Another Memorial Day has come and gone. Everybody feels good for having watched the required number of parades; for having listened to the usual blasts of hot air, exuded from the usual politicians, extolling the sacrifices made by "Our Veterans." And our President has made the usual stiff-legged walk, with the floral wreath, at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery.
In the meanwhile, the wounded from the Iraq war are beginning to come home in increasing numbers for (mis)treatment at Walter Reed Hospital and for the interminable delays combined with callous indifference at Veterans Administration facilities. Incompetence and confusion, the dominant features of the Bush Administration in connection with the Iraq war, continues -- now, with the returning Iraq war wounded and those scheduled for their second, third or fourth Iraq deployment.
Post Traumatic Shock Syndrome, the "hidden" casualty number, may well be a far greater casualty percentage in the Iraq war compared with earlier wars because of the repeated redeployments of reserves in an Army already stretched beyond the limit. Neither has it been sufficiently understood how different the Iraq war is compared our nation's previous wars.
Every soldier knows that each trip in the "Sunni Triangle," or in almost any other part of that wretched country, is a date with possible death or injury at the hands of an Iraqi who is indistinguishable from any other, an Iraqi insurgent who has become increasingly more adapt at killing Americans. It is only a question of the number of trips it takes before a soldier's increasing mental strain becomes Post Traumatic Syndrome, a true illness that will stay with him for the rest of his life.
For the first time in our nation's history of waging war, we are in an "Assymmetric" war, one in which our enemy's weapons are simple, inexpensive and easy to make compared to our sophisticated and expensive weaponry, requiring massive and long lead research and development time and costs.
Ironically, our enemy's kill rate is greater than ours. It costs the enemy far less to kill one of our soldiers than it takes for us to kill one of theirs.
Seemingly, there is no end in sight. Can any one predict with even a 50-50 chance of success that, in the foreseeable future, the Iraq government will be able to enforce stability and security throughout the country?
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel: the Bush Administration has warned that American troop withdrawal at this time will lead to utter chaos in Iraq. Since Bush & Co have been consistently proven wrong about virtually everything for the past six plus years -- ergo this means that we should immediately withdraw all of our troops.
Withdrawal will be the spur to action for all concerned in bringing stability to Iraq itself, to all of its Middle Eastern neighbors, especially including Saudi Arabia whose aristocracy doesn't want to see Iran become the dominant figure in that region.
Besides, could anything be worse in Iraq than what has been going on? It would be a Win Win for the US. We would put an end to the loss of our blood and treasure. And then we could concentrate on the real War on Terror, striking at Al Queda in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, in Stupidstan and elsewhere.
Leon Cooper has had a varied work career in civilian life: inventor, with patented products used throughout the world, including a product used by all air lines that tests for the proper operation of fire alarm systems aboard their commercial airplanes; CEO of his own computer company, CFO of major corporations; now a successful writer, including co-author of an award-winning screenplay.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leon_Cooper
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Victoria Cross - For Valour
The Victoria Cross - for ValourThe ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought the Victoria Cross back into the headlines again. It's been a while.
The highest honor available to British military personnel has not been awarded for a quarter of a century. After this hiatus however the medal has now been issued twice in the past two years - to Private Johnson Baharry for his actions in Iraq and posthumously to Corporal Bryan Budd for deeds undertaken in Afghanistan.
Its rarity makes the Victoria Cross an unusual honor. In fact, only 14 recipients are still living. And it has a rather unusual history too.
One for the ranks
Gallantry transcends rank, class and other divisions. It is a trait of the individual not a feature of their position in life.
However, until the creation of the Victoria Cross in 1856, the bravery of soldiers in the ranks, unlike the officers with whom they served, often went unrewarded. Queen Victoria acknowledged this and created a Royal Warrant for a new honour - the Victoria Cross - to be 'awarded for most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy'.
A modest medal
For such a high honour, the Victoria Cross is remarkably dull in its appearance. This is because it’s cast from gunmetal. Indeed, the original batches of the Victoria Cross were made from the cascabels (the knob at the rear of a canon) of two canon captured from the Russians at Sebastopol in the Crimea. This gunmetal is now kept under guard by the Royal Logistic Corps in Donnington. Although rarely seen, it is said to weigh just 358 ounces and look rather like a lump of cheese. Very occasionally, a small amount is issued to the jewelers Hancocks and Co. in London who have made all of the Victoria Cross medals since their original inception.
Although from the same batch of gunmetal, each medal is as unique as the act for which it was received. On the front of all Victoria Cross medals is the inscription 'For Valour'. On the rear the name, rank and regiment of the recipient is engraved along with the date of the act for which the medal was awarded.
More than a medal
The Victoria Cross is special not only because of its rarity. It is also a uniquely democratic medal. In the early days of the Victoria Cross, any recommendation for award had to be made by a superior officer. Over time this stipulation changed and now military personnel can be put forward for the award by their peers provided that there are three witnesses to the act of bravery.
Like other awards, a bar can also be added to the Victoria Cross if it is to be awarded for multiple actions. This however is extremely rare - only three bars have ever been awarded to a Victoria Cross. Alongside the medal itself, recipients are also awarded a special pension. Originally this was £10 per annum and was provided only to non-commissioned ranks. From 1959 the pension was awarded to all ranks and raised to £100. In 2002, the amount was raised to £1,495. Not a huge drain on military budgets as in 2005 there were only fourteen of the original 1356 Victoria Cross holders alive.
The Ashcroft Collection
In his book 'Symbol of Courage' the military historian Max Arthur recounts some interesting facts about the Victoria Cross:
.Fourteen men not born in Britain or the Commonwealth have received the Victoria Cross - five Americans, three Danes, two Germans, one Belgian, one Swiss, one Swede and one Ukrainian
.The highest number of Victoria Cross awarded in a single action was twenty four for individuals involved in the defence of Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War (portrayed in the epic film Zulu)
.The army regiment with the highest number of Victoria Cross awards is The Princess of Wale's Royal Regiment withy fifty six recipients including the latest recipient - Johnson Beharry
.Four pairs of brothers have been awarded the Victoria Cross. Three father and son pairs have also been awarded the medal
One man who probably does know this is Lord Michael Ashcroft. Twenty years ago he purchased the first Victoria Cross for what was to become the world’s largest single collection of the medal. A massive 145 other medals have since been added - more than one tenth of those ever conferred. Although a private collection, the trust established to care for these important artifacts plans to put them on public display in London at some point soon. See you there.
Andrew is an amateur military enthusiast and a contributor to the Military Medal Portal. This article and others concerning military medals, history and genealogy can be found on the Military Medal Portal
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Dalglish
The highest honor available to British military personnel has not been awarded for a quarter of a century. After this hiatus however the medal has now been issued twice in the past two years - to Private Johnson Baharry for his actions in Iraq and posthumously to Corporal Bryan Budd for deeds undertaken in Afghanistan.
Its rarity makes the Victoria Cross an unusual honor. In fact, only 14 recipients are still living. And it has a rather unusual history too.
One for the ranks
Gallantry transcends rank, class and other divisions. It is a trait of the individual not a feature of their position in life.
However, until the creation of the Victoria Cross in 1856, the bravery of soldiers in the ranks, unlike the officers with whom they served, often went unrewarded. Queen Victoria acknowledged this and created a Royal Warrant for a new honour - the Victoria Cross - to be 'awarded for most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy'.
A modest medal
For such a high honour, the Victoria Cross is remarkably dull in its appearance. This is because it’s cast from gunmetal. Indeed, the original batches of the Victoria Cross were made from the cascabels (the knob at the rear of a canon) of two canon captured from the Russians at Sebastopol in the Crimea. This gunmetal is now kept under guard by the Royal Logistic Corps in Donnington. Although rarely seen, it is said to weigh just 358 ounces and look rather like a lump of cheese. Very occasionally, a small amount is issued to the jewelers Hancocks and Co. in London who have made all of the Victoria Cross medals since their original inception.
Although from the same batch of gunmetal, each medal is as unique as the act for which it was received. On the front of all Victoria Cross medals is the inscription 'For Valour'. On the rear the name, rank and regiment of the recipient is engraved along with the date of the act for which the medal was awarded.
More than a medal
The Victoria Cross is special not only because of its rarity. It is also a uniquely democratic medal. In the early days of the Victoria Cross, any recommendation for award had to be made by a superior officer. Over time this stipulation changed and now military personnel can be put forward for the award by their peers provided that there are three witnesses to the act of bravery.
Like other awards, a bar can also be added to the Victoria Cross if it is to be awarded for multiple actions. This however is extremely rare - only three bars have ever been awarded to a Victoria Cross. Alongside the medal itself, recipients are also awarded a special pension. Originally this was £10 per annum and was provided only to non-commissioned ranks. From 1959 the pension was awarded to all ranks and raised to £100. In 2002, the amount was raised to £1,495. Not a huge drain on military budgets as in 2005 there were only fourteen of the original 1356 Victoria Cross holders alive.
The Ashcroft Collection
In his book 'Symbol of Courage' the military historian Max Arthur recounts some interesting facts about the Victoria Cross:
.Fourteen men not born in Britain or the Commonwealth have received the Victoria Cross - five Americans, three Danes, two Germans, one Belgian, one Swiss, one Swede and one Ukrainian
.The highest number of Victoria Cross awarded in a single action was twenty four for individuals involved in the defence of Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War (portrayed in the epic film Zulu)
.The army regiment with the highest number of Victoria Cross awards is The Princess of Wale's Royal Regiment withy fifty six recipients including the latest recipient - Johnson Beharry
.Four pairs of brothers have been awarded the Victoria Cross. Three father and son pairs have also been awarded the medal
One man who probably does know this is Lord Michael Ashcroft. Twenty years ago he purchased the first Victoria Cross for what was to become the world’s largest single collection of the medal. A massive 145 other medals have since been added - more than one tenth of those ever conferred. Although a private collection, the trust established to care for these important artifacts plans to put them on public display in London at some point soon. See you there.
Andrew is an amateur military enthusiast and a contributor to the Military Medal Portal. This article and others concerning military medals, history and genealogy can be found on the Military Medal Portal
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Dalglish
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