December 2009 - Argghhh!

Heartless Lib sends - given his note, I thought this poster appropriate, since HL brought it up himself.Barb's package arrived today, though I haven't had time to open it. (I swung by the mail room on the way to see ADM Mullen (CJCS coin - score!) and his holiday USO troupe (Anna Kournikova - schwing!) and then straight to work.In light of yesterday's Michael Yon article on ARV, if the Castle would like to adopt a unit, I might have a candidate. One of my fellow team chiefs from my AC...

They give you time to think, as you spend 13 hours at the wheel trying to keep them all on the pavement with the same forward vector. What with the passing of the Auld Soldier, I'm at one of those clichéd places in my life where I'm supposed to sit down and take stock. 24 hours of driving in two days gives you that chance. To pass the time, I took along a lot of music - Cirque du Soleil soundtracks, Loreena McKinnit, and a 4 disk Harry Chapin collection. I like Harry, he can tell a...

There are four Medals awarded for this day in our military history. One from the Indian Campaigns and three from World War Two, one of those posthumous.Indian Campaigns. Persistance pays off.BROGAN, JAMESRank and organization: Sergeant, Company G, 6th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Simon Valley, Ariz., 14 December 1877. Entered service at: ------. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 9 January 1880. Citation: Engaged singlehanded 2 renegade Indians until his horse was shot under him and then pursued...

Making up for no Medals at all yesterday, today we have 18 from one battle. The Civil War, during a hard day of fighting at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1862. There are several recipients who are also cited for Antietam. This set of awards is chock-full of iconic Civil War awards.ADAMS, JOHN G. B. Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, Company I, 19th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: At Fredericksburg, Va., 13 December 1862. Entered service at: ------. Birth: Groveland, Mass. Date of issue...

The Taliban wants to take Kandahar. The Taliban *needs* to take Kandahar, both for the military advantage and the political leverage the victory -- even if fleeting -- will give it. Even if the Taliban only manages to take and hold one neighborhood for 24-hours, you'll see the MSM and the armchair analysys trot out the references to Tet '68 and declare that we've lost, still oblivious after forty years to the fact that Tet was a military defeat for our enemies, but a political *win*,...

There are *no* Medals awarded for actions on this day in history - with a caveat. There is a Medal that we will see on 23 December, which covers a period of time including today - and this date is specifically mentioned in the citation. But by the convention that I list a Medal that covers a period or multiple events on the last day of the period/event, that means that today is thus far unique in the series.I say thus far because I started this on 11 May, so we have a few months to go before we complete...

As our 44th President was lavished praise for bringing the promise of Peace to this World of ours...

There is only one Medal for the 11th - a Civil War classic color-bearer Medal.The opening day of the fight at Fredericksburg - and Sergeant Plunkett paid a hard price for his service.PLUNKETT, THOMAS Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company E, 21st Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date. At Fredericksburg, Va., 11 December 1862. Entered service at: West Boylston, Mass. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 30 March 1866. Citation: Seized the colors of his regiment, the color bearer having been shot down...