The Combat Action Badge (or CAB) is a military badge worn in the U.S. Army. The emblem features both an M9 bayonet and M67 grenade. The Combat Action Badge may be awarded to any soldier after the date of September 18, 2001 performing duties in an area where hostile fire pay or imminent danger pay is authorized, who is personally present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, and performing satisfactorily in accordance with the prescribed rules of engagement. Award is not limited by one's branch of service or military occupational specialty, but is only authorized for wear on U.S. Army uniforms.
The above information sports fans is a clear definition of what the CAB is and what qualifies as getting one. I do not have one, but I have seen many deplorable incidents of idiots trying to get one. These stupid people are known as CAB chasers. These vile service members actually go out of their way to put themselves or their unit's (which is ridiculous) in harm's way. There were several members from the last Liaison Officer group that would go out on mission's simply because they knew that they would be in a hostile area. Simply going outside-the-wire because they have not been out yet is one of the most foolish things you can do.
We go out on missions because we have to. The PRT before us would go out and sit in the same spot for hours to make sure that they got shot at. We do not do that. As our deployment comes to a close, there are those individuals who are upset that they have not seen action yet. Most people in Army feel like they have not done anything while deployed if they have not received a CAB.
This is the wrong mindset and bad for your families. Everybody plays their part over here and it all counts toward the fight. It just disgusts me every time I hear about CAB chasers, or if someone hears shots fired and thinks that they get a CAB. Shots fired 300m away where you hear no hisses or snaps near or around your vehicles is not combat action. You get that in Juarez...believe me I know. This badge has been tarnished by soooooo many CAB chasers that real combat veterans (like 16 yrs experience whose time overseas has amounted to five years in the last ten) do not wear their CAB anymore.
Just another rant, but I feel that it is warranted.
WINNING!
Joe
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
OBL Dead....Now What?
September 11, 2001 was a moments in one's life that everyone can remember exactly what they were doing that day. For me, I was a Junior at Franklin High School going to my Zero Period which was Chemistry. We were conducting an experiment where the faster we stirred a liquid, the colder it would get. My Chem teacher, Mr. Jerry Monsey, was glued to the television. He was a very stern man who would never do such a thing, so I knew something was wrong. If you just turned on the television at that point, you might have thought it was a random accident.....Then the second plane hit and a new word came to every American's vocabulary. TERRORIST.
Osama Bin Laden was the terrorist. The US has hunted him for the better part of a decade, and on 1 MAY 11, a US team of Navy S.E.A.L.s sought him out in Pakistan and took custody of his body. Americans everywhere rejoiced the death of the man who killed nearly 3,000 Americans in a single day and gave a rude awakening to the Intelligence Community. Now that he is dead, the troops can go home from Afghanistan, right?
Wrong. OBL was the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, but he is not the reason we are still in Afghanistan. At the time of the attacks, OBL was basing his International Terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, out of Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda had become the most dangerous terrorist group in the world and was making big waves during the late nineties. This high profile needed a sanctuary for the planning of more horrendous acts of violence. Enter Afghanistan.
Afghanistan was still in the wake of violence stemming from warlords that arose after the Soviet War in the eighties. Muslims across the world took up arms (even OBL) to fight the Soviet aggression. This war tore the country apart and left numerous warlords in place to vie for power. This state of anarchy and power corrupted many of the mujahadeen heroes that defeated the Soviets. Crimes against humanity soon enveloped the entire country.
A group of students of Islam decided that the madness must be stopped and took up arms and ousted or subdued many of the warlords by declaring a Jihad on them. The students or seekers were known as the Taliban. The students practiced a different type of Islam, and they soon instilled strict Sharia law over the population that they saved. Some embraced the strict code because after nearly twenty plus years of war, the Afghan culture had been shattered and people needed some form of stability.
Some mujahadeen fighters that stayed out of corruption felt that the Afghan central government should return now that some sense of order had manifested. They came to odds with the Taliban, and soon formed an Alliance to stop the harsh oppression. One man stood in the way of the Taliban taking complete control of the country. His name was Ahmad Shah Masood. His part of the country could not be taken over by the Soviets and still could not be taken by the Taliban. Enter Osama Bin Laden once more.
OBL promised the Taliban that he could kill Masood, if his group was granted safe haven in Afghanistan. The Taliban agreed, and on September 9, 2001 Masood was severely wounded from an IED explosion during an interview. He died a few days later. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda now had their opportunity to take control of the country.
After 9/11, the US Military infiltrated Afghanistan in search of Bin Laden and concurrently drove the Taliban into hiding in Pakistan. The stress of waging two wars with more focus on Iraq has allowed the remnants of the Taliban to re-enter Afghanistan nearly under the radar in the last few years.
Currently they are trying to get back the power that they once held. This is why we must stay.
We cannot let this country fall apart again so that it can become a haven for terrorists again. We must help this civilization get back on its feet and shake off the dust and crumble from nearly thirty-eight years of constant fighting. The Afghans do not know what a real life is anymore. The majority of the population was born into war and knows nothing else.
So OBL is dead. Our job isn't done yet. Afghanistan is still OUR war. If not, then we might as well open our doors to terror again.
Osama Bin Laden was the terrorist. The US has hunted him for the better part of a decade, and on 1 MAY 11, a US team of Navy S.E.A.L.s sought him out in Pakistan and took custody of his body. Americans everywhere rejoiced the death of the man who killed nearly 3,000 Americans in a single day and gave a rude awakening to the Intelligence Community. Now that he is dead, the troops can go home from Afghanistan, right?
Wrong. OBL was the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, but he is not the reason we are still in Afghanistan. At the time of the attacks, OBL was basing his International Terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, out of Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda had become the most dangerous terrorist group in the world and was making big waves during the late nineties. This high profile needed a sanctuary for the planning of more horrendous acts of violence. Enter Afghanistan.
Afghanistan was still in the wake of violence stemming from warlords that arose after the Soviet War in the eighties. Muslims across the world took up arms (even OBL) to fight the Soviet aggression. This war tore the country apart and left numerous warlords in place to vie for power. This state of anarchy and power corrupted many of the mujahadeen heroes that defeated the Soviets. Crimes against humanity soon enveloped the entire country.
A group of students of Islam decided that the madness must be stopped and took up arms and ousted or subdued many of the warlords by declaring a Jihad on them. The students or seekers were known as the Taliban. The students practiced a different type of Islam, and they soon instilled strict Sharia law over the population that they saved. Some embraced the strict code because after nearly twenty plus years of war, the Afghan culture had been shattered and people needed some form of stability.
Some mujahadeen fighters that stayed out of corruption felt that the Afghan central government should return now that some sense of order had manifested. They came to odds with the Taliban, and soon formed an Alliance to stop the harsh oppression. One man stood in the way of the Taliban taking complete control of the country. His name was Ahmad Shah Masood. His part of the country could not be taken over by the Soviets and still could not be taken by the Taliban. Enter Osama Bin Laden once more.
OBL promised the Taliban that he could kill Masood, if his group was granted safe haven in Afghanistan. The Taliban agreed, and on September 9, 2001 Masood was severely wounded from an IED explosion during an interview. He died a few days later. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda now had their opportunity to take control of the country.
After 9/11, the US Military infiltrated Afghanistan in search of Bin Laden and concurrently drove the Taliban into hiding in Pakistan. The stress of waging two wars with more focus on Iraq has allowed the remnants of the Taliban to re-enter Afghanistan nearly under the radar in the last few years.
Currently they are trying to get back the power that they once held. This is why we must stay.
We cannot let this country fall apart again so that it can become a haven for terrorists again. We must help this civilization get back on its feet and shake off the dust and crumble from nearly thirty-eight years of constant fighting. The Afghans do not know what a real life is anymore. The majority of the population was born into war and knows nothing else.
So OBL is dead. Our job isn't done yet. Afghanistan is still OUR war. If not, then we might as well open our doors to terror again.
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