Afghanistan

Cleveland slugger wins 2014 Bob Feller award for military outreach

By Meghann Myers on October 14, 2014 Afghanistan, Aviation, Baseball, Chiefs, Iraq

This year’s Bob Feller Act of Valor Awards go to……………. Major League Baseball’s Nick Swisher, a Cleveland Indians outfielder; Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tommy Lasorda, former Dodgers manager; and Senior Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Carl Thompson, the calibration laboratory lead chief petty officer on the carrier George Washington. “This is a tremendous honor and such a humbling experience for me,” Thompson said in a statement after the awards were announced Oct. 10. “I am overwhelmed and extremely excited at the same time. I would have never dreamed that I would receive an award for the way I live my life, but I am…

Arlington at 150 — Celebrating America's Heroes

By John Bretschneider on May 23, 2014 Afghanistan, Arlington National Cemetery, Army, Iraq, Memorial service, NASA, Navy

Since the first military burial on May 13, 1864, Arlington National Cemetery has become the final resting place for more than 400,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and their families. Those who on Sept. 11, 2001, died only a few hundred yards away at the Pentagon are buried here, as are the Challenger astronauts. Fifteen thousand soldiers from the Civil War — Union and Confederate — rest in Section 27 and Section 13, known as the Field of the Dead. Four thousand freed slaves, many identified only as “Citizen,” and two presidents also are buried at Arlington. Section 60 is the…

Today in Navy history: 'Big E' strikes back

By Kevin Lilley on October 7, 2013 Afghanistan, Carriers, Historical

A history lesson from the pages of Navy Times: “ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE IN THE ARABIAN SEA — Most Americans can only imagine striking back in anger after terrorist attacks 0n the United States on Sept. 11. But the 5,100 men and women aboard this — the Navy’s first nuclear aircraft carrier — were in position to respond when the word came to attack Oct. 7. They got the chance to exact a little vengeance.” Then-staff writer William H. McMichael (Bill, for short) began his extensive coverage of the first shots fired in Operation Enduring Freedom with those words in…

VIDEO: New trailer for 'Lone Survivor' movie

By Kevin Lilley on August 1, 2013 Afghanistan, Movies, Navy, Navy SEALs, SEAL, SEALs

The trailer for “Lone Survivor,” Hollywood’s take on a 2005 SEAL mission in Afghanistan that ended in ambush, tragedy and acts of valor that stand out even among the nation’s elite special warriors, is below. It hit YouTube yesterday and already has almost 175,000 views. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMFLzf-DXXU[/youtube] This adaptation of former Special Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell’s book was directed by Peter Berg, whose last Navy-themed film had a decidedly different tone. Stars include Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana. It’ll have a limited release Dec. 27, according to Entertainment Weekly, which will make it eligible for…

Power and justice in the Marine Corps

By Amanda Alderman on July 26, 2013 Afghanistan, Marine Corps, Navy

Our sister publication, Marine Corps Times, has an interesting story today on how power influences justice in the Corps. Check it out here: 3-star: Commandant wanted Marines ‘crushed’ for urination video

VIDEO: Seabee's emotional tribute to stepdad at Camp Leatherneck

By Kevin Lilley on July 23, 2013 Afghanistan, Navy, Seabees

Builder 2nd Class Dennis VanZuiden’s stepfather, former Iowa Army National Guardsman Larry Damhoff, died in 2010. Every Father’s Day since, VanZuiden has visited his dad’s grave. That wasn’t an option this year. VanZuiden spent Father’s Day in Afghanistan, deployed with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 15. Instead, his unit arranged to fly Damhoff’s funeral flag above Camp Leatherneck on June 28, Damhoff’s birthday — a family tribute honoring two generations of service. “It was pretty hard. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be,” VanZuiden said in a Defense Department news release. “Watching the flag fly overwhelmed me.”…

Made in America: Toby Keith helps re-enlist reservist in Detroit (w/VIDEO)

By Kevin Lilley on June 20, 2013 Afghanistan, Entertainment

It was going to be the last re-enlistment ceremony Jesse Siordia Jr. would ever plan. So, why not go big? Ready to re-up for six years after serving 14, the operations specialist second class decided to try and book country music superstar Toby Keith for the gig, hoping to connect with the singer June 16, when Keith’s “Hammer Down” tour rolled through Detroit. Siordia, a reservist with Navy Operational Support Center Detroit, started sending emails to everything with Keith’s name on it: Websites, record companies, casual dining establishments — “I went after everything I could possibly find,” he said. No…

Did he or didn’t he? Doubts raised about bin Laden’s SEAL ‘shooter’ story

By Gidget Fuentes on March 28, 2013 Afghanistan, Books, Navy, Navy SEALs

A lengthy article in the March issue of Esquire magazine told the story of the saga of the Navy SEAL who claimed to have shot most-wanted terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden to death in that May 2, 2011, operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The member of famed SEAL Team 6, in the article penned by Phil Bronstein, executive chair of the Berkeley, Calif.-based Center for Investigative Reporting (and ex-husband of actress Sharon Stone), went on to complain about his shoddy treatment by the Navy and struggles to keep his family and finances, as well as his health, in order after deciding to toss aside…

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Navy SEAL and Bin Laden’s 'shooter' telling his story?

By Gidget Fuentes on February 11, 2013 Afghanistan, Navy, Navy SEALs, SEALs, War on Terror

[HTML1] The March issue of Esquire magazine – it’s due to hit the newsstands Feb. 19 – has a lengthy story about the plight of the Navy SEAL who claims he fired the three shots that killed terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. The former SEAL, whose identity the magazine did not reveal, is referred to as “The Shooter” in an article written by San Francisco-based investigative journalist Phil Bronstein. The magazine’s cover image screams “The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden…Is Screwed.” Bronstein took to NBC’s “Today” show earlier today to talk about the article and the SEAL who…

Surprise grad ceremony for Seabee

By Jacqueline Klimas on December 7, 2012 Afghanistan, Construction, Seabees

Builder 2nd Class Bryce Webb Jr. had completed his degree at Northwest Missouri State University, but wouldn’t be able to celebrate his achievement with his classmates. The 29-year-old Seabee was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan on Dec. 6, so he would miss the graduation ceremony Dec. 14, Lake News Online reported. When the events coordinator at the university found out, she rounded up Webb’s friends, teachers and university staff for an impromptu graduation ceremony Dec. 5. Webb went to what he thought was a quick meeting, but instead was hastily dressed in a cap and gown and presented his bachelor’s…

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