I write this with sorrow as I hear today that a helicopter containing Special Operations Forces was shot down in Afghanistan, killing 31 Americans and 7 Afghan Commandos. Initial reports say that the majority of the killed are Navy SEALS. God be with them, their families and their comrades.
Ranger Up invited Ranger Mike Schlitz and I to be their guests at the Strikeforce and M-1 Global Fedor vs. Henderson match, featuring Ranger Tim Kennedy fighting Robbie Lawler. Full set of photos here.
Ranger Tim Kennedy wins over Robbie Lawler, at the 1:40 minute mark Tim brings up Ranger SFC (ret) Mike Schlitz!
Deadliest Warrior: Ranger Tim Kennedy was the Ranger featured in this episode. Parts are corny but Tim was AWESOME!
and in a trifecta, Tim was featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine, with a nice article in the pub. Go buy it now!
Ranger Up is an amazing veteran owned business. Check out their website and buy something!
Karl interviews Ranger veteran Bob Sebastian, founder of H.O.O.A.H on The New American Veteran. Bob has created Help Out Our American Heroes (H.O.O.A.H) to assemble and ship care packages to Ranger units (and others) deployed overseas. The most requested item for the care packages? Copenhagen! Support their effort by sending a check or mailing non-perishable items (Cope, beef jerky) to this address:
H.O.O.A.H.
13645 Northdale Blvd
Rogers, MN 55374
Missing credentials harm jobless veterans (article). This article does a very good job of talking about the frustration with a veteran who ran the postal service in a combat zone, but isn't "qualified" to do the same thing in the U.S.
POTUS announced a new initiative aimed at helping reduce veteran unemployment, and the Dept of Labor just released new numbers:
9.0% unemployment rate for all U.S. population
8.6% unemployment rate of ALL veterans
7.3, 8.5, 8.2 % unemployment rate for Gulf War, WWII/Korea, Vietnam and other eras
Veterans post-Gulf War (current GWOT)
12.1% male
14.1% female
12.4% all
Note that Desert Storm and earlier report a lower than national average unemployment rate, while post Desert Storm is significantly higher (33% more if you're male, 56% more if female).
Navy veteran Matt Flavin, Director of Wounded Warrior and Veteran Policy for the White House writes in the White House blog: Putting Our Veterans Back to Work.
Vote for GallantFew in the Pepsi Refresh Everything Competition. We are competing for a $50k grant to help us refine our volunteer/veteran mentor database - the top 10 are eligible for the grant, we are sitting around #80. Vote every day at this link: www.refresheverything.com/gallantfew and also text 108109 to 73774 (standard text rates apply).
Received this from 1/75: SGM Jack Schmidt Memorial Bench:
SGM Jack Schmidt was and is an inspiration to many Rangers – of all eras. His Ranger Buddies are asking you to contribute to the purchase of a Memorial Bench with bronze plaque as seen in the inserted photo. The approximate cost of the bench is $1700.00. Any donation will be greatly appreciated! If you are associated with a website, please post if your site permits.
All donations can be mailed to Shelia Dudley, 520 E. Harris Street, Savannah, Georgia. Please annotate on your check and envelope“Schmidt Memorial”. When enough funds are collected, we will place the order and notify you of the date of installation in the 1/75 Memorial. If you have not had the opportunity to visit the 1/75 Memorial at Hunter Army Airfield, please do – you are always welcome!
RLTW!
Shelia Dudley
Project Manager
1st Ranger Battalion Memorial
Here's a vintage clip about the Ranger's raid on Cabanatuan. Used to be called "rare" but now it's on youtube! RLTW!
Homeland Security Job Opportunities:
08/02/2011
Homeland Security Today - Online
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Ports of Entry (PoE) on the Southern border that are undergoing major expansion, like the PoE at Nogales, Arizona, and are in need of new officers, will start seeing an influx of additional officers this next year as fresh hires get their assignments. These new officers are being hired as part of a major new CBP recruiting drive.
CBP is currently looking to hire at least 1,300 CBP officers to work at PoEs, a CBP spokesperson told Homeland Security Today Monday following CBP's announcement of its new hiring initiative.
In addition, 1,000 additional Border Patrol agents will be hired “to work between the ports on the southwest border,” according to a CBP spokesperson.
CBP is building two new Ports of Entry at locations where the existing PoE's receive about 100 cars on its busiest days, according to a veteran CBP officer on the Southern border.
CBP had earlier hired 250 officers and 1,000 Border Patrol agents for fiscal year 2011 pursuant to a supplemental border bill in 2010. Another 1,200 Border Patrol agents were “hired to account for attrition,” the spokesperson explained.
The veteran CBP official told Homeland Security Today that “what the Ports of Entry need are [more] K9 officers. They need to be able to run dogs on every shift. In [one] section they have five PoEs. Money and drugs are a huge problem going both in and out. Yet, in my opinion, we do not have the protection in order to deter, detect nor discover these illicit cargo shipments. The CBP needs to get more dogs at their land PoEs. There should be enough dogs to ensure that they can cover the volume of traffic 24/7.” ...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is currently hiring entry-level Border Patrol Agents (BPA). All eligible U.S. Citizens and Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA) applicants are encouraged to apply.
VRA eligible applicants include the following: Disabled veterans; veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war declared by Congress, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized; veterans who, while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a military operation for which the Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded; or veterans separated from active duty within the past three years. For more information on VRA eligibility, please visit http://www.opm.gov/
We are currently recruiting for the Southwestern border region (States of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and southern California). To go to the announcement click this link: BPA 11-2 or type in the following address in your browser: http://jobview.usajobs.gov/
thanks for your support - Rangers Lead the Way!
Karl
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