112 posts tagged “support the troops”
Wounded Warrior Project~Soldier Ride
July 24-26, New York City and Long Island
Go out and show your support!!!
Schedule of Events: Pre ride event at Bar 9 in Manhattan on Wednesday, July 23 at 8 pm.
Day 1, Thursday, July 24: The Wounded Soldiers will cycle in Manhattan. The soldiers will start at Fox Studios, complete the Central Park loop, ride down the Hudson River Park bike path trail on the West Side, stop at AIG and BCG for lunch, then head to the South Street Seaport, cross the Brooklyn Bridge and end in Bensonhurst.
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/new-york/1065416065
Later the soldiers will be guests of honor at a fundraiser dinner at the Airpower Museum in Farmingdale.
Day 2, Friday, July 25: Ride starts at 9am at the Babylon Town hall with Miss USO and the 77th RRC Army Band. Residents wishing to show their support of these brave men and women can assemble at Marjorie R. Post Community Park at approximately 10:00 a.m., with the Bike ride expected to pass along Merrick Road sometime between 10:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m heading to the Wantagh State Pkwy south to Jones Beach and then ending at Cedar Beach Town Park on Ocean Pkwy. Riding is by invitation only but come out and cheer on the Wounded Warriors. Event route That night the riders will be treated to a dinner in Ocean Beach on Fire Island.
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Day 3, Saturday, July 26: The Soldiers will be the guests of honor at the Inaugural Soldier Ride Empire State Challenge Metric Century Bike Ride in East Hampton/Montauk. The Empire State Challenge is dedicated to the memory of USMC LCpl Jordan Haerter of Sag Harbor. For more information and to register please see www.empirestatechallenge.org. After the ride come to the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett to meet the riders.
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The Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride is a rehabilitative cycling program for wounded warriors. For many of these combat-wounded veterans, Soldier Ride provides the first steps in the return to an active lifestyle. Many of these men and women have been physically active throughout their lives. Soldier Ride offers these brave individuals the chance to get on a bike and prove to themselves, "I can still do this." Soldier Ride is not about politics; it's not about the war. It's simply about the soldiers. |
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Soldier Ride History | ||
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· In 2004, Chris Carney from Long Island, New York, completed a coast-to-coast (Montauk Point to California) bicycle ride in support of the Wounded Warrior Project. This was the first of what would become an annual event, Soldier Ride. · In 2005, Chris again conducted a coast-to coast-ride, this time with Staff Sergeants Heath Calhoun and Ryan Kelley, as well as other combat-wounded veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. · In 2006, Soldier Ride made a third trip across the country, with Sergeant Drew Biddle, Staff Sergeant Yegor Bondarenko, and many more combat-wounded veterans. · In 2007, Soldier Ride switched to a regional ride format with seven regional rides across the country. This provided the opportunity for increased local participation and support. Soldier Ride also added registered fundraiser rides to the schedule, allowing the general public to ride along with the wounded soldiers and help raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.
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Weekend Warrior for Wounded Soldiers
By Molly Josephs The East Hampton Star
Mr. Cornelia sits on a bench outside the club, behind a table covered in pamphlets and merchandise near the door where the drinkers, dancers, and rock ’n’ rollers wait to enter. He is there to spread the word about and collect donations for the Wounded Warrior Project and Soldier Ride, a rehabilitative cycling program conceived at the bar at the Talkhouse.
Wounded Warrior organizes the rehabilitative Soldier Ride bike treks throughout the country to help soldiers wounded in combat reclaim an active lifestyle. Next week, the Empire State Challenge will take riders — veterans, as well as friends, family, and other supporters — from Manhattan to Montauk; the third leg starts and finishes on Saturday, July 26, at the East Hampton American Legion Post in Amagansett. The Empire State Challenge is being held in memory of Jordan C. Haerter of Sag Harbor, a lance corporal in the Marines who was killed in Iraq in April.
Mr. Cornelia will accompany the cyclists in a van. At the end of the day he will return to the spot he occupies almost every weekend night: the bench in front of the Talkhouse.
From before sunset until 11 at night, Mr. Cornelia sits behind his table, informing people and raising money. When he is not expressing admiration for the men and women he seeks to help, Mr. Cornelia shares snarky jokes with Tek, Nick, Johnny, Phil, and the other members of the Talkhouse gang.
Tek Vakaloloma, a native of New Zealand now living in East Hampton, drove cross-country in 2004 with Chris Carney, the founder of Soldier Ride. Despite his rugby-playing toughness and the intimidating impression given by his big size, Mr. Vakaloloma, a Talkhouse bouncer, is full of compassion for the wounded veterans. “It’s a humane thing to help a fellow human being out,” he said. “It’s not about me being from New Zealand, it’s about helping these kids.”
The Wounded Warrior Project is apolitical, uniting everyone who wants to help returning soldiers, according to Mr. Cornelia (who ran unsuccessfully last year on the Republican ticket to become an East Hampton Town trustee and who has served on the Springs School Board). Conservatives, liberals, celebrities, and children have participated in road events; audience members heading into the club for a night of music are unexpectedly inspired to help.
Just before an opening act takes the Talkhouse stage, Mr. Cornelia stands before the microphone and introduces a short, inspirational film. Phil Vega, the bandanna-wearing bartender, turns on the projector. The background music begins. Interviews with veterans are interspliced with words from celebrity supporters. To the background beat of U2’s “Beautiful Day,” the camera catches the famous long-distance bike rides of Chris Carney and his veteran friends, many of whom lost limbs at war in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Although he is not featured in the film, Mr. Cornelia has played a big role in the history of the Wounded Warrior Project. His involvement began before the 2005 ride, when Peter Honerkamp, a Talkhouse owner and good friend, became anxious that the group would not be able to find a driver for the van and U-Haul that trailed riders. Mr. Cornelia volunteered and was soon on the road, traveling cross-country for three months with Mr. Carney, Sgt. Ryan Kelly, and Sgt. Heath Calhoun.
Mr. Cornelia thinks the world of the Soldier Ride.
“It’s been the greatest thing that I’ve done,” he said. “It has meant almost more to me than anything in my life.”
He loves to reminisce about the people they met and the hospitality they found as they made their way across the country. In Kansas, they “could not pay for a thing,” and went to a baseball game for free. Another time, he said, smiling at the memory, “Cops pulled us over. We thought they were going to give us a ticket. They gave us a check for two grand.”
Although he is not in Kansas anymore, Reg Cornelia has not lost his drive to help the soldiers. A Vietnam War veteran himself, Mr. Cornelia said, he wants to “see these guys get treated better than we did.”
Despite the long hours he puts into the cause, Mr. Cornelia does not think of it as a sacrifice. “The dirty little secret of it is we get more out of it than [the soldiers] do,” he said. He added that he believed Don Sharkey, the East Hampton building inspector, summed it up when he said it “was a life-changing experience.”
Despite his self-acknowledged ability to “regularly piss people off,” Mr. Cornelia said, the Talkhouse crew keeps him around.
Mr. Honerkamp, he said, had once told him, “The bottom line is, the soldiers love you.”
“I love these guys so much and I respect their dedication and attitudes,” Mr. Cornelia said. “If that’s true, I can’t think of a higher compliment.”
Updated 7/20/08-Successful Fundraiser! read the full article here
At the beer garden behind the Plattdeutsche Park Restaurant in Franklin Square, family, friends and total strangers greeted Christopher Levi, the once gravely wounded Army corporal who returned to Long Island Saturday for a fundraiser in his honor.
"Is everyone having a good time?" asked Levi, who arrived in a wheelchair pushed by his sister, Kim, his left arm raised triumphantly.
"I served proudly, and I wish I could go back," Levi said, as he was showered with applause by more than 250 people when he arrived shortly before 7 p.m.
Family members said the fundraiser appeared to be hugely successful. One organization, Building Homes for Heroes, presented Levi with a check for $50,000.
Mike Breitweg, 32, of Lindenhurst, who owns a Deer Park cabinetry business and who heard of Levi's plight Saturday morning, said he decided to bring his daughter, Melissa, 12, to impress upon her the value of giving to others.
"That's what I try to explain to her, that she can go to the mall because of people like him," said Breitweg, who offered to donate and install a bathroom vanity as part of the renovation of the Levi home.
Newsday-Long Island NY
(go to www.newsday.com to view the video of Cpl Levi recovering at WRAMC)
Fundraiser (Sat 7/19/08) will aid Holbrook soldier injured in Iraq
BY MARTIN C. EVANS
July 18, 2008
U.S. Army Cpl. Christopher Levi leaned forward from his wheelchair, gripped the handles of a geriatric walker and, with all his upper body strength, hoisted himself to his feet.
In a rehab center at the Military Advanced Treatment Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Levi, 25, balanced himself unsteadily on two titanium legs. Then, slowly, he took a few tentative steps toward regaining his ability to walk.His slow pace -- it took him 10 minutes to walk a halting 220 feet -- is part of a much larger journey Levi will take over the coming months that he hopes will help him reclaim his life.
The journey to Walter Reed began just before 1 p.m. on March 17, in the Sadr City section of Baghdad.
Levi's unit, a U.S. Army intelligence group, had picked up an Iraqi suspect for questioning several days earlier. That afternoon, Levi was with a group of soldiers who were to return the man to his home. Levi, whose family back in Holbrook worried endlessly about his safety, was in the middle vehicle -- an armored Humvee -- in a five-vehicle convoy.
At the wheel was his friend and squad leader, Sgt. Norman Forbes IV, of Grapevine, Texas.
They set off shortly after noon, riding through city streets that were frequent sites for attack.
"We had to pass through a choke point," Forbes recalled. "The first two trucks went though, and I hit the gas. Anytime you approach a choke point, you kind of say 'don't blow up, don't blow up.' But this time, it blew up."
Since arriving at Walter Reed last March, Levi has set his mind to one task: getting back on his feet. He is among an estimated 802 soldiers who, as of early July, have lost limbs in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While he undergoes months of rehab, his family in Holbrook will soon begin remodeling their home so that Levi can live comfortably in it. Tomorrow, the family will hold a fundraiser in Franklin Square, their first step in raising enough money to begin the work.
Even as his family meets with contractors, Levi has worked hard to get used to his two new legs. On the recent afternoon when he walked 220 feet down a hallway, he moved with slow, deliberate, heel-to-toe strides -- occasionally reminding himself to watch his posture so that his hips and abdominals would do the work, not his arms.
Though Levi has the strong physique of an Army Ranger, he was soon so exhausted he needed a towel to wipe off the sweat.
"It's hard to get used to it at first, but once you get the rhythm down and focus on the muscle groups you need, it becomes easier," he said, as more than a dozen other amputees grunted, panted, stretched or strode during rehab exercises of their own.
That afternoon in Sadr City, a bomb known as a shaped charge device hidden in the street sent a jet of molten metal hurtling through the armor of the soldiers' Humvee. The force shattered Forbes' left arm and his left hand, and broke his left femur, destroying the muscle of his thigh. Forbes is today a patient at a medical center in Texas.
Levi was riding to the right of Forbes. The blast cut through both of his legs at mid-thigh, hurling his limbs to the other side of the Humvee. The blast tore away part of his right palm, taking most of the fifth metacarpal bone with it.
"Forbes," Levi shouted, "I don't have any legs!"
At that moment, luck and modern military field medicine adapted to the insurgent war in Iraq came to Levi's aid. The machine gunner, Aaron Copeland, whose 50-caliber weapon had been bent in two by the blast, pressed his knee into Levi's crotch, squeezing shut two major arteries that feed blood to Levi's legs and preventing him from quickly bleeding to death. Copeland almost certainly saved Levi's life.
With minutes, Levi was evacuated to a military base that, fortunately, was close by. Within hours of the blast, and now stabilized, Levi was placed aboard a plane bound for emergency surgery at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. From there, Levi was shipped to Walter Reed.
There are more than 31,000 wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Funerals and memorials nationwide have focused attention on the 4,651 Americans who, as of yesterday, have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In contrast, the wounded have largely returned home in relative obscurity, often to face months of hospitalization, years of rehab and lifelong disability because of severed limbs, brain injuries, severe burns, blindness or other battle-related wounds.
For the next year or more, Levi is expected to remain at Walter Reed. He will learn how to balance on artificial limbs and learn to cope with the aftermath of an attack that so changed his life. Many wounded soldiers fight phantom pain in lost limbs as well as depression over their altered bodies. Often they battle sadness that they will not be allowed to return to active duty with their military buddies.
Levi is a confident and upbeat young man who moves about the Walter Reed campus in a motorized wheelchair. With gusto he throws himself into his daily physical therapy. After walking one and a half times around a 220-foot loop, Levi removed his artificial legs, climbed to the edge of a bed-like therapy platform and began doing legless sit-ups. The exercise strengthens the abdominal muscles, which must do much of the work his thigh muscles once did.
He recently developed an aggressive infection in his injured hand, which threatened the health of a bone graft there. Because of the injury, he is not expected to travel to Long Island for tomorrow's fundraiser.
In addition, a blister developed where his right leg meets the plastic prosthetic socket. That threatened to throw off his balance, which could lead to falls.
"He works very hard," said his physical therapist at Walter Reed, Bunnie Brower Wyckoff, a 1968 graduate of Hicksville High School. "He's had a lot of setbacks, but he rallies every time."
Levy's parents, Eric and Debbie, are planning to expand and renovate the bottom floor of their Holbrook split level to accommodate their son. Hallways will be widened, light switches will be lowered and power outlets raised to make them accessible to a wheelchair user. A bathroom will be fitted with a shower bench, and the sink will need to be low enough to be used from a sitting position. The house will have a separate entrance that will allow Levi to access his new apartment without having to walk from the driveway in icy weather.
The family hopes the fundraiser will help defray the expected $100,000 cost of the renovation, which is set to begin in a few weeks. The fundraiser will be held Saturday at 5 p.m., at the Plattduetsche Park Restaurant on Hempstead Avenue in Franklin Square.
Members of the Holbrook Fire Department and the Suffolk County Court Officers Association have offered to donate labor and materials. A Bay Shore architect drew the plans on his own time. A roofer has promised to donate labor and materials.
"There are a lot of people behind me," Levi said, as he confidently went back to his exercise routine.
Both parents said their son is excited about the fundraiser. "We feel thankful to God and our country that he is with us," said Eric Levi. "We see the light at the end of the tunnel. He is going to do good things in his lifetime."
The fundraiser
Where: Plattduetsche Park Restaurant, 1132 Hempstead Tpke., Franklin Square; 516-354-3131
When: 5 p.m.
Cost: $10 @ door
Live music, drinks, raffles, other fundraising chances
Donate: Christopher Levi, c/o Holbrook Fire Department, 390 Terry Blvd., Holbrook, NY 11741
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
Most times, Jim Black surfs the Internet into the early morning hours. When he does sleep, it's not for long and it's not very restful because of the nightmares.
"They're so vivid," says the 26-year-old Lake Villa resident. "I haven't gotten eight hours of sleep in five years."
The images are of Iraq, where Black served as a reconnaissance specialist in the Army beginning in 2003 at the dawn of the Iraq war.
"I had a 5-year-old throw a grenade in my truck the second day I was there. My son is 5," Black says, matter-of-factly.
Listening, as always, is his father-in-law, Tim Corrigan. He's heard a lot the last few years and has tried to help. But he has never been in combat and can't provide what Black needs most: someone who truly understands.
He has witnessed Black's anger and frustration with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies as he sought help with his postwar problems.
"He's just an angry, bitter young guy," says Corrigan, who runs a quality control company in Mundelein, where Black works. "His whole life has changed."
Recently, it was Black himself who came upon a possible answer, finding the American Combat Veterans of War on the Internet. The organization was founded in 2001 by Vietnam vet Bill Rider and run on a shoestring budget in La Jolla, Calif.
The small group has a roster of experienced veteran volunteers used to dealing with the problems of returning "warriors", including the bureaucracy intended to assist them.
Within 24 hours, the group was able to cut through red tape for Black. Corrigan was so impressed he wants to start an Illinois chapter in Lake County.
"I'm determined. I'm going to set one up here," he said.
While not indicting the entire system, Corrigan has become convinced of the need for another group, independent of government, with members who can relate directly to Black and other veterans like him who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
"I've had a 'Leave it to Beaver' life. I've never experienced anything like he's experienced," Corrigan said. "For four years, I've watched this kid spiral and get turned off by the VA."
Black lived in Phoenix for about a year upon returning to the U.S., but came back to the Mundelein area at the urging of Corrigan.
Rider's group immediately made use of his high-level contacts.
"I was like, `Wow,' the next day I got my medical records," Black said. "I'd been trying for three years. All of a sudden, I have a combat case manager."
Rider said some veterans' experience with disrespectful "point of contact people" can make them walk away, as Black said he had done on more than one occasion.
Rider estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan will "have been impacted in some way by the war" and it is putting a burden on the system.
"The VA, when given the opportunity and given all the facts, they will rise to the occasion (but) like most bureaucracies, they don't have a lot of time."
Doug Shouse, a spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said the VA Medical Center in North Chicago has seen 1,250 vets from Iraq or Afghanistan. A "good number of them have some symptom of PTSD" or other mental health issue, he added.
He couldn't speak specifically to Black's case, but said there are numerous opportunities for individual, group or family counseling.
Affected veterans are not very good advocates for themselves, according to Rider, and may not bring their problems to the attention of those who need to know.
"That's why we exist. We make people answer for these young warriors," Rider said.
It took Black awhile to agree to tell his story to a stranger. Sitting in Corrigan's modest office in Mundelein, the lanky Black shifts constantly, the result of a back injury he said he suffered in October 2003 when the vehicle he was riding in hit a palm tree while chasing terrorists.
Between the PTSD and back injury, he said he is considered 70 percent disabled. He also was knocked unconscious for 20 minutes and suffered a severe concussion after being thrown from his truck when an improvised explosive device detonated nearby.
He said he has been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, but the Army lost the images taken after the incident, leaving no proof.
"I don't forget nothing about Iraq, but short-term memory ... I contemplate and procrastinate and think about everything I do. Going to the store, I try to pick times when no one is there."
He said he has been denied disability for his traumatic brain injury and plans to appeal. His association with Rider's group has given him hope.
"This guy Bill has been amazing," Black said. "He wants updates and he wants to help."
Rider said the group is looking into branches in Florida and Texas. Corrigan is making contacts here.
"The question now is how do we set up the same type of resources he (Rider) has there? Here, we're starting from scratch."
Corrigan asked that anyone interested contact him at tgacorrigan@yahoo.com.
Veterans needing help with disability claims, vision or hearing services or transportation can contact the Lake County Veterans Assistance Commission, (847) 377-3344 or www.co.lake.il.us/veterans.
Comment posted by Tim Corrigan on Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:27 PM
Thanks to Mick Zawilsak for running this story. It's not about us, it's about the combat veterans and ACVOW. http://www.acvow.org/ To put it simply... They get it!
Let the combat veterans and their family know about this and the other great groups trying to help them. There are answers. Don't give up!
I'll take all the help I can get to make this a reality here in Illinois, but it will take time and resources. I challenge you all to get involved.
Tim Corrigan
Tuesday July 15, 2008 12:59PM Sports Illustrated -Peter King-Monday Morning QB
Roger Goodell sounded totally spent over the phone from Afghanistan, but he also sounded totally exhilarated at the same time. That's what taking a one-week trip to the twin war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan last week did for him.
"A life-changing experience,'' he told me Friday, late at night his time, and early afternoon my time. "I'm absolutely exhausted, but it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever gotten to do.''
Friday is when Goodell, Osi Umenyiora and Drew Brees helicoptered into FOB Tillman, a base just 700 meters from the Pakistan border, and a base close to -- and very similar to -- the one that was attacked by Taliban extremists early Sunday morning, resulting in the deaths of nine American soldiers.
This Tillman base, as with many others in the Afghan war, is invented and built to gain a foothold in an eastern area of the country that sees an attempted daily influx of Taliban. The American troops must intercept the Pakistanis, then determine whether they're either harmless (Bedouin tribesman, perhaps, or simple shepherds), or militants invading the country to try to drive out the Americans.
It's not always easy to tell, and it's not always easy to prevent the Taliban from secretly crossing the border and engaging in firefights with the Americans. On Sunday morning, somehow, the militants crossed the border, gained access to the small base and used grenade launchers and machine guns to kill nine and wound 15 American troops.
All of which made the will-Brett-Favre-play-or-won't-he stuff dominating the football news rather insignificant to the Goodell party, back on American soil Monday.
"The news was a lot more personal than it would have been a week ago,'' said Goodell, back at his Manhattan desk Monday afternoon. "And my first thought was: 'Did I just meet these kids?'
Goodell said at FOB Tillman, 10 troops stood lookout on one hill near the base and 14 on another hill close by. These sentries were charged with securing the border and stayed atop the hills for days at a time. The base commander told Goodell that about eight kilometers away on the previous day, 70 soldiers from the base engaged insurgents in a firefight with no American casualties. On Sunday, men and women from the nearby base weren't so lucky.
"What impressed me so much,'' Goodell told me, "is of all the men and women we met at so many different bases, not a single one complained about anything -- not their missions, not about how long they were there, nothing. It's inspiring. We are so fortunate to have so many great people in service to our country. And I felt how meaningful and important the NFL is to these people.
"One of the most sobering moments of the tour was our return to Bagram Airbase [the main U.S. base in Eastern Afghanistan] from FOB Tillman. Shortly after we landed we were driven to an area on the flight line to take part in a Fallen Comrade Ceremony for two of our soldiers. Our entire group stood in a line on the airfield along with hundreds of other soldiers, paying our respects as the coffins were loaded into a cargo plane. It was absolutely quiet and emotional. My heart goes out to all the families as well as their fellow soldiers."
I saw one of those on my USO trip to Afghanistan in March. Unforgettably emotional. I get choked up thinking about it four months later. I've got to applaud Goodell, Brees and Umenyiora for taking this trip, particularly so close to the season. I felt a searing gratitude from everyone I met in the military in my week overseas; I can only imagine how a marquee quarterback, a Super Bowl champion and the commissioner of the game were made to feel.
Not to get on my flag-waving soapbox here, but I'd really love to see a couple of coaches and more high-profile players go next year. Regardless of your feelings about these conflicts -- and I admit I'm a card-carrying dove if there ever was one -- we cannot do enough to show the men and women risking their lives how much we appreciate what they do. Stepping outside the cocoon of the NFL to do that is something more of our football heroes should do.
July 14, 2008
New York, NY — Several dozen young New Yorkers whose parents are at war soon will get a time-out from tension. Today, the Sierra Club announces it will provide a $1.5 million grant to send children of National Guard soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan to summer camp free of charge; some 2,000 of the soldiers are New Yorkers.
Brittany McKee, Sierra Club's military representative, says that since 2007, when the Sierra Club began teaming up with the Armed Services YMCA to provide the camp, 4,000 kids have been able to go to camp nationwide.
"It's not just nature walks and campfires. They do a lot of team-building exercises so kids learn to depend on each other. That's especially important for a lot of kids who don't live on a military base-—these children often don't have a lot of friends who can really relate to having a parent deployed."
Beverly Keating, director of Family Programs for the National Guard, agrees that attending camp is a great opportunity for National Guard families because they have a smaller support system than families who live on military bases. Those with parents serving in Iraq or Afghanistan will get first crack at the funds.
"These children don't have as much of an opportunity, because they are scattered all over the state, to be with other children that share the same types of things: It's a unique challenge to the child of a military person."
Sixty New York kids will go to camp in August courtesy of the Sierra Club. Military families can sign up at the Armed Services YMCA website, www.asymca.org, where additional information about the funding is available.
Michael Clifford/Steve Powers, Public News Service - NY
July 14, 2008, 3:45 p.m. National Review Online New York, NY
Going Through Withdrawal
It speaks volumes about Obama that his plan comes before going to Iraq.
By Pete Hegseth
As someone who monitors the Iraq-war-policy debate closely, I was puzzled to open the New York Times and see an oped authored by Sen. Barack Obama entitled “My Plan for Iraq.” Besides the seemingly moderate tone — and calling for an Afghanistan “surge” (an idea I agree, and one proposed by Sen. Joe Lieberman in March) — not much in the piece is new or newsworthy. In the final analysis, the oped is another dogmatic addendum to Obama’s “withdrawal at any cost” position.
In fact, just one question entered my head when I finished reading: Why now? Why would Sen. Obama — or any legislator, for that matter — write such a piece before visiting the country for himself, seeing the situation with his own eyes, and speaking with commanders and troops who actually know what’s going on?It strikes me that only someone who is signaling no interest in consulting with commanders on the ground would spell out his “plan” for Iraq just one week before he visits the country for the first time in 918 days. Only someone who is arrogant enough to believe he always knows best would outline his Iraq policy before once meeting one-on-one with General David Petraeus.
The only conceivable answer to the question is that Sen. Obama believes he can capitalize on Prime Minister Maliki’s recent comments about a timeline for U.S. withdrawal. Maliki’s comments, important primarily because they demonstrate increased Iraqi strength and confidence, have been diluted by the fact that he didn’t actually call for a timeline after all. All withdrawal talks will be tied to conditions on the ground.
Maliki’s strong statements do provide the opportunity for withdrawal — a withdrawal based on the improved security brought on by the surge, improvements Senator Obama admits in his Times oped. What Sen. Obama fails to say there is that he adamantly opposed the surge, predicting last September on the basis of scant evidence that “It is a course that will not succeed.” Sen. Obama should admit his error in judgment in opposing the surge, and not compound that error now by once again announcing plans for Iraq without full knowledge of the facts on the ground — collecting the evidence that would enable him to develop a commonsense, conditions-based approach for troop withdrawal. Admitting mistakes, however, is something Obama does not do well.
Sen. Obama’s piece once again perpetuates the fallacious notion that the Iraqi government “has not reached the political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge.” This assertion — backed up by wishful thinking — runs directly counter to reports from the ground; reports which Sen. Obama will himself receive in just one week.
Obama has said repeatedly (here & here) that if congressional benchmarks are met, the hasty withdrawal he desired could be slowed. Not so now, however. Even though the Iraqi government has met 15 of the 18 benchmarks set before it by Congress — and is stamping out Sunni terrorism and Shia militia activity within its borders — this still does not constitute political accommodation, according to Sen. Obama. It seems that nothing short of a Whole Foods in every village will stop the perpetuation of this falsehood.
Underlying the Left’s persistent pessimism on Iraq is the idea, as Sen. Obama says, that our mission in Iraq should be to “end the war.” As president, this would be his first directive. This was also the prerogative of Sen. Obama — and many of his Senate colleagues — in January 2007 when the surge was proposed. Surge proponents wanted to succeed in Iraq, while Sen. Obama & Co. wanted to “end the war.” Where would we be today if “ending the war” had been the mission then? And where will we be tomorrow if it becomes the mission now?
Without the surge, which induced countless positive developments across the military and political spectrums in Iraq, Maliki would not be making the bold and promising statements he is making today, and the U.S. wouldn’t be contemplating an even faster draw down than previously planned.
Yet despite the undeniable — and transformational — progress that has been made, it looks like Sen. Obama has no plans to actually modify his Iraq stance. This would indeed be a shame.
Six weeks ago, Vets for Freedom ran two ads (here & here) calling on Sen. Obama to visit Iraq for the first time in two-and-a-half years and finally meet, face-to-face, with General David Petraeus. The intent of the ads was to pressure Sen. Obama to visit the country; a trip which we believed would go a long way in moderating his position.
Soon after, Sen. Obama announced that he would visit Iraq before the election, and we sincerely applaud his willingness to do so. As veterans, we have no desire to see Obama moderate his Iraq stance so we can say “we told you so” or call him a “flip-flopper.” We want to see him change his stance because reality demands it, and our sacrifice compels it.
Unfortunately, Monday morning’s oped calls into question Sen. Obama’s willingness to objectively review the situation on the ground and make decisions based on what’s best for our nation’s security, rather than what’s best for his candidacy. We will continue to monitor his position, as well as those of his colleagues, to ensure they reflect the facts on the ground.
— Captain Pete Hegseth, who served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division from 2005 to 2006, is executive director of Vets for Freedom.
Dearest Supporters of Operation Ward 57, donate
It's been an amazing few weeks! Because of Kirby Wilbur & Co. from KVI am 750 radio & the Sean Hannity show and Dick Lynch from Impact a Hero, thousands of people across America have learned about this effort to support the most severely injured service members on Ward 57 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. We have suddenly sold over 1,000 shirts and received thousands of dollars in donations as well as videos and games resulting in over $50,000 raised!!!
As wonderful as this is, it was unexpected and we only have three part-time volunteers handling all of this wonderful support...so please be patient and the shirts will get shipped out the last week of July (as soon as we recieve them). You will get an email from PayPal when your shirt is shipped. Special thanks to Brian & Rick of TEEFX who dropped everything to order and print 1,000 shirts!
Our goal was to raise $5,000 to purchase a new big screen TV, DVD player and stand for the Ward 57/58 family room, a TV pizza party for the patients and a several month supply of Ward 57 Tshirts for all of the patients and their family members, Xbox 360 games and systems, new DVD movies and Target gift cards to include in care package items for Ward 57 nurses currently deployed in Iraq. BUT NOW WE WILL DO MUCH MORE for the rest of the year thanks to you!
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Insurgents who squared off with U.S. soldiers in a major battle in eastern Afghanistan overran a military observation point just outside a coalition outpost, but failed to take the base, a U.S. military official told CNN.
"It was heroic fighting," said another official, NATO spokesman Mark Laity, describing the U.S.-led troop performance.
"They wanted to overrun that base," he added, referring to the militants. "They failed."
The fighting left nine U.S. soldiers dead and 15 wounded. It marked the most fatalities in an attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years. An Afghan official estimated that 100 militants died or were wounded in the fighting.
A U.S. official told CNN that as many as 200 insurgents were involved in the strike, which NATO said occurred at an outpost in Dara-I-Pech. However, other officials could not put a figure on the number of insurgent casualties at this time.
The official said militants didn't get into the outpost but they did overrun a small U.S.-led observation point outside the base, where it is believed most of the American and Afghan fatalities and injuries occurred. 
Watch more about the attack on the coalition base »
Laity described the insurgent strike as a "major attack" by a "large group of insurgents."
"What there was was a combat outpost had a major attack on it by a large group of insurgents. They had infiltrated a neighboring village and they fired on the base from that village and then they attacked the base itself."
He said severe fighting followed, resulting in the American casualties and the wounding of four Afghan service members.
"They attempted to break into that base. They did make some penetration. But overall they were repelled and they took very heavy casualties themselves," Laity said.
He indicated that the penetration or breach that media reports about the strike referred to was the attack on the observation post.
"We brought in air power to stabilize the situation in a fight that then lasted for several hours," he said.
There have been occasional strikes on coalition bases in recent months -- Laity noted that the practice "is quite common."
"This was a larger-scale attack than normal," he said, but added, "This was not a new tactic. They usually get defeated. We are very, very sad that we lost some people but again, their attempt to take that base failed."
Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, an Afghan Defense Ministry official, had different initial numbers than the U.S. official. He said the attack involved 400 to 500 militants, and at least 100 were killed or injured, he said.
In June 2005, 16 U.S. troops were killed near the same province when their MH-47 helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. {OPERATION REDWING}
Since the start of coalition operations in Afghanistan, 470 U.S. troops have died, including Sunday's casualties.
The battle illustrates the escalating war in Afghanistan, where since May U.S. and coalition troop deaths have exceeded those occurring in Iraq.
Defense sources said the request could include between 600 and 1,000 MRAPs -- Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, many originally destined for Iraq but not needed there as much now because of the dramatic drop in violence there.
The MRAPs, which are the newest armored vehicles, have a V-shaped hull that helps deflect the blast of a roadside bomb.The troops in the east have been quite busy and they are using all of the equipment they have on hand to conduct their fight, officials have said.
For example, when Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in the east's Korengal Valley recently, the helicopters that dropped him off at a base immediately left to join in a firefight on the other side of the valley.
Taliban Assault Nuristan/Kunar; Nine Americans Dead
Jul 13 at 10:10am by David at www.battlefieldtourist.com
Nine Americans are dead after a combined US/Afghan base is attacked along the Kunar/Nuristani border in northeastern Afghanistan. Farther north in Nuristan, Afghan civilians and police are battling as many as 500 militants.
The US military confirms that a fierce, ongoing battle in Kunar Province has killed nine Americans and wounded 15. Four Afghan soldiers have also been wounded. The battle is taking place on the Kunar side of the border with Nuristan, near Waygol.
A US spokesman says the small outpost was attacked from multiple sides using rocket propelled grenades, small arms and mortars in a battle that began around 0430 on July 13, raging into the day. Helicopter gunships and close air support were used in the engagement.
Another report says that the small US outpost in Dara-I-Pech district, was first attacked by dozens of militants using small arms, rocket propelled grenades and mortar fire. After US forces were able to stall the attack with close air support, the soldiers moved to the center of the town of Wanat and began fortifying the bazaar.
Taliban militants, fighting from surrounding houses and shops, launched a second attack early July 13th. The Taliban claim to have completely overrun the original US outpost. The US military tells Reuters that while the insurgents were using the villages buildings and mosque, reports the Americans lost control of the base are not true.
The attack is near where Afghan authorities say a US airstrike killed as many as 27 people in what Afgan officials describe as a “wedding party”. It is unclear whether the two events are related.
Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade have been operating in the area for more than a year and have suffered more killed in action than any other coalition unit during the conflict in Afghanistan.
Related Fighting?
Afghan civilians have teamed up with Afghan Security Forces in the remote Bargi Matal district, Nuristan Province to fight off a Taliban attack on the district center. Elsewhere in the region, According to various reports, “Pakistani Taliban” initiated the assault in the late morning of July 12 after crossing over from Chitral in Pakistan. Other sources say fighting has been ongoing since July 10. At least two police posts have been overrun. Reports say a mixed force of as many as 500 militants, including Chechens, are involved.
An Afghan government official says the fighting is ongoing with reports of one civilian, two police officers and two militants being killed. Four other cops are missing. Additional Afghan forces are responding to the area which a local police chief says are needed to keep the district center from falling. Roughly 150 police officers are employed in Bargi Matal, who are being supported by “dozens” of the areas young men.
Bargi Matal
Bargi Matal is a scenic and very remote corner of Afghanistan consisting of more than 20 villages along the Kunar River north of Kamdesh. For years following the US-led invasion, no overt coalition troops had stepped foot in the district. Bargi Matal has a history of Wahhabi influence and, as recently as 2007, has been on the short list of places where Osama bin Laden could be hiding.
US forces finally moved into southern Nuristan Province in the summer of 2006, but do very little patrolling or humanitarian work in Bargi Matal. The district lies north of Kamdesh, the main focus of US troops in Nuristan.
This is the second time in a week where reports of civilians attacking Taliban militants. In northwestern Faryab Province, civilians killed two militants and chased ten more off when they tried to kidnap an aid worker. The dead included Faryab’s Taliban “shadow governor”.
This story is ongoing and will be updated regularly. Updated 1709 EST.
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