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Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
9/11 Story
I received this story in an email today and thought it was worth sharing. I do not know who originally posted it.
Subject: Marines - A story about 9/11 that you may have not heard!
This came from a memorial ceremony here at NORTHCOM. Chaplain Robert Leivers led the group in a
ceremony here at the headquarters. During the ceremony, he relayed this little-known story from the
Pentagon on 9/11:
"During a visit with a fellow chaplain, who happened to be assigned to the Pentagon, I had a chance to
hear a first-hand account of an incident that happened right after Flt 77 hit the Pentagon. The Chaplain
told me what happened at a daycare center near where the impact occurred.
"This daycare had many children, including infants who were in heavy cribs. The daycare supervisor,
looking at all the children they needed to evacuate, was in a panic over what they could do; there were
many children, mostly toddlers, as well as the infants that would need to be taken out with the cribs.
There was no time to try to bundle them into carriers and strollers.
"Just then a young Marine came running into the center and asked what they needed. After hearing
what the center director was trying to do, he ran back out into the hallway and disappeared. The director
thought, 'well, there we are on our own.' About 2 minutes later, that Marine returned with 40 others in
tow.
Each of them grabbed a crib with a child, and the rest started gathering up toddlers. The director and her
staff then helped them take all the children out of the center and down toward the park near the Potomac
and the Pentagon.
"Once they got about 3/4 of a mile outside the building, the Marines stopped in the park, and then did a
fabulous thing- they formed a circle with the cribs, which were quite sturdy and heavy, like the covered
wagons in the West. Inside this circle of cribs, they put the toddlers, to keep them from wandering off.
Outside this circle were the 40 Marines, forming a perimeter around the children, awaiting instructions.
There they remained until the parents could be notified and come get their children."
The NORTHCOM chaplain then said- "I don't think any of us saw nor heard of this on any of the news stories
of the day. It was an incredible story of our men there.''
I must say there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The thought of those Marines and what they did and how fast
they reacted.... could we expect any less from them? It was one of the most touching stories from the
Pentagon I've EVER heard.
Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence.
W. S. Bowden
Subject: Marines - A story about 9/11 that you may have not heard!
This came from a memorial ceremony here at NORTHCOM. Chaplain Robert Leivers led the group in a
ceremony here at the headquarters. During the ceremony, he relayed this little-known story from the
Pentagon on 9/11:
"During a visit with a fellow chaplain, who happened to be assigned to the Pentagon, I had a chance to
hear a first-hand account of an incident that happened right after Flt 77 hit the Pentagon. The Chaplain
told me what happened at a daycare center near where the impact occurred.
"This daycare had many children, including infants who were in heavy cribs. The daycare supervisor,
looking at all the children they needed to evacuate, was in a panic over what they could do; there were
many children, mostly toddlers, as well as the infants that would need to be taken out with the cribs.
There was no time to try to bundle them into carriers and strollers.
"Just then a young Marine came running into the center and asked what they needed. After hearing
what the center director was trying to do, he ran back out into the hallway and disappeared. The director
thought, 'well, there we are on our own.' About 2 minutes later, that Marine returned with 40 others in
tow.
Each of them grabbed a crib with a child, and the rest started gathering up toddlers. The director and her
staff then helped them take all the children out of the center and down toward the park near the Potomac
and the Pentagon.
"Once they got about 3/4 of a mile outside the building, the Marines stopped in the park, and then did a
fabulous thing- they formed a circle with the cribs, which were quite sturdy and heavy, like the covered
wagons in the West. Inside this circle of cribs, they put the toddlers, to keep them from wandering off.
Outside this circle were the 40 Marines, forming a perimeter around the children, awaiting instructions.
There they remained until the parents could be notified and come get their children."
The NORTHCOM chaplain then said- "I don't think any of us saw nor heard of this on any of the news stories
of the day. It was an incredible story of our men there.''
I must say there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The thought of those Marines and what they did and how fast
they reacted.... could we expect any less from them? It was one of the most touching stories from the
Pentagon I've EVER heard.
Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence.
W. S. Bowden
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday Hero
Spc. Ross A. McGinnis19 years old from Knox, Pennsylvania1st
Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division
December 4, 2006
His mission was to patrol the streets of Adhamiyah in northeast Baghdad and find a place to put a 250-kilowatt generator that would provide electricity for more than 100 homes. But it's a mission he wasn't able to accomplish.Shortly after Pfc. McGinnis's convoy left the compound, and less than a mile from FOB Apache, an insurgent standing on a nearby rooftop threw a grenade into the sixth, and last, Humvee. "Grenade!" yelled McGinnis, who was manning the vehicle's M2 .50-caliber machine gun. He tried to deflect the grenade but it fell into the Humvee and lodged between the radios.
"McGinnis turned and looked down and realized no one in the truck knew where the grenade was," said Capt. Michael Baka, his company commander. "He knew everyone had their doors combat-locked and they wouldn't be able to get out.
"Instead of jumping out of the truck to save his own life, like he had been trained to do, McGinnis threw his back against the radio mount, smothering the explosive with his body. The grenade exploded just as Pfc. McGinnis covered it. The blast filled the vehicle with black smoke and debris and blew the driver's door and right passenger's door wide open and blew the machine gun off its mount. The explosion hit McGinnis on his sides and his lower back, under his vest. He was killed instantly.
The other four soldiers in the Humvee suffered relatively minor injuries.
On the morning of December 4, 2006, before his convoy had left, Cpt. Baka has signed a waver promoting Pfc. McGinnis to Specialist and he was posthumously promoted to E-4.
For his heroic actions on that day, McGinnis was awarded the Silver Star and was nominated for a Medal of Honor which he received on June 2, 2008.
All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll.
For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A few pictures
Kyle and Devin waiting at the airport
Welcome home Scout
Opening his Sabre that we got him for Christmas
So glad to have him home
What we did on Tuesday
We are so glad to have him home. I must admit that I spent Sunday morning watching him sleep for about 30 minutes. He is finally putting a little weight on and loves Ft. Drum (except for the cold) and everything about being a Cav Scout.
I will post more pictures soon.
Have a great week & God Bless
aam
Wednesday's Hero
Sgt. Kelly Keck34 years old from West Liberty, Kentucky
Secretary of the Army Pete Geren congratulates Sgt. Kelly Keck after presenting him the Purple Heart.
On September 13, 2008, Sgt. Kelly Keck, a combat medic serving in Afghanistan, was wounded while trying to aid his fellow Soldiers who's truck had just been struck by an IED. "I stepped off the road to try to get to the side of the truck, and the next thing I know I hear a loud boom, and I'm laying on the ground," he said. Sgt. Kelly had stepped on a land mine. He was flown to a field hospital in Jalalabad where he ended up loosing three fingers on his left hand and his right leg below the knee. "It was quite an ordeal," the soft-spoken soldier said.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Secretary of the Army Pete Geren congratulates Sgt. Kelly Keck after presenting him the Purple Heart.On September 13, 2008, Sgt. Kelly Keck, a combat medic serving in Afghanistan, was wounded while trying to aid his fellow Soldiers who's truck had just been struck by an IED. "I stepped off the road to try to get to the side of the truck, and the next thing I know I hear a loud boom, and I'm laying on the ground," he said. Sgt. Kelly had stepped on a land mine. He was flown to a field hospital in Jalalabad where he ended up loosing three fingers on his left hand and his right leg below the knee. "It was quite an ordeal," the soft-spoken soldier said.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Friday, February 13, 2009
On His Way HOME!!!
HOOAH
Our Soldier is flying home tonight for block leave. This is the first time we have seen him since graduation and we are so excited. The Welcome Home poster's are made and the camera batteries are charged.
Since Chris was not home for Christmas, we have put up a small tree with all of his presents under it and spent time yesterday at Sam's Club picking up alot of his favorite food items.
I will be on pins and needles until 10:30 tonight when he is due to land. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers today while he is flying the friendly skies.
Have a great weekend.
aam
Monday, February 2, 2009
What is a Cav Scout
I have had so many people ask me what exactly is a Cav Scout.
Thanks to another Cav Mom that is on GAP, I have the answer.
What is a Cavalry Scout
A Cavalry Scout is the commander’s eyes and ears of the battlefield.
To do this requires a unique soldier. He must be flexible, intelligent, resourceful, courageous, and crave danger to do the unique job of Scouting. The units are tightly woven groups, able to depend on one another at any time, irrelevant of rank, which is critical to their survival. They take great pride in both their history and traditions. Scouts must still earn their spurs and it is not an uncommon site to see black Stetsons, spurs and sabers worn for certain events and occasions. The number of common and specialized skills that Scouts are required to know, even at the lowest rank, outnumbers any other job on the battlefield. The job of gaining and maintaining contact with the enemy without being spotted, mounted or dismounted, and reporting all this intelligence to the commander so he can mass his forces to defeat them requires this tremendous amount of knowledge. Because the Cavalry Scout is such an invaluable asset on the battlefield, he is not usually used in the traditional combat role. He fights as a last resort and rarely as a combat multiplier, but has a tremendous amount of combat resources available to him to insure his survivability. It is not unusual to see a young Cavalry Scout coordinating both direct and indirect fires to decisively engage and destroy the enemy because he is the one with the eyes on the target.
The term " Recon** out front " exemplifies the dangerous job and continuous threat of exposure to the enemy while working on or behind enemy lines.The term "Recon Scout" usually refers to a Cavalry Scout that works primarily in the light mode. They may be Airborne, Air Assault (helicopter inserted), or based on HMMWV’s* and conduct dismounted operations regularly. They take great pride in their ability to move amongst the enemy dismounted, traversing all types of terrain, while carrying all the gear necessary to accomplish the mission. This gear regularly exceeds 100 pounds because of the difficulty to resupply these soldiers and their risk of exposure while conducting operations.
Technical note for non-military types:*A HMMWV is an acronym for High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, pronounced Humvee.)**Recon is an abbreviated version of the word reconnaissance.
Here are a few of the duties of a Cavalry Scout:
1. Secure and prepare ammunition on scout vehicles
2. Load, clear and fire individual and crew-served weapons
3. Perform navigation during combat
4. Serve as member of observation and listening posts
5. Gather and report information on terrain, weather and enemy disposition and equipment
6. Collect data to classify routes, tunnels and bridges
7. Employ principles of concealment and camouflage
Cavalry Scouts are required to constantly lift heavy objects and endure many stressful situations in combat. Being in top physical and mental shape for this job is crucial.
Job training for Cavalry Scout requires Basic Training, where you learn basic Soldiering skills, and Advanced Individual Training, and 16 weeks of One Station Unit Training (OSUT). The training will take place primarily in the field with some classroom training. Cavalry Scout training never really stops. Whether it's taking part in squad maneuvers, target practice or war games, Cavalry Scouts are constantly working to keep their skills sharp and are in a constant state of readiness.
Helpful attributes include:
Readiness to accept a challenge and face danger Top physical and mental shape Ability to work as a team memberAdvanced level Cavalry Scouts supervise scout vehicle crews and scout vehicle recovery operations. They supervise maintenance of wheeled or tracked scout vehicles. They may also serve as an operations assistant at a brigade or squadron level.
The skills you learn as a Cavalry Scout, such as teamwork, discipline and leadership, will help you in any career you choose.
The 19D soldier has always been flexible when it comes to his job. A scout can be assigned to an M3A2, M3A2ODS, M3A3, a HMMWV family of trucks, the Stryker reconnaissance vehicle (RV), or on foot, which takes very adaptable soldiers to transition from vehicle to vehicle and do so successfully.
Now factor in the required training that finds its origins in the military police, infantry, engineer, artillery, armor, and military intelligence branches, and the 19Ds have a very full plate.For years, cavalry scouts have been stepchildren, ignored by their parents, armor and infantry. The new Field Manual (FM) 3-20.8, Scout Gunnery, incorporates cavalry-specific combat requirements into gunnery for the M3, HMMWV, and Stryker RV platforms. Scouts have the versatility to move from unit to unit, from one platform to another, and use FM 3-20.98 throughout to be successful.There is a fundamental difference in how and why missions are conducted. Infantry's role, and for that matter, armor's role is to close with and destroy the enemy.
Although a scout can certainly perform this mission, his main role is to gain intelligence on the enemy. This mission requires "sneak'n and peek'n" with a brigade reconnaissance troop, or hammering with a divisional cavalry squadron. Either way, the mission is to gain information on the enemy for the main body. With the cavalry mindset, we focus on the reconnaissance portion of the mission.If a soldier uses his vehicle to conduct a reconnaissance or rushes into a battle to destroy the enemy, he is following the "tanker" blood in his veins. If another soldier dismounts to conduct a reconnaissance or waits until he has overwhelming force to destroy an enemy, he is following the "grunt" blood he carries. The best thing about cavalry scouts is that they can and will do both. We are the "jack-of-all-trades" and will use every asset from both worlds to get the job done and come home safely.
Hope this clears up any questions out there. I know it gave me an even higher respect for what my Soldier is doing.
God Bless,
aam
Thanks to another Cav Mom that is on GAP, I have the answer.
What is a Cavalry Scout
A Cavalry Scout is the commander’s eyes and ears of the battlefield.
To do this requires a unique soldier. He must be flexible, intelligent, resourceful, courageous, and crave danger to do the unique job of Scouting. The units are tightly woven groups, able to depend on one another at any time, irrelevant of rank, which is critical to their survival. They take great pride in both their history and traditions. Scouts must still earn their spurs and it is not an uncommon site to see black Stetsons, spurs and sabers worn for certain events and occasions. The number of common and specialized skills that Scouts are required to know, even at the lowest rank, outnumbers any other job on the battlefield. The job of gaining and maintaining contact with the enemy without being spotted, mounted or dismounted, and reporting all this intelligence to the commander so he can mass his forces to defeat them requires this tremendous amount of knowledge. Because the Cavalry Scout is such an invaluable asset on the battlefield, he is not usually used in the traditional combat role. He fights as a last resort and rarely as a combat multiplier, but has a tremendous amount of combat resources available to him to insure his survivability. It is not unusual to see a young Cavalry Scout coordinating both direct and indirect fires to decisively engage and destroy the enemy because he is the one with the eyes on the target.
The term " Recon** out front " exemplifies the dangerous job and continuous threat of exposure to the enemy while working on or behind enemy lines.The term "Recon Scout" usually refers to a Cavalry Scout that works primarily in the light mode. They may be Airborne, Air Assault (helicopter inserted), or based on HMMWV’s* and conduct dismounted operations regularly. They take great pride in their ability to move amongst the enemy dismounted, traversing all types of terrain, while carrying all the gear necessary to accomplish the mission. This gear regularly exceeds 100 pounds because of the difficulty to resupply these soldiers and their risk of exposure while conducting operations.
Technical note for non-military types:*A HMMWV is an acronym for High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, pronounced Humvee.)**Recon is an abbreviated version of the word reconnaissance.
Here are a few of the duties of a Cavalry Scout:
1. Secure and prepare ammunition on scout vehicles
2. Load, clear and fire individual and crew-served weapons
3. Perform navigation during combat
4. Serve as member of observation and listening posts
5. Gather and report information on terrain, weather and enemy disposition and equipment
6. Collect data to classify routes, tunnels and bridges
7. Employ principles of concealment and camouflage
Cavalry Scouts are required to constantly lift heavy objects and endure many stressful situations in combat. Being in top physical and mental shape for this job is crucial.
Job training for Cavalry Scout requires Basic Training, where you learn basic Soldiering skills, and Advanced Individual Training, and 16 weeks of One Station Unit Training (OSUT). The training will take place primarily in the field with some classroom training. Cavalry Scout training never really stops. Whether it's taking part in squad maneuvers, target practice or war games, Cavalry Scouts are constantly working to keep their skills sharp and are in a constant state of readiness.
Helpful attributes include:
Readiness to accept a challenge and face danger Top physical and mental shape Ability to work as a team memberAdvanced level Cavalry Scouts supervise scout vehicle crews and scout vehicle recovery operations. They supervise maintenance of wheeled or tracked scout vehicles. They may also serve as an operations assistant at a brigade or squadron level.
The skills you learn as a Cavalry Scout, such as teamwork, discipline and leadership, will help you in any career you choose.
The 19D soldier has always been flexible when it comes to his job. A scout can be assigned to an M3A2, M3A2ODS, M3A3, a HMMWV family of trucks, the Stryker reconnaissance vehicle (RV), or on foot, which takes very adaptable soldiers to transition from vehicle to vehicle and do so successfully.
Now factor in the required training that finds its origins in the military police, infantry, engineer, artillery, armor, and military intelligence branches, and the 19Ds have a very full plate.For years, cavalry scouts have been stepchildren, ignored by their parents, armor and infantry. The new Field Manual (FM) 3-20.8, Scout Gunnery, incorporates cavalry-specific combat requirements into gunnery for the M3, HMMWV, and Stryker RV platforms. Scouts have the versatility to move from unit to unit, from one platform to another, and use FM 3-20.98 throughout to be successful.There is a fundamental difference in how and why missions are conducted. Infantry's role, and for that matter, armor's role is to close with and destroy the enemy.
Although a scout can certainly perform this mission, his main role is to gain intelligence on the enemy. This mission requires "sneak'n and peek'n" with a brigade reconnaissance troop, or hammering with a divisional cavalry squadron. Either way, the mission is to gain information on the enemy for the main body. With the cavalry mindset, we focus on the reconnaissance portion of the mission.If a soldier uses his vehicle to conduct a reconnaissance or rushes into a battle to destroy the enemy, he is following the "tanker" blood in his veins. If another soldier dismounts to conduct a reconnaissance or waits until he has overwhelming force to destroy an enemy, he is following the "grunt" blood he carries. The best thing about cavalry scouts is that they can and will do both. We are the "jack-of-all-trades" and will use every asset from both worlds to get the job done and come home safely.
Hope this clears up any questions out there. I know it gave me an even higher respect for what my Soldier is doing.
God Bless,
aam
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