In Which the National Security Agency Gets Cracking on Codes and Other Secrecies

The NSA appears to be growing even more capable than it already is. I don't know if this scares me, reassures me, or what....

Make That, TWO Elephants In the Room Regarding Benghazi

Actually, make that two elephants. Everyone is ignoring the two elephants in the room in re Benghazi. Jumbo Number One: Why are we afraid to reference the CIA?

Benghazi: Ignoring the Elephant In the Room

There really is a rather large elephant in all this. Why are people afraid to approach it?

Why Did David Petraeus Risk All With Paula Broadwell? An Astrological Answer!

So... what was the real reason David Petraeus mixed it up with Paula Broadwell? My astrologer pal Johnnie TwoBrows tells all! From an astrological perspective, that is. Johnnie casts a mean star chart (as I knew he would do), and today scopes out the twinklies as they pertain to the intriguing David P. Check out the findings here, at Johnnie's place!  And tell him SKK sent you!

Dignity v Arrogance: In Which I Cannot Resist Making a Collage...

Back From Assignment, Covering the Ohio Kidnaps for People Magazine

Back from the trenches, Dear Ones...

The results are in the current issue of People magazine, in the story about the Ohio kidnaps. 

As always, I am amazed at my People colleagues who worked tirelessly and with deep sensitivity to tell a tale that has captivated our nation and beyond. 

I am proud to have been part of this team.

I Predict a New Military Metaphysics Series From Johnnie Twobrows....

Hello, Dear Ones! Remember the fun metaphysical posts from my pal Johnnie Twobrows? I still get hits on Johnnie's astrology charts for the Army and the Marine Corps. Well, it looks as if Johnnie is at it again! I spoke to him the other day, and he said he's planning a new series of astrological charts on military leaders. Wow! That would be cool to read about!  It all begins tomorrow, over at Johnnie's place. Hmmm... I wonder who he will start with? I wonder what he could tell us about the star chart for, say, David Petraeus? Not that I have special insight, or anything....

Frank Snepp, Former CIA Operative in Vietnam, Weighs in On Afghanistan

My old CIA contact Snepp has resurfaced. He wrote a think-piece for the L.A. Times, comparing the situation in Afghanistan to the final days of the U.S. presence in Vietnam. Wrote Snepp:

During my own 5 1/2 years in Vietnam, as a CIA analyst, interrogator and operative, I learned another relevant but bitter lesson: Truth does not easily survive the pressures of American troop draw-downs or shifts in policy.

Why am I interested in his opinion? Because, as he says:

I was among the last CIA officers to be choppered off the U.S. Embassy roof in Saigon as the North Vietnamese took the country. Just two years before that chaotic rush for the exits, the Nixon administration had withdrawn the last American troops from the war zone and had declared indigenous forces strong enough, and the government reliable enough, to withstand whatever the enemy might throw into the fray after U.S. forces were gone.

Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/05/09/2495902/cia-veteran-vietnam-syndrome-again.html#storylink=cpy

He has much else to say on the subject, here.

Oh. He is Frank Snepp, formerly with the Phoenix and other programs. He wrote a couple books, one in particular that I find most interesting. It's called Decent Interval. He inscribed my copy with the note, above. We shared an editor at Random House.

Milspotters' Challenge: Are the Marines Testing New Combat Vacuums - Or What?

Okay, Dear Ones: Explain. Is this Marine trying out a new combat vacuum cleaner from DARPA? Or what?

Way-cool pic by Lance Cpl. Larry Babilya

When Foreign Governments Tell the U.S. About Terrorists: The Case of Hassan Abu-Jihaad

The USS Benfold

How many violent homegrown jihadists can fit within the sites of a tracking agency?

Good question. The answer is, "more than one;" but I have nothing more on specifics.

The folks at FBI told me I could use a story they wrote a couple years ago about one such radical who was caught before he had a chance to act. It's an interesting retrospective, in light of current events. Notice especially the info on how the FBI first learned about the potential perpetrator [hint: a foreign government brought him to the FBI's attention].

Anyway - it's a fascinating tale, and I'll let the Bureau-folk flesh it out for you. Take it away, Feds... 

Passing Secrets at Sea

As a bevy of U.S. warships steamed towards the Middle East in the spring of 2001 on a mission to patrol the Persian Gulf, a sailor aboard one of those vessels was pursuing an entirely different mission.

His name was Hassan Abu-Jihaad, and he was serving as a signalman aboard the USS Benfold. Little did anyone know at the time, he was also a homegrown radical who was secretly in touch with al Qaeda financiers, sharing classified details about the vulnerabilities and movements of the ships just six months after al Qaeda operatives had killed 17 Americans aboard the USS Cole in the port of Yemen.

Still In the Field, Dear Ones

But I should be coming in soon...

On Assignment...

Make that, two assignments. AAR to follow...

When Marines Get Sneaky: "I Didn't See You at Camouflage Practise!"

Snicker... and a wave of the invisible flag to Chuck Fowler for sending this in.

Who Gave the Order to Stand Down in Benghazi? Questions Persist

Yesterday's Benghazi hearings were both fascinating and heartbreaking. It was difficult to watch the painful testimony, and the often self-serving and inadequate commentary from the Congressfolk on the dais. When the hearing ended, I was left with a great sense of gratitude and admiration and respect for those who spoke out. I also had a bad taste in my mouth regarding the process, and more questions than I had previously.

I'm not the only one who still wants answers. Shortly after the hearing,  my fellow (former) Californian, Congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released a statement. 

Take it away, Rep. Issa...  
 
“Today’s hearing offered officials at the State Department the opportunity to be heard. These witnesses revealed new information that undermines the Obama Administration’s assertion that there are no more questions left to answer about Benghazi. Numerous questions are still unanswered, despite months of dogged investigation by the Oversight Committee.
 
“Who denied the U.S. mission in Benghazi the increased security it requested months before the terror attacks? Who gave the order for special operations forces to stand down, preventing them from helping their compatriots under attack?  What was the actual military capability and preparedness to respond to the mission’s requests for help?
 

"Exposing Failure and Recognizing Courage:" Benghazi Hearing, Here I Come...

Notepad: Check. Three pens: Check. Nelly: What, you think I'm nuts? Nelly goes almost everywhere with me in the Big Land of Open Carry (and CCP!) But the hearing is in D.C., people! I might even remove my Uzi bullet necklace, just so's to avoid triggering the dogs. AAR to follow...

Benghazi Hearings Set for Tomorrow

I expect a big crowd at the Rayburn Building....

From the Pup Tent: Wilbur Gets His Helmet On

Wilbur, a U.S. Marine Special Operations Team member, wears his handler's helmet after a patrol with Afghan National Army special forces to escort a district governor to a school in Helmand province, on April 15, 2013.  USMC photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau

The Modern Yet Oddly Familiar Case of Sgt. William Millay, Russian Spy in the American Army

On William Millay, the Army
uniform seems more like a disguise.

In the world of espionage, everything new is so familiar. Still, it seems odd to find a disgruntled American soldier attempting to sell secrets to Russia in 2011. Just last month, the Army's William Millay was sentenced for his part in a spy op that seems more suited to the 1980's. 

Here's his story, courtesy of the FBI. Take it away, Feds...

A 22-year-old military police officer in Alaska has been sentenced to a 16-year jail term in connection with his efforts to sell classified documents to a person he believed was a Russian intelligence officer.
In 2011, William Millay was stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage when he began to talk to—and solicit help from—other military members regarding selling classified national defense information to the Russians.

“This case really drives home the point that the insider threat is alive and well,” said Special Agent Sam Johnson, who supervises a national security squad in our Anchorage Division. “That’s why counterintelligence investigations continue to be a very high priority for the FBI.”

Millay, who joined the Army in 2007 and had served a combat tour in Iraq, was known to have harsh and sometimes radical views of the military and the U.S. government—the white supremacist tattoos on his body likely reflect his ideology. But his attempt at spying had nothing to do with ideology or politics, Johnson said. Instead, he was motivated by greed.

“Money was what he was after,” Johnson explained. “He was willing to sell sensitive information—to potentially endanger his fellow military members as well as the security of the country—for a payday.”

The Russian officer he believed he was dealing with, however, was really an FBI undercover operative. The case played out like a spy thriller, with Millay placing secret documents about military technology at a dead drop site—a pre-arranged hiding place—and later retrieving a payment of $3,000 in exchange.

Dear SKK: "Live POW" Motives, & Why the Media Uses Three Names in Referencing Bad Guys

Here's a few from the e-bin:

Dear SKK: You write for the MSM, so maybe you can explain something that's been bugging me for a long time. Whenever there's a big crime, like a mass murder, the MSM uses three names when writing about the bad guy. Why?

SKK: That's easy. The media wants to be clear who it's writing about. Lots of people have the same first and last names. Fewer have the same first, last, and middle names. This is also why you frequently see age included in the story. In the old days, we also used to include address. For purposes of example only: Barrack Hussein Obama, 51, of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. No doubt who we'd be talking about; right?

Dear SKK: You said you don't believe the reports about the guy in Vietnam who says he's a Green Beret. If he's lying, what would be the motive?

SKK: In most of these fake "live POW" cases, it comes down to one thing: Money. If you follow all the bread crumbs on these stories, someone either is making or asking for money.

Dear SKK: Are you still working on Benghazi?

SKK: Yep.

A Rescue in Wartime: How Army Sgt. James Hayes Saved a Fellow Paratrooper in Afghanistan

Sgt. James Hayes

The Army public affairs folks sent me this tale of a rescue in wartime. The writeup and photo come via Sgt. Mike MacLeod of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. Take it away, Sgt. MacLeod...

Army Sgt. James Hayes has one piece of advice for soon-to-deploy mechanics: take your training seriously.

Hayes, a mechanic who deployed with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan in 2012, said that the first time he had to rely on his training to right a flipped armored vehicle, everything worked exactly as he had trained.

At stake was the life of a fellow paratrooper, Army Spc. Justin Lansford, a turret gunner who was pinned under the top of a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle after it was flipped by an exploding improvised explosive device. Lansford was critically wounded and was bleeding heavily from femoral arteries.

"I remember thinking it was going to turn bad quick if I didn't do it right," said Hayes, a freckle-faced former German citizen and son of an American soldier.

Milspotters' Challenge, Via Minicapt: Sign Language, Anyone?

Minicapt managed to slip away from Campfire Duty long enough to send in this mystery pic. Your challenge: Decode the secret Soldier sign language being used on this assuredly quiet mission. And while you're at it: Name that tank!

From the Pup Tent: Notice Anything About That Fast Rope?

Hint: look at the legs! Yep, that is one brave puppy. He should be: He's a Ranger dog! He and his Soldier serve with B Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. In this pic, they're working on their  Fast Rope Insertion and Extraction (FRIES) techniques, out of a MH-60 from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment while training at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Wash. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael Spoor

Back on Benghazi...

Stay tuned. More to come...

From the Keyboard of Allen West: "Enough! The Obama Administration is Abetting the Enemy"

In the words of one my heroes, Col. Allen West:

What kind of country have we become when we allow Islamic organizations with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood to ruin the career of an Army officer with 6 combat deployments, decorated for Valor? The fact that these groups went to now CIA Director John Brennan with their complaint when he was our counter-terrorism adviser warrants investigation. 

We are giving domestic Islamic jihadists welfare. We cease interrogations of domestic Islamic jihadists to read them Miranda rights. We are calling treasonous domestic Islamic jihadists perpetrators of "workplace violence." The Attorney General is lecturing Americans about reprisals. Enough! I believe this Obama administration is indeed aiding, enabling, and abetting our enemy, radical Islamic jihadists. 

The evidence is certainly mounting and I am sick of the progressive socialists who just want to excuse this away and try to silence us as "Islamophobes." You progressives are all complicit in this as well! I want Lt. Col. Dooley back on the list for consideration of Battalion Command, anyone not agreeing is in the camp of the enemy. Read and share this article. Call and write the Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and President Obama…ask them whose doggone side are they on?

SKK, again: Damn, I love this guy.

The Case of Green Beret John Robertson: Prisoner of Hope, 2013

An American Green Beret who went missing 44 years ago in Laos now has been found alive in Vietnam?  

The Irish and British press appear to have bought off on the claim.

How ridiculous. Nothing about this story adds up, and a lot falls apart. The most outrageous charge regarding this case is that the Pentagon doesn't want to recover its missing man. 

Okay, so that's why the Defense Department still sends in teams to check out reports of sightings and remains and to excavate crash sites?

Say what you will about various DoD practices, but I assure you of this: The Pentagon would want to bring home a missing serviceman. I should know. I researched this issue extensively while covering the POW/MIA issue for the Washington Times, and while writing my book, Prisoners of Hope: Exploiting the POW/MIA Myth in America.

Here's the latest on the case of SFC John H. Robertson, who now is the subject of a film purporting to show him alive and thriving and semi-amnesiac in Vietnam. How does the film producer know he has his man? Because he "feels" it to be him. The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office has this to say about the case.

Turn In Your Arms; The Government Will Take Care of You: Does Billboard Belittle the Sioux?

I'm not Native American, but it seems to me that this billboard supports the N.A. point of view. And speaks to the truth about a deadly serious issue facing all Americans today.

In Which I Get My Very Own Camouflage Birthday Cupcake From Confections

Still on the camo theme...

Yesterday was my birthday! Among all the great company, great times, and all-around fabulous fun, I received my very own camouflage cupcake.

My daughter Courtney had it specially made by our favorite cupcakery, Confections, which has been very generous to Cooking With the Troops and our treasured wounded. You should see the smiles when these treats are handed out! A little cupcake goes a long way.

Courtney said she asked Confections if they could design a camo cupcake, and they not only decorated the outside in my favorite pattern (the discontinued and, to me, much lamented Woodland), but they also layered the cake so that it would blend in with a woodland setting (should I happen to munch it whilst in the forest). The whole thing was so darned cute I didn't want to eat it; but I did, because I've sampled Confections goodies before, and I know how yummy they are.

Click through to see the very cool inside, and a pic from my party: Courtney with my BFF and Cooking With the Troops pardner, the irrepressible Concrete Bob!

More From the Pup Tent: Night Vision Doggles?

Speaking of older version camo... here is a nice example of camo fashion for K-9's.. Another tip of the helmet to Sue, for sending this along! Hmmm... I wonder if those are night vision doggles?

Sexual Assault Awareness, Air Force-Style: Of Lip Balm and Foam Footballs

If only I could slip into the Pentagon, and I, too, could run the corridors playing catch with my new anti-sexual assault foam football. The cute little toys are being given away inside the building, I'm told, through the end of the month. Or maybe I should go for the free lip balm. Or breath mints. Or hand sanitizer.... Oh, wait! They all come in the same p.r. kit! Get the full lowdown via Foreign Policy, here, in a hilarious tale about how the Air Force is using lip balm, et. al., to help celebrate Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. A vigorous spike of the foam football to FP's Kevin Baron for making me laugh so much.

From the Pup Tent: Name That Camo!

I love this pic. I'm curious about that camo, though. Is this an old pic of one of ours, or...?  A tip of the helmet to my friend Sue, for sending the snap.

Back From Assignment, to Cover the Boston Bombers

One again, I am in awe of my People magazine colleagues who hit the ground running and never let up until the job was done. 

I am especially proud of the correspondents who went into neighborhoods not knowing what they would find - or who would find them. 

Our story on the Boston bombers is a team effort, and one that I am honored to have been a part of.

Take it from me: It's well worth the read. 

On ANZAC Day, Waving the Flag to Commemorate Gallipoli

HUGE goings-on in the way-Southern Hemisphere today as Australia and New Zealand commemorate the Gallipoli Campaign.

The campaign took part during World War I, and was fought on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916. It was a British and French operation to capture Constantinople and secure a sea route to Russia.

The battle was the first major engagement waged by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). The troops fought courageously, and took heavy casualties. In Oz and New Zealand, ANZAC Day - 25 April - is like a combined version of our Memorial Day and Veterans' Day, with maybe a little St. Patrick's-type enthusiasm thrown in for good measure. Wow... these people all must be Milbloggers!

Learn more here, and here. And a big shout-out to Cuzzies Lois, Paula, Sean, Shaun, Molly, Rosemary, Liam, Anne, Eireann, and all the fam, plus Argent, Murray, and all their compatriots.

What Went Wrong in Benghazi? Read the Entire Report Yourself

You've read about the House Republicans' newly released report on what went wrong in Benghazi. You've heard something about the aftermath. Few news outlets, though - myself included - can spare the real estate to print the report in its entirety. It's well worth scouring. Don't settle for someone else's opinion of which excerpts are the most important. Read the entire report for yourself, here. 

Milspotters' Challenge: Why Am I Posting This, and What Does It Represent?

Swiped from my dear Cuzzie Lois in Oz...

No, I Have Not Been in Russia...

... as per the comment from ANG. But he is sort of on the right track. I'll fill you all in shortly.

Earth Day! May You Blend With the Trees & Be One With the Forest On All Your Missions

I love Earth Day. It always makes me want to put on my best camo.

Still On Assignment...

AAR to come.

You Know You're a True Concealed Carry Nut When... As Per Colion Noir

I love this. Totally love it.

On Assignment...

Heading out. AAR to follow....

Decoding Possible FB Posts by Saudi Person of Interest: "The Carpet is Woven From Threads"

A man sharing the name of the Saudi national who was first thought to be connected to the Boston bombings posted the photo at left on his Facebook page, along with the comment, "Time," accompanied by a smiley face icon. The comment was made in late September in Arabic, and was translated by the web service Bing.  The original entry reads as follows:

• 3 people like this.
• 

  Ahmad Abdullah حلووووهـ Time:) (Translated by Bing)

  September 24, 2012 at 3:13pm via mobile

The man, reportedly set to be deported next week on "national security grounds," claims to live in Boston and to have been a student at the New England School of English in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

In other Facebook posts and photos, the man appears to be connected with other locally based Saudi nationals, and to be an exuberant yet serious follower of Islam. In one post, the man's Facebook wall shows a lighthearted video instructing young men how to behave while at religious services, reminding them to leave others' shoes unmolested, to refrain from gossip and to make sure they are not "smelly."

Elsewhere, the man posts an album of pictures of himself at Disney World, and at Saudi

National Day in Boston. He also posted the Quran quote pictured here and the photo allegedly of himself and a friend, below.