Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Thursday, October 11, 2012
A U.S. Navy Seals' Secret Weapon: Elite Dog Team
The U.S. Navy SEALs who carried out the successful mission in Pakistan used high-tech helicopters, weaponry and masterful skills to kill Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to released details of the operation.
Members of the U.S. Navy military special forces, however, have yet another formidable weapon in their already impressive arsenal: an elite dog team that can parachute or rappel into action at a moment's notice.
It remains unclear if any members of the U.S. Navy SEALs' elite dog team participated in the raid of bin Laden's compound, but over the past several months, many of these dogs have been outfitted with "canine tactical assault vests" and other equipment, according to media reports.
The Register journalist Lewis Page reported that the U.S. Navy last year awarded an $86,000 contract to Canadian firm K9 Storm Incorporated for the supply of protective gear for dogs.
On its website, K9 Storm mentions that the assault vest "defeats a combination of ballistic and ice pick threats." The "aerial insertion vest" is also said to be able to withstand damage from single and double-edged knives. Protection against shrapnel and gunfire may also be provided.
Check out the videos showing how some of the K9 Storm gear for dogs works.
Page additionally wrote that U.S. Navy SEAL special forces dogs have been equipped with "infrared nightsight cameras and an intruder communication system able to penetrate concrete walls." Such a system would have been useful during Monday's raid in Pakistan, based on the description of bin Laden's compound.
Like their human colleagues, the Navy SEAL dogs may also be equipped with a self-inflating lifejacket in their assault and aerial vests, in the event that the dogs wind up in water. The weight of their gear could otherwise pull them downward but, like canine 007's, these dogs appear ready to handle almost any threat that comes their way.
Source: http://news.discovery.com/animals/a-us-navy-seals-secret-weapon-elite-dog-team-110503.html
Dogs are very common in Afghanistan -- both the dogs our Armed Forces bring in and the indigenous dogs to the area. Our military personnel encounter canines all of the time, and for this reason we often send dog treats in our care packages.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
See how love helped this Navy hero recover after he lost his limbs
They say love conquers all, and the story of Taylor Morris and his girlfriend, Danielle, is proof. While leading forces through dangerous terrain in Afghanistan last May, the Cedar Falls, Iowa, native stepped on an IED, instantly blasting all four limbs from his body. He somehow survived and made it back to the U.S. where he began a rehabilitation process. The process was grueling yet, with Danielle firmly by his side, the 23-year-old managed to get released from the hospital, fitted with prosthetic limbs, begin walking again and -- defying all odds -- dance at a friend's wedding. All in four short months.
Click here to see photos of Morris' recovery (courtesy Tim Dodd Photography).
Source: http://now.msn.com/taylor-morris-quadruple-amputee-veteran-recovers-after-afghanistan-ied-accident
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Monday, September 17, 2012
Slain Marine sensed insider attack was coming, dad says
By David Ariosto,
CNN
Oceanside, New York
(CNN) -- Deployed to a volatile outpost in southern Afghanistan where U.S.
Marines routinely face a mix of skirmishes and hidden explosives, Greg Buckley
Jr. sensed that an attack was imminent.
And he knew that it
would come from within.
The 21-year-old
Marine was posted to Garmsir in Helmand Province, where he was training local
security forces as part of NATO's planned withdrawal in 2014.
It was during a
static-filled phone call to his father over the summer that the Long Island
native mentioned a run-in he had with an Afghan trainee while on guard duty.
The encounter was the
first in which the Buckley family's eldest son seemed to sense something was
wrong, according to what he told his family in phone conversations and a
letter.
"The guy turned
around and said to Greg, 'We don't want you here. We don't need you
here,'" his dad said.
"Greg turned
around again and said, 'Why would you say that?'" according to Greg
Buckley Sr.
But the trainee
apparently wouldn't relent, repeating the phrases for hours over the course of
a night in which the young Marine was on guard watch.
"Greg said, 'I
thought I was going to lose my mind,'" his father said. "Pitch black
out, and all he kept saying over and over again is, 'We don't want you. We
don't need you. We don't want you.'"
"It was just
tormenting for him."
The two men then
finally confronted each other, yelling until a group of officers separated
them, he told his father.
"One of his
superiors came over and had Greg apologize to the guy," said the elder
Buckley.
The 21-year-old
agreed and extended his hand, but the man refused.
About a month later,
Greg phoned his father again.
"He told me if I
have to stay here until November... I'm not going to come home."
Greg also asked his
father to prepare to tell his mother and his two younger brothers that he'd be
killed.
"I don't
understand," his father said. "Out in the field?'
"No, in our
base," Greg replied.
On August 10, 2012,
Greg Buckley Jr. was gunned down by the very forces he had been training, just
days after learning that he was to head home early.
"It was only two
days he had left there in Afghanistan," his father told CNN.
The phenomenon is
known as "green-on-blue," due to a color-coding system used by NATO.
It has become disturbingly more frequent in Afghanistan, with more than 50 NATO
troops killed this year by local forces, the first time that's happened in a
single year in the U.S.-led war.
Last year, 35 people
died in such insider attacks, and even less the year before, according to NATO
figures.
The killings have
prompted suspensions of training new recruits while eroding the trust between
NATO and its Afghan allies.
The gunman involved
in Greg's death attacked from inside his outpost and killed two other fellow
Marines, his dad said.
But Greg Sr. said his
son had informed his superior officers that "one day they are going turn
around and turn those weapons on us."
CNN cannot
independently confirm that Greg informed superior officers. Calls and emails to
NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan were not
immediately returned.
More than a decade
after the war began, the Buckley family is now struggling to cope with the loss
of its eldest son. More than 2,000 other U.S. service members have been killed
in Operation Enduring Freedom.
"It's not really
day-by-day," said Greg's mother, Marina Buckley. "It's more
minute-by-minute."
Back in Oceanside,
the Buckley family on Friday attended the town's first home football game,
where their fallen son had intended to watch his youngest brother play varsity
for the first time.
"Greg was
supposed to be home for this game," said Justin, 17, who wore the number
30 on his back, Greg's old basketball number.
"I would tell
him I love him and I miss him."
The senior running
back, who donned a camouflage jersey along with his team, broke to the outside
on Friday for a 25-yard score that helped cement the Sailors' improbable
second-half comeback against top-ranked East Meadow.
After crossing into
the end zone, Justin raised his hand to salute -- honoring his fallen brother.
NATO admits killing
civilians in Afghan strike
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
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