#United States Army Special Forces

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Deadpool (2016, Tim Miller)

25/07/2024

[pedroam-bang]

Death Stranding (2019)

[matthewsengsack]

Matthew Sengsack - A Protective Security Specialist

Matthew Sengsack is a "Green Beret," or a member of the United States Army Special Forces.

[drepapi]

Special breed! I'm not only talking about the dog

[usarmytrooper]

Oh, the things I can imagine doing to him…

[us-air-force-2]

[ner2106]

Today my friends, let us pause to express our deepest gratitude to the men and women who have served our nation with courage, dedication, and unwavering commitment. To each of you who has worn the uniform, stood guard, and sacrificed so much, thank you. It’s because of your bravery that we are able to enjoy the freedoms and opportunities we hold dear.

On this Veterans Day, we honor not only your service but also the strength and resilience it represents. It is a privilege to share this great country with heroes like you, who have devoted themselves to protecting the land we all love.

With immense respect and gratitude – thank you for your service, for your sacrifices, and for inspiring us all.🫡

🇺🇸 It's Our Country, Our Future -Thanks to You!🇺🇸

⭐Happy Veterans Day!⭐

[casbooks]

Book 57 of 2024 (★★★★)

Title: In This Valley There Are Tigers Authors: Charles McDonald

ISBN: 9781508819004 Rating: ★★★★

Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.ARVN.Airborne Division, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.Green Berets, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.Green Berets.Project Delta, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Advisor, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Infantry

Description: In 1964, Charles A. McDonald was at Camp Khe Sanh before the first wholesale introduction of North Vietnamese Army troops onto the battlefield against U.S. forces. For twenty-four years in war and peace, McDonald served his country in its elite units as an Airborne Infantryman and Special Forces soldier. He trained and armed Bru tribesmen, Chinese mercenaries, Vietmamese Airborne and Special Forces troops. Stories as seen through his eyes "In This Valley There Are Tigers", McDonald tells a narrative of the personal violence and desperate suicide attacks in combat with vivid detail as it was from his own perspective during his three year experience in the Second Indochina War. He was there!

My Review: Charles McDonald writes like few others do - and that is both a good and a bad thing!

Let's get the negative out of the way, this book is an absolute SLOG to get through that a good editor should have been able to tighten up and clean up. But at the same time, doing so would have removed one of the things that makes this book so unique! McDonald tells the story of his three tours in Vietnam, starting with his last one as an advisor to the ARVN 7th Airborne battalion, followed up by his first tour with team A-322 in 1964 at Khe Sanh, and finally his middle tour split between Project Delta B-52 and the 1/327th 101st Airborne.

He flows back and forth between his own experiences, the experiences of others, and as a 3rd person historical narrator of events. When he is telling the stories of others, you often get much more detail of who / what / when, whereas when he is telling his own stories, you get stream of consciousness writing explicit with minutiae and details… what things smelled like, what he heard, what he was feeling. You get a lot of stories about bugs and birds and animals, about dew and the weather, you rarely ever hear a name or explanation of who he is serving with, and so many story elements are lost in all of the commentary about the cicadas and the mosquitos and the noises and the smells.

It's a slog to get through but at the same time, it's powerful to to experience these events through his eyes and thoughts in a way few authors bother to do.

Most authors tell you what is going on … we went here, we did this, we ended up there, we then went back to camp and slept. McDonald shows you footfall by football, kneel down by kneel down, almost every breath he took and every though and emotion he experienced. It's an insight into such a wide ranging experience with 4 different units doing 4 very different things, and you are really along for the ride … even when he's telling the history or the stories of others. Definitely not for the timid, but if you can handle it… go for it!

[mariacallous]

 Our Nation has made tremendous progress in advancing the cause of equality for LGBTQI+ Americans, including in the military.  Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  Many of these patriotic Americans were subject to a court-martial.  While my Administration has taken meaningful action to remedy these problems, the impact of that historical injustice remains.  As Commander in Chief, I am committed to maintaining the finest fighting force in the world.  That means making sure that every member of our military feels safe and respected.

     Accordingly, acting pursuant to the grant of authority in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., do hereby grant a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to persons convicted of unaggravated offenses based on consensual, private conduct with persons age 18 and older under former Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), as previously codified at 10 U.S.C. 925, as well as attempts, conspiracies, and solicitations to commit such acts under Articles 80, 81, and 82, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. 880, 881, 882.  This proclamation applies to convictions during the period from Article 125’s effective date of May 31, 1951, through the December 26, 2013, enactment of section 1707 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113-66).

     The purpose of this proclamation is to pardon only offenses based on consensual, private conduct between individuals 18 and older that do not involve any aggravating factor, including:  

     (1)  conduct that would violate 10 U.S.C. 893a, prohibiting activities with military recruits or trainees by a person in a position of special trust;      (2)  conduct that was committed with an individual who was coerced or, because of status, might not have felt able to refuse consent;      (3)  conduct on the part of the applicant constituting fraternization under Article 134 of the UCMJ;      (4)  conduct committed with the spouse of another military member; or      (5)  any factors other than those listed above that were identified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in United States v. Marcum as being outside the scope of Lawrence v. Texas as applied in the military context, 60 M.J. 198, 207–08 (2004).

     The Military Departments (Army, Navy, or Air Force), or in the case of the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, shall provide information about and publicize application procedures for certificates of pardon.  An applicant for a certificate of pardon under this proclamation is to submit an application to the Military Department (Army, Navy, or Air Force) that conducted the court-martial or, in the case of a Coast Guard court-martial, to the Department of Homeland Security.  If the relevant Department determines that the applicant satisfies the criteria under this proclamation, following a review of relevant military justice records, the Department shall submit that determination to the Attorney General, acting through the Pardon Attorney, who shall then issue a certificate of pardon along with information on the process to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.  My Administration strongly encourages veterans who receive a certificate of pardon to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.  

     Although the pardon under this proclamation applies only to the convictions described above, there are other LGBTQI+ individuals who served our Nation and were convicted of other crimes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  It is the policy of my Administration to expeditiously consider and to make final pardon determinations with respect to such individuals.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

[recursive360]

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,”

=> Required Reading

[pedroam-bang]

Death Stranding (2019)

[palestinegenocide]

Key Developments

Israel deploys 15,000 soldiers and military police in West Bank and Jerusalem ahead of Ramadan, including 5,000 reservists, 24 battalions, 20 Border Police companies, and two special forces units.

Hamas’s Izz El-Din Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson rules out any breakthrough in ceasefire talks, and describes Israel’s position as “deceptive.”

Abu Obaida warns that Israel’s campaign of starvation against Palestinians in Gaza is affecting Israeli captives, some of whom “suffer from hunger, malnutrition and dehydration.”

Izz El-Din Al-Qassam Brigades announces names of four out of seven Israeli captives who died “due to the aggressive Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip.”

25 Palestinian children have died of malnutrition and dehydration since March. The total death toll in Gaza surpasses 31,000 people, 72 percent of whom are women and children.

Gaza City municipality says Israel destroyed a one-million-meter square of roads in the Gaza Strip. 

Gaza City municipality needs heavy vehicles and fuel supplies to clean rubble and nearly 70,000 tons of rubbish.

Rescue teams transfer 37 bodies of Palestinian martyrs and 118 injured people to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah overnight.

U.S. to send army vessel to Eastern Mediterranean to deliver aid and supplies to Gaza.

Wafa reports that Israeli bombing of tents of displaced Palestinians killed 15 people in Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis.

Spain is considering recognizing a Palestinian state by 2027, according to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

[soon-palestine]

We write this call from our student movement in the Gaza Strip, from the heart of occupied Palestine, from under the brutal Zionist bombing, explosions, and the clutches of the monstrous nightmare of death that lurks around us in every corner, house, and street.

We raise it from prison cells, from beneath the destruction, and from inside the rubble, to send it to our fellow students, our comrades, brothers and sisters, in all the universities, schools and institutes of the world everywhere, & we address the global student movement… that was launched in order to stop the genocidal war that is being engineered and financed by the governments of the United States, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and others… this courageous student movement that was born in the universities as an integral part of our struggle, that expresses the conscience of students and peoples who yearn for justice and freedom.

We in the Gaza Strip look at you with pride and honour, as you are a revolutionary fighting vanguard, and a natural and integral part of our Palestinian liberation movement. You have come in a resounding, honest and clear response against the Israeli massacres and those who finance them, confronting the companies of the Zionist war of genocide and ethnic cleansing that have claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinian students of all ages… including hundreds of struggling Palestinian student cadres, wounded and imprisoned, in addition to our great loss in the martyrdom of our professors and teachers, and the destruction of our universities, institutes and schools.

Today, we call on you, from the midst of massacres and siege, to a new revolutionary phase of comprehensive escalation. We call on you to raise the pace and ceiling of your struggle and your honorable stances, quantitatively and qualitatively, against the institutions, corporations, and governments that participate in the slaughter of our children, our students, and our people.. In Rafah, Jabalia, Khan Younis, and the entire Gaza Strip, and against the settler gangs, armies of Zionist killers, that commit their crimes in camps, cities and villages in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. We call on you to besiege the White House in Washington, and to surround Western colonial governments and Zionist embassies, and the corporations that finance the Zionist entity and arm its criminal army with all kinds of bombs and means of death and destruction. These criminal colonial symbols represent the forces that support “Israel” to kill us – with your tax money and the money spent at complicit corporations, to destroy our homes, our society, and our future.

Therefore, we call on you to blockade them until the American Zionist aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip stops. At the same time, we renew our call to the teaching, academic, and union bodies in universities, as well as cultural, academic, and scientific figures, to advocate for and support student movements until they achieve their goals. Today we turn to high school students all over the world to participate widely in the struggles and activities of the university student movement, organizing demonstrations, and organizing educational days about the Palestinian struggle for liberation and return.

Secondary schools constitute a strong fortress and a great support for university students everywhere. Once again, we send special greetings to our brothers and sisters, the students of Palestine in the diaspora.

We greet our comrades and colleagues in Students for Justice in Palestine, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Palestine Action, and the academic boycott and divestment campaigns, and we salute everyone who participated and participates in student encampments. The duty and responsibility of Palestinian students in the Gaza Strip and all of occupied Palestine is steadfastness, commitment, resistance, unity, and alignment with the resistance and the people… …until the U.S. – Zionist aggression stops and the occupation is defeated and removed from our land — all our land, from the river to the sea.

Long live the struggle of Palestine’s students for return and liberation.

Long live international solidarity. And together we will be victorious!

Secretariat of Palestinian Student Frameworks – Gaza Strip

(available in AR original, EN, ES, FR, NL, DE)

https://samidoun.net/2024/05/a-call-from-the-palestinian-student-movement-in-gaza-time-for-revolutionary-escalation-of-the-global-intifada/

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Scenes of panicked civilians rushing out of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, after the Israeli occupation army targeted the reception hall of the medical center with artillery shells, damaging the entrance to the hospital in what can only be a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. 📈 The current death toll now exceeds 35'647 Palestinians killed and over 79'852 others have been wounded since Oct. 7th. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

DAY 228: US OKAYS "LIMITED" OPERATION IN RAFAH, OVER 900'000 PALESTINIANS DISPLACED, AL-AWDA HOSPITAL UNDER SIEGE, MASS MURDER CONTINUES UNABATED

On 228th day of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 5 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 85 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 200 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or who's bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted, as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

The authorities of the Israeli occupation have agreed to put aside plans for a full-scale assault on the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, for a more "limited" operation in the city, with the approval of the United States.

In an article published by David Ignatius in the Washington Post, Ignatius writes that "Israeli leaders have reached a consensus about a final assault on Hamas’s four remaining battalions in Rafah."

"Instead of the heavy attack with two divisions that Israel contemplated several weeks ago, government and military leaders foresee a more limited assault that U.S. officials think will result in fewer civilian casualties and, for that reason, Biden won’t oppose," Ignatius added.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army says it has displaced approximately 950'000 Palestinians in the Rafah area, where more than 1.5 million civilians had gathered to seek shelter from the occupation's ongoing violent bombardment of Gaza.

According to the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), some 300'000 to 400'000 Palestinians remain in the city, whose population was less than 172'000 prior to the start of "Israel's" ongoing genocide of Palestinians.

Previously, the IOF ordered the evacuation of the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, dropping leaflets over the city that demanded Palestinians uproot themselves and their belongings for the umpteenth time and move their families to the already obliterated city of Khan Yunis, as well as the equally destroyed Al-Mawasi area.

The Israeli media claims the occupation army never ordered the rest of the population leave the city, and that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have "chosen" to leave Rafah of their own volition.

Although IOF soldiers and armored vehicles have stopped short of entering central Rafah, their bombing and shelling has NOT remained contained within the easternmost neighborhoods, but has repeatedly hammered central and northern Rafah as well.

In other news, the humanitarian aid organization ActionAid International has issued an urgent appeal to the international community to intervene on behalf of the Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, which has been besieged by the Israeli occupation army for several days.

"Al-Awda Hospital, one of our vital partners, is currently under siege by the Israeli army, resulting in the complete blockade of access to and from the facility. This blockade severely impedes the hospital's ability to provide essential medical services to the most vulnerable populations in the north of Gaza," ActionAid warned on Tuesday.

Previously, the Israeli occupation forces laid siege to Al-Awda Hospital for 18 days in December, 2023, during which, three medical staff were shot by Israeli snipers.

According to ActionAid International, whose headquarters is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the hospital is "struggling to meet the urgent medical needs of the community, with 80% of injuries requiring immediate orthopaedic intervention."

"The capacity of Al-Awda Hospital has been severely compromised due to the bombing of its accommodation floors, resulting in the deaths of three doctors and the loss of 48 beds. Despite these challenges, 93 medical personnel continue to work tirelessly under extremely difficult conditions," the appeal said of the conditions at the hospital.

According to the acting Director of Al-Awda Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Salha, the hospital remains "under siege again by the Israeli military, with shooting and shelling in its vicinity, ambulances unable to leave the hospital and injured people unable to enter."

"We were surprised today by the siege of Al-Awda Hospital. [There was] shooting fired in the vicinity of the hospital and many shells," Dr. Salha is quoted as saying.

ActionAid goes on to emphasize that "the crisis unfolding at Al-Awda Hospital demands immediate attention and action. We urge leaders and governments across the world to leverage their diplomatic influence and take actions to address this urgent crisis."

"Specifically, we call on you to demand an immediate end to the siege imposed on the hospital by the Israeli government, allowing for the free movement of patients, medical staff, and essential medical supplies and fuel. Furthermore, we implore you to ensure the protection of civilians and medical staff both at Al-Awda Hospital and across Gaza. Swift and decisive action is imperative to alleviate the suffering of those affected by this humanitarian crisis," the appeal concludes.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army continues massively bombing and shelling various axis of the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding many scores of Palestinians and their families, while destroying the little remaining infrastructure and the few residential buildings still standing in the enclave following nearly 8 months of non-stop bombardment.

Today also marks the 15th consecutive day the Israeli occupation authorities have closed the Rafah and Karm Abu Salem border crossings, south of Rafah, preventing the passage of humanitarian and medical aid convoys, compounding the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.

The occupation army forces holding the two crossings have prevented more than 3'000 aid trucks from entering the Gaza Strip, while also preventing around 700 sick and wounded Palestinians from leaving Gaza for treatment abroad.

At the same time, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued their assault on Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, pummeling the city and camp with constant airstrikes and artillery shelling, while also hammering various other areas of northern Gaza.

On Tuesday morning, occupation warplanes bombed a residential building belonging to the Al-Kahlot family in the Beit Lahiya project, in Gaza's north, killing at least 12 civilians, while another 14 martyrs and 42 wounded resulting from IOF raids in the city were transported to Kamal Adwan Hospital over the previous 24-hours.

Several casualties were also recorded following the bombing of IOF fighter jets on a house belonging to the Al-Kahtib family, also in Beit Lahiya.

Simultaneously, Zionist military forces closed the entrance to the town of Beit Hanoun, also in northern Gaza, besieging the town and a nearby school filled with displaced Palestinian families.

In the meantime, occupation aircraft bombed the Zaharna family home, in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, murdering three Palestinians and wounding a number of others.

Occupation fighter jets also bombed a civilian residence belonging to the Qandil family in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of four civilians who were transported to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the city.

Occupation artillery shelling also hammered the eastern areas of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

Elsewhere in Gaza, occupation Merkava tanks advanced beyond the Salah al-Din Gate along the border south of Rafah, while also demolishing several residential buildings using intense artillery shelling in the Brazil neighborhood, east of the city.

Tanks and armored vehicles were also stationed in the vicinity of Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah.

Meanwhile, IOF warplanes bombed and destroyed several entire residential squares in the Yabna Camp, in central Rafah, while occupation forces targeted a group of people near the Awadallah Junction in the same camp, killing at least 5 civilians.

Zionist air forces went on to bombard several neighborhoods east of the Khan Yunis governate.

Previously, on Monday night, Israeli occupation forces bombed a Palestinian home belonging to the Abu Azoum family in central Rafah, massacreing three civilians and wounding several others, while yet another bombing targeting the Tabasi family home, which resulted in a number of casualties.

In further atrocities, occupation aircraft bombed a residential house belonging to the Abu Tair family in Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinians, while many others were wounded or remain missing under the rubble.

Military gunboats with the Israeli occupation army also fire machine guns towards the coast of Khan Yunis, while an Israeli quadcopter opened fire on a gathering of civilians behind the Association for the Disabled near the border with Egypt.

In central Gaza, the slaughter continued when occupation raids targeted the Bureij Camp, while Zionist soldiers killed two young men with gunfire in the Netzarim military axis, north of the Nuseirat Camp.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the current death toll now exceeds 35'647 Palestinians killed, including at least 15'000 children and over 10'000 women, while another 79'852 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

May 21st, 2024.

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@WorkerSolidarityNews