Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (L) speaks with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during an official meeting in Tehran September 13, 2006. (REUTERS/Stringer) (IRAN)
Posted on 09/13/2006 4:11:51 PM PDT by Gucho
Iraqi soldiers reaffirmed their allegiance to the nation of Iraq.
Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, stand in formation to reaffirm their allegiance to the Iraqi army during a ceremony Thursday. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Raul Montano, 2nd BCT PAO, 1st Arm. Div.
By U.S. Army Spc. Joshua Ramey
FOWARD OPERATING BASE CONSTITUTION, Iraq, Sept. 13, 2006 — Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, reaffirmed their allegiance to the nation of Iraq in a ceremony attended by the entire brigade of Iraqi soldiers and leadership.
The ceremony was the first of its kind since the brigade’s inception a year ago, said Capt. Robert Lundberg of Company A, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion.
“The future of Iraq is in your hands. We are the lion that will attack the killers and kidnappers, bring them to justice and take control of our country,” said one of the speakers through a translator.
Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, stand in formation to reaffirm their allegiance to the Iraqi army during a ceremony. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Raul Montano)
Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, stand in formation to reaffirm their allegiance to the Iraqi army during a ceremony. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Raul Montano)
The ceremony was designed to inspire Iraqi soldiers to believe in the future of Iraq, said Lt. Sadick, platoon leader, Commando Company, 3rd Bde., 6th IAD.
“All of us are under the law, even Prime Minister Maliki is under the law of Iraq,” he said. It is important for all soldiers to put their full loyalty in the Iraqi army and not tribes or religions. We have trust and faith in our soldiers’ loyalty to the army. That is why we are successful in the area with raids, arrests and finding weapons. It is because we have faith in our soldiers.”
“It (was) a very good ceremony,” added Sgt. Mohaned, 3rd Bde., 6th IAD. “It lets the soldiers know they must serve the army they joined with full loyalty and let go of their (previous affiliations).”
U.S. Marines rush to the aid of a 7 year old Iraqi girl after she fell from a three-story building.
1st Lt. Joshua R. Rosales, Navy Seaman Royce R. Ross and Cpl. Jared S. Nelson, came to the aid of a 7 year old Iraqi girl who fell from a three-story building in Gharmah, Iraq. The three rushed her to Camp Fallujah's trauma center after Iraqi police were unable to get her to a hospital in Fallujah. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva)
By Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva - 1st Marine Division
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Sept. 13, 2006 — “America’s Battalion” Marines made a midnight run to rush to the aid of a 7 year old Iraqi girl after she fell from a three-story building.
Marines from Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, rushed the girl to Camp Fallujah’s surgical center for treatment after local police were unable to get her proper medical attention.
The battalion is serving with Regimental Combat Team 5.
The incident occurred late at night in Gharmah, a small city north of Fallujah. Iraqi police there tried to rush the young girl to the Jordanian hospital in Fallujah, but had difficulty getting to the hospital, according to 1st Lt. Joshua R. Rosales, a 25-year-old platoon commander who responded to the call for help.
“We got the call from the commanding officer to link up with Iraqi Police at the police station,” explained Rosales, from Raleigh, N.C. “We met up with them in Gharmah, and they had the little girl. They wanted us to be careful.”
Rosales said the girl was accompanied by her uncle. She was crying, suffering from waves of pain from her injuries. She was scared, and then Marines were loading her into the back of a humvee. Rosales’ hospital corpsman, Navy Seaman Royce A. Ross, a 23-year-old from Houston, got to work immediately checking his tiny patient.
Navy doctors and hospital corpsmen crowd their gloved hands together to tend to a 7 year old Iraqi girl's injuries after she fell from a three-story building in Gharmah, Iraq. Marines from Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 rushed the girl to Fallujah Surgical after Iraqi police were unable to get her to a hospital in Fallujah. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva)
“I was making sure all her vital signs were good,” Ross explained. “Everything looked good enough to move her. I saw right away she was going to be OK.”
Ross saw that she already had an intravenous tube inserted into her arm, but the tubing wasn’t put in properly. He spoke through his broken Arabic and the girl’s uncle’s broken English to get permission to start another.
“The blood clotted at the IV,” he explained. “I wanted to start another but her uncle didn’t want me to.”
Ross kept on with his preliminary examination. He said he saw a large contusion to the girl’s left wrist and possibly a fracture. The girl’s breathing was labored. Ross said he was concerned there were possible injuries to her chest affecting her breathing.
“It sounded like she was snoring,” he said. “What we had then was a possible broken wrist, possible problems with her torso, but she was crying, so she was breathing. We knew she’d be okay.”
Still, Marines couldn’t be sure until they could get the young child to the trauma center at Camp Fallujah to have a thorough examination. Ross, the girl, her uncle and Cpl. Jared S. Nelson, a 21-year-old from Salisbury, Md., climbed into the back of the humvee for the sprint from Gharmah to Camp Fallujah.
Nelson said he made similar runs last time he was deployed to Iraq, but it was always to rush a Marine to safety. This time was a little different.
“I provided security in the back,” he said. “They couldn’t all get down low, so I kept watch over them while we drove. It was pretty bumpy.”
Nelson watched his passengers from the corner of his eye. Ross continued to tend to the girl, and her uncle repositioned her stretcher every time the humvee jolted over a bump.
Rosales, Ross and Nelson delivered the Iraqi girl to Fallujah Surgical where Navy doctors and corpsmen took over. They continued with more in-depth examinations.
“They did as good as they could by bringing them in,” said Navy Capt. David Norman, a 51-year-old nurse anesthetist from San Diego assigned to Fallujah Surgical. “The corpsman did an excellent job. She was a challenging case. Her injuries were beyond our abilities to diagnose.”
Norman said doctors identified the left wrist fracture Ross discovered and suspected she might have suffered possible head injuries and a pelvic fracture. Doctors decided to medically evacuate the girl along with her uncle to Coalition treatment facilities in Baghdad for more extensive care.
“If she did sustain head injuries and a pelvic fracture, she could have died if they didn’t respond like they did,” Norman added.
“This was my first time working as an ambulance for Iraqis,” Ross said. “It was good to be able to treat someone you see on the streets all the time.”
“It’s nice because you know the kids are innocent,” Nelson added. “I’m always talking to the kids.”
Nelson and Ross didn’t think much of their actions. They said it was part of the job, just a little more satisfying because it demonstrated to that family and the community in Gharmah that Marines are here to help them, no matter what the case.
“It’s hard to show we’re working for hearts and minds in the infantry,” Nelson said. “This was an example of it tonight.”
“This shows the people we’re out here for them. In our line of work, that’s sometimes hard to do,” Ross said. “It shows that when someone gets hurts, we can step out and let that other side shine.”
Rosales said he was proud of his team’s reaction to the call for help. They maintained cool heads and were able to adapt from combat operations to the midnight mercy run without missing a beat.
“They put themselves at risk for this little girl,” Rosales said. “That’s something I see all the Marines doing. They put themselves at risk for the Iraqi people.”
This mission, though, is more rewarding than some of the routine operations. They were able to ease the pain of a little girl, help a family and do something good for the community.
“You want to do things like this, especially for the kids,” Nelson said. “The little girls are always the sweet, shy ones that come up and ask for candy.”
Iraqi army soldiers with Military Police, 7th Iraqi Army Division listen to a patrol and breach training class at Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 2, 2006. U.S. Army soldiers with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division based out of Baumholder, Germany, are conducting the class. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Afghanistan Will `Haunt' World If Taliban Flourish, Rice Says
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Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Wed Sep 13, 12:12 PM ET - This US Army photo shows US Army Sergeant Derrick Martin(L) and Captain Christopher Dye scaning the ridgeline for enemy movement along the border region near Pakistan. Top NATO officers made no formal offer of reinforcements to combat a raging insurgency in southern Afghanistan but gave "positive indications" that they might, a spokesman said. (AFP/US Army-HO)
By Army Staff Sgt Robert Ramón - 345th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Sep 13, 2006
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARONA, Afghanistan -- U.S. Soldiers stationed here located and destroyed an unexploded mortar round near a residential area about five kilometers outside of Forward Operating Base Sharona on Sept. 11.
Afghan National Army soldiers secured the site and called on FOB Sharona to assist in removing the threat. Once notified, Soldiers at FOB Sharona wasted not time springing into action.
"We don't want innocent civilians, especially children, to get hurt so it's important that we get out there as quickly as possible," said Army 1st Lt. Gerard Torres, a platoon leader with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum , NY . "Also, if the enemy gets their hands on it, there's a possibility it could be used against civilians or us in the future."
After retrieving the mortar round, Soldiers placed it in a safe, open area and secured the site while an FOB Sharona explosive ordnance disposal team neutralized the explosive.
Civilians in the area waved as the Soldiers made their way back to base.
"That's what we're here for," said Torres. "We're here to police up the area and to make things safe."
By Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Public Affairs
Sep 13, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A B-52 powered by a mix of synthetic and JP-8 fuel is slated to take its historic first flight Sept. 19 from Edwards AFB, Calif., bringing the Air Force one step closer to reducing its dependence on foreign fuel.
"This is an extremely important moment for the Department of Defense," said Michael A. Aimone, the Air Force's assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations and mission support. "Our goal is to by 2016 have 50 percent of our aviation fuel coming from alternative fuel sources," he said.
As the DoD's largest consumer of aviation fuel, the Air Force has taken the lead in the research of alternative fuel sources such as coal and biomass. The Air Force consumes 58% of all aviation fuels consumed by the services. According to Mr. Aimone, energy is both an economic and national security issue, which is why the Air Force has developed a comprehensive energy strategy. "The Air Force is conducting a flight test using a B-52 powered by synthetic JP-8 to demonstrate our commitment to the President's vision of becoming less dependent on foreign oil," said Mr. Aimone.
"We're working to certify the fuel for military aviation use," he said, adding, " we must do that in a visible and transparent way so that our partners in the commercial aviation industry will be able to see our testing. By working together we can expand the market for synthetic jet fuel and make it more economical to produce by increasing volume."
To further demonstrate the Air Force's commitment to energy independence, the Secretary of the Air Force has stated an interest in acquiring 100 million gallons of synthetic fuel by 2008. The flight test at Edwards AFB will include briefings by the base commander, Maj. Gen C.M. Bedke, and William Harrison, senior advisor on the Office of the Secretary of Defense Assured Fuels Initiative, on the demonstration flight schedule and the synthetic fuel development process, as well as tours of the B-52 and the control center.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Wed Sep 13, 12:12 PM ET - This US Army photo shows US Army Sergeant Derrick Martin(L) and Captain Christopher Dye scaning the ridgeline for enemy movement along the border region near Pakistan. Top NATO officers made no formal offer of reinforcements to combat a raging insurgency in southern Afghanistan but gave "positive indications" that they might, a spokesman said. (AFP/US Army-HO)
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2006 – Iraqi police detained three suspected insurgents and discovered a makeshift bomb near a mosque in Mosul, Iraq, Sept. 11, U.S. military officials said.
The insurgents fired on coalition forces near a cemetery in western Mosul, then fled into a mosque and continued to attack from inside after coalition forces pursued them. Coalition forces cordoned off the area and notified Iraqi police of the situation.
The Iraqi police searched the mosque and surrounding area, leading to the capture of the three insurgents and the discovery of a prepared makeshift bomb. Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal personnel destroyed the bomb, officials said.
There were no injuries to coalition or Iraqi forces.
Elsewhere in Iraq, Iraqi soldiers, supported by Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers, captured three known terrorists in the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad Sept. 11.
While soldiers from 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team cordoned off the area, Iraqi army soldiers conducted a search of area buildings and compounds. They captured members of a terrorist cell responsible for attacking Iraqi and coalition forces with makeshift bombs and for supplying and operating a bomb production factory, officials said.
The suspects were detained for questioning.
Iraqi army and coalition forces continue to target terrorist cells and death squads with intelligence-driven operations as part of Operation Together Forward, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq new releases.)
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By Gerry J. Gilmore - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2006 – About 50 authors, including current and former servicemen and women as well as family members, gathered in the library’s Thomas Jefferson Building last evening to sign copies of a 377-page book of their observations and experiences in the global war on terrorism.
Navy Reserve Cmdr. Kathleen Toomey Jabs, 40, whose Navy officer husband deployed to Iraq in 2004, autographs a copy of “Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families.” For the book, Jabs wrote a fictional account about a military mother leaving her 4-year-old son to deploy to the Middle East. (Photo by Gerry J. Gilmore)
“Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families,” contains nearly 100 stories of personal truths observed on battlefields and at home during the war.
“What the writing did for me was very cathartic,” retired Navy Dr. (Cmdr.) Edward W. Jewell said of his participation in the project. Jewell, 51, is an anesthesiologist who wrote of his experiences aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort in the Persian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“I think the mission that the USNS Comfort performed is one of the great untold stories of the war,” he said.
The Random House-published book, officially released at a ceremony before yesterday’s book signing, is the product of more that two years of work. It contains 89 nonfiction and fiction stories written by nearly 100 U.S. servicemembers and family members. Some authors wrote more than one story.
David S. C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said having troops and family members record their wartime experiences “would give all Americans a better understanding of their service and sacrifice and of the sacrifice from their families.”
The Operation Homecoming book project also would “help our troops grapple with the difficult challenges that duty has called upon them to confront,” Chu said at the ceremony.
The anthology “tackles hard truths,” Chu said, noting that good and courageous people die during wars. Yet, the book also tells of the goodness and kindness that emerges during conflict, as well as the spirit of duty to country, he said.
Jewell chronicled his shipboard observations on pages 50 to 56 of the book. In his journal entry dated March 28, 2003, he wrote: “The doctors are all bored from underutilization, but the surgeons seem particularly restless. There are so many of them and not enough cases to fill the time.”
But, conditions aboard the USNS Comfort were to change drastically, as noted in Jewell’s entry the following day. “We got creamed with fresh casualties last night, 30 new patients, both sides, all needing immediate and significant intervention,” he wrote.
“The injuries are horrifying,” he added.
The National Endowment for the Arts co-sponsors the Operation Homecoming book project, which the Boeing Company underwrites. In the book’s preface, NEA Chairman Dana Gioia recalled his conversation with Marilyn Nelson, Connecticut’s poet laureate, in April 2003, not long after the United States entered Iraq.
“The daughter of a Tuskegee airman, Nelson knew the pressures on military families,” Gioia wrote. “Having recently taught as a visiting writer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, she suggested that the enlisted men and women might benefit from the opportunity to write about their experiences.”
Gioia and Nelson discussed the differences between the literary world and the military in America.
“We spoke about how separate the worlds of literature and the military are in our society and how crucially important the art of literature might be to military personnel undergoing huge changes in their lives,” Gioia wrote.
“What would happen if the nation fostered a conversation between its writers and its troops?” Gioia asked.
Gioia noted at yesterday’s ceremony that Operation Homecoming kicked off April 20, 2004. Troops and family members were asked to write down their wartime experiences at workshops held at stateside and overseas bases. Celebrated writers like Tom Clancy, author of “The Hunt for Red October,” Mark Bowden, author of “Black Hawk Down,” and Bobbie Ann Mason, author of “In Country,” and others assisted as writing coaches.
Immense demand required a five-fold increase in workshops, with 50 held between April 2004 and July 2005 at 25 military bases. More than 6,000 people participated in the workshops and related activities, submitting more than 1,200 submissions, Gioia said.
The book’s editor, Andrew Carroll, praised the budding authors. “Your humanity has come through in this material, and we are so proud of every one of you,” he said.
After penning his autograph onto the page of another book last night, airborne soldier and Iraq war veteran Staff Sgt. Jack Lewis, 42, reflected on his participation in the project.
“What it does for me is irrelevant,” said Lewis, an Army reservist from Seattle. “I hope that it is valuable for the American public.” Lewis served with two Stryker brigade combat teams during his 2004-2005 deployment in Iraq.
He wrote two non-fiction pieces for the book, “Road Work” and “Purple-Hearted.” In “Purple-Hearted,” Lewis describes a young soldier under his care who was destined to be wounded, Spc. Joshus Yuse, as “a near-total dingbat with no sense of planning who still manages to get things done.”
Yuse went on to distinguish himself after he was wounded by an Iraqi bullet and evacuated to Germany for more medical treatment. Lewis comments on Yuse’s coolness under duress and praises the young soldier for “taking it like a man.”
Navy Reserve Cmdr. Kathleen Toomey Jabs, 40, whose Navy officer husband deployed to Iraq in 2004, wrote a fictional account, “Safekeeping.” The writing tells the story of Brenda Croce, a military mother who is leaving her 4-year-old son Tommy to deploy to the Middle East.
Jabs wrote that Brenda told her son as she was getting ready to leave, “only the barest facts about an important Navy job Mommy needed to do.” While Brenda didn’t want to leave her son, Jabs described her as resolved about her mission.
Jabs, who is now a public affairs officer in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon, said the anthology offers what “we don’t really get to hear -- what the soldiers and the people over there are actually thinking and experiencing.”
She said she felt no pressure to write with a particular “slant” or political viewpoint. “It was totally free,” she recalled, noting the writing coaches were “trying to make it a more artistic project, if anything.”
A 30-day book tour at U.S. cities and military bases begins Sept. 15 in Atlanta, NEA spokesperson Sally Gifford said. The tour makes its first military base stop at Fort Benning, Ga., on Sept. 16. A full listing of visits is posted at the Operation Homecoming Web site.
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Stars and Stripes
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
SEOUL — South Korea hopes to persuade U.S. officials to sell the country unmanned spy planes, Ministry of National Defense officials confirmed Monday.
But, an MND spokesman said Monday, the U.S. is reluctant to make the sale because officials fear possible leaks of the technology behind the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft.
According to a Korea Herald report, South Korea has developed low-altitude surveillance planes but hopes to purchase four of the $45 million U.S. planes.
Pentagon's review of medals criteria is under way
By Lisa Burgess - Stars and Stripes - Mideast edition
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Pentagon is launching a major review of its military awards and decorations manual, to update the awards process to match the global nature of the current war on terror and to ensure that each service is handing out the same medals for the same reasons, service officials said Monday.
“The evolving nature of warfare demands that we review policies,” David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a press release.
A working group that includes representatives from each military service, the Joint Staff and the DOD’s Institute of Heraldry are conducting the review, which will take six to eight months, Maj. Stewart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday.
Their work will lead to a revised version of the Defense Department’s Manual of Military Decorations and Awards, he said.
The last revision was in 1996, although there have been additions and changes made since that time, Upton said.
The review will involve only decorations and awards that are offered by all the services, like the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, not those that are unique to a particular service, Upton said.
Reviewers will focus on three major areas, including expeditionary medals, the release said.
“We need to define what, exactly, makes up the battlefield,” and qualifies a member for an expeditionary medal, Upton said. “How about the guy flying the plane that is dropping bombs over a battlefield? And what about the guy who’s putting the bombs on that plane back in Ohio?”
A second focus will be honor and valor awards, for which “we must clarify criteria, including a review of boundaries that increasingly extend far beyond a particular combat zone, yet involve direct threats to American lives” Chu is quoted as saying in the release. Servicemembers also have raised concerns about consistency when it comes to the award of the ‘V’ device for valor, Upton said.
“They want to make definitions consistent across the board in regards to the V device,” Upton said. “You want to be sure that if you see someone with a Bronze Star with a V, that everyone knows what that person did in order to rate that.”
A third area is whether the Pentagon should authorize multiple awards of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaign medals, or otherwise develop a process for servicemembers to show multiple tours in either theater, Upton said. Right now, “there’s no way to show these consecutive tours.”
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=39975
.........UPDATE BY: Jim Williams..... Hurricane Florence affected Bermuda Monday and the cleanup continues. I got in touch with one of my observers, Glen from Bermuda weather he runs the Bermuda shorts webcam. We talked about what happened during Hurricane Florence , Listen here . Check out this time lapse from the Bermuda weather service webcam right here .Elsewhere ,we are tracking Hurricane Gordon which strengthening while moving into the North Atlantic and will not hit land. Tropical depression #8 is moving west in the East Atlantic and is forecast to become a hurricane. If you click on the starting position of #8 on the tracking map below you will see several historic hurricanes that started in the same place and became major stories. As of now it looks like this will most likely turn out to sea but we wont know for sure for a few more days. You can get the latest model runs and closeup picture of these systems here.
By Linda Kozaryn - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2006 – When Noel Totten arrived home to find 40 leather-clad motorcyclists pulled up at his house in Bloomington, Minn., he knew why they’d come.
Universal Recording artist Rockie Lynne, co-founder of Tribute to the Troops, presents a plaque to Noel Totten Sept. 8 at Totten's home in Bloomington, Minn. About 40 members of the group visited Totten's home to pay their respects for the loss of his brother, Chief Warrant Officer Eric W. Totten, 34, an Army Chinook helicopter pilot who died May 5 when his chopper went down in Afghanistan. (Photo by William Moss)
A few weeks earlier, he’d received a call from Gregg Schmitt, director of the Minneapolis-based “Tribute to the Troops.” Schmitt asked Totten if members of the motorcycle group could stop by to pay their respects for the loss of his brother.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten, 34, an Army Chinook helicopter pilot, was killed when his chopper went down in Afghanistan on May 5.
Totten told Schmitt his family would welcome the group’s visit.
Greeting the riders at his home Sept. 8, Totten pulled his brother’s dog tags, painted portrait and photo out of his car to show the riders. Schmitt, president of the Minnesota booking agency, The Music Works, and Universal South recording artist Rockie Lynne, co-founder of the ride, gave Totten a framed portrait of his brother made by volunteer Rick Block.
Schmitt and Lynne founded the Tribute to the Troops ride Sept. 11, 2004. During that first ride, about 60 bikers on 45 motorcycles visited the homes of three fallen heroes in the Twin Cities metro area.
Coordinating the annual tribute, Schmitt said, is a way to give back for all the good things in his life.
“I’ve volunteered for a lot of different things, but never anything that felt as important or meaningful as reaching out -- as strangers -- to a person whose heart is aching from the loss of a loved one and telling them we care, we won’t forget.”
In 2005, 90 riders visited 14 families throughout Minnesota, and Lynne performed at a benefit concert. The event raised $5,000 for Wounded Warriors, a Nebraska-based nonprofit corporation founded in 2003 to support the soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Lynne said meeting families who have lost a son or daughter, husband or wife, mother or father “will change you for the rest of your life.”
“The sense of loss on those people’s faces is so powerful, it makes you want to do something,” he said. “You’ll never take our freedom for granted again.
“I don’t think the gravity of it hits you until you actually pull into someone’s driveway,” Lynne said. “We can never ever know what they feel. We can only let them know their loss didn’t go unnoticed.”
This year the riders visited 11 fallen servicemembers’ families over the course of three days. The ride started at the state Capitol Sept. 8, and ended with a concert at the Medina Ballroom in Hamel, Minn., Sept. 10. By the third day of the ride, the number of motorcycles participating had increased to 130.
“All of the neighbors were so impressed,” Totten said by phone following the riders’ visit to his home. “At first they were concerned, seeing all these motorcycles coming down the street. But when they all came out of their houses and saw how peaceful everything was, they joined in, applauding when Rockie, Gregg and I each gave a little talk.
“I felt very special that they were willing to devote their valuable time and energies to give Eric recognition -- not only Eric, but all service people,” he said.
Totten said his brother joined the Army shortly after high school when a lifelong friend who had gotten into drugs committed suicide.
“He decided he didn’t want to go that way. He decided to make something out of his life,” Totten recalled. “So at the young, tender age of 18 he joined the Army to play in the Army band.” The soldier musician then went on to become a Ranger, and in 1997 was named Ranger of the Year.
“Many Army people have told me that (achieving) that is like (winning) the Army Olympics,” Totten said. “Two real husky, muscle-bound soldiers came up to me and said, ‘I wouldn’t even begin to think about trying to be Ranger of the Year like your brother did.’”
The Ranger of the Year went through flight school and realized that he’d found his calling in the military.
“He simply loved it,” Totten said. “He got around the world on many important missions. He volunteered to do a flood-relief mission in Albania. He did two tours in Bosnia. But he was humble. He never bragged about it. Most of the stuff that I found out about my brother was through friends of his in the military.
“He wasn’t one of those guys who said, ‘Look at me and look what I’ve done,’” Totten stressed. “He just didn’t have that kind of personality. But, when he was asked to do something, he went beyond the call to do it and do it right and do it better than ever. That’s just the way Eric was.”
At the time of his death, Totten said, his brother had reached the rank of chief warrant officer 3 and was on his second tour in Afghanistan.
Tribute to the Troops wasn’t the first motorcycle group to acknowledge family’s loss, Totten said. Several hundred riders attended his brother’s funeral in Augusta, Kan., where their grandparents had bought 30 cemetery plots for the family shortly before World War II.
After the family learned protesters planned to attend the funeral, Totten said, the Patriot Guard called to offer their services. The nationwide motorcycle group, which grew to 50,000 members in just over a year, attends fallen troops’ funerals as invited guests to pay respects and shield mourning family members and friends from protestors.
“When we came out of the church, we didn’t realize there were going to be 400-plus Patriot Guard riders there,” Totten recalled. “The sight was spine-tingling.
“We were walking out of the church, getting into our limousines as they were loading the casket into the hearse, and we noticed each Patriot Guard rider had a 3-by-5-foot American flag,” he said. “They’d formed a line on each side of the drive. It was as if we were driving under a canopy of American flags.”
Totten said the townspeople did not know his brother, but when they heard about the protestors, they lined the side of road. The few that didn’t have a flag either saluted or held their hand over their hearts as the funeral procession passed by.
“Augusta is only a town of about 5,000 people, and it looked to me like the whole town was there,” Totten said.
“When we passed the fire department, they had a huge American flag hanging from a fully extended hook and ladder,” he said. “All of the firemen were standing there at attention. Everybody stood still as the hearse drove by. It was like everybody froze in time. It was so impressive.
“Before this, I had some doubts about this country’s patriotism,” Totten said. “At that moment I realized that patriotism is alive and well in this country.”
Last week’s visit by the Tribute to the Troops riders once again rekindled Totten’s faith in America’s patriotism and compassion, he said.
Having people acknowledge their loss gives them a welcome opportunity to talk about their loved one and share their grief, he said.
“We very much appreciate it when people take their valuable time to give recognition to the families of the fallen and the wounded,” he said. “It is so cleansing for people to be able to talk.”
A Tribute to the Troops rider hugs Noel Totten during a visit to his home in Bloomington, Minn., Sept. 8. About 40 riders visited Totten and his family to honor a fallen hero: Totten's brother, Chief Warrant Officer Eric W. Totten, 34, an Army Chinook helicopter pilot who died May 5 when his chopper went down in Afghanistan. (Photo by William Moss)
Noel Totten looks down on a portrait and a photo of his brother, Chief Warrant Officer Eric W. Totten, 34, an Army Chinook helicopter pilot, who died May 5, 2006, when his chopper went down in Afghanistan. (Defense Dept. photo by William Moss)
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(1, 2 & 3 + Radio)
01:00am ET - 05:00am ET - Coast to Coast AM with George Noory
12:00pm ET - 03:00pm ET - The Rush Limbaugh Show
G. Gordon Liddy Show (10:00 AM-1:00 PM ET)
The Rush Limbaugh Show (12:00 PM-3:00 PM ET)
3:00PM ET-6:00PM ET -- Sean Hannnity
Neal Boortz -- 9:00AM ET-12:00PM ET
06:00pm ET - 9:00pm ET - The Michael Savage Show
9:00am ET - 12:00pm ET - The Laura Ingraham Show
11:00pm ET - 01:00am ET - Fox News LIVE with Alan Colmes
11:45am ET - 12:00pm ET - Paul Harvey News & Commentary
Paul Harvey News Radio Archives
SUNDAY ~ 10:00pm ET - 01:00am ET - Matt Drudge-LIVE!
4:00pm ET - 5:00PM ET ~~ The Kyle Warren Show
6:00PM ET - 8:00PM ET ~~Mark Levin
10:00PM ET - 1:00AM ET~~The Laura Ingraham Show
12p.m. ET - 2 p.m. ET~~Bill O'Reilly
6:00am ET - 10:00am ET~~Imus in The Morning
9am ET -12pm ET ~~ Glenn Beck Show (Audio Feed)
10:00pm ET -1:00am ET ~~ The Jim Bohannon Show
Click Rollin Down the Road ~~ 12:00am ET - 5am ET
Thr Michael Reagan Show~~ 9:00pm ET - 12:00am ET
The Mike Gallagher Show~~12:00am ET - 3:00am ET
The Hugh Hewitt Show ~ 9:00pm ET - 12:00am ET
Michael Savage Show ~ 9:00pm ET - 12:00am ET (Click Bitcaster)
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
Basrah, Iraq
Kuwait International Airport
Kabul, Afghanistan
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