Iraqis Want Us Out of Their Cities by July

As I have said in prior posts, the Iraqi people will never accept the long-term presence of foreign soldiers. Those of us who came to know them during this war learned that they still remember the Crusades and the British occupation of Arabia. It doesn't matter that we want to "democratize" them; they want to determine their own destiny.

It is, after all, their country.

The following article from the Associated Press discusses the Iraqi desire that we remove our troops from their cities as per the existing agreement:

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Iraq Wants GIs Out of Cities by July

April 28, 2009
Associated Press

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government cast doubt Monday on the possibility that American troops will remain in urban trouble spots like Mosul after the June 30 deadline for U.S. forces to withdraw from cities.

An uptick of violence in recent weeks has prompted concern about whether Iraqi forces are prepared to take over responsibility for security. U.S. commanders have pointed to Mosul and areas in the volatile province of Diyala north of the capital as possible exceptions to the withdrawal plans.

The Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari, however, said U.S. troops must leave by the agreed deadline and could return only with permission from the Iraqi government.

"The general position of the Iraq Defense Ministry is to keep the timings in the withdrawal pact that American troops withdraw from Iraqi cities and not enter the cities unless they get Iraqi approval," al-Askari said.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders will make recommendations to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who will decide whether to grant exceptions to the U.S.-Iraqi security pact that set the deadline.

Sunni insurgents remain active in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, and Diyala province south of Mosul despite numerous U.S.-Iraqi military operations. The U.S. military has called Mosul the last urban stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The main U.S. base in Mosul is effectively on the outskirts of the city, raising the question of whether it could be considered outside the city limits as is the case with Camp Victory, which houses the main American military headquarters on the western edge of Baghdad.

Al-Askari said Mosul has adequate security, saying two Iraqi army divisions are guarding the city.

"If we need the support of American troops, we will recall them with Iraqi governmental approval," he said.

The security agreement, which took effect Jan. 1, requires American troops to leave the country entirely by the end of 2011. President Barack Obama has announced plans to withdraw combat troops by Aug. 31, 2010, leaving 30,000 to 50,000 personnel in advisory and training roles.

Violence in Iraq remains at some of the lowest levels since the months following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. But Baghdad and other cities have seen a series of deadly suicide bombings in recent weeks.

Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has not specifically said whether U.S. troops would leave by the deadline, but said that any exception would have to be made by al-Maliki.

The security agreement faced its first major test Sunday when U.S. troops staged a pre-dawn raid in the southern Shiite city of Kut that ended with two people killed and six detained.

Al-Maliki called the raid a "crime" and a "violation of the security pact."
The U.S. military released the six detainees and sent a commander to apologize in a bid to tone down the dispute.

But one of the men who had been detained demanded justice Monday. Sheik Ahmed Abdul-Munim said his wife and his brother had been killed and he could not accept the U.S. apology.

"We want to prosecute the soldiers who killed our loved ones," he said.

He said American troops questioned him and five other male relatives about suspects, then put hoods over their heads and took them elsewhere for further interrogation. He said the investigator was polite and offered breakfast, then released the six after learning the soldiers apparently went to the wrong house.

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We gave them their democratic government, so we should respect their wishes.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Thoughts for Memorial Day 2009

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.

Timothy 2:4:7

I remember the 18-year-old kid from Tennessee who let me use his transistor radio, the baby-faced private from North Carolina with the big grin, the two sergeants and one staff sergeant who were killed on the same day. There are others whose names, God forgive me, I cannot recall. All of their names are on the Vietnam wall because they gave their lives for their country.

I also remember one particular lieutenant.

Late in 1970, after several months as an infantry platoon leader, I got sick as a dog one morning after we returned to the firebase. At first the medics thought it was malaria, but it was just some other jungle virus, and I was laid up in the rear area for about a month. Unfortunately, another lieutenant was sent to take over my platoon.

When I recovered, I asked the battalion commander to re-assign me to another platoon, and he said he would let me fill the next platoon leader vacancy. When the lieutenant for the second platoon of Bravo Company rotated back to the States, I politely reminded the battalion commander of his promise.

He was nice about it, but he said he was sending another lieutenant to take over that platoon. I got to know the other officer from our chess games in a firebase bunker. He was a West Point graduate and a career officer who needed the field time, so the commander said I could have the next platoon.

Less than two weeks later, the West Pointer and his men walked up on an NVA bunker complex. Along with several other soldiers, he was killed when a North Vietnamese soldier detonated a Chinese claymore mine. If I had been in command of that platoon as originally planned, I would have been the one killed.

Years later, I stood in front of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. and stared at the engraving of the young lieutenant's name. Only a quirk of fate put his name there instead of mine.

Now there are those from Iraq and Afghanistan who don’t have their own place in Washington, D.C. yet, but whose names will one day appear on a monument for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. They have sacrificed everything in this new war on terror just because their country needed them.

From Bunker Hill to Baghdad, America’s warriors have given their lives to defend this nation from those who would enslave or kill our fellow citizens. On battlefields in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries throughout the world, we continue to lose our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers as they protect our way of life with honor and valor.

Those of us who fought in America’s wars will never forget the faces of our comrades. We will remember them when they were laughing, sharing a meal, missing their families, or lying dead in a body bag. They will always be in our hearts and souls.

We hope that, on this Memorial Day, all of you will remember them, too.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Vietnam Vet Killed in Action in Iraq

As you all know by now, I'm a Vietnam veteran who served as a soldier in Iraq. When I learned about the following warrior's sacrifice, it was further evidence that some Americans believe their duty to defend this nation is not diminished by age. Sometimes that's a hard thing to explain to your friends and family members.

But, as the old saying goes, "If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand anyway."

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60-year-old is oldest Army soldier killed in Iraq

By Amanda Lee Myers, Associated Press Writer Thu May 14, 7:28 pm ET

PHOENIX – A 60-year-old Vietnam War veteran killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq has become the oldest Army soldier to die in that conflict, the military said Thursday.

Maj. Steven Hutchison, of Scottsdale, Ariz., served in Vietnam and wanted to re-enlist immediately after the 9/11 terror attacks, but that his wife was against it, his brother said.

Richard Hutchison told The Associated Press on Thursday that when she died, "a part of him died" so he signed up in July 2007.

"He was very devoted to the service and to his country," Richard Hutchison said.

He described him as a great big brother and friend. "I didn't want him to go," he said through tears, adding that he loved his brother "so much."

The Pentagon said Steven Hutchison was killed in Iraq on Sunday. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nathan Banks said Thursday that Hutchison was the oldest Army soldier killed in Iraq.

An Associated Press database of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan shows that Hutchison is the oldest member of any service branch killed since the wars broke out.

Hutchison served in Afghanistan for a year before deploying to Iraq in October, heading a 12-soldier team that trained the Iraqi military, his brother said. Later, he was assigned to help secure Iraq's southern border.

Hutchinson, who grew up in California, taught psychology at two state colleges then worked at a health care corporation in Arizona before retiring and re-entering the service, his brother said.

He was part of the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan.

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Our condolences go out to the family, friends, and fellow soldiers of Major Hutchinson.

Please remember his sacrifice, but also remember that he was a warrior volunteer who willingly put himself in harm's way to protect all Americans.

God bless him for his courage and for his ability to stand up for what is right.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Soldiers and Cops: It’s All About Teamwork

The guy entered the bank dressed like someone on vacation. He was casual with a comfortable hat, sunglasses, and an expensive briefcase.

Then he pulled the gun, a sissy little 25 automatic.

The tellers gave him what he wanted, several thousand dollars in cold, hard cash. He ran for the door, and the bank employees called 911. They gave a very accurate description of the robber.

The police lieutenant works in an office now, but he was a great street cop. As the call went out, he drove his unmarked car into the parking lot of the bank, just as the bad guy was driving out. Since the driver-in-a-hurry matched the description exactly, the lieutenant called it out over the radio to the responding patrol vehicles.

The robber headed west, even as the lieutenant followed him. Of course, the bad guy didn’t know a cop was right behind him, so he tried to blend in with traffic. As suddenly as he committed his crime, there were multiple marked police units behind him – patrol cars, motorcycle cops – and they all turned on their emergency lights at the same time.

The bad guy with the weenie pistol was overwhelmed with fear, so he stopped his car right in the middle of traffic. In a textbook felony stop, he was handcuffed and taken into custody. No one was hurt, the money and the gun were recovered, and the incident came to a close.

This was how I spent part of my shift today with my squad, a great bunch of professional police officers. I am very proud to be part of this team.

Whether soldiers or cops, the teamwork of well-trained warriors is a thing of beauty to behold…

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Terrorists: Beware America's Grim Reaper

You've just got to love this technology! Sent to me by an Army historian:

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BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AP) The airplane is the size of a jet fighter, powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet. It is outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles.

The Reaper is loaded, but there is no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada.

The arrival of these outsized U.S. "hunter-killer" drones, in aviation history's first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill. That moment, one the Air Force will likely low-key, is expected "soon," says the regional U.S. air commander. How soon? "We're still working that," Lt. Gen. Gary North said in an interview.

The Reaper's first combat deployment is expected in Afghanistan, and senior Air Force officers estimate it will land in Iraq sometime between this fall and next spring. They look forward to it.

"With more Reapers, I could send manned airplanes home," North said.

The Associated Press has learned that the Air Force is building a 400,000-square-foot expansion of the concrete ramp area now used for Predator drones here at Balad, the biggest U.S. air base in Iraq, 50 miles north of Baghdad. That new staging area could be turned over to Reapers.

It is another sign that the Air Force is planning for an extended stay in Iraq, supporting Iraqi government forces in any continuing conflict, even if U.S. ground troops are drawn down in the coming years.

The estimated two dozen or more unmanned MQ-1 Predators now doing surveillance over Iraq, as the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, have become mainstays of the U.S. war effort, offering round-the-clock airborne "eyes" watching over road convoys, tracking nighttime insurgent movements via infrared sensors, and occasionally unleashing one of their two Hellfire missiles on a target. From about 36,000 flying hours in 2005, the Predators are expected to log 66,000 hours this year over Iraq and Afghanistan.

The MQ-9 Reaper, when compared with the 1995-vintage Predator, represents a major evolution of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. At five tons gross weight, the Reaper is four times heavier than the Predator. Its size is 36 feet long, with a 66-foot wingspan is comparable to the profile of the Air Force's workhorse A-10 attack plane. It can fly twice as fast and twice as high as the Predator. Most significantly, it carries many more weapons.

While the Predator is armed with two Hellfire missiles, the Reaper can carry 14 of the air-to-ground weapons or four Hellfires and two 500-pound bombs.

"It's not a recon squadron," Col. Joe Guasella, operations chief for the Central Command's air component, said of the Reapers. "It's an attack squadron, with a lot more kinetic ability." "Kinetic" is Pentagon argot for destructive power. It is what the Air Force had in mind when it christened its newest robot plane with a name associated with death. "The name Reaper captures the lethal nature of this new weapon system," Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, said in announcing the name last September.

General Atomics of San Diego has built at least nine of the MQ-9s thus far, at a cost of $69 million per set of four aircraft, with ground equipment.

The Air Force's 432nd Wing, a UAV unit formally established on May 1, is to eventually fly 60 Reapers and 160 Predators. The numbers to be assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan will be classified. The Reaper is expected to be flown as the Predator by a two-member team of pilot and sensor operator who work at computer control stations and video screens that display what the UAV "sees." Teams at Balad, housed in a hangar beside the runways, perform the takeoffs and landings, and similar teams at Nevada 's Creech Air Force Base, linked to the aircraft via satellite, take over for the long hours of overflying the Iraqi landscape.

American ground troops, equipped with laptops that can download real-time video from UAVs overhead, "want more and more of it," said Maj. Chris Snodgrass, the Predator squadron commander here. The Reaper's speed will help. "Our problem is speed," Snodgrass said of the 140-mph Predator. "If there are troops in contact, we may not get there fast enough. The Reaper will be faster and fly farther."

The new robot plane is expected to be able to stay aloft for 14 hours fully armed, watching an area and waiting for targets to emerge. "It's going to bring us flexibility, range, speed and persistence," said regional commander North, "such that I will be able to work lots of areas for a long, long time."

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Keep up the good work, Air Force guys...

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Taliban Moves Closer to Pakistan's Nukes

Other than the ominous march of Iran toward nuclear weapons, the next greatest fear is that the Taliban - who were run out of Afghanistan in 2003 by the United States - will someday get hold of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

Sadly, the Pakistani leadership still believes their greatest threat is India, when the disease within their borders is the bigger danger.

Here is a good article from David Ignatius:

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Moment of Truth in Pakistan

By David Ignatius
Sunday, May 3, 2009

President Obama convened a crisis meeting at the White House last Monday to hear a report from Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had just returned from Pakistan. Mullen described the worrying situation there, with Taliban insurgents moving closer to the capital, Islamabad.

"It had gotten significantly worse than I expected as the Swat deal unraveled," Mullen explained in an interview. He was referring to a truce brokered in February in the Swat Valley, about 100 miles north of Islamabad. The Pakistani military had expected that the cease-fire would subdue Taliban fighters in Swat. Instead, the Muslim militants surged south into the district of Buner, on the doorstep of the capital.

Listening to Mullen's report at the White House were two senior officials -- Defense Secretary Bob Gates and special envoy Richard Holbrooke -- who were serving in government back in 1979, when a Muslim insurgency toppled the Iranian government, with harmful consequences that persist to this day. The two policy veterans "made the argument that it's worth studying the Iran model," recalls a senior official who took part in the White House meeting.

This was Pakistan week for the administration's foreign policy team, behind the self-congratulatory hubbub over the first 100 days. At a news conference Wednesday, Obama said that he was "gravely concerned about the situation in Pakistan." He said his biggest worry was that "the civilian government there right now is very fragile."

The challenge in Pakistan is eerily similar to what the Carter administration faced with Iran: how to encourage the military to take decisive action against a Muslim insurgency without destroying the country's nascent democracy.

And there's a deeper psychological factor, too: how to exercise U.S. power effectively without triggering a backlash from a proud and prickly Muslim population that is scarred by what it sees as a history of American meddling.

"My experience is that knocking them [the Pakistani government and military] hard isn't going to work," said Mullen. "The harder we push, the further away they get." For the crackdown on the Taliban to be successful, he said, "it has to be their will, not ours."

What encourages U.S. officials is that recent events have been a wake-up call for a Pakistani elite in denial about the Taliban threat. One top civilian official said that he was less worried now than three weeks ago, because the military and civilian leaders in Islamabad have realized the danger they face. The Pakistani military has begun an effort to push back the Taliban, with mixed results. The Taliban responded fiercely to an assault Tuesday in Buner and seized three police stations, kidnapping dozens of police and paramilitary troops.

"My biggest concern is whether [the Pakistani government] will sustain it," Mullen said. He has told his Pakistani counterpart, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, that "we are prepared to assist whenever they want." During his recent visit, Mullen toured two Pakistani counterinsurgency training camps and came away impressed.

Mullen said that he hopes the Pakistanis will adopt a classic three-part counterinsurgency strategy -- clearing areas of Taliban control, holding those areas with enough troops so that the local population feels secure and then building through economic development, with U.S. help.

Politically, the United States is looking increasingly to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whose Muslim League dominates the crucial Punjab region. Officials note that 60 percent of the Pakistani population lives in Punjab and that Sharif's popularity rating there is over 80 percent.

President Asif Ali Zardari is far weaker, politically, and that worries the administration. He'll visit Washington this week to discuss the crisis with Obama.

U.S. officials are exploring ways to reduce the political strain on Zardari caused by U.S. drone attacks on al-Qaeda sanctuaries in the tribal areas. Pakistanis protest these attacks as violations of sovereignty, even though they had been blessed in secret by Zardari's government. This tension could be eased by some public formula for dual control. Explains a senior Obama administration official: "We're looking at how we might find some common way ahead where utilization of the asset could benefit the Pakistanis."

The growing crisis mentality in Washington poses its own threat to a sound Pakistan policy. It could produce red-hot American rhetoric and a corresponding U.S. impatience -- and that, in turn, would only make the Pakistanis more uneasy. Success depends on Islamabad's recognition that it's their problem and that they must act decisively.

The writer is co-host of PostGlobal, an online discussion of international issues. His e-mail address is davidignatius@washpost.com.

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As all these fundamentalist Muslims inch their way toward nuclear weapons, the world gets a little scarier every day.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

The Tragedy of Drug Abuse

Being a cop means getting used to all of the worst parts of people’s lives. We resolve problems for the good guys, put the bad guys in jail, and comfort people who have suffered the inevitable tragedies of life.

As a patrol officer, street crimes cop, and detective, I have seen the results of murder, suicide, accidental death, and natural death. When it is someone you don’t have a connection with, it’s sad enough. Sometimes, though, the person is someone you have known before, however briefly.

I grew up in Central Florida, so I am always running into someone I haven’t seen for thirty or more years. When that happens, we are polite to each other, even though we don’t look anything like we did when we were in high school. Okay, we’re old, for crying out loud.

It is a much more sobering experience to have known someone as a youngster only to have them die from a drug overdose in the city where I am a cop. Such an incident happened to me recently when a man died alone in his apartment. One of his brothers was my age.

I wasn't the primary officer on this call, so I learned his name as I helped the medical examiner load his body into a van. Although we weren’t close friends in our youth, it was still difficult to realize that his life was over and that it ended in such a wasted manner. It was sad for him, tragic for his family and friends, and eye-opening for those who knew him over the many decades of his life. It isn’t easy to see someone throw their lives away when they had so much opportunity.

I once stopped a beat-up old car filled with personal belongings. When the man handed me his driver’s license, I saw a disheveled individual with a scraggly beard. Here was a guy who was barely surviving. Then I looked at the name on the license. I was flabbergasted.

It was a professional I had known a few years before. We had even done some business together. He had his own successful company, and his name appeared frequently in the society columns. Now he looked like he was one step above living under an overpass.

When I asked him what had happened, he sighed and said, “Crack.” I couldn’t believe that this intelligent college graduate had actually fallen prey to crack cocaine.

“My God, man,” I asked him. “How could you even touch that stuff?”

He looked at me through eyes that were old before their time. “It was always there,” he said softly. “The cocktail parties, the high society functions. I thought I could handle it just like I thought I could handle everything. It took over my life the first time I used it.”

This wealthy, successful man had lost his wife, his children, his home, his business, and everything he owned was in the back of this car.

I tried to encourage him to seek help. He said, “Thanks, but I’ll take care of it.” It was a polite way to tell me to mind my own business.

I let him go without a ticket, but I got a phone call from him a couple of months later. He had a new job, and he wanted to meet me for lunch. After we met at a McDonald’s, he took me to see his new office where he had a sales job. He was dressed nicely in a shirt and tie, and his attitude was positive.

I told him to stay in touch and let me know how things went for him. He said he would call me and tell me how many sales he was making.

I never heard from him again.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

The Ranger Cop Catches Up A Bit

The world of police patrol hasn’t changed much. A variety of calls – good guys and bad guys – including shoplifters, domestic violence victims and suspects, suspicious people, illegal aliens, transients, victims of identity theft, burglars, wanted felons, and a multitude of others.

From the C.O.B.R.A. Team: Cobra 3 (Higginbotham) is back in the States, Cobra 2 (Aaron Self) met Cobra 5 (Kristi Self) for a vacation before heading back to their respective assignments, Cobra 4 (Doc Actis) was in California (the last time I heard from him) doing the acting thing as “John Ceallach”.

I’m not real happy that our new president is being so buddy-buddy with dictators and other slimy international thugs.

How the heck did Obama think he could even propose that wounded warriors pay for their medical care with their own health insurance? Thankfully, even his left-wing supporters in Congress didn’t buy off on this stupid idea. Tells you where he’s coming from though, doesn’t it?

It’s just plain wrong that the government won’t let some of the large financial institutions pay back their government “loans”.

Florida still remains near the top of the list in lost home values and foreclosures. I can’t sell my rental house now because it has dropped in value so much. Guess I may as well hang on to it.

The unemployment problems have hit close to home for just about everyone. Members of my own family have lost their jobs or have had their hours drastically cut. It is painful to see those you love having such problems when the whole thing wasn’t their fault in the first place.

I’m angry that the Democrats are spending the future income of our children and grandchildren with no concern for the inflation that is sure to cripple us down the road. A big “high five” to those who put together and attended the Tea Parties around the country.

Our “politically correct” new administration in Washington doesn’t have the guts to protect our borders. More illegal aliens enter our country every day to take jobs from Americans and pay no taxes. But they use our health care and education systems for free.

Caught a Mexican guy who was about to illegally dump a load of landscaping waste. His only identification was his Mexican driver’s license. He was driving, so he went to jail for not having a Florida driver’s license. I had to call a Spanish-speaking officer to translate for me – “You’re under arrest, amigo…”

Debbie and I haven’t decided whether we will move out of Florida or not when I eventually retire from the police department. We’ve looked at Tennessee, Idaho, and Utah, but we’re still not sure. I guess it will depend on the economy.

The final editing of my book is complete. I had the help of a really professional editor from my publisher. Next week it will move to the production phase, so hopefully it will finally be available in six to nine weeks. My author’s website is also almost ready, and I will also have a “book trailer” on the site. I’ll keep you posted.

I read a quote from a famous writer. He said that, with all the revisions, corrections, etc., that he probably re-wrote his book seven times. I kind of feel like that myself, but I am proud of the final manuscript.

I’ll try to do better in making entries to the American Ranger blog. Thanks for checking in…

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com
Email: TheRangerCop@aol.com

Fallen Warrior Returns Home – This Time in Public

It is finally the decision of families as to whether or not the return of their fallen warriors will be publicized or will remain a private ceremony. This is as it should be. There is only honor in showing our respect for these brave and selfless Americans. The following article from Military.com and the Associated Press is an account of the first time the media has been permitted to witness the return of the remains of one of our troops:

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US War Dead Again Return in Public Eye

April 06, 2009
Associated Press

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- The Pentagon's 18-year ban on media coverage of fallen U.S. service members returning home ended quietly last night, with only an officer's sharp order to salute accompanying a single flag-covered casket being unloaded from a cargo plane.

After receiving permission from family members, the military opened Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to the media Sunday night for the return of the body of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va.

The 30-year-old Airman was killed April 4 near Helmand province, Afghanistan, when he was hit with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said.

Myers' family was the first to be asked under a new Pentagon policy whether it wished to have media coverage of the arrival of a loved one at the Dover base mortuary, the entry point for service personnel killed overseas. The family agreed, but declined to be interviewed or photographed.

On a cool, clear night under the yellowish haze of floodlights on the tarmac, an eight-member team wearing white gloves and camouflage battle fatigues carried Myers' body off of a military contract Boeing 747 that touched down at 9:19 p.m. after a flight from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Myers' widow and other family members, along with about two dozen members of the media, attended the solemn ceremony, which took about 20 minutes and was punctuated only by clicking of camera shutters and the barked salute orders of Col. Dave Horton, operations group commander of Dover's 436th Airlift Wing.

Horton presided over the ceremony along with Air Force civil engineer Maj. Gen. Del Eulberg and Maj. Klavens Noel, a mortuary chaplain.

Noel and the other officers boarded the plane for a brief prayer before an automatic loader slowly lowered the flag-draped transfer case bearing Myers' body about 20 feet to the tarmac, where the eight-member team slowly carried it to a white-paneled truck.

Preceded by a security vehicle with flashing blue and red lights, the truck then slowly made its way to the base mortuary, where Myers' body was to be processed for return to his family.

Myers was a member of the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron with the Royal Air Force in Lakenheath, England, one of the bases the U.S. Air Force uses in the country. He was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery last year in recognition of his efforts in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Department of Defense said.

Myers' widow flew from England to attend the arrival of his body to the U.S., which marked the first time since 1991 that members of media were allowed to witness the return of a combat casualty to Dover.

The ban was put in place by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, at the time of the Persian Gulf War. From the start, it was cast as a way to shield grieving families. But critics argued the government was trying to hide the human cost of war.

President Barack Obama had asked for a review of the ban, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that the blanket restriction made him uncomfortable.

Under the new policy, families of fallen servicemen will decide whether to allow media coverage of their return. If several bodies arrive on the same flight, news coverage will be allowed only for those whose families have given permission.

There have been some exceptions since 1991, most notably in 1996 when President Bill Clinton attended the arrival of the remains of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 32 others killed in a plane crash in Croatia. In 2000, the Pentagon distributed photographs of the arrival of remains of those killed in the bombing of the USS Cole and in 2001, the Air Force distributed a photograph of the remains of a victim of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.

One objection to lifting the ban had been that if the media were present, some families might feel obligated to come to Dover for the brief, solemn ritual in which honor guards carry the caskets off a plane.

Few families now choose to attend, in part because doing so means leaving home and the support system of friends at a difficult time. The sudden trip can also be expensive and logistically difficult, though the military provides transportation for up to three members to greet their service members at Dover.

* * * *

We extend our condolences to the family members and friends of Staff Sergeant Myers.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Democrats Scrap “War on Terror”; The Taliban Threatens Washington Anyway

Okay, the new administration is a more “touchy-feely” kind of group. They don’t like the term “War on Terror” because they don’t want to offend Muslims. Well, gee, the good Muslims are supposed to be against terrorism anyway, so who are we afraid of offending?

This article from Military.com and the Associated Press talks about the latest threat from the leader of the Taliban. This character says his loony group is going to attack Washington, D.C.:

* * * *

Pakistani Taliban Threatens Washington

March 31, 2009
Associated Press

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - The commander of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Tuesday for a deadly assault on a Pakistani police academy and said the group was planning a terrorist attack on the U.S. capital.

Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million bounty on his head from the U.S., said Monday's attack outside the eastern city of Lahore was in retaliation for U.S. missile strikes against militants along the Afghan border.

"Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world," Mehsud told The Associated Press by phone. He provided no details.

Mehsud and other Pakistani Taliban militants are believed to be based in the country's lawless areas near the border with Afghanistan, where they have stepped up their attacks throughout Pakistan.

The Taliban leader also claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing that killed four soldiers Monday in Bannu district and a suicide attack targeting a police station in Islamabad last week that killed one officer.

Such attacks pose a major test for the weak, year-old civilian administration of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that has been gripped with political turmoil in recent weeks.

The gunmen who attacked the police academy in Lahore on Monday killed seven police and two civilians, holding security forces at bay for about eight hours before being overpowered by Pakistani commandos. Some of the attackers wore police uniforms, and they took hostages and tossed grenades during the assault.

Earlier Tuesday, a spokesman from a little-known militant group linked to the Pakistani Taliban also claimed credit for the attack and a similar ambush-style attack against the Sri Lankan cricket team earlier this month in Lahore. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the two claims.

Omar Farooq, who said he is the spokesman for Fedayeen al-Islam, said the group would carry out more attacks unless Pakistani troops withdraw from tribal areas near the Afghan border and the U.S. stops its drone strikes. The group previously said it was behind the deadly September bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad that killed 54 people.

Mehsud declined to comment on Fedayeen al-Islam's claim that it carried out the attack or to say whether the group is linked to his own.

"At this time, I will not give any detail," Mehsud said.

The Pakistani Taliban leader also said he was not deterred by the U.S. bounty on his head.

"I wish to die and embrace martyrdom," he said.

The Pakistani Taliban has links with al-Qaida and Afghan Taliban militants who have launched attacks against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan from a base in the border region between the two countries.

Pakistan faces tremendous U.S. pressure to eradicate militants from its soil and has launched several military operations in the Afghan border region.

The U.S. has stepped up drone attacks against militants in the area, causing tension with Pakistani officials who protest they are a violation of the country's sovereignty and kill innocent civilians.

Monday's highly coordinated attack highlighted that militants in the country pose a threat far outside the border region. It prompted Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik, Pakistan's top civilian security official, to say that militant groups were "destabilizing the country."

The gunmen killed six police during the assault, and one died late Monday from his injuries, said Lahore's commissioner, Major Azam Khan. He said Tuesday that the initial investigation revealed that two civilians were also shot and killed, but he did not reveal their identities.

More than 90 officers were wounded in the assault, according to officials.

After gunmen stormed the academy, masses of security forces surrounded the compound, exchanging fire in televised scenes reminiscent of the militant siege in the Indian city of Mumbai in November and the attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team.

Khan said three of the attackers blew themselves up when commandos retook the police academy to avoid arrest. Authorities arrested four others at the scene.

Wasim Ahmad Sial, a senior Lahore police official, said authorities have obtained fingerprints of the attackers who blew themselves up and have determined one of their identities. He did not provide further details.

Punjab police chief, Khawaja Khalid Farooq, told reporters Tuesday that a suspected militant who was captured at the scene of the attack had provided "genuine and actual leads that are beneficial for interrogation."

He said about 50 other people in Lahore were detained overnight for questioning.

* * * *

As far as radical Islam goes, the terror war continues....

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Remembering Navy SEAL Mike McGreevy

Here is a great story about Mike McGreevy's widow, Laura. You can also read about this heroic Navy Seal at the Navy Seal website below as well as the mountain Ranger website (McGreevy was also a Ranger):
http://www.navyseals.com/michael-m-mcgreevy-jr
http://www.usmountainranger.org/memorial/2006/mcgreevy.htm

* * * *

Fallen SEAL's Wife Races for a Cause

March 21, 2009
The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH - Laura McGreevy ran.

She ran for emotion. For the pain. In hopes of staying sane.

But mostly, McGreevy ran in memory of her fallen SEAL.

Mike McGreevy, a Navy SEAL, died in a helicopter crash in 2005 while on a rescue mission in Afghanistan.

The day after Laura learned her husband had died, she laced up her sneakers.

"At first it was an incredible shock," said McGreevy, who will run the half-marathon at this weekend's Shamrock Sportsfest at the Oceanfront. "Even though I knew his job was dangerous, I never in a million years thought anything would happen to him. They are such a well-trained and dedicated group of guys.

"I ran the next day to help alleviate the pain. It's been my therapy ever since." It's also been her cause.

In 2007, the Virginia Beach resident started the Mike McGreevy Memorial Fund -- giving scholarships to children who have lost parents to war. The fund has raised more than $80,000, and last year its first three scholarships were awarded.

Almost 100 runners in this weekend's Shamrock will help raise money for more.

Laura and Mike met while attending college. He was at the Naval Academy, she was at Rutgers. Mutual friends thought they would make a good couple.

They hit it off on the dance floor.

"Mike was known for really cutting a rug," McGreevy said. "In college he was known to dress up in '70s clothes and do all the dances. At weddings, he'd just tear it up."

Buddies dubbed him "Groove."

When McGreevy was trying to think of a way to raise money for the memorial fund, she came up with the idea of Team Groove.

Runners who want to help raise money can join the team by paying whatever they want in addition to the race entry fee.

Last year, Team Groove raised more than $5,000 in its first Shamrock.

"Team Groove stands for his energy for life... his ability to always have a good time," McGreevy said.

Mike McGreevy wrestled and ran track during his youth. He started running the Marine Corps Marathon while attending the Naval Academy.

His love of running wasn't lost on his young bride.

"He inspired me into running and doing triathlons," said Laura, 32. "I got good enough that I was beating him at the triathlons. I'd beat him because I was a better swimmer."

McGreevy runs several races and triathlons each year and always uses the events to tell Groove's story.

Next weekend she is running in the Super Frog Triathlon -- a half-Ironman -- in San Diego with a friend who also lost her SEAL Team husband.

"I remember very well what my life was like, and I'm going to run to support her," McGreevy said. "SEALS are one big family, and they look out for each other and the ones left behind.

"And I can use the opportunity to tell people about my scholarship fund."
But, deep down, it's another chance to run.

McGreevy, who has gone back to work and is raising 4-year-old daughter Molly, said her husband always is with her while she's in stride.

"I feel Mike's presence when running, especially when I feel like quitting," she said. "I think about all his training and all the stuff he went through.

"And I hear his voice in my head. 'Come on, babe... you can do it.' Then I'll ask him to give me his legs. He had the best legs for running."

* * * *

We extend our prayers to the McGreevy family and our wishes for Laura's success in her own mission.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

More Private Security Contractors Heading to Afghanistan

America could not have succeeded in Iraq without the highly skilled private security contractors. Virtually all of them have extensive military or police experience, advanced weapons training, and leadership skills. The war in Afghanistan will also require the abilities of these outstanding individuals.

The following Associated Press article talks about the use of these warriors in Afghanistan:

* * * *

Afghan Build-up Means Contractor Surge

March 23, 2009
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The military buildup in Afghanistan is stoking a surge of private security contractors despite a string of deadly shootings in Iraq in recent years that has called into question the government's ability to manage the guns for hire.

In recent online postings, the military has asked private security companies to protect traveling convoys and guard U.S. bases in troubled southern provinces such as Helmand and Kandahar. And if truckers hired to transport fuel for the military want protection, they can hire their own armed guards, the military says.

The Bush administration expanded the use of such companies with the onset of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because it can save the military time and money. But the practice lost much of its appeal with Congress after September 2007, when five guards with what was then called Blackwater Worldwide (the company recently changed its name to Xe) opened fire in a crowded Baghdad square and killed 17 Iraqis.

Those killings followed a 2006 incident in which a drunken Blackwater employee fatally shot an Iraqi politician's bodyguard.

Now, as President Barack Obama plans to send more U.S. personnel to Afghanistan to boost security and diplomatic efforts, more contractors are preparing to deploy, too.

Still, serious questions remain as to how these private forces are managed, when they can use deadly force and what happens if they break the rules.

"We understand the difficulty of providing for the security of the Department of Defense facilities," Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Dec. 9.

"However, the proposed contract would appear to dramatically expand the use of private security contractors in Afghanistan," Levin said, adding that the reliance on contractors in Iraq resulted in "widespread abuses."

Levin, D-Mich., wrote to Gates after The Washington Post reported on the contract bid for armed guards at U.S. bases in southern Afghanistan.

In his letter, he noted the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act, which warns the Defense Department against outsourcing security operations "in uncontrolled or unpredictable high-threat environments."

Complicating matters is that the armed guards hired in Afghanistan most likely won't be U.S. citizens. According to Gates, only nine out of the 3,847 security contractors in Afghanistan have U.S. passports.

Some lawmakers worry that arming non-U.S. citizens to protect American bases or convoys poses a security risk in a country rife with corruption and on the defensive against the militant Taliban.

Gates defended the practice in his Feb. 17 response to Levin. "The use of contractor security personnel is vital to supporting the forward-operating bases in certain parts of the country and in continuing our efforts to employ local nationals whenever possible," the Pentagon chief said.

Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, agrees.

"If Afghans are qualified to do jobs, we want them to do jobs," McCain, R-Ariz., said in an interview.

Despite Gates' assurances, Levin said in a statement to the Associated Press that he would "continue to actively review the issue and to consider the need for legislation."

But so far, Congress has struggled to close even the most glaring of legal loopholes governing security contractors in war zones.

While the law says U.S. courts have jurisdiction over defense contractors working in a war zone, it leaves in question those supporting other agencies, such as the Blackwater guards hired by the State Department and involved in the Baghdad shooting.

In October 2007, the House voted 389-30 to give U.S. courts jurisdiction over all contractors in a war zone. But momentum on the bill stalled after the Bush administration raised objections. The Senate version of the bill, introduced by Barack Obama when he was an Illinois senator, never received a vote.

Last month, two sponsors of the bill, Reps. David Price, D-N.C., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., asked President Obama in a letter to pick up where he left off by helping Congress define which tasks only government should perform.

Currently, there are 71,700 contractors in Afghanistan, which is more than twice the number of U.S. troops. With more than 3,000 of those contractors carrying weapons, the Defense Department established an office to oversee them.

That office, known as the "armed contractor oversight directorate," just agreed to pay $993,000 to Aegis Defense Services, a London-based security and risk management company, to help do that job.

Gates assured Levin that the military's contract with Aegis would not result in contractors overseeing contractors.

Instead, the nearly $1 million dollar deal would provide administrative support only and that the company's workers would not have "direct input into daily operations, force protection, or combat operations," Gates said.

* * * *

As with military operations, there will always be a few who break the laws or who violate military regulations. The vast majority of the private security contractors are brave men and women who are willing to put themselves at risk to help others.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Police Tragedy in Oakland, California

There is no such thing as a “routine” traffic stop. This horrible tragedy proves once again that cops are at risk every moment of their work day.

The victims were Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, Officer John Hege,41, Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35, and Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43.

This story is from the Associated Press:

* * * *

Gunman Kills Police Officers in Oakland

Some Bystanders Taunt Police After Slayings

By TERRY COLLINS and LISA LEFF, Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (March 22) - A police officer shot during a traffic stop has been pronounced brain dead but remained on life support, police said Sunday, retracting an earlier statement that he had died.

Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason announced the death of 41-year-old Officer John Hege earlier Sunday but later said that Hege was being kept alive while a final decision was made about donating his organs.

Police said a 26-year-old parolee wanted on a parole violation opened fire on Hege and Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, during a traffic stop Saturday afternoon, killing Dunakin, police said.

Lovelle Mixon, the suspect, was slain later Saturday in a gunfight with police that left two more officers dead. Thomason identified those officers as 43-year-old Sgt. Ervin Romans and 35-year-old Sgt. Daniel Sakai.

Oakland police said never in the department's history had so many officers been killed in the line of duty in a single day.

People lingered at the scene of the first shooting. About 20 bystanders taunted police.

The violence began when Hege and Dunakin, both on motorcycles, stopped a 1995 Buick sedan in east Oakland, Thomason said. The driver opened fire, killing Dunakin and gravely wounding Hege.

The gunman then fled on foot, police said, leading to an intense manhunt by dozens of Oakland police, California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County sheriff deputies. Streets were roped off and an entire area of east Oakland closed to traffic.

Around 3:30 p.m. officers got an anonymous tip that the gunman was inside a nearby apartment building. A SWAT team entered the building when the gunman opened fire, police said. Romans and Sakai were killed and a third officer was grazed by a bullet, police said.

Officers returned fire, killing Mixon, Acting Oakland police Chief Howard Jordan said.

"It's in these moments that words are extraordinarily inadequate," said Mayor Ron Dellums at a somber news conference announcing the slayings.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered flags at the state capitol flown at half-staff Sunday in honor of the slain officers. He arrived in Oakland on Sunday afternoon to meet with Dellums and members of the police department.

"All four officers dedicated their lives to public safety and selflessly worked to protect the people of Oakland," he said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those lost, the Oakland Police Department and law enforcement officers throughout California during this difficult time."

Police said Mixon used two different weapons: a gun at the first scene and an assault rifle at the apartment building where he was hiding.

"(Mixon) was on parole, and he had a warrant out for his arrest for violating that parole. And he was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon," said Oakland police Deputy Chief Jeffery Israel.

Police said they did not know why the officers initially stopped the suspect, but said it apparently was a routine traffic stop. Thomason said Mixon had an extensive criminal history and was wanted on a no-bail warrant.

Reached by telephone late Saturday, Dr. John S. Hege said his son loved being a policeman and recently became a motorcycle traffic patrol officer. "He liked excitement," he said.

Hege said the slain shooting suspect "was evidently terribly desperate. It is a sad story."

LaTasha Mixon, 28, of Sacramento said Sunday that her cousin was "not a monster." She said her family's prayers were with the slain officers' relatives. "We're devastated. Everybody took a major loss. We're crushed," she said.

* * * *

Our thoughts and prayers go out to these men, their families and their fellow law enforcement officers.

Charles M. Grist
www.American Ranger.blogspot.com
www.TheCobraTeam.com

Dumb Criminals – Job Security for Cops

My fellow police officer and I maneuvered our marked patrol cars through traffic until we were both behind the white Mitsubishi. The three subjects in the car (one man, two women) were suspects in a brazen shoplift from a toy store. Witnesses provided an accurate tag number and direction of travel, so the car was easy to find.

The first radio message said store personnel witnessed the theft of a large quantity of children’s clothes. By the time we pulled the car over, the officer at the store said the witness was only partially sure of what he saw. After behaving “suspiciously” in the aisles of the store, the suspects left “much fatter” than when they arrived, according to the clerk. They also matched the description of other suspects in another store of the same name. Because of the circumstances, the retail manager decided to simply trespass the individuals from his store.

All three suspects had extensive arrest histories, including prison time and county jail time. We looked at the man and told him they were being trespassed. Then we added, “as long as the stolen property is returned.”

Well, after looking at all the stuff in the back seat, we figured we’d give the ruse a try.

The man was about forty, and he looked at us suspiciously, as if we would arrest him as soon as he gave us the clothes. We said, no, we won’t arrest you; just give us back what you stole. He said, "It’s a deal…"

The guy reached into the car and pulled out the clothes they did steal from the toy store. I noticed several other bags in the back seat filled with more clothing. Continuing our bluff, I said, "You understand that if we search the car and find more stolen property, the deal is off."

With that, the guy pulled two more bags out of the car that were stuffed with stolen clothes, this time from a second store. In all, hundreds of dollars in stolen property were recovered. The circumstances didn’t permit us to arrest them, so we used a little "trickery" to recover what we could. Sadly, neither store could or would prosecute, so the bad guys got away with only the trespasses.

What these experienced crooks didn’t know was that all of their personal information, their photos, pictures of the Mitsubishi, etc. went to our intelligence officer. He will prepare an intelligence bulletin for other local law enforcement agencies. Using photo lineups, these thieves will surely be identified for other similar crimes. Justice will prevail, and they'll end up in jail again - right where they belong.

I asked the guy, "Didn’t you just get out of prison?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "I did eighteen months."

"You got kids?" I inquired.

"Two," he answered.

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked. "Are you trying to go back to prison? Do you realize how long a sentence you’ll get next time? For what, stealing clothes?"

"I know,” he replied. "I guess I’m just stupid."

No response from me was necessary.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Turning 60 – The Adventure of Life Continues

"A man is not old as long as he is seeking something." Jean Rostand

Sixty years ago today, I entered the world at twelve o’clock noon – just in time for lunch. I was raised in Central Florida by my parents, John and Claire Grist, who provided my sister Jeannie and me with a wonderful life. For my contemporaries who remember the old television show “Father Knows Best”, that was my life. Businessman father, homemaker mother, middle class neighborhood, old American values.

Like most people my age, I’ve experienced both success and failure over these many years. I’ve made some good decisions, but I’ve also made really bad ones. Such is the game of life. Debbie and I have spent thirty-five years together, we’ve raised four kids through good times and bad, and we now enjoy our four beautiful grandchildren. We haven’t done everything right, but we worked hard together and we did the very best we could.

I’m a lucky man and I know it. I’ve had the opportunity to serve my country in uniform during part of five decades. Even with the breaks in service, the active Army, the Florida Army National Guard, and the Army Reserve each had a piece of me in the sixties, the seventies, the eighties, the nineties, or now in the first decade of the 21st century. I am truly blessed to have served with some of America’s greatest citizens, warriors in each of those decades who stepped forward to fight for their country. I've served with them at war in both Vietnam and Iraq, and many of my comrades gave their lives defending the cause of liberty.

My Army retirement is effective today. Although I spent most of my military service as a sergeant (and I am damn proud of it), I am retiring as a first lieutenant, my old Vietnam platoon leader’s rank. I may very well take my wife to the officer’s club every now and then, but drinking a beer with my NCO buddies will always be my first priority. I was the last Vietnam veteran in my Army Reserve unit.

I am still fortunate enough to be able to work as a police officer, although it appears that I am now the oldest cop at the police department. That’s okay; when I was an Army lieutenant, there were those who said I was too young to be an infantry officer. As an old Army sergeant and an old police officer, there are some who may think I’m too old for those jobs. I didn’t listen in 1969 and I won’t listen today. When it came time to retire from the Army, I knew it was the right thing to do. I’m also the best one to decide when I will hang up the holster, the handcuffs and the badge. And I will be the last Vietnam veteran at my police department.

Throughout my life, I have sought one challenge after another. It is the quest to live life to the fullest that makes life worth living. As I enter my final years as a police officer, I will only look ahead for the next adventure. I will never give up, I will never quit, and I will always remember that Rangers lead the way.

Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read the ramblings of an average soldier, a common man, and an old street cop.

The journey continues, so stick around. Let’s see what the future holds for me and for all of us…..

Charles M. Grist
www.TheRangerCop
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Just Another Cop On The Street - And Loving It

My first two weeks back at the police department were about what I expected. Working with professional cops, getting the feel of the city, and dealing with a wide variety of people. Most of the citizens I come into contact with are terrific; there are still the other kind - those from the "underbelly" of society.

The first day ended with over two hours of overtime because of a late arrest. That was really a positive thing because it got me writing reports, taking statements, processing evidence, and getting back in the general patrol routine. The arrest was just an average shoplifting arrest, but when a local deputy caught the guys based on a witness description, I got a chance to use my “interrogation” techniques once again. There are only three things that can solve a crime: physical evidence, witnesses, or a confession. In this case, we had the physical evidence and the witnesses, so a confession would be icing on the cake.

Some cops will leave it alone once they have sufficient probable cause to make the arrest. I happen to enjoy the icing on the cake, so I always try to get a post-Miranda confession. If I am successful, it simply polishes off a good case. I guess that philosophy is left over from my detective years.

In this particular crime, the arrestee was a man who was recently released from prison after a six year sentence. With a wife and kids to support, he didn’t go out and get a job as one might expect. He and a buddy decided to go into business stealing armloads of women’s purses from retail displays. I guess prison time just doesn’t teach common sense to everyone.

After I got the confession, I took him to the county jail, the first time I had been there in over two years. I turned my unrepentant criminal over to the booking officers and finished my report.

The rest of my first two weeks included multiple calls to various situations as either primary or backup officer. Suspicious persons, false business or residential alarms, a young man threatening to kill himself with a knife, a senior citizen who keeps letting her drug addicted adult son move back home, a sex abuse case, a variety of disturbances or domestic disagreements, and, of course, a handful of traffic tickets.

It ain’t Baghdad, but there’s one thing about police work that keeps a type A personality like me going.

You never know when the big one is going to happen.

* * * *

For those who are curious, the book is coming along fine at the publisher. In two to three weeks, it will move to the final production phase. This is where the cover will be designed, and the final layout will be completed. With luck, it should be available around June.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

America Faces New Challenges in Afghan War

With two members of the C.O.B.R.A. Team on the ground in Afghanistan (Aaron Self – Cobra Two; Chad Higginbotham – Cobra Three), I am keeping close tabs on this important front in the war on terror. In the following Associated Press article, the top commander in Afghanistan says the insurgents have fought us to a stalemate.

This doesn’t mean our soldiers aren't winning the battles; it means we don’t have enough soldiers to seize and hold critical areas. It also means we must deal with the humanitarian issues, increase the pace of the training for the Afghan military and police, and solve the problem of the safe havens in Pakistan.

Yes, it is a messy situation.

* * * *

Afghan War at Stalemate, McKiernan Says

February 19, 2009
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan offered a grim view Wednesday of military efforts in southern Afghanistan, warning that 17,000 new troops will take on emboldened Taliban insurgents who have "stalemated" U.S. and allied forces.

Army Gen. David McKiernan also predicted that the bolstered numbers of U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan - about 55,000 in all - will remain near those levels for up to five years.

Still, McKiernan said, that is only about two-thirds of the number of troops he has requested to secure the war-torn nation.

McKiernan told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that the extra Army and Marine forces will be in place by the summer, primed for counterinsurgency operations against the Taliban but also ready to conduct training with Afghan police forces.

McKiernan said what the surge "allows us to do is change the dynamics of the security situation, predominantly in southern Afghanistan, where we are, at best, stalemated.

"I'm not here to tell you that there's not an increased level of violence, because there is," he said.

The 17,000 additional troops, which President Barack Obama approved Tuesday to begin deploying this spring, will join an estimated 38,000 already in Afghanistan.

Another 10,000 U.S. Soldiers could be headed to Afghanistan in the future as the Obama administration decides how to balance its troop levels with those from other nations and the Afghan army. The White House has said it will not make further decisions about its next moves in Afghanistan until it has completed a strategic review of the war, in tandem with the Afghan government.

Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, said Wednesday that the foreign ministers of those countries will travel to Washington next week to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other officials as the U.S. formulates a policy review.

Appearing on "The NewsHour" on PBS, Holbrooke was asked how the Obama administration sees victory in Afghanistan. "First of all, the victory, as defined in purely military terms, is not achievable, and I cannot stress that too highly," he said. "What we're looking for is the definition of our vital national security interests."

Holbrooke described his recent trip to the region and the delegations coming to Washington as "a manifestation of a new, intense, engaged diplomacy designed to put Afghanistan and Pakistan into a larger regional context and move forward to engage other countries in the effort to stabilize this incredibly volatile region."

Whatever the outcome of the review, McKiernan said, "we know we need additional means in Afghanistan, whether they are security or governance-related or socioeconomic-related."

The estimated level of 55,000 troops needs "to be sustained for some period of time," he said, adding that could be as long as three to five years.

Some of the 17,000 U.S. troops soon headed overseas will be training Afghanistan police while battling insurgents as the nation's August elections approach. They include an Army combat brigade from Washington state and a Marine expeditionary brigade made up of troops from Camp Lejune in North Carolina and Camp Pendleton in southern California.

McKiernan said they would be sufficient for what he believes needs to be done through summer, when the fighting tends to be heaviest.

With the added ground troops, McKiernan said it's possible the military will scale back airstrikes that have been blamed for civilian casualties and angered the Afghan population.

The Taliban insurgents, some of whom have worked in concert with al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, have increasingly focused on what McKiernan described as small-scale attacks on government targets, police and official convoys. Last week militants launched a bold strike on government buildings in downtown Kabul.

McKiernan said the number of insurgents has not grown, but they are "very resilient" and "they have continuously adapted their tactics."

"We're not going to run out of people that either international forces or Afghan forces have to kill or capture," McKiernan said.

Ultimately, the conflict will be solved not by military force - but through the political will of the Afghan people, the general said.

"The insurgency is not going to win in Afghanistan," McKiernan insisted. "The vast majority of the people that live in Afghanistan reject the Taliban or other militant insurgent groups. They have nothing to offer them. They do not bring any hope for a better future."

Robert H. Scales, a retired Army two-star general who visited southern Afghanistan last October as a military adviser, said in a telephone interview Wednesday that he agrees there is essentially a stalemate in that area, which is a traditional stronghold for the Taliban movement. But he said that does not mean U.S. and allies forces are losing.

"It's reached the point where neither side has gained an advantage," Scales said, adding that he believes the south - particularly in the opium-producing Helmand Province - is the area with the greatest potential for U.S. gains against the Taliban, especially with more U.S. forces due to deploy there.

The rising violence in Afghanistan is conducted by militants who operate out of sanctuaries in Pakistan tribal regions along the border of the two nations. McKiernan called the stability of both countries "a regional challenge" and credited Pakistan with trying harder to secure the border.

"It's not enough; we need to do more," McKiernan said. "But it is a start."

He called it "in our vital national security interest to succeed" in Afghanistan.
"It's a country that is absolutely worth our commitment," McKiernan said. "And it's a region that is absolutely worth the commitment of the international community to ensure that it's stable at the end of this."

* * * *

We extend our support and encouragement to our fellow warriors who are risking everything for America in the cities, villages, hills and mountains of Afghanistan.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Remembering Lance Corporal Chance Phelps

The following article discusses the upcoming HBO movie “Taking Chance”, the moving story of the return of the remains of American warrior Lance Corporal Phelps to his family. This will be broadcast next Saturday and you can see more about the movie at http://www.hbo.com/films/takingchance/.

* * * *

Moving salute to the fallen

Hal Boedeker
Orlando Sentinel Columnist
February 15, 2009

Concise and deeply moving, Taking Chance tells a true story that has been repeated often but rarely depicted.

The HBO movie, which premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday, explains how the military treats war dead with great care and respect. The film also dramatizes how the public often responds to military sacrifices: Airline workers and passengers pause to pay tribute. Drivers put on their lights. Children watch with awe.

Taking Chance presents these scenes with simplicity and understatement. Running only 78 minutes, the film doesn't linger over emotional moments. There's no need to embellish when a tearful reservations worker thanks a Marine for his service or a flight attendant gives a small cross to show her regard.

That restraint deepens this tribute to Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, a 19-year-old Marine who was killed in Iraq in 2004. The movie is based on Lt. Col. Michael Strobl's journal of how he escorted Phelps' body home to Wyoming.

Strobl and director Ross Katz wrote the screenplay. They make a couple of missteps. They invent a scene of Strobl watching Phelps' remains overnight in an airport cargo area. They also briefly take the focus off Phelps and let Strobl open up about his guilt about not fighting in Iraq. Good thing an old veteran shuts up Strobl.

Otherwise, as Strobl, lean Kevin Bacon looks every inch a Marine and responds with a disciplined, poignant performance. Most effective in the brief supporting roles are Tom Wopat and Ann Dowd as Phelps' parents, Gordon Clapp as a pilot and Julie White as a straight-talking colonel.

The movie mostly steers clear of politics, although a driver wonders what we're doing in Iraq. Mainly, Taking Chance educates the public on the humbling, difficult process of escorting the bodies home. It's not an easy lesson, but it's powerfully worthwhile. The movie ends with photos and home movies of Phelps.

Hal Boedeker can be reached at 407-420-5756 or hboedeker@orlandosentinel.com.

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Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Once a Cop, Always a Cop

My first week back at the police department was a little like making your first parachute jump after spending a couple of years on the ground. It isn't hard to remember the important stuff, but you need help with some of the details.

For everyone who thinks I'm too old to be a cop, see if you can pick me out in the above picture from my first law enforcement job. (Yes, I'm kidding for crying out loud.)

During this first week, I had over two hundred revisions in policies and procedures to review, hours of videos to watch and several days of all types of training. We hit the range so I could once again qualify with my Glock and the shotgun (which I did) and I had to become current on my taser training. When I was first issued my taser after Iraq, I volunteered to let them shoot me with the probes so I could experience the full five seconds of 50,000 volts. No, it wasn't fun, but everyone else got a kick out of watching me bite the dust.

I also had to successfully pass the wellness or PT test that my department requires twice a year for all officers. The PT test includes a bench press, leg press, sit-ups, sit and reach flexibility exercise, body fat measurement and a timed walk or run. I passed with excellent scores in every category which is good for an old guy like me.

I needed a little refresher training on the in-car computer, but I will surely need some pointers after I start writing reports next week. Still, most of the systems are the same and it won’t take long to get back in the groove.

After I finished the training and received all my gear, I drove my patrol car around the city to become familiar with the changes in the landscape. Some buildings are gone, new ones have been built and a lot of businesses have changed their names. I saw some things that really surprised me, including our newly designed hospital.

I responded as backup officer to a couple of disturbance calls and linked up with cops I hadn’t seen since 2007. It’s good to get back with such an outstanding and professional group of people.

Almost everyone I saw made the same two comments in the same order. The first one was to welcome me back and the second one was to ask me how long before I would retire. A lot of the older officers will retire in the next couple of years, so it was a natural question. My response was simply that, since I will be 60 years old on February 28, I promised them I wouldn' stay on the job longer than five years.

Just like the Army, I’ll know when it’s time to take the police uniform off for good.

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I have received some inquiries about the book and it is in the hands of the publisher. Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer before it's available.

Thanks for asking and I hope you like the new header. I moved the C.O.B.R.A. Team header to the team website.

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Back to the Road

Master Police Officer Chuck Grist went to the police department today to draw some of the equipment turned in before reporting for active duty. I picked up my patrol car, my handgun, my taser and some other gear and it felt good to walk back into the headquarters.

Monday, February 2, is my first day back at work. The first week will be used for makeup training in firearms, defensive tactics, computers, CPR and wellness testing (PT test for you Army people). My department has a mandatory test twice a year just like the Army does.

My first day back on the road will be the 11th and I have been assigned to day shift. Between now and then, I will complete the above training and also familiarize myself with any legal changes since I went on active duty.

The American Ranger blog will continue to support veterans, warriors on active duty and all causes related to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines - and their families. I am proud of my fellow warriors and my retirement from military service (which is effective on February 28) is bittersweet. Still, it is time to pass the sword to the next generation.

I will also spend some time talking about cops and police issues as well. I may even talk about some of the more interesting calls I find myself dispatched to.

Thanks once again to all of you for your support for me and for my fellow service members, whether we are at war or at home. This old Vietnam veteran remembers how it was a generation ago and it's nice to see the current troops get the support from their fellow citizens that they deserve.

After I returned from Iraq in 2004, I was assigned to night shift patrol. It was fun to get back in the groove again. Cops and soldiers have a lot in common, especially the dedication they have for each other.

Naturally, I responded to a lot of interesting calls back then, but I did write about my first good arrest after my tour in Baghdad:

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Winter, 2004

"The convoys were over and I didn’t have to worry about mortars, rockets, ambushes, or improvised explosive devices any more, but my survival instinct was still fully engaged.

One morning at 0300, or three a.m., I was moving slowly on foot through the shadows outside a darkened apartment building. Like all hunters of men, my senses were at their peak – sight, hearing, even the sense of smell. Skulking about in the wee hours of the morning is one way a guy like me finds society’s thieves, robbers and other neighborhood “insurgents”. Someone’s got to do it; it might as well be those of us who love it.

Now I was easing my way through a concrete, steel and stucco jungle looking for what the police dispatcher described as a “suspicious person”. The biggest challenge was to find this human shadow before he saw me. As we used to say in Vietnam, "Whoever sees the other guy first wins."

Then I saw him.

The dark figure sitting in the car appeared to bob up and down, disappearing below the dashboard for a moment and then reappearing. With a flashlight and my nine millimeter Glock at the ready, I surprised the guy with a sudden burst of illumination. The light revealed a shattered driver’s window and a now-terrified thief.

I yelled the standard "Police, freeze!" and the car burglar gave me a "deer in the headlights" look. With dark, 'Mahdi Army' type clothes and a black knit cap pulled down over his ears, this wide-eyed moron was sitting in the driver’s seat, wearing gloves, holding the car’s stereo in one hand and grasping a screwdriver in the other.

The guy panicked and made a quick move toward the passenger door, but the old soldier’s command voice convinced him to stop. His shoulders drooped in defeat, he dropped the radio and then the screwdriver. He had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender.

I smiled and thought to myself, "I’m back."

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Am I looking forward to police work? You bet I am.....

Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com