Sickening Stories of the Day

[thedrifter]

Sickening Stories of the Day [Gregory S. McNeal]

1. Impostors posing as casualty notification officers falsely tell a wife her husband has been killed in action. This happened on-post.

2. Nir Rosen, a purported journalist for Rolling Stone, is traipsing around Afghanistan covering Taliban attacks on coalition forces as a Taliban "embed." Rosen's description of his actions:

They have promised to take me to see the Taliban in action: going out on patrols, conducting attacks,” he wrote, “…. once we are on the road we should take the batteries out of our phones, to prevent anyone from tracking us.

Yes, you should take your battery out of your phone.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

“Casualty notification” imposters target Fort Campbell families

FORT CAMPBELL, KY– On Thursday, October 30, a military family member reported two men pretending to be a casualty notification officer and chaplain visited her home and falsely notified her that her deployed Soldier had been killed.

The man impersonating the notification officer was wearing a Class A “dress green” uniform and the other was wearing civilian clergy attire.

There have been a few incidents of this nature in the past two months involving family members living off post, but Thursday’s incident occurred on post. The spouse did not allow the pair into her home and when they left contacted the Family Readiness Support Assistant and Rear Detachment Commander to confirm the information. The command let her know her spouse is still alive and worked to put him in contact with her as soon as possible. Military police were notified and a police report was taken at the scene.

Before Soldiers deploy, they and their families are offered a series of briefings to prepare for the separation. One of those briefings is about the casualty notification process. When a Soldier dies, a notification officer and military chaplain, both in Class A uniform, not civilian clergy attire, are sent to notify the next of kin in person. Family members can confirm the information with the Soldier’s unit. Typically, the notification team will not leave the family member’s home until a friend, another family member or arrives to assist.

Anyone with information about the false notification incidents are encouraged to contact Fort Campbell Police at (270) 798-2677. Anyone who believes they are being falsely notified should call 911 to alert local police immediately.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

"Journalist" Gives Taliban Aid
Posted By Blackfive

Rolling Stone reporter, Nir Rosen, who "embedded" with the Taliban has caused a dust up over at Small Wars Journal. From his embed with the Taliban:

...At one point, two green armored personnel carriers from NATO zip by, racing toward Kabul. Shafiq and Ibrahim laugh: It looks like the coalition forces are fleeing the battle.

"Bulgarians," Shafiq says, shaking his head in amusement.

After an hour, the fighting ends, and we get back in the car. A few minutes later, we pass the broken remains of a British supply convoy. Dozens of trucks — some smoldering, others still ablaze — line the side of the road, which is strewn with huge chunks of blasted asphalt. The trucks carried drinks for the Americans, Ibrahim tells me as we drive past. Hundreds of plastic water bottles with white labels spill out of the trucks, littering the highway...

Rosen basically gives the Taliban propaganda and support. Go read Bing West's post and then Nir Rosen shows up in the Comments to defend himself:

...i'm a journalist, not an american journalist...

And

...moreover, journalists regularly embed with the american military when it is conducting operations, attacks, killing. whats the difference?
imagine if that one taliban commander had not screwed up my plans to go with them when they conducted attacks, and i had seen that too. isnt that interesting? isnt it important to understand who they are? and most importantly, wouldnt it make for a fun read?...

And Rosen attacks West and his background:

...does any of this have to do with mr west's vietnam generation being bitter about losing vietnam and blaming their failure in vietnam on the media? i'm sorry you lost vietnam. for what its worth, i wasnt born yet...

More over at Winds of Change, Armed Liberal, the father of a soldier, writes about why, in Viet Nam, journalists were held in contempt by the military:

"...And that is what makes me so contemptuous of them. Marines will die going to get ... a couple of journalists." The last few words dripped with disgust.

Perhaps Nir Rosen is counting on never needing the American military?


http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23612315/how_we_lost_the_war_we_won/print

Ellie