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Beachamp and the rule of second chances

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:07:03 -0700

Michael Yon: Online Magazine - By Michael Yon - Oct. 25 (News Report) - Some months ago, a soldier in Baghdad wrote a piece on the way war can degrade the morals and affect the judgment of combat soldiers. His story was published at face-value in The New Republic magazine. In it the soldier wrote terrible things about his unit, making the article sensational. ... Beauchamp is young; under pressure he made a dumb mistake. In fact, he has not always been an ideal soldier. But to his credit, the young soldier decided to stay, and he is serving tonight in a dangerous part of Baghdad. He might well be seriously injured or killed here, and he knows it. He could have quit, but he did not. He faced his peers. I can only imagine the cold shoulders, and worse, he must have gotten. He could have left the unit, but LTC Glaze told me that Beauchamp wanted to stay and make it right. Whatever price he has to pay, he is paying it.

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7 Rules: 1 Oath

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:07:11 -0700

Michael Yon: Online Magazine - By Michael Yon - Jul. 19 (News Report) - Today Colonel Steve Townsend, the American commander of the 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, presided over a meeting with Iraqi Army officers and former insurgent leaders. The insurgent leaders who seem to be sincerely working toward peace are now collectively referred to as "the Baqubah Guardians." I was allowed to attend the meeting, but was--understandably--not permitted to photograph or videotape the proceedings.

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Bless the Beasts and Children, Part 2

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:56:19 -0700

Michael Yon: Online Magazine - By Michael Yon - Jul. 18 (Interview) - This photo was taken just near the disinterred graves of Iraqi civilians murdered by al Qaeda. As this photo was made, Captain Baker's soldiers were still digging out the bodies nearby. The stench from the graves was horrific. The children had been decapitated. The term "al Qaeda" is used here, because Iraqi police, soldiers and civilians said al Qaeda had taken the village of al Hamira and done this. Most of al Qaeda in Iraq consists of Iraqis, not foreigners. Even the animals had been "murdered." I saw these things with my own eyes, recorded them with my video and still cameras, and provided the map coordinates and names of American and Iraqi officials. Media ignored this massacre until pressure mounted from home to report it.

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Update on "Bless the Beasts and the Children"

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 09:45:12 -0700

Michael Yon: Online Magazine - By Michael Yon - Jul. 03 (News Report) - But for those publications who actually had people embedded in Baqubah when the story first broke and still failed to cover it, their malaise is inexplicable. I do not know why all failed to report the murders and booby-trapped village: apparently no reporters bothered to go out there, even though it's only about 3.5 miles from this base. Any one of the reporters currently in Baqubah could still go to these coordinates and follow his or her nose and find the gravesites.

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A Memorial Day Message

Sun, 27 May 2007 09:47:20 -0700

Michael Yon: Online Magazine - By Michael Yon - May. 27 (Opinion) - Memorial Day weekend is upon us. I am out here in Anbar Province with Task Force 2-7 Infantry. The area around Hit (pronounced "heat") is so quiet previous units likely would not recognize the still. There was a small IED incident this morning, and the explosion was a direct hit, but the bomb was so small that mechanics had the vehicle back in shape by late afternoon. Calm truly has fallen on this city.

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German Woman to rescue American Navy SEAL

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 21:06:01 -0700

Michael Yon: Online Magazine - By Michael Yon - Sep. 22 (Opinion) - About six weeks ago, Matt from Blackfive.net called about a Navy SEAL named Justin who had been diagnosed with leukemia. Justin's life likely could be saved with a bone marrow transplant, and with a giant database of willing donors, Justin's chances might have looked promising. Yet when Justin was tested, it turned out he carried an uncommon trait called the Philadelphia chromosome. Doctors said his chances of finding a match were about 1 in 25,000, and therefore his chances of survival were grim. That is... until groups like Soldiers Angels and Blackfive got involved and called for a blogstorm.

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