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SAN DIEGO -- There's controversy over how the military is transporting the bodies of service members killed overseas, 10News reported.
A local family said fallen soldiers and Marines deserve better and that one would think our war heroes are being transported with dignity, care and respect. It said one would think upon arrival in their hometowns they are greeted with honor. But unfortunately, the family said that is just not the case. Dead heroes are supposed to come home with their coffins draped with the American flag -- greeted by a color guard. But in reality, many are arriving as freight on commercial airliners -- stuffed in the belly of a plane with suitcases and other cargo. John Holley and his wife, Stacey, were stunned when they found out the body of their only child, Matthew John Holley, who died in Iraq last month, would be arriving at Lindbergh Field as freight. Matthew was a medic with the 101st Airborne unit and died on Nov. 15. When someone dies in combat, they need to give them due respect they deserve for (the) sacrifice they made, said John Holley. John and Stacey Holley, who were both in the Army, made some calls, and with the help of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Matthew was greeted with honor and respect. Our familiarity with military protocol and things of that sort allowed us to kind of put our foot down -- we're not sure other parents have that same knowledge, said Stacey Holley. The Holleys now want to make sure every fallen hero gets the proper welcome. The bodies of dead service members arrive at Dover Air Force Base. From that point, they are sent to their families on commercial airliners. Reporters from 10News called the Defense Department for an explanation. A representative said she did not know why this is happening. Previous Story: And Prez who can't decide what he's trying to escape. nm I invite all to look at the posts, and decide... who are the unhappy campers in this bunch. You are just a nasty little outfit, aren't you? who messed in your post toasties this morning? :) Wow - if I couldn't decide before this has really confirmed it for me. We watched C-span so that we could be assured nothing would be cut out. Then we went to MSNBC to see their comments and then FOX to hear their comments. Sure enough MSNBC was filled with a bunch of sour grapes. What were they saying about her speech? Nothing. They were just upset because she called the media on what they've been reporting about her and they didn't like it. They want to keep bashing and putting her down and have nothing said back to them. They are so biased it makes me sick. This is my likes & dislikes about Sarah Palin. I like that she is not from Washington. I like that she has been governor of the state, has passed laws, has made Alaska a better state that works for the people. I like that she got rid of all the wasteful things (fancy jet, personal chef, chauffer). I like that she can stand tough when she needs to. She's knows how to get things done and she's not afraid to go up against the "big boys". I like that she firmly believes in the 2nd ammendment of the constitution, the right to bear arms, and I like the fact that she knows how to use arms. I like that she cares about America more than she cares about herself. I like that her husband owns a business and she has helped him work his commercial fishing business. So I know she is not for more taxes. I like that she took from the big oil companies and gave the money rightfully back to the people who deserved it (the Alaskan citizens). I like that she is a mother, has kids in school, has been to the PTA. That means she is aware of the education system and I like that she got involved to make the schools a better place for all kids. I like the fact that she and her husband decided to have a child knowing he would have down's syndrome and I like the fact that she doesn't wear it on her sleeve and when she talked about her baby tonight she said our newest addition, a beautiful baby boy (not a beautiful Down's syndrome baby). I like the fact that her daughter is pregnant. To me it shows she is as real of a person and her family is the same as most all other Americans and facing the same thing all other americans are. I like the fact that she was not born into a wealthy family, she worked hard to get where she is at. I like the fact that for all the snips and nasty comments the democrats said against her and John McCain last week she can dish it right back (and with facts! - which by the way is all the liberal media focused on tonight (how much she picked on the other side)). I like the fact that I know she and her husband sit down at night after their kids go to bed and they talk about real issues (his business, their kids schooling, etc etc). I think she is a wonderful, hard working person. Very knowlegeable about issues (has to be to be a governor). I like the fact that she does have more experience than Obama does, which because he is running for President he should have more experience then someone running for VP. Tonight after her speech DH & I both said we need to move to Alaska and have someone like her as our governor. What I don't like...maybe she's a little too "religious" for me and I've heard that she wants to teach creationalism in schools. BUT (I wanted to make sure I put that in big letters...but) I can't confirm that and I'm not sure if that is a rumor put out by the liberals, so I really can't say I don't like that about her because I don't know if it's true. Just keep religion out of politics and I'm happy with that. So far I can't see anything I dislike about her (which is a far cry from 3 days ago when I couldn't stand her because all I was listening to was MSNBC and CNN). Now I'm researching and reading more about her accomplishments. I think she's a wonderful person and will make a fine VP. Also I do have to say I've been learning more about JM over the past couple days and I have a lot more confidence and respect for him as our next president. I loved R. Guliani's speech and Mike Huckabee's and the Governor of Hawaii (forget her name). They all gave fine speeches. So that's my opion. To the one just blabbing about how our taxes are going to be raised, blah, blah, blah. It's all scare tactics. When the democrats are in is always when people pay more in taxes. Government grows, jobs go overseas, America becomes less secure, military gets cut way back Remember NAFTA because of Democrat Billy who shipped jobs overseas and people lost good jobs and homes. Then he turned around and created these "false" jobs where people had to take jobs paying 1/2 of what they were getting paid but because they paid them so low he could create more jobs giving a "false" impression that he created all these jobs (these people still had to go on food stamps). Remember how your taxes were raised because of Democrat Billy who jumped my tax bracket from 21% to 37% and even then at the end of the year we had to pay an additional $2500 cos we didn't pay enough to support all of his programs. Remember Kosovo, Somalia, etc. Remember how Democrat Billy gutted the military which made our country less safe, hence the first attack on the world trade centers. Remember how Democrat Billy had the chance to capture OBL but he didn't. Remember the lies. Remember how Democrat Hillary was trying to socialize health care. Some people may think Bush is "one fry short of a happy meal" but at least our taxes went down, and we had job security and our military was built up and I once again had faith in the country, Sure the country is not perfect. Sure President Bush has made some real "dufus" decisions and mistakes, but it's nothing compared to the mess the country was in the last time the Democrats were in office. That is why I'm voting for McCain/Palin. I've got my fire resistant suit on. I haven't read it all yet, but you all can decide...sm http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/518/ http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_obama_write_that_he_would_stand.html http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/o/obama-books.htm http://www2.islandpacket.com/blogs/post/26929 I agree! I can't decide who to vote for because there is so much bad on both of them (sm) I am going to decide who I dislike more and vote for his opponent. Very sad. Terrible choices. the voters don't decide the election- sm Perhaps you forgot, or don't even know, that it isn't the voters who actually decide the election anyway. It is the electoral college. We could all boycott (although that would be stupid beyond belief as our voices would not be heard at all) and it would not affect the election results anyway. Get it?? People who use their minds to decide what they do * I love it...when the courts decide against liberals... they are biased and wrong. When they decide for liberals...they are right on and good old boys. Can we just admit it...you don't care what the facts are. Conservatives are wrong and Bush is wrong...every time posting, every time opening mouth. If Bush was a Democrat, we would not be having any of these discussions. What a twisted value system. Twisted. I decide for this informed American voter.... and a man's affairs or not affairs is not the reason I will vote or not vote. I don't want a socialist America, so I would not vote for Barack Obama. The Supreme Court first has to decide whether to rule...sm on the case. They do not hear every case presented to them. They are very likely to send it back to the lower court if they think it is frivolous. So you can decide who's real folks and who's not? Geeshhh...... Steele wants states to decide and BIG GOVT OUT. nm Did he decide to cancel the 2012 election? (nm) * just like sex ed, they should make kids parents decide ever remember having to have a permission slip for sex ed or even for your kids? They should do the same thing for the gay thing. For a species to thrive it needs to have male and female parts to reproduce, so why teach something that would not benefit the species? I am not against gay people. I am just against my kids being forced to think that it is something that they might have to look into and that it might be "cool". Army order soldiers to get rid of better body armor or lose death benefits Army Orders Soldiers to Shed Dragon Skin or Lose SGLI Death Benefits
By Nathaniel R. Helms Two deploying soldiers and a concerned mother reported Friday afternoon that the U.S. Army appears to be singling out soldiers who have purchased Pinnacle's Dragon Skin Body Armor for special treatment. The soldiers, who are currently staging for combat operations from a secret location, reported that their commander told them if they were wearing Pinnacle Dragon Skin and were killed their beneficiaries might not receive the death benefits from their $400,000 SGLI life insurance policies. The soldiers were ordered to leave their privately purchased body armor at home or face the possibility of both losing their life insurance benefit and facing disciplinary action. The soldiers asked for anonymity because they are concerned they will face retaliation for going public with the Army's apparently new directive. At the sources' requests DefenseWatch has also agreed not to reveal the unit at which the incident occured for operational security reasons. On Saturday morning a soldier affected by the order reported to DefenseWatch that the directive specified that all commercially available body armor was prohibited. The soldier said the order came down Friday morning from Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command (HQ, USSOCOM), located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It arrived unexpectedly while his unit was preparing to deploy on combat operations. The soldier said the order was deeply disturbiing to many of the men who had used their own money to purchase Dragon Skin because it will affect both their mobility and ballistic protection. We have to be able to move. It (Dragon Skin) is heavy, but it is made so we have mobility and the best ballistic protection out there. This is crazy. And they are threatening us with our benefits if we don't comply. he said. The soldier reiterated Friday's reports that any soldier who refused to comply with the order and was subsequently killed in action could be denied the $400,000 death benefit provided by their SGLI life insurance policy as well as face disciplinary action. As of this report Saturday morning the Army has not yet responded to a DefenseWatch inquiry. Recently Dragon Skin became an item of contention between proponents of the Interceptor OTV body armor generally issued to all service members deploying in combat theaters and its growing legion of critics. Critics of the Interceptor OTV system say it is ineffective and inferior to Dragon Skin, as well as several other commercially available body armor systems on the market. Last week DefenseWatch released a secret Marine Corps report that determined that 80% of the 401 Marines killed in Iraq between April 2004 and June 2005 might have been saved if the Interceptor OTV body armor they were wearing was more effective. The Army has declined to comment on the report because doing so could aid the enemy, an Army spokesman has repeatedly said. A U.S. Army spokesman was not available for comment at the time DW's original report (Friday - 1700 CST) was published. DefenseWatch continues to seek a response from the Army and will post one as soon as it becomes available. Yesterday the DoD released a news story through the Armed Forces News Service that quoted Maj. Gen. Steven Speaks, the Army's director of force development, who countered critical media reports by denying that the U.S. military is behind the curve in providing appropriate force protection gear for troops deployed to Iraq and elsewhere in the global war against terrorism. The New York Tiimes and Washington Post led the bandwagon of mainstream media that capitalized on DefenseWatch's release of the Marine Corps study. Both newspapers released the forensic information the Army and Marines are unwilling to discuss. Those headlines entirely miss the point, Speaks said. The effort to improve body armor has been a programmatic effort in the case of the Army that has gone on with great intensity for the last five months, he noted. Speaks' assessment contradicts earlier Army, Marine and DoD statements that indicated as late as last week that the Army was certain there was nothing wrong with Interceptor OTV body armor and that it was and remains the best body armor in the world. One of the soldiers who lost his coveted Dragon Skin is a veteran operator. He reported that his commander expressed deep regret upon issuing his orders directing him to leave his Dragon Skin body armor behind. The commander reportedly told his subordinates that he had no choice because the orders came from very high up and had to be enforced, the soldier said. Another soldier's story was corroborated by his mother, who helped defray the $6,000 cost of buying the Dragon Skin, she said. The mother of the soldier, who hails from the Providence, Rhode Island area, said she helped pay for the Dragon Skin as a Christmas present because her son told her it was so much better than the Interceptor OTV they expected to be issued when arriving in country for a combat tour. He didn't want to use that other stuff, she said. He told me that if anything happened to him I am supposed to raise hell. At the time the orders were issued the two soldiers had already loaded their Dragon Skin body armor onto the pallets being used to air freight their gear into the operational theater, the soldiers said. They subsequently removed it pursuant to their orders. Currently nine U.S. generals stationed in Afghanistan are reportedly wearing Pinnacle Dragon Skin body armor, according to company spokesman Paul Chopra. Chopra, a retired Army chief warrant officer and 20+-year pilot in the famed 160th Nightstalkers Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), said his company was merely told the generals wanted to evaluate the body armor in a combat environment. Chopra said he did not know the names of the general officers wearing the Dragon Skin. Pinnacle claims more than 3,000 soldiers and civilians stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan are wearing Dragon Skin body armor, Chopra said. Several months ago DefenseWatch began receiving anecdotal reports from individual soldiers that they were being forced to remove all non-issue gear while in theater, including Dragon Skin body armor, boots, and various kinds of non-issue ancillary equipment. Last year the DoD, under severe pressure from Congress, authorized a one-time $1,000 reimbursement to soldiers who had purchased civilian equipment to supplement either inadequate or unavailable equipment they needed for combat operations. At the time there was no restriction on what the soldiers could buy as long as it was specifically intended to offer personal protection or further their mission capabilities while in theater. Hindsight is 20/20. The same argument could be made of North Korea if they decide to attack...sm after Bush's 2nd term has ended. Clinton and Bush definitely were opposites on foreign policy, but I think he did try - probably didn't do as much as he could. What Bush is doing with the war in Iraq though, I think is irresponsible as well. Yes - a bean-counter will decide that the cost-benefit ratio over the expected remaining life span.. ...isn't worth it, and you'll be denied that hip replacement or whatever. So much less expensive to prop you up in a wheelchair and shove you in a corner. They'll poke you tomorrow morning to see if you're dead yet. And, folks, I'm not kidding. Blah, blah, one can certainly decide if a person is beautiful or not..nm nm LOL...I mean **woman**! Mrs. M, are you a woman? I'm kind of doubting this, based on Mrs. M's preoccupation with various women's looks. Who was this woman? An eagle also needs to land sooner or later. Barak is neither left or right. Yes, he does lean a bit to the left, but for years we've had Bush lean to the extreme right thanks to his righteous evangelical radicals. This scares me a lot more. Please read and enlighten yourselves. Those of you who are still undecided are to be pitied. This campaign has been going on for so long, if you still don't know who to vote for....I would say you have a hell of a problem. Take your blinders off, Falwell is dead and I wish Limbaugh was too. The American people have brainwashed themselves and they like it. There are other great countries in the world, not just the U.S. They are proud patriots also and believe their country is the best. So wake up, READ about history and other countries. I live in a country that I would bet hardly of you know, let alone the capital. The country is called Canada and the capital is Ottawa. I too am proud of my country and I think IT IS THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! Stop listening to those stupid radio talk shows who are nearly all republican........get a life. Vote for Barack, my God you folks need a change!!! Monique
that woman is a ...........sm stupid, FUGLY, racist BIATCH! So a woman has a right to abort with no questions asked because it is her uterus and no one's business. Yet you wish to take away the rights of people who don't believe in abortion and work in the medical field. No job should require you to do something that you find unethical. If you want to abort your child....fine....that is your decision and one that you will have to answer for and live with. So many people are on here screaming about their rights and how dare their rights be taken away. Forcing someone in the medical field to be involved in something they feel is unethical......isn't that taking away their rights. They have a right to refuse. There are other people in the medical field who would willingly perform an abortion....so why force those who find it unethical? That is just wrong. A better woman? OMG! Do even know what a better woman is? I will tell you - one who can say he** with that SOB rapist, I'm living my life my way and moving on! You sound more angry than I do? Have you lived your life to the fullest without being taken advantage of? Are you happy? Is it easier for you to point fingers and say what others should do? I am a very happy person who believes bad things sometimes happen to good people. This has nothing to do with being a better or stronger woman.
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