ARMED FORCES NEWS IV
Many thanx to GaryJames(the Boss Man and one of mine) for the beautiful banner for all of mine/ours... present and past....
Take care all of mine...go in safety always meems/emom
Many thanx to GaryJames(the Boss Man and one of mine) for the beautiful banner for all of mine/ours... present and past....
Take care all of mine...go in safety always meems/emom
FORT HOOD
Fort Hood troops tapped for Iraq Deployment
Posted: Oct 08, 2009 1:13 PM EDT Thursday, October 8, 2009 1:13 PM EST
by Patrick Tolbert
FORT HOOD - Two major Fort Hood units will be deploying to Iraq while another will see it's deployment extended.
The announcement came Thursday as the Department of Defense identified the units which will be part of the next force rotation in the Summer of 2010.
The units deploying from Fort Hood are:
· 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
· 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Additionally, the 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters will be extended up to an additional 23 days.
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Search Begins for Last Lost Woman Pilot of WWII
WASP Pilot Gertrude Tomkins Silver Crashed off California Coast in 1944
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
Oct. 8, 2009
The fog rolled in from Santa Monica Bay just after noon on Oct. 26, 1944, just three hours before Gertrude Tomkins Silver opened the hatch of her fighter plane, a P-51 Mustang.
Divers boost efforts to find a woman whose plane went down in the line of duty.
The plane left from a little strip called Mines Field, today known as the Los Angeles International Airport, bound for a three-day journey to New Jersey, where it would be placed on a cargo vessel and shipped to Great Britain to fight World War II's final battles in Europe.
The pilot, Silver, a 34-year-old New Jersey native nicknamed Tommy, had spent more than 500 hours in the air and had a reputation for being able to handle fighters like the P-51s, some of the Army's fastest aircraft.
It would be four days -- as the other two members of her squad landed in New Jersey -- before anyone realized Silver's plane went down somewhere off the coast of California just minutes after takeoff.
On Tuesday, a crew of archeologists, divers, sonar technicians and volunteers began a search 65 years overdue, to find the wreckage of the plane that carried Silver, the only missing and unaccounted for member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, an elite, all-female flight squadron formed at the height of World War II.
"Of the 38 WASPs who lost their lives, she's the only one unaccounted for," said Pat Macha, a retired teacher-turned-aviation archaeologist who is leading the search, from aboard a search vessel in Santa Monica Bay.
"That's a big motivator," he added. "These women played an important role in our history and their next of kin still want resolution."
Three boats are searching for the downed fighter. One carries sophisticated sonar equipment. The others have teams of 10 divers.
The sonar crew, helmed by Gene Ralston, who has conducted undersea searches for high-profile murder victims like Laci Peterson and Natalie Holloway, marks a spot on the surface with a buoy.
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US soldier returns looted books
The 16th Century books were discovered in a salt mine store
A former US soldier has returned two historic books he took as "souvenirs" during World War II.
Robert Thomas handed over the two books, both 400 years old, to the German ambassador during a ceremony at the US national archives in Washington.
The texts were taken from a salt mine in western Germany, where they were being kept safe during allied bombing.
The 83-year-old former soldier said they were in a similar condition to when he had discovered them.
"I kept them in two boxes in the darkest and coolest place at my house," Mr Thomas said.
He described, as a young soldier in Germany, coming across a chamber "filled with thousands of books, from floor to the ceiling".
Like many valuable artefacts, the books were kept in an underground mine at Merkers, near Frankfurt.
The German ambassador, Klaus Scharioth, said the books would be returned to the libraries which had owned them before the war - the University of Bonn and the Diocesan Museum of Paderborn.
"It's such a 'Gluecksfall' for Germany that we have these books back," he said, referring to the German term for a stroke of luck.
Mr Scharioth said the return of the ancient texts represented a "sign of friendship and trust".
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Fort Hood troops tapped for Iraq Deployment
Posted: Oct 08, 2009 1:13 PM EDT Thursday, October 8, 2009 1:13 PM EST
by Patrick Tolbert
FORT HOOD - Two major Fort Hood units will be deploying to Iraq while another will see it's deployment extended.
The announcement came Thursday as the Department of Defense identified the units which will be part of the next force rotation in the Summer of 2010.
The units deploying from Fort Hood are:
· 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
· 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Additionally, the 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters will be extended up to an additional 23 days.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%
Search Begins for Last Lost Woman Pilot of WWII
WASP Pilot Gertrude Tomkins Silver Crashed off California Coast in 1944
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
Oct. 8, 2009
The fog rolled in from Santa Monica Bay just after noon on Oct. 26, 1944, just three hours before Gertrude Tomkins Silver opened the hatch of her fighter plane, a P-51 Mustang.
Divers boost efforts to find a woman whose plane went down in the line of duty.
The plane left from a little strip called Mines Field, today known as the Los Angeles International Airport, bound for a three-day journey to New Jersey, where it would be placed on a cargo vessel and shipped to Great Britain to fight World War II's final battles in Europe.
The pilot, Silver, a 34-year-old New Jersey native nicknamed Tommy, had spent more than 500 hours in the air and had a reputation for being able to handle fighters like the P-51s, some of the Army's fastest aircraft.
It would be four days -- as the other two members of her squad landed in New Jersey -- before anyone realized Silver's plane went down somewhere off the coast of California just minutes after takeoff.
On Tuesday, a crew of archeologists, divers, sonar technicians and volunteers began a search 65 years overdue, to find the wreckage of the plane that carried Silver, the only missing and unaccounted for member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, an elite, all-female flight squadron formed at the height of World War II.
"Of the 38 WASPs who lost their lives, she's the only one unaccounted for," said Pat Macha, a retired teacher-turned-aviation archaeologist who is leading the search, from aboard a search vessel in Santa Monica Bay.
"That's a big motivator," he added. "These women played an important role in our history and their next of kin still want resolution."
Three boats are searching for the downed fighter. One carries sophisticated sonar equipment. The others have teams of 10 divers.
The sonar crew, helmed by Gene Ralston, who has conducted undersea searches for high-profile murder victims like Laci Peterson and Natalie Holloway, marks a spot on the surface with a buoy.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%
US soldier returns looted books
The 16th Century books were discovered in a salt mine store
A former US soldier has returned two historic books he took as "souvenirs" during World War II.
Robert Thomas handed over the two books, both 400 years old, to the German ambassador during a ceremony at the US national archives in Washington.
The texts were taken from a salt mine in western Germany, where they were being kept safe during allied bombing.
The 83-year-old former soldier said they were in a similar condition to when he had discovered them.
"I kept them in two boxes in the darkest and coolest place at my house," Mr Thomas said.
He described, as a young soldier in Germany, coming across a chamber "filled with thousands of books, from floor to the ceiling".
Like many valuable artefacts, the books were kept in an underground mine at Merkers, near Frankfurt.
The German ambassador, Klaus Scharioth, said the books would be returned to the libraries which had owned them before the war - the University of Bonn and the Diocesan Museum of Paderborn.
"It's such a 'Gluecksfall' for Germany that we have these books back," he said, referring to the German term for a stroke of luck.
Mr Scharioth said the return of the ancient texts represented a "sign of friendship and trust".
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%
about 1 month ago
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - An Army helicopter from Fort Campbell made an emergency landing in a soybean field in Robertson County, but officials say no one was hurt.
The MH-47 Chinook helicopter was being used by members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment when it landed in a field Wednesday.
Maj. Brandon Bissell, a spokesman for the elite aviation unit, said the helicopter had to land due to a maintenance issue and all the crew members were safe.
Bissell says the crew will remain with the helicopter until another team arrives to try and correct the problem.
Tennessee state Rep. Joshua Evans, who is also a member of a special response team with the Robertson County Emergency Management Agency, said the pilot reported the front hydraulic unit stopped functioning.
The MH-47 Chinook helicopter was being used by members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment when it landed in a field Wednesday.
Maj. Brandon Bissell, a spokesman for the elite aviation unit, said the helicopter had to land due to a maintenance issue and all the crew members were safe.
Bissell says the crew will remain with the helicopter until another team arrives to try and correct the problem.
Tennessee state Rep. Joshua Evans, who is also a member of a special response team with the Robertson County Emergency Management Agency, said the pilot reported the front hydraulic unit stopped functioning.
about 1 month ago
> Air Force: Missing pilot likely died instantly
> By JEFFREY COLLINS (AP) - 1 day ago
> SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. - An Air Force pilot likely died instantly when
> his F-16 fighter jet collided with another over the Atlantic Ocean,
> authorities said Saturday.
> The search for Capt. Nicholas Giglio, who has been missing since Thursday
> night's crash, was shifted to a recovery effort looking for his body and
> the plane's wreckage.
> Investigators believe the bottom of the other jet struck the top of
> Giglio's fighter and pierced the pilot's canopy, Air Force Col. Joe
> Guastella said. The other pilot was not injured and was able to land his
> plane safely.
> Investigators came to their conclusion using data gathered from the second
> plane and an interview with the other pilot. Also, radio beacons on the
> aircraft and the pilot were never activated, indicating Giglio never left
> the cockpit, Guastella said.
> "He had no opportunity to eject from the aircraft," Guastella said.
> The Coast Guard, which spent nearly two days looking for the pilot in
> 8,000 square miles of ocean about 40 miles northeast of Charleston, has
> now shifted to trying to recover the jet, said Capt. Michael McAllister,
> director for the search.
> The collision happened as Giglio and the second pilot, Capt. Lee Bryant,
> were in a night training exercise. The pilots had finished most of their
> maneuvers and were getting ready to head home when they hit, Guastella
> said.
> The flight controls of Bryant's jet were miraculously not damaged, and he
> managed to land at Charleston Air Force Base without injury, Guastella
> said.
> The two pilots were part of Shaw Air Force Base's 20th Fighter Wing
> commanded by Guastella. Giglio, originally from New Jersey, has been a
> fighter pilot for 18 months and is part of the 77th Fighter Squadron that
> is training for deployment to Iraq early next year. He took his first F-16
> flight with Guastella, who was an instructor then.
> "He is a patriot and a great American," said Guastella, who told Giglio's
> family about the investigators' findings a few hours before the public
> announcement.
> Giglio, 32, leaves behind a wife, a young daughter and a baby on the way,
> Guastella said.
> The 20th Fighter Wing hasn't flown since the collision and will likely
> remain grounded until Tuesday, its commander said.
> Officials said after the crash that there were reports of debris and an
> oil slick in the water, but investigators haven't determined if that came
> from Giglio's jet. The water is about 50 feet deep in the area where the
> Air Force thinks the F-16 went down, McAllister said.
> The Coast Guard used its helicopters and boats as well as private
> volunteers who helped in the search.
> "If Capt. Giglio had ejected safely from the aircraft, we're confident we
> would have found him," McAllister said.
> ___
> Associated Press Writer Bruce Smith in Charleston contributed to this
> report.
> (This version CORRECTS that the crash was 40 miles northeast of
> Charleston, not 40 nautical miles.)
> By JEFFREY COLLINS (AP) - 1 day ago
> SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. - An Air Force pilot likely died instantly when
> his F-16 fighter jet collided with another over the Atlantic Ocean,
> authorities said Saturday.
> The search for Capt. Nicholas Giglio, who has been missing since Thursday
> night's crash, was shifted to a recovery effort looking for his body and
> the plane's wreckage.
> Investigators believe the bottom of the other jet struck the top of
> Giglio's fighter and pierced the pilot's canopy, Air Force Col. Joe
> Guastella said. The other pilot was not injured and was able to land his
> plane safely.
> Investigators came to their conclusion using data gathered from the second
> plane and an interview with the other pilot. Also, radio beacons on the
> aircraft and the pilot were never activated, indicating Giglio never left
> the cockpit, Guastella said.
> "He had no opportunity to eject from the aircraft," Guastella said.
> The Coast Guard, which spent nearly two days looking for the pilot in
> 8,000 square miles of ocean about 40 miles northeast of Charleston, has
> now shifted to trying to recover the jet, said Capt. Michael McAllister,
> director for the search.
> The collision happened as Giglio and the second pilot, Capt. Lee Bryant,
> were in a night training exercise. The pilots had finished most of their
> maneuvers and were getting ready to head home when they hit, Guastella
> said.
> The flight controls of Bryant's jet were miraculously not damaged, and he
> managed to land at Charleston Air Force Base without injury, Guastella
> said.
> The two pilots were part of Shaw Air Force Base's 20th Fighter Wing
> commanded by Guastella. Giglio, originally from New Jersey, has been a
> fighter pilot for 18 months and is part of the 77th Fighter Squadron that
> is training for deployment to Iraq early next year. He took his first F-16
> flight with Guastella, who was an instructor then.
> "He is a patriot and a great American," said Guastella, who told Giglio's
> family about the investigators' findings a few hours before the public
> announcement.
> Giglio, 32, leaves behind a wife, a young daughter and a baby on the way,
> Guastella said.
> The 20th Fighter Wing hasn't flown since the collision and will likely
> remain grounded until Tuesday, its commander said.
> Officials said after the crash that there were reports of debris and an
> oil slick in the water, but investigators haven't determined if that came
> from Giglio's jet. The water is about 50 feet deep in the area where the
> Air Force thinks the F-16 went down, McAllister said.
> The Coast Guard used its helicopters and boats as well as private
> volunteers who helped in the search.
> "If Capt. Giglio had ejected safely from the aircraft, we're confident we
> would have found him," McAllister said.
> ___
> Associated Press Writer Bruce Smith in Charleston contributed to this
> report.
> (This version CORRECTS that the crash was 40 miles northeast of
> Charleston, not 40 nautical miles.)
about 1 month ago
DD-214
Please pass on to other vets.
It's official; DD-214s are NOW Online.
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214s
online: view link
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files.
Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents.
Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time.
Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents.
Please pass on to other vets.
It's official; DD-214s are NOW Online.
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214s
online: view link
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files.
Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents.
Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time.
Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents.
28 days ago
SAD NEWS 14 Americans killed in 2 Afghan helicopter crashes
By HEIDI VOGT - Associated Press Writer
KABUL -- Helicopter crashes killed 14 Americans on Monday - 11 troops and three drug agents - in the deadliest day for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan in more than four years. The deaths came as President Barack Obama prepared to meet his national security team for a sixth full-scale conference on the future of the troubled war.
In the deadliest crash, a helicopter went down in the west of the country after leaving the scene of a firefight, killing 10 Americans - seven troops and three Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Eleven American troops, one U.S. civilian and 14 Afghans were also injured.
In a separate incident, two U.S. Marine helicopters - one UH-1 and an AH-1 Cobra - collided in flight before sunrise over the southern province of Helmand, killing four American troops and wounding two more, Marine spokesman Maj. Bill Pelletier said.
CHOPPER CRASH
J. Magno
AP - Map locates the Badghis province where helicopter crashed
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - An Afghan riot police man places a tear gas bullet in to his rifle during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - Afghan police men run for arresting the protesters during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - An Afghan police officer, left, asks for more police men, as protesters escape during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - Afghan police men take arrested protesters during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - Stones are seen on the street, which were thrown on police men by protesters during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - Afghan riot police men stand on guard at the site of a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Election
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - A torn election poster of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who's also a candidate in last August's presidential election, is seen in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Karzai's challenger is calling for the removal of Afghanistan's top election official before the country's Nov. 7 runoff.
Afghanistan Election
Farzana Wahidy
AP Photo - Abdullah Abdullah, former Afghan foreign minister who run against President Hamid Karzai in last August's presidential election, speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Abdullah called for election commission chairman Azizullah Lodin to be replaced within five days, saying he has "no credibility" on Monday.
Afghanistan
Rahmat Gul
AP Photo - An Afghan police man stands guard as U.S. armored military vehicle drives by near the site where suicide attackers fired in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Nangarhar province Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai survived an assassination attempt after a gunman fired automatic weapons at his convoy from a hotel window as his convoy drove down a road in Jalalabad, according to his spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai. Sherzai's bodyguards killed the gunman, as well as another attacker wearing a suicide vest and carrying grenades.
Afghanistan
Rahmat Gul
AP Photo - Afghan security forces rush to the site of a firing by suicide attackers in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Nangarhar province Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai survived an assassination attempt after a gunman fired automatic weapons at his convoy from a hotel window as his convoy drove down a road in Jalalabad, according to his spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai. Sherzai's bodyguards killed the gunman, as well as another attacker wearing a suicide vest and carrying grenades.
Afghanistan
Rahmat Gul
AP Photo - Bloodstains and used bullets are seen on at the site where a suicide attacker was shot by security forces in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Nangarhar province Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai survived an assassination attempt after a gunman fired automatic weapons at his convoy from a hotel window as his convoy drove down a road in Jalalabad, according to his spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai. Sherzai's bodyguards killed the gunman, as well as another attacker wearing a suicide vest and carrying grenades.
CORRECTION Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - An Afghan riot police man places a tear gas canister into his rifle during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS
* CHOPPER CRASH
* Afghanistan Protest
* Afghanistan Protest
* Afghanistan Protest
* Afghanistan Protest
* Afghanistan Protest
* Afghanistan Protest
* Afghanistan Election
* Afghanistan Election
* Afghanistan
* Afghanistan
* Afghanistan
* CORRECTION Afghanistan Protest
* Video from the Associated Press 14 Americans killed in 2 Afghan helicopter crashes
It was the heaviest single-day loss of life since June 28, 2005, when 16 U.S. troops on a special forces helicopter died when their MH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by insurgents. The casualties also mark the first DEA deaths in Afghanistan since it began operations there in 2005.
U.S. authorities have ruled out hostile fire in the collision but have not given a cause for the other fatal crash in the west. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmedi claimed Taliban fighters shot down a helicopter in northwest Badghis province's Darabam district. It was impossible to verify the claim and unclear if he was referring to the same incident.
Military spokeswoman Elizabeth Mathias said hostile fire was unlikely because the troops were not receiving fire when the helicopter took off.
NATO said the helicopter was returning from a joint operation that targeted insurgents involved in "narcotics trafficking in western Afghanistan."
"During the operation, insurgent forces engaged the joint force and more than a dozen enemy fighters were killed in the ensuing firefight," a NATO statement said.
Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium - the raw ingredient in heroin - and the illicit drug trade is a major source of funding for insurgent groups.
U.S. forces also reported the death of two other American service members a day earlier: one in a bomb attack in the east, and another who died of wounds sustained in an insurgent attack in the same region. The deaths bring to at least 46 the number of U.S. service members who have been killed in October.
This has been the deadliest year for international and U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban. Fighting spiked around the presidential vote in August, and 51 U.S. soldiers died that month - the deadliest for American forces in the eight-year war.
The Obama administration is debating whether to send tens of thousands more troops to the country, while the Afghan government is rushing to hold a Nov. 7 runoff election between President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah after it was determined that the August election depended on fraudulent votes.
The Obama administration is hoping the runoff will produce a legitimate government. In Washington, Obama was to meet with his national security team Monday in what was to be the sixth full-scale Afghanistan conference in the White House Situation Room.
Abdullah on Monday called for election commission chairman Azizullah Lodin to be replaced within five days, saying he has "no credibility."
Lodin has denied accusations he is biased in favor of Karzai, and the election commission's spokesman has already said Lodin cannot be replaced by either side.
Abdullah made the demand in a news conference during which he spelled out what he said were "minimum conditions" for holding a fair second round of voting, including the firing of any workers implicated in fraud and the suspension of several ministers he said had campaigned for Karzai in the first round before the official campaigning period began.
Abdullah did not say what would happen if his demands were not met. "I reserve my reaction if we are faced with that unfortunate situation," he said.
Abdullah said he was willing to meet with Karzai to discuss the conditions, but repeated that he would not discuss a coalition government as some have suggested, nor compromise on his recommendations out of concerns that they are difficult to implement.
"These are not impossible things," Abdullah said, stressing that his team had pared them down to what they considered essential to a fair vote and possible to put in place before the runoff.
Another flawed election would cast doubt on the wisdom of sending in more U.S. troops.
With less than two weeks to go until the vote, disagreements have emerged between the U.N. and the Afghans on how to conduct the balloting.
Lodin said the commission hopes to open all 23,960 polling stations from the first round. The U.N. wants to open only 16,000 stations to cut down on the number of "ghost polling stations" that never opened but were used to stuff ballot boxes.
Elsewhere Monday, Nangarhar province Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai survived an assassination attempt after a gunman fired automatic weapons at his convoy in Jalalabad, according to his spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai. Sherzai's bodyguards killed the gunman, as well as another attacker wearing a suicide vest and carrying grenades.
Meanwhile, security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of Islam's holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province. Fire trucks were also brought in to push back protesters with water cannons. Police said several officers were injured in the mayhem.
U.S. and Afghan authorities have denied any such desecration and insist that the Taliban are spreading the rumor to stir up public anger. The rumor has sparked similar protests in Wardak and Khost provinces.
Associated Press Writers Rahim Faiez, Todd Pitman and Robert H. Reid contributed to this report from Kabul; Noor Khan reported from Kandahar and Devlin Barrett from Washington.
By HEIDI VOGT - Associated Press Writer
KABUL -- Helicopter crashes killed 14 Americans on Monday - 11 troops and three drug agents - in the deadliest day for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan in more than four years. The deaths came as President Barack Obama prepared to meet his national security team for a sixth full-scale conference on the future of the troubled war.
In the deadliest crash, a helicopter went down in the west of the country after leaving the scene of a firefight, killing 10 Americans - seven troops and three Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Eleven American troops, one U.S. civilian and 14 Afghans were also injured.
In a separate incident, two U.S. Marine helicopters - one UH-1 and an AH-1 Cobra - collided in flight before sunrise over the southern province of Helmand, killing four American troops and wounding two more, Marine spokesman Maj. Bill Pelletier said.
CHOPPER CRASH
J. Magno
AP - Map locates the Badghis province where helicopter crashed
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - An Afghan riot police man places a tear gas bullet in to his rifle during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - Afghan police men run for arresting the protesters during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - An Afghan police officer, left, asks for more police men, as protesters escape during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - Afghan police men take arrested protesters during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - Stones are seen on the street, which were thrown on police men by protesters during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - Afghan riot police men stand on guard at the site of a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
Afghanistan Election
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - A torn election poster of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who's also a candidate in last August's presidential election, is seen in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Karzai's challenger is calling for the removal of Afghanistan's top election official before the country's Nov. 7 runoff.
Afghanistan Election
Farzana Wahidy
AP Photo - Abdullah Abdullah, former Afghan foreign minister who run against President Hamid Karzai in last August's presidential election, speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Abdullah called for election commission chairman Azizullah Lodin to be replaced within five days, saying he has "no credibility" on Monday.
Afghanistan
Rahmat Gul
AP Photo - An Afghan police man stands guard as U.S. armored military vehicle drives by near the site where suicide attackers fired in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Nangarhar province Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai survived an assassination attempt after a gunman fired automatic weapons at his convoy from a hotel window as his convoy drove down a road in Jalalabad, according to his spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai. Sherzai's bodyguards killed the gunman, as well as another attacker wearing a suicide vest and carrying grenades.
Afghanistan
Rahmat Gul
AP Photo - Afghan security forces rush to the site of a firing by suicide attackers in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Nangarhar province Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai survived an assassination attempt after a gunman fired automatic weapons at his convoy from a hotel window as his convoy drove down a road in Jalalabad, according to his spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai. Sherzai's bodyguards killed the gunman, as well as another attacker wearing a suicide vest and carrying grenades.
Afghanistan
Rahmat Gul
AP Photo - Bloodstains and used bullets are seen on at the site where a suicide attacker was shot by security forces in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Nangarhar province Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai survived an assassination attempt after a gunman fired automatic weapons at his convoy from a hotel window as his convoy drove down a road in Jalalabad, according to his spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai. Sherzai's bodyguards killed the gunman, as well as another attacker wearing a suicide vest and carrying grenades.
CORRECTION Afghanistan Protest
Musadeq Sadeq
AP Photo - An Afghan riot police man places a tear gas canister into his rifle during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. Security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province.
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* Video from the Associated Press 14 Americans killed in 2 Afghan helicopter crashes
It was the heaviest single-day loss of life since June 28, 2005, when 16 U.S. troops on a special forces helicopter died when their MH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by insurgents. The casualties also mark the first DEA deaths in Afghanistan since it began operations there in 2005.
U.S. authorities have ruled out hostile fire in the collision but have not given a cause for the other fatal crash in the west. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmedi claimed Taliban fighters shot down a helicopter in northwest Badghis province's Darabam district. It was impossible to verify the claim and unclear if he was referring to the same incident.
Military spokeswoman Elizabeth Mathias said hostile fire was unlikely because the troops were not receiving fire when the helicopter took off.
NATO said the helicopter was returning from a joint operation that targeted insurgents involved in "narcotics trafficking in western Afghanistan."
"During the operation, insurgent forces engaged the joint force and more than a dozen enemy fighters were killed in the ensuing firefight," a NATO statement said.
Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium - the raw ingredient in heroin - and the illicit drug trade is a major source of funding for insurgent groups.
U.S. forces also reported the death of two other American service members a day earlier: one in a bomb attack in the east, and another who died of wounds sustained in an insurgent attack in the same region. The deaths bring to at least 46 the number of U.S. service members who have been killed in October.
This has been the deadliest year for international and U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban. Fighting spiked around the presidential vote in August, and 51 U.S. soldiers died that month - the deadliest for American forces in the eight-year war.
The Obama administration is debating whether to send tens of thousands more troops to the country, while the Afghan government is rushing to hold a Nov. 7 runoff election between President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah after it was determined that the August election depended on fraudulent votes.
The Obama administration is hoping the runoff will produce a legitimate government. In Washington, Obama was to meet with his national security team Monday in what was to be the sixth full-scale Afghanistan conference in the White House Situation Room.
Abdullah on Monday called for election commission chairman Azizullah Lodin to be replaced within five days, saying he has "no credibility."
Lodin has denied accusations he is biased in favor of Karzai, and the election commission's spokesman has already said Lodin cannot be replaced by either side.
Abdullah made the demand in a news conference during which he spelled out what he said were "minimum conditions" for holding a fair second round of voting, including the firing of any workers implicated in fraud and the suspension of several ministers he said had campaigned for Karzai in the first round before the official campaigning period began.
Abdullah did not say what would happen if his demands were not met. "I reserve my reaction if we are faced with that unfortunate situation," he said.
Abdullah said he was willing to meet with Karzai to discuss the conditions, but repeated that he would not discuss a coalition government as some have suggested, nor compromise on his recommendations out of concerns that they are difficult to implement.
"These are not impossible things," Abdullah said, stressing that his team had pared them down to what they considered essential to a fair vote and possible to put in place before the runoff.
Another flawed election would cast doubt on the wisdom of sending in more U.S. troops.
With less than two weeks to go until the vote, disagreements have emerged between the U.N. and the Afghans on how to conduct the balloting.
Lodin said the commission hopes to open all 23,960 polling stations from the first round. The U.N. wants to open only 16,000 stations to cut down on the number of "ghost polling stations" that never opened but were used to stuff ballot boxes.
Elsewhere Monday, Nangarhar province Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai survived an assassination attempt after a gunman fired automatic weapons at his convoy in Jalalabad, according to his spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai. Sherzai's bodyguards killed the gunman, as well as another attacker wearing a suicide vest and carrying grenades.
Meanwhile, security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of Islam's holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province. Fire trucks were also brought in to push back protesters with water cannons. Police said several officers were injured in the mayhem.
U.S. and Afghan authorities have denied any such desecration and insist that the Taliban are spreading the rumor to stir up public anger. The rumor has sparked similar protests in Wardak and Khost provinces.
Associated Press Writers Rahim Faiez, Todd Pitman and Robert H. Reid contributed to this report from Kabul; Noor Khan reported from Kandahar and Devlin Barrett from Washington.
26 days ago
Calif. searchers seek survivors after midair crash
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AP – A U.S. Coast Guardsman boards a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter at the San Diego Coast Guard Station Friday, …
Play VideoVideo:Military plane, helicopter collide in midair AP
Play VideoVideo:9 Missing After Plane, Military Chopper Collide CBS 2 / KCAL 9 Los Angeles
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer – 1 min ago
SAN DIEGO – Investigators were trying Friday to determine why a Coast Guard airplane on a nighttime search for a missing boater collided with one of four Marine Corps helicopters flying in formation to deliver troops to a training exercise on a military island off Southern California.
The collision occurred minutes after civilian air traffic controllers told the Coast Guard C-130 pilot to begin communicating with military controllers, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.
All seven people aboard the C-130 and the two-person crew of the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter remained missing as a search of a 644-square-mile area focused on a debris field about 50 miles off the San Diego coast.
"A tragic event," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "The search is still on, but it's likely taken the lives of nine individuals."
The C-130 crew had survival gear aboard the aircraft, including exposure suits that could have allowed them to survive in the water for hours, Petty Officer Henry Dunphy said.
It was not known whether the pilots of the C-130 and the helicopters were aware of each other before the 7:10 p.m. Thursday collision about 15 miles east of the Navy's San Clemente Island, a heavily used site with training ranges for amphibious, air, surface and undersea warfare.
The Sacramento-based C-130 crew was looking for a man on 12-foot skiff who was reported missing while trying to row from Los Angeles to Santa Catalina Island, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Levi Read.
Drift patterns showed the skiff could be near San Clemente Island, about 25 miles southwest of Catalina.
The AH-1W Super Cobra was flying from Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County to the island, said Maj. Jay Delarosa, a spokesman for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
Two Super Cobras, a type of attack helicopter, were escorting two big CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters carrying Marines to the island, Delarosa said. He did not know how many Marines were aboard the transports.
After the collision, the other three helicopters returned to base, he said.
The accident occurred airspace uncontrolled by the FAA inside a so-called military warning area, which is at times open to civilian aircraft and at times closed for military use, Gregor said, adding that he did not know the status of the airspace at the time.
Minutes before the collision, the FAA told the C-130 pilot to begin communicating with military controllers at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego Bay, but it was not known if the pilot did so, Gregor said.
FAA controllers never communicated with the Cobra pilots, Gregor said.
Capt. Tom Farris, commander of the Coast Guard's San Diego sector, said that area where the accident occurred is under Navy control.
Farris said that in that area pilots are responsible for seeing other's aircraft around them.
Pilots "operate in that area on a see-and-avoid principal," he said.
The investigation will involve recordings of transmissions by the aircraft, the FAA and Navy controllers, he said.
The four-engine C-130 was conducting its search from an altitude of 900 to 1,000 feet and visibility was 15 miles, according to the Coast Guard.
Citing the continuing investigation, Delarosa said he couldn't comment on whether the helicopter pilots were aware of the Coast Guard search operation. He said that since it was after dark the helicopter pilots would have been wearing night-vision goggles.
Navy spokeswoman Angelic Dolan declined to answer questions about the collision.
The search for the man on the skiff continued.
The C-130 was based at the Coast Guard's air station in Sacramento.
Coast Guard flotilla Cmdr. Ron Clark said the primary mission of the base's C-130s is search and rescue in an area stretching from the Canadian border to Ecuador and halfway to Hawaii. The station is also responsible for marine enforcement ranging from drug interdiction to fisheries.
Clark declined to discuss the collision, referring calls on that to the San Diego operations.
The offshore military airspace occupies a wide swath of area from the U.S.-Mexico border to California's central coast.
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast.
Military flights are common along the San Diego County coast. Marine helicopters are often seen flying from coastal Camp Pendleton to ships and the island.
___
Associated Press Writers Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles and Juliet Williams in Sacramento contributed to this report.
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AP – A U.S. Coast Guardsman boards a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter at the San Diego Coast Guard Station Friday, …
Play VideoVideo:Military plane, helicopter collide in midair AP
Play VideoVideo:9 Missing After Plane, Military Chopper Collide CBS 2 / KCAL 9 Los Angeles
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer – 1 min ago
SAN DIEGO – Investigators were trying Friday to determine why a Coast Guard airplane on a nighttime search for a missing boater collided with one of four Marine Corps helicopters flying in formation to deliver troops to a training exercise on a military island off Southern California.
The collision occurred minutes after civilian air traffic controllers told the Coast Guard C-130 pilot to begin communicating with military controllers, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.
All seven people aboard the C-130 and the two-person crew of the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter remained missing as a search of a 644-square-mile area focused on a debris field about 50 miles off the San Diego coast.
"A tragic event," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "The search is still on, but it's likely taken the lives of nine individuals."
The C-130 crew had survival gear aboard the aircraft, including exposure suits that could have allowed them to survive in the water for hours, Petty Officer Henry Dunphy said.
It was not known whether the pilots of the C-130 and the helicopters were aware of each other before the 7:10 p.m. Thursday collision about 15 miles east of the Navy's San Clemente Island, a heavily used site with training ranges for amphibious, air, surface and undersea warfare.
The Sacramento-based C-130 crew was looking for a man on 12-foot skiff who was reported missing while trying to row from Los Angeles to Santa Catalina Island, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Levi Read.
Drift patterns showed the skiff could be near San Clemente Island, about 25 miles southwest of Catalina.
The AH-1W Super Cobra was flying from Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County to the island, said Maj. Jay Delarosa, a spokesman for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
Two Super Cobras, a type of attack helicopter, were escorting two big CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters carrying Marines to the island, Delarosa said. He did not know how many Marines were aboard the transports.
After the collision, the other three helicopters returned to base, he said.
The accident occurred airspace uncontrolled by the FAA inside a so-called military warning area, which is at times open to civilian aircraft and at times closed for military use, Gregor said, adding that he did not know the status of the airspace at the time.
Minutes before the collision, the FAA told the C-130 pilot to begin communicating with military controllers at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego Bay, but it was not known if the pilot did so, Gregor said.
FAA controllers never communicated with the Cobra pilots, Gregor said.
Capt. Tom Farris, commander of the Coast Guard's San Diego sector, said that area where the accident occurred is under Navy control.
Farris said that in that area pilots are responsible for seeing other's aircraft around them.
Pilots "operate in that area on a see-and-avoid principal," he said.
The investigation will involve recordings of transmissions by the aircraft, the FAA and Navy controllers, he said.
The four-engine C-130 was conducting its search from an altitude of 900 to 1,000 feet and visibility was 15 miles, according to the Coast Guard.
Citing the continuing investigation, Delarosa said he couldn't comment on whether the helicopter pilots were aware of the Coast Guard search operation. He said that since it was after dark the helicopter pilots would have been wearing night-vision goggles.
Navy spokeswoman Angelic Dolan declined to answer questions about the collision.
The search for the man on the skiff continued.
The C-130 was based at the Coast Guard's air station in Sacramento.
Coast Guard flotilla Cmdr. Ron Clark said the primary mission of the base's C-130s is search and rescue in an area stretching from the Canadian border to Ecuador and halfway to Hawaii. The station is also responsible for marine enforcement ranging from drug interdiction to fisheries.
Clark declined to discuss the collision, referring calls on that to the San Diego operations.
The offshore military airspace occupies a wide swath of area from the U.S.-Mexico border to California's central coast.
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast.
Military flights are common along the San Diego County coast. Marine helicopters are often seen flying from coastal Camp Pendleton to ships and the island.
___
Associated Press Writers Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles and Juliet Williams in Sacramento contributed to this report.
22 days ago
Breaking News from ABCNEWS.com:
Fort Hood Rampage: 12 Dead, 31 Injured, 1 Shooter Dead, Two Suspects in Custody [4:55 p.m. ET]
Fort Hood Rampage: 12 Dead, 31 Injured, 1 Shooter Dead, Two Suspects in Custody [4:55 p.m. ET]
16 days ago
Charles Beach Jr., retired Army major general, dies at age 90
By Jack Brammer - jbrammer@herald-leader.com
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles Beach Jr. of Beatty ville, who was awarded the Purple Heart during World War II and later served on various state and local agency boards and commissions, died Wednesday — Veterans Day — at Lexington's St. Joseph Hospital. He was 90.
"He was nationally recognized as a military leader and a community leader," said Maj. Gen. William E. Barron of Elizabethtown, who knew Beach for about 35 years and served with him in the Reserves.
"General Beach was a quality gentleman who never embarrassed himself or others. It will take hundreds of people to replace all he has done for the military and this state."
General in blue
Maj. Gen. Charles Beach Jr. died on Veterans Day.
Charles Beach Jr.
Charles Beach Jr.
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Former Gov. Paul Patton said Beach "served his country and state well. He was always a gentleman, a fine, fine person."
Beach was born on the Fourth of July in 1919 in Beattyville.
A 1940 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., Beach was wounded in action in May 1944 in Italy and spent eight months in a military hospital in Memphis. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
After his release from active duty, he was assigned to the Army Reserves. He was recommissioned in the Army in 1957 as a major. In 1961, his unit was called to active duty in Arkansas due to the Berlin crisis.
In 1976, Beach became the 18th commander of the 100th Division, the All Kentucky Army Reserve Training Division, and was promoted to major general.
In civilian life, his public duty included chairmanship of Peoples Exchange Bank and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.
For 58 years, he was president of the Beattyville/Lee County Chamber of Commerce.
Beattyville Mayor Joseph Kash called Beach "a true gentleman and a hero of this community. It's appropriate that his passing was on Veterans Day. He was a true patriot."
Newnam Funeral Home in Beattyville is handling arrangements.
Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Beattyville. A private funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church. A public service with full military rites will follow at Riverview Cemetery, Beattyville.
Following interment, a reception celebrating Beach's life will be at the Beattyville home of his son, Charles Beach III, and daughter-in-law, Helen Beach.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to St. Thomas Church.
By Jack Brammer - jbrammer@herald-leader.com
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles Beach Jr. of Beatty ville, who was awarded the Purple Heart during World War II and later served on various state and local agency boards and commissions, died Wednesday — Veterans Day — at Lexington's St. Joseph Hospital. He was 90.
"He was nationally recognized as a military leader and a community leader," said Maj. Gen. William E. Barron of Elizabethtown, who knew Beach for about 35 years and served with him in the Reserves.
"General Beach was a quality gentleman who never embarrassed himself or others. It will take hundreds of people to replace all he has done for the military and this state."
General in blue
Maj. Gen. Charles Beach Jr. died on Veterans Day.
Charles Beach Jr.
Charles Beach Jr.
CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS
* General in blue
* Charles Beach Jr.
*
External Link Sign a guestbook for Charles Beach Jr.
Former Gov. Paul Patton said Beach "served his country and state well. He was always a gentleman, a fine, fine person."
Beach was born on the Fourth of July in 1919 in Beattyville.
A 1940 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., Beach was wounded in action in May 1944 in Italy and spent eight months in a military hospital in Memphis. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
After his release from active duty, he was assigned to the Army Reserves. He was recommissioned in the Army in 1957 as a major. In 1961, his unit was called to active duty in Arkansas due to the Berlin crisis.
In 1976, Beach became the 18th commander of the 100th Division, the All Kentucky Army Reserve Training Division, and was promoted to major general.
In civilian life, his public duty included chairmanship of Peoples Exchange Bank and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.
For 58 years, he was president of the Beattyville/Lee County Chamber of Commerce.
Beattyville Mayor Joseph Kash called Beach "a true gentleman and a hero of this community. It's appropriate that his passing was on Veterans Day. He was a true patriot."
Newnam Funeral Home in Beattyville is handling arrangements.
Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Beattyville. A private funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church. A public service with full military rites will follow at Riverview Cemetery, Beattyville.
Following interment, a reception celebrating Beach's life will be at the Beattyville home of his son, Charles Beach III, and daughter-in-law, Helen Beach.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to St. Thomas Church.
9 days ago
2009-11-14
Would you post this one on your
Viet Nam groups on EONS?...I
think it would be appropriate to
post it there, don't you?
Subject: Re: The Soldier's Gift
Subject: The Soldier's Gift ... I am honored to post this in all my groups... A request from one of mine who does not wish to be named. Hugs and love my dear heart.
"It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us Freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag.
Who allows the protester to burn the flag."
Anonymous
Would you post this one on your
Viet Nam groups on EONS?...I
think it would be appropriate to
post it there, don't you?
Subject: Re: The Soldier's Gift
Subject: The Soldier's Gift ... I am honored to post this in all my groups... A request from one of mine who does not wish to be named. Hugs and love my dear heart.
"It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us Freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag.
Who allows the protester to burn the flag."
Anonymous
8 days ago
FROM ONE OF MINE WHO IS ALSO A DEAR FRIEND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Sand Pit It's freezing here. I'm sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountains , along the Dar 'yoi Pomir River , watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave. Stake out, my friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles.
I also glance at the area around my ass every ten to fifteen seconds to avoid another scorpion sting. I've actually given up battling the chiggers and sand fleas, but them scorpions give a jolt like a cattle prod. Hurts like a bastard. The antidote tastes like transmission fluid, but God bless the Marine Corps for the five vials of it in my pack.
The one truth the Taliban cannot escape is that, believe it or not, they are human beings, which means they have to eat food and drink water.. That requires couriers and that's where an old bounty hunter like me comes in handy. I track the couriers, locate the tunnel entrances and storage facilities, type the info into the handheld, shoot the coordinates up to the satellite link that tells the air commanders where to drop the hardware. We bash some heads for a while, then I track and record the new movement..
It's all about intelligence. We haven't even brought in the snipers yet. These scurrying rats have no idea what they're in for. We are but days away from cutting off supply lines and allowing the eradication to begin.
I dream of bin Laden waking up to find me standing over him with m y boot on his throat as I spit into his face and plunge my nickel-plated Bowie knife through his frontal lobe. But you know me, I'm a romantic. I've said it before and I'll say it again: This country blows, man. It's not even a country. There are no roads, there's no infrastructure, there's no government. This is an inhospitable, rock pit shit hole ruled by eleventh century warring tribes. There are no jobs here like we know jobs.
Afghanistan offers two ways for a man to support his family: join the opium trade or join the army. That's it. Those are your options. Oh, I forgot, you can also live in a refugee camp and eat plum-sweetened, crushed beetle paste and squirt mud like a goose with stomach flu, if that's your idea of a party. But the smell alone of those 'tent cities of the walking dead' is enough to hurl you into the poppy fields to cheerfully scrape bulbs for eighteen hours a day.
I've been living with these Tajiks and Uzbeks, and Turkmen and even a couple of Pushtuns, for over a month-and-a-half now, and this much I can say for sure: These guys, all of 'em, are Huns... actual, living Huns.. They LIVE to fight. It's what they do. It's ALL they do.. They have no respect for anything, not for their families, nor for each other, nor for themselves. They claw at one another as a way of life. They play polo with dead calves and force their five-year-old sons into human cockfights to defend the family honor. Huns, roaming packs of savage, heartless beasts who feed on each other's barbarism. Cavemen with AK-47's. Then again, maybe I'm just cranky.
I'm freezing my ass off on this stupid hill because my lap warmer is running out of juice, and I can't recharge it until the sun comes up in a few hours. Oh yeah! You like to write letters, right? Do me a favor, Bizarre. Write a letter to CNN and tell Wolf and Anderson and that awful, sneering, pompous Aaron Brown to stop calling the Taliban 'smart..' They are not smart. I suggest CNN invest in a dictionary because the word they are looking for is 'cunning.' The Taliban are cunning, like jackals and hyenas and wolverines..They are sneaky and ruthless, and when confronted, cowardly. They are hateful, malevolent parasites who create nothing and destroy everything else. Smart.. Pfft. Yeah, they're real smart.
They've spent their entire lives reading only one book (and not a very good one, as books go) and consider hygiene and indoor plumbing to be products of the devil. They're still figuring out how to work a Bic lighter. Talking to a Taliban warrior about improving his quality of life is like trying to teach an ape how to hold a pen; eventually he just gets frustrated and sticks you in the eye with it.
OK, enough. Snuffle will be up soon, so I have to get back to my hole. Covering my tracks in the snow takes a lot of practice, but I'm good at it.
Please, I tell you and my fellow Americans to turn off the TV sets and move on with your lives. The story line you are getting from CNN and other news agencies is utter bullshit and designed not to deliver truth but rather to keep you glued to the screen through the commercials. We've got this one under control The worst thing you guys can do right now is sit around analyzing what we're doing over here, because you have no idea what we're doing, and really, you don't want to know. We are your military, and we are doing what you sent us here to do.
You wanna help? Buy Bonds America.
Saucy Jack
Recon Marine in Afghanistan
Semper Fi
"Freedom is not free...but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share."..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Sand Pit It's freezing here. I'm sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountains , along the Dar 'yoi Pomir River , watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave. Stake out, my friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles.
I also glance at the area around my ass every ten to fifteen seconds to avoid another scorpion sting. I've actually given up battling the chiggers and sand fleas, but them scorpions give a jolt like a cattle prod. Hurts like a bastard. The antidote tastes like transmission fluid, but God bless the Marine Corps for the five vials of it in my pack.
The one truth the Taliban cannot escape is that, believe it or not, they are human beings, which means they have to eat food and drink water.. That requires couriers and that's where an old bounty hunter like me comes in handy. I track the couriers, locate the tunnel entrances and storage facilities, type the info into the handheld, shoot the coordinates up to the satellite link that tells the air commanders where to drop the hardware. We bash some heads for a while, then I track and record the new movement..
It's all about intelligence. We haven't even brought in the snipers yet. These scurrying rats have no idea what they're in for. We are but days away from cutting off supply lines and allowing the eradication to begin.
I dream of bin Laden waking up to find me standing over him with m y boot on his throat as I spit into his face and plunge my nickel-plated Bowie knife through his frontal lobe. But you know me, I'm a romantic. I've said it before and I'll say it again: This country blows, man. It's not even a country. There are no roads, there's no infrastructure, there's no government. This is an inhospitable, rock pit shit hole ruled by eleventh century warring tribes. There are no jobs here like we know jobs.
Afghanistan offers two ways for a man to support his family: join the opium trade or join the army. That's it. Those are your options. Oh, I forgot, you can also live in a refugee camp and eat plum-sweetened, crushed beetle paste and squirt mud like a goose with stomach flu, if that's your idea of a party. But the smell alone of those 'tent cities of the walking dead' is enough to hurl you into the poppy fields to cheerfully scrape bulbs for eighteen hours a day.
I've been living with these Tajiks and Uzbeks, and Turkmen and even a couple of Pushtuns, for over a month-and-a-half now, and this much I can say for sure: These guys, all of 'em, are Huns... actual, living Huns.. They LIVE to fight. It's what they do. It's ALL they do.. They have no respect for anything, not for their families, nor for each other, nor for themselves. They claw at one another as a way of life. They play polo with dead calves and force their five-year-old sons into human cockfights to defend the family honor. Huns, roaming packs of savage, heartless beasts who feed on each other's barbarism. Cavemen with AK-47's. Then again, maybe I'm just cranky.
I'm freezing my ass off on this stupid hill because my lap warmer is running out of juice, and I can't recharge it until the sun comes up in a few hours. Oh yeah! You like to write letters, right? Do me a favor, Bizarre. Write a letter to CNN and tell Wolf and Anderson and that awful, sneering, pompous Aaron Brown to stop calling the Taliban 'smart..' They are not smart. I suggest CNN invest in a dictionary because the word they are looking for is 'cunning.' The Taliban are cunning, like jackals and hyenas and wolverines..They are sneaky and ruthless, and when confronted, cowardly. They are hateful, malevolent parasites who create nothing and destroy everything else. Smart.. Pfft. Yeah, they're real smart.
They've spent their entire lives reading only one book (and not a very good one, as books go) and consider hygiene and indoor plumbing to be products of the devil. They're still figuring out how to work a Bic lighter. Talking to a Taliban warrior about improving his quality of life is like trying to teach an ape how to hold a pen; eventually he just gets frustrated and sticks you in the eye with it.
OK, enough. Snuffle will be up soon, so I have to get back to my hole. Covering my tracks in the snow takes a lot of practice, but I'm good at it.
Please, I tell you and my fellow Americans to turn off the TV sets and move on with your lives. The story line you are getting from CNN and other news agencies is utter bullshit and designed not to deliver truth but rather to keep you glued to the screen through the commercials. We've got this one under control The worst thing you guys can do right now is sit around analyzing what we're doing over here, because you have no idea what we're doing, and really, you don't want to know. We are your military, and we are doing what you sent us here to do.
You wanna help? Buy Bonds America.
Saucy Jack
Recon Marine in Afghanistan
Semper Fi
"Freedom is not free...but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share."..
4 days ago
