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Please read this posting i made, if you haven't already.

http://conservative-salt.tressugar.com/5654784?page=0,0#comment-6065644

"That Others May live"

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/pedros.htm   Here is another photo essay covering our medevac's in Afghanistan.  I also have posted this on Conservative Salt.  I am not sure if anyone comes to this site anymore.  I hope it means that all our service families are out of harms way.  I post here just in case though.

Michael Yon in Afghanistan

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/eight-years-after-911.htm This is also on Conservative Salt and Sugar sites

I am posting this on 4 sites

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Home Michael's Dispatches Precision Voting Precision Voting Next > 31 August 2009Helmand Province, Afghanistan The historical Afghan elections scheduled for 20 August were days away.   While the west mostly continued to vote for Afghanistan, the big question was, “Will Afghanistan vote for itself?” The latest media wave splashed into the main voting centers in places like Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Herat and Lashkar Gah.  The larger cities only account for perhaps 20% of the Afghan population.  Whereas the easy and obvious stories are in the cities, a crucial and larger dimension—the other 80%—would unfold in the boonies.  Most Afghans would have no chance to vote. The election was to be run by Afghans.  In theory and in practice this would be a recipe for disaster.  The strategic thinkers cannot be faulted for this; after nearly eight years of war, if the west were still running the elections, the elections and government would be a failure to begin with.  By comparison, the Iraqi elections on 30 January 2005 (less than two years after invasion) were run mostly by Iraqis.  In the voting of October and December of that same year, Iraqis had two more runs at the ballots, which were increasingly successful.  Afghanistan, however, is different.  This would be only the second election in history. There are no good choices here.  Either we run the elections and the central government and in doing so undermine the same central government we are investing in, or we allow that central government to run the elections and probably watch it undermine itself.  But who knows?

Update: INTERN botched surgery & Airman lost legs.

http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-news-airman,0,4446243.story This is an update on the previous story---but one thing still remains unshared: THE NAMES OF THE DOCTORS While it is nice for the USAF to admit wrongdoing, and even admit a travesty occurred...they are not going to allow the press to learn the name of the intern that botched the surgery OR the physician that was responsible for supervising the surgery. A note: From personal experience, this intern cut the aortic valve in this airman's heart ....someplace FAR from where any incision should have been made in order to perform a laparoscopic gallbladder surgery. Typically the three incisions for this procedure are near the belly button, on the right side near rib cage, and approximately four to six inches off the mid line to the left at rib cage margin....no where close to the aortic valve.

USAF Soldier Loses Legs in Medical Mistake

Military Medical Mistake Changes Arlington Airman Jessica Read is still stunned about what happened to her husband. "It's very hard for us to understand." Last week, 20-year-old Colton Read, who grew up in Arlington and who's now in the U.

Value in Death: Soldiers pay the price daily.

This is a re-post of my original article with a few modification...you may find the original in my forum: Stand Up 4 Veterans Yesterday our country spend a lot of time and effort mourning the life of a celebrity...a celebrity which the media constantly changed its view...seeing him as much a villain as a philanthropist and entertainer. Because of the tremendous focus on this individual a controversy arose--comparing the price of this person's life to that of a soldier. This is my reply to such thoughts...

Close air support in Afghanistan

http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=190433&ESRC=army.nl

The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President's Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment

The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President's Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment To: POLITICAL EDITORS Contact: Craig Roberts of The American Legion, +1-202-263-2982 Office, +1-202-406-0887 Cell WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases. "It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K.

Cemetery Escort Duty

Cemetery Escort Duty I just wanted to get the day over with and go down to Smokey's. Sneaking a look at my watch, I saw the time, 1655. Five minutes to go before the cemetery gates are closed for the day.