War, what is it good for?

Film from 3/5's deployment to Sangin, Afghanistan

Veterans Day Mad World - link to Justice Network blog

Mad World, Published on Jun 28, 2014 by Logan Stark
Footage from 3/5's deployment to Sangin, Afghanistan
Song: Mad World by Gary Jules

For the 25 is a documentary film by Logan Stark to memorialize 25 Marines in his unit who died during his seven-month tour in Afghanistan. More than 200 other soldiers were wounded.

Navy Cross Citation for Sgt Matthew T. Abbate (posthumous)
Vet's documentary honors fallen Marines, USA Today
navylog.navymemorial.org/abbate-matthew

Peter van Uhm: Why I chose a gun

Peter van Uhm: Why I chose a gun
TEDxAmsterdam, Published on Jan 30, 2012

Peter van Uhm is the Netherlands' chief of defense, but that does not mean he is pro-war. At TEDxAmsterdam he explains how his career is one shaped by a love of peace, not a desire for bloodshed -- and why we need armies if we want peace.

Highlights from Peter van Uhm at TEDxAmsterdam
Why I chose a gun. Link to transcript

"[S]ometimes only a gun can stand between good and evil" (06:45)... "Why has violence decreased?" (09:38)... "[T]he spread of the constitutional state and the introduction, on a large scale, of the state monopoly on the legitimized use of violence -- legitimized by a democratically elected government, legitimized by checks and balances and an independent judicial system. In other words, a state monopoly that has the use of violence well under control." Read more

Injured on the battlefield, but not beaten | Captain Stephanie Verhoef | TEDxKMA

Peter van Uhm
Wikipedia

Petrus Johannes Mathias "Peter" van Uhm (born 15 June 1955) is a Royal Netherlands Army general. He served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 17 April 2008 until 28 June 2012. He previously served as the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army from 5 September 2005 until 13 March 2008.... Van Uhm's promotion to CHOD was accompanied by personal tragedy as, on 18 April 2008, his son First Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm was killed in a roadside bombing in Uruzgan, the southern province of Afghanistan.[3][4] A spokesman for the Taliban claimed that militants had known about his movements and had targeted him. The Dutch government rejected this claim. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said in The Hague: "Our information is that there is no indication of any link between this cowardly deed and the fact that it was the son of the defense chief."[4][5]. Read more

Neil Young - Love And War

Neil Young (Wikipedia) neilyoungarchives.com

Conscription in the United States

Registering for the draft World War I

Conscription in the United States
Wikipedia

Conscription in the United States, commonly known as the draft, has been employed by the federal government of the United States in five conflicts: the American Revolution, the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Cold War (including both the Korean War and the Vietnam War). The fourth incarnation of the draft came into being in 1940 through the Selective Training and Service Act. It was the country's first peacetime draft.[1] From 1940 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the United States Armed Forces that could not be filled through voluntary means. The draft came to an end when the United States Armed Forces moved to an all-volunteer military. However, the Selective Service System remains in place as a contingency plan; all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to register so that a draft can be readily resumed if needed.[2] United States Federal Law also provides for the compulsory conscription of men between the ages of 17 and 45 and certain women for militia service pursuant to Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution and 10 U.S. Code § 246.[3][4][5] Read more

100th Fighter Squadron, Service in Afghanistan

Independence Day July Fourth - link to Justice Network blog. History of the
Tuskegee Airman @8:14 and the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332d Fighter Group

100th Fighter Squadron
Wikipedia

The 100th Fighter Squadron (100 FS) is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard 187th Fighter Wing located at Dannelly Field, Alabama. The 100th is equipped with the General Dynamics F-16C+ Fighting Falcon.

The 100th FS was one of the Tuskegee Airmen squadrons during World War II, one of the famous all-black squadrons of the 332d Fighter Group, activated on 19 February 1942 at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama. It was returned to duty in 2007 as a replacement of the Alabama ANG 160th Fighter Squadron so the state could honor the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. More

Tuskegee Airmen
Wikipedia

The Tuskegee Airmen [1] was a group of African-American military pilots (fighter and bomber) who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks and other support personnel.

All black military pilots who trained in the United States trained at Moton Field, the Tuskegee Army Air Field, and were educated at Tuskegee University, located near Tuskegee, Alabama. The group included five Haitians from the Haitian Air Force, and one pilot from Trinidad.[2] It also included a Hispanic or Latino airman born in the Dominican Republic.[3]

Although the 477th Bombardment Group trained with North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat. The 99th Pursuit Squadron (later, 99th Fighter Squadron) was the first black flying squadron, and the first to deploy overseas (to North Africa in April 1943, and later to Sicily and Italy). The 332nd Fighter Group, which originally included the 100th, 301st, and 302nd Fighter Squadrons, was the first black flying group. It deployed to Italy in early 1944. In June 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group began flying heavy bomber escort missions, and in July 1944, with the addition of the 99th Fighter Squadron, it had four fighter squadrons.

The 99th Fighter Squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter-bomber aircraft. The 332nd Fighter Group and its 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons were equipped for initial combat missions with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally with the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47s red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. The red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red rudder; the P-51B and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to the Jim Crow laws[N 1] and the American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to discrimination, both within and outside the army. More

332d Expeditionary Operations Group
Wikipedia

The 332d Expeditionary Operations Group is a provisional air expeditionary group of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command, currently active. It was inactivated on 8 May 2012 and reactivated 16 November 2014.

The group forms part of the lineage of the World War II 332d Fighter Group, known as the Tuskegee Airmen. This title refers to all who trained in the Army Air Forces African-American pilot training program at Moton Field and Tuskegee Army Airfield, Alabama, between 1941 and 1945. It includes pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and personnel who kept aircraft flying. More

AboutFace: PTSD treatment can turn your life around

AboutFace: Learn about PTSD and how treatment can turn your life around
NATIONAL CENTER for PTSD What is the National Center for PTSD?

You Come Back And You Just Don't Feel The Same

One Veteran's Story: "You Come Back And You Just Don't Feel The Same."

Taryn Davis, American Widows Project

American Widows Project Taryn Davis /American Widows Project

3rd Battalion, 5th Marines

3rd Battalion, 5th Marines
Wikipedia

3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5, nicknamed Dark Horse) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and consists of approximately 1,000 Marines and Fleet Marine Force Navy personnel. The 3rd Battalion falls under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment which falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division. More