Kudos to Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV for his post yesterday on Small Wars Journal, wherein he says it’s long past time to turn loose the blogging and viral video-posting capabilities of America’s men and women in uniform on the e-media battlefield.
Good commentary on Caldwell’s take here and here, among other places.
Some of the 10 Silver Star recipients from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will no doubt get heroes’ welcomes 10 a.m. Friday at the Washington state Legislature.
Click here for the resolution to be read on the Senate floor.
"This is our way of thanking these men and women for showing such courage in the face of unimaginable adversity. They are to be commended for their bravery," Sen. Rosa Franklin, one of the sponsors, said in a news release.
You can also read the award citations for the brigade’s two latest recipients at the
…There’s more on the link between mild traumatic brain injury – concussions – and post-traumatic stress disorder and other post-deployment health problems in a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The New York Times reported that the study is the Army’s first “large-scale attempt to gauge the effect” of mild head injuries.
Said the Times:
…The new report finds that soldiers who had concussions were more likely than those with other injuries to report a variety of symptoms in their first months back home, including headaches, poor sleep and
The headquarters detachment of the Washington National Guard’s 741st Ordnance Battalion – the unit does explosive ordnance disposal – has been alerted for possible mobilization and deployment, Camp Murray said this morning.
The detachment is comprised of about 25 soldiers based in Tacoma. They provide command and control of other bomb squads.
A National Guard spokesman said no word yet on whether the alert will turn into an actual mobilization, or where the unit might be sent if they get the callup.
Military.com’s Christian Lowe has a piece up this morning that says Stryker brigade tankers aren’t jazzed about how their Mobile Gun System trucks are holding up in Iraq.
The report follows a Bloomberg.com story yesterday that says Congress is holding up $484 million for 92 more of the MGS rigs until Stryker-makers General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., fixes a number of problems with the trucks.
Two more soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will be awarded the Silver Star for their actions in Iraq last year, Fort Lewis announced.
The brigade has scheduled a ceremony 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Sheridan Gym to present the medals to Sgt. 1st Class Ismael Iban and Staff Sgt. Jon Hilliard, both of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment. CORRECTION: Hilliard is from the 5/20; Iban is from C Company, 52nd Infantry Regiment, the brigade’s anti-tank company.
This makes at least 10 Silver Stars for the Arrowhead Brigade in the 2006-07 deployment. The medal is the nation’s third-highest award for combat valor, after the Distinguished Service Cross and the Medal of Honor. Word has it there is a DSC pending for a 3rd Brigade soldier, but more than that I can’t say.
From the Fort Lewis press release Tuesday:
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If anybody tries to fly a bomb-laden dirigible – or anything else, for that matter – into the University of Phoenix Stadium next Sunday, the folks at McChord’s Western Air Defense Sector want you to know that they’ll be all over them.
The Air National Guard operation at the local base is responsible 24-7 for watching U.S. skies from the Mississippi to the Pacific. On Super Bowl Sunday, they’ll have command and control of F-16s out of Davis Monthan Air Force
…Many apologies for the long stretch without posts. Was felled by the bug that seems to making the rounds – first the little squad of guys with flamethrowers ambush your throat, then comes so much sinus goo that you can literally hear the splashing when you turn your head. … Anyway, grateful for your patience. Normal service to resume presently.