House subpoenas DHS for immigration data

From Homeland Security News Wire:

3 November 2011

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement voted to issue a subpoena for DHS documents regarding information on possible illegal aliens that the agency has declined to deport after local law enforcement reported they had been taken into custody.

The House vote is meant to target an estimated 250,000 people who are believed to be illegal aliens as determined by DHS’ controversial Secure Communities program but have not been picked up by federal immigration authorities. DHS said that it simply lacks the resources to pick up every illegal immigrant arrested by law enforcement officials.

The seven to four vote fell entirely along party lines with all four Democrats opposing the measure.

In defense of the subpoena, Representative Elton Gallegly (R-California), the chair of the subcommittee, said the move was necessary because DHS had “[stonewalled]” requests for information that it had received in August....

DHS had “[stonewalled]” requests for information...*Gasp*

Go read the latest on the DHS rot here.

Colour me so not surprised. But yes, I am paying close attention. Are you?

You are the 0.45%

If you read nothing else today, this week, this YEAR, read this from the US Army website:

I remember the day I found out I got into West Point.

My mom actually showed up in the hallway of my high school and waited for me to get out of class. She was bawling her eyes out and apologizing that she had opened up my admission letter. She wasn’t crying because it had been her dream for me to go there. She was crying because she knew how hard I’d worked to get in, how much I wanted to attend, and how much I wanted to be an infantry officer. I was going to get that opportunity.

That same day two of my teachers took me aside and essentially told me the following: “Nick, you’re a smart guy. You don’t have to join the military. You should go to college, instead.”

I could easily write a tome defending West Pont and the military as I did that day, explaining that USMA is an elite institution, that separate from that it is actually statistically much harder to enlist in the military than it is to get admitted to college, that serving the nation is a challenge that all able-bodied men should at least consider for a host of reasons, but I won’t.

What I will say is that when a 16 year-old kid is being told that attending West Point is going to be bad for his future then there is a dangerous disconnect in America, and entirely too many Americans have no idea what kind of burdens our military is bearing.

In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years. In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years. Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror. These are unbelievable statistics.

Over time, fewer and fewer people have shouldered more and more of the burden and it is only getting worse. Our troops were sent to war in Iraq by a Congress consisting of 10% veterans with only one person having a child in the military. Taxes did not increase to pay for the war. War bonds were not sold. Gas was not regulated. In fact, the average citizen was asked to sacrifice nothing, and has sacrificed nothing unless they have chosen to out of the goodness of their hearts.

The only people who have sacrificed are the veterans and their families. The volunteers. The people who swore an oath to defend this nation. You.

You stand there, deployment after deployment and fight on. You’ve lost relationships, spent years of your lives in extreme conditions, years apart from kids you’ll never get back, and beaten your body in a way that even professional athletes don’t understand. And you come home to a nation that doesn’t understand. They don’t understand suffering. They don’t understand sacrifice. They don’t understand that bad people exist. They look at you like you’re a machine – like something is wrong with you. You are the misguided one – not them. When you get out, you sit in the college classrooms with political science teachers that discount your opinions on Iraq and Afghanistan because YOU WERE THERE and can’t understand the “macro” issues they gathered from books with your bias. You watch TV shows where every vet has PTSD and the violent strain at that. Your Congress is debating your benefits, your retirement, and your pay, while they ask you to do more.

But the amazing thing about you is that you all know this. You know your country will never pay back what you’ve given up. You know that the populace at large will never truly understand or appreciate what you have done for them. Hell, you know that in some circles, you will be thought as less than normal for having worn the uniform. But you do it anyway. You do what the greatest men and women of this country have done since 1775 – YOU SERVED. Just that decision alone makes you part of an elite group.

Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

You are the 0.45%.

— Written by Nick Palmisciano

(c) US Army.

I have no words to add to this, except THANK YOU!!!

Video: Jailed Taliban leader: Have we really changed his "heart and mind"??

BritishForcesNews on Nov 3, 2011

British Forces News has learned that a convicted Taliban commander serving a 20-year sentence is routinely allowed to leave jail and travel unescorted around Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. Abdul Ghani, who carried out gun and bomb attacks on ISAF troops is also permitted to have his seven-year-old-son with him in the new British-designed high-security prison. Such privileges are his reward for turning his back on the fighting. The authorities hope such a comparatively lenient regime will persuade other fighters to turn themselves in. The 37 year-old has been put in charge of the vehicle workshop where other prisoners train as mechanics. He is given use of a prison motor-tricycle to travel to and fro. He told me he was so content with life behind bars that he would like to join the staff on his release. "I don't feel that I'm in prison. I feel like I'm at home." Senior Prisons Advisor, Phil Robinson, a former Head of Operations at HMP Wandsworth has seen the remarkable turnaround. "He's a Taliban commander. He openly admits that he used to lay IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). He's been in gunfights with ISAF." "When he arrived, he was aggressive. His attitude was: "I want to kill the staff" and in a matter of months they've changed his mindset." Although the families of Britons maimed and killed in the conflict might question the jail's relatively soft approach, Robinson, with 22 years in the Prison Service, said retraining with computer and textile workshops was helping reform many of the 478 convicted insurgents and saving further bloodshed. "What they do once they come to us is, we take the opportunity to develop these people and if we can give them a skill set that stops them going back out and getting involved in these atrocities. If that saves one soldier -- it's worth it." Nearly five hundred convicted insurgents occupy almost half the showpiece prison. Some will be released inside six months, so courses in mechanics, tailoring and computing are organised to try and persuade them to follow Abdul Ghani's lead and lay down the gun. Afghanistan has some of the toughest jails in the world where inmate abuse and prison breaks are well documented. The affable former Army General who runs Helmand Prison Service explained why he was renouncing the harsh attitudes of the past. "If a person comes here from the insurgent side. If we punish him, beat and torture him, these will affect negatively on him," said Gen Bismellah Hamid. "And, in future, he'll be against the government again." (here)

‘Soldier of the Year’ Leads by Example

First Sgt. Monekia Y. Denkins is all smiles as she is honored as the Military Times 2011 Soldier of the Year for for her outstanding leadership abilities with the 201st Signal Company, 41st Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade, Yongsan Army Garrison, Seoul, Korea.



Face of Defense: ‘Soldier of the Year’ Leads by Example

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 2, 2011 – She is, by one measure, the best soldier in the Army: a first sergeant -- the enlisted leader of an Army company -- and single mother, who stands about 5 feet tall and whose personal email address includes the moniker “short dawg.”

But according to the troops, commanders and civilians who work alongside her, 1st Sgt. Monekia Denkins’ influence far exceeds her physical stature.

Denkins, recently chosen as Army Times newspaper’s 2011 Soldier of the Year, received some two dozen unsolicited letters in support of her nomination for that award. Fellow members of the South Korea-based 201st Signal Company wrote of her tolerance, guidance, mentorship and motivation.

Denkins’ leadership style is indicated within many nomination letters that describe her attitude toward rank. As one letter put it, “On a weekly basis we held meetings in the conference room and [Denkins] would start it out the same: ‘Everyone take off your rank. In this room rank doesn’t matter, for we are family and everyone has a voice. If anyone has anything they need to get off their chest, now is the time, for once we walk out of this room we speak with one voice.’”

Denkins and Army Capts. Keila Sanchez-Erazo and Gary Jones, her current and former company commanders with the 201st, spoke with American Forces Press Service during Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta’s visit here last week. Denkins introduced Panetta to the crowd at a town hall gathering, addressing them as “leaders.”

“I refer to all of my soldiers as leaders, because leaders must believe in themselves -- people must believe in themselves,” she told AFPS. “My soldiers are referred to as leaders, not by rank, … because I want them to be able to go out there and be able to accomplish any mission.”

Denkins said she considers it her job to show soldiers what right looks like.

“I am the example. My commander is the example,” she said. “Beyond that, I make them face their fears head-on.”

Poor leaders are those who don’t meet established standards, she said.

“There’s one standard. You can always rise above the standard, but you don’t drop below. … It’s not an 82nd Airborne [Division] standard, it’s not a Fort Bragg standard, it’s not a Korea standard. It’s the Army standard that we compete against,” Denkins added.

She admitted the letters supporting her nomination surprised her.

“Really and truly, I thought they all hated me because of how I am,” she said. “But when you’re part of a team, you’ve got to push people to the point where they feel very uncomfortable. … When they’re uncomfortable and they can face it and overcome it, there’s no better feeling. You can see it in their faces that they believe they can accomplish anything.”

The first sergeant said during 20 years in the Army, she never has worried about being liked.

“When we have to fight and win tonight, [‘like’ is] not going to get us there,” she said. “It’s not about likership, it’s about leadership.”...

Much more here.

Thank you for your service, ma'am.

Camp Pendleton Libraries

Yes, our troops can, and do read! I know a lot of very articulate, well-educated, SMART, what I call "Warrior Writers."

Check this out (pun intended!):

Library offers services for Marines, families

11/1/2011 By Lance Cpl. Sarah Wolff , Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

The three Camp Pendleton libraries and Bookmobile don’t just cater to the literary needs of Marines and sailors. MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. —

Families also use these facilities to further enhance their careers and to spend time with their families in a safe environment.

Kim Basile, the technical services and reference librarian at the Patrick J. Carney Library here, said they have such a large selection of books and resources because of how many different people check out the materials.

"We get visits from active-duty military, their families, DoD members and veterans. That's why we have such a wide variety," said Basile.

For Marines who have the drive to obtain the competitive edge in their job field, Professional Military Education courses are held in the conference room, Marine Corps Institute correspondence courses are available along with the Commandant’s Reading List.

Study guides for the SAT, ACT, LSAT, CLEP, GED, and GMAT are available in addition to the 15 computers to make meeting educational goals easier....

Go read the rest of this very interesting article here.

Military ID photocopying? NO business allowed to do that

Sounds logical, and something everybody should know already, yes? Apparently not, since the US Navy has this story today:

Photocopying of Military ID Cards and CAC Cards Prohibited
11/1/2011

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Monique K. Hilley, Commander, Navy Installations Command Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Commander, Navy Installations Command issued an announcement reminding all personnel that the photocopying of military identification cards and common access cards (CAC) is strictly prohibited, Nov. 1.

There have been recent incidents reported of commercial establishments photocopying U.S. government identification to verify military affiliation or provide government rates for service. These incidents are a violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Part I, Chapter 33, Section 701 and are punishable by fine and/or imprisonment.

Although commercial establishments may request to see military/government identification, they may not photocopy or duplicate it in any way. Many military personnel and commercial establishments are unaware of the prohibition and the reasons it exists, which results in this being a fairly common practice.

Because of the access the cards grant, criminal elements and terrorist organizations place obtaining U.S. government identifications at a premium when planning acts against the U.S. military. If a copied military or government identification fell into the wrong hands, it could spell disaster for the Armed Forces and the nation.

Unfortunately, there are no safeguards in place to prevent a counterfeit military/government identification card from being produced based on a photocopy provided to a commercial establishment. For this reason, personnel are requested to remain vigilant in ensuring they do not allow anyone to photocopy their identification cards.

CNIC recommends that all personnel, both military and civilian, provide a state drivers license or other form of photo identification to be photocopied when there is a request for such information by a commercial establishment.

(source)

3 Commando: WELCOME HOME!

Troops of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines parade to Westminster following a successful six-month tour of Afghanistan [Picture: Sergeant Steven Hughes RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

Parliament welcomes home 3 Commando Brigade

A History and Honour news article

1 Nov 11

Following their return from Helmand province last month 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines paraded through London to Westminster yesterday for a reception at the Houses of Parliament.

The purpose of the parade was for Members of Parliament to welcome home the troops and thank them for their efforts and sacrifices over their six-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Brigadier Ed Davis, Commander of 3 Commando Brigade, led the parade which consisted of troops from HQ 3 Commando Brigade, 45 Commando Royal Marines, 42 Commando Royal Marines, 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group Royal Marines, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, Commando Logistic Regiment Royal Marines, 24 Commando Engineer Regiment, the Medical Group and 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal).

First to pay tribute was Brigadier Davis, who said:

"It has been humbling to see the sacrifice and the professionalism of our people. Their humanity and their desire to reach out to the people of Helmand and their insatiable desire to make a difference has been inspiring."

Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Murchison, Commanding Officer of 42 Commando Royal Marines, said that after six-and-a-half hard months the parade offered the opportunity for the troops to see first-hand that the nation recognised their achievements:

"It's a special day and it gives people the chance to talk to the guys and get more of an understanding of the challenges they have faced. It is a surreal experience. It's some years since I paraded as commanding officer, but to be here in London when we were in Afghanistan just a few days ago is strange.

"But it shows the adaptability of the Royal Marines, how they can change so easily from being so recently on tour to being here to show off their drill skills on parade."...

There is much more (is an awesome article. Really!) - plus pictures - here.

WELCOME HOME and Thank You ALL!