Animals and War

"Dogs are miracles with paws." -Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

Are you a pet lover? What is your favorite pet? As for me it a dog, because I think dogs are more versatile than any other pet. They are eyes for the blind, trained for drug seizure, help find missing persons, service to man in war, and are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their master. They are loyalty and very lovable to have as a pet.

For many centuries animals have been use througout warfares. Animals has done great work in combat zones. One of the most faithful animal in war have been the horse. During the prehistoric era animals were corporated into the armed forces in places like Europe, Egypt, America,and England. The horses were a great asset when it came to getting ammunition and supplies to the front line. They could travel ground where none other could travel. During the wars hundred thousands of horses died mostly from stravation, illness, heat exhaustion, and froze to death, than by enemy fire.

Another great animal to serve with man in war is the dog. As I mentioned is the most versatile of man's best friend. Dogs were afforded training school and learned to carry out many different tasks. They learned how to be ammo carriers, carry messages, to be watch dogs, mine sniffers, and even how to lay telegraph lines in the wilderness.

Someone must carry the load. And this is when the elephant comes in to play. None other animal have taken part in the war like the elephant. The elephant has definitely been a warrior in in battles. The military employed the elephant to haul timber, tons of logs, building briges and roads through the jungle. They huge animals are able to carry heavy loads.

It would not be correct to forget the humped-back warrior, the camel. You see he is one of a kind. Able to carry very heavy loads for a distant without even water or food. The camel can perform well in hot climates such as the desert. In the desert, he has an edge over other animals and humans too.

The Art of War

War is like everything else, there are certain steps and procedures to be utilized if there is to be a successful outcome. One of the best-known written strategy on wars is the work of a great Philosopher Sun Tzu's Art or War. He is believed to have lived some two thousand years ago.

"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious".- Sun Tzu

Conflicts are necessary for the development and growth of mankind and its environment. There will be very little or no growth without conflicts. According to the Bible, Ecclesiastes,3:8. "There is a time of war and a time of peace".

From the ancient time up to this day, Mankind have been faced with conflicts and wars. Wars will continue to be passed on from generations to generations until the end of time. Each conflict requires strategic planning, as every conflict is unique in it own way. Behind every battle that is lead to victory,stands a good leader.This good leader must see a need for a battle/war. Under no circumstances must he proceed if he cannot foresee winning the battle. He must have some type of understanding of equipment being used in the battle. And an understanding of his men. Certainly, a good leader should be of great focus and sound mind. The leaders must understand the risks and know the benefits. Preparation is the key to Victory!!

"If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near". - Sun Tzu

10 Famous Battles of WWI

The Great War involved the majority of the great powers. There were numerous of causes for such a catastrophic war, but what really caused war to be declared was,the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. He was the heir to the Austrian throne and was murdered by Serbian nationalists. Germany supported Austria, and Russia took side with the Serbs. Britain declared war on Germany and Austria declared war on Serbia. United States declared war on Germany, In turn Germany declared war on Russia, France, and invaded Belgium and Luxembourg. No one actually know how many were killed, but estimated 10 million killed, 20 million wounded, and another 2 million fell to accidents, diseases, and prisoners of war. This was a very deadly conflict that trigger battles after battles from June 1914 - November 1918.

Battle of Leige
This was the first land battle which lasted for 12 days from 5-16 August 1914.

Battle of Luske
This battle was launched on the 4th of June 1916 and lasted for only two days. During these 2 days they suffered the loss of more than 120,000.

Battle of Bolimov
The battle was fought on January 31, 1915. This when the Germans, first used a poison gas which backfired to their line of fire.

Battle of Jerusalem
This attacked began on December 8th 1917. They fought for 18 days. The Holy City counter attack fail and Jerusalem fell into the hands of the British.

Battle of Tikrit
This attack was launched 5 November 1917. The Tuskish front lines were invaded after only three hours of fighting.

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Battle of Verdum
This battle was the most critical and longest battle of the first war. The Germans and French fought this battle from 21 February to 15 December 1916. The Battle of Verdun resulted in more than 250,000 battlefield deaths and at least 500,000 wounded.

Battle of Basra
This attack ran from 6 thur 10 November 1917. The turks withdrew leaving Basra empty
The British attacked Basra and within an hour the Turks were defeated and Basra was
captured. Today, Basra is known as Al-Basrah.

Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto took place from 24 October to 9 November 1917. The attack took the Italians by surprise, as they were attacked at 2AM. This battle resulted in over 10,000 being killed, 20,000 wounded, 250,000 prisoners or war.

Battle of Hill 60 (Gallipoli)
The Battle of Hill 60 was launched on 21-29 August 1915. After 36 hours of continuous fighting the Allied Forces, finally ceased fire.

Battle of Jutland
This was the largest naval battle or World War I and it was fought from 31 May – 1 June 1916. The Battle of Jutland was fought between the German and British Navy.
The Germans lost one battle cruiser, one pre-Dreadnought, four light cruisers, and five destroyers. The British lost three battle cruisers, four armoured cruisers, and eight destroyers.

Although it have been over 90 years since the war stopped, it is still considered a war without an end. The persons that lived through the great war are passing away. We can only reply on the history books, media, and the internet to keep this piece of history alive.

Military Child

I been thinking of a title for this post. I thought about giving the title of military brat. But I do not like that term "military brat." According to the dictionary a brat is an ill-behaved child. What a label? It sounds like a child with mental issues. Just because they are reared in a somewhat different society doesn't give no one the right to put a label on them. The military has been and remain a way of life for many. For the member and their family. The military has discipline, structure, and a lasting mirror reflection on the children reared in this society. It is a society within a society. In its own way the military can be very reassuring as it offers security, and a sense of dependence. It seems like the member's family is being observed from time to time. If the reflection of the military family seems to normal and correct; then the member it said to be more of an effective leader. On the hand, if it doesn't have the right type of appearance and normality than it is a negative reflection on the member. It is very common for the child to become immune to to this way of life at a early age. Sure they might experience a different way of life. Nevertheless the term "military brat" doesn't fit the child. This go beyond the true reality of a military child.

Many have done research and study military families and their environment for years. They discovered some very disturbing and shocking stories.

A writer wrote these stories about family life and the military. The voice of a Navy petty officer. "My father would get drunk and break the dishes. They had to buy more dished every other month."

The daughter of a Army sergeant. "Military members socialized by drinking. There was plenty of drink and on the weekend it was drink until drunk."

The son of a Navy commander. "My dad was a perfectionist; he couldn't make mistakes. At Christmas he wouldn't let us decorate the tree, because it had to be perfect. He laid the tinsel one at a time. He'd let us put the balls on the tree and after we went to bed he'd put the tinsel on. One night when I got up, he had moved all the ball, because they weren't in the correct place. He rearranged the tree."

The sound of a Navy Petty Officer. "Sometimes people apologize to their kids. My father always assumed beating me was an appropriate thing to do. There was a time when I thought, he'd had a hard life. I should just forgive him. But he continue to injure and be a bad person. Not out of control, but he's in charge of his life. Therefore he can see what he is doing to people,especially my mother. I have no hope of reconciliation with him and I will actually be relieved when he dies. I think my mother will be much better off; she'll be able to begin to enjoy life free of his tyranny."

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Who You Going Call?

In the time of a disaster, who you going call?

The National Guard is the oldest and the most versatile component of the armed forces. Always on time and never late. They performs a variety of duties to protect and improve the way of life for many in time of need. These warriors serve in rural communities, cities, state, national and international. The most responsive team in time of a disaster.

One of their latest mission were to assist with the flooding in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Wyoming. Many hours were used to fill sandbags, transporting equipment such as generators and water pumps, manning traffic, as they worked with the citizens in those states.

As the hurricane season approaches, the Guardsmen are busy preparing should a hurricane make landfall.

The Guard deployed more than 50,000 troops in support of the Gulf States following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

And they continue to serve in harm's way in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

They should be praised for providing security here at home and the combat missions abroad, all over the globe. Always ready to answer the call.

Women and the Armed Forces

What jobs are women incapable of doing?
It is not many jobs, if any, that a man can do that a woman cannot do. Sometimes women doesn't receive the recognition and credit they deserve. Many have served their county with great honor.

Margaret A. Brewer (1930- )
The first women to achieve the rank of brigadier general in the US Marine Corps.

Kara S. Hultgreen (1965-1994)
The first of the two female combat jet pilots in the United States and the first female naval carrier-based fighter pilot.

Margarethe Cammermeyer (1942- )
A Norway native became a highly decorated Army nurse and sued the military as a result of being discharged for acknowledging that she was homosexual.

Elyse Mitchell (1919-1945)
The first known woman to die on US soil during World War II from an enemy bomb.

Is this a big misrepresentation of women in regard to the military?
Still some historians believe the old perception, that women affiliated with the military were prostitutes or women of a low reputation. And these old perceptions continued to haunt women in the today's military.

Sherian Cadorio (1940- )
As of 1990, she was the highest-ranking African-American woman in the military.

Florence Blanchfield (1882-1971)
The first woman commissioned in the US Army in 1947.

Marie Rossi (1969-1991)
One of the first women to fly a chinook helicopter in a combat zone during the Persian Gulf War.

Loretta Walsh (1898-1925)
First woman to enlist in the US Navy on 22 March 1917.

Gulf War Syndrome

It been more than eighteen years since the first Persian Gulf War began, but the hurt and pain lives on. The United States and other coalition forces moved into the gulf fast and furious. A victory for the coalition forces, which took place in very short time and casualties were relatively low at that time. Those it been eighteen years, the casualties continues to grow and seems to never end.

Among other coalition forces, the overwhelming majority of the military forces participating were from the United States and the United Kingdom. As a result, these two counties prove to have had the highest rates of illness.

The beliefs that US and UK were more exposed to chemicals and use of the anthrax vaccine. It is still not fully picture clear that the anthrax and the anti-gas vaccinations contributed greatly to the outbreaks of Gulf War Illness.

GWI is refer to as wide range to unexplained symptoms and health issues displayed in military forces that served in the Gulf war. Some of the symptoms includes rashes, headaches, fatigue, muscle/joint pains, lowered immunity cancer, and birth defects in children. Some even experience what they be called Chronic multi symptom illness.

After becoming ill or as their children were being born with birth defects, some began to file claims the miltary for compensation and health benefits. They were being advised that further studies needed to be done in order to determine the nature of these problems. Sometime in between 1994 and 1996,
Dr. Boaz Milner associated the problems with five syndromes, by radiation, experimental medications, environmental contaminants, chemical weapons and compounds. During this time frame more than 69,000 veterans and their dependents claimed to have suffered from health issues linking to the Gulf war.

Invasion of Iraq Justified or Not Justified?

Was the invasion of Iraq justified?
The Middle East is so rich in history dating back many decades. This area is known to have had many major conflicts and being in constant turmoil. The whole world is tied to the Middle East in such an extraordinary way. From the very first book of the Bible the Middle East is being connected to mankind in a unique way. It has been prophesied that the Middle East is where mankind's beginning started and where it will end.

Maybe the invasion was to liberate the Iraqis and to bring peace to the land. Sure the leadership might has been oust and a lot of peace talks taking place in that part of the world. Have the people been truly liberated and is there any sign of peace?

Another possibility was to put an end to terrorism after the 9/11 attack on America. If in deed this was reason, Is this a case of revenge? According to The Theory of Just War, "revenge does not justify a just war."

The Middle East is plentiful in crude oil. And Iraq is rank the third in numbers with the oil reserves. Was it to take control of their oil?

The are many more questions than answer.

Pros:

1. The invasion of Iraq was necessary to protect the world from further terrorism.
2. The war against Iraq was to disarm them of weapons of mass destruction.
3. To free the Iraqis and world from the government of Saddam Hussein.

Cons:

1. The use of power, strength, and toppling a government doesn't necessary reduce terrorism.
2. There is no evidence to support weapons of mass destruction was ever found.
3.The goals were to control the oil and to have military presence in the area.

Have the time arrived to pull troops out of Iraq?

There is some controversial between political parties when the troops should be pulled from Iraq. According to the President Obama the troops will be pulled from Iraq by August 2010.

Non-lethal Weapons

Is it possible to engage in a war where only few or none gets killed?

The concept of non-lethal weapons is to take out enemy soldiers without killing them and disabling fighting equipment without it being destroyed.

Nonlethal weapons has long been in existence more than some 2,000 years. But on recent decades, as the military prepares for modern warfare, many are in favor of intergrating the use of nonlethal weapons into that arena. The research and development of nonlethal weapons has sharply increased during the last decade.

Some of the new weapons being researched, developed and/or deployed:

Foam-"Sticky foam" to bog down soldiers or equipment and a lubricant to end enemy vehicles spinning. These are called "stick-ems" and "slick-ems."

Calmative Agents-Chemical substances designed to temporarily incapacitate people.

Malodorants-Chemicals that mimic the most revolting smells (rotting food and human waste) and can disperse enemies like a skunk.

Supercaustic-Acids that corrode and degrade structural materials.

12-gauge shotgun shell filled with rubber pellets.

Stun grenades.

Disposable hand and ankle cuffs,

Pepper spray. (my favorite)

However, there are downsize and risks with the use of nonlethal weapons.

1. Time it take for it to affect.........Opponents can do major damages in that time.

2. The elderly, small children, and persons w/certain illness can be injuried severly or killed.

3. What about these two fatal incidences?

a) Last year when 700 hostages were seized in Moscow, an opiate gas was used to clear the way for them to be rescued. As a result, 117 of the hostages were killed by chemical agent used.

b) Seven years ago, another seizure took place in Moscow. Again an opiate gas was used and with same result. This time over 100 hostages and their capitors were killed.

The leading experts in arms control have argued that, "There is no known way in medical science how to put a large number of people to sleep without killing
a sizeable amount of them."

Non-lethal weapons are only optional to lethal weapons, and not be considered a replace for the lethal weapons.

PTSD

Post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD)- is a type of stressor that can occur after being exposed to one or more traumatic events that threatened or caused grave physical harm.

Some years ago, many would hear the term "shell shock" and/or "battle fatigue" instead of PTSD in a military arena. PTSD as we know it today, became more noticeable and understandable after those who served in the Vietnam War were diagnosed with it. A large number of men and women serving in a war zone will likely be exposed to traumatic events that will leave them with lasting fear and suffering. As a result,returning military
personnel are unable to adapt to life after war. Imagine a traumatic events as such, an episode of murders to babies, women, and elderly in front of your eyes. Something to think about. It's cold-blooded and a hard pill to swallow. It might not be fair but it is definitely war.

Symptons

1. Flashbacks

2. Nightmares

3. Avoidance

4. Detached

5. Anger

6. Difficulty sleeping

7. Feelings of mistrust and betrayal

8. Depression

9. Substance abuse

10. Suicidal thoughts

The most common form of treatment is therapy and medication.

This stressor might involve anyone "not only a military disorder" resulting from being rape, kidnapping, assault, disasters, and among other causes.

The My Lai Massacre

The morning of March 16,1968 started with killing spree in the Vietnamese village of My Lai. The troops was assigned to, what was known as Charlie Company, had received orders from their superior and commanding officer Lieutenant Willaim Cauley. They were ordered to launched a "search and destroy" mission. This was meant to find any living humans/animals and commence to killing. As good troops they followed the order given and entered into the village opening fire. Hundreds of innocent civilians were murdered including women while praying, babies, and the elderly. During this bloody massacre there were use of firearems, grenades and bayonets. Many were shot in the back of their heads and while trying to escape. That tells us that they were shot with the back turned and unaware of what was about to happen.

Prior to the cold-blooded murders, Charlie Company had lost a quite a few of their men to combat. They were down to approximately 105 men. As a result, they were bound for some brutal tactics and full of rage. They went berserk and engaged in this terrible killing spree, without mercy.

This story did not become public until over an year later in November 1969. It was presented in way to blame failure in the leadership, discipline, and morale of those involved. Lieutenant William Cauley was said to be a unemployed college drop-out. But he graduated from the officer candidate school and were commissioned. He was trial for murder and sentence to life in prision. After a numerous of appeals he was released in 1974.

Era of New Warfare

A new kind of war has been taking shape in the 21st century. This is a era of the new warfare. Armies are no longer fighting on a battlefield. Today, the battlefield is is virtually anywhere and everywhere. Combat missions are taken place on the urban grounds and in desolated, uncultivated defined areas. Those terrorism been around in warfare for a very long time, it has recently become more of a threat than ever. Especially, since the 9/11 attack. Another type of warfare that has greatly increased is the chemical and biological weapons. Still another be big concern is nuclear and radiological weapons. In order to stay abreast, armies must engage in advance training, acquire modern weapon systems and machinery, and know how to master the latest technology. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield stated. "That all involved must alter the manner in which they train, fight, and think."

Urban Warfare is another version of street fighting

Fighting block by block
Bloodiest - worst fighting
Casualties usually in higher numbers
Fighting from house to house, kicking doors and jumping through windows
City fighting vs muddy boot fighting

Desert Warfare is like being in a sandbox with an heat index of 130°+.

Regions without roads and rails infrastructure
Abundant of sand and dust- harmful to weapon systems and machinery.
Effective cooling systems for vehicles,shelters, computer and electronic equipment
Camouflage - lack of buildings and vegetation

Terrorism in one of oldest warfare

Suicide bombers
Suicide attacks

Chemical and Biological Weapons

Anti-livestock and anti-agricultural can make it impossible for a nation to feed itself
Bacterias and viruses
smallpox weapons
anthrax attacks

Nuclear and Radiological Weapons
"Dirty Bomb" - radiation dispersal device
Eight countries known to have nuclear weapons
United States
India
France
China
Great Britain
Israel
Pakistan

Middle School in Mississippi is Saluted

What a honor to surrender a salute to the teachers and students of Bryram Middle School in Mississippi?

Through a joint effort, the teachers and students of this school has shown great support to troops serving in Iraq and Walter Reed Medical Facility. During the
last five years they has been preparing and sending goodie boxes to the troops. Along with goodie boxes, they are sending cards during the holidays.
An average of 55 boxes are being sent monthly. This is truly a morale booster for the brave troops for the sacrifice and the service they are providing.

The one teacher who started this project "Cheryl Shelton" is an inspiration to her students, schools, communities, families, friends, and loyalty to the troops. Shelton friend's son were about to serve in Iraq. And she wanted to support her friend and son while he served in Iraq. She thought it would be a good idea to send him treats and cards, a way to show love, appreciation, and help keep him in good spirit and morale up. What started out to be small has grown to what it is today and have touched a lot of lives.

Shelton and 120 students were honored by the US Army in a special ceremony at the school. It must have been a privilege for the Army to be able to recognize her and the students....A Job Well Done..

Thanks Troops

I started this blog in honor of the men and women in uniform. Just wanted to say thanks to the troops for the selfless duties they carry out both day and night. Thank you for volunteering to protect citizens and the soil of the lands. Your loyalty has achieved victory time after time. You're made it easy to earn the title of a veteran.

These individuals volunteered to serve, without cost. There were endless choices, but they chose to serve their country. What they have done show a great deal of pride and the patriotic from within.

Now with the discipline, leadership, and training come from being a part a winning team. As a result, they endure long hours for a job well done. They doesn't see being defeated as an option. Instead they are committed to acheiving victory.

The dedication and increasing of time served, means another lifelong veteran has made a tremendous effort to serve their county. But the sad thing for the veterans is their needs are not being met. The veterans doesn't always get the credit that they should and deserve. In some later posting, I am going to elaborate more on this issue.

Our Thanks to you.