ARMY TRANSFERRING JOINT HIGH SPEED VESSELS TO NAVY

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Washington (UPI) May 6, 2011

By Staff Writers - The U.S. Department of the Army is transferring all of its Joint High Speed Vessels to the Navy under a Memorandum of Agreement signed Monday.
The U.S. Department of Defense said the intent of the memo is to clarify relationships, identify the roles and responsibilities and provide an implementation plan.

In addition, this MOA formalizes and delineates the management, leadership and requirements sponsorship roles required to deliver the capability encompassed by the JHSV to the combatant commanders.

"This agreement with the Army demonstrates our commitment to reducing redundancies and saving money for the taxpayer," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. "This is a responsible step that will ensure our military remains the most formidable fighting force the world has ever known."

Initially, the JHSV program was envisioned to have five of the first 10 JHSVs assigned to the Army and the remainder to the Navy. However, at the Army/Navy Warfighter Talks in December last year both services agreed to transfer the Army's five JHSVs upon signing of this MOA.

All 10 JHSVs will be assigned to Navy.

"The transfer of the JHSV is about aligning our core competencies, while at the same time realizing a measure of managerial efficiency," said Army Secretary John McHugh. "We look forward to continued cooperation with the Navy as we determine how to ensure this capability can best support the combatant commanders."

The Military Sealift Command will crew the JHSVs with civilian or contract mariners. Joint High Speed Vessels will be used for fast intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles and equipment

http://tinyurl.com/3qhfot8

NAVY SEALS AND THEIR DOG DEALT WITH OBL

Dog, mankind's only true friend, is as ever present and loyal as any human will ever be unable to find in another fellow human.

It is therefore completely understandable that in their recent success capturing and killing Osama Bin Laden, our heroes, the Navy Seals, had along their side one of their specially trained canine friends...

May 8, 2011: It came as a surprise to many when it was revealed that the U.S. NAVY SEALs that recently attacked an al Qaeda hideout in Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden, took a military dog along with them. It's generally unknown that over 600 military dogs are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. military has used specially trained dogs in all its wars in the last century. Military dogs proved to be particularly useful with Arabs, who consider dogs somewhat "unclean" and scary. American military dogs are kept pretty clean, but they are scary, and one military dog can control a lot of otherwise hostile Moslems, although the main use of the dogs is not crowd control, but detecting hidden explosives or people. That's what the dog sent on the bin Laden raid was apparently there for (to find explosive traps, or people trying to hide.)
The SEALs, who evolved from the combat scuba divers of World War II, seem an unusual match for military dogs. While SEALs undergo intensive amphibious training, they are highly adaptive, and have been serving in landlocked Afghanistan for a decade. In doing so, they have come to appreciate military dogs. In fact, the SEALs have even developed special equipment for their military dogs. Last year, they introduces a a special camera system that is incorporated into a vests often worn by their combat dogs. The camouflaged vest weighs 571 grams/20 ounces and the camera 314 grams/11 ounces. The dog handler has a handheld viewer/recorder with a 76mm/3 inch screen. The camera has night vision and the batteries on the camera and viewer last 30 minutes. The range of the camera/viewer data link is 1,000 meters in the open, or 200 meters if there are a lot of walls to go through. This enables the SEALs to send their dog into a building or cave and see what the dog sees. The vests also include a small loudspeaker that enables the handlers to give their dog commands. The SEAL dog vests cost about $22,000 each.

SOCOM (Special Operations Command, which the SEALs work for) is one of many military users of highly trained dogs. In the last decade, the United States military has used several thousand military dogs in combat zones. There has been a lot of new gear developed for the military dogs. Some of the new gear is just updates of existing stuff. For example, war dogs have long been equipped with non-armored vests. These vests are inexpensive (under $100) and just provided protection from the elements and a way to identify the dog. More recent vest designs come with many special features. Some vests have compartments on the inside for the insertion of cold packs (soft, flat plastic bags containing a chemical that, when activated, becomes very cool). Since dogs do not deal with heat as effectively as humans (dogs don’t sweat), and Iraq and Afghanistan can be very warm in Summer, the cold packs can prevent heat stroke. There are also attachments on the vest to enable the dog to be dropped by parachute, or hauled up via a rope. Vests now allow identifying badges to easily be added, and more of them have various grips for the handlers to pick up an injured dog. One vest design even has straps so that a handler can carry the dog on his back like a pack. The vests hinder the dogs' mobility a bit, especially when they are jumping. But the dogs have quickly adjusted. The armored vests, depending on the degree of protection, cost from $500-$1,000. Some handlers prefer unarmored vests, because they are lighter (about a pound/.5kg) than the armored vests (up to 3.5kg/7 pounds), and less constrictive.

Normally used for sniffing out explosives, crowd control and other police type work, the dogs are also trained to work while wearing custom made Kevlar body armor. These vests will protect the dogs from stab wounds, shell fragments and some bullets. While the heaviest Protective Vests weigh about 3.5 kg, for a 41 kg (90 pound) German Shepard, this is about the same burden as the 7.7 kg/17 pound vest worn by soldiers and marines. The expense of the vests is justified because of the value of the dogs. The dogs take over a year, and some $60,000, to train. So spending some money on life saving equipment for the dogs is a good investment.

While there are about 600 American military dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are currently over a thousand of these dogs in U.S. military service. During World War II, some 10,000 dogs were taken into military service, and in the Vietnam war, some 4,000 dogs were trained and sent overseas, where 281 were killed in combat. The marines used 327 dogs in the Pacific during World War II, and 29 died in battle. The marines found the dogs particularly useful for detecting Japanese troops, who were expert at camouflage, and setting up ambushes.

Until 2000, when the law was changed, military dogs were used until they were about ten years old, then killed. It was thought that the retired military dogs could not adapt to family life. But decades of police, and some military experience, with dogs living safely with their handlers and family members, finally caused the policy to be changed. Dog handlers had long urged that retired dogs be allowed to stay with their handlers, or be put up for adoption. http://tinyurl.com/3ufb6af

THOUGHTS OF A MILITARY MOTHER

When our children are newborns and are small, we hold their hands and guide them in life. As they grow, we keep our watchful eye, mind and actions shielding them from dangers and exposing them to life slowly and nurturing them along the road.

Contemporary societies are plagued with all sorts of dangers which are ever so increasing as our precious children grow -whether it is bullies, alcohol, drugs, sex, lack of religion and so much more.

They finish high school and at 18 years old, when they are not even ready, we have to give up on them.

But, I did not do that. I always kept a watchful eye on my child.

18 is by large not a mature age, not in this corrupted contemporary world.

Motherhood is the most coveted job in the world. It should be recognized and paid for. Not include it in the package of a marriage.

A Mother should have her own income for all the job she does.

I have had alternatively both. Not both at the same time.

And, I can assure everyone that the job performed as a Mother is the hardest and materially speaking most unrewarding job.

Being a Mother in all societies has never been recognized to the height of its importance which is a vital one for the future of any country.

So, on behalf of the world, we must apologize to Mothers and give them recognition by beginning to fight for their rights.

Mothers need to have constant courses to improve and perfect their skills -and they need to have a salary -maybe a bonus of 50% increase to the husband which will be exclusively for her and her personal needs.

Countries need Mothers, the future of the world is in their hands...

All that said, Military Mothers go beyond the call of duty when, the day their child says to them: "I must go, be with them," as my child told me one night last year... we react first with disbelief, telling ourselves, I must not have heard well, he/she certainly did not mean what I think he did...

But, the truth comes soon to the surface -and our beloved children confirm they do want to go, not only talk the talk but most of all they want to walk the walk...

Yes, as our body temperature lowers, our heartbeat runs crazy, and we feel our blood stopping to run through our bodies, we hear them, our own flesh and blood, telling us they want to risk their own lives to save their country and people...

So, we ask, "are you sure...?" And, we hear them say: "Yes..." So, we smile and we give our wholehearted support because we know now we have raised great people who need us now, more than ever, to be strong, optimistic and make them feel secure for the endeavor ahead, especially for those who choose or are chosen for the honor to belong to elite forces...

And, it's only our love to our children and our trust in G-d's will that sustain us as we know the nature of the enemy -who can only be beaten by people of goodwill who understand that a country's safety demands more than sophisticated weapons -beyond that, victory demands the best warriors on Earth:

Warriors with Mothers who understand them and support them, praying to G-d to bless them, protect them and shield them -making light for them in the darkness, making them noiseless when they walk through enemy lines...

That's a Military Mother...

MOTHER KNOWS BEST

When G-d created man he gave him a woman to love and to honor, to share and rejoice... and to make children out of their love.

When G-d created woman, He placed her children right in her womb, to carry with her 9-months long, so she could actively participate in their creation and most of all in their physical, emotional and spiritual development.

When we, women, give birth to our children, we look with apprehension to a wild world, having hard times delivering our babies from the quasi-total safety of our wombs in the unknown of life.

Sure, parents are both, man and woman. But woman has to be the lioness watching over her cubs ready to protect them against one and all.

Women bear the responsibility of raising her children. Intuition is a key element in the inner life of a woman. That's the key that will guide her instincts in the protection and survival of her children.

Unfortunately, women's liberation movements have, misleadingly, advocated the so-called 'liberation' of women... but, actually, liberation of what...? Liberation of the duties to raise their children and face the obligations of a home.

Sadly, women's liberation movements have promoted a selfish attitude in women who unfortunately have seen the role of Mother in a belittling manner, when in reality they are the ones who create the leaders of a nation or just name it.

That became more obvious to me than ever before during my visits to the Muslim world, where I addressed many times groups of women, especially business leaders.

On those occasions, I challenged those ladies to review the education of their young sons. "Do you want to continue creating generations of men like yours...?" was one of my questions.

Because, by my own experience I was able to overcome most of the unwanted influence and got to raise an amazing child, whose values are those of a great human being -but it was me, the Mother who worked for it. Those are fights that are ours.

You do your best. The rest is in G-d's Hands.

G-d bless all Mothers and allow them to appreciate that wonderful and creative responsibility they are given and entrusted as custodians of the well-being of generations to come.

Leaders are not born. They are made.

And Mothers are instrumental for that endeavor.

OBAMA'S UNTOLD VICTORY

While Obama celebrates catching Bin Laden's swift capture/killing and he uses the outcome for the benefit of his ambitious bid to regain the presidency once more in a row, he conspicuously has been diverting attention exclusively to Al Qaida and to Osama Bin Laden. Why that? Very simple, because he wants to transform this into an issue only between us and al Qaeda and Bin Laden, white washing the responsibility of the Muslim world that by their silence tacitly is accomplice of the vast and constant terrorism they export our way for almost a half a century.

Obama's other weapon is another one, subtle, almost not identified by the majority of Americans who live in permanent lethargic condition.

We read news that "Obama says he told bin Laden assaulters, 'Job well done'"

Excuse me? Assaulters...? That's what he disgracefully calls our super-patriots, those Navy Seals who are the nec plus ultra of manhood, patriot and hero, all combined in each one of them...

And, Americans do not even make any comment about this... How disgraceful, to have a so-called president refer to our heroes like that -and American conservatives who see it as natural...

CELEBRATING...?

Just as New York awaits Obama to address them and the world from Ground Zero, Osama Bin Laden's target of choice as he masterminded the attack on America in the most evil way, against New York City, the West's symbol of success and power.

While the success of the operation, capture of Osama and subsequent expeditious killing, is evident -there are too many issues that are not satisfactory.

One is the fact that the government might have known of OBL's hideout whereabouts for many months already.

Naturally, Pakistani military is 'washing their hands' so as not to appear accomplices in keeping the "secret".

Once caught, OBL was given a mortuary cleansing to "purify" his body and then was sent diving in the middle of the ocean... for which naturally, our vessels had to be mobilized, as OBL was caught in Abbottabad, northern Pakistan, nowhere close to the Indian Ocean. So, how did they manage to do all this so quickly that at 2:10 AM they were sending Osama's body inside the Ocean...

Obama, the specialist in refusing to show his birth certificate, is now refusing to show any pictures from Osama Bin Laden dead...

Many questions remain unanswered and rather than bringing closure, this situation is going to create more doubt as time goes by.

One thing will be clear though: Nothing has changed with OBL's dead...

Nothing at all...

UNFAIR PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

WHEN our Republic was created, the system introduced the possibility for any incumbent president to run for a second election.

However, our good and respected Founding Fathers did not have a magical ball to see where the future would go.

They could not have imagined in their wildest dreams the way communications have evolved nowadays, the existence of an ever invasive and easy internet making communications instantly and globally widespread.

Having an incumbent president run for a second election, is something totally unfair and that should be stopped.

Everyday the man is in office, is free advertising, free communication, free Air Force One at his disposition, free airwaves whenever he may feel like it... all promoting his cause to get re-elected.

That, plus, in this case, the whopping 1 billion dollars planned for his actual campaign.

And, in the current case, think of all the measures he has been already taking, be it with immigrants, and all other communities...

This, is not what the Founding Fathers would have given their blessing for. Nor should we do so.