The C-Square

H and S 4thLAR Training in Republic of South Africa

2011-12-13T13:47:00.002-06:00

AUG 2011: Marines from Jump Platoon, H&S Company, 4th LAR Bn, awaiting movement back home from Cape Town, Republic of South Africa. The grunts from Jump served as the Security Platoon during Operation Shared Accord 2011, a three week joint US & RSA operation where South African National Defense Forces (SANDF) and US Marines trained side by side in infantry tactics, and US medical and veterinary personnel from the Army, Navy, and Air Force worked with the South African Medical Service (SAMS) to provide care and treatment to the poorest members of South Africa's Eastern Cape. Platoon Sergeant, Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Horton stands at the left of the sign, Platoon Commander CWO Rose to the right.

09.11.2011

2011-09-11T08:12:00.000-05:00

Died today: "Marc Wilson" 1996-2011

2011-08-19T14:26:00.003-05:00

Hummingbird weight with the spirit of a US Marine, call sign "Marc Wilson" died today after a lifetime fire fight with death on his shoulder. He went out game to the end. At three years old, he woke up from his first brain operation to be accosted by the ever present cheerful ward nurse who first demand was: "And WHAT! is our name? Unimpressed he coolly replied: "My name is Bond. James Bond" A couple months ago he texted his thanks for a toy Syma R/C Gyro Helicopter I had sent him. "It will come in great for my covert operations" he added. What a kid. He was my favorite nephew.

2nd annual Lance Corporal Kane benefit run

2011-05-16T09:36:00.002-05:00

Via the Cherryhill Fire Dept News: A tribute to LCpl Jeremy Kane.Hook and Ladder 44 welcomes new member

"On Saturday May 1st 2011, a few hundred people gathered at Cherry Hill School East to pay tribute to a home town hero. It was the 2nd annual Jeremy Kane benefit run in honor of Lance Corporal Jeremy Kane who was killed in action in Afghanistan on January 23, 2010. The weather was perfect and all of the supporters lined up for a run/walk from Cherry Hill East High School on Kresson Road to M'Kor Shalom on Evesham Road. After the race concluded, the Kane Family and members of Jeremy's platoon, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, were gathered at Ladder Company 44's apparatus to unveil its newest member. Chief Giorgio spoke to the Kane family about the importance of our Maltese Cross and our CHFD Patch and that we will proudly display the Unit Shield of 4th LAR. The members of our nations military will always be honored by the CHFD."

Mayor Platt making opening remarks

Runners lined up on Kresson Road lead by our nations Colors

Chief Giorgio with the Kane Family

Mrs. Kane with members of 4th LAR

A copy of 4th LAR Shield that is on 2 windows on Ladder Company 44.
Above the shield - Lance Cooral Jeremy Kane - USMC
Below the shield - Riding With Us

2011-03-23T06:18:00.002-05:00

C3LAR spotters, Bahram Chah Valley, Operation Rawhide II Helmand province, Afghanistan, March 16. Sgt. Jeremy Ross, 3/15/2011

2011-02-10T21:11:00.002-06:00

Fox Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion | Facebook
Welcome to a Facebook Page about Fox Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. Join Facebook to start connecting with Fox Company, 4th Light ...

2011-02-01T05:00:00.001-06:00

LAV-25 from 1st Platoon, Bravo Co, 4th LAR Bn, takes a hull up position at the Shiabot Combat Outpost, Helmand Province, IROA, October 2010.

What is this war about?

2011-01-27T18:45:00.001-06:00

Sgt. David Smith, HM2 Xin Qi and Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane died in a Jan. 23, 2010 suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s Helmand province while guarding a bazaar with the 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.

Will Conservative Media Elites Defend Lars Hedegaard?

Posted By Andrew G. Bostom On January 10, 2011 @ 8:15 am In Uncategorized | 28 Comments

This past Friday I received a plaintive appeal on behalf of my colleague, Danish journalist and historian Lars Hedegaard — President of the Danish Free Press Society and The International Free Press Society (IFPS ^[1]). My response to the appeal is included at the end of this essay as a succinct guide to Islamically perplexed, high-profile U.S. conservative media elites who, until now, have entirely ignored the burgeoning crisis epitomized by Lars Hedegaard’s current plight. It is well past time for these self-anointed champions of free speech to weigh-in publicly and offer a robust defense of my colleague –and theirs.

Whom am I addressing in conservative media, specifically? All of the best-known and “highest-rated” (as they are constantly reminding us, at any rate) radio and television personalities: Mr. No Spin ^[2], what say you? Dittos to you, Rush ^[3]. Don’t continue to be a mute mime clown on this matter, Glenn ^[4]. You’re not ringing in support of freedom of speech, Sean ^[5], and I’ll indeed bite you if you don’t open your loud — but highly intelligent — mouth in support of Hedegaard, Mark ^[6].

As for the conservative or “center-right” print/online media icons — the editorial boards of the National Review ^[7], Weekly Standard ^[8], and Wall Street Journal ^[9] – your continued silence is craven and hypocritical, not golden.

Here is the crux of Mr. Hedegaard’s case, and some background. As the IFPS appeal notes:

Those who have been following the Danish cartoon crisis and several subsequent attempts by radical Muslims to kill and bomb Danes and Danish institutions may be excused for believing that Denmark is in the forefront of the battle for free speech. And indeed it used to be that way. No longer. For the past year the Danish public prosecutor has been waging a lawfare offensive against outspoken critics of Islam and Muslim practices.

On December 3 following a Kafka-esque ^[10] prosecution in Denmark, Member of Parliament (MP) Jesper Langballe was convicted ^[1] and indeed confessed ^[10] to the “crime” of so-called “hate speech” — or as the judge in the lower court of Randers characterized it, “racial discrimination” — for having called attention to honor killings in Muslim families.

Lars Hedegaard’s prosecution is next. He is slated to stand trial in the lower court of Frederiksberg on January 24, 2011. Mr. Hedegaard’s apparent “crime” was to draw attention to the extensive (and disproportionate) number of family rapes in areas dominated by Muslim culture. As the IFPS appeal further notes:

This well-documented fact has brought him an indictment ^[11] under the Danish penal code’s “racism” clause: Article 266b ^[12]. Both MP Langballe and Lars Hedegaard have long ago emphasized that they did not intend to accuse all Muslims or even the majority of Muslims of such crimes. This has made no impression on the public prosecutor.

In late September 2010 Lars Hedegaard recalled that at the inaugural assembly of the Danish Free Press Society (the mother organization of the IFPS) in March 2005 he observed:

Present attempts to crush freedom of expression come from several actors: national governments, supranational organizations such as the EU and the UN, and, not least, Islam. And not only from so-called “Islamists” or “terrorists” or “Islamic radicals.” They are inherent in the very core of Mohammedan ideology.

Hedegaard’s September 2010 statement continued, laying out the IFPS’s — and his own — Weltanschauung, and real world activities, for which he is now, incredibly, being prosecuted:

That has been our position all along. We have made no bones about the fact that we consider Islam — as it is presently being preached by all influential clerics and ideologues — a deadly threat to all our freedoms among which are freedom of expression. For this consistent stance we have been vilified and called every name in the book, but we will not budge.

I’m aware that some of my friends think that Islam can be reformed, domesticated, and civilized. I welcome that day, but must relate to the fact that it hasn’t happened yet — though Muslims have had 1,400 years to complete the project.

So the International Free Press Society has decided to live in the real world. And the real world demands robust defense of free speech, repeal of all blasphemy and hate-speech laws, and unwavering support of everyone who is being bullied and threatened by adherents of the caliphate. All this we have done to the best of our ability and with a fair degree of success. Whenever the likes of Geert Wilders, Kurt Westergaard, Robert Redeker, Gregorius Nekschot and so many others have come under threat, we have been the first to give them a platform and stand by them through thick and thin.

Just a few days ago, the Free Press Society received a mail from Gregorius Nekschot thanking us for the fact that after many years of harassment, the Dutch prosecutor has dropped the criminal charges against him for drawing offensive pictures. Nekschot is in no doubt that the solidarity shown by the IFPS has been instrumental in securing this happy outcome.

The January 7 IFPS statement concluded with this clarion warning, and appeal, which all U.S. media conservative elites should heed. Simply put, unabashedly supporting Lars Hedegaard is required to defend our most fundamental Western freedom — freedom of speech:

We fear that the public prosecutor intends to stifle open debate on Islam and Muslim culture. And we fear that he is doing so with the tacit approval of the governing parties, which first signaled their intention to remove the racism clause from the penal code but have recently recanted.

If the authorities succeed in silencing such critics as Jesper Langballe and Lars Hedegaard, who will dare speak out?

We must put a stop to these attempts to undermine free speech if we wish to preserve Denmark as a free country. And where Denmark — that former beacon of free speech — goes, the rest of the West may follow.

What follows is my own response to the IFPS appeal on behalf of Lars Hedegaard—a potential guide for Islamically perplexed U.S. conservative media elites:

The prosecution of Lars Hedegaard is a doubly obscene violation of the very foundations of Western freedom and the rule of law. By apparent illegal design, it a priori deliberately ignores the factual content of Mr. Hedegaard’s presentation — critical to his defense –while championing, exclusively, mendacious, bowdlerized portrayals of living Islamic doctrines — rooted in the Sharia, or Islamic “law” — and their historical consequences, past as prologue to the present.

Denying Mr. Hedegaard’s fundamental Western right to a full rational, evidence-based self-defense — including a critical examination of Islam — is nothing less than a complete capitulation to Islamic blasphemy law. The independent existence of objective universal truths is not acknowledged by normative Islamic doctrine. Thus, antithetical to Western conceptions, Islamic religio-political doctrine does not recognize individual liberties, even as an abstraction.

Is this now Denmark’s “standard” as well?

Notwithstanding Denmark’s denial of Mr. Hedegaard’s right to a fair defense, a collective wealth of unambiguous evidence ^[13] — readily available — reveals the breathtaking shallowness and intellectual dishonesty of this prosecution: objective, erudite analyses of the Sharia by leading Western scholars of Islam; the acknowledgment of Sharia’s global “resurgence,” even by postmodern, “anti-colonial” (i.e., against Western colonialism, not Islamic jihad colonialism!) academic apologists for Islam, combined with an abundance of recent polling data from Muslim nations, and Muslim immigrant communities in the West confirming the ongoing, widespread adherence to the Sharia’s tenets; the plaintive warnings and admonitions of contemporary Muslim intellectuals — freethinkers and believers alike — about the incompatibility of Sharia with modern, Western-derived conceptions of universal human rights; and the overt promulgation of traditional, Sharia-based Muslim legal systems as an integrated whole (i.e., extending well beyond mere “family law aspects” of the Sharia), by authoritative, mainstream international, European, and North American Islamic religio-political organizations.

Finally, has Denmark voluntarily abandoned modern human rights ideals — a unique product of centuries of the West’s agonizing, self-critical struggles — and retrogressed to the era of Beaumarchais’ Marriage of Figaro, written at the close of the 18th century? The text included this freedom of speech monologue in Act V, Scene 3:

I cobble together a verse comedy about the customs of the harem, assuming that, as a Spanish writer, I can say what I like about Mohammed without drawing hostile fire. Next thing, some envoy from God knows where turns up and complains that in my play I have offended the Ottoman empire, Persia, a large slice of the Indian peninsula, the whole of Egypt, and the kingdoms of Barca [Ethiopia], Tripoli, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. And so my play sinks without trace, all to placate a bunch of Muslim princes, not one of whom, as far as I know, can read but who beat the living daylights out of us and say we are “Christian dogs.” Since they can’t stop a man thinking, they take it out on his hide instead.

Article printed from Pajamas Media: http://pajamasmedia.com

URL to article: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/will-conservative-media-elites-defend-lars-hedegaard/

URLs in this post:

[1] IFPS: http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2010/12/the-scandal-of-danish-justice/

[2] Mr. No Spin: http://www.billoreilly.com/pg/jsp/billsbooks/tnsz.jsp

[3] Rush: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html

[4] Glenn: http://www.glennbeck.com/

[5] Sean: http://www.amazon.com/Let-Freedom-Ring-Winning-Liberalism/dp/0060735651/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294503004&sr=1-3

[6] Mark: http://www.amazon.com/Liberty-Tyranny-Conservative-Mark-Levin/dp/1416562877/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294503188&sr=1-1

[7] National Review: http://www.nationalreview.com/

[8] Weekly Standard: http://www.weeklystandard.com/

[9] Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-opinion-commentary.html

[10] Kafka-esque: http://www.andrewbostom.org/blog/2010/12/12/beyond-orwell-islamo-realism-as-hate-speech-in-denmark/

[11] indictment: http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2010/09/4087/

[12] 266b: http://www.legal-project.org/blog/2010/12/i-confess-too

[13] unambiguous evidence: http://pajamasmedia.com../../../../../blog/see-no-sharia/?singlepage=true

Dude POTUS cluesless to the real world: Era of Big Yankee Gov't Is Here Now so stick'em Up...peasants

2011-01-27T15:21:00.002-06:00

Sarah Palin:The President’s State of the Union address boiled down to this message: “The era of big government is here as long as I am, so help me pay for it.” He dubbed it a “Winning The Future” speech, but the title’s acronym seemed more accurate than much of the content.

Americans are growing impatient with a White House that still just doesn’t get it. The President proves he doesn’t understand that the biggest challenge facing our economy is today’s runaway debt when he states we want to make sure “we don’t get buried under a mountain a debt.” That’s the problem! We are buried under Mt. McKinley-sized debt. It’s at the heart of what is crippling our economy and taking our jobs. This is the concern that should be on every leader’s mind. Our country’s future is at stake, and we’re rapidly reaching a crisis point. Our government is spending too much, borrowing too much, and growing too much. Debt is stifling our private sector growth, and millions of Americans are desperately looking for work.

So, what was the President’s response? At a time when we need quick, decisive, and meaningful action to stop our looming debt crisis, President Obama gave us what politicians have for years: promises that more federal government “investment” (read: more government spending) is the solution.

He couched his proposals to grow government and increase spending in the language of “national greatness.” This seems to be the Obama administration’s version of American exceptionalism – an “exceptionally big government,” in which a centralized government declares that we shall be great and innovative and competitive, not by individual initiative, but by government decree. Where once he used words like “hope” and “change,” the President may now talk about “innovation” and “competition”; but the audacity of his recycled rhetoric no longer inspires hope.

Real leadership is more than just words; it’s deeds. The President’s deeds don’t lend confidence that we can trust his words spoken last night.

In the past, he promised us he’d make job creation his number one priority, while also cutting the deficit, eliminating waste, easing foreclosures in the housing markets, and making “tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.” What did we get? A record $1.5 trillion deficit, an 84% increase in federal spending, a trillion dollar stimulus that stimulated nothing but more Tea Party activism, 9+% unemployment (or 17% percent if you include those who have stopped looking for work or settled for part time jobs), 2.9 million home foreclosures last year, and a moratorium on offshore drilling that has led to more unemployment and $100 dollar a barrel oil.

The President glossed over the most important issue he needed to address last night: spending. He touched on deficit reduction, but his proposals amount to merely a quarter of the cuts in discretionary spending proposed by his own Deficit Reduction Commission, not to mention the $2.5 trillion in cuts over ten years suggested by the Republican Study Committee. And while we appreciate hearing the same President who gave us the trillion dollar Stimulus Package boondoggle finally concede that we need to cut earmarks, keep in mind that earmarks are a $16 billion drop in the $1.5 trillion ocean that is the federal deficit. Budget cuts won’t be popular, but they are vitally necessary or we will soon be a bankrupt country. It’s the responsibility of a leader to make sure the American people fully understand this.

As it is, the American people should fully understand that when the President talks about increased “investments” he’s talking about increased government spending. Cut away the rhetoric and you’ll also see that the White House’s real message on economic reform wasn’t one of substantial spending cuts, but of tax increases. When the President talks about simplifying the tax code, he’s made it clear that he’s not looking to cut your taxes; he’s looking for additional tax revenue from you. The tax “simplification” suggested by the President’s Deficit Reduction Commission would end up raising taxes by $1 trillion over the next decade. So, instead of bringing spending down in line with revenue, the President wants to raise our taxes to pay for his massive spending increases. It’s tax and spend in reverse: spend first, tax later.

And the Obama administration has a lot of half-baked ideas on where to spend our hard-earned money in pursuit of “national greatness.” These “investments,” as the President calls them, include everything from solar shingles to high speed trains. As we struggle to service our unsustainable debt, the only thing these “investments” will get us is a bullet train to bankruptcy.

With credit ratings agency Moody’s warning us that the federal government must reverse the rapid growth of national debt or face losing our triple-A rating, keep in mind that a nation doesn’t look so “great” when its credit rating is in tatters.

Of course, it’s nice to give a speech calling for “investment” and “competition” in order to reach greatness. It’s quite another thing to advocate and implement policies that truly encourage such things. Growing the federal government is not the answer.

Take education for example. It’s easy to declare the need for better education, but will throwing even more money at the issue really help? As the Cato Institute’s Michael Tanner notes, “the federal government has increased education spending by 188 percent in real terms since 1970 without seeing any substantial improvement in test scores.” If you want “innovation” and “competition,” then support school choice initiatives and less federal control over our state and local districts.

When it comes to energy issues, we heard more vague promises last night as the President’s rhetoric suggested an all-of-the-above solution to meeting our country’s energy needs. But again, his actions point in a different direction. He offers a vision of a future powered by what he refers to as “clean energy,” but how we will get there from here remains a mystery. In the meantime, he continues to stymie the responsible development of our own abundant conventional energy resources – the stuff we actually use right now to fuel our economy. His continued hostility towards domestic drilling means hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs will not be created and millions of Americans will end up paying more at the pump. It also means we’ll continue to transfer hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars to foreign regimes that don’t have America’s interests at heart.

On the crucial issue of entitlement reform, the President offered nothing. This is shocking, because as he himself explained back in April 2009, “if we want to get serious about fiscal discipline…we will have to get serious about entitlement reform.” Even though the Medicare Trust Fund will run out of funds a mere six years from now, and the Social Security Trust Fund is filled mainly with IOUs, the President opted to kick the can down the road yet again. And once again, he was disingenuous when he suggested that meaningful reform would automatically expose people’s Social Security savings to a possible stock market crash. As Rep. Paul Ryan showed in his proposed Roadmap, and others have explained, it’s possible to come up with meaningful reform proposals that tackle projected shortfalls and offer workers more options to invest our own savings while still guaranteeing invested funds so they won’t fall victim to sudden swings in the stock market.

And what about that crucial issue confronting so many Americans who are struggling today – the lack of jobs? The President came to office promising that his massive, multi-trillion dollar spending programs would keep unemployment below 8%; but the lack of meaningful, pro-free market reforms in yesterday’s speech means his legacy will almost certainly be four years of above 8% unemployment, regardless of how much he increases federal spending (or perhaps I should say because of how much he’s increased it).

Perhaps the most nonsensical bit of double-speak we heard last night was when the President said that hitting job-creators with a tax increase isn’t “punishing their success. It’s about promoting America’s success.” But government taking more money from the small business entrepreneurs who create up to 70% of all jobs in this country is not “promoting America’s success.” It’s a disincentive that will result in less job creation. It is, in fact, punishing the success of the very people who created the innovation that the President has supposedly been praising.

Despite the flowery rhetoric, the President doesn’t seem to understand that individuals make America great, not the federal government. American greatness lies in the courage and hard work of individual innovators and entrepreneurs. America is an exceptional nation in part because we have historically been a country that rewards and affirms individual initiative and offers people the freedom to invest and create as they see fit – not as a government bureaucrat does. Yes, government can play an appropriate role in our free market by ensuring a level playing field to encourage honest competition without picking winners and losers. But by and large, government should get out of the way. Unfortunately, under President Obama’s leadership, government growth is in our way, and his “big government greatness” will not help matters.

Consider what his “big government greatness” really amounts to. It’s basically a corporatist agenda – it’s the collaboration between big government and the big businesses that have powerful friends in D.C. and can afford to hire big lobbyists. This collaboration works in a manner that distorts and corrupts true free market capitalism. This isn’t just old-fashioned big government liberalism; this is crony capitalism on steroids. In the interests of big business, we’re “investing” in technologies and industries that venture capitalists tell us are non-starters, but which will provide lucrative returns for some corporate interests who have major investments in these areas. In the interests of big government, we’re not reducing the size of our bloated government or cutting spending, we’re told the President will freeze it – at unsustainable, historic levels! In practice, this means that public sector employees (big government’s staunchest defenders) may not lose jobs, but millions of Americans in the private sector face lay offs because the ever-expanding government has squeezed out and crippled our economy under the weight of unsustainable debt.

Ronald Reagan said, “You can’t be for big government, big taxes, and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy.” President Obama’s proposals last night stick the little guy with the bill, while big government and its big corporate partners prosper. The plain truth is our country simply cannot afford Barack Obama’s dream of an “exceptionally big government” that may help the big guys, but sticks it to the rest of us.

- Sarah Palin

A Remembrance Ceremony B4LAR

2011-01-26T20:51:00.002-06:00

In the Frederick News Post Megan Eckstein, here and here, has two stories on the remembrance ceremony held Sunday at Fort Detrick.

Sgt. David Smith, HM2 Xin Qi and Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane died in a Jan. 23, 2010 suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s Helmand province while guarding a bazaar with the 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. A year after their deaths, the community still feels the loss.

Prepping the Battlefield--sweet judy--the Republicans act like John Boyd Never Lived...

2011-01-19T17:34:00.003-06:00

This kind of political BS should have been Look Ma' No Brains stuff...So help me if the GOP blows this one, with a 70% backing from the people....bro' you need to look for another job.

Examiner columnist Hugh Hewitt: "House Speaker John Boehner needs to start talking now about the 'selective shutdown' of the federal government that is ahead if the president refuses to listen to the verdict of the voters rendered decisively in November." If confrontation and the threat of a government shutdown are all but inevitable, then Republicans must begin now defining what that means for the public. House Republicans must, according to Hewitt, "reassure Americans and especially senior citizens [in advance] that they have provided the Senate with the bills necessary to fund Social Security, Medicare and defense, but that the president is holding these appropriations hostage in order to defend Obamacare, the bureaucrats at EPA and the left-wing broadcasters at NPR." In other words, key functions of government can be maintained even as Republicans deliver what voters demanded in November.

50th anniversary of the Vietnam War

2011-01-15T09:15:00.001-06:00

In Accordance With Public Law 110-181 SEC. 598; the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the Secretary of Defense to conduct a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War

The commemorative program will include activities and ceremonies to achieve the following objectives:

(1) To thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war (POW), or listed as missing in action (MIA), for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans.

(2) To highlight the service of the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and the contributions of Federal agencies and governmental and non-governmental organizations that served with, or in support of, the Armed Forces.

(3) To pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front by the people of the United States during the Vietnam War.

(4) To highlight the advances in technology, science, and medicine related to military research conducted during the Vietnam War.

(5) To recognize the contributions and sacrifices made by the allies of the United States during the Vietnam War.

1LAR

2011-01-14T15:33:00.000-06:00

14 Jan 2011

11:36 MARFORPAC

13:36 I MEF

16:36 II MEF

00:36 OIF

02:06 OEF

06:36 III MEF

(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)
(1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)

3LAR Combat Outpost Castle 2011

2011-01-13T08:36:00.004-06:00

Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills, commander of Regional Command Southwest, stopped by the Third LAR to have his picture taken with (???package) and (sorry no names with photo) Marines from the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion at Combat Outpost Castle Jan. 8, 2011. Why? No idea. Checked with DVIDs they didn't have anything either or USMC news. Maybe later. photo Cpl. Paige J. Bray

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength"

2011-01-12T11:58:00.001-06:00

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

Like millions of Americans I learned of the tragic events in Arizona on Saturday, and my heart broke for the innocent victims. No words can fill the hole left by the death of an innocent, but we do mourn for the victims’ families as we express our sympathy.

I agree with the sentiments shared yesterday at the beautiful Catholic mass held in honor of the victims. The mass will hopefully help begin a healing process for the families touched by this tragedy and for our country.

Our exceptional nation, so vibrant with ideas and the passionate exchange and debate of ideas, is a light to the rest of the world. Congresswoman Giffords and her constituents were exercising their right to exchange ideas that day, to celebrate our Republic’s core values and peacefully assemble to petition our government. It’s inexcusable and incomprehensible why a single evil man took the lives of peaceful citizens that day.

There is a bittersweet irony that the strength of the American spirit shines brightest in times of tragedy. We saw that in Arizona. We saw the tenacity of those clinging to life, the compassion of those who kept the victims alive, and the heroism of those who overpowered a deranged gunman.

Like many, I’ve spent the past few days reflecting on what happened and praying for guidance. After this shocking tragedy, I listened at first puzzled, then with concern, and now with sadness, to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event.

President Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election.

The last election was all about taking responsibility for our country’s future. President Obama and I may not agree on everything, but I know he would join me in affirming the health of our democratic process. Two years ago his party was victorious. Last November, the other party won. In both elections the will of the American people was heard, and the peaceful transition of power proved yet again the enduring strength of our Republic.

Vigorous and spirited public debates during elections are among our most cherished traditions. And after the election, we shake hands and get back to work, and often both sides find common ground back in D.C. and elsewhere. If you don’t like a person’s vision for the country, you’re free to debate that vision. If you don’t like their ideas, you’re free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.

There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated? Back in those “calm days” when political figures literally settled their differences with dueling pistols? In an ideal world all discourse would be civil and all disagreements cordial. But our Founding Fathers knew they weren’t designing a system for perfect men and women. If men and women were angels, there would be no need for government. Our Founders’ genius was to design a system that helped settle the inevitable conflicts caused by our imperfect passions in civil ways. So, we must condemn violence if our Republic is to endure.

As I said while campaigning for others last March in Arizona during a very heated primary race, “We know violence isn’t the answer. When we ‘take up our arms’, we’re talking about our vote.” Yes, our debates are full of passion, but we settle our political differences respectfully at the ballot box – as we did just two months ago, and as our Republic enables us to do again in the next election, and the next. That’s who we are as Americans and how we were meant to be. Public discourse and debate isn’t a sign of crisis, but of our enduring strength. It is part of why America is exceptional.

No one should be deterred from speaking up and speaking out in peaceful dissent, and we certainly must not be deterred by those who embrace evil and call it good. And we will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults.

Just days before she was shot, Congresswoman Giffords read the First Amendment on the floor of the House. It was a beautiful moment and more than simply “symbolic,” as some claim, to have the Constitution read by our Congress. I am confident she knew that reading our sacred charter of liberty was more than just “symbolic.” But less than a week after Congresswoman Giffords reaffirmed our protected freedoms, another member of Congress announced that he would propose a law that would criminalize speech he found offensive.

It is in the hour when our values are challenged that we must remain resolved to protect those values. Recall how the events of 9-11 challenged our values and we had to fight the tendency to trade our freedoms for perceived security. And so it is today.

Let us honor those precious lives cut short in Tucson by praying for them and their families and by cherishing their memories. Let us pray for the full recovery of the wounded. And let us pray for our country. In times like this we need God’s guidance and the peace He provides. We need strength to not let the random acts of a criminal turn us against ourselves, or weaken our solid foundation, or provide a pretext to stifle debate.

America must be stronger than the evil we saw displayed last week. We are better than the mindless finger-pointing we endured in the wake of the tragedy. We will come out of this stronger and more united in our desire to peacefully engage in the great debates of our time, to respectfully embrace our differences in a positive manner, and to unite in the knowledge that, though our ideas may be different, we must all strive for a better future for our country. May God bless America.

- Sarah Palin

Heh! 1 Million and Counting-USMC leads the Way

2011-01-11T09:41:00.002-06:00

Jack Burton Quotes the Milblogger:

"Way back in November,Milblogging.com wrote about the Marines amassing over 600,000 Facebook fans. Two weeks before that story ran, the Marines sat at 460,000 fans and quickly gained over 100,000 more in a matter of days.

Now as of today, the Marines fan base on Facebook has grown to
903,164 People Like This
and 1 million fans is just around the corner.

No other branch of the military comes close to the number of Facebook fans the Marines have managed to attract.

current standings on Facebook as of 11 January 2011:"

U.S. Army:583,572 People Like This

United States Air Force: 292,427 People Like This

U.S. Navy:256,469 People Like This

U.S. Coast Guard:46,360 People Like This

Light Horse for War Pigs-D4LAR History

2011-01-10T09:11:00.003-06:00

The Light Horse Marines

"Company D, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion takes its call sign and nickname from the various Virginia Light Horse Troops of the American Revolutionary War. One of the most famous of these units was the 5th Troop, Virginia Light Horse later known as Lee’s Legion or Lee’s Partisan Corps. This unit was commanded by Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee who was appropriately born close to Marine Corps Base Quantico in nearby Dumfries, Virginia. Henry’s Partisan Corps was known as being elite formations of dragoons and infantry that carried out reconnaissance missions and raids. The Virginia Light Horse served with distinction in both the Northern and Southern campaigns and for a time served as General George Washington’s body guard.

Today Company D, headquartered at Quantico, VA carries on that proud tradition of using combined arms while fighting both mounted and dismounted. Company D, 4th LAR Battalion’s mission is to perform reconnaissance and security missions just as the Virginia Light Horse did during the Revolutionary War. The Marines of Company D have traded the Light Horse for Light Armored Vehicles in performing their mission." USMC web site

Lance Cpl. Ron Sullivan,

2011-01-10T05:41:00.003-06:00

LANCE CPL. RON SULLIVAN, bi-lateral above-knee amputee, with two Whitetail bucks he shot while hunting. Sullivan is currently assigned to Wounded Warrior Battalion East, Marine Detachment- Brooke Army Medical Center. The hunt was made possible by Combat Marine Outdoors, a non-profit organization with a mission "to provide Dream Hunts and Outdoor Adventures for severely wounded Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Navy Corpsmen,".

The CMC at Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T20:59:00.003-06:00

The CMC, General James F. Amos, was with Marines of Battery B, 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, at the Kajaki Dam, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Dec. 25, 2010, to thank them for their service and wish them a Merry Christmas.

photo Maj. Joseph Plenzler,

Andrew Wittmer, 3LAR, Sworn in Decatur, Illinois Police Dept.

2011-01-07T08:57:00.004-06:00

ANDREW WITTMER, former sergeant 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, has been sworn in as a patrol officer for the Decatur Police Department in Illinois.

Wittmer served two tours in Iraq, the first during the 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom . Andrew Wittmer will join his twin brother, Tim, also on the Decatur Police force. Tim Wittmer joined the Marine Corps in 1999. Andrew enlisted a month later. Together the twins served two tours in Iraq, at alternate times, so that from 2003 to 2006 there was always one Wittmer in Iraq. source

Brian J. Siegman 2LAR

2011-01-06T13:50:00.002-06:00

On the net:Daily Times

Upper Darby, PA. Mayor Thomas Micozzie recently administered the oath of office to new police Officer Brian J. Siegman.

A 1999 Upper Darby High School grad, Siegman served nine years in the Marine Corps in the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and the 2nd Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Company during three tours of duty in the Middle East, including two in Iraq. Siegman and his wife, Stephanie, have four children.

The US Navy Eats Its Own:Enterprise skipper Capt. Owen Honors Is Toast

2011-01-05T18:45:00.004-06:00

Well, wasn't that a fast trip. DADT a couple of weeks ago and I figured first the Hags and Harpies of the shore would first sent a couple of squads of unrepentant Christian Marines to reeducation camps but, hey, my bad, no we are going straight for the throat here: Fry the Captain of the Enterprise. Captain. Enterprise. Starship. Bridges all generational gaps. Why? For showing evil and raunchy flicks four freaking years ago in a mad dash effort to raise morale. For You people who have never had to wait for the one day the Eagle Shits to find joy in an otherwise suck wind outfit-hell- you will never know just how important a Skipper who is interested in raising morale can be. So now 4 years after the deed, Higher finds Captain Owen Honors conduct beneath contempt and reprehensible. Isn't that convenient. This poop smells like the Klingon tradition of officers promoting themselves by killing their commanders. Yead buddy. How convenient that only now the truth seekers at the Virginia Pilot should just happen to catch the lucky throw.

Too lucky for me. Can we look forward to the heads of command delivered on a platter for the crime of incompetence i.e. for knowing about this "heinous crime" four years ago and doing nada? Yead right. Didn't think so. So that leaves us with officers with poor performance reports and Higher echelon types seeking to check mate Captain Honors-Top Gun Graduate, Naval Academy graduate, on the horizon for promotion to Admiral. yead buddy. tell me about it. Two birds with one stone. The career of the Captain of the Enterprise is toastada and msg to Garcia aka watch your six.

Lance Cpl. Nathan Peyton, The Big WOW!

2011-01-05T14:02:00.003-06:00

Lance Cpl. Nathan Peyton, combat engineer, 3rd Platoon, India Company, Three Five, a smile, moments after discovering an improvised explosive device during a patrol in Sangin District, Dec. 30. This IED was a directional 'frag,' set up to blast the length of the alleyway, according Sgt. David Bibi Castillo, who led the patrol. Peyton's alertness, (Marine was not just looking for IEDs but was walking POINT! when he noted a change in the dirt pattern) saved four to five lives -- an entire fire team.

photo Gunnery Sgt. William Price , 12/30/2010

Staff Sgt. Roberto Castillo 1LAR

2011-01-04T20:27:00.002-06:00

Staff Sgt. Roberto Castillo, light armored vehicle mechanic, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion SINJAR AIRFIELD, IQ
Photo by Cpl. Dean Davis 12.10.2008

Sgt. William W. Rollins, Silver Star, the nation’s third highest award for bravery in war.

2011-01-03T14:13:00.003-06:00

Sgt. William W. Rollins, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, received the Silver Star for his actions on June 19, 2008, in Farah province, Afghanistan,

1.1.11 Midnight Run for the New Year

2011-01-01T16:12:00.002-06:00

Photo by Cpl. Shannon McMillan

1.1.11 First run of the year

2011-01-01T16:10:00.000-06:00

Photo by Cpl. Shannon McMillan

5k on 1.1.11

2011-01-01T16:09:00.000-06:00

Photo by Cpl. Shannon McMillan

1.1.11 5k fun run AF

2011-01-01T16:07:00.000-06:00

Photo by Cpl. Shannon McMillan

Just for fun

2011-01-01T15:52:00.000-06:00

Marines at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, begin their 5 kilometer fun run at the stroke of midnight to bring in the New Year, Jan. 1.

1.1.11!! Happy New Year LAR WAR PIGS!!

2010-12-31T22:30:00.003-06:00

War Pig 2LAR 03/09/2010

2010-12-31T13:06:00.000-06:00

Ditto:Fiscal Responsibility, ConstitutionallyLimited Government, and Free Markets.

2010-12-30T23:25:00.002-06:00

"If Barron speaks for GOProud, as I assume he does, they are a welcome and potentially powerful part of our conservative movement".Powerline

Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets.

You got questions! He's got answers-Terminal Lance

2010-12-29T19:34:00.002-06:00

Terminal Lance is a forum based Q and A style discussion board that just came in on the g-alerts because he has a topic called Ask an LAR Marine. Check out worthy

Feed the War Pig

2010-12-29T16:49:00.002-06:00

U.S. Marine with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon feeds 25 mm rounds into the M-242 Bushmaster weapon system of an LAV-25 light armored vehicle prior to a gunnery range exercise at a training area in the Middle East June 25, 2010.
Gunnery Sgt. Chad R. KiehlLocation: unknown
Date Shot: 6/25/2010Date Posted: 12/17/2010

In the Mail-Photo 2LAR Marines 09/2009 Khan Neshin Goggle Alerts

2010-12-29T08:45:00.003-06:00

The IBT uses a photo of 2LAR Marines from 2009 on patrol at Khan Neshin. Some faces are recognizable.

Events that shaped the US in the past decade (2000-2010) – Part 3 of 3
International Business Times
IBTimes.com/www/data/images/full/2010/12/29/57285.jpg" alt="US Marines from Delta Company of 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion patrol near the town ...

2010-12-28T23:04:00.000-06:00

Time to kick Democrat/Republican butt is now:

The National Debt Relief Amendment Gains Momentum

Lieutenant General John F. Kelly USMC

2010-12-28T22:25:00.002-06:00

"....transcript of an extraordinary speech given by Lieutenant General John F. Kelly USMC on November 13, 2010. What renders it so is that General Kelly's son, First Lieutenant Robert Michael Kelly, was killed in action in Sangin, Afghanistan only four days before Lt. Gen. Kelly gave this speech. Lt. Gen. Kelly's eldest child is also A U.S. Marine."

SEMPER FI SOCIETY OF ST LOUIS SPEECH

LTGEN KELLY on 13 NOV 2010

Nine years ago two of the four commercial aircraft took off from Boston, Newark, and Washington. Took off fully loaded with men, women and children-all innocent, and all soon to die. These aircraft were targeted at the World Trade Towers in New York, the Pentagon, and likely the Capitol in Washington, D.C... Three found their mark. No American alive old enough to remember will ever forget exactly where they were, exactly what they were doing, and exactly who they were with at the moment they watched the aircraft dive into the World Trade Towers on what was, until then, a beautiful morning in New York City. Within the hour 3,000 blameless human beings would be vaporized, incinerated, or crushed in the most agonizing ways imaginable. The most wretched among them-over 200-driven mad by heat, hopelessness, and utter desperation leapt to their deaths from 1,000 feet above Lower Manhattan. We soon learned hundreds more were murdered at the Pentagon, and in a Pennsylvania farmer's field.

Once the buildings had collapsed and the immensity of the attack began to register most of us had no idea of what to do, or where to turn. As a nation, we were scared like we had not been scared for generations. Parents hugged their children to gain as much as to give comfort. Strangers embraced in the streets stunned and crying on one another's shoulders seeking solace, as much as to give it. Instantaneously, American patriotism soared not "as the last refuge" as our national-cynical class would say, but in the darkest times Americans seek refuge in family, and in country, remembering that strong men and women have always stepped forward to protect the nation when the need was dire-and it was so God awful dire that day-and remains so today.

There was, however, a small segment of America that made very different choices that day...actions the rest of America stood in awe of on 9/11 and every day since. The first were our firefighters and police, their ranks decimated that day as they ran towards-not away from-danger and certain death. They were doing what they'd sworn to do-"protect and serve"-and went to their graves having fulfilled their sacred oath. Then there was your Armed Forces, and I know I am a little biased in my opinion here, but the best of them are Marines. Most wearing the Eagle, Globe and Anchor today joined the unbroken ranks of American heroes after that fateful day not for money, or promises of bonuses or travel to exotic liberty ports, but for one reason and one reason alone; because of the terrible assault on our way of life by men they knew must be killed and extremist ideology that must be destroyed. A plastic flag in their car window was not their response to the murderous assault on our country. No, their response was a commitment to protect the nation swearing an oath to their God to do so, to their deaths. When future generations ask why America is still free and the heyday of Al Qaeda and their terrorist allies was counted in days rather than in centuries as the extremists themselves predicted, our hometown heroes-soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-can say, "because of me and people like me who risked all to protect millions who will never know my name."

As we sit here right now, we should not lose sight of the fact that America is at risk in a way it has never been before. Our enemy fights for an ideology based on an irrational hatred of who we are. Make no mistake about that no matter what certain elements of the "chattering class" relentlessly churn out. We did not start this fight, and it will not end until the extremists understand that we as a people will never lose our faith or our courage. If they persist, these terrorists and extremists and the nations that provide them sanctuary, they must know they will continue to be tracked down and captured or killed. America's civilian and military protectors both here at home and overseas have for nearly nine years fought this enemy to a standstill and have never for a second "wondered why." They know, and are not afraid. Their struggle is your struggle. They hold in disdain those who claim to support them but not the cause that takes their innocence, their limbs, and even their lives. As a democracy-"We the People"-and that by definition is every one of us-sent them away from home and hearth to fight our enemies. We are all responsible. I know it doesn't apply to those of us here tonight but if anyone thinks you can somehow thank them for their service, and not support the cause for which they fight-America's survival-then they are lying to themselves and rationalizing away something in their lives, but, more importantly, they are slighting our warriors and mocking their commitment to the nation.

Since this generation's "day of infamy" the American military has handed our ruthless enemy defeat-after-defeat but it will go on for years, if not decades, before this curse has been eradicated. We have done this by unceasing pursuit day and night into whatever miserable lair Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their allies, might slither into to lay in wait for future opportunities to strike a blow at freedom. America's warriors have never lost faith in their mission, or doubted the correctness of their cause. They face dangers everyday that their countrymen safe and comfortable this night cannot imagine. But this has always been the case in all the wars our military have been sent to fight. Not to build empires, or enslave peoples, but to free those held in the grip of tyrants while at the same time protecting our nation, its citizens, and our shared values. And, ladies and gentlemen, think about this, the only territory we as a people have ever asked for from any nation we have fought alongside, or against, since our founding, the entire extent of our overseas empire, as a few hundred acres of land for the 24 American cemeteries scattered around the globe. It is in these cemeteries where 220,000 of our sons and daughters rest in glory for eternity, or are memorialized forever because their earthly remains are lost forever in the deepest depths of the oceans, or never recovered from far flung and nameless battlefields. As a people, we can be proud because billions across the planet today live free, and billions yet unborn will also enjoy the same freedom and a chance at prosperity because America sent its sons and daughters out to fight and die for them, as much as for us.

Yes, we are at war, and are winning, but you wouldn't know it because successes go unreported, and only when something does go sufficiently or is sufficiently controversial, it is highlighted by the media elite that then sets up the "know it all" chattering class to offer their endless criticism. These self-proclaimed experts always seem to know better-but have never themselves been in the arena. We are at war and like it or not, that is a fact. It is not Bush's war, and it is not Obama's war, it is our war and we can't run away from it. Even if we wanted to surrender, there is no one to surrender to. Our enemy is savage, offers absolutely no quarter, and has a single focus and that is either kill every one of us here at home, or enslave us with a sick form of extremism that serves no God or purpose that decent men and women could ever grasp. St Louis is as much at risk as is New York and Washington, D.C... Given the opportunity to do another 9/11, our merciless enemy would do it today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter. If, and most in the know predict that it is only a matter of time, he acquires nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, these extremists will use these weapons of mass murder against us without a moment's hesitation. These butchers we fight killed more than 3,000 innocents on 9/11. As horrible as that death toll was, consider for a moment that the monsters that organized those strikes against New York and Washington, D.C. killed only 3,000 not because that was enough to make their sick and demented point, but because he couldn't figure out how to kill 30,000, or 300,000, or 30 million of us that terrible day. I don't know why they hate us, and I don't care. We have a saying in the Marine Corps and that is "no better friend, no worse enemy, than a U.S. Marine." We always hope for the first, friendship, but are certainly more than ready for the second. If its death they want, its death they will get, and the Marines will continue showing them the way to hell if that's what will make them happy.

Because our America hasn't been successfully attacked since 9/11 many forget because we want to forget...to move on. As Americans we all dream and hope for peace, but we must be realistic and acknowledge that hope is never an option or course of action when the stakes are so high. Others are less realistic or less committed, or are working their own agendas, and look for ways to blame past presidents or in some other way to rationalize a way out of this war. The problem is our enemy is not willing to let us go. Regardless of how much we wish this nightmare would go away, our enemy will stay forever on the offensive until he hurts us so badly we surrender, or we kill him first. To him, this is not about our friendship with Israel, or about territory, resources, jobs, or economic opportunity in the Middle East. No, it is about us as a people. About our freedom to worship any God we please in any way we want. It is about the worth of every man, and the worth of every woman, and their equality in the eyes of God and the law; of how we live our lives with our families, inside the privacy of our own homes. It's about the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable right." As Americans we hold these truths to be self-evident. He doesn't. We love what we have; he despises who we are. Our positions can never be reconciled. He cannot be deterred...only defeated. Compromise is out of the question.

It is a fact that our country today is in a life and death struggle against an evil enemy, but America as a whole is certainly not at war. Not as a country. Not as a people. Today, only a tiny fraction-less than a percent-shoulder the burden of fear and sacrifice, and they shoulder it for the rest of us. Their sons and daughters who serve are men and women of character who continue to believe in this country enough to put life and limb on the line without qualification, and without thought of personal gain, and they serve so that the sons and daughters of the other 99% don't have to. No big deal, though, as Marines have always been "the first to fight" paying in full the bill that comes with being free...for everyone else.

The comforting news for every American is that our men and women in uniform, and every Marine, is as good today as any in our history. As good as what their heroic, under-appreciated, and largely abandoned fathers and uncles were in Vietnam, and their grandfathers were in Korea and World War II. They have the same steel in their backs and have made their own mark etching forever places like Ramadi, Fallujah, and Baghdad, Iraq, and Helmand and Sagin, Afghanistan that are now part of the legend and stand just as proudly alongside Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima, Inchon, Hue City, Khe Sanh, and Ashau Valley, Vietnam. None of them have every asked what their country could do for them, but always and with their lives asked what they could do for America. While some might think we have produced yet another generation of materialistic, consumeristic and self-absorbed young people, those who serve today have broken the mold and stepped out as real men, and real women, who are already making their own way in life while protecting ours. They know the real strength of a platoon, a battalion, or a country that is not worshiping at the altar of diversity, but in a melting point that stitches and strengthens by a sense of shared history, values, customs, hopes and dreams all of which unifies a people making them stronger, as opposed to an unruly gaggle of "hyphenated" or "multi-cultural individuals."

And what are they like in combat in this war? Like Marines have been throughout our history. In my three tours in combat as an infantry officer and commanding general, I never saw one of them hesitate, or do anything other than lean into the fire and with no apparent fear of death or injury take the fight to our enemies. As anyone who has ever experienced combat knows, when it starts, when the explosions and tracers are everywhere and the calls for the Corpsman are screamed from the throats of men who know they are dying-when seconds seem like hours and it all becomes slow motion and fast forward at the same time-and the only rational act is to stop, get down, save yourself-they don't. When no one would call them coward for cowering behind a wall or in a hole, slave to the most basic of all human instincts-survival-none of them do. It doesn't matter if it's an IED, a suicide bomber, mortar attack, sniper, fighting in the upstairs room of a house, or all of it at once; they talk, swagger, and, most importantly, fight today in the same way America's Marines have since the Tun Tavern. They also know whose shoulders they stand on, and they will never shame any Marine living or dead.

We can also take comfort in the fact that these young Americans are not born killers, but are good and decent young men and women who for going on ten years have performed remarkable acts of bravery and selflessness to a cause they have decided is bigger and more important than themselves. Only a few months ago they were delivering your paper, stocking shelves in the local grocery store, worshiping in church on Sunday, or playing hockey on local ice. Like my own two sons who are Marines and have fought in Iraq, and today in Sagin, Afghanistan, they are also the same kids that drove their cars too fast for your liking, and played the God-awful music of their generation too loud, but have no doubt they are the finest of their generation. Like those who went before them in uniform, we owe them everything. We owe them our safety. We owe them our prosperity. We owe them our freedom. We owe them our lives. Any one of them could have done something more self-serving with their lives as the vast majority of their age group elected to do after high school and college, but no, they chose to serve knowing full well a brutal war was in their future. They did not avoid the basic and cherished responsibility of a citizen-the defense of country-they welcomed it. They are the very best this country produces, and have put every one of us ahead of themselves. All are heroes for simply stepping forward, and we as a people owe a debt we can never fully pay. Their legacy will be of selfless valor, the country we live in, the way we live our lives, and the freedoms the rest of their countrymen take for granted.

Over 5,000 have died thus far in this war; 8,000 if you include the innocents murdered on 9/11. They are overwhelmingly working class kids, the children of cops and firefighters, city and factory workers, school teachers and small business owners. With some exceptions they are from families short on stock portfolios and futures, but long on love of country and service to the nation. Just yesterday, too many were lost and a knock on the door late last night brought their families to their knees in a grief that will never-ever go away. Thousands more have suffered wounds since it all started, but like anyone who loses life or limb while serving others-including our firefighters and law enforcement personnel who on 9/11 were the first casualties of this war-they are not victims as they knew what they were about, and were doing what they wanted to do. The chattering class and all those who doubt America's intentions, and resolve, endeavor to make them and their families out to be victims, but they are wrong. We who have served and are serving refuse their sympathy. Those of us who have lived in the dirt, sweat and struggle of the arena are not victims and will have none of that. Those with less of a sense of service to the nation never understand it when men and women of character step forward to look danger and adversity straight in the eye, refusing to blink, or give ground, even to their own deaths. The protected can't begin to understand the price paid so they and their families can sleep safe and free at night. No, they are not victims, but are warriors, your warriors, and warriors are never victims regardless of how and where they fall. Death, or fear of death, has no power over them. Their paths are paved by sacrifice, sacrifices they gladly make...for you. They prove themselves everyday on the field of battle...for you. They fight in every corner of the globe...for you. They live to fight...for you, and they never rest because there is always another battle to be won in the defense of America.

I will leave you with a story about the kind of people they are...about the quality of the steel in their backs...about the kind of dedication they bring to our country while they serve in uniform and forever after as veterans. Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 "The Walking Dead," and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour. Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines. The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island. They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America's exist simultaneously depending on one's race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.

The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like: "Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass." "You clear?" I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: "Yes Sergeant," with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, "No kidding sweetheart, we know what we're doing." They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq.

A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way-perhaps 60-70 yards in length-and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck's engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped. Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of 2,000 pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn't have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved 150 of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.

When I read the situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different. The regimental commander had just returned from the site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event-just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I'd have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the signature of a general officer.

I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi police all of whom told the same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the serpentine. They all said, "We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing." The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion. All survived. Many were injured...some seriously. One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, "They'd run like any normal man would to save his life." "What he didn't know until then," he said, "and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal." Choking past the emotion he said, "Sir, in the name of God no sane man would have stood there and done what they did." "No sane man." "They saved us all."

What we didn't know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.

You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before: "...let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass." The two Marines had about five seconds left to live.

It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were-some running right past the Marines. They had three seconds left to live.

For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines' weapons firing non-stop...the truck's windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the son-of-a-bitch who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers-American and Iraqi-bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. If they had been aware, they would have know they were safe...because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber. The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread should width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.

The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God. Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty...into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight-for you.

We Marines believe that God gave America the greatest gift he could bestow to man while he lived on this earth-freedom. We also believe he gave us another gift nearly as precious-our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-to safeguard that gift and guarantee no force on this earth can every steal it away. It has been my distinct honor to have been with you here today. Rest assured our America, this experiment in democracy started over two centuries ago, will forever remain the "land of the free and home of the brave" so long as we never run out of tough young Americans who are willing to look beyond their own self-interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm. God Bless America, and...SEMPER FIDELIS!

http://www.marines.mil/unit/marforres/CMFR/blog/CMFR101113.aspx

Cpl. David Collins,2LAR

2010-12-28T20:20:00.002-06:00

Cpl. David Collins, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon, Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team,flossing the War Pig M-240 machine gun at a training area somewhere in the Middle East June 25, 2010.photo Gunnery Sgt. Chad R. Kiehl

Sgt. Edgar Morales, 1LAR, Family Christmas Day Surprise

2010-12-26T08:22:00.003-06:00

Cars 4 Causes and Project Hollywood Cares Gifts War Veteran with Car (Photo Credit: Carmen Williams)

War Veteran Receives Christmas Day Surprise

Cars 4 Causes Partners with Project: Hollywood Cares to Donate Much Needed Vehicle to Military Family

LOS ANGELES---Cars 4 Causes®, the charity that gives to charities, today announced its donation of a Volkswagen Phaeton car to Project: Hollywood Cares for gifting to the Morales family on Christmas Day. Looking to donate the car to a veteran in need, Cars 4 Causes sought out local military-focused charity, Project: Hollywood Cares, to source a deserving family for this special Christmas giveaway. At 11am today in Hawthorne, California, Cars 4 Causes and Project: Hollywood Cares surprised returning war veteran, Edgar Morales, with the car at their home.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to have worked with Cars 4 Causes when the idea of helping a returning service member in need with the surprise gift of a car on Christmas Day was presented”

Edgar, a Sergeant in the U.S .Marine Corp, returned home in November after completing a 7 month tour in Afghanistan. With Edgar having a 3 plus hour daily commute to report to Camp Pendleton each day, his wife Wilma in school finishing her degree, a new baby at home and only one vehicle between them, the Morales’s were very much in need of reliable transportation.

“I can’t believe this surprise on Christmas Day! I am shocked and so grateful for this car,” said Edgar Morales, Sergeant in the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Supply division at Camp Pendleton. “Thank you very much to Cars 4 Causes and Project: Hollywood Cares. This car is perfect and it will be a huge help to me and my family.”

“We are thrilled to have partnered with Project: Hollywood Cares to give this great vehicle to the deserving and gracious Morales family on Christmas Day,” said Matt Smith, Director of Cars 4 Causes®. “A main focus of Cars 4 Causes is to ensure that help goes where it is needed, so to see this final outcome of people’s charity is what it’s all about at the end of the day. This is a very fulfilling way for us to end the year, and also encouraging for continuing our hard work in 2011.”

Cars 4 Causes®, America’s first vehicle donation charity, accepts donations of all vehicles - cars, boats, motorcycles, and RV’s - expertly evaluates each donation and, if cost effective makes necessary repairs in order to sell the vehicle while ensuring the highest tax deduction value and net proceeds to charity. A select number of vehicles, one car per month, are set aside for donation directly to families in need through the Cars 4 Causes® Give-Away Program, as is the case with the Morales family.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to have worked with Cars 4 Causes when the idea of helping a returning service member in need with the surprise gift of a car on Christmas Day was presented,” said Tom Fick, founder of Project: Hollywood Cares. “After ten years of multiple wartime deployments, helping returning soldiers in need is a very important mission for our nonprofit. After serving numerous multiple deployments, our military personnel are faced with many difficult challenges when returning home. The Veterans Administration is overwhelmed and laden with problems, therefore it’s so important for the nonprofit sector to step up and provide support. In this case, Cars 4 Causes was the perfect fit for a U.S. Marine and the Morales family, and this Vet looks forward to more initiatives like this to support our returning soldiers and veterans as we continue to ask for more service and sacrifice from them.”

Project: Hollywood Cares distributes products of the entertainment industry, such as DVDs of popular movies, to deployed troops, wounded soldiers in military hospitals and the surviving spouse & children of fallen heroes in efforts to support America's military personnel for their dedicated service and sacrifice. As the charity grows through various partnerships and greater awareness, expanded programs of special projects, events, outings and hospital visits begin to offer additional support to the mission.

To see how you can help through these charities, please visit www.cars4causes.net and www.projecthollywoodcares.org.

About Cars 4 Causes

Originally founded in 1997 by concerned parents to support education for children with disabilities, Cars 4 Causes® is a 501(c)(3) charity that accepts vehicle donations, evaluates and makes cost-effective repairs if warranted, sells them to consumers and dealers, and then donates the proceeds to the charity of the donors’ choosing. Using three main areas of sale – retail, wholesale, and clean air, Cars 4 Causes® is able to receive the highest return on vehicle donation in the industry. Since its founding, Cars 4 Causes® has received over $100 million in donations from over 150,000 vehicles, and has shared proceeds with over 15,000 charities.

About Project: Hollywood Cares

Project: Hollywood Cares is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation supported by concerned citizens, veterans, volunteers and entertainment industry professionals. It's threefold mission is designed to boost morale, express gratitude and improve quality of life military issues while supporting America's service personnel presently tasked with multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan & Iraq, help wounded soldiers rehabilitating in military hospitals and provide financial support & assistance to the surviving spouse and children of our fallen heroes killed in action. PHC's detailed command support program provides large entertainment libraries which include the four major products of Hollywood, (Emmy nominated television programs, feature films, music CDs and video games). The charity conducts a wide program of visits, outings, events and special projects in support of active duty personnel, military families and rehabilitating wounded soldiers.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6555954&lang=en

Contacts

The Rose Group
Jessie Comstock/Claire Gendel
310-280-3710
jessie@therosegrp.com
Claire@therosegrp.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101225005009/en/War-Veteran-Receives-Christmas-Day-Surprise

Merry Christmas to All the LAR BN's!!!

2010-12-25T21:35:00.001-06:00

JUST How Stupid are Republicans?

2010-12-25T15:19:00.001-06:00

WASHINGTON EXAMINER EDITORIAL: Voters elected Republicans to end Obamaism, not expand it.

BRAIN DEAD STUPID

“’Twas a Night in December,”

2010-12-25T13:40:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2010 – Service members stationed from Antarctica to Afghanistan lent their talents and time to craft a video for a poem titled “’Twas a Night in December,” based on Clement Clarke Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” but rewritten with a military twist.

Cpl. Wesley Carpenter, Chief Scout Echo 3LAR

2010-12-25T10:42:00.001-06:00

Christmas cheer flows through Camp Leatherneck

Regional Command Southwest

Story by Lance Cpl. Jeremy Fasci

Date: 12.25.2010

Posted: 12.25.2010 05:50

News ID: 62589

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Singers from the Navy, Air Force, Army and Marine Corps sang Christmas carols for recovering service members and those eating their Christmas meal at the dining facilities at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, Dec. 25.

The singing of all the usual Christmas songs boosted the morale of those away from friends and family during the holiday season. The carolers visited the hospital on Camp Bastion and the wounded warrior program to increase the spirits of all the injured service members recovering and waiting to return to their units.

“Some of the Marines are down but them coming and singing brings out the cheer,” said Cpl. Wesley Carpenter, the chief scout for echo company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division. “It gives us the Christmas spirit, brings everybody’s mood up and lets us know that people care and want us to feel better.”

Santa Claus traveled with the carolers and took pictures with service members, danced and laughed.

These small gestures gave the wounded warriors a morale boost while they are away from their friends, family and other members of their units who are still working hard to provide security in Helmand province.

“Even though we are very far away from home, it brought some of home to us,” said Carpenter, from Raleigh, N.C.

2010-12-24T20:15:00.001-06:00

2010-12-24T19:52:00.000-06:00

The Price of Freedom

2010-12-24T19:07:00.001-06:00

Marine Lance Cpl. Kevin E. Oratowski
23, of Wheaton, Ill.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Aug. 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. link

Marine Lance Cpl. Shane R. Martin

July 29, 2010
23, of Spring, Texas; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died July 29 ... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Jacob C. Leicht

May 27, 2010
24, of College Station, Texas; assigned to the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.;... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Frank J. World

April 01, 2010
25, of Buffalo, N.Y.; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died April 1... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Randy M. Heck

March 28, 2010
20, of Steubenville, Ohio; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Ma... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Rick J. Centanni

March 24, 2010
19, of Yorba Linda, Calif.; assigned to the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4thMarine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.;... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Maj. Robert J. Cottle

March 24, 2010
45, of Whittier, Calif.; assigned to the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4thMarine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.; d... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Nigel K. Olsen

March 04, 2010
21, of Orem, Utah; assigned to the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died March 4 in Hel... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Carlos A. Aragon

March 01, 2010
19, of Orem, Utah; assigned to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died March... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. David J. Smith

January 26, 2010
25, of Frederick, Md.; assigned to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died J... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Zachary D. Smith

January 24, 2010
19, of Hornell, N.Y.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 24 while suppo... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Timothy J. Poole

January 24, 2010
22, of Bowling Green, Ky.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; died Jan. 24 whil... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Daniel M. Angus

January 24, 2010
28, of Thonotosassa, Fla.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 24 while ... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane

January 23, 2010
22, of Towson, Md.; assigned to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Jan.... [Read More]

Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Xin Qi

January 23, 2010
25, of Cordova, Tenn.; assigned to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Marine Expeditionary Brigade–Afghanistan; died Jan. 23, while supporting combat o... [Read More]

Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Xin Qi

January 23, 2010
25, of Cordova, Tenn.; assigned to Fourth Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan; died Jan. 23, while supporting combat oper... [Read More]

October 9, 2009

Major Mike E. Weston, former XO B4LAR, died in western Afghanistan on 26 October 2009, when the U.S. Military helicopter he was in crashed while returning from a joint U.S. Military-DEA counternarcotics mission in western Afghanistan. In August 2006, after only nine months in the United States, Major Mike Weston volunteered for his third combat tour to Iraq, where he served as the Executive Officer for Company B, 4^th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. There, he served in Ramadi and commanded a Provisional Riverine Detachment and later served as advisor to the Iraqi Police.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Fowlkes

September 10, 2009
20, of Gaffney, S.C.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.;... [Read More]

Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Benjamin P. Castiglione

September 03, 2009
21, of Howell, Mich.; was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Sep... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Baltazar Jr.

September 03, 2009
19, of San Antonio; was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Sept. 3 w... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Ryan H. Lane

July 23, 2009
25, of Pittsburgh; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 23 in... [Read More]

Marine Gunnery Sgt. David S. Spicer

July 13, 2009
33, of Zanesfield, Ohio; assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune,... [Read More]

Marine Master Sgt. Jerome D. Hatfield

July 11, 2009
36, of Axton, Va.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C

Marine Lance Cpl. Pedro A. Barbozaflores

July 11, 2009
27, of Glendale, Calif.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 11 ... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Drew W. Weaver

February 21, 2008
20, of St. Charles, Mo.; assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Cristian Vasquez

August 02, 2007
20, of Coalinga, Calif.; assigned to1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Aug. 2... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Chad M. Allen

February 28, 2007
25, of Maple Lake, Minn.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Feb. 28... [Read More]

Marine 2nd Lt. Mark C. Gelina

November 04, 2006
33, of Moberly, Mo.; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Nov. 4 f... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Benjamin S. Rosales

October 04, 2006
20, of Houston; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed Oct. 4 while co... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Edward M. Garvin

October 04, 2006
19, of Malden, Mass.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed Oct. 4 wh... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Shane P. Harris

September 03, 2006
23, of Las Vegas, N.M.; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed Se... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Randy L. Newman

August 20, 2006
21, of Bend, Ore.; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed Aug. 20... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Adam A. Galvez

August 20, 2006
21, of Salt Lake City; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed Aug... [Read More]

Navy Hospitalman Chadwick T. Kenyon

August 20, 2006
20, of Tucson, Ariz.; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died Aug. 2... [Read More]

Marine Pfc. Jason Hanson

July 29, 2006
21, of Forks, Wash.; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed July ... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Christian B. Williams

July 29, 2006
27, of Winter Haven, Fla.; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony E. Butterfield

July 29, 2006
19, of Clovis, Calif.; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed Jul... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus

July 29, 2006
28, of Wolf Creek, Mont.; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed ... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy P. Tamburello

November 08, 2005
19, of Denver, Colo., assigned to the 1st Light Armor Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Nov. 8 fro... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Chad R. Hildebrandt

October 17, 2005
22, of Springer, N.M.; assigned to the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; attached... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Scott R. Bubb

October 17, 2005
19, of Grottoes, Va.; assigned to the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; attached ... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Bryan J. Opskar

July 23, 2005
32, of Princeton, Minn.; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed Ju... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Clifton B. Mounce

July 14, 2005
22, of Pontotoc, Miss.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; attached to 2nd L... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Christopher D. Winchester

July 14, 2005
23, of Flomaton, Ala.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; attached to 2nd Li... [Read More]

Marine Corps Pfc. Nathan B. Clemons

June 14, 2005
20, of Winchester, Tenn.; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed J... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. John J. Mattek Jr.

June 13, 2005
24, of Stevens Point, Wis.; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Tenzin Dengkhim

April 02, 2005
19, of Falls Church, Va.; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed A... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Zachariah S. Davis

January 06, 2005
25, of Twentynine Palms, Calif.; assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.&#... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Jason E. Smith

December 31, 2004
21, of Phoenix; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Dec. 31 by e... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Blake A. Magaoay

November 29, 2004
20, of Pearl City, Hawaii; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed N... [Read More]

Marine Staff Sgt. Theodore S. Holder II

Died November 11, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

27, of Littleton, Colo.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Nov 11 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Burns

November 11, 2004
20, of Laramie, Wyo.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Nov 11... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Justin D. Reppuhn

November 10, 2004
20, of Hemlock, Mich.; assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Nov. ... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan E. Gadsden

October 22, 2004
21, of Charleston, S.C.;( Wounded 21 August, 2004 in al Anbar Province, Iraq and succumbed to those injuries 22 October 2004 He was attached to 1st LAR at the time of his injuries but was with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1 Marine Division.. ) assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Oct. 22 at the Jam... [Read More]

Marine Sgt. Jason Cook

August 21, 2004
25, of Okanogan, Wash.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Aug.... [Read More]

Marine Pfc. Nachez Washalanta

August 21, 2004
21, of Bryan, Okla.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Aug. 21... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Mark E. Engel

July 21, 2004
21, of Grand Junction, Colo.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died J... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Scott E. Dougherty

July 06, 2004
20, of Bradenton Fla.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed July 6... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Justin T. Hunt

July 06, 2004
22, of Riverside, Calif.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 6 ... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey D. Lawrence

July 06, 2004
22, of Tucson, Ariz.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 6 fr... [Read More]

Marine Pfc. Rodricka A. Youmans

July 06, 2004
22, of Allendale, S.C.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed July ... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Timothy R. Creager

July 01, 2004
21, of Millington, Tenn.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed July ... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy L. Bohlman

June 07, 2004
21, of Sioux Falls, S.D.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Ju... [Read More]

Marine Staff Sgt. Jorge A. Molinabautista

May 23, 2004
37, of Rialto, Calif.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed by ... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Rudy Salas

May 20, 2004
20, of Baldwin Park, Calif.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Ronald R. Payne Jr.

May 07, 2004
23, of Lakeland, Fla.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed May 7, 2004, by... [Read More]

Marine Corps Cpl. Scott M. Vincent

April 30, 2004
21, of Bokoshe, Okla.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in ac... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Nicholas J. Dieruf

April 08, 2004
21, of Versailles, Ky.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Apri... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Gregory E. MacDonald

June 25, 2003
29, of Washington, D.C.; assigned to Bravo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Frederick, Md.; died when the light armored vehicle he was traveling i... [Read More]

Marine Cpl. Douglas Jose Marenco Reyes

May 18, 2003
28, of Chino, Calif.; assigned to Light Armored Vehicle-Air Defense Battery, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; ... [Read More]

Marine Pfc. Christian D. Gurtner

April 02, 2003
19, of Ohio City, Ohio; assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.&#... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Brian E. Anderson

April 02, 2003
26, of Durham, N.C.; assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in a non-hostile vehicle accident wes... [Read More]

Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus A. Suarez del Solar

March 27, 2003
20, of Escondido, Calif.; assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed in action in Iraq.* * * ... [Read More]

Marine Corps Pfc. James R. Dillon Jr.

March 13, 2003
19 of Grove City Pa.; assigned to B Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed as a result of a self-i... [Read More]

2010-12-24T18:38:00.000-06:00

Christmas in Afghanistan 2010 part

2010-12-24T18:29:00.001-06:00

2010-12-24T18:03:00.001-06:00

War Pig Waiting for Christmas-2010

2010-12-24T17:00:00.000-06:00

1LAR Meets Disney on Ice

2010-12-23T13:06:00.002-06:00

Sounds like fun---pictures and text here:

Fifteen Marines who had recently returned from deployment were invited to bring their families to Honda Center for a skate party with skaters and characters from the Disney on Ice show. They skated with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. Orange County Register

Xmas in AFG

2010-12-22T16:42:00.000-06:00

Hey! Lighten Up, Already--Its Christmas! Dance!

2010-12-22T16:31:00.001-06:00

Christmas in Afghanistan 2010

2010-12-22T16:26:00.000-06:00

Toys for Tots D4LAR

2010-12-22T09:27:00.002-06:00

Defense Logistics Agency

Story by Dianne Ryder

Date: 12.20.2010

FORT BELVIOR, Va. -- Many holiday tales feature children anticipating a visit from a certain man of goodwill traveling through snow to deliver toys. In a similar scenario, Dec. 17, Defense Logistics Agency employees at the McNamara Headquarters Complex anxiously awaited the arrival of the U.S. Marine Corps members who would deliver toys to local children.

Although the previous day’s snow delayed their trip, officers from Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., arrived to pick up 800 toys for delivery to disadvantaged children in the Washington, D.C., metro area as part of the annual Toys for Tots campaign.

Toys for Tots began in 1947, when U.S. Marine Corps Reservist Maj. Bill Hendricks and other members of the Marine Corps Reserves collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children.

As part DLA Logistics Operations Marine Corps Team, Customer Account Action Officer Scotty Cobb was the primary coordinator for this year’s enterprisewide toy collection in the McNamara Headquarters Complex.

“Each year … Toys for Tots kicks off its yearly program with the primary goal [of helping] less fortunate children throughout the United States by delivering a new toy at Christmas,” Cobb said. “The ultimate goal is for each child to receive two toys.”

He said the entire Marine Corps Team organized and conducted the Toys for Tots campaign, but Mike Brletich, the team’s deputy, insisted all the accolades go to Cobb.

“Scotty deserves all the credit. … He did all the legwork,” Brletich said. “We just oversaw the process and helped out where we could. … He spearheaded the whole effort.”

Cobb formally presented the toys to Marine Staff Sgt. Manuel Gonzales and Marine Sgt. Jeremy Olson, both from Company D, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, in Quantico.

“This campaign symbolizes a message of hope to less fortunate children that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens,” Cobb said.

Gonzales then presented Cobb with a commander’s award certificate for DLA, signed by Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly, commander of Marine Corps Forces Reserve.

Both Gonzales and Olson agreed that sponsoring Toys for Tots for the Northern Virginia region is a worthwhile endeavor.

“We try to contribute to the area by collecting toys for [children in] Alexandria, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Stafford and Fauquier [areas],” Gonzales said. “When it comes to this time of year, that’s all we do is Toys for Tots.”

“It’s important to make an outreach to the kids who are less fortunate on a holiday that the rest of us take for granted,” Olson said. “Obviously, during times like these, everybody deserves to have a happy holiday, so what we try to provide [them] with such a time.”

Merry Christmas from Afghanistan 2010

2010-12-21T13:09:00.002-06:00

Tks to Carrie for the nudge--here is the Part II 2010 version with some of the original 2009 comments

Merry Christmas 2009 from CAAT 1, WPNS CO, 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines. (filmed on site at Alpha 1) vishisreallygreat (As it pans across the platoon halfway through, please excuse them looking like they're watching a crucifixion; by this point they've heard the song several hundred times :)

Merry Christmas!

Original Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCAJCV...
This is an enhanced version for 2010. by secularstupidest

"Merry Christmas From Afghanistan"

Merry Christmas from Afghanistan, oh man, it's that time of year,
and the birth of Jesus doesn't seem to please the terrorists down here;
I'd like to take a moment for you folks at home to make it clear;
Merry Christmas from the Eastern Hemisphere.

Merry Christmas from Afghanistan, way back in the USA,
You've got mistletoe and falling snow, we've got sandstorms and grenades
But what the hell, it's just as well we celebrate it anyway,
Merry Christmas from 5,000 miles away.

And I remember many Decembers, sitting 'round that tree,
And now I'm in an outer cordon sitting 'round an IED,
I've traded yams and roasted ham for a chicken noodle MRE,
Merry Christmas from out here in the middle east.

So merry Christmas from Afghanistan, from our AO to yours,
I'll be watching illegal DVDs and defecating out of doors,
Put my pedal to the metal man, I'll settle for that medal of honor when I when the war,
Single-handedly from my armored drivers door.

Yuletide salutations from our vacation in the sand,
from this E-3 Lance Coolie and up the whole chain of command
Between Al Qaeda, Al Jazeera, Mujahadeen, and the Taliban,
It's a very merry Christmas in Afghanistan.

From south Montana, to northwest Indiana, to the shores of North Caroline,
From NYC to LA's beaches and down the Mason-Dixon Line,
It's that season where we're freezing, but all in all, we're doing fine,
So merry Christmas from Afghanistan tonight.
It's that season where we're freezing, but all in all, we're doing fine,
So Merry Christmas down the Final Protection Line!

Delta4LAR and DLA Team up for Toys for Tots

2010-12-21T10:04:00.003-06:00

Defense Logistics Agency employees at the McNamara Headquarters Complex collected beaucoup toys for the Toys for Tots program. Staff Sgt. Manuel Gonzales and Sgt. Jeremy Olson, Delta, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, in Quantico made a pick up drive recently. Thanks DLA! complete story here

2010-12-20T16:42:00.001-06:00

2010-12-20T16:39:00.001-06:00

2010-12-20T16:32:00.000-06:00

Fire fight Helmand

2010-12-19T19:41:00.001-06:00

Jurf Al Sakhar in Iraq

2010-12-19T19:33:00.001-06:00

Marines respond to an ambush of some 25 insurgents outside the city of Jurf Al Sakhar in Iraq.

Two Wheel Pick up in AFG

2010-12-19T19:25:00.000-06:00

Just a tab off bubble. CH-47

Congress has a Do Over Mo-Mo-Over DADT

2010-12-19T13:48:00.005-06:00

Its official, the Senate passed a repeal of the Clinton ban on DADT. Another road stop on the ultimate road to legitimacy for gays and lesbians. Six Republicans voted to advance repeal by invoking cloture "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": Scott Brown (R-MA). Susan Collins (R-ME). Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Mark Kirk (R-IL). George Voinovich (R-OH) . In the final count for votes, Sens. John Ensign (R-NV) and Richard Burr (R-NC), and the first six listed republicans voted for final passage.

There will be a 60 day waiting period while this can of worms is opened. Just to make sure, you see, that doing so will not screw up, erode, diminish, crumble or otherwise deteriorate the ability of our service men and women to preserve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Yead, buddy. Prime Directive. You see. AKA mission statement. Not, as Democrats would have you believe-the sandbox to "level the playing field". Road to legitimacy. OBAMACARE. DEMOCRATS. Exactly how soon can we expect the Harvard ROTC drill team to get started?

Fight Fiercely Harvard, Fight, Fight, Fight. Impress them with your Drill Team. Do. Yead. Thought so. More diversity chicken crap.

B4LAR Toys For Tots Floods

2010-12-18T10:11:00.004-06:00

Oh man, what the heck is going on. The ware house where B4LAR was storing the toys was flooded by a sprinkler system run amuck. Crikey!

Full story here: By Megan Eckstein News-Post Staff

A flood at the Toys for Tots warehouse Friday morning left the Marines and their volunteers scrambling on what was already one of the busiest days of the year for them when one of the 25 or 30 volunteers at the warehouse....

Captain Nathan Cox Disagrees...

2010-12-17T09:25:00.002-06:00

USMC Infantry Captain Nathan Cox Disagrees with the CMC on DADT in the Washington Post.
The CMC says repeal will cost lives. Captain Cox says it's not a biggie:

"We all bleed red, we all love our country, we are all Marines. In the end, that's all that matters."

Richard Jewell-American Hero-Born This Date

2010-12-17T05:30:00.002-06:00

Today. Dec. 17, is the birth date of American Hero and security cop Richard Jewel. In 1996, Richard Jewell discovered a pipe bomb at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ga. whereupon Jewell alerted the staff and cleared the area. For his heroic efforts, Jewell was declared a suspect and hounded by the mainstream media for leads that would lead to his arrest. The feeding frenzy was initiated by the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution who declared Jewell the "focus" of the investigation in an unattributed report. Eventually, after a lot chicken crap, the lazy bastions of democracy, including the FBI, apologized for maligning the fat rentacop who lived with his mother. For their efforts, in fair and balanced reporting, various news departments settled out of court for undisclosed sums. Except for the Atlanta Journal Constitution who refused to reveal the source for the news that Jewell was on the hot seat and after years of litigation a judge threw the case out.

Happy Birthday, American Hero.

Party Like Its 1773!

2010-12-16T06:18:00.002-06:00

Today, "On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history,....." Wikipedia

Three LAR 29 Stumps 2010

2010-12-16T05:54:00.001-06:00

Enhanced Mojave Viper pre-deployment training-Twentynine Stumps, Calif.,

Sept. 2, 2010.

photo Lance Cpl. Michael Nerl

1LAR USS Makin Island

2010-12-16T05:45:00.002-06:00

USS Makin Island (LHD 8) San Francisco Fleet Week 2010 Oct. 4, 2010

photo Lance Cpl. Zachary Majors

2010-12-15T18:59:00.000-06:00

Cpl. Jorge Rangel, LAR Platoon, USS Boxer

2010-12-15T09:49:00.004-06:00

Cpl. Jorge Rangel, gunner Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon, USS Boxer, 04/20/2009 flossing WAR PIG's bite aka M242 25mm chain gun.

Photo Cpl. Robert Medina

M-27 December Delivery-1LAR

2010-12-14T08:30:00.005-06:00

In December, the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance will be checking out all the bells

and whistles of the new Heckler and Kock M-27 Infantry Automatic Rifle. The new

improved and lighter replacement is the M-27 at 9.2 lbs. loaded with 5.56 rounds vs. the old granny heavy M-249 SAW/22 lbs. loaded with 5.56MM ammo. The CMC doesn't want to bite on a full contract purchase until he finds out what clients, the grunts, like and dislike about the new sub for the SAW. Bells and whistles include a scope, Squad Day Optic with a 3.5 magnification, Six position adjustable butt stock, left and right handed sling mounting options, a guide in the magazine well to assist in speed reloads and a recoil-reducing compensator with a butt stock pad. Bottom line - when you need a sledge hammer kill rate will this machine gun lite get you the down range effect? Until this, on paper, bad boy gets back from a couple of tours in AFG we'll find out for sure.

No partridge No pear tree

2010-12-13T20:31:00.000-06:00

Catch Up News with Knox Nunnally, Wade Zirkle-2LAR Now B.O.D/VFF

2010-12-13T08:28:00.005-06:00

Two former officers with 2LAR are on the board of directors with

Vets for Freedom PAC:

"Vets for Freedom PAC is a Political Action Committee whose mission is to help candidates-mostly combat veterans-who believe in achieving success in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the overall War on Terrorism, get elected to the United States Congress.(L-R Wade Zirkle/Knox Nunnally)

2010-12-12T18:45:00.001-06:00

Major Lawrence Lowman, New C.O. Bravo4thLAR

2010-12-11T17:04:00.006-06:00

At the Frederick News-Post--Megan Eckstein has a great write up on the new commanding officer of B4LAR----Major Lawrence Lowman, is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as one tour of the Philippines. Belated welcome aboard, Major Lowman.

Major Lowman, took command 45 days ago. 45. Hummm. No doubt about it. I've got to get faster snails .

2010-12-11T06:14:00.000-06:00

The Chicago Way--Crony Car Capitalism-this is rock and roll--

2010-12-10T15:58:00.003-06:00

This is Rock and Roll And this is Corrupt-Crony Car Capitalism-the following is the end money paragraph to an interesting article of how the Obama administration and the UAW played the American taxpayer for suckers. Gary Jason the Chicago Way gets things done. Act like you had no idea this chicken crap was going to play. Take it away, Gary Jason:

So there you have it. The Obama administration rigged the bankruptcy to favor the union, rigged the IPO to favor the union, and has purchased much of the inventory unsalable in the free market, again to benefit the union (and the environmentalists). But of course, the unions (and the environmentalists) pumped many millions of dollars into Obama's campaign. They also and pumped many millions into trying to keep Democratic candidates in office in the last election.
This is corrupt, crony car capitalism, all paid for by coerced taxation, from an administration that promised a new era of transparency and honesty in government. But at the end of the day, the cabal at the top behaves just like the dirty Chicago machine that spawned it.

May Day. MayDay For Christmas Day-4th LAR Callss

2010-12-10T10:21:00.003-06:00

Toy Donations are down, demand for toys is up and the 4th LAR is looking for a ship load of toys to give out this year. Got Some? Give some. Sgt. William Wolbert, Toys for Tots coordinator, is looking some a few good toys. email william.wolbert@usmc.mil.

Frederick News-Post

The Marines of the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion Company B have collected only 4,200 toys in Frederick County so far, compared with the 29,000 they handed out last year. Donations are equally sluggish in Montgomery County, where about 3,800 toys sit in the Toys for Tots warehouses. The totals include toys sent to the Marines by the national Toys for Tots Foundation and donations collected at events, but not toys dropped into boxes in stores and offices throughout the counties. Those will be collected Dec. 17.

Woo-Hoo!

2010-12-10T05:56:00.003-06:00

FYI-The Unofficial 4th LAR forum is up-here

9th

2010-12-09T22:42:00.000-06:00

Full Speech of Geert Wilders, Tel Aviv, December 5, 2010

2010-12-09T22:15:00.001-06:00

shalom chaveriem,

Let me start by saying that it is with great sadness that I share your grief over the deaths of more than 40 brave Israelis who lost their lives — many while trying to save others in the great fire near Haifa. My country, the Netherlands, is amongst other countries helping to put down this fire, which is threatening the lives and property of thousands of your compatriots. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who perished. My thoughts are with them.

Israel is an immense source of inspiration for me. When I came to your country for the first time as a teenager, I lived here for a year.

I am not ashamed to stand with Israel, but proud. I am grateful to Israel. I will always defend Israel. Your country is the cradle of Western civilization. We call it the Judeo-Christian civilization with good reason.

Israel is often being treated unfairly. The world looks at the plight of the Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon, Gaza, and other places, and many blame Israel. The UN claims that there are over 4.7 million Palestinian refugees, and many blame Israel. These voices say the Palestinians should be allowed to return to “Palestine.” But where is Palestine? Many say Israel must solve the problems of Palestine. But is Israel guilty of the plight of the Palestinian refugees?

My answer is “No.” The Arab leaders are to be blamed — and Islam is to be blamed. Let me first tell you why, and then I will tell you where Palestine can be found.

At the end of World War II, there were 50 million refugees. Today, all the refugee problems dating from before the 1950s have been solved. All, except one — the problem of the Palestinians.

Why did this problem not get solved? The reason is simple: Because the Arab countries did not allow it to get solved. And because Islam does not allow it to get solved.
In May 1948, the number of Jews in the Arab countries was estimated to be close to 1 million. Today, fewer than 8,000 Jews are left in the entire Arab world. In 1948, the Arab countries forced the Jews out and confiscated their properties. More Jews fled the Arab countries than Arabs fled Israel. Where are the Jewish refugee camps? There are none.

So, why are there refugee camps for Palestinians in areas surrounding Israel? Because the Palestinians were not welcomed in the neighboring Arab countries. There was no Arab solidarity; the refugees were forced into camps and slums, where many of their descendants still linger today.

Under international definitions the status of refugee or displaced person only applies to first generation refugees. However, the UN makes an exception for Palestinians. Descendants of Palestinian refugees are granted the same refugee status as their ancestors. Consequently, the number of so-called Palestinian refugees registered with the UN increased from 711,000 in 1950 to over 4.7 million in 2010. These refugees are being used as a demographic weapon against Israel.

Instead of blaming the inhospitable Arab regimes, many blame Israel.

My friends, the blame should be laid where it belongs: with the Arab world. The Jewish refugees built new lives for themselves. They did what millions of refugees have done in the course of history, including, in the 20th century, the Germans who had to leave Sudetenland and the lands east of the Oder and Neisse rivers, the Hungarians who fled Transsylvania, the Greeks who were ejected from the Aegean coast of Anatolia, the Hindus who fled the Punjab.

With each generation, the resentment of these refugees and their descendants slowly fades away. Time heals all wounds. Acceptance of the new situation is the norm.

Islam, however, conditions Muslims to hate Jews. It is a religious duty to do so. Israel must be destroyed because it is the homeland of the Jews.

Influential Islamic scholars, such as Muhammad Tantawi, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, the most prestigious center of Muslim learning, call Jews “enemies of Allah.” Tantawi, who died last March, was generally considered a moderate by the Western media and policy makers. But how did this “moderate” address a delegation of Palestinian Muslims who visited him in 2002?

He urged them to intensify suicide attacks against Israelis, stating that every so-called “martyrdom operation” against — I quote — “any Israeli, including children, women, and teenagers, is a legitimate act according to [Islamic] religious law, and an Islamic commandment, until the people of Palestine regain their land.” — end of quote.

Nizar Qabbani, one of the most revered poets in the Arab world, praised the madness of those who are blinded by an ideology of hatred. In his poem Ode to the Intifada, he wrote: “O mad people of Gaza, A thousand greetings to the mad. The age of political reason has long departed. So teach us madness.”

Thát is the nature of the Islamic enemies confronting the Jews — sheer madness.

Israel, on the other hand, is a beacon of light; it is like a Hanukkah menorah whose lights have been kindled in a region that until 1948 was engulfed by darkness.

Friends, Israel is not to blame for the situation in the Middle East. The problem is Islam’s rejection of Israel’s right to exist. Only last month, Fatah concluded its convention in Ramallah by declaring its blatant refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

The problem is also our Western leaders’ refusal to understand that Israel is the West’s canary in the coalmine: If the Jews are denied the right to live in freedom and peace, soon we will all be denied this right. If the light of Israel is extinguished, we will all face darkness. If Israel falls, the West falls. That is why we are all Israel.

But as long as the West refuses to understand how the Palestinians are used as a weapon against Israel, it will not be able to see who is truly to blame; it will not be able to see that it is not Israel’s duty to provide a Palestinian state — for the simple reason that there already is a Palestinian state and that state is Jordan.
Indeed, my friends, Jordan is Palestine. Take a look at the map of this part of the world after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. Both contemporary Israel and contemporary Jordan were part of the British Mandate of Palestine.

In 1922, the British partitioned Palestine into Cisjordan and Transjordan — the latter comprising 78 per cent of the territory of Palestine. The British handed that territory over to their ally, the Hashemite strongman Abdallah ibn Hussein. Abdallah was the son of the emir Hussein bin Ali, guardian of the Islamic holy city of Mecca. The Hashemites belong to the Quraish tribe — the tribe of Islam founder Muhammad. They are a foreign body in Palestine.

In 1946, Transjordan became an independent state under Hashemite rule. In November 1947, the United Nations proposed to partition the remaining 22 per cent of Palestine. The territory between the Jordan River and the sea was divided into a Jewish and an Arab part. The Jewish representatives accepted the UN partition plan, but the Arab representatives refused. In an attempt to “drive all the Jews into the sea,” they began the 1948 war — which they lost.

They took revenge, however, on the Jews in East Jerusalem and the rest of Cisjordan — the ancient provinces of Judea and Samaria — held by the Arab forces. This entire region was ethnically cleansed of all Jews. Even the names of Judea and Samaria were wiped off the map and replaced by the ridiculous term “West Bank.” A river bank of over 40 kilometers wide. I come from a country full of rivers, and there the river banks are only a few dozen meters wide.

Israel, including Judea and Samaria, has been the land of the Jews since time immemorial. Judea means Land of the Jews. Never in the history of the world has there been an autonomous state in the area that was not Jewish. The Diaspora of the Jews, which began after their defeat by the Romans in AD 70, did not lead to the departure of all the Jews from their ancient homeland. Jews had been living in the Jordan Valley for centuries until the Arab invaders drove them out in 1948, when the provinces of Judea and Samaria were occupied by the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan, which abbreviated its name to Jordan in 1950.

And until 1967, when Israel regained the ancient Jewish heartland of Judea and Samaria, no-one, not a single Islamic scholar or Western politician, ever demanded that there be an independent Palestinian state in the so-called West Bank.
Must Israel trade land for peace? Should it assign Judea and Samaria to another Palestinian state — a second one, next to Jordan? My friends, let me be very clear: The conflict in the Middle East is not a conflict over territory, but rather an ideological battle.

People are mistaken when they assume that giving up Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem and letting the Palestinians have it, will end the conflict between Israel and the Arabs. In 2005, Israel sacrificed the settlements in Gaza for the sake of peace. Did it get peace?

On the contrary, because the conflict is essentially ideological, the situation worsened. Because the conflict is ideological, territorial concessions are counterproductive. Ideologies cannot be defeated by concessions. They are encouraged and emboldened by it.

Ideologies must be confronted with the iron will never to give in, “never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty.” That is the lesson which the world learned from Winston Churchill when he confronted the evil ideology of nazism.

This conflict here in the Middle East is not about land and borders, but about Islamic jihadism opposing Western liberty. From the moment that Israel was founded, the Arab leaders have rejected every partition plan and every initiative for a territorial settlement. The Islamic ideology simply does not accept the concept of a Jewish state. Neither Hamas nor Fatah are willing to recognize the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own in their historic homeland. No territorial concession on Israel’s part can ever change that.

Israel’s ideological enemies want to wipe Israel out as a nation. They simply deny the Jewish state the right to exist and to live in peace, dignity and liberty.

For the sake of its own survival and security, Israel needs defendable borders. A country that is only 15 kilometers wide is impossible to defend. That is the strategic reason why Jews need to settle Judea and Samaria.

Therefore, the Jewish towns and villages in Judea and Samaria are not an impediment to peace; they are an expression of the Jewish right to exist in this land. They are tiny outposts of freedom, defying ideological forces which deny not only Israel but the entire West the right to live in peace, dignity and liberty.

Let us never forget that Islam threatens not just Israel; Islam threatens the entire world. Without Judea and Samaria, Israel cannot protect Jerusalem. The future of the world depends on Jerusalem. If Jerusalem falls, Athens and Rome — and Paris, London and Washington — will be next.

Thus, Jerusalem is the main front protecting our common civilization. When the flag of Israel no longer flies over the walls of Jerusalem, the West will no longer be free.

However, a peaceful solution must also be found for the many Palestinians in the refugee camps in Lebanon, Gaza and elsewhere. Each year, hundreds of millions of euros and dollars are spent on the Palestinian refugees in international aid.

The financial assistance, however, did not provide the refugees a new home, a place to live and build a future for their children and grandchildren. It is obvious where this place should be. It should be Palestine, just as, after the Second World War, the obvious place for the German refugees from the East to go to, was Germany. Since Jordan is Palestine, it is the duty of the Jordanian government to welcome all Palestinian refugees who voluntarily want to settle there.

Until the late 1980s, Jordan’s Hashemite rulers did not deny that their country was Palestine. They said so on numerous occasions. In 1965, King Hussein said: “Those organizations which seek to differentiate between Palestinians and Jordanians are traitors.” As late as 1981, Hussein repeated — I quote — “Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan.”

In March 1971, The Palestine National Council, too, stated that — I quote — “what links Jordan to Palestine is a national bond […] formed, since time immemorial, by history and culture. The establishment of one political entity in Transjordan and another in Palestine is illegal.” — end of quote.

By the late 1970s, however, the Arab authorities began to differentiate between Jordanians and Palestinians. What was previously considered to be treason and illegality suddenly became the propaganda line.

In March 1977, PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein admitted in a candid interview in the Dutch newspaper Trouw: — I quote —

“Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism. For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot lay claim to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.” — end of quote.

In 1988, as the first Intifada raged, Jordan officially renounced any claim of sovereignty to the so-called West Bank. In recent years, the Jordanian authorities have stripped thousands of Palestinians of their Jordanian citizenship. They do so for two reasons.

First, because the alien Hashemite rulers fear that the Palestinians might one day take over their own country. And second, because stripping Palestinians of their Jordanian citizenship supports the falsehood that Jordan is not a part of Palestine. And that, consequently, the Palestinians must attack Israel if they want a place of their own.

By arbitrarily reducing thousands of their citizens to statelessness, the Jordanian authorities want to force the Palestinians to turn their aspirations towards the establishment of another Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria. This decision is a great injustice committed by the Hashemite rulers of Jordan — this foreign clan which the British installed.

I am not naïve. I am not blind to the possibility that if Jordan were to be ruled by the Palestinians, this might lead to political radicalization in Jordan. However, a continuation of the present situation will most certainly lead to radicalization. We need a paradigm shift. If we keep thinking along the same lines as we have done so far, no peaceful solution of the Palestinian problem is possible without endangering the existence of Israel and disrupting the social and economic fabric in Judea and Samaria. Resettling millions of Palestinians in these small provinces is simply impossible and is not going to happen.

To the skeptics, I say: What is the alternative? Leaving the present situation as it is? No, my friends, the world must recognize that there has been an independent Palestinian state since 1946, and it is the Kingdom of Jordan.

Allowing all Palestinians to voluntarily settle in Jordan is a better way towards peace than the current so-called two-states-approach (in reality a three-states-approach) propagated by the United Nations, the U.S. administration, and governing elites all over the world. We only want a democratic non-violent solution for the Palestinian problem. This requires that the Palestinian people should be given the right to voluntarily settle in Jordan and freely elect their own government in Amman. If the present Hashemite King is still as popular as today, he can remain in power. That is for the people of Palestine to decide in realdemocratic elections.

My friends, let us adopt a totally new approach. Let us acknowledge that Jordan is Palestine.

And to the Western world I say: Let us stand with Israel because the Jews have no other state, while the Palestinians already have Jordan. Let us stand with Israel because the history of our civilization began here, in this land, the homeland of the Jews. Let us stand with Israel because the Jewish state needs defendable borders to secure its own survival. Let us stand with Israel because it is the frontline in the battle for the survival of the West.

We must speak the truth. The truth that Jordan is Palestine, the truth that Samaria and Judea are part of Israel, the truth that Jerusalem may not fall, the truth that Israel is the only democracy in a dark and tyrannical region, the truth that Israel is the linchpin of the West.

Of course, I am just a foreign guest and should be modest. Israel is a democracy and I respect every decision which its people and government will make. But I am proud to be here and grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts and beliefs with you.

Because it is here that our civilization is under attack as we speak. It is here that we, men and women of the West, must show our resolve to defend ourselves. It is here that Israel has lit the light of freedom and that Europeans and Americans must help the Israelis to keep that light shining in the darkness. For Israel’s sake and for the sake of all of us.

Toda raba… And shalom to all of you.

2 YEARS-1 MONTH-11 DAYS- Abu Hussain Has Hissy

2010-12-09T09:13:00.001-06:00

8th

2010-12-08T20:16:00.000-06:00

The Thing that Speaks for Itself...

2010-12-08T19:49:00.001-06:00

Chart of the Year:Hot Air

James Schelberg-former 4thLAR

2010-12-08T13:09:00.003-06:00

James Schelberg (, far left), a War Pig veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, now Washington College junior gave a talk on “War in Afghanistan: A Marine’s Experiences,” in Litrenta Lecture Hall, Toll Science Center, on the Washington College campus, 300 Washington Avenue. November 17, 2010.

7th Day

2010-12-07T20:40:00.000-06:00

December 7th, 1941-Pearl Harbor

2010-12-07T06:23:00.000-06:00

6th Day

2010-12-06T20:55:00.001-06:00

Taliban Billboard

2010-12-06T08:04:00.002-06:00

Heh. A honest to god billboard on the road to Bahram Cha, Afghanistan. WarPigs by A1LAR.
Lady Bird is not amused. Signs says:"Taliban Passageway." photo credit:GySgt Ismael Pena

Any day now....

2010-12-05T20:33:00.001-06:00

5TH Day

2010-12-05T14:20:00.001-06:00

Time Out -A1LAR-On the Road to Bahram Cha

2010-12-05T05:48:00.004-06:00

This is a rest stop on the road to Bahram Cha. Some road. Some freeway traffic. Import your own shade. Are we there yet? All the comforts of home. No wonder the lads did not want to come home. What? And leave all this!
photo credit GySgt Ismael Peña

Capt. John R. Bitonti, commanding officer, A1LAR

2010-12-05T05:42:00.002-06:00

Capt. John R. Bitonti, commanding officer,
A Company,
1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
photo GySgt Ismael Peña

A1LAR Baharam Cha Brief

2010-12-05T05:34:00.003-06:00

1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion terrain model for upcoming operations near Bahram Cha, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2010. The raid on Bahram Cha is to muck-up enemy networks AKA Operation Steel Dawn II.
photo GySgt Ismael Peña

Flash Mob Merry Christmas

2010-12-04T20:22:00.000-06:00

AlphabetPhotography |

http://www.AlphabetPhotography.com - On Nov.13 2010 unsuspecting shoppers got a big surprise while enjoying their lunch. Over 100 participants in this awesome Christmas Flash Mob.
This flash mob was organized by http://www.AlphabetPhotography.com to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

In Harms Way-1LAR Bahram Cha

2010-12-04T19:57:00.005-06:00

1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion-Operation Steel Dawn, Bahram Cha, Afghanistan, Oct. 30, 2010.
photo Gunnery Sgt. Ismael Peña

A1LAR Baharam Cha

2010-12-04T19:15:00.003-06:00

A Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion sleep next to their War Pig before Operation Steel Dawn II, somewhere near Bahram Cha, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2010. (U.S. Marine Corps photo GySgt Ismael Peña