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

Category: Support the troops

  • Fallen soldier’s family slighted by Cantwell and Obama

    Sean Collins was killed in Afghanistan last month and, according to The News Tribune, were overcome by support of friends and family. But they were underwhelmed by the reaction from politicians;

    One slight came in a letter of condolences the family received from the office of Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

    At first, the Collins family appreciated that Cantwell had taken the time to send a letter acknowledging their son’s sacrifice.

    But the letter misidentified the slain soldier in its last paragraph, which reads:

    “Again, please accept my warmest condolences. May your memories of Bryn and the knowledge that he made a positive impact on the lives of so many serve as a source of comfort to you during this time of sorrow.”

    The letter was dated Dec. 20 and delivered to Sean Collins’ mother, Linda Collins of Yelm. The error conveyed to the family that Cantwell had sent a form letter.

    Cantwell, was one of the Senators endorsed by the VFW-PAC, yet her staff couldn’t find the time to proof read her letter to a Gold Star mother.

    But the story doesn’t end there;

    The other slight came when [Sgt. Collins’ father, Lt. Col. Patrick Collins (Ret.)] called the White House and asked to have President Obama call his ex-wife, Linda, to talk about their son.

    He was told that Obama did not regularly make phone calls to the families of fallen soldiers.

    Later, Patrick Collins read a story about Obama’s phone call to Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie. Obama reportedly praised Lurie for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance to play football after serving time in prison for running a dog fighting ring.

    “That burns,” Patrick Collins said Thursday.

    “Any soldier that gets killed in action, you’d think the president would be calling someone in the family. There’s no politics in it. His predecessor did it,” Collins said.

    Not to mention the countless vacations. Thanks to TSO for the link.

  • I called it, Rethink Afghanistan now targeting Tanks.

    A few days ago I made this comment about Rethink Afghanistan targeting out air support.

    I imagine that at this rate there will be protests that we are using lethal rounds when fighting that might go astray.

    Well now my fears are not unfounded with this new story from Rethink Afghanistan.


    NOT WORTH IT: Each tank sent to Afghanistan War cost taxpayers $4 million

    Yep now direct fire support cost too much, except that now we are only sending 13 tanks over there. But lets review. First they were against drones, then against Special Operations units, then the manned air strikes and now we are targeting Tanks. What next, the MRAP’s?

    It is bad enough that we are getting our legs kicked out from under us an wonder why we are having trouble standing.

    Added Sporkmaster    : December 20th 2010.

    It seems that the HIMARS rocket launcher is not worth it ether.

  • Kellylee Evans; Read the Stars

    Kellylee Evans sent us a link to the song that she says she wrote to honor the troops and their families. She has such a sweet voice, Kellyless can make you weep while she reads a grocery list.

  • Now our Air Support is in their sight.

    It seems that the group Rethink Afghanistan recently published this article DEATH FROM THE SKY: Dropping more bombs on Afghanistan won’t make us safer, but it *will* hurt civilians

    But while civilian casualties as a whole have continued to increase, the proportion attributed to PGF has decreased markedly over the past two years. PGF are currently responsible for 12% of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan, down from 39% in 2008. IMF efforts to reduce civilian casualties began in earnest in 2008, but a large part of this reduction is due to a fall in the number of airstrikes since a tactical directive was issued restricting their use in July 2009. However, this achievement may be in danger of reversal due to a dramatic rise in airstrikes in recent months. US forces dropped 2,100 bombs or missiles from June through September 2010 – a nearly 50% increase on the same period last year – and ISAF figures show that civilian deaths caused by PGF are up 11% on October 2009.

    But I have to ask with the current number of troops spread out as they are with the attacks increasing is there anyone shocked that the number of close air support missions have increased. But don’t tell them that because it clashes with their nice photo shopped image.

    Of course a image like that is getting the standard replies.

    1. It’s Bush’s war … he got us into this mess.. he is off touring with his new book… gmab

    2. This is the true image of war. Shame on you United States military!

    3. your troops are trying to help them ???? are you kidding me ? since when did they start helping Afghans rather then killing them? yeah they killed marines well why are they in ther…e first place ….? obviously for their own (Bush & Obama) agenda ……its easy to come and comment here but i would say rather then that go educate yourself ……they hate you they got a reason and thats your trooops killing innocent people.
    YOU OWE AFGHANS BIG TIME

    4. America should be shame of this Hitler did not killed that many people

    5. This war is insane!! We went for all the wrong reasons, died for nothing but to boost the incomes of government contractors and politicians and we are killing thousands of people!! How would we like it if they came here and started dropping bombs on our babies and shooting people in the streets!!! God it makes me angry.

    6.Bombing poor civilians living in mudhomes, barely eking out a living — by bombs that cost more than an American home — by ‘brave’ pilots looking at video screens from high above — so removed from the blasts that wreak havoc on people’s lives and psyches — while America at home disintegrates as a nation — when oh when do Americans rise up to reclaim their country from the criminals in suits and uniforms??? END ALL THE WARS NOW! REMOVE ALL THE CRIMINALS IN POWER. MAY PEACE PREVAIL.

    Yea makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. I imagine that at this rate there will be protests that we are using lethal rounds when fighting that might go astray. Then they ask why things in Afghanistan are going as they are? I wonder why.

    Oh and just to remind why kind of support our troops receive.

  • Mom loses job for wounded son

    Claire LeMoine rushed to the side of her wounded son, Lance Cpl. Robert LeMoine, when he returned from Afghanistan with five bullet holes in his body. She spent two weeks with him at Bethesda and returned to to her job with Baton Rouge attorney Norma Beedle only to find there was no job;

    “I’m frustrated that I have a son who was protecting this country and who was wounded and he may feel like he is to blame for me losing my job,” Lemoine says.

    Beedle wasn’t at her office when NBC33 tried to contact her. Several calls also went unanswered.

    Apparently, small businesses are allowed to do this, and I understand it to a point, but two weeks absence? According to Mrs. LeMoine, Ms. Beedle approved of the absence.

    Thanks to 1stCAVABN11B for the link.

  • Titans sponsor titanic homecoming

    Jodi Foster wrote an essay that got her honored on the Tennessee Titans’ LP Field. She wrote;

    “When I asked my three kids why they are proud of their dad, Sgt. Mark E. Foster, I was impressed by what they had to say. Our son Cody said, “Dad never gave up on me when everyone else did. He laid out my life’s path in front of me and taught me the skills to follow it on my own. I see the honor in his eyes every morning he puts on that uniform, and one day I want my family to look at me the way we look at dad.” Our daughter Hunter, says, “My dad drove in a snowstorm at 35 mph from Kentucky to Ohio, a nine-hour trip, that ended up taking 16, just to spend a few hours with me and hold my hand after my knee surgery, then had to leave the next morning to make it back to work on time. If that’s not a true sacrifice I don’t know what is.” Our 12-year-old, Kayla, kept it short and sweet, “My dad loved me enough to adopt me. No one gave me to him, mom, he picked me.” I am proud of him for enduring what he does and the sacrifices and cho

    As a result, 70,000 football fans were treated to SGT Mark Foster’s homecoming;

  • Marine runs marathon in pro-mask


    Yeah, I’ve been in a few marathons, and without a protective (gas mask for you civvies) mask was hard enough. Here’s the story of one Marine who ran 26 miles last weekend with his mask on;

    …when Soles met Cpl. John Peck at Walter Reed Army Medical Center last month, the 33-year-old Marine had all the inspiration he needed for this year’s challenge.

    Peck, 24, had lost his arms and legs to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in May. But when he met with Soles, his attitude was buoyant, and Soles decided he’d run the 26.2-mile Marine Corps Marathon in his honor.

    And he’d do it while wearing a gas mask. The difficulty, he said, served as a symbol of the suffering endured by Peck and hundreds of thousands of other veterans whose lives were forever altered by the trauma of war.

    The record run landed Soles in the Guinness Book of World Records, but that’s not why he did it.

    It took Soles more than 4 hours to complete the marathon with his pro-mask – it’s hard enough to lay in your fighting position for four hours let alone run 26 miles. That’s one studly dude.

    Thanks to Bubblehead Ray for the link.

  • Marine birthday cake

    Old Trooper sends the pictures he took when he visited a wounded Marine on the Marines’ Birthday yesterday. I’ll bet that cake tasted mighty good;


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