirsten Haglund crowned Miss America 2008.” The article includes a Gallery of Photos from the event in addition to the above photo. There is [...]

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REMINDER: Vote for Miss Utah

Today and tomorrow (before 3:00 pm Eastern) are the last two days you can vote for Miss Utah in TLC’s Miss America Reality Check “America’s Choice” contest. If you haven’t already been casting your daily vote, please do so today and tomorrow.
4:38:37 pm EST

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America’s Choice

I’ve been watching Miss America Reality Check on TLC because Sergeant Jill Stevens, an army medic with the Utah National Guard and an OEF (Afghanistan) vet, a/k/a G. I. Jill is Miss Utah. According to Sergeant Stevens’ January 4 post, this year viewers have the opportunity to vote online for a 16th pageant finalist. You [...]

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SSG David Bellavia

Michael Totten, now on his way back to Fallujah, has posted The House from Hell, containing excerpts from Army SSG David Bellavia’s new book, House to House: An Epic Memoir of War. It’s a brutally honest must read. I haven’t read my copy yet. I know once I being reading it, I won’t be [...]

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Go Army! Beat EVERYONE!

And so they did.
The numbers are from PayPal data only. It will take some time for all the checks to arrive, be counted, and official results posted.
I see that Team Army’s donors “exceeded that of any other team by almost 2-1.” Proof that giving what you can, no matter how small the amount, does make [...]

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“The Longest Morning”

The story of Heroism, Courage, and Loss in the Face of Impossible Odds. Take it from me, it’s a must read.
2:19:46 pm EST

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Send in the Cavalry!!

Army’s down by more than $4,000. It’s that birthday tradition thing on the 10th for the scurrilous devil dogs that does it. Is Army going to allow this? Where’s that Army pride, huh? “Army Strong”? Pfffttt. Prove it to me!
This is it. Today’s the last day. Fire up those email lists people! Collect favors [...]

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A Purple Heart, a Distinguished Service Cross, and the Cold-Shoulder

On November 2nd, 2007, First Lt. Walter Bryan Jackson received the Distinguished Service Cross, “the second highest military decoration of the United States Army, awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force.” He’s only the seventh soldier to have received it since 1975 when the Vietnam War [...]

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Sergeant Grumpy

No, not you, Army Bro. This Sergeant Grumpy who arrived in Iraq this month. I found his blog via a link from Mrs. Greyhawk’s October 25th Dawn Patrol to this post titled, Inshallah. I got a kick out of it, read a few other posts, and then bookmarked the [...]

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Sometimes only the Vice President of the United States…

is an acceptable replacement for your chain of command. Congratulations to Staff Sergeant (Promotable) Ian Freeman, highlighted as Someone You Should Know by Badger 6 at Badgers Forward.
BTW, what is it that makes Engineers so darn stubborn? Ha-ha! <ducking for cover>
9:14:43 pm EST

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LTC Brian Delaplane – Firepower Forward

Some of you may recall an email or two I sent back in ‘05 to posts at the blog, Firepower Forward, of then Major Brian Delaplane during his Afghanistan deployment. Yesterday, as I scrolled through Blackfive, I saw the title of this post and just couldn’t read it. I didn’t want to read it. I [...]

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New Michael Yon Dispatch

“Achievements of the Human Heart“
Here’s the passage almost everyone is quoting:
Recently, I found myself in the 28th Combat Support Hospital emergency room where one of our most loyal interpreters was being treated after being injured in an attack. While his prognosis was excellent, he was very shaken. As he lay on a gurney with his [...]

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Courts of Inquiry

A courts of inquiry is “a very formal investigatory body provided for by the Uniform Code of Military Justice” according to this article at The Washington Times. The purpose is to look into charges against Lt. Gen. Frank Kearney, deputy commander of SOCOM.
A crusading three-star general has sparked outrage within the Army Special Forces [...]

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