The Department of Defense announced today the identity of a soldier listed as Missing-Captured on July 3 while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho, was declared Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) on July 1 and his status was changed to "Missing-Captured" on July 3. Pfc. Bergdahl is a member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Forget all the speculation. Ignore any propaganda coming out right now. Pfc. Bowe Robert Bergdahl and his family need our prayers:
Statement from the Bergdahl family July 19, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 19, 2009
"We hope and pray for our son's safe return to his comrades and then to our family, and we appreciate all the support and expressions of sympathy shown to us by our family members, our friends and others across the nation. Thank you, and please continue to keep Bowe in your thoughts and prayers."
-Bergdahl Family
Pfc. Bowe Robert Bergdahl of the U.S. Army, was taken captive in Afghanistan.
Pfc. Bowe Robert Bergdahl
Courtesy of US Forces - Afghanistan
"No man left behind." Prayers for his brothers and sisters in arms, and all who love this young man.
Army Sgt. Jennifer Watson, non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the Casualty Liaison Team at Joint Base Balad, stands in Hero's Highway. Each patient brought via helicopter to the Air Force Theater Hospital passes through Hero's Highway. Watson, a native of Peru, Ind., is deployed here from Fort Campbell, Ky. Photo by Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.
‘Camouflage Angel’ Spends Last Moments With U.S. Combat Casualties JOINT BASE BALAD — The emergency-room trauma call and the medical staff's immediate action upon his arrival is only a memory to her now; sitting quietly at the bedside of her brother-in-arms, she carefully takes his hand, thanking him for his service and promising she will not leave his side.
He is a critically injured combat casualty, and she is Army Sgt. Jennifer Watson of the Casualty Liaison Team here.
Although a somber scene, it is not an uncommon one for the Peru, Ind., native, who in addition to her primary duties throughout the last 14 months, has taken it upon herself to ensure no U.S. casualty passes away alone. Holding each of their hands, she sits with them until the end, no matter the day or the hour.
"It's unfortunate that their families can't be here," said Watson, who is deployed here from Fort Campbell, Ky. "So I took it upon myself to step up and be that family while they are here. No one asked me to do it; I just did what I felt was right in my heart. I want them to know they are heroes.
"I feel just because they are passing away does not mean they cannot hear and feel someone around them," she continued. "I talk to them, thanking them for what they have done, telling them they are a hero, they will never be forgotten, and I explain my job to them to help them be at ease knowing the family will be told the truth."
In general, Watson explains to the patients that the CLT works within the Patient Administrative Department here, acting as a liaison for all military and civilian patients in-theater and initiating the casualty-notification process to the patient's next-of-kin.
Upon their arrival at the Air Force Theater Hospital, Watson speaks with each combat casualty getting as accurate information as possible about the incident. Once the doctor gives their diagnosis and severity of the patient's injuries, Watson and her team complete and send a Defense Casualty Information Processing System folder report to the Department of the Army or the patient's respective service so that their next-of-kin can be notified.
"I make sure we tell their family everything they want to know, so they know everything that's going on," said Watson. "[Through the report], we'll tell the families everything that is going on with their family member ... so that they don't have any questions."
Furthermore, once the initial report has been sent, the CLT and Watson make hourly rounds to the intensive-care ward or unit to check on the patient's well-being, or, for the more critical patients, to check on their stability.
"We are constantly communicating and making sure the family knows everything we know," said Watson. "We want to put the families at ease and let them know that everything is being done for their loved one. From the moment a servicemember is brought in through Hero's Highway, they are never alone."
Each month, the AFTH, the equivalent of a U.S. Level-1 trauma center, treats more than 539 patients; more than 101 are trauma cases in the emergency department. Although Watson can never predict if and when her fellow brothers- or sisters- in arms may need her, she is always available here.
"The hospital staff is wonderful," said Watson. "They know how important it is for me to be there with them and if they know it's time, someone will come and get me no matter where I'm at.
"I see it as a form of closure, not just for me, but for the families so that they know that somebody was there with their son or daughter," she added. "My heart goes out to every patient that comes into the hospital, especially my wounded in action Soldiers. I feel like everyone who comes through the door is my brother or sister."
Not surprisingly, Watson's dedication to duty and her hard work have not gone unnoticed. She has touched the lives of all those who she has come in contact with, to include the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group commander, Col. Mark Mavity.
"Sgt. Watson's story is one of the most compelling here in the Med Group," said Mavity. "She is a Soldier's Soldier who combines an unparalleled level of compassion and commitment to our most grievously wounded warriors with amazing professionalism each and every day.
"What is truly incredible is that she is a personnelist by training but with the heart of a medic who has taken it upon herself to hold the hand and keep a bedside vigil with every mortally wounded Soldier who has spent their last hours within the AFTH," continued the colonel. "She will not let her brave brothers or sisters pass alone. This is a heavy burden to bear and at great personal emotional cost to Sgt. Watson, but she is unwavering in her final commitment to these Soldiers. You don't have to look any further than Sgt. Watson to find a true hero."
"Angel" and "hero" are only two of the many titles Watson has been given since arriving at JBB; although she is appreciative of the kind words, she remains humble.
"I am far from an angel," said the sergeant with a smile. "I just do what is in my heart. I guess for me, I think about the family and the closure of knowing the Soldier did not pass away alone. To say I'm a hero ... no. The heroes are my guys who come in [through Hero's Highway]."
Reflecting on her time here, Watson said she is extremely thankful for the opportunity she has had to work side-by-side with the Air Force.
"The staff of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group has done an amazing job since I have been here," she said. "They are incredible. They have done procedures and saved the lives of the most critically injured Soldiers, and have been some of the most professional people I have ever worked with.
"I want the families to know that their servicemember was a hero," Watson concluded. "They made the ultimate sacrifice, but before they passed on, they received the best medical treatment, and the staff did everything they could -- they were not in pain and they didn't die alone."
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Army Sgt. Jennifer Watson holds her identification tags, reflecting on her last 14 months of service as the NCO-in-charge of the Casualty Liaison Team here (source)
[Be sure and check out the comments on Argghhh! !! The Home of the two Jonah's here.]
Found an interesting Q & A with Michael Collins on the NASA site:
Statement from Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins
The following is a series of questions and answers prepared by Michael Collins, command module pilot for Apollo 11. Collins issued the following statement in lieu of media interviews:
These are questions I am most frequently asked, plus a few others I have thrown in. For more information, please consult my book, CARRYING THE FIRE, (CTF) Farrar, Straus & Giroux, the 40th anniversary edition, the only reference I have used here.
Q. Circling the lonely moon by yourself, the loneliest person in the universe, weren't you lonely?
A. No. (CTF pp402-3)
Q. Did you have the best seat on Apollo XI?
A. No. (CTF pp 267-8)
Q. Were you happy with the seat you had?
A. Yes, absolutely. It was an honor.
Q. Has the space program helped young people become interested in careers in math and science? Don't you tell kids to opt for these choices?
A. Yes, and no. We definitely have a national problem in that kids seem to be going for money rather than what they consider 'nerdy' careers. Other countries are outstripping us in the quality and quantity of math and science grads, and this can only hurt in the long run. But a liberal arts education, particularly English, is a good entry point no matter what the later specialization. I usually talk up English.
Q. Turning to your flight, what is your strongest memory of Apollo XI?
A. Looking back at planet earth from a great distance. (CTF pp470-472; p XVIII) Small, shiny, serene, blue and white, FRAGILE.
Q. That was 40 years ago. Would it look the same today?
A. Yes, from the moon, but appearances can be deceptive. It's certainly not serene, but definitely is fragile, and growing more so. When we flew to the moon, our population was 3 billion; today it has more than doubled and is headed for 8 billion, the experts say. I do not think this growth is sustainable or healthy. The loss of habitat, the trashing of oceans, the accumulation of waste products: this is no way to treat a planet.
Q. You are starting to sound a little grumpy. Are you grumpy?
A. At age 78, yes, in many ways. Some things about current society irritate me, such as the adulation of celebrities and the inflation of heroism.
Q. But aren't you both?
A. Not me. Neither. (CTF pg XV, XVI) Heroes abound, and should be revered as such, but don't count astronauts among them. We work very hard; we did our jobs to near perfection, but that was what we had hired on to do. In no way did we meet the criterion of the Congressional Medal of Honor: 'above and beyond the call of duty.'
Celebrities? What nonsense, what an empty concept for a person to be, as my friend the great historian Daniel Boorstin put it, "known for his well-known-ness." How many live-ins, how many trips to rehab, maybe--wow--you could even get arrested and then you would really be noticed. Don't get me started.
Q. So, if I wanted to sum you up, I should say "grumpy?"
A. No, no, lucky! (CTF pg XVI) Usually, you find yourself either too young or too old to do what you really want, but consider: Neil Armstrong was born in 1930, Buzz Aldrin 1930, and Mike Collins 1930. We came along at exactly the right time. We survived hazardous careers and we were successful in them. But in my own case at least, it was 10 percent shrewd planning and 90 percent blind luck. Put LUCKY on my tombstone.
Q. Okay, but getting back to the space program. What's next?
A. I hope Mars. It was my favorite planet as a kid and still is. As celestial bodies go, the moon is not a particularly interesting place, but Mars is. It is the closest thing to a sister planet that we have found so far. I worry that at NASA's creeping pace, with the emphasis on returning to the moon, Mars may be receding into the distance. That's about all I have to say.
Q. I understand you have become a recluse.
A. I'm not sure that's the word. I think of the Brown Recluse, the deadliest of spiders, and I have a suntan, so perhaps. Anyway, it's true I've never enjoyed the spotlight, don't know why, maybe it ties in with the celebrity thing.
Q. So, how do you spend your time?
A. Running, biking, swimming, fishing, painting, cooking, reading, worrying about the stock market, searching for a really good bottle of cabernet under ten dollars. Moderately busy.
Q. No TV?
A. A few nature programs, and the Washington Redskins, that's about it.
Q. Do you feel you've gotten enough recognition for your accomplishments?
A. Lordy, yes, Oodles and oodles.
Q. Oodles?? But don't you have any keen insights?
A. Oh yeah, a whole bunch, but I'm saving them for the 50th.
Collins's official NASA astronaut biography is available online at:
20 July 1969. That day is one of those historical days that we all look back on and ask "where were you?" I remember where I was as man walked on the moon for the first time.
When Neil Armstrong made the famous statement "One small step for man. One giant step for mankind," I was living in London, England. Shaftesbury Theatre had Hair, and I worked there in the evenings. I was a young know-it-all teenager, who was too ignorant to realise that I knew less than nothing. The arrogance of youth!!! However, usually after a long day, it would be bedtime for me, but that night I stayed up. It seems that 550 million people worldwide joined me, as I sat glued to the tiny black and white television we had in our small Islington flat.
BBC has a very cool video showing people around the world watching in awe. I have no idea how to download it so go here. Incredible footage.
20 July 1969 we all witnessed the fruition of John F Kennedy's dream - his pledge - that America would have a man on the moon before the decade was out.
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win . . . ”
--President John F. Kennedy, address atRice University,September 12, 1962(JFK Library)(source)
NASA of course has terrific coverage of this 40th anniversary of the real (lol) moon walk, including an interactive page where you can access all sorts of stuff. If you go here, you can click on "transcript" and read the interaction of the Americans on the moon, as well as listen to the audio, by clicking on the screen. And you really must go to THIS page, and check it out.
"Aldrin: Beautiful view. Armstrong: Isn't that something! Magnificant sight out there! Aldrin: Magnificant desolation." (NASA here)
Very cool!
This past week NASA announced that they are working on the original video to improve the quality. I read somewhere that the original video recording that NASA had was probably taped over, so they did a worldwide search and found tapes in other countries. Neat NASA picture here. However, the ubiquitous YouTube does has a video up:
On the BBC page "This Day in History", they have a compilation of memories that readers sent in from around the world. So interesting to see what people remember:
I was 12 years old in 1969.
Here in Australia, the Moonwalk happened at lunchtime - and we were privileged to see better pictures than the rest of the world.
That's because the TV of Neil Armstrong's first step came through the Honeysuckle Creek tracking station near Canberra. Several minutes into the Moonwalk, even better TV was also available from the larger Parkes Radio Telescope...
Colin Mackellar, Sydney, Australia...
The Honeysuckle Creek tracking station in Australia picked up the first images
I was lucky enough to be sitting on the control console at the Honeysuckle Creek tracking station near Canberra in Australia on the 21st July 1969 (yes it was the 21st here)....
Born in NW London I emigrated to Australia in 1966 specially to take part in Apollo and manned and un-manned missions.
I worked the Console as Operations Supervisor for all the Apollo missions, then Skylab and many other manned missions - the golden years of spaceflight, in my opinion.
We had a visit from the Australian prime minister on the day - otherwise the mission was similar to many of the simulations (without all the problems :-).
No time to worry that it was a bit of 20th century history - just that we didn't make too many mistakes. ...
John Saxon, Australia
I was in Karlsruhe,Germany on a school exchange trip.
There was much excitement about the landing and I was invited to sit with the family and all of their neighbours and friends who had come round to watch the event on their television.
They kept asking me to interpret what had been said and one gentleman repeatedly asked 'Was ist LEM?'
Unfortunately, I had no idea and my German was not up to the task of answering or explaining many of their questions.
I think the overriding emotions were of awe and trepidation....
An awesome event that I will never forget. Peter Webb, UK
My wife and I sat up most of the night in Scotland to watch.
My daughter was then three months old, so we put her cot in front of the TV so that ever after she could say that she had been glued to the TV when it all happened.
I've since heard that we were not the only people to do that....
David Heal, Luxembourg
In California the landing occurred late in the evening, but I woke up my one-year-old daughter and held her in my arms while telling her the importance of that moment. Urmas Kaldveer, USA
Just as Apollo 11 touched down on the lunar surface for the very first time, my mother was giving birth to me at that very moment!...
All in all, the 20th July 1969 was a small step for man, but a great step for me! Rob Holmes, UK
I was seven years old, we lived in a high-rise building in San Juan Puerto Rico.
I kept racing between the TV and the balcony and looking at the moon to see if I could see them on the moon
JR, USA
I remember when it came over the television that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, my father said: " They should take the word can't out of the dictionary. If they can send a man to the moon and he can walk on it and return to Earth, there isn't anything we can't do." Shirley Walker, USA
I was on a student tour of Europe and on this day we were in Switzerland.
We spent all day hiking up into the Alps.
When we reached the top it was evening.
We were all given lighted torches and we held them as we walked down the mountain....
As we continuned our journey down the mountain in the dark holding the torches, villagers came out and cheered the United States as we passed.
It felt great to be an American. Linda Potter, USA
Although I was only 15 years old in 1969, I was aware that the Moon Landing was a truly historic moment - the first time that human beings had walked on another "world".
It also seemed to me an incredible technological achievement, so I was keen to see the moment when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon.
My family went to bed as usual - how could they not be excited too? - whilst I settled down for a night sleeping on the sofa, with an alarm clock set to wake me at the crucial time....
At that moment, I realised that, though watching alone in the north east of England, I belonged to the human race. Kerry, UK
Later that evening we gathered around the television to watch a very grainy, black-and-white image -- I recall the image being upside down -- of the first steps upon the lunar surface by Astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Who says we cannot accomplish that which we put our minds to? Chris Koceja, USA
That really is a wonderful collection of "ordinary" people around the world sharing what was a universal awe. ( Read them all here.) The 60's were tumultuous, turbulent times, especially in America. With the assassinations of JFK, MLK Jr, RFK; with military titans of America fighting a war - in Vietnam - which the media at home seemed determined to lose for them; those not serving, rioting at home. Dark days.
For one brief shining moment Neil Armstrong's "one small step for man. One giant step for mankind," united us all. From tiny villages in Scotland, to Puerto Rico, to big city America, to Islington, London, as man took that first courageous step onto another planet, we were all reminded, as Kerri above in north England said we "all belonged to the human race."
And me? In Islington, in the wee small hours of the morning, words from a song in Hair came to me:
What a piece of work is man How noble in reason How infinite in faculties In form and moving How express and admirable In action how like an angel In apprehension how like a god The beauty of the world The paragon of animals..
On 20 July, 1969, the world stopped and watched John F Kennedy's dream become reality. On that night, 40 years ago, the man on the moon showed us all everything that IS noble, admirable about the human race. As the BBC reader Chris (USA) recognised: Who says we cannot accomplish that which we put our minds to?
On 20th July, 1969, the world believed. I believed. I still do.
Image above: The Expedition 20 crew welcomes the crew of STS-127 aboard the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA TV
The International Space Station population has grown to a record 13 today as the space shuttle Endeavour docked this afternoon.
The astronauts aboard Endeavour began rendezvous preparations this morning and performed a terminal initiation engine burn to begin the shuttle’s final approach and docking. The station hosts greeted their shuttle guests after opening hatches between the two spacecraft at 3:48 p.m. EDT to begin 11 days of docked operations. (more here at NASA)
Very cool video of the crew's welcome here at the Beeb here.
This is the first time two Canadians have been in space at the same time:
Canadians meet up in space station
Astronauts Payette and Thirsk rendezvous
Mark Iype, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, July 17, 2009
NASA TV/ReutersAstronaut Julie Payette gets a tour of the space station on Friday. She and fellow Canadian Robert Thirsk became the first Canadians to meet in space.
The first ever extraterrestrial meeting of Canadians took place on Friday afternoon after the space shuttle Endeavour successfully docked with the orbiting International Space Station.
The much-delayed historic rendezvous between Canadian astronauts Julie Payette, a shuttle crew member, and Robert Thirsk, a space station crew member, took place aboard the space station just before 4 p.m. ET, about 350 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Benoit Marcotte, director general of operations for the Canadian Space Agency, said the public should feel a great deal of pride about two Canadians being in space together.
"I think we should be proud that Canada is part of the manned space flight program," Mr. Marcotte said. "We can show that we are a high-technology country."...
And we are! Read the rest of this story - from a Canadian perspective, (CanCon) here at the National Post.
WHY ARE WE DOING IT? Since the beginning of history humans have dreamed the dream of soaring on wings with the freedom of birds. 100 years ago that dream became reality for the first time in Canada when the Silver Dart lifted off from a frozen lake surface near the Alexander Graham Bell home in Nova Scotia.
While the technical achievement of this conquest is impressive what struck me was the personal dimension of the flight. This magnificent achievement which would change Canada forever, was conceived and executed by ordinary people outside of government or military backing. The airplane they built was surprisingly simple. The wings were covered with silver Japanese silk; hence the name the "Silver Dart". The engine, developed just 35 hp and the propeller was carved from a block of wood. In contrast, the Smithsonian Institute at the same time, received a $50,000 grant to build a flying machine that never got off the ground.
What made the difference for those Canadian pioneers that day was that they had something that money could not buy; they were driven by the spirit of adventure and the passion to fly. Now 100 years later, I decided there could be no greater tribute to that first flight than to organize a cross Canada flight.
This will be a coast-to-coast flight of 100 light aircraft made up of steel tubing, aluminum and flown mainly by private civilian private pilots. This has never been done and it will take a big commitment by a lot of pilots. To be successful and overcome the adversities of mountains, weather and a vast Canadian landscape, we will need to share the same spirit of adventure and passion of flight.
A hundred years ago the dream to get in the air inspired the people in Baddeck, Nova Scotia to great adventure. Today that dream still inspires us....
Go check out the site for lots of info on this historic celebration here. And, of course:
Yeah, baaaaaaaby! I am off to go watch the skies, and spread my wings.... Come fly with ME!!!!
