Thank you for your cards, letters, and packages

Several weeks ago I asked for some people to send a Soldier some mail. The response was overwhelming and the Solider has received many pieces of mail thanks to the readers of Badgers Forward. He is trying to respond to all of you, but of course he is very busy. He has asked me to pass along his thanks and appreciation. If, for some reason, you do not hear from him please know that your efforts were great appreciated and welcome.


And thank you from Badger 6 too.

The People You Meet

When I was at Fort McCoy I ran into one of the Badgers. He is on his way back with another reserve IED hunting unit. It was great to see him and catch up. I think I violated the Pentagon hugging rules though.

The other young man I met was when I arrived at the Saint Louis airport. He was waiting for me at the end of the jetway, but had evidently just got off the same plane. He had seen me in uniform and was looking for direction to the "military place." He was in fact on his way to Basic Combat Training. We talked for a few minutes as we walked down the concourse. I explained I was returning from Iraq and he was excited to be on the way to becoming a Soldier.

Meeting him seemed to complete the circle. Why? He is on his way to be a Combat Engineer.

Safe In the Arms Of Love

I'm home.

Fort McCoy, Wisconsin

After a long trip, I am safely at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin going through the demobilization process. Home soon.

PZ Clean

We have slapped high-fives on the OBJ; I have tossed out an HC smoke grenade; EXFIL is underway.

In other words . . .

I am out of Iraq and on my way home.

Compare and Contrast

This Individual Ready Reserve Soldier with the one I posted about yesterday.

This Soldier and his wife are clearly less than thrilled and I understand that. If you browse away from this blog thinking I think people should be happy about being called out the IRR, then you are missing the point.

Commentor Trailblazer had different point of view, which, if I read him correctly is that there are more people who could serve on active duty. I don't disagree that it would be a desirable to have more people want to serve in the US Armed Forces, but absent compulsory military service that is not going to happen. I think most people that want to serve in the military do anyway. Those that are deterred by the current war, those that would serve but for the war, are probably not the types we want in the service.

I respect Traillazer's point of view so far as that goes, but I think it is a little condescending to say 18 year olds are not old enough to really understand what the contract says and to say that Army recruiters hide it is simply not true. It is in the document you sign. How can they hide it?

Master Sergeant Brendan O'Connor - Someone You Should Know

None of our heroes who have been awarded the Medal of Honor during the Global War on Terrorism have been alive for the award. It seems the standard is so high one must give their life demonstrating courage.

Fortunately no such absolute standard has been created for our Nation's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Tomorrow, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Master Sergeant Brendan O'Connor, of the 7th Special Forces Group will receive Distinguished Service Cross.

From CBS News -

The battle raged for two days and nights, with the outmanned force driving back Taliban attacks and U.S. aircraft periodically attacking enemy positions. There were many heroes that day whose courage prevented the unit from being overrun. One of them was U.S. Army Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Abram Hernandez, who climbed a ladder to fire at advancing enemy soldiers trying to capture two wounded U.S. troops and their translator. "Seeing Hernandez propped up at that ridiculous angle was absolutely inspiring," says O’Connor. "Tracer rounds were…whizzing right by our heads. I was [amazed by Hernandez]."

Then O’Connor - shucking his battle armor to lower his profile - slowly crawled toward the wounded men while U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Thom Maholic warded off another enemy team threatening the rescue by firing from a rooftop. Maholic’s efforts saved the unit but resulted in him taking a bullet in the head. "He died in my arms," says Hernandez.

The two wounded men were rescued; but despite being carried back to safety by O’Connor, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joe Fuerst died of his wounds.

Unable to find reinforcements to come to their rescue, the surrounded soldiers planned an ingenious nighttime escape. They radioed the support aircraft above them to beam an infrared light invisible to the naked eye on a path back to their patrol base. The Green Berets, using their night-vision glasses, could see the beam and led their men to safety, while the aircraft attacked anything moving beyond the infrared beam.

Ford’s unit and their supporting aircraft killed an estimated 120 Taliban fighters during the battle. Maholic was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for saving his unit and the Special Forces firebase near Kandahar was renamed after him.

Later this month, O’Connor will become only the second American to receive the Distinguished Service Cross for valor in Afghanistan. The entire unit was honored at a ceremony at Ft. Bragg late last year, making them the most decorated Special Forces team in any one battle of the Afghan war.

If you are in the Fort Bragg area maybe you can go to post and witness history.

Frankly Opinionated - FBF (Friend of Badgers Forward)

Frankie Cee at the blog Frankly Opinionated has been long time FBF. He has left plenty of comments and last year when I commented that I wanted a hat from the Al Anbar Law School, Frank was one of two people to make them up and send them to me.

He has a shop with MRAP gear, Task Force Pathfinder gear, and Question Your Assumptions gear.

If you want something fun - check him out.

When You Think You Have Done Enough

A thought generated by my previous post and this comment;

I served my three years. I served 100 percent," he said. "I got hurt in a war zone. And they say, 'Your three years just isn't enough. You've got to go back to do it again.

When you think you have done enough to support the war effort remember this - right now there is someone sitting in mud hut in Iraq, a factory in Iran, and cave in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and maybe a neighborhood in the United States who is preparing to kill you. He knows he has not done enough. Ask yourself again then if you have done enough.

Deaf Soldier Being Sent to War?!?! OUTRAGEOUS!

Or maybe not so much. Took this story from the New York Post off of the Early Bird.

A New York soldier thought he had done his duty battling America's enemies overseas after losing the hearing in his left ear and injuring a knee.

But Uncle Sam isn't finished with James Raymond, yet.

Now he's headed to Iraq.

Headed to Iraq huh? Probably already here by the way this sounds.

But is that the entire story?

Raymond, 26, suffered permanent partial hearing loss - he says from friendly fire - while fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2003. He later hurt his knee before getting an honorable discharge in September 2004.

But the Army recently sent papers to the former specialist with the rugged 10th Mountain Division saying it needed him to saddle up and report to Fort Benning, Ga., on May 18 for medical and mental evaluation.

After that, it's a deployment to Fort Dix to meet up with a New Jersey Army Reserve unit.

Then, in September, it's on to Iraq.

Note carefully he is supposed to report to Fort Benning for medical and mental evaluation. This is called Soldier Readiness Processing where it is determined whether Soldiers are in fact fit for deployment. The New York Post makes it sound like it is a forgone conclusion that he will pass the SRP and be found fit for duty and deployed. But if he is found fit for duty then his claim of "deafness" must not be as complete as it is made to sound. I know that some out there believe the Army will send anyone it can gets its hands on, but that is nothing more than an anti-war myth. A Soldier who cannot physically meet the demands is a danger to himself and his fellow Soldiers. There are practical reasons for not sending people that cannot do the job.

Additionally if his hearing is really as bad as the article claims he would likely have been medically retired and be drawing some sort of disability compensation.

The claim he is "being sent to Iraq" is disproved in the article and the level of disability is suspect.

Raymond - a communications major at the University of Buffalo who joined the Army in August 2001 - is part of the military's Individual Ready Reserve policy.

Under the policy, a soldier is considered ready to fight for up to eight years after signing up, even after being discharged.

It's not "policy" it is part of the contract. I remember when I first signed an enlistment contracts, I saw that years and that caused me to pause, I did some quick fact finding though and understood what is called the Mandatory Service Obligation, the MSO, is eight years for your initial entry. It is in the contract and it is non-negotiable.

Raymond said he fears that other GIs may get hurt because of him not being able to hear or move fully on the battlefield.

And if that is the case, the SRP will determine that and he won't deploy.

"I served my three years. I served 100 percent," he said. "I got hurt in a war zone. And they say, 'Your three years just isn't enough. You've got to go back to do it again.' And that's wrong. It's a travesty."

No - it's not. He is simply no longer happy with the terms of the contract he signed and is having buyers remorse.

Really, I appreciate what he has done, but there are many people who the Army says are not physically able to come here who would fight for the opportunity to be here.

This guy reminds me of this guy who was complaining about being deployed for the fifth time, but when you added it all up he was here for fifteen minutes. (OK - that might be a little snarky, but whiners ask for snark - we play by Big Boys and Girls Rules - don't whine.)