This was a very active year for ASP. Our very own Marcus deployed to Iraq, we got a new Congress, and David Sneakers married his long time llama…I mean, love. Let’s recap:

The year started out terribly with the loss of a fellow milblogger’s wife to cancer. SC Eagle has dedicated his blog in her memory over at A Storm In Afghanistan. The good news is that she is in a much better place an no longer has to deal with the pain that comes along with fighting cancer. Our prayers continue to go out to SC Eagle.

We started out the year forgiving and unbanning the good people over at One Utah (which lasted a day-I’m so bad at resolutions). It wasn’t all bad news as January also brought about the first EVER private Iraqi radio station, the military decided to call up seniors to help with the war effort, SGT Star was launched (thankfully he’s also gone away), our very own White Rose began her journey to becoming an Army Soldier, Marcus began breastfeeding his daughter (a milblog first for sure!!), and Democrats renewed their subversion campaign. Patriot garnered 30 comments by “Bringing Back the Truth” that seems to have become lost in the constant drumbeat of expected failure. We were instrumental in flooding a Soldier and his unit with much needed floor mats after being spurned by a retailer. And, finally, perhaps the effort I’m most proud of was our donation of of $3000 to the Camp Lejeune Ballerinas to help purchase costumes and cut-outs for the recital their deployed fathers were going to miss.

In February, Marcus deployed to Iraq, beginning a very successful deployment. Also in February, Bob Woodruff was injured by an IED in Iraq, Marcus hit puberty, an airman (airwoman?) was crowned Miss Arkansas, Army Reservist Jason Okon was stabbed by an illegal immigrant (or was that an “undocumented worker”?), we got political with the Scooter Libby case, and the mother of a Soldier was forced to remove her flag from her condo. The highlight of February was when our good friend Kat was presented with a new home thanks to an organization called HomeTeam. A much deserved gift for a truly extraordinary lady and all she does for the troops (speaking of which, she just began her Valentine’s Day card drive for the troops – I just posted details!!).

March is a weird month for me now. Not only were my son and I both born in March, but it also marks the month that I crossed the border on the day Operation Iraqi Freedom kicked off. But, there was plenty going on to keep my mind off of the events of those days. Cindy came home from her noble effort to complete a very difficult Army basic training. And I’m still in awe that she did more than 99% of this country at her age. Also happening in March, I concocted the perfect plan to getting out of Iraq, Iran resorted to taking hostages again, one of the better troop support videos of the year was released on YouTube, the House passed a failed vote to pronounce defeat to the enemy (and I temporarily lost my cool), the Gathering of Eagles was born and I was there (Part I, Part II, Part III, and Epilogue), the insanity of the extreme left in this country was revealed, Marcus was reborn in Iraq, and Walter Reed came under extreme scrutiny.

April saw the continuance of the MSM’s war against success in Iraq, the British hostages were released from Iran and we flew their flag in their honor, Nancy Pelosi took a subversive trip to Syria, Citizen Reign released their awesome video “To The Soldiers“, we marked the two year anniversary of our lost brother Matthew Maupin for whom we continue to pray, we outed Harry Reid’s hypocrisy (again), and the Marines found a way to make “honor” personal for all of us using the words of a young Marine. This one still swells my heart with pride.

May was a busy month. Patriot covered the Army’s declaration of marshal law on bloggers by issuing more stringent controls over the troops writing them. The avalanche of criticism had the spinsters out in force to quell the riot. May also made me a bit sappy on love and marriage, Marcus set the record straight for the losers on The View (and didn’t get a response), Soldiers and Marines voted in support of torture to gather vital information (and I lost it), Tim McGraw took our breath away with his tribute to the fallen during the Country Music Awards, White Rose and her son got spit on by the anti-war left, LL signed on to pick up some slack for us during a difficult time, and we began perhaps the most comprehensive (and growing) list of patriotic songs on the internet (more than 70 comments)!!

In June, we gained (and lost?) SGT Huckleberry, I took an extended hiatus and refocused my life, Marcus opened a can of worms on illegal immigration and military service (not really, but it sounds sensational!), Harry Reid (yes, him again) made headlines calling Gen Peter Pace “incompetent” (and yet he’s still in office) and then got the smack down laid upon him, Patriot sparked a controversy calling for the death penalty for AWOL Soldiers, and former Command Sergeant Major Edward Ramsdell was demoted to Specialist for violating his creed and bringing shame upon the NCO Corps. Not a good way to end June.

Oh, sweet July. Not sure what happened in July, but we didn’t have a lot to write about. But, Marcus did introduce us to a new tradition to honor one of our fallen on July 4th with Pizza for Mike. Also in July, the secrets of Harry Potter were deemed more important than national security, the country lost another great World War II hero in my grandfather (read about him HERE and HERE and HERE), and a freshman Democrat walked out of Congress on the word of good news in Iraq.

August started off with Barack Obama pissing off Pakistan and the Muslim world. The Senate voted to allow Soldiers to salute the flag out of uniform (duh!), Marcus had us guess what he was up to (hint: he wasn’t neutering chickens), the moonbats invented a hero, and the Democrats closed out the month with (yet another) plea for failure.

In September, the Marines delivered in spades. The liberals ramped up their Soldier bashing, Denis Kucinich bashed his own country, the Vietnam War Memorial was defaced, one of our own insults our intelligence, Gen Peter Pace retires and leaves behind a lasting legacy, we placed third place against all odds in a video game contest (and raised over $75 for Valour-IT in the process), and welcomed home our very own hero – Marcus – from Iraq.

October saw a significant decrease in Iraqi deaths, Rush Limbaugh is attacked by phony people about phony comments he made, the Army and Marines achieved their recruiting goals…plus some, we began our partnership with US Cavalry to raise money for various charities and events, the President bestowed the Congressional Medal of Honor to Lieutenant Michael Murphy, Code Pink (more radical liberals) defaced military recruiting centers and a Marine let ‘em have it, we profiled Soldiers doing what they do best – mending owwies, and the Westboro idiots got their lunch handed to them.

November saw one of our own pin on the diamond, a Korean War veteran graduated high school, a terrible tragedy struck a wounded warrior in Texas, the Department of State got whiny, the Boy Scouts were deemed too patriotic, we gave away some copies of the super-awesome Rescue Dawn movie, Thanksgiving came and went and I’m still working off the turkey, an Army Medic began her journey for the Miss American crown, and the real CJ was exposed by Emily.

Political correctness in the military hit new lows in December. I stuck my foot in my mouth about gays and PTSD (I’m still chewing on it). I also had way too much time on my hands. December brought us more Halliburton and KBR stupidity (though they won’t admit it), gracious episodes of patriotism and appreciation, Zawahiri’s Christmas greeting to us all, fallic nativities, more liberal brainlessness and attacks on troops, the wedding of White Rose’s son (you owe us more pictures!), and Lex’s homecoming.

What will 2008 bring? From all of us here at ASP – HAPPY NEW YEAR!! We hope and pray for happiness and prosperity to you all as we continue to live in the best nation on earth.