God Bless America... Hooah!
September 26, 2007

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9/11
September 10, 2007


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Keep our families of 9/11 in our prayers. Also the Military families it effects each and everyday. May God Bless America Always and Forever... take care and "HOOAH!" to our 9/11 Heroes... emile


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Several Young Soldiers are due for Depoyment before the end of 2007. God send me an angle for our Soldiers...
August 20, 2007

BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writers
1 hour, 19 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - U.S. military officials are narrowing the range of Iraq strategy options and appear to be focusing on reducing the U.S. combat role in 2008 while increasing training of Iraqi forces, a senior military official told The Associated Press on Monday.

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The military has not yet developed a plan for a substantial withdrawal of forces next year. But officials are laying the groundwork for possible overtures to Turkey and Jordan on using their territory to move some troops and equipment out of Iraq, the official said. The main exit would remain Kuwait, but additional routes would make it easier and more secure for U.S. troops leaving western and northern Iraq.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because internal deliberations are ongoing, emphasized that the discussions do not prejudge decisions yet to be made by President Bush. Those decisions include how long to maintain the current U.S. troop buildup and when to make the transition to a larger Iraqi combat role.

It is widely anticipated that the five extra Army brigades that were sent to the Baghdad area this year will be withdrawn by late next summer. But it is far less clear whether the Bush administration will follow that immediately with additional drawdowns, as many Democrats in Congress are advocating.

Bush has mentioned publicly that he likes the idea, first proposed late last year by the Iraq Study Group, of switching the emphasis of U.S. military efforts from mainly combat to mainly support roles. But he also has said that this should not happen until Baghdad in particular is stable enough to enable Iraqi political leaders to make hard choices about reconciling rival interests among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

There are now 162,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, of which 30,000 have arrived since February as part of Bush's revised strategy to stabilize Baghdad and to push Iraqi leaders to build a government of national unity.

Military efforts to stabilize the country effort have made strides in recent months, but political progress has lagged.

In a joint statement Monday, Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., said that while the military buildup has "produced some credible and positive results," the political outlook is darker. The senators said that during their visit to Iraq last week they told Iraqi leaders of American impatience with the lack of political progress, and "impressed upon them that time has run out in that regard."

In a separate telephone interview with reporters, Levin urged the Iraqi assembly to oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and replace his government with one that is less sectarian and more unifying.

Speaking to reporters in Washington by phone from Tel Aviv, Levin acknowledged that while there is broad frustration with the lack of action by the al-Maliki government, U.S. officials cannot dictate a change in leadership there. He said he and Warner did not meet with al-Maliki when they were in Iraq this time.

In response to Levin's remarks about dumping al-Maliki, Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council, noted that Iraqi leaders have been holding talks in recent days on ways to move toward a unified government.

"We urge them to come together, reach agreements and show the Iraqi people and the rest of the world their determination to create a stable and prosperous Iraq," Johndroe told reporters, adding that the administration believes al-Maliki is capable of moving the talks to a successful conclusion.

Under pressure even from members of his own party to change direction in Iraq, Bush is expected to decide his next steps after hearing in September from Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, on what the U.S. troop buildup has accomplished.

Petraeus and Crocker are likely to present their views to Congress on Sept. 11 or 12, said Johndroe, the National Security Council spokesman. Johndroe said White House officials are consulting with congressional leaders this week on setting a date for the testimony.

Bush also will receive advice and recommendations from Defense Secretary Robert Gates as well as the Joint Chiefs and Adm. William Fallon, the top commander for American forces in the Middle East.

Bush's options are limited, politically and practically. The Army and Marine Corps do not have the capacity to increase troop levels, or even to maintain the current number beyond next spring. With the 2008 presidential election approaching, it's not so much a question of whether troop levels will be cut but when and how much.

U.S. commanders in Iraq believe they are making substantial progress toward stabilizing Baghdad and other contested parts of the country — including in Anbar province in western Iraq where the insurgency has weakened noticeably this year. But they are dubious about the ability of Iraq's political leaders to take advantage of the improved security in ways that promote political reconciliation.

Petraeus and other senior commanders have said in recent weeks that the U.S. troop buildup will end in 2008, but Petraeus has not yet recommended a follow-on strategy to Bush. Much depends on judgments about how soon Iraqi security forces will be ready to assume a bigger role, as well as the likelihood of political progress.

Speaking on Monday to a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City, Mo., Petraeus said Americans should not underestimate the efforts of the Iraqi army and police.

In some areas, partnerships between U.S. forces and Iraqi soldiers are "quite robust," Petraeus said. He noted that Iraqi losses have been three times as high as those suffered by the U.S.-led coalition.

"There should be no question that Iraqi soldiers and police are dying for their country," Petraeus said.


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August 18, 2007.. Hurricane Dean Hitting the Texas Coast.
August 19, 2007

Hurricane Dean moves toward Jamaica By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer
32 minutes ago



SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Alarmed tourists jammed Caribbean airports for flights out of Hurricane Dean's path Saturday as the monster storm began sweeping past the Dominican Republic and Haiti and threatened to engulf Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

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In Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, a boy was pulled into the ocean and drowned while watching waves kicked up by the Category 4 storm strike an oceanfront boulevard, the emergency operations center reported. The rough waves also destroyed five houses and damaged 15 along the Dominican coast, emergency officials said.

In Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, which stand directly in Dean's path, fear gripped many islanders and tourists alike.

Bracing for the storm to hit on Sunday, Jamaica issued a hurricane warning and began evacuating people to more than 1,000 shelters nationwide. People jammed supermarkets and hardware stores in the capital of Kingston to stock up on canned food, bottled water, flashlights, batteries, lamps and plywood, while shop owners hammered wood over windows at malls in the city.

Resident Elaine Russell said she was getting ready for the storm remembering Hurricane Ivan's destruction in 2004. "I can't take it," she said. "The storm is bad enough but it's what happens afterward — there's no light, no water."

Before dawn, tourists began lining up outside the Montego Bay airport in western Jamaica to book flights out. The storm, which had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph late Saturday, was expected to bring as much as 20 inches of rain to the island.

Shante Morgan of Moorpark, Calif., said a lack of information about the severity of the storm was fueling the fear.

"People are freaking out because they're not getting answers at their hotel," said Morgan, 38, who got a Saturday flight after waiting several hours. "They're really playing down the potential influence of the hurricane."

Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller called for a halt to campaigning for the Aug. 27 general elections, saying: "Let us band together and unite in the threat of this hurricane."

Further west in the low-lying Cayman Islands, the government issued a hurricane warning late Saturday and ordered a mandatory evacuation by noon Sunday of Little Cayman, the smallest of the territory's three islands. The islands were expected to take a direct hit on Monday.

Earlier in the day, lines of tourists waiting for flights snaked out of the international airport terminal and onto the lawn outside. Many tourists flopped under a tree to get out of the sun, surrounded by their luggage. Cayman Airways added 15 flights to Florida from the wealthy British territory, and they were quickly sold out.

The scene was relatively calmer in the Dominican Republic. Residents ran errands at stores with fully stocked shelves, despite government advisories about heavy rains and possible flooding.

"Nothing's going to happen here — a lot of water but nothing else," said Pedro Alvajar, 61, as he sat in a doorway selling lottery tickets.

The outer bands of the storm were expected to bring as much as 10 inches of rain to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which share the island of Hispaniola.

In Haiti, the government issued radio alerts for people in the mountains and coastal areas. In 2004, Tropical Storm Jeanne brushed the impoverished and heavily deforested country, triggering massive floods that killed 1,900 people and left 900 others missing.

Dean, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, gained strength over warm Caribbean waters after claiming six lives and devastating banana and sugar crops when it hit tiny islands in the eastern Caribbean on Friday as a Category 2 storm.

As of 2 a.m. Sunday, Dean was centered about 295 miles east-southeast of Kingston and 155 miles south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was moving west-northwest at 17 mph.

The storm was expected to clip Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and enter the Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Authorities on Mexico's Caribbean coast began evacuating tourists and residents from low-lying Holbox island north of Cancun on Saturday. A total of 2,200 people, including some 250 Mexican and foreign tourists, were ordered to leave, state officials said.

Forecasters said it was too soon to say whether the hurricane would strike the United States.

Worried the storm could disrupt operations at Mission Control in Houston, however, NASA shortened the last spacewalk for astronauts aboard the shuttle Endeavour and ordered the spacecraft to return to Earth a day early on Tuesday.

President Bush, meanwhile, signed a pre-landfall emergency disaster declaration for Texas, allowing the federal government to immediately send people, equipment and supplies to the state if Dean makes landfall there.

In Cuba, which could get rain from the outer bands of the storm, the government issued a tropical storm warning and said it was evacuating 50,000 people from three provinces.

Dean passed near the islands of St. Lucia and Martinique early Friday as a Category 2 storm with winds near 100 mph.

In St. Lucia, fierce winds tore corrugated metal roofs from dozens of homes and the pediatric ward of a hospital, whose patients had been evacuated hours earlier. Police spokeswoman Tamara Charles said a 62-year-old man drowned when he tried to retrieve a cow from a rain-swollen river.

In Dominica, a woman and her 7-year-old son were killed when a rain-soaked hillside gave way and crushed the home where they were sleeping, said Cecil Shillingford, the national disaster response coordinator. Dominica's government reported at least 150 homes were damaged.

Authorities said two people died on the French island of Martinique, including a woman who apparently fell and drowned.

___

Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in Crawford, Texas; Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Tammie Chisholm in George Town, Cayman Islands; Guy Ellis in Castries, St. Lucia; Ellsworth Carter in Roseau, Dominica; and Herve Preval in Fort-de-France, Martinique,


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08/15/2007 Erin is pounding the South shore of Texas
August 16, 2007

The following information has been provided to the follow informative in your areas... Lots of raining coming in a lot of your local areas so be advise. ..Erin is coming to Texas..this is yesterday's 8/15/2007 advents not today's.. emile



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News Report: Erin Hits South Texas Coasts.

Despite storm, beachgoers still continue to play
By CARL PHILLIPS/Island Breeze
August 15, 2007 - 4:42PM
Despite a tropical storm expected to make landfall Thursday in South Texas, people continued to enjoy the beach Wednesday at Andy Bowie Park on South Padre Island.

A parasail soared over the Laguna Madre and another flew near the beach. People fished from the Isla Blanca County Park jetties and from Fishbone’s Pier.

But not everyone was having fun in the sun.

At Kampgrounds of America, two to three dozen RVers had checked out over the past couple days, KOA employee Gary Chidester said.

At Isla Blanca County Park, only a few RVers had checked out as of Wednesday, following a call for a voluntary evacuation Tuesday.

Inside the park, county crews picked up garbage barrels and small objects that might become projectiles in a heavy wind, Parks Director Javier Mendez said.

Elsewhere, emergency management officials in Cameron County, Port Isabel, and South Padre Island were monitoring the development and course of Tropical Storm Erin Wednesday.

If the storm makes landfall in Kenedy County—the most likely scenario, they said—then even the rain will not be as heavy as it would be if the storm were to come to shore south of the Rio Grande Valley, Cameron County Emergency Management Superintendent Johnny Cavazos said.
County officials did not expect much cause for alarm.

“It looks like sandbags may not be required,” Cavazos said. “We’ll wait until 4 this afternoon and have a conference call that will include everyone affected—coastal counties, emergency services, and even counties that may host potential evacuees—and decide then whether or not to issue sandbags.”

The telephone conference will involve more than 100 people, he said.

Cavazos was also confident that emergency management personnel would be able to communicate in inclement weather. If landline phones and cellular phone towers failed, Sprint-Nextel would use a van with a portable tower capable of bouncing signals off satellites, he said.

“If that becomes necessary,” he said, “emergency management people will have priority on wavelengths.”

The county’s third backup is a radio system and the last resort would be ham radio operators, he said.

County officials expect the storm to produce rain.

“We don’t anticipate much in the way of wind damage,” Cavazos said. “The showers are likely to be scattered, but flash flooding is a possibility in low-lying areas, and we have pumps standing by.”

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Proud Army Parents PFC Jose and Jackie Rodriguez!
August 15, 2007


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Melanie Alise Rodriguez made a grand entrance into PFC Jose and Jackie Rodriguez at 5:00am. August 15, 2007. She is a precious 7pounds and 20inches. Mommy and baby are doing great!!! Congrats to the both of u... Welcome Melanie HOOAH!! Proud Army Mom/Grandma

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Revisiting an old boyfriend..
August 12, 2007


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I got together with an old flame and just remember why he is not in my further right now. But that's OK, there always a reason for everything, and today was such a big reminder. "Great saying".... l really can understand and have great appreciating for the message.. have a great weekend my HOOAH friends, and yes i am fantastic... lots of love emile

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Friends Prayer...
August 7, 2007


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To all my HOOAH friends.. have a great week and here's a laugh for all. Great to have friends like you.. Thank God for Hooah families and support.......emile

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All the wife's out there this for you feel free to use it on your site...Hooah to all of you who support your Military families... emile
August 1, 2007


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Great to be a part of the HOOAH families!!!
August 1, 2007


Glitterfy.com *Glitter Graphics*href="http://www.glitterfy.com/" target="_blank">
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Just wanted to share some love with all the proud parents out their in HOOAH land. PFC Jose and Jacklyn are expecting any day Now! It great to have such support from our Military families.. Nothing like being in Military Community.. HOOAH to all of you all you do!!! God Bless.... emile

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Words 2 live by..
July 21, 2007


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When a dream is fading away... emile
July 18, 2007


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No, such thing of a dream just fading away.. it just means, you have a completed (your) task.... it time to move on to bigger dreams for a better day.....emile

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Thank you for the day..
July 14, 2007


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Always remember all the blessings our father has done for all of the US.. god bless you and yours... emile

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"When the storms...
July 11, 2007

If you did not catch the new photo before it return back to my profile... We remember you Texa's Floods 2007. " Keep Strong!" the picture and words where for you all please add a comment or a prayer if you decided to view... lots of love.. emile

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Happy 4th of July 2007!..emile
July 3, 2007


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HOOAH! TO ALL THE SOLDIERS HOME AND OVER SEAS! YOU MAKE IT POSSIABLE TO ENJOY OUR GREAT NATIONS DAY! THANK YOU AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!..emile


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Happy Father's Day! June 2007
June 17, 2007


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Just wanted to share this message with all the Soldier Fathers , just to let you know how Special you all are. "' HAPPY FATHERS DAY enjoy your day... lots of love!" Emile


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Military Spouses
June 15, 2007



New Scam Targeting Military Spouses
National Headquarters
2025 E Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
www.redcross.org
Contact: Devorah Goldburg
Phone: (202) 303-4461
goldburgd@usa.redcross.org





WASHINGTON, Tuesday, May 29, 2007 — The American Red Cross has learned about a new scam targeting military families. This scam takes the form of false information to military families as described below:

The caller (young-sounding, American accent) calls a military spouse and identifies herself as a representative from the Red Cross. The caller states that the spouse's husband (not identified by name) was hurt while on duty in Iraq and was med-evacuated to a hospital in Germany. The caller stated they couldn't start treatment until paperwork was accomplished, and that in order to start the paperwork they needed the spouse to verify her husband's social security number and date of birth. In this case, the spouse was quick to catch on and she did not provide any information to the caller.

The American Red Cross representatives typically do not contact military members/dependents directly and almost always go through a commander or first sergeant channels. Military family members are urged not to give out any personal information over the phone if contacted by unknown/unverified individuals, to include confirmation that your spouse is deployed.

It is a federal crime, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, for a person to falsely or fraudulently pretend to be a member of, or an agent for, the American National Red Cross for the purpose of soliciting, collecting, or receiving money or material.

In addition, American Red Cross representatives will contact military members/dependents directly only in response to an emergency message initiated by your family. The Red Cross does not report any type of casualty information to family members. The Department of Defense will contact families directly if their military member has been injured. Should any military family member receive such a call, they are urged to report it to their local Family Readiness Group or Military Personnel Flight.

The American Red Cross ensures that the American people are in touch with their family members serving in the United States military by operating a communications network that is open 24-hours, 7 days-a-week, 365 days-a-year. Through a network of employees and volunteers at Red Cross national that link families during emergencies, access to emergency financial assistance, confidential counseling, community support headquarters, local chapters, on military installations, and deployed with troops, the Red Cross offers a broad range of services. Among these services, the Red Cross provides communications for families left behind, assistance to veterans, and preparedness courses for military personnel and their families

The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.






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