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Until next time, continued prayers for our military, their families,
and our country.
Since becoming a Marine mom in 2003, I have learned how important it is for military parents to connect with other military parents,
not to believe everything in print or on television, and that every one of us has a strength deep down inside to draw upon when we
need it most.
My hope here is to honor the troops and to share online resources, letting you know that you are not alone.
If you would like to email a note of support and encouragement to the combat wounded, injured and ill patients on the hospital
ward at Bethesda Naval Hospital, you can send them to
Please keep the notes upbeat
and encouraging.
We will need the notes by the evening of Sunday, January 18th to give us time to format them and print
them out for the Bethesda 5 East luncheon.on January 24th.
Marine Moms-Bethesda has been doing this every luncheon they've
held for the past three years. The hospital ward serves all branches of the military and we ask that the notes be "generic" since
we are unable to guarantee that branch specific notes go to specific patients from specific service branches.
All of the notes
are formatted into a word document and packaged into a large envelope and distributed to the patients or their family members so everyone
receives all of the same notes.
This is a nice way to let the troops at Bethesda know they are appreciated, supported, and
not forgotten.
Free to you! The cost for the printer ink and paper is out of the pocket of the crew member who prints the notes out.
It is something we think is important to do... letting the troops know that America supports them.
Past Posts
Marja Operations
USO - Send a Valentine card to the Troops
So the phone rang...
Notes 4 Bethesda
Snowpacolypse
1 & 2
Holiday Cheer at Bethesda
Never
Forget!
Quilt Raffle Update
Arlington visit
Independence Day
May 2009
April
2009
March 2009
November 2008
Stay in touch!
For Marine Families:
For Army Families:
Friday, February 5, 2010
4:30 PM
SNOWPACLYPSE #2
Feb. 10, 2010 approx. 3 PM
The dog loved it!
Cabin fever set in and the guys started digging
out.
We got about 12 inches, and it drifted when the winds kicked up.
Saturday, Feb. 6
10:30 AM
Sunday., Feb 7m ,11:00 AM
We measured 16" when it was all over.
Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:04:00 -0600
|
American Forces Press Service
KABUL, Feb. 13, 2010 -
Key military clearing operations for Operation Moshtarak have begun in the central part of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Afghan
government officials announced today.
The clearing operations follow smaller-scaled shaping operations that have helped to set the
conditions for this new phase, officials said.
The combined force comprises the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, International
Security Assistance Force Regional Command South and the Helmand provincial reconstruction team. The operations now under way are
designed to clear the region of insurgents and set the conditions for the Afghan government to introduce increased security, stability,
development, rule of law, freedom of movement and reconstruction, officials said.
Officials said the goal of Operation Moshtarak;
a Dari word for "together"; is for the combined force to support the Afghan government in asserting its authority in central Helmand and
demonstrating its commitment to the people living there.
"The operation is being conducted in line with the wishes of the Afghan government
in Helmand," a statement issued by the ISAF Joint Command said. "The security forces involved are serving side by side, representing
partnership in strength."
(From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Commnand news release.) |
Winter of 2010 - NOT one, but TWO Snowpocalypes!
I know, i know - you Snow Country people are either tee-heeing at
us "southerners" or wishing this happened in your neck of the woods. It WAS beautiful, makes winter feel like "winter", and now I'm
ready for spring. My fingers are itching to "play in the dirt" and thoughts of Oean City in August are something I look forward to!
Marines taking a moment to eat before departing for their mission to seize intersections of key roads linking the Taliban stronghold
in the Marja area with the rest of Helmand province, Marja, Afghanistan, Feb. 9, 2010.
U.S. Marine photo by Lance Cpl. Walter Marino
From FOX -
U.S., Afghan and NATO Forces Begin Offensive Against Taliban
Roughly 15,000 American, Afghan and NATO forces began
an assault late Friday on the Taliban in the central Helmand town of Marjah in what senior military commanders are calling the largest
operation since the start of the Afghanistan war.
Punching their way through a line of insurgent defenses that included mines and homemade
bombs, ground forces crossed a major canal Saturday into the town's northern entrance.
Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, NATO commander of forces
in southern Afghanistan, said Afghan and coalition troops, aided by 60 helicopters, made a "successful insertion" into Marjah without
incurring any casualties.
"The operation went without a single hitch," Carter said at a briefing in the provincial capital of Lashkar
Gah.
Carter said the strike force quickly gained ground as it moved into Marjah and overran disorganized insurgents. "We've caught
the insurgents on the hoof, and they're completely dislocated," he said. (more at the link below.)
From "The Long War Journal"
LWJ: Assault on Taliban stronghold of Marja begins
Long War Journal | February 13, 2010 11:00 AM | Bill
Roggio
Coalition and Afghan forces have launched the long-awaited assault on the Taliban stronghold of Marja in Afghanistan's southernHelmand province.
A combined force of more than 6,000, including US Marines, Afghan soldiers, and British troops, kicked off the operation
during an air and ground assault in and around the city of Marja in central Helmand province after midnight yesterday. Hundreds of
troops were inserted into Marja by helicopter to seize key points within the city.
As the operation began, Coalition aircraft conducted
airstrikes on suspected Taliban and al Qaeda positions on the outskirts of the town. The Afghan government and the Coalition have
assembled more than 15,000 troops to take on the Taliban in Marja [see list below].
In the initial attack, five Taliban fighters were
killed . One British soldier was killed while on patrol during the offensive, the British military reported. Three US soldiers were
killed in an IED attack in southern Afghanistan, but it is not clear if they were participating in the operation at Marja.
Taliban
resistance has been described as "light" by Major General Gordon Messenger, the top British spokesman.
"There has been some resistance
but it has been relatively light and the initial objective of surprising the Taliban with the time and place of the operation appears
to have been achieved," Messenger said.
US intelligence believes that Marja and the outlying areas have been heavily mined with improvised
explosive devices. Coalition forces have deployed specialized mine-clearing vehicles and mine-resistance armored vehicles to move
forces into the city. Troops are moving in on foot or via helicopters to avoid the dangerous traps.
Soldiers with Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 23th Infantry Regiment inspect their equipment at Camp Tombstone in Helmand province,
Afghanistan. The US, British, and Afghan military are preparing for an assault on the town of Marja. Photo by US Air Force Tech Sergeant
Efren Lopez.
Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:02:00 -0600
Marja Operations Move Toward 'Holding' Phase
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON,
Feb. 25, 2010 - Operations in Marja, Afghanistan, are transitioning from the clearing to the holding phase, as today's turnover of
the government center there marks a symbol of progress, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today.
Twelve days into Operation
Moshtarak, the offensive in the former Taliban stronghold is "trending in a very positive direction," Morrell said, on both the military
and governance fronts.
The new Afghan government raised its flag over Marja today, with Abdul Zahir Aryan installed as its administrator.
Morrell called the transfer of the government center "symbolic of where we are in this operation."
*snip*
Morrell took care not to
sugarcoat the operation. "Although signs point to progress, it is still clearly a very dangerous situation," he said. "We're still
losing troops," with improvised explosive devices remaining the biggest threat.
"So we have to be very careful about how we progress
into those areas that are not under Afghan and coalition control," he said. "We're doing so in a very thorough, methodical way so
as to alleviate any potential for civilian or coalition force casualties."
The United States has suffered more casualties than Afghan
security forces in the operation only because they tend to conduct high-risk missions such as route-clearing operations, and because
enemy forces see them as more prized targets, Morrell said. *more at the link*
February 13th, 2010
Operation Moshtarak Has Begun.
The Afghan flag is raised as part of a ceremony to establish Afghan government control of Marja, Afghanistan, Marja, Afghanistan,
Feb. 25, 2010. U.S. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Joseph Reney
Feb. 26, 2010
So the phone rang a little after 8:00 Wednesday morning. It was Susan.
"Where are you?"
"I'm at BWI looking for a
shuttle. We decided last night that I should just come on out to be with him at the hospital."
Her son had arrived at Bethesda
from Landstuhl the day before, and the family was waiting to hear if he would be here for awhile or be sent to another hospital. Shortly
before midnight, Dad decided Mom should fly on out.
Long story short, she made it to the hospital okay. He was discharged
from the hospital today and is awaiting a flight home for convalescence leave and then physical therapy once the swelling goes down.
he was very fortunate. To those of you who sent prayers out for him, thank you.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2010 - Afghan and international patrols
found three weapons caches in Afghanistan's Helmand province yesterday.
One cache, found in the Reg-e Khan Neshin district, contained
eight rifle rounds, eight assault rifles, ammunition and an ammunition-filled vest.
Two caches were found in the Nad-e Ali district,
containing seven illumination rounds, six high-explosive rounds, 80 pounds of ammonium nitrate, 51 pounds of homemade explosives,
100 pounds of shrapnel, and four large home-made bombs. One bomb contained 75 pounds of homemade explosives, the second contained
five mortar rounds, and two others contained 10 mortar rounds each.
|  | A U.S. Army soldier searches for enemy movement during Operation Moshtarak in Badula Qulp in Helmand province, Afghanistan,
Feb. 19, 2010. The soldiers are assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment.
U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Efren |
In operations yesterday:
-- A combined force found several caches of weapons and drugs in Daykundi province. The caches contained
1,100 pounds of ammonium nitrate, more than 100 pounds of opium, 2 pounds of pure heroin, a small bag of opium seeds, a rocket-propelled
grenade launcher, a shotgun, two assault rifles, a bolt-action rifle and a substantial amount of ammunition. The security force arrested
one suspected insurgent in the operation.
-- In Helmand province, a patrol found a substantial amount of ammonium nitrate in a compound.
The patrol was involved in clearing the city in support of Operation Moshtarak when they found 5,500 pounds of the material along
with bomb-making components.
(Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command news releases.)
Feb. 28, 2010 A few short articles... I am following this because I have friends "over there".