He was hit by enemy fire, kept firing, rushed to the aid of a Marine, denied himself meds in case any Marines got hurt worse than him. After he recovered, he was back in Afghanistan to help the Marines again.
Read more: “The million dollar wound” http://dvidshub.net/r/xsj28s
#GoNavy
#GoArmy
NSFW
BALTIMORE, Md. — The Army-Navy Game has provided critical insight into the effort it takes to fight futilely for an unattainable victory to future Army second lieutenants for more than a decade, and that’s all a part of the plan, Duffel Blog has learned. Read more
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On the 5th day of Serving, the #Marine Corps gave to me….5 MARK 19’s.
And if you are singing along:
4 Tough DI’s
3 HIMARS
2 Turbo Props
And A Free and Enduring Country.
See all of the #SeasonofServing videos:http://www.youtube.com/ourmarines.
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Combat isn’t where you might die — though that does happen — it’s where you find out whether you get to keep on living. Don’t underestimate the power of that revelation. Don’t underestimate the things young men will wager in order to play that game one more time.”
— Sebastian Junger
Image: Operation Warrior Support
On Dec. 8, after a 13 year-long military operation, the US and NATO ceremonially ended their combat mission in Afghanistan.
Operation Enduring Freedom had the dual objective of hitting back at al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts after the 9/11 attacks and rebuilding Afghanistan into a functioning state. Today, the Taliban is in the middle of a resurgence with the Afghan military taking unsustainable losses as they assume more of the country’s security burden. Read more
What was it really like to serve in Afghanistan?
Photographer Robert L. Cunningham and best-selling author and serviceman Steven Hartov attempt to demystify civilians through a series of behind-the-scenes photos and details of military life in their book “Afghanistan: On The Bounce.”
Cunningham followed 40 different units on 132 combat missions in an attempt to capture as accurately as possible the life of a soldier, both during combat and on-base routines.
As the U.S. military commitment in Afghanistan winds down from a peak of 101,000 in June 2011 to 33,500 today and even fewer soon, the book’s attempt to explain the life of a soldier is more important than ever.
With permission, we’re sharing some of his pictures here:
“That’s a BIG mouth!”
(Army National Guard soldiers push a CH-47 Chinook helicopter into a C-5 Galaxy as they prepare to return home following a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan.) (2013)
This poem concerns the [current] operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. My intention was to draw parallels between military operations using the poppy which is grown extensively for opium and ironically is also the symbol we use for Remembrance Day.
Helmand… Read more
There’s only one real way to compare military strength, and thankfully the world hasn’t had many opportunities lately.
Despite the potential powder keg in the South China Sea, standoffs in Ukraine, and proxy wars throughout the Middle East, inter-state warfare between the world’s military powers has been all but banished from the global scene (for the time being, at least). Read more
Today is #ThrowbackThursday and I thought I’d share posts that I’ve previously published. My Military Milspeak always went over well, so I thought I’d start off with this! Enjoy!
Waging war is a risky, all-encompassing endeavor physically, emotionally, and psychologically. It displays humankind at its best and at its worst, and the war fighter’s slang reflects the bitter, terrible, and inspiring all of it. A quick scan of these phrases illustrates the spectrum: disciplined bravado provides the glitz and glamour; earned camaraderie, the sincerity and warmth; irony, the realist’s edge; scorn, the punishing barb; and insistent vulgarity, a rowdy,leveling earthiness. A little verbal bravado and swagger has genuine utility. Hollywood bravado is little more than chest thumping bluster, but seasoned vets know that disciplined bravado indicates confidence and courage.
Physical and moral courage and the confidence they create are essential warrior virtues. But God—or the first sergeant—help the fake macho and especially the “REMF,” “fobbit,” or “suit” who talks the talk but hasn’t walked the walk.
NSFW.
On this day, Adolf Hitler declares war on the United States, bringing America, which had been neutral, into the European conflict.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor surprised even Germany. Although Hitler had made an oral agreement with his Axis partner Japan that Germany would join a war against the United States, he was uncertain as to how the war would be engaged. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor answered that question. On December 8, Japanese Ambassador Oshima went to German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop to nail the Germans down on a formal declaration of war against America. Von Ribbentrop stalled for time; he knew that Germany was under no obligation to do this under the terms of the Tripartite Pact, which promised help if Japan was attacked, but not if Japan was the aggressor. Von Ribbentrop feared that the addition of another antagonist, the United States, would overwhelm the German war effort. Read more
Lining Up: A US Sailor readies a fighter jet for take off. (photo credit: The US Navy).
Maiden on the Midway 
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