SSG David Bellavia Rushes Into Insurgent Fire

In the fight for Fallujah, SSG David Bellavia and his unit were assigned the task to sweep and secure a city block where some insurgent activity was suspected. They had searched numerous houses finding nothing. They came upon one house and found numerous insurgent weapons including AK-47s and RPGs.

They continued searching the house. As they moved down the hallway, two insurgents popped up at the end of the hallway. One began spraying machine gun fire at Bellavia and his troops. The other was preparing to fire and RPG down the hallway which would have killed every troop in the hallway. Bellavia engaged the enemy and shot them both.

Bellavia continued moving down the hallway with his men behind. Another insurgent popped out and engaged Bellavia, simultaneously an insurgent popped out of a closet directly to Bellavia's side. The insurgent tripped coming out, most likely saving Bellavia's life. Bellavia shot and killed one and the other ran up the stairs to another bedroom.

Bellavia ran after the insurgent and tossed a hand grenade into the room injuring the enemy. As he entered the room, he heard the voices of two other insurgents in the next room preparing an ambush for the American troops outside and below. Fearing he would give his position away by shooting the insurgent, he engaged in hand to hand combat. After fighting on the ground, Bellavia was able to retrieve his knife and kill the insurgent by cutting his throat.

The two other insurgents entered the room where Bellavia was and began spraying the room with machine gun fire. Bellavia returned precision rifle fire and killed both of them.

Bellavia's surge into enemy fire and superior combat skills saved the lives of his men and the men located outside the building that were about to be ambushed. Bellavia was nominated for the Medal of Honor and received the Silver Star for actions.

Lead from the front!

BlackFive Features Soldiers Angels Needs

From Blackfive:

Calling All Angels!Posted By Blackfive
With the Surge in full swing and fighting escalating in Afghanistan, there is a growing need to help our wounded, and the families of the wounded and the Fallen soldiers. Soldiers' Angels is there for them and they need your help to keep providing support. Funds are drying up. Soldiers' Angels needs donations now.

If you can't donate cash, you can Adopt a Soldier or a Platoon of Soldiers, you can join one of the teams to help support our troops with your valuable time, donate your airmiles to help a soldier and his family reunite, donate your cell phone or even your car....I could go on and on.
If you've been around here for awhile you know how I feel about these people. They need our help. Here are some of the things that they do that you may not know about:

This is a request for a flight for a soldier injured in Germany:
...Situation was a soldier in Germany fell off a bridge landing on his head and is in very critical condition and not sure if he will survive or not. He is currently at BAMC DC. He needed flights for the parents, which Fisher House wouldn't do because his injury didn't occur in Iraq or Afghanistan...so I went ahead and took care of that for him. It was approximately $500 for each ticket and I did get travel insurance with it as well, given his status is so touch and go...

This is from a Major about a unit in Afghanistan:
...A unit was on patrol and was engaged by hostile fire. The company commander was killed along with another soldier. In the ensuing fight numerous other soldiers were wounded. Two of those soldiers were medevac'd to Walter Reed. One lost an eye and will continue to have corrective surgery for probably sometime. The other had his leg shattered and will have a steel rod surgically implanted. After the company commander was killed, the senior ranking officer became a young Lieutenant who had to make some quick decisions to save the lives of the rest of his young soldiers. This Lieutenant was very good friends with the company commander. The unit is based out of Germany, but the Lieutenant and the family of the deceased Captain are from the DC/Virginia area. To make a long story short, the unit in Afghanistan sent the Lieutenant to the DC area to act as the unit representative. He departed with little guidance and no advance travel pay. He paid for his own ticket to get from Dallas to DC. He called this office from Ireland to seek guidance and incurred over 300 dollars in phone charges. He is strapped for money at this time. He also asked if there was anyway to possibly borrow some class A uniforms for the 2 soldiers at Walter Reed so that they could attend the graveside services of their company commander. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated not only by me, but by all of Americas Hero's...

Soldiers' Angels is also trying to get that Company Commander's family to the funeral at Arlington, too.

This is what the Soldiers' Angels do. Anywhere, anytime, whatever the need is, they take care of our military family.

Yes, there are plenty of things our government could do better. But you can sit around and listen to politicians whine about it and take care of their own self interests. And while that happens you can be the one to make a difference.Please donate now.

Top Taliban Leader Killed In US Led Attack

Taliban insurgents ambushed an Afghan army unit today. US forces attached to the Afghan unit responded with ground fire and an air strike. Mullah Brother was killed in the fighting. Mullah Brother was the Taliban's military commander before the fall of the Taliban. He was also a member of the Taliban council. He was identified and placed on the black list of wanted Taliban insurgents.

Great job guys, keep up the good work.

Straight From Elmo's Mouth

Referring to US forces in Iraq, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated, "The political power of the occupiers is collapsing rapidly...Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation."

You have heard it from bloggers, military commanders, the President of the US and now Ahmadinejad himself. Iran is an enemy who seeks to fill the security vacuum in Iraq if we do not destroy the insurgency first.

Top Ten US Military Slogans

10. We don’t like collateral damage, but it helps to stay the @#$% out of our way.

9. Total destruction in 30 minutes or the next one is free.

8. Often mistaken for the wrath of God.

7. We kill foreigners so you don’t have to.

6. If everything is exploding around you, that’s probably us.

5. Dictator got you down? Ask about our new “regime change” policy!

4. Just point at what you want dead.

3. Trying to win hearts and minds, but willing to splatter them if necessary.

2. When it absolutely positively has to be destroyed overnight.

1. We’re from the government, and we’re here to kill you.

Yousuf-The Face Of Tragedy

One day little Yousuf went outside to play with some friends when he was cornered by several insurgents. According to Yousuf, "they poured gasoline, burnt me and ran". Yousuf began burning to inevitable death. He brought his hands to his face in an attempt to smother the flames. He was unable to quench the flames and the fire spread to his hands. His mother ran outside and found her son engulfed in flames...burning.

Yousuf survived but is clearly disfigured. His injuries have forced him to learn out to eat differently. He has become jealous of his sister and kids refuse to play with him because of his scars. Yousuf used to play outside all the time and now he sits by himself and plays with the computer.

When you question our resolve to win the war and whether the lives of our soldiers are worth it, remind yourself of what this enemy is capable of. Is the sacrifice of American blood worth saving a child from a savage attack like this in the future?

I think so.

Front Line Reports From Iraq

We are winning!

Author and Columnist, Ralph Peters is currently reporting from Iraq and the news is good. Peters states, "Now the Sunni Arabs who were fighting so bitterly against us are fighting
beside us to destroy al Qaeda in Iraq. And the terrorists are going down". Peters feels, "Al Qaeda is on the verge of a humiliating, devastating strategic defeat - rejected by their fellow Sunni Muslims".

The surge is in full effect. A permanent curfew is in effect and vehicle traffic has been restricted in an effort to deter and reduce vehicle borne improvised explosive device attacks. While politicians at home snivel about what the war is costing their careers, our boys on the front lines are destroying the enemy and winning the war. We must allow enough time for our tactics to work.