To set the Record Straight

As my Blog is only approximately a week old, and because I took several leaps of faith that I understood the hierarchy of the military complex, I had asked for comments reflecting any inaccuracies I may have on my site. An anonymous contributor has brought forth several issues, for which I am grateful.

First is that the call sign for my son's unit is not 'Panther', but more specifically 'Headhunter'. As such, and because this interest of mine to tell what I know, is in tribute to my son, I will be renaming my Blog "Headhunter Watch'. For the sake of anyone who has bookmarked my site, and I hope there are a few, I won't change the URL of the site.

The second issue I have been made aware of, is being careful of proper or improper attribution of the sources of the information I publish. Most of what I have written, up to this point, is available in the public domain, or an opinion expressed by myself. In one case I paraphrased quotes from senior army officers in my son's chain of command. These quotes were all 'of a complimentary nature' and I neither disputed or was critical of their comments. However, as a family member of a deployed soldier I receive updates from an organization that exists to help family members with being able to stay in close touch to their soldier. It is due to the dedication, sincerity and concern of the FRG group at Ft. Bragg (for my son's unit) that I am honored to receive updates from the front in a more timely and specific manor than is normally reported on the news. I wish to do nothing to jeopardize that source of information about my son and his fellow soldiers. In this light I need to say specifically that any information that I publish from this source is not an official statement by the command for whom the official represents. The statements are made by the officers to whom they are attributed, but are intended only as information to buoy the troops and to allay the fears of the families whose soldiers they command. I am very grateful for the time and effort these officers expend to keep us up-to-date. And, I want to give proper praise to the FRG group that keeps me in the loop.

The one thing I must add to this discussion is that for a parent 3000 miles from their soldiers command and 10,000 from their loved one, the most difficult thing I have had to deal with is, who is responsible for what. Teams, platoons, companies, squads, divisions, battalions, regiments etc. once you think you understand the hierarchy you find out that Charlie company (C-Troop) is actually a special unit that performs a different function than Alpha or Bravo and does missions with a Cavalry command even though the 82nd Airborne is an infantry unit. How can anyone really be sure whether the comments are from a hierarchical or a functional responsibility.

In the future I will do my best to insure that the information I provide or discuss is both properly attributed and to provide disclaimers when I pass on information that was not necessarily provided for public consumption.

Last of all, I will be upfront when I say that I may express opinions that are critical of the administration, that I feel has totally botched the ideals for which we may have honorably inserted our self into Iraq. Additionally, using sources of non-military employees and reporting sources embedded in Iraq, I may relate information that may take the form dissension. But, as a father of a soldier, and a Viet Nam veteran you will never hear me belittle or criticize the job that our soldiers are doing or asked to do. (I however cannot condone any illegal or inhumane acts that are done even if they are committed in the name of patriotism, and I extend that to the President, as well)

So for my anonymous commenter, I hope I have dealt with your concerns and suggestions, and I thank you for the time you spent to set me straight. My aim in the blog is 'truth' and 'honesty' however the chips may fall. But, most of all I want to maybe make some minor impact on how others may feel about the reasons, actions, and effectiveness of our involvement in the 'situation' in Iraq.

I hope Anonymous will update their comments in the future, because that is the value of producing a Blog. At this point everyone that has read this blog knows me personally (or at least through email communications), and you are welcome to contact me directly if there are other issues that you wish to discuss outside of public venue.

Dennis