Service: A Touching Testament To Our Heroes In Uniform By Elise Cooper

 

Service: A Touching Testament to Our Heroes in Uniform by Elise Cooper over at American Thinker

Marcus Luttrell with James D. Hornfischer has written another emotional story that the reader will not want to put down.  Titled Service, this one is the sequel to the compelling and gripping Lone Survivor.

(Lone Survivor chronicles what happened to Marcus in Afghanistan.  It documents a reconnaissance mission, Operation Redwing, in June 2005 when four US Navy SEALs were dropped into the mountainous region between the Afghan-Pakistan borders to observe the activities of a top al-Qaeda leader.  It is believed that local goat herders who had crossed the SEALs' path, yet were released by them, informed the Taliban of the SEALs' whereabouts.  After an intense firefight, three of the four SEALs were killed.  The local villagers rescued Luttrell, who had received multiple fractures and wounds.  After fighting off the Taliban from attempting to extract Luttrell, the villagers eventually sent an emissary to the nearest U.S. base.  Unfortunately, the first rescue mission helicopter was shot down, but a second attempt was successful.)

Service, for its part, is a very moving tribute to those who selflessly put their lives on the line out of love for their country, sometimes paying the ultimate price.  In Service, Luttrell provides more facts about Operation Redwing and the mission to rescue him.  There is also a very detailed description of conditions in Ramadi, Iraq, from 2006 to 2008, involving American troops and the Iraqi citizens.  American Thinker interviewed Marcus about his book and thoughts regarding the War on Terror.

Marcus told American Thinker that as he was recovering from his wounds, he thought about G-d, country, and family.  Service was written to honor all.  He wanted people to understand that "it's going above and beyond yourself for the better good of everybody.  I get more of a reward for helping others than helping myself.  Our Founding Fathers knew that.  I wanted to point out in the book that soldiers are fighting for our freedoms.  Just look up at our flag.  That is the most perfect representation of why we do what we do.  We have endured the chaos, terror, and horror that happened over there.  We fight for our flag.  In Lone Survivor, I explained my mentality, that the bad guys dropped two towers in one of my cities, and I wanted to get them."

American Thinker asked Marcus if he could expand on some of the details talked about in Service.  He noted that even though his rescuer, Gulab, had to endure his car being blown up and his house burned down, "he told me that he would save me again if he had to do it all over, because that is what a man does, no matter what are the consequences.  They still follow the 1,000-year-old traditions.  That is why I am here today, because they respected the tradition to help me.  I hope that Americans recognize that there are very good people out there in these countries."

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/06/service_a_touching_testament_to_our_heroes_in_uniform.html#ixzz1ydJY3vdh

Meet Sergeant Rex By Elise Cooper

 

 

Not all Military heroes are human. Hooray for our Military dogs and Rex is a marine.

 

Meet Sergeant Rex by Elise Cooper over at American Thinker

 

 

Everyone has heard of Rin Tin Tin, but Sergeant Rex is the real-life German Shepherd military dog. By all accounts, he had a great reputation for being a superior working dog, whose duty was to patrol and detect explosives. Two of his handlers talked to American Thinker about what makes Rex so special. Mike Dowling wrote Sergeant Rex to honor him, and Megan Leavey never gave up her dream of being reunited with Rex after their retirement.

 

Rex was born in Germany in 2001, and he came to America as a puppy to go through the military dog-training program. Mike commented that Rex had all the qualities needed for a military working dog: "Stamina, loyalty, athleticism, intelligence, and a drive to work. In fact, he was nicknamed 'Sexy Rexy' for his handsomeness, and 'T-Rex' for his aggressiveness when necessary."

 

In March 2004, Corporal Mike Dowling and Rex were deployed to Iraq. They were one of a dozen working dog teams sent to the frontlines since the Vietnam War. Their mission was to save American soldiers' lives while enduring the dangers of trigger-happy insurgents who planted explosives.

 

Another informal assignment for the dog-handler team was for Rex to serve as a therapy and morale dog. Mike told American Thinker that stress affects every single military person, yet "[t]he great thing about having Rex is that after the battle we were able to get back to the base and play with each other. Having a dog attached to a combat unit improves people's morale. Most everyone loves dogs, so we were immediately welcomed. From the highest to the lowest ranks, everyone wanted to interact with Rex and talk about their own dog. He was able to take everyone's mind away from combat for a few minutes."

 

Mike and Rex were together for two and a half years, and never once did Rex forget what he was taught. "In my book I refer to Rex as a sergeant because we as dog handlers treat our dogs as if they are one rank higher than us, even though dogs are not given official ranks. This is to remind us that we never disrespect them. It got to a point that I knew what Rex was going to do before he did it." Before leaving the Marines, Mike worked with Rex's next dog handler, Megan, "giving her advice on how to handle and approach Rex." Both Megan and Mike noted to American Thinker that they looked upon Rex not as "a dog," but rather as a Marine, a partner, and an extension of themselves, learning his mannerisms and personality.

 

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/05/meet_sergeant_rex.html#ixzz1tzajVI2g

Eric Holder Must Go

 

Why Eric Holder Must Go by Elise Cooper over at American Thinker

Ever since he was confirmed as attorney general, Eric Holder has had his own agenda, supported by the Obama administration. As chief law enforcement officer, many of his decisions have not been in the best interest of this country.

 

American Thinker interviewed congressmen who see the fiasco of "Fast and Furious" as the last straw and cite this as the final reason Eric Holder needs to resign. In a 2009 operation ATF requested that gun shop owners sell guns, including AK47s, to straw buyers from the Mexican drug cartels. There were approximately 2,500 weapons involved, and to date, only 600 have been recovered. ATF field agents complained that allowing these guns into the hands of criminals set a bad precedent.

 

Border Congressmen Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Ted Poe (R-TX) are all in agreement that either Eric Holder is an incompetent attorney general because he did not know what was happening, or he knew and is trying to stonewall Congress and cover up the investigation. It appears that it is the latter, since those in charge of the botched operation have been reassigned or promoted with their pensions intact while the ATF whistle-blowers face isolation, retaliation, and transfer. Bilbray angrily stated, "Retaliation against the whistle-blowers is illegal. This is just another case where Holder believes in employee rights unless it is an employee that is blowing the whistle on something this administration has done. This is suspicious conduct which has the effect of silencing people who give information and promoting those who he knows was involved."

 

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/why_eric_holder_must_go.html#ixzz1kqUlbBD1