Sgt. Adam Sniffen from the 101st Airborne Division delivers the game ball via parachute before the Michigan vs. MSU game at Michigan Stadium on Oct. 9, 2010.
... The Missile Defense Agency told Fox News it did not launch any test missile Monday night that could explain the dramatic images. The Navy and the Air Force were also unable to offer an explanation.
[Col. Dave] Lapan said it does not appear that whatever was flying was part of a "regularly scheduled missile test." He noted that before a missile test, notifications are sent to mariners and airmen. This does not appear to be the case here.
At this point, the military is working only with video taken from the local news camera, and NORAD and Northcom apparently were not able to detect the contrail on their own. [emphasis added]
It appears from the video, Lapan said, the object was launched from the water and not U.S. soil, though at this point there is no way to be certain. ...
The letter sat on the dresser for four years.
Robert Gilbert never opened it. He only touched the envelope when he needed to dust around it. He wanted to give it back to his son unopened.
Every time his Marine son was deployed, his son would ask, "You still got my letter?"
His dad never wanted to read what was inside an envelope marked: "Dad, open this if I am wounded. Love, Robert."
The call to open it came March 8. ...
BUSHNELL — The two teenagers got to the cemetery first.
He wore his dark green dress uniform from the National Guard. She wore a long black dress.
They stood on the edge of the road, across from rows of matching military headstones, waiting for the funeral of the man they had never met.
Mike Colt, 19, and his girlfriend, Carol Sturgell, 18, had driven more than an hour from their Tampa homes on Wednesday to be at Florida National Cemetery.
They weren't really sure why they had come. They just knew they had to be here.
"It's kind of sad, huh?" asked Sturgell, scanning the sea of white gravestones.
Colt nodded. "Yeah, but it feels kind of important."
At 12:20 p.m., a Tampa police car pulled up, then a white Lincoln Town Car. Another police cruiser followed. Two officers stepped out.
"Thank you for being here," Colt said, shaking both of their hands.
"No, thank you," said Officer Dan College. "If it weren't for you guys, none of us would be here."
• • •
Three weeks ago, on the last Saturday of November, the young couple was hanging out at Sturgell's house when her brother rode up on his bike, all excited. He had found two fishing poles in this huge pile of trash. Come check it out, he said. So they did.
At the edge of the trash mound, sticking out from beneath a box, Sturgell spied a worn green folder.
She pulled it out, brushed off the dust. Across the top, bold letters said, "Department of Defense." Inside, she found retirement papers from the U.S. Army; a citation for a Purple Heart issued in 1945; and a certificate for a Bronze Star medal "for heroism in ground combat in the vicinity of Normandy, France ... June 1944." In the center of the certificate there was a name: Delbert E. Hahn.
Why would anyone throw that away? Sturgell asked.
And who is that guy? Colt wanted to know. Must be old, a World War II vet. Looks like he served at D-Day!
That night, they took the paperwork back to Sturgell's house and searched Delbert E. Hahn on the computer. Nothing. They talked about who he might have been, the life he might have led.
The next morning, they went back to the trash heap and searched for more clues. They rummaged through boxes, overturned furniture, picked through piles of the past. Colt moved a ratty couch — and something fell out. A metal vase, or box, some kind of rectangular container about a foot tall. On the base was the name: Delbert E. Hahn.
"It's him," Colt told his girlfriend. "This must be him, in his urn."
Sturgell screamed. She didn't want to touch it. It was kind of freaky, she said, discovering the remains of some dead guy.
"He shouldn't be here," Colt said. "No one should be thrown away like that, just left in a parking lot."
The dead man wasn't alone. Under the couch, the couple found two more sets of remains: a cylinder-style container with Barbara Hahn printed on the bottom and another urn, which had no name. ...
Fort Hood officials announced Thursday a new command policy regarding registration requirements for privately-owned firearms was signed into effect Tuesday by Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, III Corps and Fort Hood commander.
The policy, and Fort Hood Regulation 190-11, requires all service members and their families living, residing or temporarily staying at Fort Hood to register any privately-owned firearms kept on post with the Directorate of Emergency Services, a Fort Hood press release states.
The announcement comes more than a month after the Nov. 5 massacre on post claimed the lives of 13 and injured more than 30 – victims were shot by a soldier using a privately-owned firearm.
The new policy details how soldiers, family members and even civilians must go about reporting privately-owned weapons being taken on post.
"Service members living in barracks or in post temporary housing must notify their immediate commander of the possession of POFs and keep the weapon in their respective unit arms room in accordance with Army Regulation 190-11 and Fort Hood Regulation 190-11," the policy reads.
Under the new policy, service members and their families living, residing or temporarily staying at Fort Hood are required to immediately notify DES of any "sale, purchase, trade, gift, exchange or any other action that changes the ownership or long-term possession of a POF kept on the installation."
Besides detailing the responsibilities of service members, the policy additionally states that "all persons, whether service member or civilian, who intend to transport a privately-owned firearm onto Fort Hood must first register that firearm with DES."
It goes on to state that when entering Fort Hood, all persons are required to declare to access control point personnel that they are bringing a privately-owned firearm onto the installation.
"POFs being transported onto Fort Hood will, at all times, be accompanied by post registration documentation and are subject to inspection," the policy states.
The announcement Thursday specified that the new policy is "punitive in nature" and applies to all III Corps and Fort Hood service members, major subordinate units, tenant activities and family members across Fort Hood. ...
Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.
The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called a captain's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.
Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.
Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.
Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.
Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.
Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.
Neal Puckett, an attorney representing McCabe, told Fox News the SEALs are being charged for allegedly giving the detainee a “punch in the gut.”
“I don’t know how they’re going to bring this detainee to the United States and give us our constitutional right to confrontation in the courtroom,” Puckett said. “But again, we have terrorists getting their constitutional rights in New York City, but I suspect that they’re going to deny these SEALs their right to confrontation in a military courtroom in Virginia.” [emphasis added]
The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged. ...
Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge, the soldier dubbed ''Combat Barbie'' after being crowned Miss England, is joining fellow beauties to launch the Miss World 2009 Festival.
L/Cpl Hodge, who was drafted in to compete in the Miss World contest after Rachel Christie relinquished her title following her arrest over an alleged nightclub brawl, said she planned to join comrades on the frontline in Afghanistan.
The 22-year-old soldier has already served in Iraq but said she was hoping to join the effort in Afghanistan after stepping down as Miss England in July next year.
She said: ''It is something I want to do'', adding: ''People just do not appreciate the Army enough.''
L/Cpl Hodge said she thought of ''everybody involved'' after marking Remembrance Sunday with two minutes' silence alongside some of the 119 other contestants vying to become Miss World.
She told how she hoped her role as an all-action beauty queen would be positive for young people who only saw digitally-enhanced models in the media.
L/Cpl Hodge, whose parents live in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, added: ''We are taught in training that we are first and foremost a soldier. When I am a soldier I have my hair scraped back and no make-up.
''I hope it bodes well that I am seen as a more natural beauty. Me having one day to get ready for this role shows that.''
She said her comrades were delighted for her, adding: ''They all love it and think it's fantastic.''
She added: ''It's been an absolute whirlwind - in 24 hours my life has changed.
''It's been weird but fantastic weird, because I really want this opportunity.''
L/Cpl Hodge added that she had been due to be sent out to Afghanistan before she was crowned Miss England.
She was previously given an award by her unit in the Royal Anglian Regiment for her actions during a posting in Basra and has earned the nickname ''Combat Barbie''.
She said she would be ready when called upon, adding: ''I am not leaving the army. I will still be going to work - I have just got promoted.''
She said she hoped her title as Miss England would help raise funds for various military charities, including Help for Heroes. ...
... Ron Borsch is consultant trainer for the Bedford (Ohio) Police Department, specializing in tactically training first-responders (bio in previous article). In an email today, Borsch summarized his up-to-date research into how mass murders are stopped:My latest stats have not changed much, but CIVILIANS lead aborting rapid mass murder at 71%, and with a SINGLE actor initiating the stoppage, and often completing it at 82% of the total.
When police abort rapid mass murder, it is 29%, and with a "Single Officer Lifesaving Others"(C) SOLO at 75% of the total.
The "POSSE" Theory of rounding up a formation of officers to combat a lone (98%) and suicidal (90%) active killer in the precious 1 to 3 "Golden Minutes"(C) of a perishable opportunity has NO tracking history of success that I can find.
[Note: Borsch defines the active killer as “one who commits rapid mass murder, (4 or more intentionally killed). Active Killers typically do NOT negotiate or take hostages.” He defines rapid mass murder as one that occurs in 20 minutes or less.] ...
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