[Cannoneer No. 4]

PETER HALEY/THE NEWS TRIBUNE

Lt. Damon Armeni works on a weekly situation report Thursday. On his desk is a picture of his wife, Kim. Armeni, 27, serves with the Army’s first Stryker brigade.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

. . . in one of our training scenarios, Lt Armeni engaged a lone sniper with a Tow missile. Which gave the OC's a hard on, they said that, that was fantastic, because it was like smashing a fly with a sledge hammer. Lt Armeni brought that same smash your enemies tenacity out here to Iraq which inspired all of us. Right now Lt Armeni is in critical condition in Germany. He was wounded on that attack on 05 AUG 04. I received a e-mail from his father thanking me for this site which allowed him a little more insight to the event that critically wounded his son on that day, and to continue praying for him. I am asking everybody to please include Lt Armeni and his family in their prayers. It would mean a lot. To me, and everybody else here. I know of at least five guys here who are alive today because of his actions on that day.

[jazusamo]

Thank you Lt. Armeni, you're one of America's finest. And his wife Kim deserves those thanks as well.

[Gay State Conservative]

I,for one,don't like this.I admire the Lieutenant like crazy for being willing to go back but he's done his share...more than his share.

By all means allow him to stay in the service...keep him on the "promotion track"...but keep him in a non-combat zone.

And,for the record,I joined in '69 to avoid the draft.I prayed like hell not to be assigned to SE Asia...and my prayers were answered for some reason.

[RightCanuck]

Salute, God-speed, and THANKS!

[barj]

A friend went to see his nephew return from Iraq. This is an excerpt from the e-mail he sent me. I would appreciate comment.

It seems returning soldiers at Fort Benning are greeted with empty bunks
without sheets or pillows and have to buy their housing basics. A wife
of one soldier decided to raise some money to buy at least some basics
for each returning soldier, making their bed for them before they
arrive, like any decent motel would, I suppose.
I sat up for three nights until dawn listening to stories from a few of
the soldiers that stayed in our cabin. The beer supply suffered heavy
casualties, mostly from the soldiers. Guys 15, 20 years my junior can do
a better job opening bottles.
I got a closer view of the conditions in Iraq. One thing I didn't expect
was the resentment the soldiers felt toward the Bush administration. A
consistent point of contention was the lack of respect the soldiers felt
from their own government. (I guess I was naive.) I've heard plenty of
anti-war talk elsewhere. But this was quite different than listening to
a standard anti-Bush rant. The soldiers aren't exactly thrilled to see
their friends dying and getting wounded while the president, as they
say, ignores reality.
The soldiers were simply at a loss to justify why they had to put a
friend in a bag, and then another--and we're talking true friends.
Everyone at the table lost a friend in Iraq. None of the soldiers
complained about their own injuries. One NCO staying with us had been
injured twice, on two separate missions, with shrapnel through his lungs
and neck. The other was missing huge chunks of his back.
You understand as well as anyone the very close-knit world of a soldier
and the brotherhood that develops. Civilians just don't realize how it
works.

[RichInOC]

Man. That is hardcore.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[neverdem]

BFL

[Darksheare]

Yikes.
Good luck Lieutenant!

[Tallguy]

The Lt, err Captain, looks pretty well recovered, but bowel injuries are for life. I've known several people who have had sections removed for 1 reason or another (usually cancer) and they never are quite right after that. Throw-in that he's going to be serving in a very hot climate where staying hydrated is a constant problem. Well, let's just say this is way beyond the Call.

[Travis McGee]

What a fantastic crop of senior officers our military will benefit from for decades to come!

[kms61]

Okay this guy is a Troop XO as a Captain? I thought that was a billet for a 1LT. Kind of odd that he will be a Captain, and presumably the Troop CO will also be a Captain. Or is he moving to a new assignment? The article isn't very clear.