Local villagers and Mississippi National Guard members, Sgt. Josh Niolet, 29, from Raleigh, Miss., and Sgt. Paul Marshall, 43, from Terry, Miss., peer into a karez from above while other Miss. NG members of the Zabul Agricultural Development Team inspect the karez for damage in Terwoki, Afghanistan, Dec. 14, 2012. A karez is a system of underground channels that carry water from the aquifer at higher elevations to areas down slope. U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Lori Bilyou
Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/image/809717/ancient-aqueducts-receive-cleaning#.UQXkQB00WSo#ixzz2JEa25kgh

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Lori Bilyou

Subterranean aqueducts, or karez in Persian, have provided rural Afghan villages with water for centuries in a land perpetually challenged with poor resources. In many places throughout the war torn country, however, karez have fallen into disrepair. The Mississippi National Guard Agricultural Development Team is working in Zabul province, Afghanistan, to help villagers repair the problems caused by years of neglect.
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Children provide free lemonade to Colorado National Guard members in Cokedale, Colo., Aug. 11, 2012. The 947th Engineer Company, Colorado Army National Guard, is installing culverts, cleaning ditches and repairing degraded dirt roads in the small town in southern Colorado. These repairs, in turn, will update and improve the town’s infrastructure by directing storm water runoff away from building foundations, and improve the overall quality of life in the tiny town. The 35 soldiers of 2nd Platoon have been working here since Aug. 4. According to town officials, Cokedale is also a National Historic District – the only intact coal mining town in Colorado and one of a few remaining in the country – so the soldiers’ work is also helping preserve history. Photo by Master Sgt. Cheresa D. Theiral. Click for a larger image.

DVIDS
Story by Master Sgt. Cheresa D. Theiral

Between suppressing flames and assisting law enforcement in the wake of deadly wildfires, Colorado National Guardsmen have had one of the busiest summers on record.

Lesser known, however, is the National Guard’s ability to prevent disaster.

To that end, the 947th Engineer Company (Horizontal), of the Colorado Army National Guard has been hard at work helping improve the quality of life in the tiny town of Cokedale, Colo., since Aug. 4.

The 35 soldiers of the company’s 2nd Platoon are installing culverts, cleaning ditches and repairing degraded dirt roads. These repairs, in turn, will update and improve the town’s infrastructure by directing storm water runoff away from building foundations.
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Hunterdon County Democrat
June 19, 1888, Fiftieth Volume, No. 45

Lindsay Muse, a colored messenger in the Navy Department, died last Thursday afternoon of old age. He had the distinction of being the oldest employee in government service. He was appointed a messenger in the Navy Department in 1828, and served there continuously in that capacity to the day of his death. He served under twenty-seven different Secretaries and shook hands with every President from Monroe to Cleveland.

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On July 12, 1812, US forces under General Hull invaded Canada. The invasion was met with fierce opposition and American forces are forced to withdraw.

History Central

Hull thought that he could move east from Detroit and occupy the lower portion of what is now Ontario. He was unprepared for the resistance he met, from both British regulars and local militias. His retreat from Canada continued past Detroit and to Pennsylvania. He left the settlers of the Midwest unprotected and open to raids by the British and their Indian allies. This would not be the last time in the War of 1812 that a general’s ego played a key role in a loss on either side.

An Act Declaring War Between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Dependencies Thereof and the United States of America and Their Territories.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That war be and the same is hereby declared to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories; and that the President of the United States is hereby authorized to use the whole land and naval force of the United States to carry the same into effect, and to issue to private armed vessels of the United States commissions or letters of marque and general reprisal, in such form as he shall think proper, and under the seal of the United States, against the vessels, goods, and effects of the government of the said United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the subjects thereof.

APPROVED, June 18, 1812

Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs