Free Republic's 9-11 100 Hours of Remembrance

Free Republic | 9/6/03 | Free Republic

[SAMWolf]

[Okies love Dubya 2]

I would love to post the picture of my cross stitch project on here, but I admit I have no time to figure out how to post pictures on FR (Thursday is a busy day for us--we have homeschool art class which takes up most of our afternoon with travelling). I need help! I have the pictures on disk but I am clueless!!!! Can anyone help? FReepmail me please and I will get back to you ASAP.

Signed,
A frazzled mommy in Sooner country

[jriemer]

Linking FR 9-11 threads TWO YEARS AGO TODAY: THE HEROES OF FLIGHT 93

[Fawnn]

Never forget. Information on the paintings described in the article you posted:


"First Pass, Defenders Over Washington"
Painting description and ordering information


"Ground Zero, Eagles on Station"
Painting description and ordering information

[SAMWolf]

I've heard that the Marines have been getting some help from the Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno Mobilnego.

Haven't heard of Poland's Special Forces? They're real, they're serious, and they're fighting with us in Iraq.

It came as a surprise to many when the U.S. postwar plans for Iraq were finally revealed. Like Gaul, Iraq would be divided into three parts: an American zone, a British zone, and a Polish zone. But what role did Poland play during the war? It turns out a very important one--albeit one that was kept mostly secret.

One of the primary objectives during the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom was the port at Umm Qasr. Without it, delivering adequate humanitarian aid to the rest of Iraq would have been nearly impossible for the coalition. Not long after the start of the war, the port was secured--in large part thanks to GROM, Poland's elite commandos.

Who even knew Poland had special forces? For a while, not many. The Polish government waited three years before publicly disclosing GROM's existence. Standing for Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno Mobilnego (Operational Mobile Response Group), the name actually stems from a special-forces commander, Gromoslaw Czempinski, who, during the first Gulf War, led a Polish unit into Western Iraq to rescue a group of CIA operatives. One of the other men on that secret mission was Slawomir Petelicki--the father of GROM.

"GROM was my idea," General Petelicki says in his husky, accented voice. "I presented it to the new democratic government" in 1991 "and because I liked to give honor to the commander of my unit, I named it after Gromoslaw." (Grom also means thunder in Polish.) Petelicki, now retired from the military, spoke from Warsaw where he is now an independent consultant for, among others, Ernst & Young. It's quite a change of pace for a man once described in Jane's Intelligence Review as "his country's James Bond and Rambo wrapped neatly into one daunting package." (Petelicki also serves as chairman of the Special Forces Foundation. "I try to help former commandos and discourage them from going into organized crime--where there are many lucrative offers for work.")

Petelicki tried selling his idea of an elite Polish commando group much earlier, "but those Russians didn't like to have real special forces operating in Poland--they feared we could start training in guerrilla warfare against them." But the need did arise in 1990, following Operation Bridge, in which Poland helped Soviet Jews enter Israel. Intelligence reports indicated that Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were planning reprisals inside the Polish border. Then-Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki recognized the threat and approved of Petelicki's plan for a new counter-terror force.

"I had a lot of candidates at first" says the general. "That first team I assembled from people I knew well. They were all in their 30s. Now the age of recruits is about 26." According to Jane's Intelligence Review, "GROM candidates were first subjected to a grueling psychological examination meant to search for confident and innovative soldiers as well as those who, though they might be lacking in physical strength, possessed the rare gift of internal iron will." The candidates then undergo back-breaking training deep in the Carpathian Mountains.

Only 1 to 5 percent of these candidates actually get into GROM. But once they are in, the real training begins: GROM operators practice "killing house" entries (with commanders often serving as hostages), storm hijacked commercial airliners complete with mannequin terrorists and bullet traps, and lead raids onto ships and offshore platforms. All of this is done with live ammunition. The commandos are trained in paramedics and demolitions and many are SCUBA experts. They mostly work in four to six-man assault teams except for the snipers who are separate because, as Petelicki explains, "that is a job for special people and they are very hard to replace."

Radek Sikorski, Poland's former deputy minister of defense and now executive director of the New Atlantic Initiative, recently told me he witnessed the snipers at their best during a training exercise in 1999. "The GROM operators were working alongside the Delta Force and were tasked with rescuing the chairman of the National Bank of Poland. He was being held hostage by terrorists in possession of a nuclear device." Sikorski says the snipers waited for days in complete disguise. "They just followed the terrorists' routines and then started to pick them off one by one."

GROM operators are said to be martial arts experts and capable of "cold killing." "We created our own style of martial arts," says Petelicki. "I have an old friend who is a master of karate and jujitsu and is a sixth degree black belt. He created the style with other specialists--it is most similar to what the Israelis do."

And what about "cold killing"? Asked if the ominous term refers to garrotes or piano wire, Petelicki replies "Yes." Pausing to choose his words carefully, he explains, "Many things. For instance, we can create a weapon from . . . well . . . many things." The weapon used most by GROM is the MP5 submachine gun. They also get to choose their own sidearm--most choose either the Glock Model 19 or the SIG-Sauer P228.


PETELICKI says that GROM is a mixture of the Delta Force, SAS, and the Navy SEALs. "We took what we found best from each group." (GROM trainers have been to Fort Bragg as well as Hereford--home of the SAS.)

For the past twelve years, GROM operators have engaged in numerous operations, including peacekeeping in the Balkans and Haiti. In 1997, they successfully captured Slavko Dokmanovic, aka, "the Butcher of Vukovar" who was held responsible for the murder of 260 Croats. Despite being well-protected by Serb commandos, Dokmanovic was successfully captured alive (his bodyguards didn't fare so well).

So what was the significance in having 56 commandos from the 300-member GROM take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom? "This war saved GROM," says Petelicki. "Without it, it would have been broken up between the army and navy. But now everyone knows about GROM in Poland and they are proud of them."

Radek Sikorski observes that "It was wise for the United States to show countries who backed it in this war that they are appreciated. This will probably pave the way for more 'coalitions of the willing.' Poland took a lot of risks supporting America. It also took a beating from some of its European friends." Sikorski thinks this could be the beginning of a special relationship with the United States, akin to the one shared by Great Britain, but warns "it is still in the very early stages and much will also depend on America's staying power in the region, its willingness to remain interested in Central Europe. One thing the Americans could do is move their bases out of Germany and into Poland, which has less population density and greater space to conduct exercises."

Since GROM's creation 12 years ago, only 4 commandos have been killed in operations. I asked General Petelicki if, during those years, there is one mission that stands out. "Although 70 percent of our operations are still top secret, the one operation I liked best was this last one at Umm Qasr. That was definitely my favorite. [He sighs.] I was jealous I could not be there instead of Colonel Polko [the current commander of GROM]. Umm Qasr was a very risky operation--a lot of explosives were used--but there were no casualties for us." He adds, "I liked it because we were able to help our friends, the Americans, who helped us create GROM. It was a real masterpiece."

Victorino Matus

Nice to see a real Ally standing with us 2 years after 9-11.

[jriemer]

Utah remembers the victims of September 11, 2001 3000 flags mark the victims of WTC

I'd post the photos but they won't load...

[jriemer]

Linking FR 9-11 threads She Left A Note On His Pillow; He Found It Tuesday Night (Barbara Olsen)

[SAMWolf]

Dear Terrorists,

I am Naval Aviator. I was born and raised in a small town in New England. I come from a family of five. I was raised in a middle class home and taught my values by my mother and father. My dad worked a series of jobs in finance and my mom took care of us kids. We were not an overly religious family but attended church most Sundays. It was a nice small Episcopal Church. I had a brother and sister and I was the youngest in my family. I was the first in many generations to attend college.

I have flown Naval aircraft for 16 years. For me the flying was never a lifelong dream or a "calling," it just happened. I needed a job and I liked the challenge. I continue to do it today because I feel it is important to give back to a nation which has given so much to me. I do it because although will never be rich, my family will be comfortable. I do it because many of my friends have left for the airlines and someone has to do it.

My government has spent millions to train me to fly these multi-million dollar aircraft. I make about 70,000 dollars a year and after 20 years will be offered a pension.

I like baseball but think the players make too much money. I am in awe of firemen and policemen and what they do each day for my community.

I respect my elders and always use sir or ma'am when addressing a stranger. I'm not sure about kids these days but I think that's normal for every generation.

I voted for George Bush not for his IQ but because I like him. I think I made a pretty good choice.

I tell you all this because when I come for you, I want you to know me.

I won't be hiding behind a woman or a child. I won't be disguised or pretending to be something I am not. I will be in a US issue flight suit. I will be wearing standard US issue flight gear, and I will be flying a navy aircraft clearly marked as a US warplane.

I wish we could meet up close in a small room where I could wrap my hands around your throat and slowly squeeze the life out of you but unfortunately you're hiding in a hole in the ground so we will have to do this a different way.

I want you to know also that I am very good at what I do. I can put a 2,000 lb weapon through a window from 10,000 feet up. I generally only fly at night so you may want to start sleeping during the day. I am not eager to die for my country but I am willing to sacrifice my life to protect it from animals like you.

I will do everything in my power to ensure no civilians are hurt as I take aim at you.

My countrymen are a forgiving bunch. Many are already forgetting what you did on Sept 11th. But I will not forget, and my President will not forget.

I am coming. I hope you know me a little bit better, see you soon...sleep tight.

Signed....a US Navy Pilot

[Interesting Times]

[Samwise]

All humanity is of one Author, and is one volume; when one dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God’s hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another.

-- JOHN DONNE (1572–1631)

[Fawnn]

I'm sure you'll each come to your own conclusions about how the War on Terrorism was handled before 9/11/2003. However, for those who want to learn more about how the previous administration handled it, this thread is an National Review interview of Richard Miniter, author of Losing bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror. The interview sure makes me want to read the book!

[Texas Chrystal]

Thank you for the PING;

I will never forget...if we forget then America as we know it will cease to exsist. We must not falter, we must not show mercy to those that would destroy us.

ODERINT DUM METUANT!!!
Let them hate so long as they fear. - Lucius Accius -

LET THEM HATE US, SO LONG AS THEY FEAR US. - Cicero -

[SAMWolf]

In Memorium



Though you leave this world for another,
You will not leave our hearts,
Though you drift to a better place,
You will not leave our minds,
For your passing,
Though sad,
Will be overcome,
And time will heal,
The broken souls of a nation,
The broken souls of a world.
For now we can only say,
To yourselves, and those you left,
God bless you.
We will never forget.

---Phil Rowlands

[Fawnn]

I would love to post the picture of my cross stitch project on here, but I admit I have no time to figure out how to post pictures on FR....

Here you go:



(I cropped and resized the pic, and added the label.)

[Okies love Dubya 2]

You are awesome, ma'am! Thanks so much for your help. I hope everyone enjoys seeing it--I got a lot of satisfaction out of doing it and accomplishing something so wonderful (almost as good as giving birth to my little ones but not quite as messy, lol).

To anyone who's interested, that is white fabric it is stitched on--for some reason the lighting made it look more ivory.

Enjoy all!

[Okies love Dubya 2]

Ping to post 674 as requested!

[Okies love Dubya 2]

You gotta see post number 674 (my xstitch project)!

[Okies love Dubya 2]

Thanks for letting me use this thread for showing my handiwork! I hope you like it!

[xsmommy]

my eyes are hurting just looking at all of the work you did there! fantastic job, Okies! i am so glad you pinged me, i thought of you today and figured i was going to have to go looking for it somewhere on one of the many threads!

[alnick]

It's beautiful. Thanks for the ping.