Posted on 09/23/2012 6:21:12 PM PDT by seekthetruth
Below is an extraordinary, heart-stopping and historic letter. It is a letter SSG Matthew Sitton sent to U.S. Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young after his commanders in Afghanistan told him to "quit whining" about orders to lead patrols without objective "through, for lack of a better term, basically a mine field on a daily basis," as Sitton wrote. Twice daily basis, in fact. On August 2, 2012, Sitton and another US soldier were killed in one the IED-riddled field he spoke of. Eighty-one-year-old Rep. Young, who attends the same church in Florida as the Sitton family, this week announced he no longer supports the presence of US troops in Afghanistan and called for their withdrawal in advance of 2014.
(Excerpt) Read more at dianawest.net ...
My grandfather was in the 7th I.D. in WWI. My father served on a troop transport and minesweeper during the Korean conflict.
I did a short stint as a volunteer Jr. member in the Civil Air Patrol.
Sadly, I feel the sacrifices of veterans like my father and grandfather will be in vain if we let this traitor trash POS CIC continue to treat our members of the US armed forces in this manner.
Amen!
Unfortunately, West has gone over the PC edge with some of his comments, so he's not likely to be confirmed.
We don’t get oil from these people. We buy oil on the open market like everyone else.
I know the MSM isn't interested in this - but has FOX covered it yet?
More likely Romney’s Sec of Def would be Frank Carlucci, John Lehman or Stephen Hadley, or, if Romney leaned away from technocrats, former Sen. Jim Talent.
This deserves its own thread. Pinged for L8R.
Petraeus, the architect of COIN, SHOULD partcipate in the foot patrols he thinks are so valuable under the same ROE’s we are forcing our military to endure. ......as the late author noted in his letter, for what purpose?
Please, bring them out from under these insane, Muslim loving leaders. Our elite are downright treasonous.
West as Sec of Defense....yep I vote for that. Good call.
I’d rather have John Bolton as SOD.
I think that we should have left Afghanistan years ago, but, this incident is not one to hang everything on. He didn’t want to take his Soldiers out on patrol. A patrol is not a Rule Of Engagement (ROE). Patrols are actually good things. They help you find out what’s going on outside the base camp. We have entire units in the military dedicated to going out and finding out what’s going on. The bad thing about patrols is that the enemy is out there and will try to kill you. It’s a dilemma: stay in the camp and let the enemy control everything, or get out on patrol and risk casualties. Tough call. I can guarantee you that whoever was in charge of security for that airbase in Afghanistan where they blew up those Harriers and killed the Commanding Officer is wishing that there had been more patrols out. For all the stupid stuff that has gone on there, a Commander who is requiring patrols is actually doing his job. And while it’s usually a good idea to tell American Soldiers why they’re required to do something, it isn’t always necessary or possible to do that. This was a good Soldier. He had a warrior’s heart. But I don’t see where his superiors were wrong. I’ve had my comments removed from Free Republic because of my cursing about what’s going on with our military. (Plant the seed) this (planting the seed) war in Afghanistan!
Here is more I received:
Documents: Obama, Holder have approved one of bin Laden’s bodyguards for release or transfer from Gitmo
Anybody got a veteran's ping list, send 'em to this song!
Did you read all of the now deceased soldier's letter?
He was not against going on patrol, but was in need of more men to do it safely and wanted justification for the number of patrols they were required to do per day. His priority was the safety of his men. God Bless his soul.
Not that I know of.
Who is the “Retired Vice Admiral Bob Scarborough”?
Does your husband’s cousin know him?
I second the motion to make a separate thread. I knew of the policy; here’s the outcome that more need to see.
Beyond that, and to all who posted above, words fail beyond saying “God help us.”
My thoughts and prayers are with all who serve and with their loved ones.
This explains why Holder was in either Qatar or Saudi Arabia on 9/11 when our ambassador in Libya was killed......I was thinking to myself "what the hell was he doing over there, especially on 9/11?" Now I realize - he was probably arranging this transfer and probably rasing a glass to the hijackers......
“Who is the “Retired Vice Admiral Bob Scarborough”?
Does your husband’s cousin know him?”
I will ask and find out. I would also like to know who Vice Admiral Bob Scarborough is. Will get back to you as soon as I can on this.
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