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	<title>If Bush Did It &#187; Fallen Soldiers</title>
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	<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com</link>
	<description>We would still be hearing about it!</description>
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		<title>Disturbing Report: US Air Force Dumped Ashes of at Least 274 Service Members Into Virginia Landfill</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/12/08/disturbing-report-us-air-force-dumped-ashes-of-at-least-274-service-members-into-virginia-landfill/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/12/08/disturbing-report-us-air-force-dumped-ashes-of-at-least-274-service-members-into-virginia-landfill/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:55:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[armed-forces]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ashes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[battlefield]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[common-disposal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dignified-final]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doing-it-today]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[indignity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the-landfill]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/12/08/disturbing-report-us-air-force-dumped-ashes-of-at-least-274-service-members-into-virginia-landfill/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ In what is being hailed a national disgrace, the Air Force has dumped the ashes of at least 274 service members into a Virginia landfill. Records produced by the Air Force and published in The Washington Post , showed that 976 fragments from 274 military personnel were cremated, incinerated and taken to the landfill between 2004 and 2008. If that were not heartrending enough, the Air Force confirmed 1,762 additional unidentified remains were collected from the battlefield and disposed of in the very same manner. According to the Post, those fragments had been too badly burned in explosions to undergo DNA testing, pushing the total number of cremated fragments dumped in the landfill above 2,700. Records reveal the extent of the dumping was far worse than what the military had previously acknowledged. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Darrell D. Jones , the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for personnel, said there was no intent to deceive. “Absolutely not,” he said. The Post adds: The Air Force said it first cremated the remains and then included those ashes in larger loads of mortuary medical waste that were burned in an incinerator and taken to a landfill. Incinerating medical waste is a common disposal practice but including cremated human ashes is not, according to funeral home directors, regulators and waste haulers. Air Force officials said they do not know when the landfill disposals began. They said their first record of it is Feb. 23, 2004. The mortuary database became operational in late 2003. The Air Force said mortuary leaders decided to end the practice in May 2008 because “there was a better way to do it,” Jones said. The military now cremates unclaimed and unidentified body parts and buries the ashes at sea. To further the indignity, separate federal investigation of the mortuary last month revealed  “gross mismanagement”  and documented how recovered body parts were stacked in the morgue’s coolers for months and even years before being identified and disposed of. The landfill dumping was hidden from fallen soldiers' families who had authorized the military to dispose of their loved ones' remains in a dignified manner, Air Force officials said. But The Post adds: Jones said the Air Force did not need to inform relatives of troops whose remains ended up in the landfill because they had already signed forms stipulating that they did not wish to be notified if additional remains were identified. The forms authorized the military to make “appropriate disposition” of those subsequent remains. Asked if the landfill was a dignified final resting place, Jones replied: “The way we’re doing it today is much better.” To read the full, disturbing report, please  click here .]]></description>
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		<title>Atheists Demand Marines Remove Cross Commemorating Fallen U.S. Soldiers</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/11/21/atheists-demand-marines-remove-cross-commemorating-fallen-u-s-soldiers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/11/21/atheists-demand-marines-remove-cross-commemorating-fallen-u-s-soldiers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:42:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[angeles-times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cross]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[department]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[douglas-zembiec]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family-research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rettenberger]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/11/21/atheists-demand-marines-remove-cross-commemorating-fallen-u-s-soldiers/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[caption id="attachment_185861" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="Image Credit: Los Angeles Times"] [/caption] An atheist group is clashing with U.S. marines at Camp Pendleton in California. The group, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF), is demanding that a cross that was put up on the base to commemorate fallen soldiers be removed. In recent months, the MAAF has made a splash by taking on Christian themes in the military and championing atheism in the U.S. Armed Forces. Led by Jason Torpy, who was a West Point graduate and who fought in Iraq, the group seems to be following along the same somewhat antagonistic path as the Freedom From Religion Foundation, among other "freethinking" groups. Recently, Torpy also came out in support of the installment of atheist military chaplains, an interesting proposal considering the notion that it would require non-believers to register as a faith group of sorts. The latest drama surrounding the Christian symbol unfolded when, on Veterans Day, Marines erected a 13-foot cross to commemorate the lives of their comrades who perished in Iraq. Staff Sgt. Justin Rettenberger, one of the four individuals who is responsible for erecting the cross, explains that the memorial was done to honor Maj. Douglas Zembiec, Maj. Ray Mendoza, Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin and Lance Cpl. Robert Zurheide. The L.A. Times documented the cross' placement at the military base: "We wanted them all to know that they'll always be in our hearts, that they'll never be forgotten," Rettenberger told the Los Angeles Times. But Torpy, though he understands the urge to remember the lost, says that, because of its placement on federal lands, the cross simply isn't appropriate . While he claims he typically doesn't get involved in issues like this, some of his atheist members who serve at Pendleton have asked him to intervene. "In a lot of ways this is commendable – they're honoring friends who were probably Christian," Torpy said. "I think the memorial is appropriate for the individuals who put it up and the friends they're honoring, but you just can't walk onto federal land and do it." While he says he doesn't want to be the bad guy, he says that he shouldn't be the only one standing up in opposition to the cross. It "privileges one religion over another," he says, going on to claim that "[Camp Pendleton} should have known better." [caption id="attachment_185865" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="In this Nov. 10, 2011 photo, from left to right, Scott Radetski, Karen Mendoza, Jon Gross and Shannon Book carry a 13-foot cross to the top of a mountain at Camp Pendleton to recognize those Marines who have fallen or been wounded in combat. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Rick Loomis)"] [/caption] The L.A. Times has an excellent slideshow that documents the cross' story. Pendleton released a statement saying that the four Marines who put the cross up were not acting in "any official position or capacity" and that the Department of Defense and the U.S. Marine Corps were not endorsing the cross. Torpy, though, says that the religious symbol should have been prevented from being placed on federal land. According to FOX News , there's been some strong reaction to atheists demands that the cross be removed. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and a former marine, is frustrated over what he sees as "radical" attacks on the military. “It’s really outrageous and it shows the hostile environment that’s been created by this (Obama) administration towards religious freedom,” he says. “At some point, we have to say, enough is enough.” Currently, officials are reviewing the situation to determine the appropriateness of the cross' placement on federal lands. (H/T: Military.com )]]></description>
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		<title>The youngest victims of war</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/31/the-youngest-victims-of-war/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/31/the-youngest-victims-of-war/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 May 2011 06:02:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camp-every]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen-soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[feelings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memorial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[non-profit-org]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[survivors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[taps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[their-feelings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tragedy-assistance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work-through]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[worthy-cause]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[ The non-profit org Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) organizes the Good Grief camp every Memorial Day weekend to give the children of fallen soldiers an outlet to work through their feelings and cope with other kids.  Definitely a worthy cause: ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>This Memorial Day…</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/31/this-memorial-day%e2%80%a6/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/31/this-memorial-day%e2%80%a6/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 May 2011 06:02:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[angels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[angels-sleep]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children-weep]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[divine-embrace]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eternal-light]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen-soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liberty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lord]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mansions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[more-bleeding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[night]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the-mansions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the-ultimate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/31/this-memorial-day%e2%80%a6/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Take a little time to remember -- and teach about -- those who have fought and made the ultimate sacrifice for our liberty. To fallen soldiers let us sing Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing Our broken brothers let us bring To the mansions of the Lord No more bleeding no more fight No prayers pleading through the night Just divine embrace, eternal light In the mansions of the Lord Where no mothers cry and no children weep We will stand and guard tho the angels sleep All through the ages safely keep The mansions of the Lord ]]></description>
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		<title>“A soldier does not sacrifice alone”</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/27/%e2%80%9ca-soldier-does-not-sacrifice-alone%e2%80%9d/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/27/%e2%80%9ca-soldier-does-not-sacrifice-alone%e2%80%9d/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2011 20:07:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NatK</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carson-warrior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clouds-hovered]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen-soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holiday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memorial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neighborhoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remember-today]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the-sacrifices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[their-families]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/27/%e2%80%9ca-soldier-does-not-sacrifice-alone%e2%80%9d/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Here&#8217;s how Colorado Springs kicked off Memorial Day weekend. This military town knows there&#8217;s much more to the holiday than BBQs and pool parties. To borrow a phrase, remember the reason for the season. Let me know what you&#8217;re doing in your neighborhoods and hometowns. Fort Carson dedicates 22 names added to Fallen Soldiers&#8217; Memorial Gray clouds hovered above as family members gathered Thursday morning to remember the lives of 22 fallen soldiers whose names were added to the Fort Carson Warrior Memorial. The eighth annual memorial service honored 21 soldiers who were killed since April 2010 and a 10th Special Forces soldier who died in 2005. With their names permanently engraved in a nine-stone monument near Fort Carson’s main gate, the service resonated a message that speaker Brig. Gen. James Doty emphasized: “The soldiers we remember today will not be forgotten.” Doty, Fort Carson’s acting commander, continued that the soldiers played a valuable role in establishing partnerships between Iraq and Afghanistan. He expressed gratitude and acknowledged the sacrifices of family members in attendance. “A soldier does not sacrifice alone, for when soldiers deploy overseas, the hearts of their families travel with them,” Doty said to the crowd. A somber song of bagpipes sounded as soldiers performed a roll call salute to those honored. ]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Obama&#8217;s Win, Bush&#8217;s Credit!</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/04/obamas-win-bushs-credit/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/04/obamas-win-bushs-credit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 May 2011 12:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ggallin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[his-predecessor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iraq]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[our-fallen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[predecessor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[president]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/05/04/obamas-win-bushs-credit/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Our President owes an apology and a thank-you to his predecessor, the CIA and special forces, our fallen soldiers in Iraq, and waterboarders everywhere.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Condolence Letter From Senator Screws Up Name of Fallen Soldier</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/01/02/condolence-letter-from-senator-screws-up-name-of-fallen-soldier/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/01/02/condolence-letter-from-senator-screws-up-name-of-fallen-soldier/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:34:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[knowledge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[patrick-collins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[president]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[president-obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soldiers-on-dec]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[white-house]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2011/01/02/condolence-letter-from-senator-screws-up-name-of-fallen-soldier/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sgt. Sean Collins, a soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this month, was finally laid to rest Wednesday. For weeks the family has graciously accepted an outpouring of condolences from friends and strangers alike. "As a father of someone killed, it is overwhelming," says Lt. Col. Patrick Collins (Ret.), Sgt. Collins' father. But not all notes of sympathy have helped ease the Collins family's pain. In fact, as the News Tribune reports , empathetic messages sent from two politicians actually stung the family. [caption id="attachment_27015" align="alignright" width="183" caption="Sgt. Sean Collins"] [/caption] After hearing the news of their son's passing, the Collins say they received a letter of condolences from the office of Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. At first the family appreciated the fact that Sen. Cantwell had taken time out of her busy schedule to acknowledge their son's sacrifice. But the letter inadvertently misidentified their dead son: “Again, please accept my warmest condolences. May your memories of Bryn and the knowledge that he made a positive impact on the lives of so many serve as a source of comfort to you during this time of sorrow.” The letter from Cantwell, dated Dec. 20 and delivered to Sean Collins' mother, conveyed to the family that Cantwell's staff had sent the family a form letter.  “They couldn’t even proofread it,” Collins' mother said. “I’m sure if [Cantwell's] son had died, she would’ve at least wanted his name spelled correctly.” “That’s just sloppy staff work, that’s an embarrassment,” Patrick Collins said. In a separate instance, Patrick Collins called the White House to ask President Obama to call his ex-wife, Linda, to talk about their son.  Instead, Collins said the White House told him that the president did not regularly make phone calls to the families of fallen soldiers.  The slight came, Collins says, when he later learned that President Obama had phoned the Philadelphia Eagles with praise for owner Jeffery Lurie for giving Michael Vick a "second chance." “That burns,” Collins said.  “Any soldier that gets killed in action, you’d think the president would be calling someone in the family." "There’s no politics in it.  His predecessor did it,” he said. Collins' son, Sean, died with five of his fellow soldiers on Dec. 12 in a suicide attack on their combat outpost in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province.  The 2004 Yelm High School grad had volunteered for his last tour with the 101st Airborne Division out of Ft. Campbell, Ky.  It was his third combat deployment in five years. Collins was laid to rest Thursday as hundreds of family members and friends gathered to pay their respects. “My son was a hero,” Collins' father said . “He could have stayed at Campbell. He had dwell time. He was a team leader and he wanted to go with his team.” ]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Deadly Afghan Year Takes Toll on 101st Airborne</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2010/12/28/deadly-afghan-year-takes-toll-on-101st-airborne/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2010/12/28/deadly-afghan-year-takes-toll-on-101st-airborne/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:16:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barack obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fallen soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[funeral]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iraq]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[knowledge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[month]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[police]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[president]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[screaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soldiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[white]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2010/12/28/deadly-afghan-year-takes-toll-on-101st-airborne/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — The 101st Airborne Division, a force in America's major conflicts since World War II, is seeing its worst casualties in a decade as the U.S. surge in Afghanistan turns into the deadliest year in that war for the NATO coalition. The Army division known as the Screaming Eagles, formed ahead of the 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy, has lost 104 men this year — or about 1 in 5 American deaths in Afghanistan. That is close to a toll of 105 divisional deaths in Iraq during a 2005-2006 deployment that was its deadliest year in combat since Vietnam. The 20,000-strong division from Fort Campbell has been fighting in two of Afghanistan's most violent regions, the south and the east, since it began deploying in February under President Barack Obama's plan to roll back the Taliban with more troops. It is the first time the 101st has deployed in its entirety since Gen. David Petraeus led the division during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Few are as directly involved in dealing with each soldier's death as Kimberley McKenzie, the chief of Fort Campbell's casualty assistance center. Among the first to be notified after a combat death, McKenzie and her nine staffers ensure families are informed quickly, helping them over the ensuing weeks and months to navigate a maze of paperwork and decisions. "We can get the calls at 2 o'clock in the morning, and that happens seven days a week," she said. In her office, signs of the somber work are everywhere. Electronic bugles — which now replace live renditions of taps at many military funerals — are lined up in cases. A folded American flag, ready to be presented to a wife or a mother, sits on a desk. Wooden ceremonial display cases for a soldier's awards and decorations are stored atop filing cabinets. A large whiteboard on one wall displays the names of dozens of soldiers who have died this year. McKenzie, 46, has been doing this job at Fort Campbell on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line since the 1990s, through the Desert Storm and Desert Shield operations against Iraq in 1990 and 1991 to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. "I have been here so long, which can be a blessing and a curse because you know so many of the soldiers," she said. After the initial call, her team hurries to find a soldier's family. From the moment the death of a soldier is confirmed with the Department of the Army, regulations give them just four hours to notify the primary next of kin. Often it's a nationwide search for parents or spouses who are far from Fort Campbell. A family may have moved and not told the Army, listed information may be incorrect or the soldier may be estranged from relatives. Too often, she says, a family member is listed as "address unknown." She relies on counterparts at other military installations nationwide for help. The notification process is highly regulated. Word must be delivered in person. Scripts are memorized and read exactly, because there's no room for error when giving the saddest news to a soldier's family. Even a simple typo or an incorrect rank is disrespectful, she says. "At that moment we have either gained their trust, or we have lost it forever," she said. "They need to be able to trust us from the time we knock at the door until they don't need our assistance anymore." Once family is notified, her staff helps arrange for relatives to meet the body at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The military is responsible for preparing the body, securing a casket and transporting the remains for the funeral. Within about seven to 10 days after the death, the family visits Fort Campbell to be briefed on what is afforded survivors, including benefits, life insurance payments, social security and health insurance. Her staff is also responsible for noncombat deaths, such as auto accidents or illness and sometimes suicides or homicides. She has learned to set aside her own pain over the loss of so many young men and women. Her focus, she said, is on supporting the widows and parents and children. "We have a job to do for those families and we owe it to them and the commander," McKenzie said. Still, she says she cannot ignore the large numbers of soldiers who have died and the sorrow she bottles up sometimes spills over. On average, 11 Fort Campbell soldiers have died each month in combat since March. "At the end of the month, it's almost sickening to me as a person," she said. This month the division lost six soldiers in a building leveled by an explosives-packed vehicle at a southern Afghanistan base. In November, six other soldiers were shot and killed by a gunman from the Afghan Border Police during a training mission in eastern Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. Francis "Frank" Wiercinski, the senior commander at the post during the division's deployment, said at a news conference this month that everyone at Fort Campbell feels the loss of each soldier. "One hurts. Everybody knows one. The level of grief that goes through everybody is incredible," he said. These days combat deaths don't always make front pages, although the Kentucky governor orders flags to half-staff on the days of soldiers' funerals. But McKenzie says she refuses to believe there's any lack of respect and honor for the fallen soldiers outside Fort Campbell's gates. "That one loss of a soldier is like a nerve center, or a spider web," she said. "It's not restricted to Fort Campbell and our community. It reaches so many lives and impacts them." Within months, thousands of soldiers from the 101st will begin returning to Fort Campbell to be greeted with cheers and hugs and McKenzie will feel some sense of comfort. But that relief is tempered by the knowledge that soldiers from other units have taken the place of those Screaming Eagles in the combat zone. An internal White House review of war strategy released this month showed that the addition of 30,000 U.S. troops this year has halted Taliban momentum in many parts of Afghanistan, but tough combat is expected to continue for years. "Until they are all home, whenever that happens, there's always going to be someone in harm's way," she said. ]]></description>
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		<title>Obama tells GOP not to hold up Russia arms treaty 
    (AP)</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2010/11/20/obama-tells-gop-not-to-hold-up-russia-arms-treaty-ap/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2010/11/20/obama-tells-gop-not-to-hold-up-russia-arms-treaty-ap/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Nov 2010 20:09:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Barry Munz</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[ AP - President Barack Obama took aim Saturday at Republican senators standing in the way of a nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia, saying they were abandoning Ronald Reagan's lesson of nuclear diplomacy: "Trust but verify." ]]></description>
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		<title>Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif., Endures Loss of Seven Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Most From Any School in California</title>
		<link>http://www.ifbushdidit.com/2010/08/01/buchanan-high-school-in-clovis-calif-endures-loss-of-seven-troops-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-most-from-any-school-in-california/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>If Bush Did It</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fallen Soldiers]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[brian-piercy]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[ I'll be in Clovis at the end of August to attend my father-in-law's 70th birthday gathering. I called him this morning to give him the heads up on today's front-page story at the Los Angeles Times , " Wars Take a Heavy Toll on One California School ." He thanked me, although Clovis is a small town, and he was well familiar with the losses: The seventh funeral was Friday. The church was full, even strangers lined the streets and everyone in sight stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads as Brian Piercy's body moved from church to cemetery — the same as they had done for six others. Seven boys from Clovis' Buchanan High Shool have been killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With Piercy's death, Buchanan has the somber distinction of more war dead than any other school in California. There's no sure answer as to how such a thing could happen. But many people in this Central Valley city have a theory. They say Clovis is an extraordinarily patriotic community and its children are raised on God and country, duty and honor. They're willing to serve and willing to die, the same as Clovis' generations who went before them. Buchanan's school colors are red, white and blue. The stadium is named Veteran's Memorial. Former classmates and older siblings come back in uniform for campus visits. Friday night football games include a moment of silence for Buchanan's fallen soldiers. "The cheerleaders wear six stars on their uniforms. I guess it will be seven now," said 15-year-old Julie Thaxter. "We're not proud they died, but we're proud they fought. It makes others from here even more ready to go and honor them. My brother wants to join. He's 14 and he's been set on it since he was 8." RTWT . Also, " California’s War Dead " (for Buchanan High). ]]></description>
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