Veteran of four wars, four enlistments, four branches: Air Force, Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard. I am both an AF (Air Force) veteran and as Veteran AF (As Fuck)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Day on the Range
Here are some photos from today.
Spc. Aaron Trimmer, the armorer, fixes weapons at the range
Prone firing position
Staff Sgt. Hummel ran the range from the tower
Friday, November 13, 2009
Updated Stories and a Century Ride
In the next few days I will be updating some of the stories you already read, if you have been reading for the past two months--or they will be new stories if you weren't. I will be posting the full version of the story about the crew that includes Governor Rod Blagojevich's pilot. I am also writing an update to the Jason Guge PT Belt story. I will also post the latest version of Eight Minutes and Gone for those who don't get the Task Force Diablo Newsletter.
And on a completely different note, my main riding buddy convinced me we could do a Century next Sunday--on a single speed! We'll see.
Virgil in the Chow Hall
This led us to the trials of faithful Aeneas as recorded in Virgil's epic. All of us wish we could identify with Aeneas, his troops, and even his enemies. They face danger with no regret. When they die they are brave to the final moment. We don't get a lot of chances to face real danger and we hope we will do it well. But the gods in the epic--we know them. The generals and political leaders above them are the gods in our story. They are powerful, able to move thousands of soldiers at their will, but like the Roman gods, they all have a specific territory they are in charge of. When they step outside that territory another god will fight them, or appeal to Jupiter to settle the dispute.
So a big group of us train together, arrive together, serve together, then at the stroke of a pen, most of the group goes home a month early--including the Christmas holidays--and the rest of us stay here as planned. It all makes sense to someone in Baghdad with a big map, but to us it all looks arbitrary and territorial, like the gods in Virgil's Aeneid.
Before some of the extreme beliefs of the 18th century became the mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century, most well-educated people read "The Consolation of Philosophy" by Boethius. This book, written in the 6th century AD, may be the best ever written on how Destiny or Providence can guide an individual life in a world dominated by chaos. Our world is contingent, chaotic we live by faith daily even when we don't want to, and yet some people follow a destiny laid out by God.
The Greeks and Romans imagined the world as dominated by a chaos, with the gods making the chaos worse in many cases, yet the greatest men were guided by the fates--predestined to greatness. Boethius shows how this works in a Christian believer's life. The main difference is that only those of high birth and merit had a destiny in the Greco-Roman world. In the Christian world, it is quite the reverse. Those who most fully focus on doing the Lord's will, and usually being notable failures in this life, find God's will most fully. Mother Teresa's intent to love and serve lepers in Calcutta eventually led to fame for her, but she began as lowly as possible and was exalted for it. Reading Virgil and Boethius reminds me that a program with great ambition for control and power in this life, even with a designer Christian label, is aiming at the Roman heaven of senators and generals. The Christian Heaven of the Man of Sorrows is in another direction.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
4000 Miles in Iraq, 6000 for the Year, So Far
While my heel feels better, my running is way down from last year. But my shoulder is recovering well and my back is holding up just fine despite wearing body armor on flights. So far this year I have done 10,547 situps, 8365 pushups and 705 pull ups, but who's counting. We have a PT test sometime this month. Because I am over 55, I do not have to run. For my aerobic test, I can either run, walk, swim (if there was water) OR RIDE THE BIKE!!!! No kidding. I'll take the bike. I have to ride 10km (6.2 miles) in 28 minutes to pass. And since the bike is pass fail, the score I get is the average of my other two events. I think there is a chance I will be able max the test. In any case, I should get a good score, I have ridden 10k in 16 minutes in the US, so 28 minutes should be very easy to do.
The Biathlon is two weeks from today on Thanksgiving morning. I have no odea what the attendance will be.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Veteran's Day Ceremony--Emcee Again
After two of these I will be homesick for Army events. To all of my friends for whom some of their job is organizing events: Nancy, Audrey, Sarah, Brigitte, Kristine, Bob and Rick--just try to picture having eight speakers and performers who show up early for each rehearsal, who practice their talks and performances, who speak politely to all of the event staff, who are happy for the opportunity to be part of the performance, an audience that actually shuts off or ignores their phones and Blackberries. I could go on, but you get the idea. With a group like this last-minute changes are a breeze.
And like last time, the event started precisely on the minute, you'll see why in the talk. Everyone performed as we rehearsed. No one went over time.
What a great day.
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Welcome to the Celebration of Veteran’s Day on COB Adder. I am Sergeant Neil Gussman of Task Force Diablo.
This ceremony began at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month—exactly 91 years after the Allied Armies accepted the surrender of Germany marking the end of World War One in 1918. This terrible conflict killed and maimed millions of soldiers. France suffered worst. The war was fought almost entirely inside her borders. This beautiful country had a population of 60 million when the war began in 1914. Four years later a million French soldiers were dead, five million were wounded. This global conflict introduced the world to many of the most horrible weapons of modern war. In 1916, the Germans had the infamy of being the first to use chemical warfare, releasing chlorine gas from hundreds of cylinders on a clear morning in Belgium and killing thousands of mostly French troops who did not know that the green cloud rolling toward them meant agonizing death, until it was too late. Using aircraft to bomb troops and civilians began in World War One. Tanks made their terrible debut on the battlefields of this war. When the First World War ended it was called “The War to End All Wars.”
It wasn’t.
But this horrible war with millions dead led our nation and other nations to honor not only those who died for their country, but those who lived to enjoy the freedom that their service gave to all of us. That is why we are here today, to honor all those who have served before us in Iraq and Afghanistan, to honor those who served in the Gulf War, in Panama, in Lebanon, in Somalia, in Viet Nam, in Korea, and in World War Two. We are also here to honor each other. Everyone who wears the uniform in this room is a veteran. We are all members of an exclusive club. If you add together every soldier, airmen, sailor and marine including National Guard and reserve, there are less than two million men and women in uniform. That is less than two-thirds of one percent of the US population. It’s the same number of US citizens who hold PhD degrees in either the arts or sciences.
So enjoy the program. Make this the day you thank the veteran sitting next to you for his or her service. Maybe call that uncle or aunt you haven’t talked to for a while who served in the Gulf War or Viet Nam. Thank them for their service.
From this old soldier who enlisted during Viet Nam, thank you for your service.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
How Do We Fight This War?--What Makes the TOC Tick?
“I really like my job when things go wrong or, better still, when I can prevent things from going wrong in the first place,” said Ballard, 26, of Granby, Conn. She is a battle captain in the Tactical Operations Center of the 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment.
“My job is all about contingencies and troubleshooting,” said Ballard. “When things go well, I am just waiting.”
Ballard may say she is just waiting, but the staff of the TOC is busy around the clock tracking every flight in the battalion, monitoring weather, monitoring security, updating higher headquarters and ensuring every mile of every flight is tracked and recorded from pre-flight to after-operations debriefings.
The tracking methods vary from the sophisticated Blue Force Tracker system, to sending updates to every other TOC in theater online through Microsoft Internet Relay Chat, or MIRC, to a large white board on the wall with the status of every mission updated constantly in dry-erase marker.
MIRC is a large chat room that allows TOCs throughout Iraq to keep each other informed of aircraft status and position. This is especially useful for MEDEVAC operations to track lifesaving mission progress which sometimes require transfer from one helicopter to another on a long journey from the point of injury to the best possible care.
The TOC itself is an open room with a row of large, flat-screen monitors on the wall. These monitors allow operations personnel to see weather across the region and the BFT position of active flights. One of the big screens can be tuned to Armed Forces Network TV to get current events.
On the other side of the room are a raised platform and a long desk with several computers, phones and monitors. The operations crew sits at this table facing the row of monitors and at two lower desks in front of the raised platform. The battle captain sits at the long desk near the status white board. Directly in front of the Soldiers are one to three monitors and laptop screens for various computer systems.
Looking from the service counter, the row of video monitors with their colorful displays and the operators at the phones and monitors, make the room look like a plywood, low-ceiling version of a NASA control room. At any hour of the day, the room can range from eerily quiet to buzzing with activity.
Late in October, there was an evening when the buzz of activity hit maximum. That particular evening three mission sets—each one consisting of two CH-47 Chinook helicopters—took off in the dark as usual and started to spread across Iraq with their cargo of troops and supplies. Within 15 minutes two of the flights were returning to COB Adder for maintenance issues.
What began as a routine evening became a full-on maintenance emergency with three pairs of helicopters returning from three directions.
“One of the first pair of Chinooks could not be fixed,” she said. “The crew had to take their weapons and equipment to a spare bird while ground teams moved the cargo.”
The second pair of aircraft came back for a non-emergency repair, but one that would have grounded the mission. The answer to the problem was to switch one of the helicopters from the third mission set with one from the second. Again this meant two five-member crews moving guns, ammo and flight gear while ground crews moved passengers and cargo.
“I was on the phones and the radio non-stop for 90 minutes,” Ballard said.
Within an hour and a half, all three mission sets were back in the air and on their way to their destinations. It would be a longer night than everyone anticipated, but all the missions that night were completed.
“We didn’t get dinner for quite a while that night,” she said. “We were starving.” Like all the battle captains in the TOC, Ballard is a pilot. She flies CH-47 Chinooks as does her husband Seth who serves as a maintenance test pilot and maintenance officer in the battalion. The Ballards met at flight school and have been together ever since.
In addition to Ballard, the other 2nd Bn., 104th AR battle captains are Capt. James Cragg, Capt. John Hoffman and Capt. Paul Ward, UH-60 Blackhawk pilots; Capt. Nathan Smith, CH-47 Chinook pilot, and 1st Lt. Jason Collier, AH-64D Apache Longbow pilot.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Amish Have It Backwards
Then I quit taking pictures. In fact, I don't actually own a camera. I have a camera in my cell phone and that has been enough. Everyone around me seems to have cameras so I let them take pictures. Over the last week I started to remember one of the reasons why I stopped. The camera hurts the soul of the photographer. It doesn't steal your soul--that might be better. But the more pictures I take and the better they are, the more I am "the guy with the camera."
Now when people have events they want me to take the picture. And they want me to take the picture they way they want it--which means the picture is going to suck anyway. It will suck in my $3000 camera (Army Property) instead of sucking in their $100 camera.
Why will it suck. Because inevitably, they envision a photo beginning with the BACKGROUND. Their goal is a tourist photo which includes themselves and all of the Ziggurat of Ur, or a square mile of desert, or an entire Chinook Helicopter. Which means the people disappear. YUCK.
I take photos: eyes first, then face, then enough of the rest of the body to convey attitude. I want to see someone through their work.
So the real problem is that I am becoming more judgmental than I already am. Cameras are harsh. People who look good normally can look bad in pictures. They look worse in my kind of pictures because I get close. I start to look at people through the lens and know before the first shot they will look bad. I know most people around me are happy with the photos they take. I would not have cared before I was shooting pictures four days a week. Now I am looking at them like they drink $3 boxed wine.
So if I am not careful, it will be me who loses his soul, from the back side of the camera.
Flags at Half Staff
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Roomie--5 Time Zones Away
With my new job, I can sleep till 0700 if I want to eat the everything breakfast. I can sleep till 0800 if I want to skip breakfast. We get up 5 hours apart and we both work days--sort of. I work 9 to 6 then come back, eat dinner, work out or go to book groups, then work till midnight or later sometimes. So I can sleep late. Nickey has a fixed schedule. So when I come in the CHU to change at 6 or 7pm Nickey is sometimes already asleep. He is almost always asleep by the time I pickup my pack to go back to work at 9 or 10 at night.
If I work late enough I might be up for his alarm. Nickey is a great roommate. We each do our best to keep the room dark and quiet for the other. Nickey's locker divides the room so we each have low-power lamps we can use while the other one is sleeping. Most days, one of us is asleep between 8pm and 8am.
Right now Nickey and I are on sleep schedules so far apart it is as if one of us was in China and one in Iraq. Or one in Iceland and one Iraq. Five time zones is the difference between the east coast of the US and London, or between Chicago and Hawaii, Paris and Mumbai.
Emotional Roller Coaster
Last week a good friend of mine lost his job because of a stupid remark he made to one of his soldiers and this week the whole issue came to a head. He is not the kind of guy who fights back when he is wrong, so he is just going to accept his punishment. Others who have done worse have skated by without a problem. He seems like an example of how good people get screwed, but in the past week while this drama unfolded, he has seen how many people respect him, stand behind him and support him. So he really is getting virtue's reward, love when you need it--more than you expect.
The day I knew I was a wreck was Wednesday. I was writing a farewell to Charlie MEDEVAC for the newsletter that comes out Monday. I have only known those guys for two months and only know a dozen of them personally, but that company is the most professional, together, and focused unit I have worked with directly since I have been in the Army. Anyway, I was writing the essay and started to cry. At that point I knew I was getting too little sleep, having too much excitement, and needed a rest.
I am going to send the newsletter to the people who I have email addresses for. If you want a copy, send me an email at ngussman@gmail.com and I will add you to the list.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Who Fights This War? Door Gunner and Runner
Sgt. James McKeithan, a door gunner in Company B, Task Force Diablo, checks his equipment before a flight at Camp Adder, Tallil, Iraq. As a door gunner in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, McKeithan flies the night skies. He said the most exciting mission he would have gone on, a support role in an air assault, actually got canceled.
The runner-up was what he described as a hot unloading of pallets at Basra. This means the pallets are dropped from the cargo ramp while the helicopter is still moving. McKeithan said the most difficult part of his job came when he was required to perform overnight missions on eight consecutive nights.
A resident of Carlisle, Pa., 22-year-old McKeithan is a full-time Army National Guard Soldier. He served on the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's Mobile Event Team before he deployed to Iraq. He plans to serve full-time with the Guard when he returns and attend college at night. He has one year of college left to finish earning his degree as a registered nurse.
After that, he will pursue additional training to become a nurse anesthetist. When he is not working, McKeithan is a competitor. His last Army physical fitness score was 336 (300 is considered a perfect score), with a two-mile run time of 12 minutes and 12 seconds. He said his goal is 350 with a run time of 11 minutes and 30 seconds. He plans to run the Army 10-Miler in Iraq. He said he ran the race in Washington D.C. in 2008 with a time of one hour and six minutes. He also participates in mixed martial arts fighting and is a registered competitor in four states.
The Race is On!!!!! Task Force Diablo Biathlon on Thanksgiving Morning
The course profile is the same as an ironing board--flat. I am hoping to have 100 teams or individuals. I am going to make the race flyer in the morning. Advertising should begin by Saturday. Three weeks today till the start.
When I went to the garrison sergeant major's office to get approval for the race, he said we first had to talk about a Veteran's Day ceremony on Wednesday the 11th. I am going to be the emcee. I contacted the guy who will (I hope) be the featured speaker--one of the chaplains who is a regular at the CS Lewis book group.
This Monday I am going to send the newsletter I do to everyone I sent it too a month ago. This seventh issue really is good. With the help of Sgt. Matt Jones at 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, the simple layout I use is starting to look better. And I got some really good shots that I am using full page so they would not look as dramatic on the blog.
Too many great things happened this week to even write them all down. One sad thing for me I realized this morning is the Charlie MEDEVAC Company is leaving. They have been the source of some of my best stories and are one of the best units it has ever been my pleasure to be associated with. They are going back to Alaska soon and another MEDEVAC will take their place. I re-wrote the Eight Minutes and Gone blog post from two months ago as a tribute/goodbye to them and re-cropped some pictures for the past page of the newsletter.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Who Fights This War? The Judge
In 1999 Reynaldo Santos of Great Falls, Mont., needed an age waiver to join the Army National Guard at age 36. "It was tough joining at that age, but I had a goal. I wanted to be judge and everyone told me, 'You need to be a Soldier to be a judge.'" And it turned out he needed some actual experience as a Soldier. Santos ran for judge that same year and was defeated.
"It wasn't bad though," he said. "I was fourth among 16 candidates, so I knew I could get better." He had the right academic credentials: an associate degree in criminal justice, two bachelor's degrees: one in paralegal studies and one pre-law, and a master's degree in criminal justice administration. Over the following decade, he would get more than enough military experience. Santos trained as a military policeman and began a series of active duty deployments that continue right through today.
"My first deployment was what they called an extended annual training," said Santos. "We went to Kuwait for six months in 2001 returning on Sept. 1. We got activated again on Sept. 12 for months." Returning from his post 9/11 duties, Santos trained as an aircraft fueler. In 2002 he was put on active duty as a fueler and went back to Kuwait as a fueler in the build up and opening months of the Iraq War.
"We were there before it started," he said. He was home for a year then deployed to Iraq again in 2004 for another year, returning in 2005. At that point he parlayed his military experience into a job as crisis manager of the University of Great Falls. Santos is certainly building up his resume for his next run at becoming a Justice of the Peace.
A father of five and grandfather of eight, he is currently on his third deployment to Iraq, this time as a Staff Sergeant with Echo Company, 2/104 General Support Aviation Battalion, working again as a fueler. He plans on returning to his job with the university next year after his current deployment but will be keeping his eye on the opportunity to run for Justice of the Peace when he returns home.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
DUST!!!!! and Good Friends
Last night we discussed Eros in the CS Lewis book group. The discussion went on for all but two hours. So we were talking about Romantic love and going back to define friendship (philia) again to be sure the contrast is clear. In the course of discussing Eros, I became very aware that I was part of a group of friends. Steve, Abbie, Gene, Ian and Edgardo--the regular members--really do bring their own perspectives to the group and, as Lewis says, bring things out in the other friends that would never be as clear otherwise. Gene and Edgardo are both chaplains and both orthodox in their beliefs, but are very different politically. With Edgardo gone home on R&R leave the last week, we only have one chaplain and not the interplay between Edgardo and Gene. Abbie and Steve are both Air Force and both friends outside the group, but Abbie is intuitive and Steve is logical. They play off each other very well. Ian is younger than all the rest of us and, like Abbie, goes to both book groups. He is about 6'6" tall and quiet until a subject hits a chord in him, which Eros did. Ian could give us the single-guy perspective on Eros in new Millenium, showing CS Lewis needs some updating.
I said I would start to talk about what I would miss in Iraq. This group of friends is at the top of my list.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Another Mileage Record
The dust storms are supposed to hit us tomorrow. If they do, my mileage will be down. I was hoping to ride at least 33 miles a day. If I can do that, this will be a 1,000-mile month.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Fresh Fruit Every Day
Last week I was eating with a few older soldiers and we were talking about going home. "We're never going to eat like this at home," said one of the sergeants. He was so right. Because even if we could eat like this, the price would be ridiculous. Here it's just part of daily life so we can eat like this and not think about the expense or whether eating like this means someone else is going without. We never asked for the particular array of fruits the Army provides and if they were gone tomorrow we would have no effective way to get our fruit basket back. The guys at remote bases get fresh fruit once in a while, some more than others, but nothing like here.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Who Fights This War--Trading a Guitar for a Gun
The following story got published in our division newsletter and on their web site and by the end of the day yesterday was on the web site of the Department of Defense and was highlighted on the Secretary of Defense news page.
Nick was one of the guys who went through the Live Fire Shoot House when I did.
Seven years ago, then 18-year-old Nicholas Raia of Altoona, Pa., brought his trumpet to an audition for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard band. He aced the audition and until last summer was member of several performance groups within the band. Over those seven years he performed more and more with the band and ensembles playing the guitar for recruiting events and celebrations. For more formal military ceremonies he now plays the baritone—a small tuba.
After seven years in the band, Raia, now a sergeant, decided to take a year away from performing and volunteer for a combat tour. Since mobilization in January, Raia has served as a door gunner on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment.
“I felt that after 7 years in the Guard, it was my turn to do my part overseas,” said Raia.
To get ready for the transition from full-time student and weekend band member, Raia volunteered for additional training in weapons. In June 2008, Raia attended the Small Arms Master Gunner course at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. To prepare for hand-to-hand combat he completed the week-long Level One Combatives Course in July. At the end of September, he was one of 10 Soldiers in the first class trained in the new Live-Fire Shoot House also at Fort Indiantown Gap.
His transition from band member and college student to door gunner had difficulties training could not help.
“It was a decision that I struggled with for a while,” Raia said. “It’s one thing to tell your loved ones you are being ordered to leave and a totally different animal entirely when you are trying to explain to them that you are voluntarily leaving.”
Over the years he was in the band, Raia came to believe he should deploy with a combat unit.
“Our job (in the band) is unique in that we are in the public eye often, and we often get thanked for our service by people in our audiences,” Raia said. “I would find myself conflicted, because while it is true that we, as a unit, were serving our country in the way in which we were meant to serve, I also felt as if I should be doing more.”
Raia had several friends in the Guard who deployed overseas at least once in their careers. He said he felt those were the Soldiers who truly deserved to be thanked.
“I felt that after seven years in the guard, it was my turn to do my part overseas,” he said.
His final decision to deploy was met with mixed emotions.
“My unit could not have been more supportive of my decision,” Raia recalled. “They helped me get everything on the military side of the house in order prior to my deployment and have made it a point to ensure it would not affect me negatively upon my return.”
His friends, on the other hand, were confused by Raia’s decision.
“Many of my friends are not in the military and I think that makes a big difference,” he said. “People in the military think a little differently than those who are not and most of the Soldiers in the military today could probably easily understand the feeling of responsibility that compelled me to deploy.”
“My family worried about me and they were not real thrilled that I would volunteer to leave them for a year to go to a combat zone. Raia continued. “My family has been super supportive of my decision. Any previous uncertainty or worries has given way to pride in what I am doing.”
Before deployment, Raia completed all the requirements for a bachelor’s degree at Penn State with a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. He plans to bring together all of his training, experience and education by becoming a police officer after deployment—except on National Guard weekends when he will be back on stage or in formation at ceremonies in the 28th Infantry Division Band.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Camp Garry Owen Flight Pictures
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Flying to Camp Garry Owen
Sgt. Matt Kauffman gave me the Garry Owen tour in a Gator with a nearly flat front tire. He showed me the PX--a semitrailer, the new coffee bar--which had an excellent latte, the local market--no one was around but the tea service was out, the gym--newly expanded, the chow hall--a plywood shack that used to be open air. We drove on gravel so deep it was soupy. Matt runs six-minute miles, but not at GO. It's too hard to run on gravel so he runs on the treadmill in the gym.
The flight was exciting. I shot pictures on the way up. We passed over a palm grove, a river and a canal. When we landed we touched down for a moment, went up then settled back down. On the way back the weather was clear when we left but from five minutes away we were in a brown cloud at 1000 feet of altitude in every direction except straight up. What a mess. My eyes still hurt now. And I was sitting where the wind hit so I was rattled all the way back. In fact, I would stil1 be at Garry Owen enjoying the local cuisine if I were not on a pair of birds with a full bird colonel inside. He needed to get back so we went. Tonight they predicted Thunder storms but the sky just cleared.
I was thinking today I am actually leaving this country relatively soon and for the very first time I thought I might miss living here. Don't worry, I'm getting out of here as soon as I can. But at 1000 feet and 125 mph watching the brown cloud and shaking like a kite in a crosswind, I started thinking of things I liked about being here. More on that another time.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Who Fights This War--Our New Flight Surgeon
Scott is a neurologist with a civilian practice at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, but Scott did not start his military career in medicine. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1986 and served as an officer in a military police unit at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he completed airborne, air assault and ranger training. He parachuted into Panama in 1989 when the U.S. captured Manuel Noriega. He served with the 82nd Airborne in Operation Desert Storm.
In 1992, he returned to civilian life to pursue a medical career. He first went to graduate school in physiology in New York then to Wake Forest for Medical School, graduating in 1999. From 2000 to 2004 he trained as a neurosurgeon then returned to the military in 2006 with an age waiver.
“I wanted to serve after 9/11,” Scott said. “But I decided to complete all of my medical training first, then come back.” Scott served at Camp Taji, Iraq, in 2007.
We Are Pack Animals: Train Behavior
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Tasks, Conditions and Standards is how we learn to do everything in the Army. If you are assigned to be the machine gunner in a rifle squad...
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On 10 November 2003 the crew of Chinook helicopter Yankee 2-6 made this landing on a cliff in Afghanistan. Artist Larry Selman i...
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C.S. Lewis , best known for The Chronicles of Narnia served in World War I in the British Army. He was a citizen of Northern Ireland an...