Labradors, a popular hunting dog, have been a vital addition to foot teams patrolling in the dangerous south Afghanistan terrain. When they are just puppies, the dogs are selected and trained to “detect five kinds of threat, from military grade C-4 plastic explosive to common chemicals used by the Taliban to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs)”.  This training has proven invaluable and has saved countless lives.

“They are 98 percent accurate. We trust these dogs more than metal detectors and mine sweepers,” says handler Corporal Andrew Guzman.

Since Labradors were originally bred  for use as hunting dogs, their incredible sense of smell is well-tuned to environmental scents. The breed has also proven to be an eager student and is easy to train.

Of course, as anyone who has met a Labrador knows, the dogs are incredibly easy-going and friendly. They have provided much needed companionship, and a break from the daily life in hostile territory,  to the homesick soldiers. The soldiers are able to blow off steam playing with the dogs. Many have even requested to adopt the dogs after their tours are over.

As the use of IEDs by the Taliban goes up, so will the numbers of war dogs. Currently there are nearly 70 dogs working in the southern parts of Afghanistan alone, with more around the country. More of these valuable additions to our troops will be deployed in the coming months.

For more on the “dogs of war”, click here to read an article from Yahoo! News.

I’ve been reading a recent internal summary of how Marine “Female Engagement Teams,” or FETs, have worked in Afghanistan. The bottom line is that done right, this approach works surprisingly well, with benefits among the population that can’t be achieved by males. The findings run directly contrary to several assertions made in the comments reacting to my previous post on this subject.

First, Afghans don’t seem to mind the female teams. Paradoxically, “Female Marines are extended the respect shown to men, but granted the access reserved for women,” the report finds. “In other words, the culture is more flexible than we’ve conditioned ourselves to think.”

Second, the teams have been successful in reaching the other half of the population, one that carries disproportionate influence with the prime Taliban recruiting pool. “Local women wield more influence than many of us imagined-influence on their husbands, brothers, and especially their adolescent sons.”

When one patrol that took a FET with it was observed, the female Marines were invited inside several compounds, while the male Marines stayed outside. “And in each case, the FET succeeded in breaking the ice and getting women to open up and discuss their daily lives and concerns.” Nor was this an isolated event. When patrols returned, “we discovered some Afghan women had been anticipating the opportunity to meet American women. In one home, the women said they had caught glimpses of the patrolling FET through a crack in the wall and that they had ‘prayed you would come to us.’” The fact that the Afghan women welcomed return visits indicated that their men hadn’t punished them for speaking to Americans.

The women interviewed also had surprisingly diverse backgrounds. Though all impoverished now, some had once been prosperous. One group of young women reported that they had been held captive by the Taliban.

The interactions also seemed to change how some local men viewed the Marine presence. “One gentleman with a gray beard who opened his home to the FET put it this way: ‘Your men come to fight, but we know the women are here to help.’” Read on…

RAMADI, IRAQ (April 29, 2008) – It was a typical quiet morning on April 22, with the temperature intensifying as a bright orange sun emerged high from the horizon.

Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, RCT-1, were standing post, just as they’ve done numerous times before. During a standard length watch in a small checkpoint protected by concrete barriers where they overlooked the small gravel road, lined with palm trees leading to their entry control point.

However, this morning would be different. Quickly it would turn, chaotic then tragic. Two Marines would gallantly sacrifice their lives so others could live.

A truck packed with thousands of pounds of explosives entered the area where Haerter and Yale were standing guard. Realizing the vehicles intentions Haerter and Yale without hesitation stood their ground, drew their weapons and fired at the vehicle. The truck rolled to a stop and exploded, killing the two Marines.

“I was on post the morning of the attack,” said Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tupaj, a rifleman with 3rd Platoon, Police Transition Team 3, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. “I heard the (squad automatic weapon) go off at a cyclic rate and then the detonation along with a flash. Then I heard a Marine start yelling ‘we got hit, we got hit.’ It was hectic.”

In the face of a committed enemy, Haerter and Yale stood their ground, in turn saving the lives of numerous Marines, sailors, Iraqi Policemen, and civilians. Both Marines displayed heroic, self-sacrificing actions and truly lived up to the Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment.

“They saved all of our lives, if it wasn’t for them that gate probably wouldn’t have held,” Tupaj said. “The explosion blew out all of the windows over 150 meters from where the blast hit. If that truck had made it into the compound, there would’ve been a lot more casualties. They saved everyone’s life here.”

According to official reports the heroic actions of Haerter and Yale’s saved the lives of the 33 Marines and 21 Iraqi Police as well as numerous civilians at the entry control point.

“They are heroes because thousands of pounds (of explosives) would’ve made its way through the gate and many more of us wouldn’t be here,” said Lance Cpl. Lawrence Tillery a rifleman with 3rd platoon. “I have a son back home, and I know if that truck would’ve made it to where it was going – I wouldn’t be here today. Because of Lance Cpl. Haerter and Cpl. Yale, I will be able to see my son again. They gave me that opportunity.”

A week after the attack, the Marines with 3rd platoon, remember their fallen brethren as good friends and Marines

“Cpl. Yale was a great guy, really friendly and kind of shy,” said Hospitalman Eric Schwartz a corpsman with the platoon.

“Haerter was an amazing guy, I knew everything about him. He was my best friend.” said Lance Cpl. Cody Israel, a rifleman with 3rd platoon, Haerter’s roommate for more than a year and half.

Haerter and Yale were both posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and have been nominated for an award for their valor.

Editor’s Note: This story was written by Lance Corporal Casey Jones, a combat correspondent stationed in Camp Ramadi, Iraq. Jones recently completed a story on two Marines that were killed while defending their post. The Marines have been nominated for a Silver Star, the third highest award in the military, for their heroic actions that day.(WITN)

After hospitalizations in Guam and San Francisco, and several of the twenty-two surgeries he would undergo, he was discharged in September 1945. On October 5, at the age of seventeen, he received the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman, making him the youngest recipient since the Civil War. Then, as he had promised his mother years before, he went back to school—a ninth grader wearing the Medal of Honor around his neck. He later graduated from high school and earned a college degree. His book, Indestructible, was published in 2006.(MSNBC

Wow. What a story. This was quite the man. It was incredibly lucky that the one soldier saw that he was still alive, even after suffering those extensive injuries. People like this really are an inspiration.

[J.A.] Magana [trooper with the N.C. Highway Patrol] said the driver was heading south on Lake Road around 7:30 a.m. when he lost control of the Nissan SUV, overcorrected, flipped and submerged wheels up into the ditch with about 3 to 4 feet of water.

The Marines following behind the crash stopped, jumped into the canal, pulled the man to safety and then breathed life into his lungs.

Staff Sgt. William Carlson, of Marine Attack Squadron 231 and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, was heading to rifle practice at Camp Lejeune with three other Marines, Cpl. Shari Hansen, Sgt. Eric Lyman, and Sgt. Caleb Bailey, all of VMA-231, when the crash happened.

“We stopped the car jumped into the ditch and tried to get the doors open,” Carlson said. “We couldn’t get the doors open on the driver’s side so we jumped over to the other side and got the back passenger door open.

“We got his seatbelt undone. He was tangled up in it. We cut him loose and pulled him out the back passenger door. We had to remove the headrest to get him past the seat. He was underwater for about three minutes.”

They then began working with three other Marines who arrived at the scene just after the crash to save the driver’s life.

“Once we got him out, he didn’t have a pulse and he wasn’t breathing,” Carlson said. “We started CPR. After about a minute of CPR, his pulse came back. He started breathing about 10 or 15 seconds after we stopped compressions when we got a pulse.”

One of those on the scene was a 31-year-old Marine corporal who didn’t want to give her name.

“One Marine took his pulse, another Marine checked for breathing, and I was on top doing chest compressions,” she said. “We continued to do that until he started spitting out water, and we put him on his side to get the water out. Read on…

Click here to read this story. It can really be amazing how people can band together for a cause – even if is as simple as welcoming a fallen soldier home for the last time.

In memory: Roger Hager, 20, Lance Cpl U.S. Marines

Michael C. Roy, 25, Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps