Patriot Paradox

AFP – US aerospace giant Northrop Grumman has agreed to pay 325 million dollars to settle a suit filed over defective parts for spy satellites, the Justice Department said. Read the rest of this entry »

Reuters – A federal judge ruled on Thursday that some detainees at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan could sue for their release in civilian courts, dealing a blow to the U.S. government’s position on the issue. Read the rest of this entry »

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AFP – Many major US weapons programs are running over budget and lagging behind promised production schedules, a report by an independent US auditor said Monday. Read the rest of this entry »

Reuters – Nearly 70 percent of the Pentagon’s 96 major weapons-buying programs were over budget in 2008 for combined cost growth of $296 billion above original estimates, congressional auditors said in an annual report released on Monday. Read the rest of this entry »

AFP – President Barack Obama said he would not speed up troop withdrawals from Iraq, arguing the country was “moving in the right direction” but still needed US help. Read the rest of this entry »

AFP – A senior US senator cautioned Monday against deployments of national guard troops to the US border with Mexico, saying such a move would be “premature and possibly counter-productive.” Read the rest of this entry »

AFP – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates Sunday ruled out an imminent change in the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy on gays in the military, saying President Barack Obama believes the Pentagon has “a lot on our plates right now.” Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2009 – The women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion were honored for their morale-boosting efforts during World War II in a ceremony at the Department of Veterans Affairs here yesterday.
“What a monumental challenge [you’d] taken on. That’s the kind of can-do spirit that is the hallmark of the American soldier,” said John Gingrich, Veterans Affairs’ chief of staff. “You cleared out two years [worth] — 7 million pieces — of backlogged mail in just three months.”

“It was 90,000 pieces of mail,” Dixon quipped from the front row, correcting the number of letters she and the other members of her unit cleared through a temporary post office in Birmingham, England.

Working three shifts, seven days a week, the women of the first all-woman, all African-American battalion, cleared the backlog in just three months before they were moved to France to start the same task all over again. They were given six months to complete the job. Again, they did it in three months.

“The women of the 6888 made tremendous sacrifices and endured many injustices,” Lucretia McClenney, director of the Center for Minority Veterans, said. “However, they not only prevailed, but they succeeded in their mission, and they created a positive impact on racial integration in the military.

The ceremony also included the presentation of a painting honoring women veterans to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Though Gingrich said it captures the “heart and spirit of the woman veteran,” its creator, Nancy E. Rhodes, is, ironically, a civilian.

The artwork, titled “Women in the Military,” holds the distinction of being the nation’s first large-scale painting solely dedicated to all women in the military, past, present and future, to be permanently installed in a federal building.

The painting serves to honor the sacrifices generations of women have made for their country.

“Before I started this important work, and especially because I wasn’t a veteran, I felt it was essential to interview many veterans, both active and retired,” Rhodes said. “After listening to the accounts of veterans spanning World War II up until the Gulf War, I realized that while many women had positive experiences in the military, there were far too many others who were not treated with the dignity and respect they deserved.

“Even sadder, many of these women, especially some of our older veterans, didn’t think that they deserved recognition either,” she added. “It was astonishing to me that these veterans didn’t even know that they could apply for veterans benefits. They didn’t consider themselves to be real veterans like the men, even after enlisting and giving up four years of their lives to serve.”

Congress passed a resolution declaring March Women’s History Month in 1981 as an outgrowth of the celebration of Women’s History Week, which included International Woman’s Day.

Bombardier Johnny Holt

As they did so, every member of the crowd rose from their seats and applauded.

Guinness Premiership side Sale Sharks had invited the soldiers to the game on learning that 3RHA has strong links to the north west area. The regiment is also known as ‘the Manchester and Liverpool Gunners’.

Sale Chief Executive Officer James Jennings presented the soldiers with their service medals and also gave a framed, signed club shirt to the regiment.

Major Matthew Murphy, Commander of J Battery 3RHA, said: “It has been brilliant. The club has been very good, not just in allowing the soldiers to receive their medals in this way, but to also allow the families to come in, with half-price tickets. It shows the soldiers that the nation supports them.”

3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, which is based in Germany, had batteries deployed in both Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and Basra, Iraq, during 2008.

Gunner Matthew Power

Two of the regiments soldiers received gallantry awards in the operational honours list announced last week – both were Mentioned in Dispatches.

Among the soldiers being presented with medals on the pitch were Gunner Matthew Power, 25, from Great Sankey in Warrington, who received a service medal to recognise his three-month operational tour in Basra, Iraq, last year. The father-of-two, a former pupil of Great Sankey High School, was watched from the stands by his father Steve and stepmother Susan.

Bombardier Johnny Holt, 25, from Breightmet, Bolton, received a service medal to recognise his tour of duty last year in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. A soldier for over nine years, Bdr Holt has previously completed operational tours in Bosnia, Iraq (twice) and Cyprus. He is a father-of-one and former pupil of Thornleigh Salesian College. Watching in the stands when he received his medal yesterday were many members of his family including his wife Amanda, son Jack, dad Jack, mum Anne, brother and sisters and their families, as well as other family members. He said: “If I’d received my medal in Germany, my family would not have been able to make it, but they are here today, which is great. It has been great to do this, for people to show that they support what soldiers do.”

Gunner Martin Warburton

Gunner Martin Warburton, 22, from Littlebrough, Rochdale, received a medal to recognise his six-month tour of duty in Basra, Iraq, last year. Gnr Warburton is a former pupil of Todmorden High School and has served in the Army for two years. The choice of venue was fitting for Gnr Warburton – he is a keen rugby player, although his preferred code is rugby league, as opposed to the rugby union played yesterday. Gnr Warburton said: “As soldiers, we don’t tend to seek out gratitude, but it was really nice for people to applaud us as they did today. It felt really good being out there on the pitch.”

Speaking about the tour in Iraq, he said: “I learned a lot out there and it made me a better soldier. I was involved in training the Iraqi Army. The key thing was seeing that people support the Iraqi Army.”