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.

Two major updates in the Harrison Jack case, in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms launched a highly questionable sting operation against a number of people seeking to aid the Hmong people, who have been the targets of a genocidal campaign by the Communist Laotian government.

First, from a blog covering the Eastern District of California, is an entry discussing the judge throwing out a number of the charges, including the Neutrality Act charges.

NEW YORK CITY (November 9, 2010) This past September, the Center for Security Policy issued an abbreviated report titled Shariah - The Threat to America, An Exercise in Competitive Analysis, Report of Team B II. In a press conference today, CSP is releasing the full, unexpurgated study, and will have four of the authors on hand to discuss it. A great summary of both versions can be read here.

An unnamed source deep inside the defense establishment has broken his silence to national security analyst James S. Robbins – senior editorial writer for foreign affairs at The Washington Times. Robbins will break the story in tonight’s online version of The Washington Times, which will hit newsstands tomorrow.

To all those who are presently serving the United States in the military - and to all those who have served, Soldier of Fortune thanks you for your service.

Have a happy and safe Veterans Day.

An Eighth Army officer was awarded the Soldier's Medal Nov. 5 during a ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas, for his actions during the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting incident there that left 13 Soldiers dead and 32 wounded.

Maj. Steven J. Richter, chief of medical logistics for Eighth Army, was assigned as the chief of operations and deployment medicine at Fort Hood when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of opening fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center.

Richter testified during Hasan's Article 32 hearing Oct. 20 via tele-conference about his actions that day.