Another thought-provoking post by Blackadder.

To mark the 65th anniversary I recommend that you visit the treasure trove of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Project. 

To all those that have served and are serving in our armed forces keeping the rest of us safe:

Happy Veterans Day* and God bless Y’all. Your valor won’t be forgotten.

*Today’s the observed holiday, i.e. the day gov’t employees and some gov’t contractors (like me!) have the day off; Tomorrow’s the actual holiday.

From SA’s own, Joel Leggett: 

Steve,

I hope all is well with you and yours.  I am currently in Fallujah, Iraq (the jewel of the Middle East) with 2d Bn, 8^th Marines.  This is a great battalion and I am blessed to be a part of it.  It is truly a pleasure working with these boys.  I knew I was with the right battalion when I found out that our chaplain is a fellow Southern Baptist who enjoys good B-B-Q as much as me. J

Although I am very busy things are going well here.  However, this place is HOT!  The temperature hovers between 115-120 degrees.  When the wind blows, which is often, it feels like you are standing in front of a massive hair dryer on max power.

Luckily, I have found the time to check in and see what y’all are doing at Southern Appeal.  As always, the posts are informative and entertaining.  Reading Southern Appeal provides a much needed dose of home in this place.  Keep up the good work.

ROLL TIDE,

Joel (Leggett) 

I emailed Joel back to thank him for his kind words, as well as for all of the sacrifices he makes on a daily basis, so that each of us can enjoy the freedoms we are afforded (and take for granted) as Americans. Please keep Joel and his fellow soldiers in your prayers on a daily basis. I know I do, and will continue to do so.

Oh, and if we here at SA can give Joel and other Southern servicemen a little piece of “home” with this humble blog, then that truly makes it all worth while. 

God Bless and God Speed, bro.

Mexico, a country with a strict immigration policy, is threatening America with a lawsuit if the National Guard engages in active detainment of illegal immigrants.

  “If there is a real wave of rights abuses, if we see the National Guard starting to directly participate in detaining people … we would immediately start filing lawsuits through our consulates,” Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez told a Mexico City radio station. He did not offer further details.

Okay, someone pinch me so I can wakeup from this dream.  Mexico, a country that believes in shooting first and then asking questions when a person appears illegal, is threatening to sue the US if we use the military for its rightful purpose - securing our borders.  However, the most worrisome is

Some Mexican newspapers criticized President Vicente Fox for not taking a stronger stand against the measure, even though Fox called Bush to express his concerns.

A political cartoon in the Mexico City newspaper Reforma depicted Bush as a gorilla carrying a club with a flattened Fox stuck to it.

Fox’s spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said Tuesday that Mexico accepted Bush’s statement that the sending in the National Guard didn’t mean militarizing the area. He also said Mexico remained “optimistic” that the U.S. Senate would approve an immigration reform “in the interests of both countries.”

While I support legal immigration, I am concerned a national security issue is being compromised on a variety of levels.  Why are we trying to pacify another nation regarding immigrants coming from an oppressive country?  A country these people are fleeing from at all costs:

Juan Canche, 36, traveled more than 1,200 miles to the border from the southern town of Izamal and said nothing would stop him from trying to cross.

“Even with a lot of guards and soldiers in place, we have to jump that puddle,” said Canche, referring to the drought-stricken Rio Grande dividing Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas. “My family is hungry and there is no work in my land. I have to risk it.”

Provided our borders are secure, I support an increase in legal immigration and a temporary guest worker program.    However, Mexico and other countries that force their citizens to flee their borders and often encourage illegal immigration must be held accountable for resulting crisis.  As a result, Mexico should have not have any input or influence in the American immigration policy.

Is the military ignoring post traumatic stress and depression among our troops?  This article raises questions regarding the handling of psychological problems among those deployed to Iraq.

Twenty-two U.S. troops committed suicide in Iraq last year, accounting for nearly one in five of all non-combat deaths and the highest suicide rate since the war started, the newspaper said.

Some service members who committed suicide in 2004 and 2005 were kept on duty despite clear signs of mental distress, sometimes after being prescribed antidepressants with little or no mental health counseling or monitoring, the Courant reported. Those findings conflict with regulations adopted last year by the Army that caution against the use of antidepressants for “extended deployments.”

“I can’t imagine something more irresponsible than putting a soldier suffering from stress on (antidepressants), when you know these drugs can cause people to become suicidal and homicidal,” said Vera Sharav, president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, a New York-based advocacy group. “You’re creating chemically activated time bombs.”

Although Defense Department standards for enlistment disqualify recruits who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the military also is redeploying service members to Iraq who fit that criteria, the newspaper said.

There is an outstanding article in The Atlantic about the failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran during the Carter years.  As bad as this was, I am nonetheless astonished at the talent and bravery found in our U.S. Armed Forces.  If this kind of stuff floats your boat you may also enjoy Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces.

On this date in 1973, the first planeload of freed American POWs left North Vietnam.  Read the memorial of the event on The Officers’ Club and spare a thought for all who served.

CENTCOM

The U.S. Central Command webpage features news, photos, video, and audio from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, with contributions from all of the Coalition countries. You can also sign up (as I did) up for the weekly electronic newsletter and monthly Coalition Bulletin. In sum, CENTCOM’s webpage is an excellent resource for keeping up with the global war on terror. 

Needless to say, I have a special place in my freedom-loving heart for the brave men and women who defend our nation and liberate others. May God continue to bless them as they fight the good fight.

(Thanks to SA reader SPC C. Flowers of CENTCOM Public Affairs for the reminder re: CENTCOM’s excellent website)