Tag Archives: al anbar province
Casing the Colors in Iraq
Today the colors were cased in a ceremony at the US Airbase co-located at the Baghdad International Airport. It really is hard to believe that this excursion in Mesopotamia is over. The ceremony marked the formal end to the US … Continue reading →
Filed under iraq,afghanistan, PTSD, Tour in Iraq
Tagged as 1st iraqi division, 7th iraqi division, afghanistan, al anbar province, al qaeda, al taqaddum, baghdad, baghdad international airport, camp fallujah, casing the colors, closed military bases, end of iraq war, fort indiantown gap, fort wolters texas, george air force base, ghost towns, iran, iran-iraq war, iraq casualties, iraq cost, iraq surge, iraq war, operation iraqi freedom, Otto von bismarck, pakistan, preventive war, saddam hussein, syrian border, uday and qusay hussein, us military, was iraq worth it?
The Brotherhood: Veterans Day 2011
I am always a bit on the melancholy side on Veterans Day. This year is no different but is a bit different because for the United States the war in Iraq is coming to an end at least for now … Continue reading →
Filed under History, Military, shipmates and veterans
Tagged as PTSD, iraq, afghanistan, icu, algeria, al anbar province, band of brothers, veterans, vietnam war, al qaida, world war two, ramadi, hummv, henry v, the greatest generation, war on terror, french indochina, we happy few we band of brothers, gulf war, victory parades, ied, improvised explosive devise, asymmetrical threats, rpg, fob, traumatic brain injury, united nations sanctions, sadaam hussein, kuwait, tbi, baghdad, fallujah, kandahar, iraq casualty numbers, afghanistan casualty numbers, cost of war, wanat, Haditha, Mosul, Tal Afar, Marjah, Anaconda
Semper Fidelis! Happy 236th Birthday Marine Corps!
In 1775 a committee of the Continental Congress met at Philadelphia’s Tun Tavern to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. The resolution was approved on November 10, … Continue reading →
Tagged as robert e lee, counterinsurgency, al anbar province, wake island, guadalcanal, okinawa, belleau wood, world war i, korean war, vietnam war, cold war, operation iraqi freedom, gulf war, september 11th 2001, khe sahn, marine corps birthday, balkans, american civil war, iwo jima, tarawa, general lejeune marine corps birthday message, tun tavern, spanish american war, somalia, continental marines, samuel nicholas, robert mullan, quasi-war with france, barbary pirates, siege of derna, lt pressley o'bannon, mexican american war, Chapultepec Palace, harpers ferry raid, semonole wars, boxer revolt, chateau thierry, teufelhunden, devil dogs, amphibious operations, pusan perimeter, inchon landings, chosin reservior, con thien, combined action plattons, general john a lejeune, Corps
The Bond
This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of … Continue reading →
Filed under History, iraq,afghanistan, Military, PTSD, shipmates and veterans, Tour in Iraq
Tagged as afghanistan, afghanistan casualty numbers, al anbar province, al qaida, algeria, Anaconda, asymmetrical threats, baghdad, band of brothers, cost of war, fallujah, fob, french indochina, gulf war, Haditha, henry v, hummv, icu, ied, improvised explosive devise, iraq, iraq casualty numbers, kandahar, kuwait, Marjah, Mosul, PTSD, ramadi, rpg, sadaam hussein, Tal Afar, tbi, the greatest generation, traumatic brain injury, united nations sanctions, veterans, victory parades, vietnam war, wanat, war on terror, we happy few we band of brothers, world war two
The Minstrel Boy: The Song of Souls Changed by War
Fr Corby gives absolution to the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg The Minstrel Boy (Thomas Moore) The minstrel boy to the war is gone, In the ranks of death ye will find him; His father’s sword he hath girded on, And … Continue reading →
Filed under faith, film, History, iraq,afghanistan, Tour in Iraq, US Navy
Tagged as 1st u.s. volunteer cavalry, al anbar province, american civil war, battle of san juan hill, blackhawk down, fr corby, gettysburg, inter-service rivalries, iraq, irish brigade, irish revolution of 1798, irish songs, multi-national corps iraq, PTSD, rough riders, star trek the next generation, the minstrel boy, the wounded, thomas moore, world war i, world war ii
Happy 235th Birthday Marines!
In 1775 a committee of the Continental Congress met at Philadelphia’s Tun Tavern to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. The resolution was approved on November 10, … Continue reading →
Filed under History, iraq,afghanistan, Military
Tagged as afghanistan, al anbar province, american civil war, amphibious operations, balkans, barbary pirates, belleau wood, boxer revolt, Chapultepec Palace, chateau thierry, chosin reservior, cold war, combined action plattons, con thien, continental marines, counterinsurgency, devil dogs, general john a lejeune, general lejeune marine corps birthday message, guadalcanal, gulf war, harpers ferry raid, hue city, inchon landings, iraq, iwo jima, khe sahn, korean war, lt pressley o'bannon, marine corps birthday, mexican american war, okinawa, operation iraqi freedom, pusan perimeter, quasi-war with france, robert e lee, robert mullan, samuel nicholas, semonole wars, september 11th 2001, siege of derna, somalia, spanish american war, tarawa, teufelhunden, tun tavern, US Marine Corps, vietnam war, wake island, world war i
A Base at War: First Impressions of Camp LeJeune Nine Years after my First Tour
This is just a brief post on some first impressions on my assignment to Camp LeJeune after a nine year absence from the base. When I left LeJeune and my assignment with the Second Marine Division I had just completed … Continue reading →
Filed under iraq,afghanistan, Military, PTSD
Tagged as 2nd marine divsion, 9-11 2001, afghanistan, al anbar province, al qaeda, band of brothers, camp lejeune, camp pendleton, combat leadership, desert shield, hospital corpsmen, iraq, marine suicides, military suicide rates, military suicides, naval hospital camp lejuene, operation desert storm, operation enduring freedom, operation iraqi freedom, secretary of defense robert gates, somalia, taliban, tbi, the balkans, us marines, usmc, uss hue city, walking dead
“Victory” and Reality: Never think that War will be Easy
“No one starts a war-or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so-without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it.” – Karl von Clausewitz … Continue reading →
Filed under Foreign Policy, History, iraq,afghanistan, Military, national security
Tagged as 9-11 2001, 9-11 attacks, afghanistan, al anbar province, al qaeda, al qaida, anbar awakening, axis of evil, clausewitz, coalition provisional authority, COIN, counterinsurgency, Field Marshal Von Rundstedt, general heinz guderian, german army, ied, iran, iraq, iraq insurgency, iraqi army, joint forces staff college, kursk, mission accomplished, north korea, patriot day, paul bremer, president george w bush, ralph peters, red army, roger trinquier, saddam hussein, shock and awe, taliban, us army, us marines, usmc, usmc command and staff college, uss abraham lincoln, victory disease, wehrmacht, world trade center, world war ii
Fighting a World Wide Insurgency: The Problem Fighting Revolutionary Terrorists and Insurgents- Part One
Taliban Insurgents “Warfare is now an interlocking system of actions political, economic, psychological; military that aims at the overthrow of the established authority in a country and its replacement by another regime. To achieve this end, the aggressor tries to … Continue reading →
Filed under counterinsurency in afghanistan, History, iraq,afghanistan, Military, national security, Politics
Tagged as afghanistan, al anbar province, al qaeda, algeria, clausewitz, COIN, colonel dennis drew, counterinsurgency, david galula, david kilcullen, decapitation strategy fallacy, General David Petreus, hamas, hezbollah, iranian revolutionary guard, iraq, irgun, irish republican army, islam, islamic terrorists, jihadists, John Nagl, knights of the white camellia, ku klux klan, modern warfare, mullah omar, nato, osama bin laden, Pacification in Algeria 1956-1958 and Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice, propaganda, reconstruction, red shirts, revolutionary wars, roger trinquier, taliban, terrorism, wahabi islam, war is the continuation of politics
Raw Edges: Are there other Chaplains out there Like Me?
Before a Convoy The past week or so I have had to go back and revisit my Iraq experience. Part of this is due to work, we have had seminars on the spiritual and moral affects of trauma, the challenge … Continue reading →
Filed under faith, iraq,afghanistan, Military, Pastoral Care, philosophy, PTSD, Religion, Tour in Iraq, US Navy
Tagged as afghanistan, agnosticism, aircraft in iraq, al anbar province, army chaplains, challenge of forgiveness, chaplains, colonel david abramowitz, convoys, crisis of faith, dr robert grant, fallujah, forgiveness, god, god's grace, iraq, iraq assistance group, loss of faith, loss of faith in clergy, navy chaplains, nelson lebron, Pastoral Care, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, rebuilding faith, spiritual care, spirituality, st john of the cross, syrian border, taliban, tbi, the dark night of the soul, the way of the wound, the wounder healer, Tommy John Surgery, traumatic brain injury, where does a chaplain go for help
