The Political Conundrum!

Two bombs have apparently exploded in Jakarta between 0740 and 0750 local time. The first took place in front of the J.W. Marriott hotel, which was the scene of a 2003 bombing by Jemaah Islamiyah. The second reportedly took place near the Ritz Carlton, which is directly across the street from the Marriott. Further details are still pending.

…well after Bouhammer did HERE and HERE. But then again maybe the fine General has been reading this blog. At least he could have given me a hat-tip (H/T) as a courtesy.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1167159

The above story was written on April 21st.

But then on July 9th, General Petraeus emphasized again that this year is and will continue to be

http://www.military.com/news/article/petraeus-months-of-tough-combat-ahead.html

On July 15th, the following story comes out, www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,532845,00.html

As of Wednesday, at least 46 international troops, including 24 Americans, had been killed in Afghanistan this month, according to statements by the U.S. military and the NATO command. That matches the tolls for the two previous deadliest months — June and August of 2008.

The rate of deaths in July — about three a day — is approaching some of the highest levels of the Iraq war.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist, four-star general or Afghan vet with a blog to figure this out. It is pretty much common sense. I am sure the General feels the same way as me, which is we both wish we were wrong on this prediction.

Navy maintenance crews found cracks in two Navy F/A-18 Hornet jet aircraft last week, and on Friday the Navy ordered quick inspections of nearly its entire fleet, according to a Pentagon spokesman.

In response to a successful recruiting and retention year, the Army is limiting re-enlistment options for the rest of fiscal 2009.

Hundreds of prisoners at the U.S. military's main detention center in Afghanistan are refusing privileges like recreation time and family visits to protest their lack of legal rights, U.S. military and humanitarian officials said.

Local Taliban commanders threatened Thursday to kill a captured American Soldier unless the U.S. military stops operations in two districts of southeastern Afghanistan.

In what may be a first, the U.S. Naval Academy graduated a pregnant midshipman on May 22, a move that ran contrary to policy that middies not marry or begin a family while attending the school.

Yesterday I was contacted by my friends at the BBC again, asking me to be a guest on their show, World Have You Say. Madeline Morris was the host, and in addition to myself as a guest there was a ex-British Army Conscientious Objector, a General from the Nigerian Army, a retired General from the Pakistan Army, and an officer in the Israeli Reserves. So as you can see it was a very diverse group.

In addition to the invited guests above, there were callers who were parents of soldiers in the US Army and a Vietnam veteran that called in. They added a lot to the conversation, which you will hear.

This is really worth a listen. I look forward to your comments on this posting to let me know what you think. Hopefully I represented myself well, and even though not the intention of my participation, hopefully I represented the USA well too.

Click Here to list to BBC’s WHYS “Can you have a moral Army?”

The Indonesian police earlier this week found suspected bomb-making materials hidden underneath a house used by the al-Muaddib Islamic boarding school in Cilacap, Central Java. These materials were uncovered during a second raid on the house performed on 14 July. In addition to chemicals used for making bombs--including sulfur and potassium--they found cables and detonators.

The owner of the building, 60-year-old Bahrudin Latif, reportedly fled before the police conducted their first raid on 23 June. This came after an anonymous source told police that Bahridin's daughter, Ari Aryani, had married Jemaah Islamiyah fugitive Noordin Top. Neighbors around the school noted that she has already given birth to two children, but her husband has never been seen.

The police are continuing their hunt for Bahrudin and Top, both of whom are thought to still be hiding out in Central Java.

Bouhammer Note- H/T to Blackfive.net about this story being published. Since this is a letter from the aircrew to the Washington Post and not a article written and owned by them, I am re-publishing it here. The WaPo likes to remove stories from their website after a few days and I don’t want this one to be missed. I originally wrote about LT Brian Bradshaw HERE. I have follow up blog posts HERE, HERE,  HERE and HERE. This letter to the Bradshaw family is a powerfully unsolicited piece from the Air National Guard crew that started his last journey home.

 

 

On July 5, The (Washington) Post published a letter from Martha Gillis of Springfield, whose nephew, Lt. Brian Bradshaw, was killed in Afghanistan on June 25, the day that Michael Jackson died. The letter criticized the extensive media coverage of Jackson’s death compared with the brief coverage of Lt. Bradshaw’s death. Among the responses was the following letter, written July 9 by an Air National Guard pilot and a fellow member of the crew that flew Lt. Bradshaw’s body from a forward base in Afghanistan to Bagram Air Base. Capt. James Adair, one of the plane’s pilots, asked the editorial page staff to forward the letter to the Bradshaw family. He and Brian Bradshaw’s parents then agreed to publication of these excerpts.

 

Dear Bradshaw Family,

We were crew members on the C-130 that flew in to pick up Lt. Brian Bradshaw after he was killed. We are Georgia Air National Guardsmen deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. We support the front-line troops by flying them food, water, fuel, ammunition and just about anything they need to fight. On occasion we have the privilege to begin the final journey home for our fallen troops. Below are the details to the best of our memory about what happened after Brian’s death.

We landed using night-vision goggles. Because of the blackout conditions, it seemed as if it was the darkest part of the night. As we turned off the runway to position our plane, we saw what appeared to be hundreds of soldiers from Brian’s company standing in formation in the darkness. Once we were parked, members of his unit asked us to shut down our engines. This is not normal operating procedure for that location. We are to keep the aircraft’s power on in case of maintenance or concerns about the hostile environment. The plane has an extremely loud self-contained power unit. Again, we were asked whether there was any way to turn that off for the ceremony that was going to take place. We readily complied after one of our crew members was able to find a power cart nearby. Another aircraft that landed after us was asked to do the same. We were able to shut down and keep lighting in the back of the aircraft, which was the only light in the surrounding area. We configured the back of the plane to receive Brian and hurried off to stand in the formation as he was carried aboard.

Brian’s whole company had marched to the site with their colors flying prior to our arrival. His platoon lined both sides of our aircraft’s ramp while the rest were standing behind them. As the ambulance approached, the formation was called to attention. As Brian passed the formation, members shouted "Present arms" and everyone saluted. The salute was held until he was placed inside the aircraft and then the senior commanders, the sergeant major and the chaplain spoke a few words.

Afterward, we prepared to take off and head back to our base. His death was so sudden that there was no time to complete the paperwork needed to transfer him. We were only given his name, Lt. Brian Bradshaw. With that we accepted the transfer. Members of Brian’s unit approached us and thanked us for coming to get him and helping with the ceremony. They explained what happened and how much his loss was felt. Everyone we talked to spoke well of him — his character, his accomplishments and how well they liked him. Before closing up the back of the aircraft, one of Brian’s men, with tears running down his face, said, "That’s my platoon leader, please take care of him."

We taxied back on the runway, and, as we began rolling for takeoff, I looked to my right. Brian’s platoon had not moved from where they were standing in the darkness. As we rolled past, his men saluted him one more time; their way to honor him one last time as best they could. We will never forget this.

We completed the short flight back to Bagram Air Base. After landing, we began to gather our things. As they carried Brian to the waiting vehicle, the people in the area, unaware of our mission, stopped what they were doing and snapped to attention. Those of us on the aircraft did the same. Four soldiers who had flown back with us lined the ramp once again and saluted as he passed by. We went back to post-flight duties only after he was driven out of sight.

Later that day, there was another ceremony. It was Bagram’s way to pay tribute. Senior leadership and other personnel from all branches lined the path that Brian was to take to be placed on the airplane flying him out of Afghanistan. A detail of soldiers, with their weapons, lined either side of the ramp just as his platoon did hours before. A band played as he was carried past the formation and onto the waiting aircraft. Again, men and women stood at attention and saluted as Brian passed by. Another service was performed after he was placed on the aircraft.

For one brief moment, the war stopped to honor Lt. Brian Bradshaw. This is the case for all of the fallen in Afghanistan. It is our way of recognizing the sacrifice and loss of our brothers and sisters in arms. Though there may not have been any media coverage, Brian’s death did not go unnoticed. You are not alone with your grief. We mourn Brian’s loss and celebrate his life with you. Brian is a true hero, and he will not be forgotten by those who served with him.

We hope knowing the events that happened after Brian’s death can provide you some comfort.

Sincerely,

Capt. James Adair

Master Sgt. Paul Riley

GA ANG 774 EAS Deployed