Around the Services…

I hope all of y’all had a great Independence Day weekend. With the draw down in Iraq and the ramp up in Afghanistan, our men and women in uniform have been through a lot these past few days alone, and unfortunately, some of them have paid the ultimate sacrifice. With that, here are a few of the latest headlines between the front lines and the home front.

• At home, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen’s latest statement about DADT didn’t seem to give some activists a warm and fuzzy about his commitment to ending the policy. While the Chairman understands the President’s overall intent with the policy, he has advised him to move in a “measured way” towards that goal.
• Also at home, former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara died today at the age of 93. Appointed to the position by President Kennedy, Sec. McNamara held that post through the Johnson years, overseeing much of the Vietnam War. Despite having been a polarizing figure in much of the political discourse from that era, by using books and film, McNamara had spent his later years trying to bring new light to the decisions surrounding the escalation of the war.
• While some analysts are scoring our latest talks with Russian leaders as a modest success, President Obama and our diplomatic corps kicked off the talks by scoring a major victory for our renewed commitment to Operation Enduring Freedom, striking a deal that would allow NATO forces to use Russian air space to transport personnel, equipment, and supplies to and from Afghanistan. Considering that Afghanistan’s landlocked geography has made many of our other supply routes somewhat vulnerable to enemy attacks, this is certainly a welcome bit of news.
• Undoubtedly, the biggest military story this weekend was the kickoff of Operation Strike of the Sword, a Marine-led offensive against the Taliban in the Helmand River Valley in southern Afghanistan. The operation intends to seize and stabilize the Taliban-controlled territory there ahead of national elections on August 20.
• In case you missed it, unclassified excerpts from Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s newest tactical directive have been released to the public. In particular, the directive highlights new guidelines aiming to drastically lower the civilian casualty rate there, such as stricter conditions to allow the use of air-to-ground munitions and requiring troops to work with Afghan security forces when dealing with local nationals in their homes. Hopefully this gives insight into some of the measures that have been emplaced as we try to turn the corner in Afghanistan.
• Sadly, today proved to be one of the deadliest days for American service members since the Global War on Terror began almost a decade ago. Seven Americans were killed today in Afghanistan in combat operations throughout the country.
• There is some relatively good news to be had in the story of that Soldier that was kidnapped earlier last week.
• Closer to home, condolences to the family of Lance Cpl. Seth Sharp of Adairsville, the young Georgia Marine who was killed at the outset of Operation Strike of the Sword. Though 20, Lance Cpl. Sharp was already an Iraq War veteran, having had volunteered to join the service at the age of 17.
• And finally, unfortunately I missed this a couple of weeks ago, but condolences to the family of Georgia National Guardsman, First Sergeant John D. Blair of Calhoun, who was killed in Afghanistan on June 20. Sadly, 1st. Sgt. Blair is the fourth Georgia National Guardsman to have been killed in Afghanistan since that unit deployed a little over a month ago.