Never Surrender

A Soldier’s Journey to
The Crossroads of Faith and Freedom

LTG (Ret) William G Boykin

My first introduction to General Boykin was amid the slime campaign of the left in the early years of the War on Terror. I had never heard of him before - most had not - after all, he was a member of Delta Force, became the commander of Delta Force and finished his career as the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence at the Pentagon.

Reading General Boykin’s book is taking an action tour of the history of the last decades of the 20th Century. He takes you through Ranger School, the end of the Vietnam War, the qualifying for the new unit, Delta Force, the Desert One action during the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Sudan, the War in Greneda, Panama and the capture of Noriega, Columbia and the hunt for Pablo Escobar, Waco, Mogadishu and the event known as Black Hawk Down and hunting war criminals in the Balkans. Boykin was in the center of the action at all of these historic events.

I learned a great deal that I did not know about these historic events, including the source and reason for the rock music while Noriega was hiding in the Vatican Embassy. No, it isn’t any of the reasons the press told us about. The events are given clarity and reason.

Throughout the most dangerous conflicts in the world, good men are wounded and good men die. General Boykin shares their heroic stories. He also shares the story of his faith - the thread that kept him moving forward and doing the right thing while he was protecting our country.

This is a book full of noble stories and heroism. It reads with the tension of a well crafted novel. Anyone interested in history or the military should read this book.

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Marine Bridges Gap Between Arabic, American Cultures

By Cpl. Andrew Kalwitz, USMC Special to American Forces Press Service

TAQADDUM, Iraq - They have their differences. In fact, they often don’t even speak the same language. But U.S. servicemembers and the Iraqi people here have the same goal: security and stability for Iraq’s Anbar province.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Robert Sanders, operations chief for Battery K, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, helps to bridge the cultural gap.

Sanders developed an understanding of Arab culture during his upbringing in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. He was born at Fort Benning, Ga., but his father’s discharge from the Army after the Vietnam War led to a job as an oil field worker, which kept the family on the move.

Now Sanders’ own travels have taken him back to a familiar culture, but with his new extended family — his fellow Marines.

“Staff Sergeant Sanders is our bid for success in the villages,” said Marine Corps 1st Lt. Matthew Thompson, executive officer for the battery. “He has found his niche in working with the Iraqis. He can communicate with the Iraqis without an interpreter, and they can communicate with him.”

Thompson, a Presho, S.D., native, credits Sanders with helping to gain rapport between Marines and the people in the nearby village of Kabani. In addition to the battery’s plans to build a new water treatment plant, a rebuilt school now stands as a testament to the coordination between the Marines and the villagers.

Sanders has put his cultural and linguistic skills to use for the military before. He lived among the Iraqi people for seven months at the East Fallujah Iraqi Compound during his 2004 deployment.

He supervised civilian contractors there and grew comfortable with the Iraqi people and their lifestyle, even getting used to the food and water to the point where returning to his old eating habits upset his stomach when he returned to the United States, he said.

Things were different then, the staff sergeant said. This was before thousands in Anbar province turned against the insurgency to cooperate with coalition forces in what came to be known as the “Anbar Awakening.”

“I remember sitting at Fallujah, and you could sit up on a Hesco barrier and you could watch car bombs exploding in the distance,” said Sanders. “Every night, we’d sit out there on the Hescos and smoke cigars, and you could watch tracers shoot across the sky. You don’t hear that anymore.”

Bonding with the people, he said, was a major part of the solution. Sanders has held classes to further his Marines’ understanding of the Arabic language and culture.

“It definitely makes our job a lot easier,” said Lance Cpl. Hunter Leger, a fire team leader with the battery. “We’ve been able to handle things without having to call someone up.”

Leger, a Lake Charles, La., native, said he and his colleagues are knowledgeable enough to work the entry control points without the help of an interpreter. As one of Sanders’ Marines at their home station of Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., he said he’s developed a respect for the staff sergeant’s professionalism. It seems many of the local Iraqis have done the same.

When the battery sends Marines to Kabani to coordinate with the muqtar, or mayor, he first asks them ‘Where is Abu Iskander?’ in reference to Sanders, the father of Alexander.

As Sanders has with many of the village’s people, he has developed a friendship with the muqtar, who jokes that the Marine could win over enough popularity in the town to beat him out for his position in the next election.

“The people like him too much,” Muqtar Ismail Mohmood Hamad said. “They come in from time to time to see what’s going on, and he always likes to help the people.”

(Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Kalwitz serves with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.)

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Second Sergeant Romeo Sharia and Cpl. Georgi Khidesheli demonstrate emplacing a mortar during a class, July 7, on Forward Operating Base Delta.

Georgian forces have been serving as part of the Coalition in Iraq since August of 2003.

They have proved to be more than competent and efficient in all of their efforts.

Georgia has been under attack from Russia.

The above map shows the locations of the attacks.

To see a currently updated map, go here -

http://www.mod.gov.ge/2008/bombing/bombing-E.html

American forces have releived the Georgian forces in Iraq and returned them to Georgia.

American humanitarian aid is being delivered to the Georgian people by the US military.

Amazing that a new country has reached out to help the Iraqis gain their freedom when the Georgian freedom is so young and so tenuous.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Georgians at this time of invasion from Russia.

We can not thank them enough and we need to stand with them now.

Does anyone else get joy out of the Beach Volleyball Team from Georgia defeating the Russian Team at the Olympics??

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Capt. Kevin Eastler

20-Kilometer Race Walk

http://trackfield.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/137

Maj. Dominic Grazioli

Trap

http://shooting.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/756

2nd Lt. Weston “Seth” Kelsey

Epee Fencing

http://fencing.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/521

You can follow the athletes progress at their home pages.

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Spc. Kisha Makerney
Oklahoma National Guard

Spc Kisha Makerney dreamed of a military career since she was 9. At 17, in 2002, she enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard. In 2004-2005, Spc Makerney was stationed in Iraq and served as a gunner, providing battalion security with the 120th Engineers.

A few months after Spc Makerney got home from her deployment, she was riding her new motorcycle on US 70 near Fort Towson, Oklahoma. The front tire blew, sending her motorcycle across the highway, where she was thrown into a highway sign. Finding herself in a drainage ditch, she discovered her leg had been severed below the knee. She dragged herself out of the ditch and flagged down a car. She was then airlifted to Dallas.

The members of her unit had become her best friends, her second family. As word spread, they all rushed to her beside. Then, they helped her figure out how she could stay in the military.

Spc Makerney was fitted with an artificial leg and soon learned to walk. She attended her unit’s honor ceremony on a crutch. Then, she passed the military physical evaluation and was certified for duty.

This year, she volunteered for her second tour of duty in Iraq. She is training Iraqis to become correctional officers. She accompanied by her “Cheetah” - her running blade and 2600 Oklahoma National Guard members, including her brother Spc Tommy Makerney.

Currently, she is working on her sargeant’s rank. In the future she plans to be a firefighter and plans to attend Oklahoma State University for her degree.

This is a lady with tremendous courage and fortitude. She is truly a Face of Freedom!

Oklahoma Army National Guard Spc. Kisha Makerney, who lost part of her leg in a motorcycle crash, holds her “Cheetah” artificial limb that she runs with. Shown in Iraq.

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First Lieutenant Nathan M. Krissoff, 25, 3rd Recon Bn RCT-5 I MEF, died December 9, 2006 in the Anbar Province during combat operations. He was the units counterintelligence officer. 1LT Krissoff was a remarkable man and deeply touched the lives of those around him.

“Nathan, like so many who have gone before us, can be considered a modern-day knight,” said Lt. Col. William Seely (shown above at memorial service), the battalion commander. “Why? Because he believed and shared our beliefs in service to others. His service and sacrifice shows us great courage and steadfast dedication to rid Iraq, and more importantly the world, of oppression, tyranny, and extremism. He believed those things.”

“I think the thing that is most telling about his character is the fact that this is a young man with a whole lot of options available to him, and he wasn’t looking to learn a trade or a skill,” Marine Corps Captain Dubrule said after the memorial. “He wanted to serve and give back to his country. That should be pointed out whenever you talk about Nathan Krissoff — that he was there for the right reasons.”

Nathan’s brother, Austin, is also an officer in the Marine Corps. These two college graduate brothers wanted to work on the front lines of the war on terror.

But, this post is not really about Nathan Krissoff. It is about his family. Like so many Gold Star families, they live their lives in quiet tribute to their fallen. I am always impressed at the strength and conviction of the Gold Star Families I know.

Months after Nathan’s death, his father, Bill Krissoff, decided to honor his son by closing his orthopedic practice and joining the Navy as a combat surgeon. He and his wife sold the family home and moved to San Diego. There was only one problem. The 61 year old needed an age waiver and it was stuck in red tape.

Invited to a meeting with President Bush for Gold Star Families, Dr. Krissoff had the opportunity to respond to the President’s question, “Is there anything I can do to help?” He asked the President for an age waiver to join the Navy. Three days later, he received his waiver.

Dr. Krissoff was commissioned as a lieutenant commander on November 18 and attended officer development school in January 2008. He is attached to the 4th Medical Battalion and hopes to join a combat surgical team and hopes to serve in Iraq.

The Krissoff family are remarkable Americans. God Bless them all. And, thank you for all you have given to our country.

The Krissoff Family ~

The Krissoff family, left to right, son Austin Krissoff, mother Christine Krissoff, son Nathan Krissoff, and father Dr. Bill Krissoff. Austin is also a Marine officer.

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