This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Real Soldiers

  • Incentive!

    Akin to something out of Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers” some branches of our military are providing a path to citizenship for those who serve.

    Army, Navy add citizenship option to boot camp

    FORT JACKSON, S.C. – Military service has long been one route to U.S. citizenship. Now the Army and Navy, in need of specialists and language skills in wartime, are speeding things up by allowing recruits to wrap up the process while they’re still in basic training.

    It means a change in a no-visitors policy during boot camp, to allow federal immigration officers access to the recruits. But military officials say it’s a well-deserved break for volunteers who otherwise would have to slog through the bureaucratic ordeal during deployments around the world, often far from U.S. embassies.

    The military route is not a short-cut for foreigners abroad to get into the U.S. Only legal immigrants can apply, officials stress, and they must complete five years of honorable service or chance having their citizenship revoked.

    I think I have mixed feelings about this policy myself, but it seems a fine idea on the face of it. There’s a hint of PC multiculturalism in there as well that troubles me some.

    There’s a long and storied history of immigrants serving with distinction and honor, and our military has long used incentives to retain or recruit folks in certain specialties… but is THIS policy a step too far?

  • Soldier rescues 4 people

    ROS sent us a link about Joemari Ortiz, a young PFC in Charlie Company, 636th Military Intelligence Battalion of the Texas National Guard who charged across the street and into a van which was about to burst to burst into flames and rescued four people from that fate;

    “I knew at any moment it could explode,” said Ortiz. “I wanted to get those people out of there before it happened.”

    Ortiz ran across the street, rounded up help, knocked out the windows, cut seat belts, and got everyone out just seconds before the van was engulfed in flames.

    Ortiz says people told him later that he said, “‘Come with me, go over there, do that.’ I just remember getting them out there and getting them somewhere safe.”

    While everyone is praising Ortiz for his courageous actions, wanna know who he credits?

    Ortiz says he is not the hero; it is the U.S. Army.

    “I’m just glad to be in the Army,” he said. “The experience, it really changes how a person thinks (and) acts.”

    The article says that Ortiz joined the Army when he was 16, I don’t know what that’s about, but his profile is in the Army Knowledge Online database.

  • Medic becomes the 4th woman to be awarded the Military Cross.

    I found this while trying to to look up a image for the Gallantry Cross for her actions in Afghanistan.

    Acting Lance Corporal Kylie Watson braved heavy Taleban fire to treat a wounded Afghan soldier on exposed open ground for 20 minutes before helping to evacuate him.

    On another occasion, the 23-year-old, from Ballymena in County Antrim, made a 100-metre dash in full view of the enemy, under sustained fire, to deliver lifesaving first aid to an Afghan soldier who had been shot twice in the pelvis.

    You know more and more we see people examples like this that are willing to put their own personal safety aside to help others but will not receive the same publicity as things like the rogue platoon.

    ADDDED: Here is more details thanks to JP.

    But L/Cpl Watson, who only told her family about receiving the Military Cross on Thursday – when she was back home in Ballymena for her sister’s wedding – hasn’t told her family exactly how she earned the accolade.

    “I think Kylie just keeps it all to herself,” her dad said.

    Her mum Lorna added: “I’m sure she’s seen many a thing, but she’ll not go into detail … we don’t know where she gets her bravery from.”

    Speaking of L/Cpl Watson’s “immense courage, willingness to put her own life at risk and absolute bravery”, the MoD credited her with saving lives and acting “as an inspiration” to her Platoon and their Afghan National Army partners.

  • Sergeant Dipprasad Pun wins Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for bravery

    Just ran across this on Facebook. Here is a quick background behind the story. He was awarded Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for bravery for his actions.

    Sgt Pun told yesterday how he was on guard duty at the base near Rahim Kalay in Helmand Province on September 10 last year when he heard a digging sound in the darkness in front of him.

    Grabbing two radios, a GPMP machine gun, his SA80 rifle, a grenade launcher and an arsenal of hand-held grenades he climbed onto the rooftop and opened fire.

    With rocket propelled grenades and gun fire flying over his head from all directions he defended the position for more than 15 minutes, killing three Taliban and forcing the others to flee.

    At one point the diminutive soldier turned around to see a “huge” Taliban fighter approaching him on the rooftop, a few feet away, having silently scaled the wall, and shot him.

    While the mass of Taliban fired from an area of open ground, another crept into the compound and tried to climb the wall but he spotted him.

    “I tried to fire my SA80 but it wouldn’t work,” he said.

    “I don’t know if there was an obstruction or the magazine was finished.

    “I threw my SA80 down and grabbed a sandbag but it wasn’t tied and all the sand dropped out.

    “As I tried to jump into the sentry post I found a metal rod from the GPMG (machine gun) tripod and pulled it round and hit him.”

    As he ran towards the Taliban fighter he gave a shout of “Marchu Talai” Nepalese for “I’m going to kill you.”

    It also seems that his unit has a proud history as well.

    “The Brigade of Gurkhas is one of the most decorated British Army Regiments and 13 of its soldiers have been awarded the Victoria Cross,” the Telegraph says. “The Gurkha motto is ‘Better to die than be a coward.’”

    Seems that he took that to heart that day.

  • 3 Vietnam MIAs’ remains ID’d

    Jerry920 sends a link to an article about the identification of 3 Special Forces soldiers’ remains from an ambush 41 years ago;

    According to Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) spokesperson Elizabeth Feeney, an investigation into the missing soldiers began in December 1993. In May 2009, a joint U.S.-Vietnamese team correlated the site where SFC Shue and the two other men were last seen. A month later, the team talked with a witness to the attack and found some remains.

    It wasn’t until March 2010 that the team was able to excavate the hilltop. The bodies were identified in January 2011.

    The three were Sergeant First Class Donald M. Shue of North Carolina, Staff Sergeant Gunther H. Wald of New Jersey and Staff Sergeant William T. Brown of California.

    According to the head of the Rolling Thunder motorcycle group, the family has asked the group to help lead SFC Shue’s body home to Cabarrus County in late April. SFC Donald Shue rode bikes back in the 60’s and his nephew, who is listed as next-of-kin, also rides and will be riding the lead with the motorcycle group both days.

    SFC Shue is expected to be buried with his parents and brothers in Concord, NC on May 1st.

  • Acceptable gun control

    Tman sends us a link to an article about Battle of the Bulge sniper veteran Ted Gundy who was given the opportunity to fire a modern tool of the sniper at 1000 meter target;

    ‘I hope that I can hit the target but if I was betting money I’d bet nine to one that I don’t. That’s a long, long way.’

    But his modesty was greater than his skills and he managed with ease to pick off the target, with three impressive head shots all within five inches of each other.

    He said afterwards: ‘I couldn’t believe I could have hit anything that far away.’

    The video;

  • Chaplain Streuker retires

    Since people follow history here I thought that this might be interested in this.

    The movie Blackhawk downs is one of the most famous military movies based on real events. Check out this from Fort Benning TV to get an inside look at one of the main characters in the movie, Chaplain (MAJ) Jeff Strueker, as he says farewell to his life as a Soldier.

  • SSG Sal Giunta’s Day

    Staff Sergeant Sal Giunta might disagree with me, but today is his day. If you don’t know the story, here’s the 60 Minutes interview with him and some of his comrades. And here’s the part of the interview that was cut from the show with his wife, Jenny.

    Thanks to Tman for the link.