Free Republic

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Col. Aaron Bank. He passed away peacefully this morning, April 1st, 2004 in California. Our thoughts and prayers are with Catherine and the family. He has been and will continue to be an icon to all Special Forces Soldiers. We will pass on the details for his service, funeral, and where to send condolences to the membership when they are provided. Mel Smith Special Forces Association PO Box 41436 Fayetteville, NC 28309-1436 Email: sfahq@sfahq.org Website: www.sfahq.org

Laos, Hmong Victims Rally in Minnesota: Slam Reps. Betty McCollum, Phil Crane, Bush Administration Bureaucrats for Denial of Killing and Atrocities in Laos 3/29/2004 12:41:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Paul Christopher or Anna Jones, 202-543-1444, both of the Center for Public Policy Analysis News Advisory: Jointly released by the Center for Public Policy Analysis, the Lao-Hmong Emergency Crisis Task Force, the United Lao-Hmong Congress for Democracy, Inc., the Hmong Reform Committee, the United League for Democracy in Laos, Inc., Laos Institute for Democracy, the United Lao Action Center, the Lao Nationalist Reform Party, the Lao American Council...

The U.S. Army Special Forces are having morale and recruiting problems, and they are largely self-inflicted. Special Forces units are already some 20 percent understrength and the situation is getting worse. The first visible signs were seen in Afghanistan when the brass "cracked down" on the Special Forces use of local dress and appearance (beards.) They were ordered to shave and wear their uniforms. Aside from the fact that this went against practical experience (going back to World War II), and put Special Forces troops lives at risk, it demonstrated a callous disregard for the expertise and professionalism of the...