I was reading a post over at Cash Store reminding their readers to honor the spirit of Memorial Day weekend. It included a photo of General John A. Logan, an instigator behind a national holiday to honor America’s fallen. I’m kind of glad that I saw this because, as a lover and student of military history, I don’t think I’ve ever written this story.

General Logan began as a confederate Soldier and would be considered a racist. That would change throughout his life. Logan became a staunch advocate of equal rights, something for which many in the South considered him a traitor.

The story goes that Logan and other Civil War veterans were sitting at a church awaiting their pastor when they saw a widow place some flowers on her fallen husband’s unmarked grave. When the widow left, the officers proceeded to pick wildflowers and place them on the remaining grave sites to honor the others that had fallen.

Together, they decided to hold a community-wide remembrance to honor their fallen troops and Logan was selected as the keynote speaker. It was during this address that Logan is famously quoted as saying, “Every man’s life belongs to his country, and no man has a right to refuse when his country calls for it.” A few years later, while Logan served as the Commander-In-Chief of the Grand Army in Washington, his wife visited several Civil War battlefields in Virginia and noted that many of the graves had wilted flowers and tattered flags that adorned the graves.

When she returned home to DC, she told her husband that the North should also do something to honor their war dead. Upon hearing this, Logan issued General Order No. 11 which set aside May 30 ““for the purpose of strewing flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of Comrades who died in the defense of their country.” 20 years later, this date would become officially known as Memorial Day.

There is often a lot of confusion about the purpose of Memorial Day. Many use it to honor all of our troops, but we must remember that its intent is to honor those that have paid the ultimate price in defense of our country and its interests. Veterans Day is the day set aside to honor that still serve, injured or not.

Please take a moment while enjoying your hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, chips and other goodies why this weekend is possible. Since 9/11, our nation has lost over 6,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. THIS is what Memorial Day was intended to honor. If we forget that and focus just on sales and barbeques there really isn’t any sense in even celebrating it any longer. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with picnics and sales. I just think it appropriate to keep the spirit of the holiday in mind as you do.

Celebrate their sacrifices. Honor their efforts. And then enjoy the freedom they secured on your behalf.

At the time, I wrote a letter to the PAC expressing my disappointment and frustration at their utterly questionable actions. The response was basically to support their flawed methodology and that I should get over it.

The PAC’s endorsements became a source of contention among VFW members and the controversy grew to national proportions. People were canceling their memberships and others were refusing to join altogether. This was happening at a time when the Iraq War was about over and there were more potential members than ever since Vietnam.

But then I got a note from John W. Stroud, then-candidate for the VFW office of National Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief. It stated, in part,

The Commander-in-Chief, Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, and Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief had requested the VFW Political Action Committe (PAC) to rescind their endorsements as they were not the voices of the VFW membership and the ramifications from these endorsements by the PAC were having a detrimental effect on our organization.

Unfortunately, the leaders of the PAC refused to honor the C-in-C request, and did not rescind the endorsements. Yesterday, Friday, October 15, the Commander-in-Chief revoked all of the appointments to the PAC. Effective immediately, the PAC is a memberless committee, whose fate will be decided at the National Convention in San Antonio, next August.
I was encouraged and even decided to purchase a life membership to VFW. Up until recently, I was focused on my deployment and wasn’t able to follow-up on the convention that took place while I was in Afghanistan. However, this weekend I found some time to go over the National Convention resolutions from last year.

I am more than disappointed that not only didn’t the membership vote to kill the PAC that pissed off so many veterans, they voted against some very good resolutions that I thought were in the interests of the organization.

The first odd resolution rejection I noticed was Resolution no. 303 “National Flag to Honor and Remember Those Who Died While Serving In America’s Military.” The goal of the Honor and Remember flag was to have a flag that would be flown continuously, along with or under the flag of the United States of America by those that chose to do so. The VFW sought a resolution to “support legislation to establish a national flag to honor and remember all who gave their lives in military service to this nation.” The resolution would also put the weight of VFWs membership behind urging Congress to adopt the flag in the same fashion as the POW/MIA flag is recognized as a national flag. The convention REJECTED this resolution.

Resolution No. 304 was more off-putting for me, so I’m going to copy the text verbatim here:

Resolution No. 304
USE VFW COMRADES AS MENTORS FOR RETURNING OIF/OEF VETERANS

WHEREAS, the early and accurate screening, diagnosis and treatment for PTSD, depression, substance abuse, and other mental health disorders, yields optimal patient outcomes; and

WHEREAS, left untreated or poorly treated, these mental health disorders can and are leading to increased suicide attempts; and

WHEREAS, the growing number of suicides in the military due to the stress of service in Iraq and Afghanistan is producing much apprehension among the civilian population and causing great strife in military marriages; and

WHEREAS, comrades of the Veterans of Foreign Wars are uniquely qualified because of their own combat experiences to “bond” with other combat veterans; and

WHEREAS, it is the purpose of the Veterans of Foreign Wards to “Honor the Dead by Helping the Living”; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, supports the concept of posts and comrades assisting current OIF/OEF veterans to successfully integrate mentally back into society and encourages posts and comrades to seek out such current OIF/OEF veterans and act as mentors, to include a combination of visits, sabbaticals and spiritual connections with their neighbors and local community.

This resolution is perfectly suited for what I thought the VFW was designed for – veterans helping veterans. After all, the stated mission of the VFW is “to foster camaraderie among United States veterans of overseas conflicts. To serve our veterans, the military, and our communities. To advocate on behalf of all veterans.” This resolution should have been a slam dunk, unanimous acceptance. Wrong. It was rejected.

Oh, but Resolution No. 305 was accepted: Adopt the Girl Scouts as a Youth Activity.

It’s just sickening to me. Not the Girl Scouts thing because the Girl Scouts are a great organization. But the fact that the national convention voted against two resolutions to recognize our veterans, specifically those that have fought in combat doesn’t sit right with me.
I’m a lifetime member now, so I can’t leave. But, I can try and fix things from the inside to try and steer the organization back to what it is intended to do – support our combat troops!

[Author's Note: The OPINIONS expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent those of any agency of the United States Government, expressly including, but not limited to, the Department of Defense or the United States Army. This site is not designed, authorized, sanctioned, or affiliated, by or with, any agency of the United States Government, expressly including, but not limited to, the Department of Defense or the United States Army. This post is in accordance with DODD 1344.10, which expressly permits me to "express a personal opinion on political candidates and issues, but not as a representative of the Armed Forces." Therefore, I hereby declare that I do not write this post as a representative of the Armed Forces. Since I no longer own this site, consider this post also in compliance with the provisions of paragraph 4.1.1.6 of DODD 1344.10.]

Steve Zorbaugh, a liberal attorney in Pennsylvania, argues that since the Supreme Court ruled that individuals have the right to own firearms that the problem is with the Second Amendment and it needs to be repealed. Yes, like most liberty- and Constitution-hating liberals, Mr. Zorbaugh wants to destroy the parts he disagrees with.

The first reasoning he presents is that out of the nearly 800,000 words in the Bible, the word “gun” doesn’t appear even once! Neither does “liberalism,” “progressives,” or “leftists” so I don’t think they should exist either. What Zorbaugh fails to understand (or maybe just wants to ignore for convenience) is that guns weren’t invented until over a thousand years after the Bible was written. Never mind that a liberal using the Bible as a defense is in and of itself a little ironic seeing as how they’re trying to remove God from society.

Leaving all that aside, the Bible DOES recognize our need for self defense. In Romans 13:4 Paul counsels that we are not to bear our sword (re: gun) in vain. He says that those that do good works have nothing to worry about, but for those that would hurt us we are free to “execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

In Luke, chapter 22, Jesus tells Peter (who will later betray him) “he that hath no sword gun, let him sell his garment, and buy one.” This was approximately 35 AD when this verse was written.

This is important to mention because Zorbaugh said that “there’s nothing about a gun’s nature that calls for the kind of golden-calf homage many in America pay it.” It’s nothing but a “killing machine.” If this is true, why do police carry guns? Could it be that the mere knowledge that a police is packing heat prevents many from just blowing them off? Isn’t a sword no different than a gun in those respects? What good is a sword except to kill? It doesn’t make a very good letter opener and have you ever tried buttering unleavened bread with it?

Zorbaugh argues that our founding fathers needed guns to stay alive and that once we had attained our independence, guns were no longer needed. He says, “the justification for gun ownership that existed in 1787 no longer exists today.” Never mind that in 1787 we were already 11 years past when we needed them, right? We gained our independence in 1776, not 1787.

For a lawyer, I’m a little surprised that he isn’t a little more educated. Or maybe he is educated, but thinks the rest of us are not. His argument, which, by the way at least one liberal blogger seems to have swallowed, that every two years since the ratification of our Constitution we have peacefully “overthrown our government” at the ballot box without guns ignores much of our history. He does recognize the Civil War, errantly calling it the War of Southern Aggression when it was the South defending itself against an encroaching government.

If Zorbaugh had his way in 1787, Americans wouldn’t have been able to defend themselves against the Native Americans (no, we did NOT initiate every violent encounter with native Americans), Mexico, and others throughout our history. As a matter of fact, the 2nd Amendment is the SOLE reason why the North was able to win during the Civil War. May citizens with privately owned weapons were required to use them during the war.

The problem here is that liberals don’t understand that regardless of the Second Amendment, humans are entitled to defend themselves. Before there were guns, there were swords and bows and arrows. In early history, these were the tools used for self defense and hunting. Likewise, humans today are entitled to the tools necessary for self preservation. No government has the right or authority to tell me I can’t defend myself or hunt for my own food to remain alive. What I choose to hunt or defend myself with is my own business. If I want to shoot a pig or deer with a so-called “assault rifle,” I can do that. Who is Zorbaugh or anyone else to tell me I have to use a specific rifle? Personally, I love shooting pigs and coyotes with my SKS, which uses the same 7.62mm round as an AK – both considered “assault rifles.”

Zorbaugh then gives us another lame reason why common citizens shouldn’t have guns: the fact that we have over a million law enforcement people in America. Naturally, he doesn’t address that the United States of today is five times larger than the United States of 1787. Interestingly, I can turn this argument against Zorbaugh as well. There are one million law enforcement officers out there that are armed. Surely, every single one of them is a straight shooting, noble, and honorable public official doing EVERYTHING right. Not a single law enforcement officer would EVER abuse their authority and oppress the citizens they are sworn to protect. Naw, this is America, right Zorbaugh?!

Let’s assume that one half of one percent of those million peace officers are corrupt. That means that there are 5,000 corrupt police officers somewhere out there locked and loaded with citizen-funded weapons and ammunition. How does a defenseless society protect against that? Now, consider this: the United States is comprised of over 3.79 million square miles. That means that there is one law enforcement officer for every 4 square miles. Of course, those million law enforcement officer need to be on duty 24 hours per day, every day of the year to cover those 4 square miles. We know that isn’t happening, so even if the force was split equally in 12-hour shifts, you now have one officer per every eight square miles. But, few departments have 12-hour shifts for all it’s officers. So, using an 8-hour shift we have one officer for every 12 square miles. These numbers don’t account for leaves and time off. It doesn’t account for the fact that many of those million officers aren’t beat cops patrolling to ensure our safety.

I think you know where I’m going with that. But, let’s use the Utopian vision that 100% of the police force is on duty 100% of the time. This would ensure our safety, right? Wrong. In 2005, the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 ruling that citizens do not have “a property interest in police enforcement.” In other words, it’s not law enforcement’s job to protect you. In the case at hand, Castle Rock vs. Gonzalez, the Court ruled that even when there is a restraining order against a citizen, the police don’t have to enforce it or protect the target of the person to whom the order is given.

So, if it’s not the police’s responsibility to ensure my safety, whose is it Mr. Zorbaugh? Obviously, it’s my own responsibility.

Zorbaugh argues that instead of an amendment to guarantee our right to bear arms we should have a different amendment that recognizes our “right to safety.” Because we all know that THAT would end all crime and ensure our safety.

The fact is that gun ownership and an armed citizenry stops more crime each day than our one million law enforcement officers do. Every word in that last sentence is a SEPARATE news story about how an armed citizen protected himself WITHOUT a million officers. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

In summation, I hope you enjoy the following public service announcement:

Fulfill your obligations. Doing your duty means more than carrying out your assigned tasks. Duty means being able to accomplish tasks as part of a team. The work of the U.S. Army is a complex combination of missions, tasks and responsibilities — all in constant motion. Our work entails building one assignment onto another. You fulfill your obligations as a part of your unit every time you resist the temptation to take “shortcuts” that might undermine the integrity of the final product.

Going above and beyond. Stepping “outside your lane.” Going the extra mile. For you. For the mission. For your troops. For those with whom you serve.

What is a Soldier’s duty? In my last post on Loyalty, I quoted the oath that all members of the armed forces take when they sign up. From that point, we all ascribe to supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States. Sometimes, it may feel as if the values of loyalty and duty are in conflict with each other. In fact, doing our duty provides purpose behind our loyalties.

Duty isn’t a difficult thing to write about. My father, a retired Naval Command Master Chief, once gave me some great advice. I was having an especially difficult time as a young Staff Sergeant trying to enforce standards. The problem was that standards hadn’t been enforced in that unit for quite some time and many were comfortable with that. The status quo was being challenged. I was contemplating leaving the military after six years of service. My father told me, “as long as you’re doing the right thing, you’ll never have anything to worry about. You’re going to piss people off and it’s going to get rough, but always do the right thing, CJ.”

Last week, the Army released its suicide data for the month of April. Last month, there were 14 suspected cases of suicide. Unfortunately, most of these cases are usually confirmed. Since January, the Army has suffered more than 60 suicides.

Why am I mentioning this on a post about Duty? Because many of our Army’s leaders have resorted to more of a check the block type of attention to this issue and still don’t show much genuine care for their troops. As leaders, we are charged with the responsibility of seeing to the health, welfare and well-being of those who serve below us. Over a decade of war seems to have made our leaders wary of meeting that charge.

I’ve personally seen Soldiers try to reach out to their leaders with concerns about their mental and emotional states. All too often, these are met with either a shrug or hostility. Much of the time, leaders actually find ways of exacerbating those issues than helping with them. I have personally witnessed this with some of my previous leaders. Taking care of Soldiers isn’t just a nice thing to do – it’s our DUTY. If we remain true to that charge and honestly seek to find real solutions for our troops, I honestly believe we can make some headway in the numbers quoted above.

Another disconcerting statistic that is as unfortunate as it is repulsive are the constant stream of sexual assault cases occurring within the military. Sexual assault has gotten so bad in the military that senior leaders are mandating that most cases be addressed at the O-6 level (Colonel or Captain, service dependent).

I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that I believe nearly every single case of sexual assault could have been prevented if troops fulfilled their duty to watch each other’s back at all times. While leaders tend to be held accountable for much of the indiscipline among the ranks, the reality is that we can’t be with 100% of our troops 100% of the time. Training, briefings, and a true communication of our positions related to these despicable acts only go so far. However, battle buddies do have near-constant contact with each other and can recognize the words and actions of their friends that may lead to the occurrence of a sexual assault.

As Soldiers, it is our duty to protect each other. We do so in combat, so why not every other time? If a Soldier sees his buddy or a familiar face macking on a girl that is obviously not interested, it is his/her duty to try and intervene or de-escalate the situation.

Duty is about as easy as living the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s as simple as choosing the right. I wear a ring on my right hand with the initials “CTR” engraved upon it. Not that I need the constant reminder, but it’s a good conversation piece when others ask me about it.

Choose the right. Can you imagine if EVERY SINGLE TROOP lived by that moniker? This philosophy directly correlates to another Army Value that I’ll discuss in the future – integrity.

Always give 100% to the mission, to your troops, and to each other. Duty is seeing a need and filling it without being asked or specifically tasked.

Specialist Sabo will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions in combat on May 10, 1970, while serving as a rifleman in Company B, 3d Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division in Se San, Cambodia.

On that day, when he and his platoon were ambushed by a large enemy force, Specialist Sabo immediately charged the enemy position, killing several enemy soldiers. He then assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. While securing a re-supply of ammunition, an enemy grenade landed nearby. Specialist Sabo picked it up, threw it, and shielded a wounded comrade with his own body – absorbing the brunt of the blast and saving his comrade’s life. Although wounded by the grenade blast, he continued to charge the enemy’s bunker. After receiving several serious wounds from automatic weapons fire, he crawled towards the enemy emplacement and, when in position, threw a grenade into the bunker. The resulting explosion silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Specialist Sabo’s life. His indomitable courage and complete disregard for his own safety saved the lives of many of his platoon members.

Specialist Sabo’s widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown and his brother, George Sabo, will join the President at the White House to commemorate his example of selfless service and sacrifice.

Such is a non-traditional graduation for a non-traditional student. Deployed here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Army Reservist with Army Acquisition Command graduated from Motlow State Community College, May 3, in the middle of a war zone, nearly 20 years after his high school graduation.

“Life just got in the way,” said Moon, of Beech Grove, Tenn. “I did three years of active duty right out of high school and went back home and started working just like anyone else. We got married and had a child right away, so education was put on the back burner.

“I just worked a normal job like everyone else to make ends meet and pay the bills,” he continued.

Between being a father and husband, there were also the deployments – two stints in Iraq and his latest here, along with 1.5 years as a trainer at Fort Benning, Ga. Despite all the responsibilities and his military successes, Moon said getting educated was always a proposition that gnawed at him – not only because he wanted to prove to others he could do it, but also to set the example for his children.

“We’re trying to set good examples for the kids – hopefully we’ll encourage them to attend college after high school,” he said. “There was [also] a sense of not fitting in. My good friends went straight to college and ended up having successful careers. In a way, I was envious of that, but I also wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, to overcome my own doubts.”

Although he was eligible for the Montgomery and Post 9/11 G.I. Bills – the latter would have paid for his entire education plus monthly living allowances, Moon passed the benefits onto his wife, who will earn her teaching degree later this month. Left without his own benefits and thrust onto active duty, Moon used the tuition assistance program the military offers active duty soldiers. With help from military education counselors and a host of tests that allowed him to bypass some core classes, Moon got to work on his academic career in the middle of a war zone – something he first found difficult because of how long he’d been removed from academia, Moon said.

“It was definitely a challenge at first,” he said. “Once I got the basics of it, everything was okay. My instructors said it’s also a lot easier for older students because they have the drive and it’s what they want to do.”

With his Associates of Science degree complete, Moon now plans to attend a university once his deployment is over and finishing his academic career. Although he will already have a family and career before finishing college, such a non-linear progression doesn’t faze him, he said.

“It’s easy to get wrapped up around what society deems acceptable,” he said. “Growing up, I always had an idea of what I wanted. It was getting married, having kids and having a house – college finally came there in the middle somewhere.”

Although his commitment will ultimately benefit his family and civilian career, such an education will also help Moon advance his military career, he said.

“The Army is pushing education, and if you want better opportunities, you have to get an education,” he said.

This, added Moon, not only applies for younger soldiers just starting their military careers, but also older ones looking to finish an education they intended to get, but never got the opportunity to do so.

“To the young guys, if you want to stay in and advance in your career, education is the way to go,” he said. “To the older guys, it’s never too late.”

Much like with the military, academia is an opportunity to improve oneself, and just as just soldiers get the opportunity each day to improve themselves in the military, Moon said they must also do the same in academia when the chance presents itself.

“Seize the day … take control of your life and do the right thing,” he said.

Story and photo by Army SGT Marc Loi.

When: Friday, August 31, 2012-Sunday, September 2, 2012.

Where: San Antonio, Texas

Tentatively scheduled Events:

Friday, 8/31/12
Travel day in for everyone

6pm-12 midnight:  Party with beer and light foods at the Soldiers Angels Warehouse

The party is BYOB but a keg of beer will be provided, courtesy of VUHL.  We will have sodas and water as mixers and for those choosing to not drink.  Foods will be light fare, this is not a fully catered dinner event, but a social meet and greet amongst friends and family.

Dress code is casual, jeans and t-shirt type of thing.  We’d love everyone to wear a red shirt for Red Shirt Friday to support our military!  Ranger Up, Soldiers Angels, and many other military friendly organizations have their own version of red shirts, so let’s all make it a sea of red support!

Saturday, 9/1/12
10am – approx 11:30am: Discussion group addressing PTSD, suicide prevention, and reintegration.  We hope everyone can come join us for this because anyone who has contact with military people are familiar with these topics.  Whether it is a tough reintegration into family, suicidal thoughts, struggling with PTSD, or even a smooth transition, everyone has a story to tell.  We’re hoping to be able to share resources and ideas on how to reach out to those who are unfamiliar with the military system (those moms back home in “Podunk”, Anywhere USA who have a son struggling and who don’t know where to turn to for help!!).  This is not a “panel of experts” talking to us, this will be all of us discussing problems and solutions.  There will be a few guests who will start off the discussion by telling their own stories, but it will be opened up to the whole floor after that.

11:30am-2pm: Break for lunch, tour the SA warehouse, pack some care packages for soldiers overseas, etc

2pm-4pm: The afternoon panel will cover one of two topics. The first potential topic is for the discussion group to meet with some recovering warriors from BAMC and discuss the role of social and new media with recovery. Things to be discussed would be the creation of social media groups, pages, twitter accounts for recovering warfighters, does it hurt or help? Is that an infringement on privacy and what are the opinions of those recovering themselves. Do they like it, hate it, don’t care? Does it help to post updates on social media or blogs during recovery? Who is that for, the patient or family/friends?

The other possible topic is what milblogs can do in the next phase of the war effort, homecoming and after. This discussion would focus on what milblogs and social media can do to assist our warriors after the flags get put away and hugs end. What next for the warrior? How do they transition to a pure civilian life? What resources are out there for job hunting, counseling, peer groups, etc. Wars end (thankfully) but the effects don’t, which means our support of these men and women should not end when there are no more care packages to send. How can we as a loose online community ensure that support is still there.

The afternoon panel (regardless of which one is decided upon) will be facilitated by someone to keep the discussion moving forward and on topic.

4pm-6pm: TBD – there is something in the works and when it is confirmed, we will announce it

6pm: End of day’s events.  Everyone finds their own dinner and entertainment

Sunday, 9/2/12
10am: Free screening of Bards of War with producer/director, Scott Kesterson, there to answer questions

Lodging
There is a block of hotel rooms at the Comfort Suites (6350 I-35 N., San Antonio, TX
Phone: (210) 646-6600) reserved at a rate of $69/night for those who will be attending.  When making reservations, mention “Soldiers Angels” to get the rate.

Registration
There is no registration fee and so this is a low-cost event where everyone is on their own.  If you are going to attend, please register online.  If you have a Facebook account, follow the event page for updates or find a roommate (if needed).

With the help of Soldiers Angels, we’ve secured a free gathering site and a lower room rate, but transportation between the hotel and the warehouse are your responsibility.  Some of us will have minivans, so we can carpool with our friends, and there are cabs available (the hotel is about a mile away from the warehouse so a shared cab should be very reasonable).  If there is an overwhelming response, we will look into getting some sort of limo-bus for the Friday night social, but there is no guarantee and is contingent upon numbers planning to attend and interest in this transportation option.

There may be some future changes in the tentative schedule for the day’s events on Saturday, but in general, this is what we are looking to do.  Either way, we are really looking forward to seeing all our friends and milblogger family members again!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Marcus Penn at mpenn-at-veteransunited-DOT-com.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Capt. Charles R. Barnes of Philadelphia, Pa., will be buried May 2, in Arlington National Cemetery. On March 16, 1969, Barnes and four other service members departed Qui Nhon Airfields bound for Da Nang and Phu Bai, in a U-21A Ute aircraft. As they approached Da Nang, they encountered low clouds and poor visibility. Communications with the aircraft were lost, and they did not land as scheduled. Immediate search efforts were limited due to hazardous weather conditions, and all five men were list as missing in action.

From 1986-1989, unidentified human remains were turned over to the United States from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) in several different instances. None of the remains were identified given the limits of the technology of the time.

In 1993, a joint U.S.-S.R.V. team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted investigations in Quang Nam-Da Nang, and Thua Thien-Hue Provinces. They interviewed a local Vietnamese citizen who supplied remains and an identification tag bearing Barnes’ name, which he claimed to have recovered from an aircraft crash site.

In 1999, another joint U.S.-S.R.V. team interviewed additional Vietnamese citizens about the crash and they were led to the crash site. In 2000, a joint U.S.-S.R.V. team excavated the site and recovered human remains and material evidence.

Scientists from the JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence, and forensic identification tools such as mitochondrial DNA — which matched that of Barnes’ sister — in the identification of the remains.

The new Sharpshooter System, like its UK predecessor, is built on a one-piece upper receiver with a free floating 16″ stainless steel, tactically flat-matte blackened barrel with a 1:11.25″ twist with the SureFire adapter mounted. The .308 Modular Weapon System features Flat Dark Earth furniture, a semi-auto carrier group, charging handle assembly, SOPMOD buttstock, two-stage trigger, an ambi-selector and ambi- mag release and flip-up front and rear sights.

LMT® packs this collector’s rifle in a Pelican case with foam cut outs and includes not only the manual, torque wrench/driver and three Flat Dark Earth rail panels, but also eight 20-round magazines, two heavy-duty push-button swivels, a .308 OTIS cleaning kit, a sliding sling mount, a chamber cleaning rod and sight adjustment tool and a Harris Bipod assembly. A complete, one-of-a-kind Sharpshooter System in one package is available for only $4,950.09 MSRP.

The Hedy Jane DoubleTap™ is a tactical pocket pistol with 7 patents pending, built on the slimmest and lightest titanium or aluminum frame on the market today at only .665 inches wide and 14 ounces (titanium). The Hedy Jane is finished in “iPhone®” white Cerakote™ from the leaders in firearms finishes. Available in .45 ACP or 9MM, the Hedy Jane is a no-snag, hammerless pistol completely designed, engineered and manufactured to the highest degree of precision and tolerances in an aerospace facility using aerospace technology and equipment. The Hedy Jane DoubleTap™ carries two rounds in the chamber and the integral grips house two additional spare rounds on a loading device for tactical reloads. The interchangeable barrels feature a patent-pending progressive barrel porting option that cuts muzzle rise and recoil. The ambidextrous thumb latch releases the action to eject the spent rounds.

Unlike any firearm, the Hedy Jane DoubleTap™ features a truly revolutionary double-action trigger system that utilizes roller bearings for a glass-smooth action and crisp trigger pull. The Hedy Jane DoubleTap™ is available in an all-white model with stainless accents. The MSRP for the new Hedy Jane DoubleTap™ is $499.00 non-ported and $569.00 ported for the aluminum model and $729.00 non-ported, $799.00 ported in the titanium model.