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Gen. Petraeus Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer
From The NY Times:
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of American military forces in the Middle East, received a diagnosis of early-stage prostate cancer in February but has undergone “successful” radiation treatment to deal with the illness, according to a statement issued late Monday.
General Petraeus, 56, who as head of the United States Central Command oversees operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, underwent two months of radiation treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which had “minimal impact on his work schedule,” according to the statement.
Fortunately, they caught it early. It sounds like he’s going to be alright. Thank God for that.
Military Considers Lifting Ban On Women In Submarines
This from Reuters:
Top Pentagon officials are calling for an end to the U.S. military’s historical ban on allowing women to serve in submarines.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the top U.S. military officer, advocated the policy change in written congressional testimony distributed by his office to reporters on Friday.
"I believe we should continue to broaden opportunities for women. One policy I would like to see changed is the one barring (women’s) service aboard submarines," Mullen said.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said he was "moving out aggressively on this."
"I am very comfortable addressing integrating women into the submarine force," Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said in a statement.
Women account for about 15 percent of the more than 336,000 members of the U.S. Navy and can serve on its surface ships. But critics have argued that submarines are different, pointing to cramped quarters where some crews share beds in shifts.
The military has proven itself to be a very adaptable organization over the years and I predict this will be no different. As I’ve said many times, no branch of the military should be off-limits to women. That includes frontline combat roles in the Special Forces. Any woman who wishes to become a Navy SEAL and is physically able to complete the training should be given the opportunity to serve.
Women In The Military
The NY Times has an interesting piece about women in today’s military. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have forced gender integration well beyond what was originally intended — with surprisingly good results.
I’m very glad to see women for the most part doing well in the military. The contribution that women make to the armed forces is absolutely essential and should never be taken for granted.
As The Times article points out, women are increasingly seeing front-line combat action, something that was unthinkable in past wars. Cultural sensitivities require women to be part of combat patrols and other missions so the female soldiers can frisk and search female locals.
It’s not uncommon to see women sitting atop the .50 gun turret in a Humvee ready to shred the enemy at a moments notice. This too, is a good thing.
I think partial gender integration is a sham. Women should have the opportunity to do anything in the military that men do. Women should be allowed to become Navy SEALs or Army Special Forces if they so choose.
If a women can meet the physical requirements to become a special operator, why should she not be allowed to?
The old theory that combat soldiers simply can’t cope with seeing women blown apart on the battlefield is false. The two wars we’re currently fighting have unfortunately seen many women blown apart.
Soldiers don’t like to see their brothers or sisters blown apart in battle, but women have every right to be combat soldiers or special ops soldiers if they so choose.
Pentagon Lobbying For Super ‘Bunker-Buster’ Bomb
The Pentagon is lobbying the Obama administration to speed-up the deployment of a new massive bunker busting bomb called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
The 30,000-pound MOP carries more than 5,300 pounds of explosives and can reach even the deepest underground bunker complexes. Once deployed, it would be the biggest non-nuclear bomb ever used.
Boeing says it’s already in the testing phase and could have the bombs loaded onto B-2 stealth bombers by 2010.
The MOP is something we need more than anything at this point. After the dust settled in Iraq, the Pentagon studied the impact of the air campaign against the Saddam Hussein government and were less than impressed.
Many of Saddam’s hardened bunkers were left intact after being hit multiple times with the largest bunker busters in our arsenal. Saddam’s legendary bunkers were simply too deep for our bombs to reach.
Iran has allegedly buried their nuclear program in bunkers that exceed even the depth of Saddam’s bunkers.
Accelerating the deployment of the MOP bomb should be a top priority of this administration — sadly, I fear it won’t be.
America Needs The F-22 Raptor
A heated battle is currently raging on Capital Hill over whether to continue funding the F-22A Raptor beyond the 187 aircraft currently budgeted.
Much to the chagrin of liberals, it’s America’s military might and technological edge that has kept this country the lone super power in the world.
The United States has the finest and best equipped military the world has ever known. Our great wealth has enabled us to develop technologies and weapons systems that are decades ahead of any other nation.
The F-22A Raptor is just such a weapons system.
Josh Painter over at Red State has an excellent piece on the F-22 debate and why the jet is so crucial to our national security.
Even if we don’t need the F-22 for our current battles, we will need it in the future. This is about maintaining our edge and staying several steps ahead of our enemies.
The F-22 is expensive, but you can’t put a cost on keeping this nation safe. Our president thinks nothing of pissing away $780 billion on phony stimulus packages, and hundreds of billions more on phony global warming, and another 2 trillion for a health care takeover.
One thing president Obama is not worried about is spending money. That being the case, we should spend money on shit that actually matters.
As an added bonus, the F-22 is in a way the first “green” fighter jet. It uses a classified new technology called “Supercruise.”
Supercruise allows the F-22 to fly at sustained supersonic speeds without using an afterburner. That means it burns significantly less fuel than other aircraft.
In fact, we should just copy the left and change the debate entirely. The F-22 is about building a greener and more eco-friendly Air Force.
The sooner the Air Force can get 1,000 F-22’s the sooner we can put a stop to global climate change.
Here’s a little taste of the F-22 in action:
-Chris Jones
Video: Watch 30-Mile Procession For Fallen Georgia Soldier
Video: Sarah Palin Addresses Troops In Kosovo
Here’s a clip of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin talking to the troops in Kosovo:
(hat tip Conservatives4Palin)
Troopathon Live Stream — Care Packages For Our Troops!
Here’s the live stream from the Troopathon going on right now. Troopathon is raising money to send care packages to our troops!
Troopathon is being hosted by Melanie Morgan and Andrew Breitbart. Look for appearances by Rush Limbaugh, Carrie Prejean, Mark Levin, Greg Gutfeld, and many others from Hollywood, talk radio, the blogosphere, and military support community.
PLEASE DONATE 2 OUR TROOPS AND HONOR THEIR SERVICE!!
Audio: Tearful Military Wife Upset Over Obama’s Cairo Speech Calls Mark Levin
While I didn’t think Obama’s speech in Cairo was all bad, I thought it was disgraceful when he told the Muslim world that Iraq was a “war of choice.”
What kind of president tells the world that his country’s troops are dying in a pointless, frivolous war.
All those men and women busting their ass in 130 degree heat to build a democratic Iraq are really just wasting their time.
I realize left-wing dickheads like our president really do believe that, but they’re wrong.
-Chris Jones
Two Soldiers Shot Outside Recruiting Center In Little Rock
This from KATV:
One person is dead, another seriously injured, and a third is in custody following a double shooting in west Little Rock Monday morning.
Authorities say the incident occurred around 10:15 a.m. at a U.S. Army Navy Career Center inside the Ashley Square Shopping Center at 9112 North Rodney Parham Road.
According to Lt. Terry Hastings with the Little Rock Police Department, two enlisted soldiers standing outside the office were hit when the unidentified suspect drove up and began shooting.
After a brief chase, the shooter was apprehended. Police do not yet know what the motivation was for the shooting or if the recruiting station was specifically targeted.
**UPDATE**
We now know more about the shooter. He’s 24-year old Carlos Bledsoe better known as Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad — a recent Muslim convert. Not surprisingly, he has a grievance of some kind with the U.S. military.
The “religion of peace” strikes again!
Developing…
-Chris Jones
Obama Looks To Shatter America’s Nuclear Deterrence
It looks like rolling back successful anti-terror policies isn’t the only thing on president Obama’s agenda. He also seeks to make the long held liberal fantasy of nuclear disarmament (at least for America) a reality. Time has an interesting piece looking at the policy Obama has already set in stone of “no new nuclear weapons” for America. This runs contrary to the military’s position and to that of secretary of defense Gates who has been pushing for the funding of a RRW (Reliable Replacement Warhead) program.
Gates doesn’t want “new” nuclear weapons as in additional weapons for our stockpile, but rather a new generation of warheads to replace our aging ones. The majority of our nukes are from the 1970’s and 1980’s and may no longer function correctly if it becomes necessary to use them. The plutonium core of a nuke suffers radioactive decay over time which lessens their effectiveness and can make them either not function correctly or fail to detonate entirely.
Gates argues the reason we need to have such a large stockpile of nukes now is because the Pentagon must operate on the assumption that a certain percentage of the weapons may not function correctly. If we had a new generation of warheads to replace the aging ones we could significantly cut down on the overall size of our stockpile since the new ones would be certain to work.
Obama and his liberal cronies don’t want that, because in their naive mind they hope the nukes will quit working and we can just get rid of them entirely — thus ushering in a new era of nuclear free peace around the world. That’s a nice pipe dream but it will never happen. Liberals operate on the false premise that other countries only have nukes because America has nukes. If America no longer had nukes the rest of the world wouldn’t need them. That’s of course absurd to the point of being laughable, but it’s nevertheless what the lefties believe.
Nuclear weapons are a horrible thing. I cannot imagine a reason to ever use a nuke except in response to a nuclear attack on us or our allies. Having said that, the nuclear genie is unfortunately out of the bottle and it’s never going back in. As long as a single country in the world possesses nuclear weapons or the ability to produce them, America must maintain a nuclear deterrence. Russia will NEVER give up its nukes, China will NEVER give up its nukes, Israel will NEVER EVER give up its nukes, and therefore America must always have better and badder nukes than anyone else.
Even if by some miracle every country agreed to give up nukes, you could never be sure they didn’t have a couple squirreled away somewhere. The bottom line is that America can never be caught flat footed when it comes to nukes. You don’t get a second chance to deter a nuclear attack or respond to one in kind.
Obama is determined to weaken our national security with his pinko liberal ideology of peace and love instead looking at the world the way it really is. He’s a fool to close Gitmo, he’s a fool to end harsh interrogation, and he’s a dangerous fool to weaken our nuclear deterrence.
-Chris Jones
A Wounded Soldier Needs Your Help
The following letter is from Michelle’s blog. I would like to encourage all our readers to spread this post around and do what you can to help this kid out. I cannot imagine what he must be going through, but he needs to know that there will be better days ahead.
I know a young man who is in desperate need of help. His name is PFC Hunter Levine. He is 20 years old and hails from Houston, TX.
He was in my company and was wounded on 9 May, 2008 while conducting combat operations in East Baghdad. He received a very serious injury to his face, resulting in the loss of his entire bone structure, mouth, nose, and vision.
He was evacuated to Walter Reed Hospital where the doctors performed numerous surgeries to repair his face. I was fortunate enough to attend a Purple Heart Ceremony at Walter Reed while I was home on leave in June. I was also able to meet with Hunter’s father Beau.
Hunter was then transferred to a VA hospital in Palo Alto, where the best care for his vision would be available. He is a true fighter with a heart of gold.
Bad News
Unfortunately, I received some bad news from the hospital doctors. Lately, he has been resisting treatment and being somewhat combative with the hospital staff. He has had a few outbursts and the staff is real worried about him. It seems like a serious case of depression is setting in.
Although his wounds on the outside may look bad, they may never compare with the wounds he has on the inside.
I spoke with him on the phone this evening, and he seemed real down. The reality is that he still has a long road to recover and may never see again. This young man has everything to live for and is a true inspiration. He is exactly the kind of person we would all want in a brother, son, or friend. I feel obligated to try and rally some support for him. I know we have a lot of caring people out there who would love to do something special for an outstanding American who gave his all for his country.
Call to Action
If you know of any church groups, school room classes, or other benevolent organizations that would be interested in assisting this brave young man, please forward this message on to them.
He is a pretty typical young man, so he likes sports and other typical young men stuff. A small care package with some goodies and such would mean the world.
Again, please forward this message to as many people as you know. It would be so great if we can all give way together and show Hunter that his country will never forget his sacrifices or service. He is down and needs our help.
Thank you for your support, it means everything.
V/R,
1SG Brian M. Disque
C CO 2-30 IN
Go HERE to help. Send an e-mail to Tammy Munson and let her know if you can send cards, care packages, etc.:
tammy.munson@gmail.com
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