Alla inlägg under juni 2014

Av loren adams - 28 juni 2014 12:34

   
 
Today is My Birthday.. At the parade ground this morning all the US Army wish me Happy 
Birthday and a song was conducted for me. Thank you all!
A special greeting to Hanny Weinbeck.....
who has been helping me to get home now about My Leave due soon.
I hope Hanny Weinbeck sees this message and let know that immediately
when i get back from Afghanistan..I will come to see her... and show my appreciation.
Thanks a lot!
 

Av loren adams - 27 juni 2014 22:13

Writing new chapter in War history

Jason Amerine, then Captain, and his band of Green Berets held off an advancing Taliban force in the early days of the war in Afghanistan, against overwhelming odds. Thus making way for Afghanistan first democratic elected President.

- But the odds never seemed overwhelming to me, says Jason, now promoted Lt Col - lieutenant colonel 


   

The Only Thing Worth Dying For is the harrowing true story of eleven Green Berets who fought alongside the future leader of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban in southern Afghanistan and bring hope to a nation during the first few months of the Global War on Terror, or Operation Enduring Freedom—when the soldiers on the ground knew little about the enemy, and their commanders in Washington knew even less.

On a moonless November night, just weeks after 9/11, five Blackhawk helicopters infiltrate southern Afghanistan, dropping Special Forces A-Team—ODA 574—deep behind enemy lines in the mountains of Uruzgan. Hundreds of miles to the north, the U.S military, aided by the armies of the Northern Alliance, is routing Taliban forces, but here in the Pashtun tribal belt—the Taliban’s own backyard—Captain Jason Amerine and his ten Green Berets are on a seemingly impossible mission: to destroy the Taliban from within and prevent a civil war from consuming the country. Armed only with the equipment they can carry on their backs, shockingly scant intelligence, and their mastery of guerrilla warfare, ODA 574 must somehow foment a tribal revolt and force the Taliban to surrender. This lone team of Green Berets has just one ally: a little-known Pashtun statesman named Hamid Karzai, who has returned from exile and is being hunted by the Taliban.

While Karzai attempts to raise a militia, the men of ODA 574 find themselves outnumbered against a ruthless Taliban force. They are in a land where respect is earned at gunpoint, and Karzai’s practiced diplomacy needs the credibility of a warrior in order to unite the Pashtun and build his army. That respect will only come from defeating the Taliban in battle. As ODA 574 contends with a patriot’s quixotic dream, a CIA case officer’s murky agenda, and a higher command that refuses to follow its own rules, Amerine and his men take up position in a small town that has just hanged its Taliban provincial governor, ready to defend it against a thousand enemy fighters who are on their way to kill them …

With unprecedented access to surviving members of ODA 574, Special Operations soldiers and airmen, key commanders and war planners, and Karzai himself, Blehm narrates the muddy-boots effort that helped install Karzai as the leader of Afghanistan’s transitional government, the stepping stone from which he became the country’s first democratically elected president. This story of bravery and sacrifice continues to shape the future of the region today.

The Only Thing Worth Dying For was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller.

Av loren adams - 27 juni 2014 06:00

Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928), the most controversial of the war generals, was born in Edinburgh on 19 June 1861.

 

He studied first at Brasenose College, Oxford, and then in 1884 at the Royal Military Academy (Sandhurst).

He passed out of Sandhurst in under a year, joining the 7th (Queens Own) Hussars.  He served there as a cavalry officer for the following nine years, chiefly in India.

Haig took part in the Omdurman campaign of 1897-1898, and in the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, where he served under Sir John French.

In 1906 Haig became Director of Military Training at the war office.  Part of Haig's responsibility during this time included the construction of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) for deployment in the eventuality of war with Germany.

In 1909 Haig was made Chief of Staff of the Indian army. 

By August 1914 - the start of the First World War - Haig commanded 1st Army Corps within the BEF as Lieutenant General.  At this time the BEF was under the control of Sir John French.  Haig's 1st Army Corps served with distinction at Mons and at First Ypres.

By the close of 1915 it was clear that French was ill-suited to the nature of the campaign, often depressed and pessimistic about the chances for success.  Consequently Haig was appointed the new Commander in Chief of the BEF on 10 December 1915, a position he took up nine days later, French returning to Britain as Commander of the British Home Forces.

Much of the nature of the fighting taking place in the First World War was alien to Haig, a cavalry man through and through.  He did not rate very highly the war's new weaponry.  "The machine gun is a much over rated weapon," he said in 1915; he made similar remarks over the use of the tank.

The Somme offensive with which Haig's name is most often associated (along with  Third Ypres, also known as Passchendaele), began on 1 July 1916.  Haig was pressured to bring forward the original attack date from August so as to relieve the heavy casualties experienced by the French at Verdun, which the Germans had been bombarding since early in the year.

It was thought that by committing significant British forces on the Somme, the Germans would necessarily divert troops from Verdun, thereby taking the sting out of the offensive.

The first day of the Battle of the Somme saw the British Army suffer the highest number of casualties in its history: 60,000.  Whether the attack was a success or not remains an area of controversy: however most historians agree that the cost in human terms was too high for relatively little gain.  In any event the offensive was called off by Haig on 18 November 1916, technically a British victory.

1917 saw the campaign at Third Ypres from July to November - Passchendaele - which ultimately ground down German resistance, although at heavy cost in British manpower.

In 1918 Haig oversaw the successful British advances on the Western Front which led to victory for the Allies in November.

Haig has been criticised by many over the years for his tactics, which it is argued were deeply flawed.  The wartime Prime Minister,David Lloyd George, was one such critic.  He wrote that he sometimes wondered whether he should have resigned on more than one occasion rather than permit Haig to continue with his strategy.  On the other hand, it is suggested that Haig's hand was largely forced by the pressure placed by the French for constant relief on the Western Front, on the Somme in 1916 and at Passchendaele in 1917.

After the armistice Haig served as Commander in Chief of the British Home Forces until 1921, the year of his retirement.  His recent predecessor in this role was Sir John French.  Haig was also awarded a grant of £100,000 by the government.  He was made an earl in 1919 and then Baron Haig of Bemersyde in 1921.

Haig dedicated the remainder of his life to service in the Royal British Legion (which he helped to establish), caring for the welfare of the troops who served under him during the war.

Sir Douglas Haig died on 28 January 1928.

 
Av loren adams - 26 juni 2014 09:41

 
Busy today..lecturing on operation.. on dogs
 
 

Av loren adams - 18 juni 2014 06:38

Although we detest problems, they are often blessings in disguise. Unknown to you, what you view as a problem today may be the only link with your miracle or breakthrough.....

As a Christian, if you are facing a big problem right now, you should be rejoicing because, one day, you will give your testimony and the whole world will rejoice with you. You are not single out for a problem. You are singled out for a testimony. If there is no problem, there will be no testimony. The challenge you have today is to allow God to convert your problem to a testimony.  

Av loren adams - 16 juni 2014 22:36

Afghan security forces say they have killed two Taliban insurgents accused of cutting off the ink-stained fingers of a group of elders who voted in Saturday's presidential election.  

The elderly men are recovering after their hands were mutilated


The elderly men were seized after voting in western Herat province, and then mutilated.

All voters must dip a finger into ink to register their ballot.

Although the Taliban vowed to disrupt the run-off poll, they say they had nothing to do with the incident.

Insurgent commander Mullah Shir Agha and one of his officers were killed after a combined police and military operation on Sunday, police said.

Another insurgent believed to have been involved in the recent violence was injured and is in police custody, they said.

The UN's special representative in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, had condemned the attack on the elderly men saying: "By their vote, they already defeated those who promote terror and violence."

 
Av loren adams - 15 juni 2014 10:49

The anti-government armed militants carried out nearly 150 attacks during the runoff presidential election on Saturday.

   

According to interior ministry officials, the attacks were carried out until 2:00 pm local time and preliminary reports suggest at least 99 people were injured following the attacks.

The officials further added that a number of rockets were also fired in capital Kabul early Saturday morning.

Interior minister, Mohammad Omar Daudzai said at least eleven policemen, fifteen Afghan army soldiers and around twenty civilians were killed following the attacks.

Deputy interior minister for security, Gen. Ayub Salangi, earlier said at least 14 civilians were killed during the attacks and nearly 41 others were injured.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) officials also said around 121 polling stations remained close in various provinces.

Meanwhile, the Taliban militants group claimed that they have carried out around 639 attacks in various provinces during the runoff voting day.

Av loren adams - 12 juni 2014 15:50

 

Afghan presidential frontrunner Abdullah-Abdullah

Voters in Afghanistan go to the polls Saturday, June 14 for the presidential runoff election that is expected to pave the way for the nation’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power. But the election comes during a violent insurgency, and Taliban militants are threatening to disrupt the polls.

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