25 October 2007
By 1st Lt. David Herndon
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs.
NAGAD, Djibouti — A culmination of smiles and laughter filled the air as Airmen and Marines provided live entertainment, toys and water to the residents of Nagad village, Oct. 23 [2007].
Nagad was the site of a Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa [CJTF-HOA] civil affairs engagement, teaming Airmen of the United States Central Air Forces’ Expeditionary Band and Marines of the 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion. The event marked the second time in October the two services joined together to provide humanitarian assistance to Djiboutian villages.
“I think it’s great that we can bring some of our culture to our friends here in Djibouti and share goodwill with our neighbors,” said Marine Capt. Christopher Crim, 3rd LAAD Batter B commanding officer. “Regardless of service, we are all on the same team, the American team, and we look to once again spread our goodwill to our friends who are so kind and gracious to host our efforts.”
The CENTAF Band’s mobile expeditionary performance group ‘Live Round,’ currently based out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, performed a blend of current and classic rock ‘n’ roll musical selections to entertain the crowd of nearly 200 villagers, primarily consisting of school-aged children.
“We all speak different languages, but music seems to be something that unifies us all,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Grasso, CENTAF Band superintendent. “It is important that we reach kids at this age so we can let them know what America is all about and what we hope to accomplish in the region, which is to deter extremism.”
For the Marines, who are deployed to CJTF-HOA from Camp Pendleton, Calif., this type of engagement is an additional mission to their primary duty of providing security to Camp Lemonier.
“Tactically, civil affairs engagements are important to us because they accomplish the important goal of ensuring the local population views our presence as a benefit to them,” said Lt. Col. A.F. Potter, 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion commanding officer. “Civil affairs engagements are not only about economics and security; they are also about friendship-building, mutual trust, and genuine commitment. Targeting these things will create security and foster stability.”
The band spent nearly two hours performing for villagers before 3rd LAAD Marines began passing gifts and water to village elders and children, an experience enjoyed by all.
“Everyone knows that the Americans are very open here in Djibouti,” said Idriss Akmed Khayre, Nagad Village chief. “[CJTF-HOA] military members do so much good for us and we appreciate it. I look forward to working with [CJTF-HOA] again in the future.”
According to Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Paul Eschliman, Live Round’s chief vocalist, the event served as a creative way for Airmen and Marines to work together to prevent conflict and extremism by fostering positive relationships in the local area. “This type of event will pay long-term dividends that most wouldn’t believe,” said Eschliman. “Making friends now will help our relationships grow exponentially in the distant future.”
Civil Affairs engagements, similar to the Nagad concert, serve as opportunities for CJTF-HOA personnel to reduce the specter of conflict, war and extremism in the Horn of Africa. “We know that simply throwing money at a problem will not yield the desired results,” said Potter. “We must be truly genuine in our efforts to make friends and civil affairs is our ounce of prevention.”
CJTF-HOA is a unit of United States Central Command. The organization conducts operations and training to assist partner nations to combat terrorism in order to establish a secure environment and enable regional stability. More than 1,500 people from each branch of the U.S. military, civilian employees, coalition forces and partner nations make up the CJTF-HOA organization. The area of responsibility for CJTF-HOA includes the countries of Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen.
Photo – Air Force Tech Sgt. Michael Mason, a vocalist with the U.S. Central command Air Force’s expeditionary band, Live Round, sings ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ for villagers in Nagad, Djibouti, Oct. 23. The band is touring Djibouti to perform a series of morale and community outreach concerts. Photo by 1st Lt. David Herndon.
This is such a great program, please help us to show these wounded Sailors how grateful we are for their unselfish sacrifices. What this program entails is creating for them a life that is closer to the one they used to know before their injuries.
I will be trying to raise more money than the Army, Marines and everyone else! for our Sailors to receive a laptop computer that is voice activated. This way, they can communicate with loved ones through e-mail, blog, keep a diary of their progress, etc.
Soldiers’ Angels started this program a few years back. Won’t you consider saying, “Thank you” by donating today?
The white rectangle says, “Make a Donation.” All monies go directly to the program. I receive nothing, and I would not accept anything. This is about them. So come on. Dig deep! We’ve got to beat the other branches, and we are behind. No matter. We always beat them in football, now we need some foot-soldiers to help put us over the top. 😉
Thank you so much for any amount you spare. It all adds up, ya know. 🙂
Update: Stix Blog has a very touching, angering, sweet, hard and emotional post that we all must read. For most of us, some of these are photos we’ve seen before. He has tastefully arranged them with commentary included. Please, if you read no other blog today, read this one. Write about it, pass it on, understand it to the best of your ability. This is what these brave men and women do to keep us safe. The least we can do is to honor them.
Update 2: There are other sites for the other branches of our military, and I think it is only right that I provide them for you.
Seriously though, all the money goes into the same program. It’s just fun having a little competition. GO NAVY!
Now to let you know that this is an open trackback. You must come to this site to read this post, but I shall post my URL and trackback over at a site I no longer use. lol. Please, someone, anyone (except porn sites), please trackback here! lol. We are working on the little bug that gives you my URL for this site and the trackback for a site I’m not using anymore. Thank you. 😉
I don’t know of too many persons who have not heard of the horrific fires in the state of California. The firemen and police officers did a wonderful job, as is supposed to be the case. But this time, there were at least 12 different fires occurring in 12 different areas. This was a catastrophe.
Update: The first link above will lead you to a wonderful article written by Blackfive. Please stop over and read it.
Update: It has been brought to my attention by xformated that it was the Navy Pilots, and not the Marines (although the Navy does try to help them when they need it, lol. Go Navy!), who were flying the Navy’s Combat Support Squadron’s HCS 85’s that flew that mission. So I am told. If you have a disagreement with this, the beginning of the clip states what I’ve already noted. Go find out from Blackfive and/or xformed. Gee, I hope I’m not starting anything in the middle of the NAVY trying to whip the Paratroopers’ of Love butt…lol.
The Vets for Freedom are reaching out to many of us bloggers and members of their site so that we might spread the good news and good works which is happening in Iraq. I am now challenging you to join with us so that the Marxists do not have a chance to defeat America.
To give you a teaser of their new item, Progress in Iraq. You will find it on the right sidebar in a rectangular button.
Despite an aggressive counter-insurgency posture, U.S. troop deaths have dropped, because they have slowly gained the trust of the population groups they are protecting (alongside Iraqi forces).
Fact: Since June, Coalition Forces casualties by IED have dropped by 78.3% (74 in June, 16 in October).
This is a worthy cause and one we’ve been searching to join. Well, here’s your opportunity. Just think about it. All you have to do is write about the truth about what is happening in Iraq! You want to be a foot soldier? Join here. Thank you so much. 🙂
I just have to spread this news. For those of you who are having trouble finding me, I will be placing my URL on top of each post I use for open trackback at Linkfest. I hope to see you soon.
Below you will visit some videos. Remember, these are pieces of history. Even if the dinosaur media chooses not to allow you the right to view them, doesn’t mean the news isn’t out there. Maybe it’s because they do not have such work?
Shadows of Baquba, Part 1
Shadows of Baquba Part 2. (I guess they don’t watch COPS. lol)
I stated this earlier but in case you missed it, I am going to clean out my emails now. Most of it is news, opinion, or politics. I hope you enjoy it.
Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up?
by Gregg Jackson.
…Romney Care also significantly expanded government bureaucracy establishing at least a dozen new boards, commissions, and miscellaneous institutions. One of the commissions is charged with the responsibility of eliminating “racial and ethnic health disparities.” [Continue reading.]
China Hardens Tibet Policy Along Ethnic Lines.
by Radio Free Asia.
WASHINGTON — China is intensifying its crackdown on supporters of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence out of fear that Tibetan cadres will turn against the Communist Party amid a growing wave of protests and civil disobedience.
“There still exists a small number of dissident elements within our Party whose commitment to its ideals, beliefs, and political standpoint is a wavering one,” an internal memo of the Chinese Communist Party’s Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), leaked to RFA’s Tibetan service, said. [Continue reading.]
In the beginning, the Bible was regarded as the “Good Book,” but today it is under relentless attack from left-wing audiences, novelists, and screenwriters to justify their own political agendas. But fear not, award-winning religious journalist Robert J. Hutchinson refutes the mockers, skeptics, and deniers in his new book, The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to the Bible. [$13.95.)
And there is one more piece by Stop the ACLU. This one has to do with one of the victims of the DC sniper murderous shootings. Please check this out.
10 Questions for all the “Islam is a Religion of Peace” Multi-Culti Crowd.
by Gregg Jackson.
1. “Islam and Christianity are equally violent and intolerant religions.” The purportedly “moderate” Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has claimed that gay men and lesbians should be killed in the most extreme fashion possible — a belief that is mainstream in the Koran and practiced by Muslims around the world. Can you name any renowned Christian leaders or organizations that are either advocating the killing of gays and any that are actually using the Bible to justify doing so? [Continue reading.]
Is it no wonder that we feel differently about the people of Iraq, when the American media only reports sensational news? If it doesn’t bleed or explode, you just aren’t going to see it on the evening news. I received a press release from Baghdad today, which I know the mainstream media will not pass on to you all. Here is an example of Iraqi charity and gratitude which touched my soul. Imagine how incredibly generous these soldiers are. They have little to support their own families. It’s not enough that they are fighting daily to bring peace to their country. They are actually reaching out to help unfortunate Americans. [Continue reading.]
No Nightmare – Why the Surge is Working.
by By PETE HEGSETH.
October 23, 2007 — THE former top com mander in Iraq – Army Lt.-Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (ret.) – recently called the situation in Iraq “a nightmare with no end in sight.” Citing insufficient prewar planning and a strained military, he painted a dismal picture of American prospects there.
War critics painted a similar picture when violence in Iraq peaked in ’05 and ’06 – using terms like “civil war” and “sectarian violence” – as they pushed for a rapid draw-down or immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces. An Iraq “at war with itself” shouldn’t be America’s problem, they argued. In fact, the existence of a “religious civil war” remains the chief antiwar talking point to this day. [Continue reading.]
Islamism on Trial.
Author: M. Zuhdi Jasser.
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: October 26, 2007.
The verdict in the federal prosecution against the Holy Land Foundation and many in its leadership was finally read by Judge Joe Fish this week after 19 days of jury deliberation by the Dallas jury. To listen to the press conferences and read the press releases of American Islamist organizations, one would think that the defendants were unanimously exonerated “with prejudice.” The Dallas Morning News reported that Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation Executive Director Mahdi Bray stated that “the government failure to get any convictions was evidence of the power of religious freedom.” He went on to say, “Feeding people is not a crime, and we aren’t going to let the American government make it a crime.” Mr. Bray must be counting on the fact that most citizens, like the jury in the trial, will be so dazed by the sheer volume of evidence that they will lazily swallow the propaganda of the Islamist spin machine. [Continue reading.]
Michael Yon.
Greetings:
Iraq is on the mend, al Qaeda is on the run, and the civil war has abated to a point where the term “civil war” no longer applies.
Accurate war coverage is increasingly important. Even prominent seemingly well-informed persons can get it wrong, such as retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez who previously commanded the war in Iraq. His recent public statements –selectively excerpted and then widely dispersed by the hot winds of media – made it clear that this former senior commander is far out of touch with the current situation.
But there are commanders with a finger on the pulse.
When earlier this year I wrote about the 1-4 CAV transforming an abandoned seminary in a Baghdad neighborhood that had been decimated by civil war, the “surge” had not even begun; but already pundits, politicians and editors had declared it a failure. Though I’d spent only a few days with LTC Crider and his 1-4 CAV soldiers at the new COP Amanche, I ended the dispatch on a note of hope based on observation. I recently received an email from LTC Crider with an update on that Baghdad neighborhood. Please read “Achievements of the Human Heart” and see for yourself.
I was in al Basra province when I saw news reports claiming that Basra city had descended into chaos in the wake of an announcement about the draw down of British Soldiers. I emailed the facts about Basra to several bloggers who hold the media accountable, and the resulting effort got the attention of Tom Foreman who anchors CNN’s “This Week at War.” We were able to make a CNN interview, and the result is a segment that accurately reflects a complex and changing situation. Bravo to CNN for setting the record straight, and to the tireless bloggers who are making a substantial difference in the way news about the war is delivered.
There are major developments to share with readers in upcoming dispatches. If things go at-least-mostly according to plan (which is all we can hope for in war), and if I can rely on the help of readers who share my frustration with the lack of accurate reporting, we can significantly widen the stream of news flowing from Iraq so more people can obtain a truer picture. This will require the will and generosity of readers. But more on that, soon.
Michael
Basra, Iraq
Resistance is futile: You will be (mis)informed.
by Michael Yon.
All describe the bizarro-world contrast between what most Americans seem to think is happening in Iraq versus what is really happening in Iraq. Knowing this disconnect exists and experiencing it directly are two separate matters. It’s like the difference between holding the remote control during the telecast of a volcanic eruption on some distant island (and then flipping the channel), versus running for survival from a wretch of molten lava that just engulfed your car. [Continue reading.]
HONG KONG — Police in China’s southern Guangdong province used electric prods to break up a crowd of several dozen villagers as they pressed a village leader over suspected graft, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. Witnesses said three elderly residents were injured and four people were detained
“Yesterday afternoon, more than 70 police vehicles pulled up,” one resident of Huangchong village in Shunde’s Beijiao township told RFA’s Mandarin service of the Oct. 25 clash.
“There were up to 1,000 policemen. Some were anti-riot police. But at the time there were only 30-some villagers there. Three elderly villagers were injured after being beaten by police with electric prods,” the villager said, speaking on condition of anonymity. [Continue reading.]
Project Valour It.
by Stop the ACLU. (There is a competition in each branch, of course. lol. Stop the ACLU is supporting the Air Force this year. Please give as much as you can, to whichever branch or all branches if you can.)
Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled and adaptive laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the ‘Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field. The experience of MAJ Charles “Chuck” Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops can be to a wounded service member’s recovery. [Continue reading.]
Now I am going to introduce you to two articles that peaked my curiousity. They turned out to be quite good, with few exeptions. These two articles are from Opinion Journal.
I’m weary of seeing news stories about wounded soldiers and assertions of “support” for the troops mixed with suggestions of the futility of our military efforts in Iraq. Why aren’t there more accounts of what the troops actually do? How about narrations of individual battles and skirmishes, of their ever-evolving interactions with Iraqi troops and locals in Baghdad and Anbar province, and of increasingly resourceful “patterning” of terrorist networks that goes on daily in tactical operations centers?
The sad and often unspoken truth of the matter is this: Americans have been conditioned less to understand Iraq’s complex military reality than to feel sorry for those who are part of it. [Continue reading.]
The war in Iraq was always going to be won by the Iraqis, and so it has proven. But the Iraqis who have won it are on our side.
It was in the spring of 2004–a month or so before I first arrived in Baghdad in a taxi to stay in a small hotel–that the Sunnis launched their disastrous insurgency. Its defeat is becoming ever more clear this autumn as new reports reach us of the patriotic stand of the Anbar tribes, the pacification and nascent prosperity of Fallujah and Ramadi, the isolation of al Qaeda, and the peace overtures of defeated Baathists. [Continue reading.]
This is Open Trackback Sunday. Please stop by with some of your posts. Please remember to use this Permalink and trackback. Not the ones from my other site. Oops. 🙂
There is a marvelous group known as The Conservative Voice, and they e-mail me news each day. You may sign up for their e-mails as well. I highly recommend it. Tonight I am going to show you why.
Here are some of the articles they produce:
The Latest Opinion Columns:
Supreme Court Case Proves “LOST” Must Sink, by Phyllis Schlafly.
A case now before the Supreme Court proves why the Senate must defeat the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty (known as LOST). The oral arguments heard this month by the justices didn’t mention the treaty, but the parallels are powerful.
The case concerns Jose Medellin, a Mexican rapist-murderer who is now on death row in Texas. Medellin was convicted and sentenced to death after he confessed in 1993 to the savage rape and murder of two teenage girls in Houston. [Continue reading.]
Chinese Woman Nabbed in Conspiracy to Export Military Equipment to China, by Jim Kouri, CPP.
A Chinese national who lives in Connecticut has been indicted by a San Diego federal grand jury for conspiring to purchase and export military-grade accelerometers used in “smart bombs” and missiles from the United States to the People’s Republic of China.
Qing Li, 36, of Stamford, Conn., is charged with attempting to buy and export piezoresistive accelerometers for what her co-conspirator described as a “special” scientific agency in China. The charges are the result of a seven-month undercover investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). ICE and DCIS agents arrested Li at New York’s JFK International Airport Oct. 14 as she was checking in to board a flight to China. [Continue reading.]
Prosecuting Our Friends, by Mona Charen.
Imagine that you are a human rights lawyer who would like to establish the legal principle of “universal jurisdiction” — the notion that former leaders should be vulnerable to suit anywhere on earth. You gaze around the globe and notice Buddhist monks being mowed down in Myanmar; women stoned to death for supposed adultery in Iran; rape victims murdered by their families in Pakistan for the sake of “honor”; torture, rape and killing of hundreds of thousands in Darfur. Any of those get your juices flowing?
Not if you are a standard issue, liberal human rights type at the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School or the Center for Constitutional Rights in Manhattan. No, they’ve teamed up to sue 77-year-old Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, former president of Bolivia, who now lives in the United States. Lozada, a free market reformer and staunch ally of the U.S., is accused of complicity in the death of 67 people in La Paz in 2003. [Continue reading.]
These are a few of the opinions and commentary. There are a few more.
There are six topics under Headlines, and they each have three articles. I shall choose only one article per section.
Top U.S. News Headlines. Jury: Execution in stolen-baby case.
With a confession and DNA evidence linking her to the killing of a pregnant woman and the theft of her unborn child, Lisa Montgomery’s trial focused not on whether she committed the crime but her sanity. [Continue reading.]
Top International Headlines. Kurdish rebels: Prisoners could be freed.
Kurdish rebels said Saturday they are considering a lawmaker’s request for the release of eight Turkish soldiers captured just under a week ago – an incident that increased already heightened tensions in the area bordering Iraq. [Continue reading.]
Top Political Headlines. Edwards camp asked to pull student story.
A University of North Carolina professor said Friday that John Edwards’ campaign demanded that he pull a student reporter’s television story that focused on the upscale location of the campaign’s headquarters.
C.A. “Charlie” Tuggle, an associate professor at the school, said the Edwards campaign contacted the reporter, second-year master’s degree student Carla Babb, asking for a video of her report to be removed from the Internet. When that failed, the campaign demanded in three calls to Tuggle that the TV story be killed, he said. [Continue reading.]
Top Strange Headlines. Toying with doll lands man in hoosegow.
A man was arrested after a government agent allegedly found him in an office building restroom lying next to an inflatable, anatomically correct doll with his pants down. Craig S. McCullough, 47, was charged Wednesday with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor. [Continue reading.]
Top Business Headlines. Senators want probe on content blocking.
Two Senators on Friday called for a congressional hearing to investigate reports that phone and cable companies are unfairly stifling communications over the Internet and on cell phones.
Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said the incidents involving several companies, including Comcast Corp., Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., have raised serious concerns over the companies’ “power to discriminate against content.” [Continue reading.]
Top Health Headlines. House leaders hope to rescue health bill.
…Until now, House Democrats have largely avoided direct talks with these Republicans, who oppose the Democratic-drafted bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program but suggest they might be open to compromise. Instead, Democrats dealt this week with the few dozen Republicans who broke with President Bush from the start, counting on them to convert at least a dozen GOP colleagues. [Continue reading.]
I know this is a lot to read, but maybe there is one or two topics or articles that might grab your interest. You may also join TCV. This way, you can make your own decisions rather than having me make them for you. That is quite kinky, isn’t it? lol. Have a great day.
PS. I meant the part about me making the decisions. I then thought that if you want me to make the decisions of what power that would give me. Then I started thinking…well…nevermind what I thought! LOL.
First, I would like to thank all of you who found me. I’m having slight problem with Linkfest at this time since I’ve decided to return to my original site. It is NOT their fault. It’s just how the ball bounces. Please remember to use the permalink and trackback which I provide until the problem is resolved.
Now that we’ve resolved that problem, let’s have a great time. Bring your articles over here. I love to read them. So do my other readers. See, I never left here. I was writing here as well as over there. It did not resolve my problem! Back to the issue…please remember that I do not accept porn. Now, for you guys (and gals?), that does NOT mean you cannot post something tasteful. It just means I don’t like the hard-core stuff on my site. After all, I am a Christian. Now for the links.
Today is Friday, and I haven’t a thing to say. Well, that’s not exactly true. I have too much to say, so I will be writting another potpourri of articles over the weekend (I hope). Until then, this is an open trackback. If you have an article you would like to share with others, please post it here. The only two things I request are no porn and you must leave a link for me.
I have been trackbacking to many people who never bother to trackback to me. (I must find out what is happening.) Do you think that is fair? Go ahead and have a vote on it! It’s as if everyone disappeared except for the people who actually read what I wrote over at Rosemary’s Thoughts.com. I’M NOT THERE ANYMORE. I am at Rosemary’s Thoughts.blogspot.com. 😉
There are many events that occur in our country where I am supposed to just shut up and take it because of other’s First Amendment right, but I must not remain silent for this. As you are aware, there is a ‘so-called church group called the Westboro baptist church’ that protests our brave men and women when their families are at their most vulnerable. They throw the most hateful speech I’ve ever heard and being a First Baptist Church member, this is NOT a church that has any affiliation with us. I DENOUNCE YOU, whatever your name is.
It is one thing to disagree with a policy, it is quite another to destroy another human being. FOR ANY REASON. They don’t care. They only want publicity, so they desecrated the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, son to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Snyder.
Think about this for one moment, please. Could you bear the loss of your child? This child was a man, and a brave one at that. He served our country well. So well that he gave the ultimate sacrifice…his life. His family desired only that they have a private funeral to say good-bye to their beloved son, but that was not to be.
Now? Finally, someone is taking them to task. They are being sued in a Maryland court for an unspecified amount of damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress. You may read more about this story at Stop the ACLU. I find this totally disgusting and reprehensible. I have to stop here before I say something very un-Christianly.
If this post is self-explanatory, this is an open trackback. If it is not, if you do get it, GO AWAY. I’m sick and tired of your sort. Also, if I trackback to you, please return the favor. From now on I shall be watching. I received NO trackbacks for my last post. Hmm…
Deployed soldiers participate in mass re-enlistment ceremony.
18 October 2007
By Sgt. Marcus Butler
4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne)
25th Infantry Division.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 18, 2007 — One hundred forty-one paratroopers decided to stay Army in a mass re-enlistment ceremony held on Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq, Oct. 14. The paratroopers from 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, made the decision to continue their service in the Army after being deployed for over a year.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commanding general of Multi-National Division–Center, made a special trip to FOB Kalsu to lead the oath of enlistment for these paratroopers.
“To re-enlist this many paratroopers after being deployed for a year is truly amazing,” said Master Sgt. Douglas Goodwin, senior career counselor for the 4th BCT (Abn.), 25th Inf. Div. “It says a lot about the leadership and the patriotism of these paratroopers.”
After the ceremony, Lynch thanked each paratrooper and posed for pictures. To this date, the Spartan Brigade has re-enlisted nearly 1,300 soldiers; approximately 70 percent of them have decided to stay with the brigade for another tour.
“Soldiers are special people and to see these paratroopers making a commitment to continue serving their country when the operational tempo is so high proves they trust in their leadership,” Goodwin said. “It also shows how much they believe in what they are doing and stand proud as United States paratroopers ready to defend our country against the ever-growing threat of terrorism.”
Photo – One hundred forty-one paratroopers from 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, re-enlisted Oct. 14 on Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq, in a ceremony conducted by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commanding general of Multi-National Division–Center. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Marcus Butler.
“I think it’s great that we can bring some of our culture to our friends here in Djibouti and share goodwill with our neighbors,” said Marine Capt. Christopher Crim, 3rd LAAD Batter B commanding officer. “Regardless of service, we are all on the same team, the American team, and we look to once again spread our goodwill to our friends who are so kind and gracious to host our efforts.”
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