#north bay battalion

[pokemonwearingsportsmerch]

#cubchoo #north bay battalion #hockey #minor league monday

[rutgersmcgroarty]

TOP NHL PROSPECTS ANSWER HOCKEY DEBATES - SKATES OR PANTS ON FIRST

#once again wanted to caption these but photoshop said nope #nelly and denton need to go to jail for saying skates first #like what the actual fuck?????? #next thing we know they're gonna tell us they put their socks on before their pants #kevin korchinski #seattle thunderbirds #mats lindgren #kamloops blazers #ty nelson #north bay battalion #denton mateychuk #swift current broncos #2022 nhl draft #cat's gifs #2022 chl top prospects game

[fromthe-point]

NORTH BAY, Ont. — Jacob Therrien, the North Bay Battalion’s second choice in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection in April, has signed a standard player’s agreement, including an education package, with the club, it was announced Tuesday.

#hockey #chl #ohl #north bay battalion #jacob therrien #s:commitment #220524

[qsycomplainsalot]

Oil on canvas, Charles Louis Mozin

The Capture of the Dutch Fleet at Den Helder, 23rd of January 1795

  In which the French armed forces demonstrates that not having the best navy can in fact be okay.

Context

  The French Revolution in 1789, followed by the imprisonment and then execution of Louis the XVIth in 1793, led to most major autocratic powers in Europe declaring war on France to restore the status quo. France was thus engaged on multiple fronts by many of its neighbors which, surprisingly, at the time included Austria through their ownership of the Southern Netherlands. Both Netherlandses had witnessed failed republican uprisings in the previous decades, and as such the new France Republic pushed through the Austrian Netherlands to declare war on the -nominally only- Republic of United Netherlands in the North.

The “Battle”

  After two years of campaign the combined efforts of the French revolutionary army and Dutch patriots had all but closed this front of the war, and the French commander of the Army of the North was garrisoned in Amsterdam when he caught wind of the Dutch fleet being anchored at the mouth of the Zuiderzee bay, just north of there. Due to temperatures averaging -10°C in the past weeks, the entire bay had frozen over, which he decided to use to his advantage.   He immediately sent Dutch patriot Gnl. Jan Willem de Winter at the head of about two hundred men from the French 8th Hussar and the 3rd Battalion of Belgian Skirmishers, also raised from sympathizers to the republican cause. Muffling the sound of their horses’ hooves with cloth and arriving during the night each with a Belgian infantryman riding with them, the hussars sneaked on the entire Dutch fleet frozen at anchor and captured it without a fight.

  In a single cavalry charge the French Republic had captured five ships-of-the-line, three frigates, six corvettes and several merchantmen with crew, for a total of about 850 guns. This is one of only two recorded instances of a cavalry force charging and capturing ships in a battle and one of few instances where having light infantry ride as voltigeurs proved to be even remotely useful. There is debate whether the Dutch sailors and marines would have actually resisted capture however, as the Netherlands had essentially already been knocked out of the war by then and might have been ordered to surrender, which the French may have known as well. It is hard to discern the truth of the matter when what was two hundred men sent to secure a fleet that may have already been surrendered to them gets painted as a full army corps marching in tight formation on the ice.   In any case, a squadron of hussars captured a fleet of ships and that’s awesome.

  Following the capture of the fleet, the evacuation of the remaining Allied troops to other fronts or England and finally the surrender of the Austrian duchy of Luxembourg, the Dutch Patriot party were given the reins of the Netherlands renamed as the Batavian Republic - more or less a puppet state and the future Netherlands - while the Austrian Netherlands - future Belgium - and Luxembourg were incorporated in the French Republic as new departments.   The captured fleet was ransomed back to the Batavian Republic in exchange of a small loan of a hundred million guilders.

#history

[emilykaldwen]

@mercurygray called my ass out and sent me Moonlight Serenade to finally get me to start that WWII!Abrogon AU, If Found, Please Return. Which is basically Westeros 1940s esque dragon war.

Send me a Song title au + oc/ship!

this was supposed to be a list of ideas buuuut instead you get a two page drabble because I had feelings. this is unbeta'd and like, I literally just finished writing it but it came to me so fast so it's a good monday methinks

Aegon didn’t want to go.

Oh, he’d been ready, Warrior save him (and hells, how his mother would not stop praying and trying to fit every little woven symbol of the god among his things to the point where he gently, but firmly, told her to stop and give some to Aemond. Him and Vhagar were headed towards Volantis with the Redwyne Raiders to hold The Orange Coast), Aegon had been eager in the way someone who doesn’t fear the Stranger could only be.

What better way to prove himself than command his own battalion from the back of his dragon and show that he was made of sterner stuff than the soft bellied boy that his grandfather spat at him.

What better way to gain his own father’s attention?

Cold fingers tighten through his and he brushes his lips against the crown of Abrogail’s hair, where all he can smell is bergamot and rose and feels the knot of nerves inside him ease.

“I stand and I wait for the touch of your hand in the June night,” he sang to her as the music of the band wafted over them. He felt her little huff of laughter against his shoulder where her cheek rested, breathless from the wild spinning along the dance floor moments before. He could feel the way her heart hammered against her ribs and how it echoed in him.

‘Why leave?’ He thought. Why leave when he could crawl between her ribs and settle himself in the space inside where he was loved and wanted, and he could keep her warm. He could stay with her. 

Maybe he should demand his battalion get sent to Norvos where Abby’s own orders were sending her. His little rabbit had answered the call and was a nurse at the hospital there.

‘I won’t be far.’ He would be in the hills and patrolling up towards Lorath Bay. How far the Triarchy wars had spread and Westeros had entered the fray once Tyrosh fell and the Velaryon fleet in the Stepstones had been attacked.

“I should put labels in your clothes as I do my sketchbooks,” Abby murmured and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. Aegon cuddled her closer. “If found, please return.” The front of her sketchbooks held the same plea, decorated with little rabbits with pleading faces and the address of her father’s law office in King’s Landing.

Aegon chuckled and tilted his head down so he could brush his mouth against the shell of her ear. “So if they find me, they’ll dump me on your father’s desk. I’m sure the man wants words with me.”

“If you’re implying he’s hoping you do not come back, you are sorely mistaken.” Her kiss was warm against his shoulder and Aegon shivered, his hand tightening against the curve of her hip. “If you do not come back, neither do-”

“Hush,” he cut in, a nip to her ear for such talk. She tilted her head back to look at her. Eyes as blue as the Narrow Sea, as blue as the sky he and Sunfyre adored. Abby’s heart shaped mouth was painted a deep red, her curls brushed into submission into a golden red cloud around her shoulders. Aegon rested her other hand on his shoulder so he could cup her cheek. “We’re both coming back. As if anything happens that far north from the fighting anyway. The worst that’ll happened is I’ll get court martialed for getting caught coming to see you.”

Abby scrunched her pretty face up in a familiar, disbelieving expression. “Well, I will miss Sunfyre awfully much. Almost as much as I’ll miss you.”

“I stand at your gate and I sing you a song in the moonlight,” he continued and Abby’s scrunched up face eased into the soft, dreamy expression that made him wish they were alone, made him wish they were back in his room or away at the little cabin outside Harrenhal where none would bother them.

“A love song, my darling, a Moonlight Serenade,” she sang back to him and he pressed his mouth to hers. Her fingers tangled into his short hair to hold him close, feet moving to stand on his so he could guide them both.

taglist: @fyeahhotdocs, @ocappreciation, @stannisfactions, @fragilestorm, @starcrossedjedis, @darkwolf76, @arrthurpendragon, @dopedaegus, @hiddenqveendom, @mantillon, @lightofthearrow, @songsonacliffside, @acrossthesestars, @insabecs, @prosemoireia, @dragonsbone, @corporalicent, @jadore-andor, @selfproclaimedunicorn, @gwenllian-in-the-abbey, @notbloodraven, @impales, @arcielee, @thesunfyre4446

#fic: if found please return #aegon x abby #aegon ii targaryen #aegon x oc #aegon targaryen x oc #aemond targaryen fic #aegon tarrgaryen fanfiction #aegon targaryen #that war au #oc: abrogail strong #I love this lil AU #IDK if it'll ever get the full treatment #I have *thoughts* #my fics

[captain-price-unofficially]

105mm gun from Battery B, 205th Field Artillery Battalion, in a camouflaged position at Saluse Village, Saluse Lake, north of Nassau Bay, New Guinea. 17 July, 1943

#july #New Guinea campaign #Pacific theater #wwii

[taraross-1787]

Medal of Honor Monday: Johnny Lee Canley

On this day in 1968, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Nevertheless, Johnny Lee Canley didn’t receive that Medal for decades. His heroism had come during the Vietnam War, at the Tet Offensive, but he received his Medal fifty years later.

Would you believe that he joined the Marines in 1953, when he was only 15 years old? He used his brother’s paperwork to get in.

On January 31, 1968, Canley was a Gunnery Sergeant serving with Alpha Company, First Battalion, First Marine Regiment. About 150 Marines from his company would help take back Huế City, which had been seized by the North Vietnamese.

“As we approached the outskirts of the city,” Marine Corps veteran John Ligato later described, “NVA machine guns opened up from the north. An open rice paddy was to the east and the NVA blocked any southern retreat back to Phu Bai. Co A was now stuck in a deadly crossfire with no options, so we hunkered down and waited.”

It wasn’t pretty. The commanding officer was badly wounded, so Canley took over. He must have been all over the place during those hours? His citation describes Canley “repeatedly rush[ing] across fire-swept terrain to carry his wounded Marines to safety.”

“They’re alive, right? So I’m going to try to get to them,” Canley shrugged.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-john-l-canley-moh

#tdih #otd #this day in history #history #history blog #medal of honor #medal of honor monday #sharethehistory

[contremineur]

But the best glass is in the chancel, depicting St George and St Edmund above a landscape of Suvla Bay, and is by William Aikman in 1925. St Edmund and St George remember Edmund Gay, who was a soldier in the infamous 1st/5th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment. Largely recruited from farmworkers on estates in north Norfolk, they sailed for Gallipolli, and were wiped out during the attack on Anafarta in Suvla Bay on the 12th August 1915. Because they had fallen behind enemy lines, they were listed as missing, and a Norfolk legend grew up that they had vanished into a mysterious cloud and were taken up out of this world. This sounds bizarre, but it was of a piece with legends like the Angel of Mons leading the British troops to escape death in Flanders, and with the great rise in spiritualism in this country in the years immediately after the War. [...] Many of the dead boys were workers from the Sandringham estate, and when the bodies were eventually found and identified this knowledge was kept from Queen Alexandra, because it was felt that the truth would be too upsetting for her. Thus, she died believing the legend.

Simon Knott, from St George, Aldborough

Just one entry in a remarkable gazetteer of the medieval churches of East Anglia...

#simon knott #aldborough #gallipoli #norfolk #quotes #lit #excerpt

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 30 of 2023

Title: To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam Authors: Tom A. Johnson ISBN: 9780451222183 Tags: AC-47 Spooky, B-52 Stratofortress, CH-47 Chinook, CH-54 Tarhe, EOD, LAO Laos, LAO Laotian Civil War (1959-1975), LAO Operation Commando Hunt (1968-1972) (Laotian Civil War) (Vietnam War), LAO Operation Shining Brass / Prairie Fire / Phu Dong (1965-1975) (Laotian Civil War) (Vietnam War), O-1 Bird Dog, OH-13 Sioux, OH-23 Raven, OV-1 Mohawk, Pathfinders, UH-1 Huey, US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, US USA 11th Aviation Group, US USA 11th Aviation Support Group, US USA 12th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 12th Cavalry Regiment - 2/12, US USA 15th Medical Det. - Mercy, US USA 173rd Airborne Brigade - Sky Soldiers, US USA 1st Cavalry Division, US USA 1st Cavalry Division - 11th Pathfinder Co., US USA 20th Aerial Rocket Artillery Bn, US USA 20th Aerial Rocket Artillery Bn - 2/20 - Blue Max, US USA 227th Assault Helicopter Bn, US USA 227th Assault Helicopter Bn - C/227, US USA 228th Assault Helicopter Bn, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - A/229 - Bandit, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - A/229 - Python, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - B/229 - Preachers, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - D/229 - Smiling Tiger, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - D/229 - Tom Cat, US USA 478th Aviation Co, US USA 7th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 7th Cavalry Regiment - 1/7 - C Troop, US USA 7th Cavalry Regiment - 2/7, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment - 1/8, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment - 1/8 - B Troop, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment - 1/8 - C Troop, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment - 2/8, US USA 8th Engineer Bn, US USA 9th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 9th Cavalry Regiment - 1/9, US USA 9th Cavalry Regiment - 1/9 - C Troop, US USA Fort Polk LA, US USA Fort Rucker AL, US USA Fort Rucker AL - Hanchey Army Air Field, US USA Fort Wolters TX (1963-1973), US USA General Creighton Abrams, US USA General John "Jack" Norton, US USA General John Tolson, US USA LRRP Team (Vietnam War), US USA United States Army, US USA USSF Green Berets, US USA USSF Special Forces, US USMC 3rd MarDiv, US USMC United States Marine Corps, US USN Construction Battalions (Seabees), US USN SEALS, US USN United States Navy, USA 5th SFG, VNM 1968 Tet Offensive (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM A Louie Airstrip, VNM A Shau Valley, VNM An Khe, VNM An Lao Valley, VNM Ba To Airstrip, VNM Battle of Hue City (1968) (Tet Offensive) (Vietnam War), VNM Battle of Khe Sanh (1968) (Tet Offensive) (Vietnam War), VNM Bong Son, VNM Bong Son Pass, VNM Bong Son River, VNM Camp Evans (Vietnam War), VNM Camp Radcliff (Vietnam War), VNM Cay Giep Mountains, VNM Central Highlands, VNM Command and Control North/FOB-4 (Vietnam War), VNM Da Nang, VNM Dak To, VNM Dam Tra-O Lake, VNM Dia Dong, VNM Dong Ha, VNM DRV NVA 22nd Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 325C Division, VNM DRV NVA 325C Division - 7th Bn, VNM DRV NVA 325C Division - 9th Bn, VNM DRV NVA 3rd Division, VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM Highway 1, VNM Highway 19, VNM Hill 450, VNM Hill 814 (LZ Peanuts) (Vietnam War), VNM Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnam War), VNM Hon Kon (Hong Kong Mountain) / (Signal Mountain), VNM Hue, VNM Hue Phu Bai, VNM I Corps (Vietnam War), VNM II Corps (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Bird (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Dog (Vietnam War), VNM LZ El Paso (Vietnam War), VNM LZ English (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Geronimo (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Laramie (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Pat (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Pepper (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Sally (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Sandra (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Sharon (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Signal Hill (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Stud (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Thor (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Tiger (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Tom (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Two Bits (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Vicki (Vietnam War), VNM Marble Mountain, VNM Nui Mot (The Rockpile), VNM Operation Arc Light (1965-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Delaware / Lam Son 216 (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Jeb Stuart (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Pegasus / Lam Son 207 (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Pershing (1967-1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Phan Rang Air Base, VNM Phu Cat Mountains, VNM Quang Tri, VNM Quang Tri Province, VNM Qui Nhon, VNM RVN ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, VNM Song Ba, VNM Song Chal Truc, VNM Song Re, VNM Song Re Valley, VNM Tam Quan, VNM US MACV Military Assistance Command Vietnam (Vietnam War), VNM US MACVSOG (1964-1972) (Vietnam War), VNM US UH-1 Huey Firefly Missions (Vietnam War), VNM US USAF Phu Cat Air Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USMC DHCB Dong Ha Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USMC KSCB Khe Sanh Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USMC MMAF Marble Mountain Air Facility, VNM US USMC QTCB Quang Tri Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975) Rating: ★★★★ (4 Stars) Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Aviation.US Army.Helos.Slicks, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Laotian Civil War.Aviation.Helos

Description: **The riveting memoir of a Vietnam War helicopter pilot. “When you step into a Huey with Tom Johnson, you’re in for the real thing. No one has previously captured the Vietnam helicopter experience with such gripping authority.”—Robert F. Dorr, author of Chopper   **   From June 1967 to June 1968, Tom Johnson accumulated an astonishing 1,600 flying hours piloting the UH-1 “Iroquois”—better known as the “Huey”—as part of the famous First Air Cavalry Division. His battalion was one of the most decorated units of the Vietnam War, and helped redefine modern warfare. Johnson’s riveting memoir takes us into key battles and rescue missions, including those for Hue and Khe Sanh. In harrowing detail, he tells of being shot down in the battle of A Shau Valley, of surviving enemy attacks during the Tet Offensive, and of a death-defying nighttime river rescue, in which only the bare feet of soldiers hanging off the Huey’s skids kept the helicopter from plunging under water. From dangerous missions to narrow escapes, Johnson’s memoir vividly captures the adrenaline rush and the horror of war, and takes you on a ride you’ll never forget.

#Books #Ebooks #Booklr #Bookblr #Vietnam War #Laotian Civil War #MACVSOG #US Army #1st Air Cav #1st Cavalry Division #UH-1 huey #Tet Offensive #Special Forces #History #Military History #NonFiction

[three-headed-monster]

probably just a rumour but adam might leave mich and go to the ohl before the deadline so that he can play an extended season and go for the memorial cup and get the playoffs before the draft. it would provide him with more hockey and a longer season than michigan and the battalion have been in contact with him

i've been hearing this rumour for years and uh i really doubt it's happening anon.

trade deadline is jan 10th and unless adam is planning to leave michigan in the next few days to go to north bay (not a tourist destination if we're being honest), it's not something i see in his future.

plus, frozen four actually starts AFTER the ohl playoffs begin so in reality, unless the battalion go on a REALLY deep run, his season will not be much longer than if he got into the frozen four with umich. and umich is in good standing in pairwise, ninth, so there's a good chance they make it to the tournament and back to frozen four as long as they don't go on a bad skid.

all in all, i don't doubt the battalion have had conversations with adam (probably looking for an in house trade deadline addition) but the likelihood of him heading there is very very low.

#ask #plus i think you'd have to drag him kicking and screaming from luca #adam fantilli

[captawesomesauce]

Thoughts at 7pm...

I tag my books in Calibre with people and places and things I think will come up again and again across books. 

This can be a slow and agonizing process, but I find that I keep coming back to it over and over again, because I’ll read a book years later that mentions a battle on Hill 488 and think... fuck, what book was it that I read about that from someone else’s perspective?!!?!? 

Tags help with that. 

I don’t tag everything, or everyone... just stuff I have a feeling will come up over and over, and yet for a single book I’ll end up with this:

Averell Harriman, Bess Clements Abell, Camp David, Catoctin Mountains MD, CH-34 Choctaw, CH-46 Sea Knight, Chaplain, CIA, CIDG, From LAPL, General Herman Nickerson, General Samuel B. Griffith, General William Westmoreland, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John F. Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr, Maryland, North Korea, Okinawa, Okinawa - Northern Training Area (NTA), Robert McNamara, Soviet FROG-3 Missile, SpecOps, US Capitol Building, USA 3rd Infantry Regiment, USAF Kadena Airbase, USAID John Paul Vann, USMC, USMC 12th Marines, USMC 1st Force Recon Co, USMC 1st Force Recon Co - Team Brisbane (Vietnam War), USMC 1st Force Recon Co - Team Circumstance (Vietnam War), USMC 1st Force Recon Co - Team Club Car (Vietnam War), USMC 1st Force Recon Co - Team Countersign (Vietnam War), USMC 1st Force Recon Co - Team Killer Kane (Vietnam War), USMC 1st Force Recon Co - Team Swift Scout (Vietnam War), USMC 1st MarDiv, USMC 1st Marine Air Wing, USMC 1st Marines, USMC 1st Marines - 1/1, USMC 1st Marines - 1/1 - F Co, USMC 1st Marines - 2/1, USMC 1st Marines - 2/1 - E Co, USMC 1st Recon Bn, USMC 1st Recon Bn - E Co, USMC 1st Tank Bn, USMC 26th Marines, USMC 26th Marines - 1/26, USMC 26th Marines - 1/26 - F Co, USMC 2LT Paul Young, USMC 3rd Marines, USMC 3rd Marines - 2/3, USMC 5th Marines, USMC 5th Marines - 2/5, USMC 5th Marines - 2/5 - F Co, USMC 7th Marines, USMC 7th Marines - 1/7, USMC 7th Marines - 2/7, USMC 7th Marines - 2/7 - G Co, USMC 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, USMC Air Observers - Black Coats (Vietnam War), USMC Camp Hansen, USMC Camp Pendleton, USMC Camp Schwab, USMC Col. Andrew Finlayson, USMC Force Recon, USMC LtCol Alex Lee, USMC Marine Barracks Washington (8th and I), USMC Scout Dogs, USMC SgtMaj Maurice J. Jacques, USMC The Basic School, USMC Washington Barracks Guard Co., USN Corpsman, USN LCDR Ray Stubbe (Chaplain), USN USS Pueblo (AGER 2), USNA, VNM 1968 Tet Offensive (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM A Shau Valley, VNM A Vuong River, VNM An Bang, VNM An Hoa, VNM An Long, VNM An Son, VNM Antenna Valley, VNM Ap Ba, VNM Arizona Territory, VNM Ba Na Mountain, VNM Base Area 112, VNM Battle of Hue City (1968) (Tet Offensive) (Vietnam War), VNM Battle of Khe Sanh (1968) (Tet Offensive) (Vietnam War), VNM Camp Hansen, VNM Camp Reasoner, VNM Charlie Med, VNM CIA Phung Hoang / Phoenix Program (1965-1972) (Vietnam War), VNM Col de Ba Lien, VNM Command and Control North/FOB-1 (Vietnam War), VNM Da Nang, VNM Da Son, VNM Dam Cao Hai Bay, VNM Dong Nhut Mountain, VNM DRV NVA 2nd Division, VNM DRV NVA 320th Reconnaissance Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 368th Artillery (Rocket) Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 3rd Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 402nd Sapper Battalion, VNM Elephant Valley, VNM Freedom Hill PX, VNM Happy Valley, VNM Hiep Duc, VNM Hill 170, VNM Hill 199, VNM Hill 203, VNM Hill 224, VNM Hill 324, VNM Hill 327, VNM Hill 35, VNM Hill 372, VNM Hill 381, VNM Hill 387, VNM Hill 406, VNM Hill 417, VNM Hill 441, VNM Hill 452, VNM Hill 454, VNM Hill 478, VNM Hill 498, VNM Hill 502, VNM Hill 537, VNM Hill 575 (Tam Dieo Mountain), VNM Hill 582 (Kon Chay Mountain), VNM Hill 592, VNM Hill 594, VNM Hill 623, VNM Hill 678, VNM Hill 749, VNM Hill 800, VNM Hill 89, VNM Ho Chi Minh Trail, VNM Hoi An Thuong, VNM Hon Cau Mountain, VNM Hue, VNM Khe Dienne River, VNM Khe Gio tributary, VNM Khuong Dai, VNM Loc Tu, VNM LZ Finch, VNM MEDCAP, VNM Mortar Valley, VNM Nam O Bridge, VNM Ninh Dinh, VNM Ninh Khanh, VNM Ninh Long, VNM Nong Son Coal Mine, VNM Nui Ba Hoa, VNM Nui Chom, VNM Nui Nhu, VNM Nui Son Ga (Charlie Ridge), VNM Ong Thu Slope, VNM Operation Arizona (1967) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Calhoun (1967) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Claxon (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Knox (1967) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Pecos (1967) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Snoopy (People Sniffer) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Union I (1967) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Union II (1967) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Wheeler (1967) (Vietnam War), VNM Phouc Ly, VNM Phouc Tuong, VNM Phouc Tuong (Dogpatch), VNM Phu Bai, VNM Phu Gia Pass, VNM Phu Loc, VNM Quang Duc Duc, VNM Quang Nam Province, VNM Quang Tri Province, VNM Que Son Mountains, VNM Que Son Valley, VNM Route 1, VNM Route 545, VNM RVN RVNP CSDB PRU Provincial Reconnaissance Units (Vietnam War), VNM Saigon, VNM Song Cu De, VNM Song Ly Ly, VNM Song Thu Bon, VNM Song Tinh Yen, VNM Song Vu Gia, VNM Song Yang, VNM Tam Kho, VNM Tam Talou Tributary, VNM Thach Bich, VNM The Enchanted Forest, VNM The Garden of Eden, VNM Thua Thien Province, VNM Thuan Long, VNM Thuong Duc, VNM Ti Tau Mountain, VNM Trang Bang, VNM Trao Hamlet, VNM Tu Phu, VNM US MACVSOG (1964-1972) (Vietnam War), VNM US MACVSOG Road Runner Teams (Vietnam War), VNM USMC AHCB An Hoa Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM USMC Combined Action Platoon, VNM USMC KSCB Khe Sanh Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975), VNM Yellow Brick Road, Washington D.C

Thankfully I can easily use calibre’s tag search function to grab what I need!

#thoughts

[rutgersmcgroarty]

TOP NHL PROSPECTS ANSWER HOCKEY DEBATES - PASTA OR CHICKEN & RICE

#shane wright #kingston frontenacs #ty nelson #north bay battalion #kevin korchinski #seattle thunderbirds #matt savoie #winnipeg ice #nathan gaucher #quebec remparts #denton mateychuk #moose jaw warriors #cat's gifs #2022 nhl draft #2022 chl top prospects game

[davidshawnsown]

USA BASEBALL RPF (MODERN SETTING) 2 - Campaigns in the Ukraine (Chapter 2)

(AN: Made in honor of the Astros clinching the 2022 World Series championship, as Alex Bregman will be featured from this chapter onward. As a future reenactor, I will also plan to write a reenacting RPF set in this war to express gratitude to reenactors of wars past and present for preserving history in this day and age and it will be a first or 3rd person perspective.)

(Late edit: Given that John Gall has been elected the new and current president of USA Baseball, this series will be updated with my view that Gaski would find in him a successor as leader & commander of 76th Command in the future.)

CAMP LASORDA BARRACKS COMPLEX

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022

1151H EST

"Welcome to the Able Company barracks."

These words by SFC Eric Filia introduced the 5 new additions to A Company of the 1st Battalion 78th BCT to where their company barracks is. Just southwest of the parade field and the headquarters buildings of the brigade are the barracks wherein the 1st Battalion's men live and work, either as a cadre formation or in active duty. Given the huge expansion, there are already works underway to build new barracks and related buildings in the Camp Lasorda complex to accomodate the growing number of personnel and the additional battalions of infantry, as well as plans to build a larger camp in Raleigh, where the 2nd Battalion is headquartered, to house the brigade's artillery and the other newly formed battalions with the armor and air defense artillery being expected to be at Chapel Hill at the UNC campus, its cadet brigade being expanded to include as well a light armor unit that the 78th is helping to form armed with the Humvee. Unlike the 1st Battalion, the rest of the brigade is made up of reservists and National Guardsmen, as well as select active duty transferees.

While the 5 are being welcomed to the barracks rooms where the personnel sleep and take their free time, as well as the mess halls for enlisted personnel and officers, and clinic for medical checks, as well as the other amenties, SSGT Patrick Kivlehan is chatting with 1LT Eric Thames regarding his Korean experience and the days they spent in Cincinnati while in separate regiments. The veteran staff sergeant hailing from New York state, in Nyack village situated within the town of Orangetown, served for some years with a number of 169th Corps regiments. Last year, his call to Tokyo as part of the national contingent came as a member of the 690th San Diego Infantry in the battalion based in El Paso in Texas state, near the Mexican border.

"Lieutenant Thames, you did show the people of Milwaukee all you worked so hard and with distinction in Korea, right?"

"Yeah, those were hard times. Having to be in Green Bay even in the winter, staff sergeant, but those were great years I may say," replied the lieutenant.

"And speaking of which," said the staff sergeant, " the battalion is planning to bring back 2LT Yelich. Part of the 2017 contingent. I expect that he will be one heck of a strategist for us here for future operations."

"Second Lieutenant Yelich? One of my fellow servicemen whom I served with before in Milwaukee?"

"Yes, he will arrive here in days."

Captain Frazier has been already helping the newbies to the 1st Platoon get used to their surroundings as well as the quarters for enlisted personnel and NCOs when he returned. These 5 and 1LT Thames had carried many of their belongings with them as well as their uniforms and boots. The captain then began to talk with 1LT Thames regarding his experiences in Milwaukee and the memories spent in New York's eastern neighborhoods together, first as the second in command to now retired Major David Wright and then as company commander of his unit of the 1st Battalion, 62nd New York Metropolitan, twice.

At the same time, Triston's already guiding Gavin towards his assigned quarters with the enlistees. Given that the specialist is about to spend the coming months with his brother, he knew of the risks it would take for him to fulfill his duty.

In the meantime Captain Tulowitzki, who is outside together with 1LT Robertson and the others, received a call from LTC Fenster informing that 1st Battalion will be 6 rifle companies strong together with the heavy weapons and cannon companies and the HQ company with F Company being set to be activated, making the battalion stronger than ever with 9 companies organizing this unit. It would entail the 2nd Battalion based in Raleigh to rename its companies as G, H, I and J companies together with the HQ and heavy weapons companies and they would also be granted permission to include a cannon company also armed with the M101 howitzer. These heavy weapons companies will be armed with the M60 machine gun and unlike the mortar platoons under the companies, are to be armed with the Israeli-made M120 and the BGM-71 TOW systems mounted on the Humvee chassis. F Company will be made up of the 2021 and 2022 high school cadet contingents trained in Cary given that they are 17 years old, the minimum age for enlistment, and the officers are already being studied at the Army OCS on acclerated courses before commissioning, as well as the junior high school mobilization contingents of 2012-17, as well as any available alumni of the high school contingents of 2008-2011.

1415H EST

Following a hearthy lunch at the mess hall, the men of the 5 platoons mobilized so far for Able Company of the 1st Battalion 78th BCT are already on the field for firearms training first before platoon level ops training for future operations within the territory of Camp Lasorda and within the fields and hills of Cary. Today they are already testing fast response methods of operation against possible hostile elements while on dismounted patrol.

As LTC Fenster and his staff are watching their manuevers, Captain Jake Arrieta approached them regarding B Company and its readiness to be activated, having taken command since last night with the left of its few officers and NCOs of the headquarters from its former cadre personnel from the Army Reserve. He was told that the captain had emailed the remainder of the 2008 national contingent as well as those of the 2013 contingent informing them of their recall to the colours as part of the brigade they trained with before, and they will be coming to Cary in days. He and his XO, 1LT Fowler, have arrived in Cary yesterday with the officers and NCOs who took over the company upon reactivation. The captain is a veteran sharpshooter and grenadier of several 169th Corps regiments, including the 71st North Chicago and the 83rd Philadelphia, and was a part of the 2008 national contingent as its commander. Together the personnel of that contingent to slated to return to Cary that week, almost all coming out of retirement with a few still serving and holding active ranks, were as follows:

Captain Jake Arrieta, company commander

Major John Gall, company representative to 78th BCT command (appointed to that role that same week and reactivated from the reserves as a Captain, set to study at the Command and Staff College)

1LT Fowler, company executive officer

1LT Brian Barden, adjutant

1LT Marson, 1st platoon commander

1LT Stephen Strasberg, 1st platoon second in command

1LT Brandon Knight, recalled from South Korea

SFC Matt LaPorta, company first sergeant

SFC Cummings, platoon sergeant

SSGT Teagarden

SSGT Cahill

SSGT Neal

SSGT Schierholtz

SGT Weathers

SGT Tiffee

SGT Nix

SGT Brett Anderson

CPL Donald

CPL Koplove

CPL Duensing

CPL Brown

CPL Hessman

CPL Stevens

"All of them under the leadership of Major General Watson?" asked the lieutenant colonel.

"Yes they were," Captain Jake replied as he is still observing how A Company has been training lately since reactivation into active service with the new personnel taking over. "He died years ago and we still hold him in high esteem as our mentor. We miss this man and so too is the entire 169th Corps, including regiments in Houston and New York. He was our overall commander back in 2008," he said. The late Major General Watson, who for many years served in a number of regiments of the 169th Corps, including that of the 62nd Houston and the 3rd NY, was in 1996 appointed brigadier general and regimental colonel of the latter, having helped the then BGEN Torre to ensure his strong command despite his advanced age. He was together with retired MGEN Johnson, who was part as well of the contingent sent to Australia in 2000 to mark the country's centennial of federation, serving as superior officers in charge of that contingent.

The captain stated that the rest of that contingent will arrive here on this week. Staff Sergeant Adam Jones has been helping the captain in calling out the past mobilization contingents back into Cary and those retired or in reserve returned to active duty, once his fellow personnel of the 2017 contingent are arrived in Cary, he says, he will be slotted into A Company's 5th platoon. Retired personnel of the 2006 and 2009 mobilization platoons, he says, will be informed of mobilization in days while the 2015 and 2013 contingents are expected to be informed as well together with the rest as proposed by the battalion command. On that note the staff sergeant arrived to join them and to watch the training drills alongside Sergeant Major Ronai, battalion CSM, who reports to SGM Rosenblum under brigade headquarters and overall reports under CSM Wallace, who is planning to retire after many years due to his age, with SGM Beeker set to be his successor in the future.

"So how's B Company doing so far while you are still helping them before the rest arrives here?" asked the battalion commander.

The staff sergeant replied that they are already preparing the company barracks and the other facilities for those assigned to the unit before the bulk of the unit's personnel will arrive in time for activation into active duty service in the coming days. When that's all done he will join A Company's headquarters while the rest of his boys will arrive in Cary in days. He is also busy preparing the garrison chapel, PX, press office and other facilities with the civilian employees.

His battalion XO, Major Sogard, also a veteran of the 169th Corps, then asked him on what his experiences in Japan meant for him. He answered, "Although my experiences in Japan have been brief for me it has been a memorable few years there, meeting new people, training so hard with our Japanese allies and my fellow soldiers deployed there, and of course, sharpening my skills as a soldier of this nation."

The Major said to him, "Adam, these boys, the men who you be fighting with soon, are the boys who have trained here in these ground for years for one purpose - serving this country."

At this time, the individual drills have been replaced by squad level drills to orient the company towards small scale ops on their own accord or with allied or friendly forces. The officers and NCOs watching are in awe of the training skills shown by personnel of the company as they prepare for operations coming up for them.

1510H EST

1LT Dexter Fowler of the regiment from St. Louis had just arrived earlier to begin full time duties as XO of B Company when he made the call via his cellphone.

"Colonel Fenster, sir."

The call was from 1LT Michael Cuddyer, a part of brigade staff. 1LT Fowler, a veteran of several 169th Corps regiments, handed the cellphone over to his battalion commander.

He was already calling the brigade command regarding MAJ Jason Maxwell, a fellow veteran of the corps and commander of the 2021 high schools mobilization contingent. Slated to be promoted to lieutenant colonel, his contingent, he says, is being called up for service in the active ranks on his advice, following the meeting the 46th Command did in the Pentagon days ago. They will form the 8th platoon just as planned and by this week all of these young boys - including those OCS graduates via its short course - will be in Cary preparing for what the coming months may bring.

"So, lieutenant," asked LTC Fenster, "are the boys ready to be called up?"

The veteran 1LT, who served in a number of infantry regiments of the 169th Corps, first as a direct entry corporal and later on as a OCS alumnus, said yes and replied "They are to be informed thru phones and email of their deployment to Cary next week." Those who did not and were part of the pre-deployment contingents will be a part of the planned F Company slated to be activated in weeks, he also states. One thing's for sure is it will be ready to serve under Captain Frazier's command.

"When will the major come here to Cary?"

"Tomorrow", replied the lieutenant.

"Has the contingent roster been in the hands of the Major General as well?"

"Yes it is, and a copy is with the 1st Battalion HQ. These young boys are ready, colonel Fenster, to finally apply all that they have learned last year. They are preparing to leave even their college days just for the job that they have been training for."

"So are you sure 8th Platoon will be activated within the month with the rest?"

The lieutenant said yes, stating that they will be ready to join A Company ASAP. In addition, he stated that COL Jones will be in Cary that night to join battalion staff, given his son's preparedness to join the battalion's A Company as planned. He will be joined by MAJ Bracther, a part of the 46th's general staff, who was with him last year and was the superior officer of that contingent.

The 2021 high schools contingent slated to be 8th platoon of Able Coy. of the 78th Brigade's 1st Battalion upon future activation is to be composed of the following:

1LT Cuddyer, Platoon commander

1LT Druw Jones, Platoon second in command

2LT Johnson

2LT Fisher, Platoon adjutant

2LT Mitchell

2LT Austin

2LT Philips

SSGT Wilson, newly assigned as platoon sergeant

SSGT Penny

SGT Murphy

SGT Rodriguez

SGT Jackson Holliday, son of MSGT Matt Holliday, now part of 1st Battalion staff and assistant to 1SGT Gose

CPL Phillips

CPL Jayson Jones

CPL Sanford

CPL Dutkanych

CPL Dickerson

CPL Milbrandt

CPL Young

CPL Moore

SPC Collier

SPC Toman

SPC Biven

SPC Guidry

SPC Green

SPC Bowen

SPC Ritchie Jr.

SPC Romero

PFC Grove

PFC Smith

PFC  Barriera

PFC Santos

PFC Kilen

PFC Kennedy

PFC Fisher

PFC Kling

PFC Hylton

PFC Ferris

PVT Anderson

PVT Bitonti

PVT Jenkins

PVT O'Connor

PVT Disbro

PVT Ford

Like the other platoons of A Company, it will be Bradley equipped and will follow Captain Frazier's lead in performance of its duties in home or overseas operations. The young lads, all of them who did their short training course before home training last year for combat ops abroad, are soon ready to join the ranks of that formation. 1LT Cuddyer confirmed in that call that his boys are to be informed thru their emails or cellphones, or even android phones for their call up to Camp Lasorda to prepare for their mobilization.

"Is that true, colonel?"

As the call ended, LTC Fenster informed Captain Frazier that indeed they are being called. The captain knew Jackson as his father, MSGT Matt, served with him with the 3rd NY in 2017. And there's no timeline yet on when they will arrive in Cary for their activation, said the battalion commander.

Captain Tulowitzki too was stunned by the news that the 2021 high schools contingent will join A Company, and so were those present while most of the company were already doing platoon level operational training for close quarters operations in the cities. In the past days, they have been training for open area operations in the plains and hills while dismounted, in preparation for the arrival of the other companies as well as for mounted drill using the Bradley systems. So he asked his company commander, "Are we ready to welcome these young lads straight out of high school?"

Captain Frazier replied yes, given that they are above the minimum age for enlistment.

"And how about the senior veterans assigned?" asked First Sergeant Gose.

The captain said "I have full confidence in 1LT Michael Cuddyer and the boys under his leadership, as well as Staff Sergeants Penny and Wilson. They will be in good hands and will surely be ready to fight with the rest of the company. And also, when I was assigned to the regiment in Cincinnati as a young second lieutenant, I met up with Druw's father, COL Jones, whenever I met him if he was available. He will be happy to see me again, this time, as the one helping his son be prepared to serve the nation and uphold his oath of service."

Major Sogard then told the men that he is indeed excited to see the young boys finally join the company and also he got a call from SSGT Cole that he's on his way to Cary to join the brigade. In addition he was told that the 4th Platoon, made of personnel from the 2019 college contingent that served with the brigade for mobilization training, will be formed up and its men, per its commander 1LT Bailey who led that unit as the operational commander 3 years ago, are now already en route after being in Raleigh with the 2nd Battalion yesterday, as per his call that morning. He called the brigade command in Cary the previous night stating that he and his boys are all ready to return to Cary to begin their preps for overseas service. In addition, he recieved another call, this time from First Lieutenant Alex Bregman of the 1st Battalion, 62nd Houston, informing him that elements of the 2017 contingent have all been called that morning following the activation announcement and will be in Cary via Raleigh in a day or two to get their training ready. He and the other officers of the platoon together with the NCOs and enlisted will be ready to join the rest of the company.

"First Lieutenant Bregman?" asked a stunned Captain Frazier. "Are you kidding me that he's coming back to Cary?"

"Yes he is coming to the brigade HQ", answered LTC Fenster.

"That Jewish guy from New Mexico. He was a thorn for the 3rd NY and Brigadier General Girardi in '17. Those air assault boys from Houston, boy these are very fast guys. Proficient in rappeling and other things."

"Same for us in the Toronto Rifles that year", said Captain Tulowitzki.

Never did the captain from Toms River in New Jersey become so upset. Having began his military service in 2007 as a direct entry specialist with the 169th Cincinnati and later on became a OCS grad in 2010, in 2011 Todd, by now a second lieutenant, was reassigned to his parent formation after many years in the affilated units of this regiment. Before that, everyone knew him as a young cadet leader who at 12 years old distinguished himself with leadership skills with his fellow cadets of the Middle School Cadet Corps. 6 years on, he moved to the 901st South Chicago, and in summer 2017, got reassigned to New York and the aformentioned 3rd NY, alongside 1LT Robertson. That was when he first met then 2LT Austin, who promoted to 1LT the following year alongside 1LT Aaron Judge. In 2018, he got reassigned to the 62nd New York Metropolitan Light Infantry, two years later, with the 61st Texas, then back in Queens, and later on in Pittsburgh before joining a local militia formation under one of the 46th's corps. That was the situation last year when he recieved his papers to be redeployed to Cary once more, first as a college student, later as part of the 2011 national contingents, and by then as part of the 2021 contingent that ultimately went to Japan.

And of course, Todd's two brothers Jeff and Charlie too served in the 169th Corps, and that motivation for serving the nation was what made him motivated in leading this bunch of men once more, this time, as a company commander with the 1st Battalion of the 78th Brigade, a duty he did in 2019 with the 62nd to suceed retired lieutenant colonel David Wright, his superior the year before.

As they watched the platoons of A Company simulate combat operation scenarios in enemy held cities, they knew that it would be a matter of time before a company wide training drill would be held to apply all that they have trained for.

1526H EST

Meanwhile, the men of the 1st platoon of A Company under 1LT Austin its commander are have finished operational training for urban scenarios, in that time finding for hostile elements in such open-air places like parks and sports stadiums. This is to futher their preparedness for urban combat ops. In these scenarios, they and the 2nd, 3rd and 6th platoons are being shaped to fight in urban open areas against hostile elements and in conjuction with fellow US Army units and those of NATO allies. They did a huge job that morning after the activation ceremony, and will continue training for a variety of ground operations while waiting for the other mobilization companies to be activated. The 5 newbies are already with 1st Platoon, Gavin with 1st squad and the 4 others with the 4th squad.

The first lieutenant hailing from no less than Conyers in Georgia state and part of the 2021 national mobilization contingent that trained in Japan despite the pandemic had been a good leader to the boys and served as one of Captain Frazier's assistance during that summer deployment. The decade before he started out as a direct entry ROTC grad who recieved his 2nd Lieutenant's rank board and an officer's commission with the 3rd NY. It was in Japan as a XO with the local reserve battalion of the JSDF when he got the call to return home to join the national mobilization contingent that year after a lengthy stinct in Milwaukee and San Francisco.

"First Lieutenant Austin", phoned Captain Frazier, "1LT Bailey is now here in Cary with his men. He and the boys of the 2019 collegiate contingent who trained here in Camp Lasorda are ready for their activation."

"Understood sir, the 1st Platoon will be ready to meet them."

The first lieutenant from Greensboro in North Carolina had just arrived with the entire 2019 contingent with, with LTC Kingston from South Carolina representing BGEN McDowell, regimental colonel of the 2nd regiment of ROTC servicemen assigned to Louisville University and who served as the long time battalion commander of their unit affilated with the 46th. The brigadier general served as the commanding officer that year for that contingent from the nation's colleges and universities. With the colonel who returned to Cary alongside MSGT Turgeon from the Pittsburgh regiment and MAJ Barksdale assigned to 46th Command HQ were 1SGT Moore and SFC Skole.

The company ended their drills and began to march as a unit to meet the new additions that would expand the ranks. As the company's 4th platoon Bailey's men would be a big help to Captain Frazier and the rest of the company, as well as to the entire 1st Battalion.

@joeybosa-aaronjudge @lightninging @homerofthebraves @dilangleywritesfanfic @auroralightsthesky @alek @ilovetheyankees @darkorderaf @highwaytothedangerzone502 @zackcollins @lukeexplorer

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[fromthe-point]

Today's Schedule | Friday, May 27, 2022

NHL

Colorado Avalanche @ St. Louis Blues - 8 p.m. ET | TNT, CBC, TVAS, SN

AHL

Chicago Wolves @ Milwaukee Admirals - 7 p.m. CT | AHLtv

Stockton Heat @ Colorado Eagles - 7:05 p.m. MT | AHLtv

ECHL

Newfoundland Growlers @ Florida Everblades - 7:30 p.m. ET | FloHockey

Toledo Walleye @ Utah Grizzlies - 9:10 p.m. ET | FloHockey

OHL

Hamilton Bulldogs @ North Bay Battalion - 7 p.m. ET | CHL TV

Windsor Spitfires @ Flint Firebirds - 7 p.m. ET | CHL TV

WHL

Winnipeg ICE @ Edmonton Oil Kings - 7 p.m. MT | CHL TV

Seattle Thunderbirds @ Kamloops Blazers - 7 p.m. PT | CHL TV

#hockey #nhl #ahl #echl #chl #ohl #whl #schedule #t:info #220527

[mariacallous]

NWAARE, Ghana—In July 2023, an audio message, calling for attacks on the Ghanaian government in response to the forced repatriation of ethnic Fulani asylum-seekers, spread via WhatsApp in northern Ghana.

“The Ghanaian government has begun to forcefully arrest and deport Fulani refugees to Burkina Faso … to destroy and exterminate the Fulani population in Ghana … I’m appealing to [Muslims] located along Ghana-Burkina Faso border to hurry to intervene,” said the message, which was heard by thousands of people. “Please do well to retaliate the blood spilt by the Ghanaian government,” it concluded.

The message was recorded and distributed by a media wing of Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), a West African jihadi insurgent group affiliated with al Qaeda.

Between JNIM and affiliates of the Islamic State, insurgents today control almost half of Burkina Faso, parts of central and northern Mali, and territory along Niger’s borders with the two countries. Over the past two years, they have slowly expanded their campaign south into the northern parts of West Africa’s coastal states. Despite a handful of messages attempting to incite attacks against the Ghanaian government, of the four coastal states bordering Burkina Faso, Ghana is the only one that reports that it has not suffered an attack by insurgents.

In interviews, representatives of the Ghanaian government chalk this up to their firm response and the country’s inherent resiliency. However, despite Accra’s confident messaging, evidence gathered across Ghana’s northern regions suggests that insurgents are already operating there. At this point, it appears that insurgents see their access to the country as a safe haven and smuggling route as too useful to destabilize with direct attacks.

However, if the militants’ calculus were to change, they would find many of the same vulnerabilities in Ghana that they have exploited in other countries.

Officials in air-conditioned offices in Ghana’s capital, Accra, projected confidence as they insisted that their government’s robust response has kept the insurgents at bay. Ghana’s decision to spearhead the Accra Initiative, a regional association intended to prevent the spillover of terrorism from the Sahel toward coastal countries, is one of many examples, said Daniel Osei Bonsu, the deputy director of Ghana’s National Counter Terrorism Center.

Since being established by Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Benin in 2017, a handful of joint operations along border regions and meetings of intelligence chiefs have been coordinated through the initiative, which is funded in part by the European Union. At a summit in November 2022, leaders announced the creation of a multinational joint task force that will be comprised of 10,000 soldiers and headquartered in Tamale, a city in northern Ghana.

Meanwhile, the Ghanaian government has reinforced the military’s presence across the north. In 2020, Accra released the funds to construct and upgrade 15 forward operating bases close to the borders of Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Togo. Three new brigades and two battalions were created and deployed to the Upper East and Upper West regions. The military has acquired new vehicles and communications equipment from the United Kingdom and Israel. And the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, recently promised “aerial surveillance, electronic warfare [systems] and river crafts” as a part of a 20 million euro ($21.5 million) aid package to the military.

In 2022, the government launched a “see something, say something” campaign to urge citizens to report suspicious behavior. While officials say the program is a success, Ghanaian journalists have reported officials bemoaning the number of people calling with no other reason than to beg for cell phone credit.

Members of the National Counter Terrorism Center insisted that Ghana’s relatively high level of development compared to some of its neighbors and its culture of democracy protect the country from the same fate that has befallen Mali and Burkina Faso. They pointed out that the country is economically far better off than its Sahelian neighbors, with a GDP per capita more than twice that of Mali and Burkina Faso.

As coups spread across the region, insecurity is growing—and international military involvement could make it worse.

Furthermore, they added, unlike Sahelian countries where most people are Muslim, Ghana is split roughly in half between Christians and Muslims, and thus calls to radicalism have fewer potential followers. Referring to the insurgents’ strategy in the Sahel, they insisted that aggrieved Ghanaians would never be lulled by jihadis promising a more just order because “people know they can receive justice through the country’s institutions,” as Bonsu said. “There might be sentiments in the north,” he continued, “but there are no grievances.”

However, while officials insist that the government is mounting a robust response, there is significant evidence that it has failed to stop insurgents from entering Ghanaian territory.

Communities across Ghana’s 374-mile border with Burkina Faso have long used small footpaths and dilapidated dirt roads to smuggle fuel, fertilizer, and other basic goods far from Accra’s watchful eye. Over the past few years, insurgents have used these informal networks to acquire resources for their campaign in Burkina Faso. Dynamite manufactured in Ghana has been found at militant camps in Burkina Faso.

Sources in Ghana’s Upper East region—who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons—indicated that insurgents have paid Ghanaians to smuggle fuel and personnel across the border on motorcycles. Last September, Burkinabe security forces raided an insurgent camp close to the border and found Ghanaian voter registration cards along with receipts from a Ghanaian shop for bicycles, likely used for the smuggling of goods across the bush paths as motorcycles have become too conspicuous.

Beyond using the Ghanaian border to meet their immediate material needs, there is concern that militants are also involved in trafficking illicit goods to boost their coffers. Analysts have raised the alarm about the presence of insurgents at artisanal gold mines in the Upper West region as well as involvement in the opiate trade. And Maxwell Suuk, a Ghanaian journalist, recently reported that cattle stolen by jihadis were being sold in Ghana’s lucrative livestock markets.

Furthermore, as fighting in Burkina Faso has approached Ghanaian territory, there have been reports of militants retreating tactically across the border and using Ghanaian soil as a temporary safe haven. Late last year in Garinga, a Burkinabe border community, civilian auxiliaries to the Burkinabe military complained that the absence of Ghanaian troops nearby meant jihadis sometimes escaped across the border.

In the nearby Ghanaian village of Nwaare, a community leader confirmed that locals had seen mysterious men who pushed their motorcycles around the edge of town and spent the night in nearby shrubs. Local assemblymen and village chiefs from half a dozen nearby communities reported similar sightings.

Beyond the immediate border, insurgents from Burkina Faso have used Ghana for recuperation. Sources in Tamale who asked to remain anonymous for their safety revealed that they personally knew at least two young Ghanaian men who spent around four months in 2022 resting and receiving medical care at a local hospital before returning to Burkina Faso.

Ghana is not a hotbed of recruitment, but there have been some notable cases. In 2017, Burkinabe preachers visited the dusty town of Karaga and urged young men to join the fight in the Sahel; around a dozen people heeded the call. In 2021, one of these recruits—with the nom de guerre Abu Dujana—recorded a video urging Ghanaians from the Fulani ethnic group to join the jihad. The man later committed a suicide attack against French forces in northern Mali.

While the insurgents operate in Ghana, reports suggest that they explicitly avoid targeting Ghanaian citizens who travel through the territory that they control. There have been multiple reports of people with Ghanaian identification cards being spared at JNIM roadblocks in Burkina Faso. A Ghanaian man who had been detained by insurgents told one of the authors that his captors released him once he was able to prove his nationality.

Ultimately, the insurgents derive significant benefits from using Ghana as a place to rest and restock. “If the insurgents attack Ghana, it would become much harder for them to use Ghana as a safe haven,” said Clement Aapengnuo, a peace and security activist: “At this point, Ghana is more useful stable.”

But the strategy of insurgent groups could change.

Ghana suffers many of the same vulnerabilities that militants have preyed upon in other countries. Similarly to other coastal states in West Africa, northern Ghana is comparatively less developed than the south—a trend with roots in the nation’s colonial history, as a recent analysis by Ghanaian Ph.D. candidate Iddrisu Mohammed Kambala showed. Banditry—ambushes of container trucks, kidnapping of wealthy individuals, and even attacks on businesses in towns—has long been a problem. Beyond relative deprivation and a degree of lawlessness, there are social cleavages and disputes over chieftaincy that could be manipulated by savvy recruiters.

Growing anti-Fulani sentiment across Ghanaian society is also concerning. In the Sahel, some insurgent groups initially attracted recruits from marginalized segments of Fulani communities, which led to stigmatization and widespread abuses against Fulani, which in turn facilitated further recruitment. In Ghana, where Fulani make up around 1 percent of the population, they are often derided as foreigners, scapegoated for crimes, and victimized in mob violence—and high-level officials still repeat dangerous tropes about Fulani being rootless nomads prone to criminality.

These attitudes have resulted in the kind of discrimination that feeds insurgent propaganda. In mid-July 2023, Ghanaian security services forcibly repatriated at least 250 Burkinabe Fulani asylum-seekers who had fled to Ghana. The government claims that these were targeted operations based on security threats, but multiple communities describe mass arrests targeting Fulani—including Ghanaian citizens.

There also appear to be worrying lapses in the Ghanaian government’s response to the escalating conflict in Burkina Faso and Togo. Ghanaian troops were deployed in border regions in 2021, but it was not until a JNIM attack that struck two miles from the border in early 2023 that the soldiers began to patrol with any regularity. A local military source who requested anonymity revealed that the infrequency of patrols was related to a lack of fuel. Residents of border communities still complain that they only see security forces on weekly market days, when they harass rural residents traveling into towns.

Despite the fanfare around the Accra Initiative, information-sharing between Ghanaian forces and their counterparts in neighboring countries is sparse. A Burkinabe commander in the border town of Bittou complained that his conversations with Ghanaian security personnel were infrequent compared to talks with Togolese commanders, and that he instead relied on trusted Ghanaian citizens to pass important messages to Ghanaian soldiers. Beninese Col. Faïzou Gomina confirmed that bilateral channels have thus far been far more useful for coordination than going through Accra. Meanwhile, the multinational joint task force has barely broken ground on its Tamale headquarters.

Informal conversations with police, immigration officers, and other security services reveal a profound ignorance of the severity of the situation in Burkina Faso and Togo. The military purposefully deploys soldiers from southern Ghana; as a result, personnel lack local context and often do not speak the languages of the places they are deployed. When visiting the hamlet of Zakoli, where eight Fulani were killed in mob violence in April 2022, nearby soldiers asked one of the authors to translate for them so they could speak to the survivors that they were guarding.

Furthermore, there have been a number of incidents in which Ghanaian soldiers reportedly used excessive force against citizens, further alienating themselves from the population they are meant to serve. In October, personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces stormed the town of Garu in Upper East, allegedly brutalizing around a dozen men in retaliation for an attack on national security operatives by local vigilantes. In June 2022, police responded to students protesting in Kumasi with pepper spray and live bullets.

While the situation across coastal West Africa is precarious, Ghana is better positioned than its neighbors to confront it. Accra still has time to increase investments in infrastructure, health, and education in the north. Changing the narrative around Fulani and other minorities is also critical. Abuses by security services must be investigated, and perpetrators held accountable.

Ghana can learn from its neighbors and eschew the overly militaristic, Western-led “counterterrorism” approach that enflamed the crisis in the Sahel. It is not too late for Ghana to harness its institutions, resources, and personnel to deal with the threat at its doorstep.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.2 (before 1960)

1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter. 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft. 1559 – John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation. 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Lochleven Castle. 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker. 1625 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa. 1670 – King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America. 1808 – Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting The Second of May 1808. 1812 – The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory. 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia. 1863 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later. 1866 – Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao. 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria. 1885 – Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion. 1889 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea. 1906 – Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece. 1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis. 1933 – Germany's independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front. 1941 – World War II: Following the coup d'état against Iraq Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power. 1945 – World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin. 1945 – World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting. 1945 – World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1,000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death. 1945 – World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners. 1952 – A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.

#Events