Replies

Soldiers Patrol on Horseback in Afghanistan

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Monti Zimmerman (left), Coalition Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force, Danish Golum Ail, an interpreter, and Maj. Nigel Gattsche, a New Zealand Army engineer officer, ride through Bamian's bazaar to show a U.S. and coalition presence.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Stephanie Hall

BAMIAN, Afghanistan, Sept. 17, 2003 — Shouts of joy from the townsfolk rise as the four mounted “cowboys” ride through the small, desert town they help keep safe from a gang of ruthless “renegades.”

No, this isn’t a scene from an old western movie; it’s as real as it gets. The cowboys are the U.S. and coalition forces in the Bamian Province, the renegades are the Taliban, and the townsfolk are the people of Bamian City.

At least once a week, the Bamian Provincial Reconstruction Team Civil Affairs Team rides horse back through the bazaar, the central point of the city, to show the people that they are and will remain safe from the Taliban.

“The purpose of the rides is to show (U.S. and coalition) presence to the people of Afghanistan that we have come (and) that we’re not like the Taliban,” said Lt. Col. Monti G. Zimmerman, Coalition Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force.

The sense of security is emphasized because “there was an edict written and prepared by the Taliban that said it was against the law to ride a horse in and through a bazaar, and therefore we demonstrate that you can safely ride a horse in and through a bazaar,” said Zimmerman.

Ever since the Taliban were driven out of town by the U.S. and coalition forces, the townsfolk do feel a sense of security, said Zimmerman. The fact that businesses, school attendance and the overall town’s activities have increased shows that the people do feel safe, he said.

The CA team tries to spread that sense of security to the entire Bamian Province to include those parts that are almost impossible to get to, said Zimmerman, even if it means riding a horse through rough terrain for several days to get to that location. “There’s not a lot that we’ve been doing in Afghanistan that I would say is normal,” he said.

“What we’ve been doing is doctrinal in terms of our interactions, but how we’ve been doing the interactions has had unique challenges based on the terrain and the environment and the people that we’re coming to see,” said Zimmerman. “The fact that the majority of the people here live at such a basic level (has) meant that we have had to go back to more basic means in order to” get the team out to the villages, he said.

Riding out to the more difficult locations “shows that we can get to the same places the (locals) can get, and we’re not only limited to vehicles and those sorts of things,” said Maj. Sid McKissock, the New Zealand Army operations officer at the Bamian PRT, who plans on continuing the horse operations.

“So when we say we’re going to achieve something, and it might be in a very inaccessible place, people will start to believe that yes we can go out and do that even if we have to walk, ride a horse or whatever,” he said.

Zimmerman’s predecessor first initiated the concept of Civil Affairs personnel riding out to the remote villages, and since he took over, Zimmerman has ridden out to more than a dozen villages.

Many times the people are initially startled to see the soldiers ride up to their village on horseback, said Zimmerman. “The only people that had ridden horses to them prior were the Taliban to burn the houses, kill the people, and steal their livestock.”

But once the villagers see that the soldiers are there to provide instead of pillage, they welcome them with smiles and shouts of “Tashakor” which means thank you in Dari, said Zimmerman. “Just having the fact that they can live their lives without interruption is a huge success for them and for us.”

Posted on Fri, Sep. 19, 2003

Agency Seeks Former POWs Lacking Benefits
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Veterans Affairs wants former prisoners of war who are not getting disability compensation, health care and other benefits to contact the department.

The agency said Friday an estimated 11,000 former POWs are not getting benefits to which they are entitled. The VA issued the plea in conjunction with National POW-MIA Recognition Day.

VA Secretary Anthony Principi said more ex-POWs are eligible for benefits as new illnesses are determined to be related to their captivity. In July, VA said it would provide benefits to former POWs with cirrhosis of the liver.

Former POWs are eligible for VA medical care and are exempt from health care co-payments. Free dental treatment is available if their captivity lasted more than 90 days.

"These veterans sacrificed for their country in time of war, and it's the nation's turn to serve them, to help them determine if they are entitled to compensation, health care or other services," Principi said.

The VA said more than 23,000 former POWs receive compensation. The VA sent a letter to another 4,700 to tell them that they were entitled to benefits.

VA said it is hard to find many former POWs because they served during World War II, before Social Security numbers were used as military service numbers.

VA is asking anyone who knows of former POWs who are not enrolled for benefits or who did not receive a letter to call 1-800-827-1000.

ON THE NET -- VA services for former POWs and their survivors

Amen,........More Grace and Mercy,.......In Jesus' Precious Name, Amen!!!

Ephesians chapters 1,2,3...

On this day In History

Birthdates which occurred on September 22:
0130 Claudius Galenus, Italian physician/scholar
1290 Bilbo Baggins (in Shire Reconning)
1694 Lord Chesterfield letter writer; introduced Gregorian calendar (1752)
1791 Michael Faraday discovered principle of electric motor
1822 Brig Gen Eppa Hunton fought in most ANV campaigns
1878 Shigeru Yoshida Japanese PM (most of 1946-54)
1885 Erich von Stroheim early film director/actor (Grand Illusion)
1892 Frank Sullivan humorist (New Yorker Magazine)
1895 Paul Muni actor (Acad Award 1936-Angel on My Shoulder, Juarez)
1901 Allan "Rocky" Lane Mishawaka Ind, actor (voice of Mr Ed, Red Ryder)
1902 John Houseman Bucharest Romania, actor (Kingsfield-Paper Chase)
1912 Alfred G Vanderbilt thoroughbred horse owner (Native Dancer)
1913 Leroy Holmes Pittsburgh Pa, orch leader (Tonight Show, 1956-57)
1914 Martha Scott Jamesport Mo, actress (Dallas, Bionic Woman, Our Town)
1918 Henryk Szeryng Zelazowa Wola Poland, violinist (Brahms Concerto)
1919 Jack Russell Saratoga Springs NY, singer (Your Show of Shows)
1920 Bob Lemon pitcher (Cleveland Indians)/manager (NY Yankees)
1922 Chen Ning Yang China, physicist/disproved parity (Nobel 1957)
1924 Norvel Lee US, light-heavyweight boxer (Olympic-gold-1952)
1927 Tom Lasorda baseball manager (LA Dodgers)
1928 Eugene Roche actor (Foul Play, Slaughterhouse Five)
1932 Ingemar Johansson Sweden, world heavyweight boxing champ (1952)
1935 Harriet King US, fencing (Olympic-1972)
1936 Art Metrano Bkln NY, comedian (Amy Prentiss, Joanie Loves Chachi)
1939 Junko Tabei Japan, 1st woman to climb Mount Everest
1939 Mike Sullivan (Gov-Wyoming)
1940 Anna Karina actress (Alphaville)
1949 David Coverdale rocker (Whitesnake-Here We Go Again)
1949 Harold Carmichael NFL wide receiver (Philadelphia Eagles)
1954 Shari Belafonte Harper NYC, actress (Julie-Hotel)
1956 Debby Boone Hackensack NJ, singer-had her life lit up
1957 Lynn Herring Enid Oklahoma, actress (Lucy-General Hospital)
1957 Mark Johnson Madison WI, NHL forward (Olympic-gold-1980, Pitts, NJ)
1960 Joan Jett Phila, singer (Blackhearts-I Love Rock 'n Roll)
1960 Scott Baio Bkln, (Joanie loves Chachi, Charles in Charge, Zapped)
1961 Catherine Oxenberg actress (Dallas)
1962 Rob Stone Chicago Ill, actor (Kevin-Mr Belvedere)
1964 Marq Torien rocker (Bullet Boys-For the Love of Money)
1969 Melissa Lynn Costello Shenandoah WV, Miss WV-America (1991)
1971 Chesney Lee Haskes England, singer (Feels So Alive)

Deaths which occurred on September 22:
1408 Johannes VII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor
1520 Selim I, captured Baghdad/Sultan of Turkey (1512-20), dies at 53
1554 Coronado dies, without finding the fabled cities of gold
1776 Captain Nathan Hale, American patriot, was executed by the British for spying.
1923 Marquess of Ripon game hunter, dies, after shooting 52nd grouse
1987 Dan Rowan, actor (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in), dies at 65
1989 Irving Berlin composer, dies at 101
1996 Dorothy Lamour, actress (Road to Bali, Road to Rio), dies at 81
1997 Shoichi Yokoi, Japanese WW II fighter (surrendered in 1972), dies at 82

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 KNOCHEL CHARLES A. LAFAYETTE IN.
1968 KUHLMANN CHARLES F. NEW BRITAIN CT.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 01 SEPT 95]
1968 WRIGHT BUDDY
[10/06/68 ESCAPED]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
530 Boniface II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
530 St Felix IV ends his reign as Catholic Pope
530 [Discorus] begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1656 The General Provincial Court in session at Patuxent, Maryland, impanels the first all-woman jury in the Colonies to hear evidence against Judith Catchpole, who is accused of murdering her child. The jury acquits her after hearing her defense of never having been pregnant.
1692 Last person hanged for witchcraft in US
1735 Robert Walpole is 1st British PM to live at 10 Downing Street
1756 Nassau Hall opens at Princeton University
1776 Nathan Hale executed as a spy by the British
1784 Russian trappers established a colony on Kodiak Island, AK
1789 Office of Postmaster General of the US established by Congress
1792 Origin of French Republican Era
1817 John Quincy Adams becomes secretary of State
1862 President Lincoln, says he will free slaves in all states on Jan 1
1863 President Lincoln makes his Emancipation Proclamation speech
1868 Race riots in New Orleans La
1869 The opera "Das Rheingold" is produced (Munich)
1893 1st auto built in US (by Duryea brothers) runs in Springfield
1903 Italo Marchiony granted patent for the ice cream cone
1905 Race riot in Atlanta Georgia (10 blacks & 2 whites killed)
1911 Cy Young at 44, wins his 511th & final game
1912 Eddie Collins steals 6 bases in a game, for 2nd time in 11 days
1913 Coal mine explosion kills 263 at Dawson New Mexico
1915 Southern Methodist University (Dallas Texas) holds its 1st class
1918 General Allenby leads the British army against the Turks, taking Haifa and Nazareth, Palestine
1919 Steel strike begins in US
1920 Chicago grand jury convenes to investigate charges that 8 White Sox players conspired to fix the 1919 World Series
1925 Yank Ben Paschal hits 2 inside-the-park homers
1927 Famous "Long count" fight (Dempsey loses boxing title to Tunney)
1927 Yanks Earle Coombs hits 3 triples
1937 Forest fire kills 14 & injures 50 in Cody Wyoming
1944 Boulogne reoccupied by Allies
1945 Stan Musial gets 5 hits off 5 pitchers on 5 consecutive pitches
1946 Evelyn Dick charged with butchering husband
1949 USSR detonates its 1st atomic bomb
1950 Omar N Bradley promoted to rank of 5-star general
1954 Brooklyn Dodger Karl Spooner strikes out 15 NY Giants in his 1st game
1955 Commercial TV begins in England
1955 Heavyweight champ Rocky Marciano KOs Archie Moore in 9
1957 "Maverick" premieres
1959 Chicago White Sox clinch the AL pennant
1959 The first telephone cable linking Europe and the United States is inaugurated.
1960 Mali (without Senegal) gains independence from France (National Day)
1961 Antonio Albertondo (Argentina) at 42, completes the 1st "double" crossing swim of the English Channel in 43 hrs. 10 min
1964 "Fiddler on the Roof" opens on Broadway, runs 3,242 performances
1964 "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." premiers on NBC-TV
1966 Only 413 show up at a Yankee Stadium game
1967 Phillies release pitcher Dallas Green, their future manager
1968 Twins' Cesar Tovar pitched a hitless inning & plays all 9 positions
1968 Zond 5 completes flight
1969 SF Giant Willie Mays, becomes 2nd player to hit HR # 600
1970 Pres Nixon requests 1,000 new FBI agents for college campuses
1972 Dictator Idi Amin throws 8,000 Asians out of Uganda
1973 "A Little Night Music" opens at the Majestic Theater on Broadway
1973 Balt Oriole Al Bumbry hits 3 triples vs Milwaukee Brewers
1973 Henry Kissinger, sworn in as America's 1st Jewish Secretary of State
1975 Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate President Ford in SF Calif
1975 World Football League folds
1977 Minn Twin Bert Blyleven no-hits Calif Angels, 9-0
1978 Israeli PM Menachem Begin returns home after Camp David summit
1980 Iraqi troops seize part of Iran in a border dispute; war begins
1980 John & Yoko sign a recording contract with Geffen Records
1983 NASA launches Galaxy-B
1983 Zhu Jianhau (China) sets high jump record at 7'9 3/4"
1985 Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes to become Heavyweight Boxing Champ
1985 Rock & country musicians participate in FarmAid in Champaign, Ill
1985 St Louis Cardinals set an unusual streak record by winning 9 of 10 games, each pitched by a different man
1986 LA Dodger Fernando Valenzuela is 1st Mexican to win 20 games
1987 2nd regular-season National Football League player strike begins
1987 Red Sox Wade Boggs gets his 200th hit in 5 straight seasons
1988 South Korean coaches attack the New Zealand referee after disputing his decision, the Olympic Korean boxer stages a 67 minute sit-in
1990 Saudi Arabia expells many Jordanian & Yemeni envoys
1990 Andre Dawson steals his 300th base & is only player other than Willie Mays to have 300 HRs, 300 steals & 2,000 hits
1991 Calif University makes the Dead Sea Scrolls public
1991 NY MTA yanks 6,000 ads for "Dr Tusch" (Dr Jeffrey Lavigne)

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Ancient Egyptian New Year
Mali : Independence Day (1960)
Wheaton, Illinois : Autumn Harvest Festival
US : Good Neighbor Day (4th Sunday in September) (Sunday)
US : Press Sunday (Sunday)
US : American Indian Day (4th Friday in September) (1916) (Friday)
National Tie Week (Day 2)
National Dog Week (Day 2)
National Ballroom Dance Week (Day 4)
Classical Music Month

Religious Observances
Cristian : St Thomas of Villanova, bishop of Valencia, confessor

Religious History
1601 The first (Catholic) priests of the newly established Christian Church in Japan -- Sebastian Chimura and Aloysius Niabara -- were ordained in their hometown of Nagasaki.
1692 During the famous Salem Witch Trials, the last 8 "witches" were hanged in Massachusetts. When the turmoil finally settled, 13 women and 7 men had been executed, and over 150 others remained in jail through the next summer.
1827 The angel Moroni reportedly revealed the golden tablets (containing the "Book of Mormon") to Joseph Smith. They were hidden near the family farm, in Palmyra, NY. Smith's English translation of their strange hieroglyphics became the literary foundation for the new Mormon religion.
1871 Death of Charlotte Elliott, 82, English devotional writer and author of the enduring hymn, "Just As I Am." (A serious illness at 33 had left her an invalid her remaining 50 years.)
1950 Basil and Esther Miller incorporated World-Wide Missions in California. Headquartered today in Pasadena, this evangelical missions agency specializes in providing relief and medical aid to over 30 countries worldwide.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought."

You might be a net junkie if...
You're reading this at 3:30am, while chugging a bottle of jolt.

Murphys Law of the day...(Sattinger's Law)
It works better if you plug it in.

It's a little known fact that...
Phoebe Harrius was the last person burned at the stake. Convicted of coining false money in 1786.

My heroes have always been cowboys.