...suffers an ironic fate:A search team on Sunday found the body of the Air Force major killed in Haiti after his hotel collapsed during the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, his family said. Maj. Ken Bourland had not been heard from since the Jan. 12 earthquake after he sent an e-mail to his wife from his hotel room minutes before it hit. He and six other members of U.S. Southern Command had flown to Haiti on the day of the earthquake to...

Representative John Murtha, the first Vietnam veteran to be elected to congress, died today. It is said it is impolite to speak ill of the dead, so I will just end there.

UPDATE: Since Friday when Mr. McManus was arrested much as come to light including the documents charging him and as it turns out this is not his first round of playing dress up.There is a lot to this and my advice, as always in these cases, is head to This ain't Hell and keep scrolling. MCMANUS was previously convicted in U.S. Federal Court in California in 2002, arising out of federal criminal charges originating in Louisiana, for impersonating a U.S. “Air Marshal” and also impersonating a U.S. Army Major, both in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 912, He received a sentence of two years probation, which was later revoked for violations. At the time of his offense relating to those criminal charges, MCMANUS had been wearing an unauthorized U.S. Army Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) of the unearned rank of Major (and with fraudulent U.S. Army identification papers naming him as an Army Captain) with attached unearned patches, insignia, and awards, on board a commercial aircraft in New Orleans and also falsely represented himself to the flight crew as a current member of the U.S. military and an “Air Marshal”, and where he attempted to gain access to the plane’s cockpit. Due to the suspicious nature of his uniform and his suspicious claims to the flight crew, he was not permitted by the flight crew to remain on the flight. He was later arrested in California and convicted of these charges there. The mighty forces of the Milblogosphere conspired together to take out an egregious wanker in a poster case for the Stolen Valor Act. It was a group effort, but the FBI eventually got on board and yesterday he got cuffed and stuffed. Story from local TV, which uses the Wanted poster that Mrs. G. made but doesn't credit her. We all know who caught this pile of dung whether the local media wants to fess up or not. CDR Salamander, This Aint Hell, Bouhammer, Mudville, CJ and a bunch of others all fact checked him, and kept on the FBI until they took him down. Bravo.

He is now, as I was just told via email, what President Obama would call an "ex-Marine Corpse." His final appearances at Mudville as a living person will be his role as "guy who threatened to cut military funding unless they'd give Nancy Pelosi a plane". Prior to that, his efforts last fall to raise taxes. ("The tax should be paid by all taxpayers, with rates ranging from 1 percent for lower wage earners to 5 percent for the wealthy.")...

Elise Cooper for BLACKFIVE Alex Berenson’s latest book, “The Midnight House,” explores the torture debate. Readers may or may not find this topic enjoyable, depending on their views regarding this topic. Besides the harsh interrogation debate he explores the psychological effects of those who participated in the war on terror. In the last few chapters of the book he tries to achieve a balance regarding what is considered torture. Through the plot, the reader is asked to examine how harsh an interrogation should be in order to gain actionable intelligence. Blackfive.net thought Berenson made a good point when a character stated in Machiavellian fashion (the end justifies the means), “The connection is there. The greatest good for the greatest number.” Another issue that Berenson discusses is the methods the intelligence community should use to gain actionable information. Berenson wrote that “the CIA‘s best and brightest were still stuck in the Cold War model. They rarely left the Diplomatic Enclave…the only senior operative who’d gotten outside the wire and put himself in harm’s way on regular basis.“ A former operative commented that this quote was a home run because “it’s been a complaint since September 11th. People need to do the hard work, trying to infiltrate terrorist groups by finding someone who will do it on our behalf.” John Welles, Berenson’s CIA conflicted operative, is once again the main character. As in the earlier books, he is still the cynical, non political hero. Welles is likeable and realistic and readers can identify with his struggle to follow his convictions. The female lead of his past novels, Jennifer Exley, is MIA in this book. Although she is mentioned a few times, she is only seen through others’ eyes. She will not appear much in future books since according to Berenson she is “too strong willed for Welles.” For those who want a fictional account of the harsh interrogation techniques, this book would make an interesting read. Berenson stated to blackfive.net that unlike this book, the harsh interrogation techniques that have been disclosed in news accounts “does not rise to the level of torture. It may be coercion and unpleasant. It worked but a price was paid.”

or "how America's news is made". Chapter one: the locals Our story begins with the sort of tragic child abuse story that appears in local papers all too often. This one was from the Nisqually Valley (Washington) News - a report of an arrest made on January 31.Man suspected of beating 4-year-oldBy Megan Hansen A Yelm man was arrested Sunday [January 31] for allegedly beating and torturing his daughter. Police said they found the child covered with bruises. Officers were...

via dvidshub.net Soldiers with 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division stay up late to enjoy some camaraderie and watch Super Bowl XLIV in the brigade conference room, Feb. 8. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Bryce S. Dubee)...

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Kristina Scott BAGHDAD – For Soldiers who are in the habit of patrolling the streets of Baghdad up to eight hours each day, meeting with key Iraqi leaders and training members of the Iraqi Security...

Story by Pfc. Nathan Booth KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, completed the transfer of two M110 Howitzers from Kandahar Air Field to Forward Operating...

Story by Sgt. Samantha Beuterbaugh BAGHDAD– A 20-foot high dune rises from the sand at Contingency Operating Location Justice, partially masking the bustling life of Baghdad in the distance. Soldiers hike to a quiet corner of the lifeless landscape. "Let's...

Story by Pfc. Adrian Muehe DIYALA, Iraq – The Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season in the United States is a popular time for donating and reaching out to those less fortunate families. However, for U.S. Soldiers stationed in Iraq, the...

Story by Sgt. Chris Florence KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Every week hundreds of letters and packages come into the Kandahar Airfield Post Office from family, friends and supporters of 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Soldiers to help close the...

Reporters rarely get to write their own headline, that task being reserved for the copy desk or its equivalent. That said, the headline writers at Foxnews.com have been doing a very bad job of headlines recently. In fact, a number of the headlines to do with the military have sounded a bit like they were hired from the DU. Case in point: this story about a soldier abusing his child. What he did to her was not waterboarding, or even close to it. In my opinion, it was attempted drowning/attempted murder, and child abuse and only in the fever dreams of the deranged was it anything close to or to do with waterboarding. As point of order, my sincere hope is that if the charges are true, they throw the book at the scum and toss his sorry ass out and into civilian incarceration. Then there is the one about the "Special Forces Assassins" that I have to feel is another fever dream from a deranged copy desk person. If a real military person said that in those exact words and way, then I think they need a party. Sock party out back specifically. Feh. LW really not as grumpy today as he sounds, despite yet another winter storm alert...

We've written about him here, but for the full story, go here and here to one of the best blogs out there (and you should be checking everyday) Soldiers' Angels Germany.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kevin Owen sits on the ramp of a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft while flying over the mountains of Afghanistan after an airdrop mission, Feb. 2, 2010. Owen is a loadmaster assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. The aircraft's crew dropped 34 container bundles to an undisclosed base in Afghanistan as part of a combat resupply mission. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Angelita Lawrence

Retired Navy Commander Kirk S. Lippold, who has an extensive background in the military including a major run-in with al-Qaida, is pondering a run for U.S. Senate in Nevada, two sources said Thursday.Why, that's Harry ("the war is lost") Reid's seat. (Or the people's, depending on your point of view.) I can think of no other I'd more enjoy seeing defeated by a veteran."At this point I would just say, stay tuned," Lippold said in a brief interview. "Nevada clearly...

If there is a picture of someone next to the word "warrior" in the dictionary, it would be Lewis Millett. Millett was the Company Commander in the 27th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. On February 7, 1951on Hill 180 (present-day Osan Air Base in South Korea), he led an incredibly daring assault in what is believed to be the last bayonet charge in American military history. And it is worth noting that the CO that Millett replaced also was awarded the Medal of Honor, but posthumously. During the Vietnam War, Maj. Gen. William Westmoreland picked Millett to command the Recondo school, which turned out some of the world's finest jungle warriors. There is so much awesomeness that is worth posting, but since I'm short on time I will point you to previous posts I have made on Millett at my blog Unto the Breach. There you will find his MoH citation, and much more, which I highly recommend you read.