06/17/04
Submitted by Templar Titan on Thu, 06/17/2004 - 18:42.
Fellow Professionals:
This report is being sent to you on behalf of Informed Source Newsletter. This is a Bulletin, not the Newsletter. "Informed Source" Newsletter and "Informed Source" Bulletins are restricted to professional personnel in the CI/CT, law enforcement, military, and private security sectors. |
|
*Customs of Military Funerals Reflect History, Tradition By John D. Banusiewicz, American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 10, 2004 - The images are imprinted already, with more to come. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated more than 40 years ago, television was able to bring the nation together in mourning as it had never been brought together before. For the first time on such a scale, people could see history as it unfolded without having to be there themselves. For anyone who experienced Nov. 22-25, 1963, the memories of the sights and sounds remain vivid. Now, with exponentially more advanced technology bringing Americans more intimately and clearly into the national observance of former President Ronald Reagan's death, no detail will go undocumented and no distance will separate observers from participants. And among the memories of this unprecedented week will be the customs and rituals of the military honors bestowed upon the fallen commander in chief. Prominent among these is Reagan's flag-draped casket. The blue field of the flag is placed at the head of the casket, over the left shoulder of the deceased. The custom began in the Napoleonic Wars of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when a flag was used to cover the dead as they were taken from the battlefield on a caisson. Though all six horses pulling the caisson that bore Reagan's body to the Capitol were saddled, the three on the left side had riders, while the three on the right did not. That custom evolved from the days when horse-drawn caissons were the primary means of moving artillery ammunition and cannon, and the riderless horses carried provisions. The single riderless horse that followed the caisson with boots reversed in the stirrups is called the "caparisoned horse" in reference to its ornamental coverings, which have a detailed protocol all to themselves. By tradition in military funeral honors, a caparisoned horse follows the casket of an Army or Marine Corps officer who was a colonel or above, or the casket of a president, by virtue of having been the nation's military commander in chief. The custom is believed to date back to the time of Genghis Khan, when a horse was sacrificed to serve the fallen warrior in the next world. The caparisoned horse later came to symbolize a warrior who would ride no more. Abraham Lincoln, who was killed in 1865, was the first U.S. president to be honored with a caparisoned horse at his funeral. Graveside military honors include the firing of three volleys each by seven service members. This commonly is confused with an entirely separate honor, the 21-gun salute. But the number of individual gun firings in both honors evolved the same way. The three volleys came from an old battlefield custom. The two warring sides would cease hostilities to clear their dead from the battlefield, and the firing of three volleys meant that the dead had been properly cared for and the side was ready to resume the battle. The 21-gun salute traces its roots to the Anglo-Saxon empire, when seven guns constituted a recognized naval salute, as most naval vessels had seven guns. Because gunpowder in those days could be more easily stored on land than at sea, guns on land could fire three rounds for every one that could be fired by a ship at sea. Later, as gunpowder and storage methods improved, salutes at sea also began using 21 guns. The United States at first used one round for each state, attaining the 21-gun salute by 1818. The nation reduced its salute to 21 guns in 1841, and formally adopted the 21-gun salute at the suggestion of the British in 1875. Arlington National Cemetery follows an "order of arms" protocol to determine the number of guns to be used in a salute. A president, ex-president or foreign head of state is saluted with 21 guns. A vice president, prime minister, secretary of defense or secretary of the Army receives a 19-gun salute. Flag officers receive salutes of 11 to 17 guns, depending on their rank. The rounds are fired one at a time. A U.S. presidential death also involves other ceremonial gun salutes and military traditions. On the day after the death of the president, a former president or president-elect -- unless this day falls on a Sunday or holiday, in which case the honor will rendered the following day -- the commanders of Army installations with the necessary personnel and material traditionally order that one gun be fired every half hour, beginning at reveille and ending at retreat. On the day of burial, a 21-minute gun salute traditionally is fired starting at noon at all military installations with the necessary personnel and material. Guns will be fired at one-minute intervals. Also on the day of burial, those installations will fire a 50-gun salute -- one round for each state -- at five-second intervals immediately following lowering of the flag. The playing of "Ruffles and Flourishes" announces the arrival of a flag officer or other dignitary of honor. Drums play the ruffles, and bugles play the flourishes - one flourish for each star of the flag officer's rank or as appropriate for the honoree's position or title. Four flourishes is the highest honor. When played for a president, "Ruffles and Flourishes" is followed by "Hail to the Chief," which is believed to have been written in England in 1810 or 1811 by James Sanderson for a play by Sir Walter Scott called "The Lady of the Lake." The play began to be performed in the United States in 1812, the song became popular, and it became a favorite of bands at festive events. It evolved to be used as a greeting for important visitors, and eventually for the president, though no record exists of when it was first put to that use. The bugle call "Taps" originated in the Civil War with the Army of the Potomac. Union Army Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield didn't like the bugle call that signaled soldiers in the camp to put out the lights and go to sleep, and worked out the melody of "Taps" with his brigade bugler, Pvt. Oliver Wilcox Norton. The call later came into another use as a figurative call to the sleep of death for soldiers. Another military honor dates back only to the 20th century. The missing-man formation usually is a four-aircraft formation with the No. 3 aircraft either missing or performing a pull-up maneuver and leaving the formation to signify a lost comrade in arms. F-15 Strike Eagles from the 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., performed the maneuver in Reagan's honor during the caisson procession to the Capitol June 9. Reagan will be buried with full military honors at his presidential library in Simi Valley Calif., June 11. *Soldiers Reflect on Carrying Reagan's Casket By Kathleen T. Rhem, American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 10, 2004 - When Justin Rogers and Travis Sullivan were born, Ronald Reagan was president of the United States. The evening of June 9, these two young men, now both Army specialists in the prestigious ceremonial unit, "The Old Guard," were members of the team that carried Reagan's casket up the steps and into the U.S. Capitol. "I was kind of young (when Reagan was president), but all of my family members told me what a great job he did for our country," Rogers said in an interview at Fort Myer, Va., just moments before their unit, Company E, 3rd U.S. Infantry, departed for downtown to perform their solemn duties. "It's quite an honor." Sullivan called it "a heck of an honor" to be participating in Reagan's funeral. "He's definitely one of the best presidents we've had in the history of the nation." Both soldiers were out of town visiting family when they got "the call." But neither needed to wait for the Army to tell them; as soon as they heard Reagan had died, both knew they would be called to duty. Rogers was visiting his parents in New Jersey June 5 when he heard Reagan had died. When the phone rang an hour and a half later, "I told my parents, © 'That's the Army calling right there. I've got to go back,'" he said. Sullivan had returned to Wisconsin to see his younger sister graduate from high school. He was working the fields on his parents' dairy farm when the Army reached him. Sullivan originally was scheduled to be part of the team that flew to California to carry Reagan's casket during official honors there. But he couldn't get a flight out of Wisconsin soon enough to depart for California, and ended up on the Washington-based team instead. Both men said their parents were extremely proud to have their sons participate in honoring a deceased president. "My mom was ecstatic," Rogers said. "(She) started crying right there." Sullivan said his parents thought the honor was "the greatest thing since sliced bread." The ceremonial movement of Reagan's remains consisted of several steps. A hearse, surrounded by a motorcade, carried the casket from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., to the Ellipse in front of the White House. There, an honor guard transferred the casket to a horse-drawn caisson for the trip up Constitution Avenue to the U.S. Capitol. Sullivan was part of this honor guard. The eight-man team -- consisting of two soldiers, two sailors, two Marines, an airman and a Coast Guardsman -- marched with the caisson, then carried the casket up the first set of steps of the Capitol. That is where the logistics got tricky. Because the Capitol has so many steps - reportedly 99 - and the casket weighs about 720 pounds, a second team took over during the casket's journey up the steps. Rogers was a member of this second team. At the top of the steps, the first team took over again and carried the casket into the Rotunda for the fallen president to lie in state. The process will be performed in reverse June 11 when Reagan's body is moved to Washington's National Cathedral for a state funeral. The joint-service nature of this event created an extra challenge for the team members. Each service has its own procedures for funerals and other ceremonial functions. Pretty much every waking hour between June 6 and June 9's event were spent practicing, the team members said. The troops even practiced going up and down the Capitol steps with a 700-pound casket, with the rehearsals generally lasting late into the night. On June 7 they were at the Capitol steps until midnight. The next night, the practice lasted until 2 a.m. Both soldiers said this funeral is the largest in scope they've ever participated in, and both were mindful of the worldwide television coverage they'd be part of. " Sullivan said the key to containing his nerves is to take it one step at a time. "One day at a time, one rehearsal at a time," he said. "Hopefully today goes off well so we can honor (Reagan) the way he should be honored. Rogers' and Sullivan's day-to-day job is to be part of the ceremonial detail that performs funerals for veterans in Arlington National Cemetery. "Technically this is like everything we do © every day," he said. "But this is in front of God and country; it's a lot bigger scale." Despite the scope of the event and the late president's prominence, the soldiers said Reagan would receive the same amount of respect they pay to every veteran whose funeral they perform in Arlington National Cemetery. "As far as © the amount of respect we pay, it's just the same as everyone else," Sullivan said. "(Fallen service members are) all worthy of the same respect. That's what we preach to each other; that's what we strive to do." Rogers said he feels a connection with every veteran whose funeral he participates in. "I feel like they're my brothers," he said. "They're my brothers in arms. It's a great honor doing funerals, no matter whose funeral it is. "They served their country," he continued. "And in the end, I'm putting them back in the ground, showing them that respect. It's the last thing that the family sees." *Missing DEA Laptop Contains Information on Investigations and Informants 7 June 04: A Drug Enforcement Administration laptop computer is missing. It contains information on as many as 100 DEA investigations and on DEA confidential informants. An auditor in the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General reported the laptop had been stolen three weeks ago; after further questioning, he changed his story and said that he accidentally damaged the machine and destroyed it and threw it in a dumpster because he was so embarrassed. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5092991/site/newsweek *Protest the Arrest of 7 Activists on "Terrorism" Charges! (Intell report) Protest: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 9 a.m. SHARP! 402 E. State St. Trenton, NJ On May 26th, 2004, 7 activists were indicted and arrested on "animal enterprise terrorism" charges. Specifically, the activists are alleged to have operated a website for the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty campaign (www.SHACAmerica.net, www.InsideHLS.com). For this they face an aggregate of 23 years in jail each and upwards of $1,250,000. This is what the "War on Terror" has become - a War on the First Amendment. This is a call to action for anyone who believes that no one should be thrown in jail for expressing their views - no matter how controversial or unpopular those views may be. Regardless of your feelings on animal rights, please attend this event and demonstrate that activists focused on all different issues will stand together to defend free speech. Make no mistake: this is a frightening step in the Bush administration's path to 'War on Domestic Dissidence' - a path that will not end until we stop it! Everyone is invited to attend the arraignment following the protest. Please help these defendants and show your support by dressing appropriately to attend court. Please come support them. Join the SHAC 7 support list to receive updates and keep up to date on how you can support the SHAC 7. Subscribe at: http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/shac7 *Home-grown crazies ALERT for Saturday June 12 The FBI has warned local Law Enforcement agencies of the potential for criminal activity in support of convicted eco-terrorist Jeff Luers. Activity is believed to be planned for June 12 in Eugene Oregon, Olympia Washington, San Francisco and Modesto California, Lawrence Kansas, Morgantown West Virginia, Worchester Massachusetts, Portland main and Lake Worth Texas. Luers is "widely celebrated" as a martyr with anarchist, extremist animal rights groups and environmental groups. Luers is currently doing 22 years for "an ELF-style" arson attack carried out against an auto dealership in Eugene Oregon, and attempted arson against an oil company also in Eugene. *Anthrax, human - India (West Bengal) Date: Mon 7 Jun 2004 On 6 Jun 2004, 2 persons were diagnosed with anthrax at Harharpara in Murshidabad, health officials said. Chief Medical Officer Dr. S. Sarkar said 2 persons aged 36 and 21 were diagnosed with anthrax after they reportedly ate meat from a diseased animal. Over 30 people have been affected with the disease in the nearby areas in the last 2 months. This is an ongoing problem in West Bengal and will continue steadily until such time that a comprehensive and effective livestock and industrial control programme is initiated and maintained. Mayer *...can they ask these things in a job application???? Insight Online has obtained a shocking recruitment appeal seeking Iranians to commit suicide in deadly attacks on Israel, against American-led coalition forces in Iraq and on U.S. citizens around the world. Obtained from an Iranian recruiting group, the deadly appeal is unmistakable and to the point. It seeks recruits for martyr assignments as well as to assassinate Salman Rushdie, the novelist Ayatollah Khomeini condemned to death in 1989 after publication of Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses." Reuters news agency reported June 5 that the group is known as the Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs of the Global Islamic Campaign. It quoted the group's spokesman, Mohammad Ali Samadi, as saying "some 10,000 people have registered their names to carry out martyrdom operations on our defined targets." Ali Samadi, according to Reuters, says the alleged independent group's targets include "mainly the occupying American and British forces in the holy Iraqi cities, all the Zionists in Palestine, and Salman Rushdie ... the only nonmilitary target for us because we believe his attack against Islam was much worse than a military assault." Insight Online found the proposal on a website where terrorists are being recruited. An English translation of a Farsi "job application" recruitment states: "In the Name of God Preliminary Registration for Martyrdom Operations I _____________, child of _____________, born 13_______ [Islamic calendar], the City of: _________________ proclaim my preparedness for carrying out martyrdom operations: ___ against the occupiers of the holy sites [referring to Najaf, Karbala, and other places in Iraq]. ___ against the occupiers of [Jerusalem]. ___ for carrying out the death sentence of the infidel Salman Rushdie. Also, I would like to become an active member of the Army of Martyrs of the International Islamic Movement. Yes ____, No _____ Contact telephone: ____ Applicant's address: Applicant's signature: An expatriate Iranian who alerted Insight Online to this "job posting" said that while recruitment of young suicide killers has been going on for many years, and there have been terrorist conferences, this is the first time that such groups have circulated application forms and done so publicly. "It is extremely chilling and shows the contempt for civilized society that these radicals hold," a top Iranian monitor who asked not to be identified tells Insight. - end bulletin - |
