U.S. Army Spc. John Rocha wiped the sweat from his sun-beaten face and then took another step through the river valley. It was June 15, another 100-plus degree day in northeastern Afghanistan.

Rocha and his fellow soldiers combed the rugged terrain along the narrow highway, looking for enemy threats for what they hoped was the last of hundreds of combat patrols through the area.

Soldiers in an austere province in Afghanistan received much needed provisions thanks to the joint efforts of the Alaska and New York Air National Guard units during their first formation airdrop.

Members of the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron dropped approximately 20,000 pounds of cargo to soldiers on the ground in the Oruzgan province June 22. The aircrews were tasked to perform two back-to-back missions, which tested their skills and strengthened them as a team.

For her bravery and composure during a hostile engagement with enemy forces, Shakilla Zikeria, an Afghan-American interpreter working for the Paktya Provincial Reconstruction Team, was the first female in the history of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan to receive the Military Essential Personnel Award for Valor at Forward Operating Base Gardez, June 17, 2011.

“I have the highest respect for Shakilla, personally as well as professionally, and she is more than deserving of this award,” said Shane Shrader, the Military Essential Personnel site manager.

ATF HOSTS 1ST GAY PRIDE OBSERVANCE
Congressman Barney Frank to Deliver Remarks

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today sponsored its first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month program at its headquarters, with Acting Director Kenneth Melson providing remarks and Rep. Barney Frank serving as the keynote speaker.

The celebration was in recognition of the accomplishments and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to ATF and the nation, and to promote awareness of the LGBT culture.

ISSA TO MEXICO
Representative Darrell Issa has gone to Mexico as part of his investigation into Operation Fast and Furious.
http://www.sofmag.com/issa-heading-mexico-more-ff-guns-linked-bloodshed

Congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is heading to Mexico Friday as new reports of Operation Fast and Furious-linked guns being involved in a high-profile murder have surfaced.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/issa-heading-to-mexico-as-...

Article by Dave Workman

Senegal's ruling party has abandoned efforts to change the constitution after riots by opposition supporters in the capital, Dakar.

The protesters clashed with riot police on Thursday and demanded the constitution remain unchanged.

Opposition supporters said a proposed amendment would make it easier for President Abdoulaye Wade to stay in power.

The current constitution says a president must be elected with an absolute majority of the vote — 50 percent plus 1. The ruling party had sought to lower that threshold to 25 percent.

The leader of Burma’s opposition movement has urged the U.S. Congress to do what it can to make sure that her government adheres to a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi told members of Congress a resolution that the U.N. Human Rights Council passed in March is a clear guide for what needs to be done to bring democracy to Burma.

On Monday the United Nations-backed tribunal in Phnom Penh will open its hearing into the four surviving leaders of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge movement.

Cambodians have waited three decades for this day: when the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge movement appear in court charged with an array of crimes - genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder. The list is long.