Should U.S. Troops be Disciplined for Burning Qur'ans?

The services are deciding whether to discipline troops for destroying Islamic religious materials in Afghanistan. Should service members who destroy religious materials face punishment?

An investigation into allegations that U.S. troops burned Islamic religious materials in Afghanistan in February has been handed off to the military services for final disposition, according to an American Forces Press Service report. It's now up to the individual services whether to take disciplinary action against the troops involved. The investigation stems from a Feb. 21 incident in which U.S. service members at a detention facility near Bagram, Afghanistan, allegedly burned copies of the Qur'an and other religious materials. The incident sparked days of violent demonstrations in which more than 30 people were killed, including two U.S. troops and two U.S. military advisors, according to an Associated Press report. Pentagon Press …

•  13 Comments
• Photos (1)

Today's Mission: Blanket Afghanistan With Love

Helping our troops represent America with compassion.

It started out as a request from my sister in Birmingham, Alabama. Sort of a "Hey, Kip needs some help in Afghanistan." Kip is one of those high school friends that I haven't really seen in years, but he has a Facebook Relationship with those of us who attended Druid Hills High School way back in the late 1900s. And with the advent of social media, word travels a wee bit faster than by Pony Express. One thing we sometimes forget about our men and women in service overseas: They do much more than just fire guns at the enemy. They look at the people they are trying to protect and, well, they tend to get protective. The land routes out of Pakistan have been shut down, and though our troops are experiencing dwindling supplies themselves, all …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (2)

Honoring Our Troops

Honoring Our Troops: Lt. Col. Gregory Kolb

Dacula resident recently returned from tour in Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. Gregory Kolb has done a good bit of traveling in his 26 years in the Army. “I’ve been all over theater,” Kolb said. “I’ve been to Iraq, Djibouti, Bharain, Qatar – you name it, I’ve pretty much been there.” Kolb has also been deployed twice to Kuwait, once in 2002 and again in 2003. Most recently, Kolb spent nearly 11 months stationed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Salerno in Afghanistan where he served as the commander of a combat support hospital.  FOB Salerno is located in eastern Afghanistan approximately 10 kilometers from the border with Pakistan. Kolb said he is glad to be home and hopes people will keep the still deployed troops in their thoughts and prayers. “Don’t forget them,” he said. “Prayers and cards of support mean…

• Photos (1)