Since 9/11, Militec, Inc. has received thousands of emails from American troops requesting more than 500,000 bottles of all sizes of MILITEC-1 weapons lubricant to insure that weapons don't ge clogged with environmental debris and malfunction.

The Soldiers tasked as the first line of defense for Combat Outpost (COP) Margah in Paktika Province were on alert due to reports of a potential attack. The six Soldiers at the observation point were ready, but nobody expected an attack of the magnitude they got.

Clouds filled the sky, making that night darker than usual. Soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, successfully defended COP Margah from a complex attack against more than 120 insurgents during the early morning hours of Oct. 30.

By James Simpson
http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-washington-dc/a-conversation-with...

A group supporting the WikiLeaks website has vowed to step up what it is calling its "data war" against groups that have cut funding for the website.

In interviews Thursday, spokesmen for the group, calling itself "Anonymous," vowed to intensify attacks in defense of the website and its founder, Julian Assange, whom the group views as a martyr for free speech.

The group claims it has recruited volunteers through online social networks to help them with the attacks.

On November 11, 2010 hundreds of security police violently attack a Catholic prayer service of 100 Degar Christians at Ploi Kret Krot village, Hra commune, Mang Yang district, at PleiKu city, Gia Lai province, Vietnam. These Degar Catholics had gathered for an open prayer service when security forces arrived telling them to leave. The Christians told the police they were not doing any crime and the police responded by confiscating and destroying their religious artifacts and including crosses and pictures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

A couple of weeks ago, important military history was being made, and I want to ensure none of you missed it.

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama. He became the first living recipient to receive the nation's highest military award since the war in Vietnam ended more than 35 years ago. Giunta distinguished himself in Afghanistan by braving heavy enemy fire, and risking his life to save his fellow Soldiers during an ambush.

His actions were above and beyond the call of duty.

Current Issue Table of Contents

AMERICA AT WAR
HOW A FIREFIGHT TURNED CONTROVERSIAL
The firefight between Marines and insurgents that took place in Haditha, Iraq, on 19 November, 2005, became very controversial. Marines won a firefight on the ground, but soon found themselves caught up in a public relations nightmare due to false accusations from those who did not support the troops or their mission.
By Harold Hutchison

THE CASE OF ILARIO PANTANO

President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor Tuesday to the first active-duty servicemember in nearly 40 years.

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta was described as a humble, low-key Soldier –- one that shies away from the limelight. But his actions on Oct. 25, 2007, were anything but low-key when he refused to let enemy fighters carry off a fellow wounded Soldier in Afghanistan.

Don't call Staff Sgt. Salvatore "Sal" Giunta a hero.

Don't say that he went above the call of duty when he single-handedly stopped two terrorists from kidnapping his wounded buddy during a ferocious firefight in Afghanistan in 2007.

Because as Giunta sees it, he was just doing his job. He didn't do anything that any other paratrooper in 1st Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team -- or anyone in the United States military for that matter -- wouldn't have done, and he can't quite understand what all the fuss is about.