by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 16 October 2010
SAUDIA ARABIA – Please take a look at the photo gallery slideshow that I’ve created of some shots taken by yours truly while on a MiddleEast deployment to the Straits of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf region circa 1983 while aboard the USS Lawrence DDG-4, which is now decommissioned and mothballed.
by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 15 October 2010
WEAVERVILLE, NC – I am a retired naval officer. I retired from the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant Commander on 1 September 1994.
LCDR, USN-Retired
This means that I have been receiving military retirement benefits on a monthly basis now since that time–almost 16 years. I’ve never considered joining a military organization since I retired even though I am a lifetime member of the Navy Supply Corps Association, until now. If you’re a military retiree, like myself, you may want to pay special attention to the following information regarding the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).
The MOAA has been helping military families for the past 80 years. With recent changes in healthcare looming and the difficult times we find ourselves in at the present, some difficult choices are going to have to be made. The MOAA expects the incoming 112th Congress to take a close look at the earned military pay and benefits, including healthcare and cost-of-living adjustments, which some regard as too expensive.
This is exactly why the MOAA needs the support of retirees like myself–and like you. The initiatives of the MOAA for retired officers are:
These are just a few of the issues that MOAA is currently working on FOR YOU. But, they need your support, to strengthen the combined voices that they take to the Hill. Please consider joining your fellow officers–just like I did–and register your membership in MOAA today by visiting the MOAA Website and requesting them to send you a registration package or click on the Join MOAA link, if you qualify, and follow the directions to join online.
Here is what some of the MOAA Members’ families say about MOAA:
You are not like other Americans. You served your country as a military officer. Besides, your retired pay, America has repaid you with earned entitlements: Healthcare for one. Special access to certain services, for another.
All of this is in exchange for 20 to 30 years of service under tough conditions such as hazardous duty…service in foreign countries, often hostile…multiple, extended family separations…frequent relocations…disruption of your spouse’s career and your children’s schooling…forfeiture of many personal freedoms other Americans take for granted…and an “up-or-out” promotion system with certain aspects beyond your control.
But, there’s a problem. And it’s especially critical at this time. You see, the military budget–and how much of it goes to people versus weapons–is always a political issue. You (along with all military personnel, but especially those of you who are retired) have a lot at stake.
While there are sound arguments for protecting your retired pay and other earned rights, other powerful interests argue your earned entitlements are just too expensive. This point is better told through the following story:
A couple of years ago, a Pentagon task force looked at retiree healthcare costs. Like everything, the figures were going up. Because the DoD felt these costs hurt funding for future weapons systems, they recommended a solution: Shift rising healthcare costs–raising fees as much as 400%–onto retirees. Legal? Yes. Fair? No! “But,” you may say, “I use TRICARE coverage, and I’ve been paying the same fees for years.” Yes, you’re exactly right–you have. That’s because MOAA has successfully fought this threat–often in concert with other military organizations–in every nook and cranny of Capitol Hill. In committee hearings. In Senate testimony. In Congressional offices. Anywhere MOAA can influence an opinion, they do it FOR YOU.
The strength of the MOAA comes from its membership. Specifically, membership numbers. Nearly 1 out of every 2 of your fellow retired officers are MOAA members. Just looking at the roster is a “who’s who” of officers of all ages, grades, branches, services, and components. Besides legislative advocacy, MOAA membership brings prestige. As an MOAA member, you can continue to serve America–through this advocacy for the entire military community.
Therefore, today, I decided to become an honored member of this prestigious group of fellow officers. The camaraderie that I once felt being a part of the military community, which I thought I had lost when I retired, has now been restored. I know with confidence that my membership is helping to pave the way for increased annual retirement benefits, other benefits I will receive as an MOAA member, and continued healthcare benefits through TRICARE.
Won’t you consider joining the MOAA today? It may be the toughest but the smartest decision that you’ve made in quite a while.
by DAN CALLOWAY
Published on 15 August 2010
WASHINGTON, DC – The Obama administration has launched a shadow war against Al Qaeda and terrorism on a worldwide scale. From the deserts of North Africa, to the desolate mountains of Pakistan, even to former Soviet republics that have been crippled by ethnic and religious strife, and covering more than a dozen countries throughout the world, the United States has expanded its worldwide war against terrorism and its military and intelligence operations, pursuing the enemy through the use of commando teams and robotic drones, paying civilian contractors to spy on terrorists and training local operatives to defeat terrorism wherever it exists.
On May 25th of this year, an airstrike hit a suspected group of Al Qaeda operatives in the remote desert region of Marib Province. The airstrike, unfortunately, also hit and killed the province’s deputy governor, a well-respected leader who Yemeni officials claim was attempting to talk Al Qaeda into halting their war on terrorism in the region. The President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Selah, took responsibility for the attack and paid the terrorists blood money as compensation for the loss.
As it turns out, the airstrike in Marib Province was not the work of President Selah’s forces, but was a secret mission launched by the United States, and was the fourth such mission against Al Qaeda launched by the United States military in the desert and mountainous regions of Yemen since December, 2009.
The White House and the Obama administration has increased its efforts against terrorism by strengthening the CIA’s drone missile campaign in Pakistan, approved secret raids against Al Qaeda in Samalia, and launched clandestine operations in Kenya. Working with its European allies, the United States has helped to dismantle known terrorist groups in North Africa, and assisted the French in removing terrorists in Algeria. In addition, the United States is paying contractors to spy on terrorist group activities in Pakistan and other locations and report back to the government on what they have uncovered.
Unlike his predecessor, George W. Bush, President Obama’s secret shadow war against terrorism in Yemen and other parts of the world have never been publicly acknowledged. The troop buildup in Afghanistan is the only publicly announced campaign against terrorism that the White House has officially admitted is underway.
The Obama administration has chosen to take a different approach to fighting terrorism; one that does not boast about what it is doing, but secretly accomplishes the same mission and ultimately saving the American taxpayer millions of dollars by not involving the United States in an all-out war against any particular group or country, such as the war on Iraq, toppling huge governments and resulting in years of occupation. The “scalpel” rather than “hammer” approach taken by the White House in its fight against worldwide terrorism is seen as an advantage in “getting the job done” without the aftereffects that come from public acknowledgement of the activities.
by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 6 April 2010
BAGHDAD, IRAQ – In order to comply with YouTube’s restrictions on and due to the graphic nature of the video contained in this article, you may, of course, read the article but prior to viewing the video from this website, I ask that you please sign-in or sign-up using the links that redirect you to YouTube then return to my article prior to viewing the video, which can be expanded to full screen. “Collateral Murder – Wikileaks – Iraq” This video or group may contain content that is inappropriate for some users, as flagged by YouTube’s user community.
Nathan Hodge, a reporter for Wired News has posted an article on the Wired News website’s Danger Room regarding what is purportedly a leaked government document, which is a video of a classified US helicopter attack in 2007 on a group of people in New Baghdad that resulted in the death of two Reuter reporters: Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen.
On July 12, 2007, Chmagh and Noor-Eldeen, members of the Reuters Baghdad Bureau were on assignment in New Baghdad to cover the news in the neighborhood, when they were hit by gunfire from US helicopters. A total of nine people were reported as killed with two children wounded in the attack. Reuters requested the video of the attack from the US military, which was the video of the actual Apache helicopter attack but the military refused to release the video to the news organization since it was considered classified.
Julian Asange, the WikiLeaks founder, was able to obtain an encrypted copy of the video from an unnamed source referred to in the video as “our courageous source,” and subsequently decrypted the video after breaking the encryption code.
Following the incident, WikiLeaks sent two correspondents into the same New Baghdad neighborhood to verify the stories, obtain eyewitness accounts of the attack, and statements from family members of those who were killed in the attack. The video’s authenticity was not verified with the US military for obvious reasons.
In the video, it is not clear whether individuals were spotted carrying military weapons that may have prompted the attack. What is clear, however, are the two correspondents from Reuters who are carrying camera equipment they used to film their reports. This camera equipment may have been mistaken for weapons. This is unclear. What is clear, from the video, is there was no fire fight underway between the men on the ground and US forces that was reported by the US military as the reason for the Apache helicopter attack.
by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 25 December 2009 @ 13:42 UCT
KABUL – NATO has confirmed that a video released on Christmas Day by the Taliban shows a soldier captured nearly five months ago in Afghanistan.
Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl is the only American military serviceman known to be missing in action and held captive by enemy forces or terrorists. The U.S. airborne infantryman was captured by the Afghan Taliban in East Afghanistan’s Paktika province on 30 June 2009.
Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith confirmed that the person seen in the Taliban video, which shows an American reading a prepared statement is Pfc Bowe Bergdahl. This is a horrible act on the part of the Taliban who released the video as an affront to the Bergdahl family who are deeply concerned for their son’s safety and want his release and safe return to the U.S. The release of the video on Christmas Day demonstrates contempt for religious traditions and the teachings of Islam.
In the video, the man identifies himself as Bergdahl, born in Sun Valley, Idaho, and gives his rank, birth date, blood type, his unit and mother’s maiden name before beginning a lengthy verbal attack on the U.S. conduct of the war in Afghanistan and its relations with Muslims. He seems healthy and doesn’t appear to have been abused.
Bergdhal, who was serving with a unit based in Fort Richardson in Alaska was only 23 years of age when he was captured just five months after deploying to Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s objective for capturing Pfc Bergdhal is to negotiate the release of Al-Qaeda prisoners in exchange for the safe return of the American being held. Displaying Pfc Berghdal in the video is a direct violation of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits the use of detainees for propaganda purposes.
U.S. military officials have searched for Bergdahl, but it is not publicly known whether he is even being held in Afghanistan or neighboring Pakistan.
Friday, February 10, 2:47 am
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