Afghanistan

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SSGT David bellavia was just awarded the Medal of Honor. He took out a building that was threatening his platoon. His battle devolved into hand-to-hand combat at times. In his speech, he gave credit to his squad, his platoon and his company. He recognized his interpreter, Sammy, who was just made a U.S. citizen. Sammy,…

As I have mentioned here before, I served 12 months in Iraq during the Iraq war. It was one of the most wonderful experience of my life – except when it was not! ….   Seriously, it was a searing and very positive sort of experience, overall. The big fear in the war was the IED’s,…

The thing about Bowe Bergdahl is why was he even in the Army in the first place? It is near suicide to walk off a FOB with no weapon and no protective gear. Yet, that is exactly what he did before he was captured by the Taliban. He had washed out of Coast Guard basic…

The judge in SGT Bowe Bergdahl’s case will not limit or dismiss the court-martial because of Pres. Trump’s comments about the young sergeant. The judge found Trump’s comments, while inappropriate, would not affect Col. Nance. Col. Nance is the judge. He can judge whether the comments about Bergdahl will affect him. But, he is also…

Bowe Bergdahl was supposed to be sentenced on Oct. 23. But, instead, his lawyer renewed a motion he had filed before. Eugene Fidell re-argued a motion alleging there has been unlawful command influence (UCI). Pres. Trump talked about SGT Bergdahl last week, saying he cannot say anything, but he said things earlier. The President, in…

Bowe Bergdahl is expected to plea guilty to a charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. SGT Bergdahl’s lawyer has refused comment. But, a former U.S. Air Force JAG officer explained that pleading guilty makes sense. The evidence against the former Taliban POW is rather clear, he said. See San Antonio Express News report…

Its a fundamental part of the military court martial process that a commander may not discuss a pending court martial. Anything a general says will prejudice the military jury. But, what happens when the commander speaking about a prominent court martial is a candidate for president? Donald Trump spoke often about Bowe Bergdahl. The candidate…

There are many issues with Pres. Trump’s travel ban. One important consideration is the risk it poses to U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We still have several thousand soldiers in Afghanistan and a few hundred in Iraq. Add to that the thousands of U.S. civilians in support of the soldiers serving in those…

Donald Trump advocated torture during his campaign. He even advocated targeting the families of alleged terrorists. “Task & Purpose,” a nice veterans website, discusses the legal ramifications for soldiers during a Trump administration. As the post explains, Mr. Trump argued in favor of water boarding “and a helluva lot worse than waterboarding” during the campaign.…

It is ironic that Donald Trump suggests that veterans suffering from PTSD are weak. He obtained several deferments from the draft during the Viet Nam War. He said “strong” soldiers do not suffer from PTSD. See ABC news report. The implication is that weak soldiers do suffer from PTSD.

That is nonsense. It is…