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Kit Lange - Her predictions - is she right

Kit Lange is an Air Force veteran and military writer who specializes in investigating murder cases stemming from actions in combat. Her work was used as evidence in the Lt. Ilario Pantano case, and has been quoted extensively in other news publications for other cases. In 2005, she co-wrote a 10-part series disproving war crime allegations against an elite Army unit; her blog, EuphoricReality.com , was named as one of the top 10 milblogs of theyear. She is also the National Web Coordinator for Gathering of Eagles, a nationally-recognized troop support organization. Kit holds a degree in Aircraft Maintenance Technology from Spartan College of Aeronautics, and is currently working on a second degree in Aviation Technology Management. She resides in Tulsa , Oklahoma .

Posted on Mar 09, 2009 22:08pm by admin (Read More... | 7605 bytes more)

The complaint

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must Have stung quite a bit. The complaint: 'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special?

Posted on Feb 18, 2009 01:31am by admin (Read More... | 1767 bytes more)

Take the Time

I just wanted to get the day over with and go down to Smokey's. Sneaking a look at my watch, I saw the time, 1655. Five minutes to go before the cemetery gates are closed for the day. Full dress was hot in the August sun. Oklahoma summertime was as bad as ever--the heat and humidity at the same level--both too high. I saw the car pull into the drive, '69 or '70 model Cadillac Deville, looked factory-new. It pulled into the parking lot at a snail's pace. An old woman got out so slow I thought she was paralyzed; she had a cane and a sheaf of flowers--about four or five bunches as best I could tell. I couldn't help myself. The thought came unwanted, and left a slightly bitter taste: 'She's going to spend an hour, and for this old soldier, my hip hurts like hell and I'm ready to get out of here right now!' But for this day, my duty was to assist anyone coming in.

Posted on Feb 08, 2009 00:37am by admin (Read More... | 4940 bytes more)

Missing from the news....

You're a 19 year old kid, critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia DrangValley, 11-14-1965, LZ Xray, Vietnam. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because there are no Medi-Vac markings on it. Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were told not to come. He's coming anyway. And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the waiting Doctors and Nurses. And, he kept coming back...... 13 more times..... and took over 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out. Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died last Wednesday, in Boise, ID, at the age of 80. May God rest his soul..... (Oh yeah, Paul Newman died that day too.) I guess you knew that. He got a lot more press than Ed Freeman.

Posted on Jan 29, 2009 21:33pm by admin (Read More... | 1 bytes more)

A soldier

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve. My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep. In perfect contentment, or so it would seem, So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream. The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow. My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, And I crept to the door just to see who was near. Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight. A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

Posted on Dec 25, 2008 20:39pm by admin (Read More... | 2813 bytes more)

Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. ' Great Lakes Air Base. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Iraq .

Posted on Nov 11, 2008 19:02pm by admin (Read More... | 3585 bytes more)

PFC. Heath Pickard

Services for Pfc. Heath Kayne Quinton Pickard, 21, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008, at Evangelistic Temple, 3011 N. Loop 256 in Palestine with Dr. Barry Roberts and the Rev. George Folmar officiating. Burial will be at Land of Memory Cemetery on U.S. 287 North. Arrangements are under the direction of Herrington/Land of Memory Funeral Home. Heath was born Sept. 18, 1987, in Athens, Texas. He was a 2006 graduate of Frankston High School where he lettered in football and baseball. He was called home to the Lord on Oct. 16, 2008, while serving his country as a member of the 25th Infantry Division in the United States Army in Iraq. Heath is a true American hero who will not be forgotten. He is survived by his wife, Sara Pickard and son, Ethan Pickard in Fairbanks, Alaska; his grandmother, Margaret Pickard of Brushy Creek; brothers, Chance Pickard of Frankston and Pfc. Austin Pickard of Frankfurt, Germany; as well as aunts and uncles who loved him and were very proud of him. Heath loved the outdoors especially fishing. He will be missed by his family and many, many friends. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Jack Pickard Sr.; his sister, Nicole Pickard; cousin, Emily Pickard; aunt, Jackie Pickard; and uncle, Gene Pickard..

Posted on Oct 22, 2008 20:27pm by admin (Read More... | 108 bytes more)