Prayers for all in Boston

Boston.  My city and where I call home has joined the list of cities that are a victim of terrorism.
 
I woke up early this morning in Kandahar to the news that my home city had been bombed by unknown terrorists. No one knows who did this but they will be found and brought to justice.

The words of Sir Winston Churchill come to mind and they are how I feel at this moment.

" We ask no favours of the enemy. We seek from them no compunction. On the contrary, if tonight our people were asked to cast their vote whether a convention should be entered into to stop the bombing of cities, the overwhelming majority would cry, "No, we will mete out to them the measure, and more than the measure, that they have meted out to us." The people with one voice would say: "You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been the least resisted there you have been the most brutal. It was you who began the indiscriminate bombing. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst - and we will do our best."

Now, things will be tougher......for all

As a person who appreciates literature and history, I am drawn to what King Theoden said in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" when he was up against the largest battle of his life, defending his people against the onslaught of those who look to destroy all he holds dear.....He speaks with his aide, Gamling:

Gamling: Every villager able to wield a sword has been sent to the armory... my lord?

 Theoden: Who am I, Gamling?

Gamling: You are our king, sire.

Theoden: And do you trust your king?

Gamling: Your men, my Lord, will follow you to whatever end.

Theoden: To whatever end...
Theoden: Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. How did it come to this???

------------------------------------------

Yes, how did it come to this??  How did it come to the fact that we live in a country that could elect such terrible people to the positions of leading our country??

Agree or disagree with it - things will be all hard, all the time for the forseeable future. For our children, it will be worse.

How did it come to this??

Kandahar Police repel a VBIED attack

The local Afghan Police station in our section of Kandahar endured a VBIED ( Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device) attack Monday afternoon.

A VBIED went off and there was light arms fire and grenade fighting back and forth from 14:30 until 18:00 or so.  The loss of life is the saddest aspect as this kind of attack is cowardly and the sign the Taliban do not value the lives of the people of Afghanistan, only killing the innocents.

Just another day in Kandahar.  We are well protected and our security was doubled to ensure we would not be next.

For us, all else has been quiet....really.  This was the first issue we have seen in the last three - four weeks ( other when I was awoken by things going Rat-a-tat-tat at midnight)

83 days until R&R.....Here is the news account on what happened - I have enclosed a picture from the scene - sad stuff.


Two children killed in Taliban attack on local Police Station in Kandahar

In Afghanistan, a pitched battle took place in the Taliban stronghold region of Kandahar, as suicide bombers detonated explosives at the entrance to a police compound. At least five people have been killed, including two children.

­The Monday attack targeted governmental, police and military buildings in Kandahar, the regional capital in the country’s south. Speaking to journalists, Governor Tooryalai Wesa explained that militants had explosives attached to their bodies.

Three bombers were on a motorcycle when their explosives went off prematurely as they tried to attack the police compound. Two children who were playing nearby were killed and six others injured, provincial spokesman Jawed Faisal told AFP. They were aged between eight and 12.

The attack continued when at least three more insurgents took over a nearby school and fired on police. They were gunned down by police before they could get into the compound, according to the spokesman. The gun battle lasted for two hours.

Official figures list 23 people killed, with 17 presumably being the terrorists, three being members of police, and three civilians, including the two children. Local medical personnel report about 40 wounded, including 18 police officers.

3 Marines, Military Dog Killed in Afghan Blaze

Sad news. The loss of lives of these fine US Marines and their faithful K-9 comrade saddens me. There are many dangers here in Afghanistan and fires in living quarters are always a danger in military camps.

Please pray for all our military and especially those that give their lives selflessly to defend freedom. These fine Marines and their K-9 shipmate are no less worthy of our reverence and respect as they were far from home and on duty when a tragic accident took them from their family and friends.


3 Marines, Military Dog Killed in Afghan Blaze
August 04, 2011
Jacksonville Daily News

The Department of Defense announced Wednesday the deaths in Afghanistan of three Camp Lejeune-based Marines assigned to Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.

Staff Sgt. Patrick R. Dolphin, 29, of Moscow, Pa.; Sgt. Dennis E. Kancler, 26, of Brecksville, Ohio; and Sgt. Christopher M. Wrinkle, 29, of Dallastown, Pa., died July 31 in Herat Province, Afghanistan, according to DoD reports.

Dolphin, Kancler and Wrinkle were assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.

According to MarSOC officials, the deaths were a result of a non-combat related incident that also left one Marine and one Soldier injured. Marine Corps Times reported that the three Marines and a military dog were killed when their living quarters caught fire in Afghanistan.

The incident is under investigation, officials said, and more information will not be released until the investigation is complete. The names of the injured troops have been withheld.

Jacksonville Daily News

GHOST SHIPS

Magnificent stuff. I am highly envious of the photographer and his crew for having the time, effort, ability and large-round-things to go out and do this kind of exploration....

These ships were home to thousands and now sit quietly awaiting their fate....let's hope we can save a few more...They are like classic cars....too many have already gone to the scrap heap....

Let's preserve what we can so we can show the Grandkids what it was like when Grandpa sailed the waves...A piece of our Naval History that needs to be preserved.

http://scotthaefner.com/beyond/mothball-fleet-ghost-ships/

Our K-9 Friends....and the limited time we have with them

I have recently come to the sobering conclusion that “ Time ” is the most precious commodity we have.

No item you can obtain is more valuable, more needed, desired and more irreplaceable. Each of us is allotted a certain amount ( by a Heavenly Timekeeper) and when that allotment is up, it is up….there is no way to add time back on to the clock…..

I recently got to spend two great weeks at home with friends & family….now back in the AFGHN, I am feeling the full implication of how valuable the time I had at home is (and was)…my next break is likely not for another 5-7 months….ugh.

Some of this introspection was brought on by the news of the loss of a friend’s beloved K9 companion….I also have a friend who will likely lose his K-9 friend in the next few months due to cancer….Dogs come into our lives and leave well before we are ready to let them go….such is as it ever was…

Man and the ancestors of our K-9 friends made an unwritten, unspoken agreement 15000 years ago….we would provide warmth along with ready access to food & shelter – in turn, they would protect us from the things that lurked in the darkness that wanted to have us for dinner….it is likely the longest unbroken agreement in history as it has been honored by both sides without fail ever since.

My wife and I lost a beloved K-9 family member a number of years ago – the enclosed poem was a comfort to me at that time of loss….If heaven doesn’t include our K-9 friends, I don’t want to go.

She’s just my dog.
She is my other eyes that can see above the clouds;
My other ears that hear above the winds.
She is the part of me that can reach out into the sea.

She has told me a thousand times over that I am her reason for being.
By the way she rests against my leg.
By the way she wags her tail at my smallest smile.
By the way she shows her hurt when I leave without taking her.

( I think it makes her sick with worry when she is not along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, she is delighted to forgive me.
When I am angry, she clowns to make me smile.
When I am happy, she is joy unbounded.
When I am a fool, she ignores it.
When I succeed, she brags.

Without her, I am only another person.
With her, I am all-powerful…..and complete.
She has taught me the meaning of love and devotion.
She is loyalty itself.

With her, I know a secret comfort and a private peace.
She has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.
Her head on my knee can heal my human hurts.
Her presesence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things.

She has promised to wait for me……Whenever……Wherever.
In case I need her.
And I expect I will – as I always have.
She is my dog.

Author Unknown