Man's Best Friend Until the Very End

Tumilson and Hawkeye in happier times

In the same vein as Hachiko in Japan or Greyfriars Bobby in Scotland, a photo taken at the funeral of one of the Navy SEALs killed when their Chinook helicopter was shot down by an RPG shows a dog laying quitely by the SEAL's casket.



Lisa Pembleton, a cousin of SEAL Jon Tumilson photographed the Petty Officer's loyal Labrador retriever Buckeye at his master's side one last time as the dog lay motionless next to the casket at Tumilson's funeral throughout the service. The funeral was held in Tumilson's hometown of Rockford, IA.

Pembleton wrote on Facebook that Hawkeye was Tumilson’s loyal pet who wouldn't leave his master’s side during the funeral in Rockford, Iowa.



“I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn't make it or couldn't see what I could from the aisle,” Pembleton wrote.



Tumilson lived in San Diego for eight years before becoming a member of SEAL Team 6. A memorial fund has been set up in his honor and donations can be sent to Frogman 238 Memorial Fund at:

First Security Bank and Trust

201 West Main Ave.

Rockford, IA 50468

Buckeye will remain with friends of Tumilson's in Nebraska who had watched after the lab during the SEAL's previous deployments.

Pentagon Releases Names of US Servicemen Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash

Funeral service for SEAL Team member Rob Reeves at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Shreveport, LA on Saturday August 14- Henrietta Wildsmith/Shreveport Times

On Thursday, the Pentagon released the name of all 30 American servicemen killed when their CH-47 Chinook was shot down by Taliban fire during a nighttime mission over Wardak province on Aug 6th.



The following SEALS have been identified as among the dead:



*Lt. Cmdr. Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.

*Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.,

*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.

*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn.

*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.

*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.

*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas.

*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.

*Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Mich.

*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.

*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.

*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa.

*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla.

*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah.

*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif.

*Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minn.



The five Navy special operations troops were:



*Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii.

*Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W. Va.

*Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah.

*Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.

*Cryptologist Technician Petty Officer 1st Class Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.



The five soldiers killed were identified as:



*Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo., who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment in Aurora, Colo.;

*Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in New Century, Kan.

*Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb., who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment in Grand Island, Neb.

*Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, New Century, Kan.

*Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan., who was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in New Century, Kan.



The three airmen who died were:



*Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla., who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.

*Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif., who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.

*Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pa. who was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.



[Hat tip: And So It Goes in Shreveport]

38 Killed In Afghan Helicopter Crash, Including at least 20 US Navy SEALS

A US military helicopter carrying American and Afghan soldiers was reportedly shot down by Taliban fire on Saturday, with all 38 on board killed. The helicopter was on a nighttime mission in the Wardak province west of Kabul when it was said to have been struck by a RPG and crashed.

Among those killed in the crash were members of the Navy's SEAL Team 6, although officials stated none of the men who participated on the May raid of Osama Bin Laden's Pakistani compound were aboard the chopper.

One current and one former U.S. official said that the dead included 25 Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six, the unit that carried out the raid in Pakistan in May that killed bin Laden. They were being flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because families are still being notified.

A total number of 38 people died in the crash, killing 7 Afghans and one interpreter.

The death toll would surpass the worst single day loss of life for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001 -- the June 28, 2005 downing of a military helicopter in eastern Kunar province. In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed when their craft was shot down while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban. Three of the SEALs being rescued were also killed and the fourth wounded. It was the highest one-day death toll for the Navy Special Warfare personnel since World War II.

NATO confirmed the overnight crash took place and that there "was enemy activity in the area." But it said it was still investigating the cause and conducting a recovery operation at the site. It did not release details or casualty figures.

"We are in the process of accessing the facts," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman.

With its steep mountain ranges, providing shelter for militants armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, eastern Afghanistan is hazardous terrain for military aircraft. Large, slow-moving air transport carriers like the CH-47 Chinook are particularly vulnerable, often forced to ease their way through sheer valleys where insurgents can achieve more level lines of fire from mountainsides.

Thinking back to the Bin Laden raid, not even a full day afterwards, I had expressed concerns that trade secrets would be given away in the euphoria and afterglow of the operation's success- and I know I can't be the only one. I'm hoping this isn't the case, but in this epoch of wikileaks and state secrets frequently showing up in the front page of the New York Times, one can't be too sure.

I really and truly am at a loss for words over the loss the Navy Special Warfare family and the US Military in general has just suffered.

And So It Goes in Shreveport is reporting that at least two of the casualties identified on Saturday are from the northwestern Louisiana city.

Highway of Heroes- A Canada Day Tale From Not Another New England Sports Blog

Photo- Military Mom At Home

In honor of Canada Day today, I thought it would be appropriate to look into the Highway of Heroes phenomenon in the province of Ontario.

For the Canadian military, it is standard practice to have an autopsy performed on any serviceman or woman killed in the line of duty. The bodies of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan are flown to the CFB Trenton Air Force Base and then driven about 100 miles to the west where the autopsy is performed at the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto.

The procession has been taking place since 2002 and is always given a police escort the entire way. Much of this journey includes Ontario Highway 401, a freeway sometimes known as the Kingsway.

With the very first of the casualties being repatriated one final time, Pete Fischer- a photographer for Northumberland Today- noticed a crowd of about 30 onlookers, including a pair of policemen, gathered on an overpass and saluting as the hearses made their way down the 401. From there, the crowds from the townships and counties the procession passed through would steadily grow. Canadian flags, handmade signs and ribbons would adorn some overpasses while police officers or firefighters in uniform would park their vehicles alongside the 401 or an overpass and salute the procession.

In his bid to have the province officially recognize the Trenton-Toronto stretch of the 401 as the Highway of Heroes, Fischer recounted:

Every person who stands on a bridge will tell you it’s a feeling like no other. As you wait, you talk with people who have been there before, who you’ve come to know. People smile, share feelings, talk about how many times they’ve stood on various bridges. It’s a mix of pride and sadness.

When the convoy of vehicles is seen approaching, murmurs in the crowd can be heard: “Here they come.” There’s silence as people get ready. Then, there’s a sudden sea of arms waving Canadian flags, wanting to let family members in the procession know we are there for them, that we share their pain and are proud to be Canadian.

It’s not unusual to see a soldier’s hand waving a beret from a hearse, or a family member waving from a limousine, to acknowledge the people on the bridge. Those waves are simple gestures, but more than enough for everyone on a bridge to know in that split second that everyone has made a connection to the people in those vehicles.

Rain or shine, an impromptu, grassroots honor guard is present along ramps and overpasses of the 401 to pay their respects for the fallen one final time.

In August 2007, those advocating for official recognition got their wish as the province unveiled new signs along the 401 designating the 100-mile stretch the Highway of Heroes.

More recently, a stretch of the Trans-Canada highway through British Columbia was also re-named the Highway of Heroes at the urging of the Royal Canadian Legion, veterans and family members of the more than dozen BC natives killed in Afghanistan.

Keep in mind that aside from the Winter Olympics or Don Cherry, Canadians by and large tend to shy away from wearing their patriotism on their sleeves. I have nothing else to add other than I thought that was a very moving and sincere gesture by the folks living in some of these towns along the 401 to pay their last respects to Canada's fallen soldiers.

Luxury Hotel Attacked by Suicide Bombers and Gunmen in Afghan Capital

Suicide bombers and gunmen launched a coordinated attack on the Intercontinental hotel in Kabul Tuesday night. Afghan sources say that 10 people were killed in the attack so far, but that number was unable to be verified independently.

An Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman says initial reports indicate three or four suicide bombers and at least two gunmen attacked the hotel. Multiple explosions have been heard on the property.

Sediq Sediqqi said Tuesday that all the bombers either blew themselves up or were killed. Two gunmen continue to fire from the roof of the hotel, he said.

"There are foreign and Afghan guests staying at the hotel," Sediqqi said. "We have reports that they are safe in their rooms, but still there is shooting."

Azizullah, an Afghan police officer who uses only one name, told The Associated Press at the scene that at least one bomber entered the hotel Tuesday night and detonated a vest of explosives.

Afghan police were battling the assailants with machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades as tracer rounds went up over the blacked out building. The police have secured the area around the hotel, which is one of Kabul's most heavily guarded.

Jawid, a guest at the hotel, says the attack occurred as many people were having dinner in the hotel restaurant. He says he heard gunfire throughout the several story building.

"I was running with my family," he said. "There was shooting. The restaurant was full with guests."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that their operatives killed some of the hotel's guards in the initial attack and entered the property from there. Afghan police say that there are at least two gunmen firing from the roof.

The attack comes less than a week after President Obama announced the withdrawal of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan within the year.

BREAKING: Osama Bin Laden And Associates Killed in US Special Ops Raid on Pakistani Compound

This has been coming in pretty rapid fire (pardon the expression) all night, and it's been difficult to keep up with the various reports and rumors that have been going on.

In an unscheduled news conference from the East Room of the White House earlier tonight, President Obama announced that fugitive al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in a Navy SEAL raid on a mansion in northern Pakistan.

Unlike previous strikes over Pakistan, this reportedly involved a prolonged firefight between helicopter-borne SEALs and Bin Laden along with his couriers and one of his sons at a compound in the city of Abbotabad, some 30 miles from the Pakistani capitol of Islamabad and less than 5 miles away from the Pakistani Military Academy in Kakul.

The U.S. had been monitoring the compound in Abbottabad for months after receiving a tip in August that Bin Laden might be seeking shelter there. He had long been said to be in the mountainous region along the Afghanistan, Pakistan border, hiding in a cave as the U.S. sought to kill him with drone strikes from above. Instead, he was in a house eight times larger than its neighbors, with a seven-foot wall and valued at $1 million. The house had no phone or television and the residents burned their trash. The house had high windows and few points of access, and U.S. officials concluded it had been built to hide someone.

According to U.S. officials, two U.S. helicopters swept into the compound at 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Twenty to 25 U.S. Navy Seals under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command in cooperation with the CIA stormed the compound and engaged Bin Laden and his men in a firefight, killed Bin Laden and all those with him.

Two Bin Laden couriers were killed, as was one of Osama Bin Laden's son, as was a woman reportedly used as a shield by one of the men. Other women and children were present in the compound, according to Pakistani officials, but were not harmed. U.S. officials said that Bin Laden himself did fire his weapon during the fight.

One of the U.S. helicopters was damaged but not destroyed during the operation, and U.S. forces elected to destroy it themselves with explosives.

The Americans took Bin Laden's body into custody after the firefight and confirmed his identity. According to a senior administration official, the U.S. is "ensuring it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition. It's something we take seriously and therefore it's being handled in an appropriate manner."

According to Pakistani officials, the operation was a joint U.S.-Pakistani operation, but U.S. officials said only U.S. personnel were involved in the raid.

On eary Monday, Pakistani television network GEO TV broadcast images of the mansion believed to have housed Bin Laden engulfed in flames.
News of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack mastermind's demise was greeted with cheers by crowds in front of the White House in Washington DC and in Times Square and adjacent to Ground Zero in New York City. Among the celebrants were members of the FDNY and NYPD- 343 Firefighters and 60 police officers were among the first responders killed in the 9/11 attacks.

So as it turns out, it wasn't a drone strike like many had predicted (on the assumption Bin Laden was even still alive) or porcine-induced rectal trauma like I had really really hoped he would have inflicted on him in his final hours, but if confirmed then this is good news indeed.

UPDATE: Multiple outlets are reporting that this op has been in the works since 2007.

The operation had been in the works for years. Since 9/11, the CIA gathered leads on those in bin Laden’s inner circle, including personal couriers. During interrogations and questioning, various detainees flagged individuals who may have been providing support to OBL and Zawahiri. One courier in particularly was identified by detainees as one of the few al Qaeda couriers who had bin Laden’s trust. He was identified as a “protégé” of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and a trusted assistant of Abu Faraj al –Libbi, the former #3 of al Qaeda, who was captured in 2005. There were even indications the courier may have been living with bin Laden.

In 2007, intelligence officers discovered his identity. In 2009, intelligence officials identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operate – but they were still unable to pinpoint precisely where.

In August 2010 came a big break. Intelligence identified a compound that aroused their suspicion – eight times larger than other homes in the area, built in 2005, on a property valued at $1 million. But access to the compound was severely restricted, with elaborate security and 12 to 18 foot walls topped with barbed wire. Incongruently, the compound has no phone service or televisions. The main building had few windows and a seven foot wall for privacy. Residents burned their trash.

Intelligence officials concluded that unit was “custom built” to hide someone. A third family was identified as living there – and the size and makeup matched the bin Laden family members most likely with him. The location and design of compound were consistent with what experts expected his hideout might look like. Their final conclusion: there was a strong probability that this was bin Laden’s hideout.

Personally, I think it would be kinda cute if we could plant a couple hundred thousand in cash in the form of Euros or US Dollars on a couple of the remaining Al Qaeda higher ups, bundled with little strips that would have a cryptic message in Arabic or Urdu about a 'job well done', only to have the cash discovered by subordinates.

9 Americans Killed After Afghan Air Force Officer Opens Fire at Kabul Airport

A veteran officer in Afghanistan's Air Force opened fire on American and Afghan troops during a meeting at Kabul's airport on Wednesday, killing 8 US troops and an American contractor.

The Afghan officer, who was a veteran military pilot, fired on the Americans after an argument, the Afghan Defense Ministry said.

All nine killed were American, according to a senior U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been made public.

The shooting occurred in an operations room of the Afghan Air Corps at Kabul airport.

"Suddenly, in the middle of the meeting, shooting started," said Afghan Air Corps spokesman Col. Bahader, who uses only one name. "After the shooting started, we saw a number of Afghan army officers and soldiers running out of the building. Some were even throwing themselves out of the windows to get away."

It was the seventh time so far this year that members of the Afghan security forces, or insurgents impersonating them, have killed coalition soldiers or members of the Afghan security forces.

Before the airport shooting, the coalition had recorded 20 incidents since March 2009 where a member of the Afghan security forces or someone wearing a uniform used by them attacked coalition forces, killing a total of 36. It is not known how many of the 282,000 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in these type of incidents.

Nearly 500 Taliban Captued Taliban Freed in Afghan Jailbreak

Afghan Police on Scene of 2008 Jailbreak Attempt in Kandahar- File Photo

Taliban militants managed to spring at least 480 inmates from a Kandahar prison Sunday night after digging a 1,000 foot tunnel from a residence within sight of the prison's guard towers.

Officials at Saraposa prison in the city of Kandahar only discovered the breach about 4 a.m., about a half hour after the Taliban said they had gotten all the prisoners out.

The militants began digging the tunnel about five months ago from a house within shooting distance of the prison guard towers. It was not immediately clear whether they lived in the house while they dug. They meticulously plotted the tunnel's course around police checkpoints and major roads, the insurgent group said in a brazen statement.

The diggers finally broke through to the prison cells around 11 p.m. Sunday night, and a handful of inmates who knew of the plan unlocked cells and ushered hundreds of inmates to freedom without a shot being fired.

The city's police mounted a massive search operation for the escaped convicts. They shot dead two inmates who tried to evade capture and re-arrested another 26, said Tooryalai Wesa, the provincial governor.

But there was no ignoring that the Taliban had pulled off a daring success under the noses of Afghan and NATO officials.

A man who claimed to have taken part in the jailbreak told the Associated Press via telephone that inmates were able to obtain copies of keys to some of the inmate's cells ahead of their cohorts outside tunneling through and inferred that there was complicity on the part of some of the prison guards.

Exit question for those of you in favor of closing down Guantanamo Bay- still think it's a good idea for a civilian trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed while transferring inmates from Guantanamo to prisons in the continental United States?

[Hat Tip: Pundit Press]

Happy Australia Day from Not Another New England Sports Blog!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish my Australian visitors a happy Australia Day as well as to remind my non-Australian visitors that today is, in fact, Australia Day!

I've had the good fortune of visiting Australia myself awhile back and meeting some of their soldiers while I was still in the US Army. I mean, on top of everything else, how could you not love a country who's concept of meter maids is attractive women in sparkling gold bikinis putting money into parking meters?

For the record, the Australian Army has fought alongside their American counterparts since WWI, and as I'm writing this, Aussie diggers continue to serve in Afghanistan, Iraq and even closer to home where they have been doing search and rescue operations during the flooding in Queensland.

So throw another shrimp on the barbie and raise your pint of XXXX or Black Swan (as some of us know, Foster's is for the tourists) with your sheila and best mates...[did I leave out any Aussie-centric cliches?- NANESB!].

This American, at least, considers himself fortunate to count Australia one of his nation's closest allies.

'Combat Barbie' Redux- 2009 Miss England Returns to Active Duty With Royal Army

*sigh* All good things must come to an end. Some of you who were around towards the beginning of Not Another New England Sports Blog!might remember the name Katrina Hodge- Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge of the Royal Army, to be specific.

A decorated Iraq war vet, she competed in the 2009 Miss England pageant and was awarded 1st runner up when the then-reigning Miss England was stripped of her crown for getting into an altercation with another contestant at a nightclub [No word on whether or not it was a prolonged Dynasty-esque face-slapping, dress-ripping, hair-pulling, falling-into-a-pond catfight- NANESB!]. So in a rather ironic twist, the military woman is awarded the Miss England crown for not fighting.

And now that a new Miss England was crowned last year, Corporal Hodge is back with the Royal Army and awaiting deployment to Afghanistan.

the move from soldier to beauty queen was a lot easier that the move in the other direction.

‘I’m not going to lie, it was hard to come back,' said Hodge.

‘It’s definitely a change of lifestyle from having your hair and make-up done every day to being in your combats and having your hair scraped back.'
But after 12 months of fancy hotels, false eyelashes and beauty assistants at her beck and call, Combat Barbie is back in combat training

Aside from her Miss England duties, Corporal Hodge had a pretty eventful 2010 in that she married some lucky bastard a fellow British soldier at a private ceremony in Sri Lanka last June.