Staff Sgt. Matthew E. Faircloth, the section leader with Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, was awarded a Bronze Star Medal with a combat distinguishing device Aug. 23 during the 2nd Marine Division change of command ceremony. Faircloth, a Hedgesville, W.Va., native, earned the award for his actions in combat on February 16, 2011. Photo by Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde / U.S. Marine Corps. Click for a larger image.

U.S. Marine Corps
By Lance Cpl. Phillip Clark, 2nd Marine Division

The first thing Staff Sgt. Matthew E. Faircloth did once he regained consciousness after being shot in the head in a firefight in Afghanistan in 2011 was look at his family picture in the back of his Kevlar helmet. Never mind the blood gushing from the back of his head, he just wanted to make sure the one thing that kept him strong through his deployment was protected – a picture of his wife and three children.
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A Coast Guard rescue team from Sandy Hook, N.J., races to the scene of the World Trade Center terrorist attack. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tom Sperduto

Over the eleven years since September 11, 2001, our collective memory has changed. We no longer recall that day as it was. For many, the anniversary is now one where we are called to service or to understand others. As Bob Lonsberry pointed out on his radio show this morning, that is not what the anniversary is all about.

On that morning 19 men boarded airplanes intending to commit murder. They, and the men who provided support for them, intended to kill as many Americans as they could. They would commit mass murder in the name of their perverse religion.

Murder. In their world, people who are different, in belief or dress or sex, can be killed with impunity if it is in the name of their perverse religion. Their beliefs allowed them to practice the unholy habits of their enemies, such as alcohol or porn, as long as it was towards their final end, mass murder.

They were not alone then. Tens of millions of people believe exactly as they did, and continue to commit murder in the name of their perverse religion to this day. Men, women and children die every day for the same reasons that those 3,000 did on 9/11. No amount of service or understanding can prevent these killings.

Today, as we remember the murders of September 11, and remember the heroes of that day, let us also recall those responsible. Let us recall the perverse religion that they believed and that lead them to murder. Remember our best today and plan to fight the worst so that, someday, no one need fear murder at the hands of religious savages.

Afghan workers prepare for the opening of the new Qalat slaughterhouse in Qalat district of Zabul province, Afghanistan. Photo by 1st Lt. Davin Fischer

DVIDS
Story by 1st Lt. Davin Fischer

With the Castle of Alexander the Great as a backdrop, Afghan government leaders in the Zabul Provincial Capital of Qalat gathered to open a new slaughterhouse facility for use in the city’s livestock trade.

Planning for the slaughterhouse has been in the works since November, 2011. The butchers and traders of Qalat, the mayor of Qalat, the Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, RampUp South, United States Agency for International Agency, Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team and Zabul Agri-Business Development Team, worked together in partnership with each other to determine the location, and design of the facility.
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An Afghan policewoman shares the art of Henna tattoos with Capt. Erin Barrett, the 503d Military Police Battalion -Airborne-, 16th Military Police Brigade Female Engagement Team officer in- charge, during a FET meeting at an Afghan Uniformed Police station in Kandahar City, Afghanistan Aug 9. The 503d MP BN is deployed to southern Afghanistan as Task Force Ripcord and member of the Combined Task Force Lancer led by 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Dakia McLean

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Bryan Dominique

The 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade Female Engagement Team held a meeting with two female Afghan Uniformed Police officers in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Aug. 9.

The Fort Bragg, N.C.-based 503d MP Bn (ABN) is deployed to southern Afghanistan as Task Force Ripcord and member of the Combined Task Force Lancer, led by the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

The FET, led by Capt. Erin K. Barrett regularly meets with women living in Kandahar, Afghanistan to help bridge a cultural divide that their male counterparts often cannot facilitate.

The Aug. 9 engagement was held to discuss the AUP Professionalization Program being developed by the TF Ripcord FET.

The program will seek to partner select female members of TF Ripcord with female AUP to share with them their professional and personal experiences working as military policewomen.

The Afghan policewomen stated they would like to receive instruction in community policing operations and how to effectively move and protect civilians when fired upon.

According to the Afghan policewomen, female soldiers have a wealth of knowledge and experience they would like to benefit from for themselves.

The Professionalization Program is still being developed and coordinated with the AUP leadership.

The TF Ripcord FET will continue to train and assist their Afghan female counterparts in reaching professional success while the program continues through the development and implementation process.

DVIDS
Story by Tech. Sgt. Stephen Hudson

When a working dog is sick or injured, the staff of the Kandahar Airfield Veterinary Medical Team is a dog’s best friend. The veterinary medical team here operates a medical clinic for canines deployed to southern Afghanistan.

Whether it is a U.S. military working dog, a NATO dog, a contractor, or Afghan National Army canine – they are all treated here at one of only two Role 3-level facilities for canines in Afghanistan. The second is located at Bagram Air Field and both can provide high-level trauma treatment to those in need.
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