Category Archives: National Government

3-star: Marine Corps ‘prepared to assist’ with recovery of Tahmooressi from Mexico

Posted on by

Marine Sgt. Andrew P. Tahmooressi in 2012. (Facebook) - Marine Corp Times

Marine Sgt. Andrew P. Tahmooressi in 2012. (Facebook) – Marine Corp Times

(June 18) – As veteran Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi nears three months in a Mexican prison, a Marine Corps three-star general says the Marine Corps is standing by to help him.

Tahmooressi, who left active duty in 2012, was arrested by Mexican officials March 31 after crossing the border at San Ysidro with guns and ammunition in his truck in what he claims was an innocent mistake. His plight, reported by a number of media outlets, has spurred a massive wave of public support.

In a letter this week to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Milstead said the Corps has limited ability to help Tahmooressi, but was willing to do whatever possible to bring him back.

“I understand … this matter rests appropriately within the U.S. Department of State’s capable hands,” Milstead said. “While it is not within the Marine Corps’ purview to unilaterally intervene in matters involving a foreign government, I assure you that we are prepared to assist as necessary to the greatest extent permissible under law.”

Read more at The Marine Corp Times

SEALs want more ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ patches, 8 months after controversy

Posted on by

image WASHINGTON — €” A military command that supplies U.S. Navy SEALs with new gear says it wants more shoulder patches emblazoned with “Don’t Tread on Me,” less than a year after a firestorm erupted after it was reported that the longstanding tradition could be ended.

U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command’s contracting office in Virginia Beach, Virginia, quietly announced its intent to buy more patches in a notice to industry published June 3. Companies interested in supplying them must be able to show they can obtain the materials used in numerous kinds of Navy uniforms, including those with desert and woodland patterns. The U.S. flag will have seven stripes that can be seen using infrared equipment, the command said.

The notice’s publication follows a controversy last year in which it was reported that Navy SEALs were no longer allowed to wear the “Don’t Tread on Me” logo, also known as the first First Navy Jack. Flown on U.S. vessels, the flag depicts a rattlesnake over red and white stripes.

Navy personnel closely associate the logo with the global war on terrorism because then-Navy Secretary Gordon England authorized it on May 31, 2002, as the official jack, or maritime flag, for the Navy for the duration of the global war on terrorism. The entire Navy began flying the Navy Jack on Sept. 11, 2002, the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It has been widely worn on the left shoulder by sailors deployed in war zones since then, including SEALs.

Read more at Stars and Stripes

Gov’t Confirms Authenticity of Contract Request for ‘Escort Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children’ at the Border

Posted on by

A recently discovered government request for “escort services for unaccompanied alien children” dating back to January is raising questions about whether the government was planning for a surge of illegal immigrants this year as amnesty talks heated up in the United States.

The request specifically says it was preparing for 65,000 undocumented children.
640px-alien-services

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed the request to TheBlaze, which is for transportation companies to escort children from the U.S.-Mexico border to relocation facilities throughout the United States. The conservative website Weasel Zippers was among the first to notice it.

Read more at The Blaze

SEE ALSO BizPac Review

Tucson Ranger who helped rescue Jessica Lynch dies from wounds received in Afghanistan

Posted on by

Title corrected: Sergeant Major Barreras passed away in Texas after wounds received while serving in Afghanistan.

barrasAn Army Ranger from Tucson has died after being shot in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced. He was among those who rescued former POW Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi hospital in 2003. The Pentagon said in a statement that Command Sgt. Maj. Martin R. Barreras, 49, died May 13 in Texas after suffering injuries in Afghanistan on May 6.

Governor Jan Brewer ordered all flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset today. In her statement, she said,

I Ask That All Arizonans Hold In Their Thoughts And Prayers the family of U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Martin Barreras, a Tucson soldier who passed away Tuesday, May 13, from injuries sustained while serving in Afghanistan. Command Sgt. Maj. Barreras, 49, dedicated more than three decades to military service, including five years as a U.S. Marine before enlisting in the Army. … As we mourn this American hero, let us always honor all of our nation’s men and women in uniform with our eternal gratitude and admiration.

The Army Ranger helped rescue former POW Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi hospital in 2003 has died after being shot in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced Thursday. The Pentagon said in a statement that Command Sgt. Maj. Martin R. Barreras, 49, died May 13 in Texas after suffering injuries in Afghanistan on May 6. Barreras, known as “Gunny,” was the top enlisted soldier for a unit based in Fort Bliss, Texas at the time of his death, according to the Army Times. He joined the Army in 1988 after serving five years in the Marine Corps.

Barreras, known as “Gunny,” was the top enlisted soldier for a unit based in Fort Bliss, Texas at the time of his death, according to the Army Times. He joined the Army in 1988 after serving five years in the Marine Corps.

Read more at FOX News

Updated 10:00

Run for the Wall arrives today

Posted on by

r4tw-2006-01FLAGSTAFF/WILLIAMS – The riders of Run for the Wall are expected to start arriving in Williams in two groups today. The first group will arrive and continue on to Flagstaff while the second will stop in Williams.

The first group of Vietnam veterans will start arriving at about 4:30 and will stop for fuel before continuing on to Flagstaff.

The second group will arrive at about 6:30 and start the traditional Run for the Wall motorcycle parade down historic Route 66. They will proceed to the American Legion Cordova Post #13 to be served dinner by volunteers from Williams.

Run for the Wall is an annual event in which Vietnam veterans ride to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. arriving on Memorial day. The event is over twenty years old and the mission is to allow healing for Vietnam veterans and their families and to call attention to the fact that the national government has still not demanded a full accounting of prisoners of war and those missing in action from the Korean and Vietnam wars.

American Legion Commander Dellinger calls for VA Secretary to resign

Posted on by

American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger calls for resignation of VA officials.

American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger calls for resignation of VA officials.

In front of local media and a live Internet audience, American Legion National Commander Daniel M. Dellinger today called for the resignations of Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, Under Secretary of Health Robert Petzel and Under Secretary of Benefits Allison Hickey.

Dellinger cited poor oversight and failed leadership as the reason for calling for the resignations – something The American Legion hasn’t done regarding a public official in more than 30 years.

“Gen. Eric Shinseki has served his country well,” Dellinger said. “His patriotism and sacrifice for this nation are above reproach. However, his record as the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs tells a different story. The existing leadership has exhibited a pattern of bureaucratic incompetence and failed leadership that has been amplified in recent weeks.”

Dellinger pointed to allegations from multiple whistleblowers of a secret waiting list at the Phoenix VA Health Care System that may have resulted in the death of approximately 40 veterans, that VA previously had acknowledged that 23 veterans throughout the health-care system have died as a result of delayed care in recent years, and a the findings of an investigation by VA’s Office of Medical Inspector that clerks at the VA clinic in Fort Collins, Colo., were instructed last year how to falsify appointment records so it appeared the small staff of doctors was seeing patients within the agency’s goal of 14 days, according to the investigation.

Read more at The American Legion

‘Convenience Store Man’ shows crooks who’s boss

Posted on by

Apr 30, 2014 12:31 PM by Rebecca Taylor

TUCSON – Maen Mdanat doesn’t put up with any shenanigans.
As the owner of Axis Food Mart on Broadway near Campbell, he shows would-be thieves who’s boss. Check out this video that was caught on camera:

So you know when trouble is walking in your door? “Oh yes, you sense it right away,” says Mdanat.

Judging by a surveillance tape clip, the nickname fits.

Around 1:30 Saturday morning Maen says a would-be thief entered his store, asking his clerk for cash.

Read more and see additional video at KVOA Channel 4

‘Squatters’ took over soldier’s home after he was deployed; outrageous law lets them stay!

Posted on by

Photo Source – Facebook

Photo Source – Facebook

A soldier being deployed to Afghanistan is sure to have a lot on his mind, but having squatters take over his home while he is away is probably not high on the list.

But that appears to be precisely what happened to one soldier in Florida.

Michael Sharkey was deployed to Afghanistan two years ago and asked a friend to keep an eye on his home in New Port Richey, Fla. while he was away, according to the local NBC affiliate WFLA.

The soldier, currently station in Hawaii, later learned that strangers moved into the house and now refuse to leave.

“I want the people out,” Sharkey said. “They’re criminals living in my house.”

Read more at BIZPAC Review

ACLJ: Decision to Hold Former IRS Official Lois Lerner in Contempt of Congress “Justified”

Posted on by

Lois LernerWASHINGTON D.C. – The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which represents 41 organizations in a federal lawsuit challenging the IRS, said today’s decision by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress is “justified” for failing to cooperate with Congressional investigators to provide information regarding her role in the unlawful targeting of conservative and tea party groups.

“The decision to hold Lois Lerner in contempt comes 11 months to the day since she revealed this unlawful scheme with a question she planted at an ABA meeting,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. “From the very beginning, she has ignored a Congressional subpoena – refused to answer questions on two occasions by pleading the Fifth Amendment. We believe – as many others do – that she waived her constitutional right to remain silent because she invoked it after she publicly proclaimed her innocence. Lerner has misled the American people and Congress from the very start. Contempt is justified and the appropriate sanction in this case.”

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today voted to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress. The measure now goes before the full House for consideration.

Today’s action comes just one day after the House Committee on Ways and Means voted to send a letter to the Attorney General saying Lerner should be prosecuted for her actions in the unlawful targeting scheme.

The contempt vote comes as the ACLJ has heard from more than 70,000 people in just several days calling on Congress to hold Lerner in contempt.

The ACLJ federal lawsuit, which also names Lois Lerner as a defendant, is progressing. The ACLJ represents 41 organizations in 22 states. Of the 41 groups, 24 organizations received tax-exempt status after lengthy delays, 11 are still pending, 5 withdrew applications because of frustration with the IRS process, and 1 had their file closed by the IRS after refusing to answer the unconstitutional requests for more information.

See Also: New Emails Show Lois Lerner Was in Contact With DOJ About Prosecuting Tax Exempt Groups

Army, National Guard Fight Over Apache Helicopters

Posted on by

defense-largeBen Watson – Defense One

The Army National Guard is pushing back against a plan to send all of its 192 Apache attack helicopters to the active duty Army. In exchange, the Guard and Reserve components would receive 111 UH-60 Blackhawk transport and utility helicopters from the Army in a broader aviation restructuring after more than a decade of combat and steep budget cuts.

The restructuring would also eliminate three of 13 combat aviation brigades from the Army, while the Guard would phase out its entire fleet of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior scout helicopters, which have been in use for nearly five decades.

This shakeup of Army air assets amounts to some $12 billion in cost-saving measures through fiscal year 2017, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee at a hearing Tuesday.

But National Guard Chief Gen. Frank Grass, who also testified at the hearing, isn’t happy with the plan. “None of us like what we’re having to do,” he said. “My big concern right now is figuring out how I’m going to move, and how many states I’m going to have an impact on, and what’s the cost of facilities and to retrain pilots. I’ve got to tackle that because the decision’s been made.”

Read more at Defense One