Not only did 588 troops reenlist but also 161 were naturalized as American citizens.
In the high res version you can see many of them are armed with the non militarily useful, according the gun grabbers, semiautomatic pistol. :)
Posted on 07/03/2008 5:44:12 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2008 – More than 1,100 servicemembers stationed in Iraq will celebrate the nation’s birthday tomorrow by re-enlisting, the senior enlisted leader for Multinational Force Iraq said today.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin L. Hill said 1,157 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines will re-enlist at the Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory, in Baghdad. This may be the largest re-enlistment ceremony since the all-volunteer force began in 1973, Hill said via phone from Baghdad.
This is becoming an annual blockbuster event for the command. Last year, 588 servicemembers re-enlisted.
“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments we have made in security on the ground as well as proud of all of our great warriors for the work they are doing since they arrived in theater,” Hill said. “We recognize the sacrifices they make and the sacrifices their families and communities make as they serve in Iraq.”
These servicemembers know the cost of war and they are still re-enlisting, Hill said. Some serve in “the most austere conditions -- meaning they are in patrol bases and combat outposts,” he noted. Some of the re-enlisting servicemembers are in places where the troops “hot-bunk it” -- that is, they take turns using limited sleeping space -- and burn human waste because they lack plumbing. Others are based in more comfortable surroundings.
The vast majority of the servicemembers tell Hill and others that they are re-enlisting because “they are doing what they joined the military to do,” he said.
“If they joined to be a rifleman, they’re doing it in combat,” the sergeant major said. “If they joined to fix helicopters, they’re doing it and doing it in combat.”
Often in years past, he said, some warriors probably felt they weren’t doing what they joined the military to do, he said.
“Now, since we’ve been fighting this global war on terrorism … these warriors are doing what they joined to do,” he explained. “They can see the fruit of their labor and see the fruit of the sacrifices of those who have gone before them. It makes them feel good about what they are doing.”
The ceremony will be broadcast on the Pentagon Channel, Hill said. Multinational Force Iraq Commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus will preside. Hill and Petraeus will speak at the ceremony, then Petraeus will administer the oath of enlistment.
A 50-gun salute will honor of the nation’s birthday, and then all will sing “God Bless America.” The ceremony will end with a medley of service songs.
All components of the military are represented in the ceremony. Officials said 738 active-duty soldiers, 188 National Guard soldiers, and 122 Army Reserve soldiers are re-enlisting, along with 54 Marines, 39 sailors and 16 airmen.
God Bless each and everyone of them and their families. America’s best.
I wish I could be there!
JoMa
We are so blessed to have heroes like these serving our national.
Prayers for them and their families.
Ditto! Happy "Independence Day" to all, and may this wonderful nation always remember that " Freedom is not free!"
These people floor me. I can’t believe how great they are, and the potential that our country has based on people like these. If he rest of the country grew up with the same values, we’d be in a whole different league.
Hats off, and GOD BLESS EVERY ONE IN THE MILITARY, PAST AND PRESENT.
thanks for the posting.
Not only did 588 troops reenlist but also 161 were naturalized as American citizens.
In the high res version you can see many of them are armed with the non militarily useful, according the gun grabbers, semiautomatic pistol. :)
May God bless these brave war fighters!
They are the only line between us and the Islamists terrorists who would kill us.
It is right now 7:35 am in Baghdad on the 5th of July. No US lives lost this month.
Civilian and Iraqi Security forces losses are at 22 for the month, or about 5.5 a day, compared with 13 a day last month, which was the best month in four years.
The crickets are chirping at NBC and CBS and ABC and CNN and, yes, at FOX. Obama has no comment. Harry Reid's sticking to "Lost."
This is a wonderful, joyful, news report from the Armed Forces News network. May every blessing go to these wonderful men and women who exemplify the highest standards of duty, honor and country.
Would that this news appear in the MSM, whose members have come to exemplify the highest......????????????????????
Or is it the lowest......????????????????????????????????
No doubt about it. That just means we go “high diddle diddle - right through the middle.” That’s what we were put here for.
That’s why FRWN exists.
FOX News covered this tonight. Their coverage put a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.
We are indeed blessed as a nation with some most amazing young people on the planet.
Bless them oh God, we pray!
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