Barry Unloads on Libya

In this b-roll footage from the US military's DVIDS, the USS Barry fires cruise missiles at Libyan targets during Operation Odyssey Dawn.

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• NO BLOOD FOR OIL... Barack Obama Launches Cruise Missiles At Libya (gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com)
• Arab Leaque on Libya Bombing Campaign: "What We Want Is Civilian's Protections, Not Shelling More Civilians" (gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com)
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Highlights from St Louis Veterans Observance

Highlights from Saturday's Veterans Observance at Soldier's Memorial in downtown St. Louis. The video includes the presenting of the colors, national anthem, and excerpts from Mayor Francis Slay's remarks.

Illinois May Disenfranchise Military Voters

WLS-AM 890 is reporting that the Justice Department is investigating whether or not the state of Illinois has disenfranchised military voters:

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the state of Illinois missed the deadline for mailing absentee ballots to members of the military and other overseas American voters as part of a new federal overseas voting law.

Cris Cray, Director of Legislation at the Illinois State Board of Elections, says not all of Illinois' 110 jurisdictions were compliant with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE).

The law requires every state to mail their absentee ballots 45 days prior to Election Day to overseas troops, government employees and other Americans who want to vote from abroad.

Clearly the military community needs more organizing if it wants its votes to count!

Harvard Needs a Few, Good Signatures

Scott Brown (R-MA) is circulating a petition to return the Reserve Officers' Training Corp (ROTC) to Harvard University:

Sign this petition to tell Drew Gilpin Faust, the President of Harvard that it's time to accept The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) on campus.

By signing this petition, you agree that:

ROTC (The Reserve Officers' Training Corps) is an honorable service to the United States of America and that all students wishing to serve in ROTC should be allowed to exercise their service on the campus of Harvard.

Women Officers in the Afghan Army

DVIDS is reporting on a new officer candidate school for Afghani women:

KABUL, Afghanistan – Much like the United States in the mid-20th Century, Afghanistan is experiencing changes in the rights afforded to women. Afghan women can now hold jobs previously unavailable to them, such as serving in a position of authority as an officer in the Afghan National Army.

A group of eight U.S. Army women mentors and 29 Afghan female officer candidates are ushering in that change.

In a joint effort between NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan and the Afghan Ministry of Defense, the ANA Female Officers Candidate School opened its doors in April. Over the past 20 weeks, 29 Afghan women – mostly housewives – have made history. The first class of female officers will graduate Sept. 23 with the candidates serving as finance and logistics officers.

Missile Defense Test

DVIDS reports on the successful June 29th test of the THAAD anti-missile system:

The Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Army soldiers of the 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade from Fort Bliss, Texas, successfully conducted an intercept test for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense element of the nation's Ballistic Missile Defense System today.

Petraeus to Succeed McChrystal

The AP reports: "...that President Barack Obama will name Gen. David Petraeus to succeed Gen. Stanley McChrystal as top war commander in Afghanistan." Gen. Stanley McChrystal was insubordinate. I do not think that he could command the respect of his own subordinates as needed in his leadership role if he were to remain in command, so I believe the decision to replace him was unavoidable.

Assuming the AP's source is correct, I applaud President Barack Obama's decision to replace McChrystal with Gen. David Patraeus. I've been impressed with Patraeus since reading Michael Yon's 2007 post Second Chances (note: two videos will auto-play at that link).

Remembering Sgt. Denis Kisseloff

Photos Courtesy Doug of Leaning to Starboard

Video above courtesy Bob McCarty who also provides this report:

The body of Missouri Army National Guard Sgt. Denis D. Kisseloff, 45, was returned to St. Charles County, Mo., Friday afternoon, one week to the day after he was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan. In the video above, I capture the arrival of the funeral procession at Buchholz Math Hermann funeral home in St. Peters and learned a little bit about the sergeant assigned to the Farmington, Mo.-based 1141st Combat Engineers (Sapper) from Sgt. Jeff Stevens, his team leader.

Courageous Restraint = Kick Me

Washington Examiner Medal for 'courageous restraint' plan get mixed review from troops

A proposal to grant medals for "courageous restraint" to troops in Afghanistan who avoid deadly force at a risk to themselves has generated concern among U.S. soldiers and experts who worry it could embolden enemy fighters and confuse friendly forces.

Can our troops decline to accept the "courageous restraint" medal? It seems to me to be a variant of that old middle school "kick me" prank.

Troops Arrive at Lambert USO

Cross Coverage:

• St. Louis Patriots & Hooters Girls Welcome Thousands of US Troops To Town Today
• 2009 Exodus at the USO in St. Louis 
• Christmas Exodus at the USO