By Michael Webster: Investigative Reporter Aug 1, 2008 12:30 PM PDT

The Mexican and U.S. Governments are in denial. The dictionary definition of civil war indicates that a civil war is a military conflict which arises from a desire for usually radical change in society as a result of either cultural, social, religious, political or economic disputes due to diametrically opposed and uncompromising ideas about the leadership, administration and management of the population and territory it occupies, and which it resolved through use of weapons. This would seem to describe the current situation in Mexico today as the Mexican government wages war against the powerful Mexican drug cartels.

Just since the beginning of this year more than 4,000 people have been murdered in Mexico in what authorities blame on the Mexican cartels and their criminal gangs and Para-military forces. 

An 11-year-old American citizen from El Paso was killed recently during a highway robbery on the Durango-Mazatlan road in Mexico. The boy, Rico Armando Bañuelas, was on a family trip to Mazatlan when robbers tried to stop the Volkswagen Jetta he was riding in near a section of mountain road known as “El Espinazo del Diablo,” (the devil’s spine), El Siglo De Durango newspaper reported.

The robbers opened fire, killing Rico, when the Jetta sped past a roadblock the bandits had set up and used to rob bus passengers and another vehicle. Rey del Valle, and Rico’s mother, Norma Patricia Chairez, were wounded.

“U.S. citizens should be aware of the risk posed by the deteriorating security situation, in Mexico and along the border” said a statement issued in Mexico City and Washington. “Violent criminal activity, including murder and kidnapping, in Mexico has increased.”

New cases of disappearances and kidnap-for-ransom continue to be reported. No one can be considered immune from kidnapping on the basis of occupation, nationality, or other factors. Criminals have been known to follow and harass U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles, particularly in border areas including Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Reynosa, Juarez, Mexicali, Tijuana and most all border towns. 

23 year old American Kyle Mostello Belanger has been reported missing since last May and believed to have been kidnapped and is being held against his will for ransom in Juarez Mexico. The information has been forwarded to the Mexican Government and to the FBI and other U.S. agencies with no apparent follow-up investigations much less locating arresting and punishing his perpetrators.

U.S. law enforcement authorities helped facilitate a $32,000 ransom payment in Mexico for a relative of a U.S. congressman who was kidnapped by gunmen in Ciudad Juarez, a border city across from El Paso Texas.

The kidnapping took place in Mexico not on U.S. soil but in a feign country. The victim was not even an American citizen but a Mexican national.

Until a prominent US citizen is abducted, the problem will not receive much attention in the media or from the Public.

Jake Mendoza of El Paso, called the Journal and asked “How is it that a kidnapping in a feign country of a feign national gets investigated and resolved by American law enforcement while other not so connected Americans who are currently being held for ransom some who are believed to have been kidnapped from American soil, and taken to a feign country and held for ransom. While still other Americans have been executed, murdered, wounded and held for ransom in Mexico with no apparent U.S. Law enforcement investigation or follow-up? How can that be?”

According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asked for an investigation into Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) recent efforts in procuring the release of a Mexican woman kidnapped in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The family raised the money, according to the memo. On June 21, two men on a motorcycle collected the ransom money at a Juarez street corner but sped off and eluded investigators who had staked out the drop site.

Mrs. Posselt was released several hours later, and Mexican authorities quickly transferred her to their American counterparts, who rushed her to the United States for “security reasons,” according to the ICE memo.

No arrests have been made

La Mesa California woman Libby Gianna Craig was among four people found shot to death in a canyon near Rosarito Beach in Baja California.The 28-year-old was in an area known as Morro Canyon along with three Afro-American males, Mexican police identified as “Black Americans”. Early reports also said more bodies were found in a separate location at different points of Playas de Rosarito, reported some Mexican papers.  

All the shootings were apparently deliberate, targeted, not just random bystanders caught up in the wave of violence that has engulfed U.S. Mexican border cities, Mexican authorities said.

Also recently four Americans were shot and wounded as they were leaving the Arriba Chihuahua nightclub in the ProNaF tourist zone in the violent Mexican border city of Juárez.

The Mexican government has described much of the violence as revenge for President Felipe Calderón’s year-old crackdown on organized crime that sent thousands of soldiers and federal police into violence-plagued Mexican cities and all Mexican cities bordering the United States.

The Mexican President Calderon, as while as other officials have pledged to break the country’s powerful drug cartels, which earn billions of dollars a year by supplying U.S. users. 

The State Department said police forces in Mexican border communities “suffer from lack of funds and training, and the judicial system is weak, overworked and inefficient.”

“I worry that the inability of local law enforcement to come to grips with rising drug warfare, kidnappings and random street violence will have a chilling effect on the cross-border exchange, tourism and commerce so vital to the region’s prosperity,” Traffickers are armed with AK-47 assault rifles, grenade launchers and bazookas. They’re carrying other weapons, wearing vests and using police jargon. Within a minute or two, someone is shoving a hood over the victim’s head and dragging him into a vehicle. His car is left on the side of the road – often outgunning and intimidating border police, sheriff depts., and Mexican security forces.

An alarming number of Americans are vanishing in Mexico where there has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of U.S. citizens who have recently been reported missing or kidnapped along the border with Mexico, reports the Washington Post. Many who have vanished from U.S. cities are still missing and it is feared they will turn up in the mass graves that have been discovered lately in Mexico.  The U.S. Government is aiding Mexico under the provisions of the Merida Initiative, a multiyear $1.4 billion anti-narcotics package approved by Congress. As reported earlier this year in the Laguna/El Paso Journal many Americans are wondering when the Bush administration is going to raise the travel alert to its highest level “travel warning,” to forewarn American travelers to Mexico? How many American citizens are going to have to be shot, executed or kidnapped before the American government move to prevent needless deaths and issue the proper high alert of “travel warning,” for Americans

Drug wars in Mexico have claimed the lives of a dozen or more journalists. 

Last year the Houston Chronicle reported that “Statistics vary among watchdog groups, but they agree that Mexico has surpassed Colombia, a country plagued by decades of guerrilla and drug violence, in the number of journalists killed each year. Seven Mexican journalists were slain last year, according to a count by the Miami-based Inter American Press Association. The Paris-based Reporters without Borders tallied nine killings, and the Federation of Mexican Journalist Associations reported 12. 

According to the Chronicle, “Many Mexican reporters, particularly in the embattled border states, have stopped writing about organized crime, and, as the drug war spreads south, journalists across the country are becoming targets. On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, the decapitated body of a local drug dealer turned up outside a newspaper in the eastern port city of Veracruz. According to local press reports, the killers left this warning: ‘For Milo, you’ll all pay. You know it, and more heads of damned reporters are going to roll.’ The threat was presumed to be directed at Milo Vera, a local columnist. ‘There’s total impunity,’ said Jose Antonio Calcanio, president of the Federation of Mexican Journalists Associations, which represents 137 journalist groups nationwide. ‘The government has no interest in resolving any of these cases,’ Calcanio said. ‘It’s only when there’s a prominent case like Amado Ramirez that they pretend to act, but then they forget, and nothing happens.’ Two suspects were arrested in the days after the radio host’s murder, but both were released on bail. Many of Ramirez’s colleagues suspect the men were scapegoats.”

Dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped, or held hostage, or killed by their captors in Mexico and many cases remain unsolved. Moreover, new cases of disappearances and kidnap-for-ransom continue to be reported.

From Brownsville Texas to San Diego California and as far north as Dallas Texas Americans are being kidnapped and killed. All of this is escalating narcotics-related violence across northern Mexico; the State Department has alerted Americans of the dangers of crossing the border. But there are no alerts of Americans being kidnapped right here on U.S. soil and being taken and held for ransom or even killed.  

Mexican cartels through there enforcers of Mexican and American gangs order smaller American gangs to kidnap and in some cases murder Americans.

Mexican cartel Los Zetas paramilitary surrogates attacked and slaughtered an American in Phoenix Ariz. Police say the attackers were dressed in black military like combat uniforms very similar to known Mexican cartel paramilitary gangs.

Phoenix papers report that 6 Mexicans killed a Phoenix man who was found dead by police in a local neighborhood home riddled with more than 100 bullets. Of the few that the FBI reported as known kidnappings there were 30 U.S. citizens that have been kidnapped or disappeared, nine were later released, two found dead and 13 still missing.

The FBI now refuses to estimate the numbers of Americans being kidnapped or murdered in Mexico. These earlier reports were out dated and officials believe the real numbers are much greater. All 30 were Americans just from the San Diego area alone. How many other U.S. citizens are there? No one seems to know for sure. But there are others more from border cities like El Paso.

“The U.S. government would like to think that drug violence is just a problem south of the Rio Grande. It isn’t,” said Raymundo Ramos, a human rights advocate in Nuevo Laredo.

It’s believed now that there are many more Americans missing many others from Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Reynosa, Juarez, Mexicali, Tijuana and other border cities. When asked, the FBI said they have no other numbers other then those 30 reported. However my source says El Paso FBI agent Josie Figaro was notified of at least one episode. And it is believe there are others.

Law enforcement officials said some of the vanishings may be owing to a war among Mexican drug cartels vying for control of the smuggling routes and ports of entry which are the gateway for millions of dollars’ worth of illicit drugs that are smuggled north by truck, car, boats and trains and mixed in with cargoes of legitimate goods.

U.S. officials say, “We’re seeing outright lawlessness along the U.S. Mexican border. Things are just getting out of hand.”

Historically, drug-related violence was generally confined to the Mexican side of the border, news reports disclosed. However that pattern is changing, advised officials.

In spite of the dangers Mexico continues to attract U.S. citizens who want to visit relatives or buy cheaper medicines, have cut rate dental work done or prescription eyewear or just be a tourist. It is also a draw for young people, who migrate there on weekends to party late and enjoy the lower drinking age of 18.

Mexico has sent federal police officers and Mexican army personal to patrol the streets of most of their cities bordering the U.S. The officers were dispatched at the request of local authorities who said crime had spun out of control.

“U.S. citizens should be aware of the risk posed by the deteriorating security situation,” the State Department advisory has said, though it stopped short of urging Americans to avoid Mexico. Downtown El Paso businessman Jamie Rodriguez said “if the same circumstance that now exist in Mexico existed in any other country the U.S. State Dept would advise Americans to not even go there.”

The close relationship between the two governments and indeed both presidents may contribute to that lenience shown Mexico by the U.S. Government.  

In Mexico another dangerous crime against tourist is you can be kidnapped in what is more like a shakedown or robbery than a classic ransom situation. As what is believed happened to 11-year-old American Rico Armando Ba̱uelas. An FBI official said this apparent burgeoning of a cottage industry of kidnapping for ransom Рsome of those returned alive had been held captive for days or even months, after their abductors demanded payments as high as $100,000.

American tourists have reported to the Mexican police that while driving along main and rural roads at dusk or after dark. Road blocks are set up. This can be as sophisticated as a movable plank with spikes or as low-tech as glass or sharp rocks. When their motor home or car is disabled, a group of armed banditos approached them with guns drawn. Often, a truck or van parked on the side of the road starts up and slowly approaches the scene. The men often dressed as Mexican police begin to take their possessions and rummage through their belongings. Then in many cases it is reported they take all the victims cash. Victims report hoods are placed over their heads they are loaded into trucks or SUV’s and driven to another location. You might be asked again for more money. In more cases then not Mexican police report the woman are raped and the victim tourists are abandoned far from their vehicle.

There have been reported some high-profile cases where the victims, including two American college women, who were slain after they were robbed.

Sophisticated Mexican groups plot abductions Organized, well-financed and violent Mexican kidnapping cells are targeting a growing number of U.S. citizens visiting Mexico.

While the FBI wouldn’t say what the ransom demands are, or how often they’re paid, agents said money is driving the increase.

Some of the kidnappings go unreported because people fear retribution, said Eric Drickersen, who supervises the FBI’s border liaison office.  

Even the U.S. Military has been band from entering Mexico because of the increasing violence. U.S. Military officials say they’ve discontinued issuing passes to soldiers who want to travel across the border to Mexico. “If it’s not safe for U.S. Soldiers, than it is unsafe for other Americans”. Said, John Lutes who was born in the border city of El Paso Texas and served in the military.

Mexican Drug cartels are ordering decapitations blind foldings and hooding victims before they shoot them. The Cartels are sending a chilling message to the Mexican President Felipe Calderon Administration by adopting methods of intimidation made notorious by Middle Eastern terrorist groups. Google or click on: New Terrorist Bases South Of the Border

Dozens of people have been decapitated in Mexico so far this year, with heads stuck on fence posts, found in trash bags and heads being tossed onto a nightclub dance floor for all to see. Report on Mexican Violence

An unknown– but significant– number of executions continues to occur in the states of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas as well as: Chihuahua, Baja California Norte, Tabasco, Guerrero, Michoacan, Veracruz, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Chiapas and Coahuila.

All Mexico States are experiencing numerous law enforcement deaths, as well as multiple kidnappings occurring regularly.

Kidnappings as warnings to government and other enemies were recorded with specific MESSAGES attached.

Evaluated methods and types of Violence to murder victims were: Physical beating, torture, release on street, or body dumped on street or lot torture involving beating, tooth removal, appendage removal, death by torture, strangulation, single shot to head and/or multiple shots to head and body.

Other tactics were same as above with head and/or face fully or partially wrapped with duct tape or other head wrappings or blind folds. Bodies often disposed of by the alternate “Pozole” method.

Many were beheaded with or without written messages on bodies or in vehicles.

Many Mexican law enforcement officers have joined the cartels for money or in some cases they themselves if they did not cooperate with the cartels they would become victims of that horror.

Warning before reviewing document many will find the text offensive and the photo’s gruesome: para_bsmc_2.pdf   

Google:  Young girl raped and beheaded in Florida by Mexican traffickers

Everyone remembers military recruiters sitting behind a booth in their high school cafeteria, but few remember the sailors or soldiers talking about their military careers in the classrooms. That’s the inspiration behind a new Navy program started by Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert. His instructions were simple: he asked the Sailors working for him to take on an additional mission as they traveled around the world — tell their Navy stories to young Americans.Greenert’s goal, then and now, is for young Americans to gain a greater understanding of what it means to serve in the military and the opportunities a life in uniform can provide by hearing the stories of active-duty Sailors.The philosophy behind the program is that many American school children simply have never heard what it is that sailors do, and what a naval career entails. It’s hoped that by hearing from successful, well-trained sailors that high schools students will think of the Navy, not just as a temporary adventure, but as a viable career.  ”This is one of the ways we in the Navy can compete with Fortune 500 companies for the best talent in the nation,” said Lt. Cmdr. Henry Gourdine. “By having deckplate leaders visit schools and tell students honestly about their own experiences in the Navy, they can see someone who is just a few years removed from where they sit and know that they can achieve the same goals.”Lt. Cmdr. Kelly Fletcher believes academics are the foundation for whatever career students choose in life.”The Navy provided me with the opportunity for education, and I tell them about the many opportunities I have had in the Navy,” Fletcher said. “These students are smart; they ask very pointed questions, and they are interested in preparing now for the future.”And one of the prime ways that men and women can meet their academic goals while serving in the Navy is by taking advantage of the benefit known as Navy Tuition Assistance, or TA, as it is commonly known across the service branches.

Navy TA provides sailors with $4,500 a year in funds that they can use for career training. The money renews each year and sailors can use it at accredited vocational training schools, community colleges or universities.

This is especially important for people who are looking to make the navy a career and eventually reach the Sr. Chief Petty officer rank in the Navy. Starting in 20ll, all E-8 sailors must have an associate degree at the minimum. Sailors who wish to reach the rank of E-8 should consider using their TA funds to earn their associate degree

In terms of earning a bachelor’s degree, many service members consider majoring in criminal justice. A criminal justice degree is a great fit for military personnel because service members may have already experienced the kind of training that police officers are required to have.

Even if a Sailor chooses to spend 20 years in the Navy, a degree in criminal justice will open up the possibility of a law enforcement career when they return to civilian life.

Today’s Secret Service serves two missions, protection as well as criminal investigations. While the Secret Service is seen mostly today as the agency that protects the President, it was originally established to investigate counterfeiting of US currency. It was only after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 that the Secret Service made protecting the president, among others, its business.

Being a Secret Service Agent requires the ability to carry out both these missions, as an Agent an assignment can take someone any where in the world.

The Secret Service has grown over the years to fulfill many duties. Special Agents take part in investigative missions and protective missions; other agents form the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service. There are many career paths available.

Criminal Investigations

In 1865 the Secret Service was formed as a law enforcement agency and its mandate was to investigate the proliferation of counterfeiting US currency. Through criminal investigations the Secret Service protects the financial systems of the US.

Preventing counterfeiting of US currency plays a big role in achieving this mission. Today, the responsibilities have grown to include computer and telecommunications fraud, false identification of documents, and electronic funds transfers and money laundering to name a few. To stay on top of these crimes, the Secret Service takes a proactive approach to its investigations using advanced technologies. Many of the techniques and technology used are exclusive to them.

The 1994 Crime Bill brought the forensic and technical expertise of the Secret Service into matters involving missing and exploited children. The PROTECT Act of 2003 gave the Secret Service full authorization in this field.

Who the Secret Service Protects

The Secret Service protects the President, the Vice President, and the President-elect and Vice President-elect and the immediate families of the above individuals and other individuals next in order of succession to the Office of the President if the case should arise. Heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them and other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States are protected as are official representatives of the United States on special assignments overseas are also protected. An Executive Order of the President can grant protection of the Secret Service to other individuals. They also protect National Special Security events, if designated by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

What does the Uniformed Division do?

The Uniformed Division was established to be the White House Police Force. There are currently more than 1,300 officers in the Uniformed Division. As part of the Uniformed Division, officers are responsible for security at the White House Complex including the Department of the Treasury, the vice president’s residence and foreign diplomatic missions in the Washington, DC area.

The Uniformed Division also provides additional support to the Secret Service’s protective mission through a number of units. These include the Countersniper Support Unit (CS), the Canine Explosives Detection Unit (K-9), the Emergency Response Team (ERT) and the Magnetometers Support Unit, a specialized unit in preventing armed persons in Secret Service protected areas.

In the Secret Service it takes more than just physical protection to safeguard a protectee. In order to prevent an incident before it happens, an agent must do advance work and perform threat assessments on any planned area of travel. The Intelligence Division has spent many years identifying these potential dangers.

To become an agent one must have a bachelor’s degree. A Degree in Intelligence Management, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies, or Management of Personal Protection would not only give one the knowledge used in the Secret Service but anywhere in the strategic security industry.

Well, this was a pretty quiet Veterans Day.  I didn’t go anywhere or celebrate in any particular way, but it sounds like an excuse to put up an article consisting of about twenty quiz questions involving Veterans Day and or military and war trivia questions and the like. 

I find military trivia quite interesting. I guess it’s a guy thing, war, army, fighter planes, tanks, bombs, and things of that nature are tied in somehow with testosterone.  I enjoy history too, and what else is trivia but historical facts!

I am a veteran of the Vietnam War myself by the way.  Thank you to all the rest of you fellow Veterans and you guys on active duty too. Those of you overseas, come home safe please.

You can copy and paste these military, wars, and battles trivia questions into your word processor, delete the answers, and print out the questions in your preferred format and presto… you’ve got a nice icebreaker for a party or other get together.

Ok, without further ado here is my Veterans Day Trivia Quiz!

1. How long did the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 last? A: Six days.

2. Where was the Bay of Pigs whose invasion sparked a world crisis in the 60s? A: Cuba.

3. Which major weapon of war was used for the first time in 1916? A: Tank.

4. What Operation was the codename for the D Day landings? A: Overlord

5. What marked the first time since the Revolution that the U.S. accepted direct financial aid to fight a war? A:   The Persian Gulf War.

6. What Civil War general graduated first in the West Point class of 1829? A:  Robert E. Lee

7. What opportunistic country declared war on Japan five days before its surrender in 1945? A: The Soviet Union.

8. What so called “war” spawned the dueling slogans “Better Dead Than Red” and “Better Red Than Dead” in the 1950s? A: The Cold War.

9. How were the height and width of modern American battleships originally determined? A: The ships had to be able to go beneath the Brooklyn Bridge and through the Panama Canal.

10. What was the name of the Japanese destroyer that sank PT-109, commanded by Lt. John F. Kennedy, on August 2, 1943? A: Amigiri.

11. How many times did the nuclear submarine USS Triton surface during its historic 1960 underwater circumnavigation of the globe? A: Twice–once to remove a sick crew member, and once to pay tribute to  Ferdinand Magellan on the island of Mactan in the Philippines, where the explorer was killed in 1521 during his circumnavigation of the globe.

12. What great military leader was an accomplished yo-yo player? A: Napoleon’s nemesis, the Duke of Wellington. At the time, the yo-yo was known as a bandalore.

13. Who was the youngest U.S. Army officer ever to be promoted to general? A: George Custer, a graduate of West Point, who became a general at age 23–14 years before his infamous battle of Little Big Horn.

14. What was the inspiration for the name Rough Riders–the name of the elite fighting unit Theodore Roosevelt organized for the Spanish-American War? A: The Rough Riders Hotel in Medora, North Dakota, where Roosevelt had tried ranching.

15. What American actor was given the British Distinguished Service Cross for commanding a flotilla of raiding craft for Admiral Louis Mountbatten’s commandos during World War II? A: Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

16. Who was the first American congressman to don a uniform following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? A: President-to-be Lyndon Johnson, who served in the Navy

17. What actor has attained the highest U.S. military rank in history for an entertainer? A: James Stewart, who rose to the rank of a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

18. You may remember the Alamo, but do you now what the word means in Spanish? A: Cottonwood.

19. Why did U.S. secret agents abandon plans–approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt–to drop live bats from airplanes to frighten the Japanese during World War II? A: The bats froze at high altitudes, before they could be released.

20. What American military leader said, “Lafayette we are here,” and on what occasion? A: Gen. Black Jack Pershing, arriving in France in 1917 after the U.S. entered WWI.

Insignias and patches serve a common purpose and that is for identification. The use of different insignias and patches lets the other soldiers identify their own men or the other men from other forces. The military corps has their own insignia that is different from the ones used by the marines, navy, and air force. These identifiers also tell the ranks, positions, and special group affiliations of the officers and all the servicemen. Insignias are part of all the military tactical gears and are usually included as parts of their jackets and other outer wear.The insignias and patches from different tactical or armed forces are now considered as collectors’ items. The unique and several choices of designs of military insignias, patches, and decals make them worth collecting. Almost every country from around the world has at least three groups of their armed forces that use different patches for identification. If you count the number of countries with complete state armed forces you will surely get thousands of different patches and insignia designs that they used for identification when donning their full battle tactical gear especially the camo gears where they use face masks or paints.Before, collectors can only have the opportunity to collect insignias, patches, medals, and other worth keeping military items if they have a friend or relatives in the service or if he himself is a soldier. Now even ordinary people can start the same collection. No need to befriend a soldier nor enroll in a military academy. These items can be bought in the military supplies and surplus stores at reasonable prices. Remember these military shops are selling these items not in collectors’ prices as in hobby shops or antique shops.This collection when started will surely become an endless collection for the military are changing the designs of their tactical gears and uniforms from time to time. Meaning more and more insignia and patches designs will be available for collectors.

The cost of Ghillie Suit varies. Ghillie Suits, like many other products – like cars, you can purchase a very expensive luxury car or a cheap one. Like cars, quality, size, features and design all matter in the make up of the price of a Ghillie Suit.

Ghillie Suits can cost as little as $13.00 and can be as expensive as $180.00. The huge price difference comes with a strong “Buyer Be Ware”, because you get what you pay for. In actuality, you can find Ghillie Suits for as little as less than $10.00.

Because of their needs, many military personnel and hunters just create their own Ghillie Suits, constructed from natural foliage or synthetic leaves and twigs. The cost of a complete three or four piece Ghillie Suit could cost for as little as $60.00 – these suits priced at this price point are usually made from polyester netting and burlap.

Are you wondering what the expensive Ghillie Suits or otherwise the “good stuff” are made of? Well it depends on the activity, for example, from suits are specially made for Bow Hunters, like the Bow Hunter Ghillie Suit from GhillieGear.com. The expensive Ghillie Suits are made from premium ultra-lightweight synthetic material – weighing only 3 – 7 pounds – which is a four piece Ghillie Suit that is accompanied with a rifle wrap.

The main reason to why some Ghillie Suits are priced around the $180.00 dollar price point is because they look more real. You are paying more, because they simply will work better. Others are made by simply combining foliage together imitating moss, desert plain, snow or forestland. While others are sewn onto military BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) uniforms, that allows the user to stay cooler and will allow them to hear easier.

While others cost less, because the cost of making the Ghillie Suit fire retardant has not been implemented into price and is an extra charge, or other Ghillie Suits are resistant to water, allergens and mildew.

Lastly, Ghillie Suits that are re-washable, and made from special synthetic material which allows users to easily wash and dry the base suit and all attachments, will cost more. Non re-washable Ghillie Suits fall apart or become too “fluffy” to be useful when machine-washed cost less for this reason. Nonetheless, the best complete full Ghillie Suit will most likely cost only around the $100.00 price point.

For more information, and great Ghillie Suit Tips, Ghillie Suit Reviews visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.ghilliegear.com, and our blog at www.blog.ghilliegear.com

A range of footwear consists of shoes or boots of different kind for instance, uniform shoes, army boots, navy seal boots, air force boots, steel toe boots, USMC boots and many more! Therefore, choosing a suitable one requires deep thought and consideration as per one’s requirement.If you are military person, then you will have a wide range of army boots available in the market. There are uniform shoes especially made for students, company employers and security guards to give their feet protection against the odds. There are steel toe shoes for you to give your feet better comfort and protection. You can visit a nearest footwear shops or visit related website for getting useful information and guidelines as to which one will be best for you.Military or army boots, as worn by soldiers have to be rough-n-tough, protective and comfortable enough. Army boots are supposed to have water resistance and ventilation qualities for giving maximum comfort to the wearer. Whether it is hot climate of deserts climate or wet or cold climate, such boots are suitable to such unlike conditions as soldiers have to go anywhere.Army boots are not just restricted to the soldiers only. They are worn by regular civilians also because they are made more fashionable which can give greater level of comfort. They are more durable and can suit to any sort of weather conditions which becomes the choice of all.Purchase a pair of either navy seal boots or air force boots which can give you full satisfaction regarding its quality, durability, style and comfort. Making a wise purchasing decision will get you what you are looking for.

Nursing is a profession focused on assisting individuals, families and communities in attaining, re-attaining and maintaining optimal health and functioning. Modern definitions of nursing define it as a science and an art that focuses on promoting quality of life as defined by persons and families, throughout their life experiences from birth to care at the end of life.
In pre-modern times, nuns and the military often provided nursing services. The religious and military roots of modern nursing remain in evidence today. For example, in Britain, senior female nurses are known as “Sisters”. In recent times in the US and Canada many nurses are flowing back into working in a “religious” field through “Parish Nursing”. These nurses work within a church community to perform health education, counseling, provide referrals to community support agencies, and connect volunteers from the church community with those in need of assistance.
Nurses acknowledge that the nursing profession is an essential part of the society from which it has grown. The authority for the practice of nursing is based upon a social contract that delineates professional rights and responsibilities as well as mechanisms for public accountability. The practice of nursing involves altruistic behavior, is guided by nursing research and is governed by a code of ethics.
Nursing continues to develop a wide body of knowledge and associated skills. There are a number of educational paths to becoming a professional nurse but all involve extensive study of nursing theory and practice and training in clinical skills.
In almost all countries, nursing practice is defined and governed by law and entrance to the profession is regulated by national, state, or territorial boards of nursing.
The American Nurses’ Association (1980) has defined nursing as “the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems.” Just as medical diagnoses help in the planning, implementing, and evaluation of medical care, Nursing diagnoses help in the planning, implementing, and evaluation of nursing care.
Like other maturing disciplines, nursing has developed different theories that are aligned with diverging philosophical beliefs and paradigms or worldviews. Nursing theories help nurses to direct their activities in order to accomplish specific goals with people. Nursing is a knowledge based discipline committed to the betterment of humankind. Nursing has not only developed into a profession, but an art as well.
Nursing is the most diverse of all healthcare professions. It is a universal role appearing in some form in every culture.
Nursing may be divided into different specialties or classifications. In the U.S., there are a large number of specialties within nursing. Professional organizations or certifying boards issue voluntary certification in many of these areas.
These specialties encompass care throughout the human lifespan based upon patient needs. Many nurses who choose a specialty become certified in that area, signifying that they possess expert knowledge of the specialty. There are over 200 nursing specialties and sub-specialties. Certified nurses often earn a salary differential over their non-certified colleagues, and studies from the Institute of Medicine have demonstrated that specialty certified nurses have higher rates of patient satisfaction, as well as lower rates of work-related errors in patient care.
Nurses practice in a wide range of settings from hospitals to visiting people in their homes and caring for them in schools to research in pharmaceutical companies. Nurses work in occupational health settings (also called industrial health settings), free-standing clinics and physician offices, nurse-run clinics, long-term care facilities, and camps. Nurses work on cruise ships and in military service. They act as advisors and consultants to the healthcare and insurance industries. Some nurses are attorneys and others work with attorneys as legal nurse consultants, reviewing patient records to assure that adequate care was provided and testifying in court. In many cities, nurses can even enter their names in a “registry” and work a wide variety of temporary jobs.
In the modern world, there are a large number of specialities within nursing:
Ambulatory care nursing
Advanced practice nursing
Behavioral health nursing
Camp nursing
Cardiac nursing
Cardiac catheter laboratory nursing
Case management
Clinical nurse specialist
Clinical research nurse
Community health nursing
Correctional nursing
Critical care nursing
Developmental disabilities nursing
District nursing
Emergency nursing
Environmental Health nursing
Flight nursing
Forensic nursing
Gastroenterology nursing
Genetics nursing
Geriatric nursing
Health visiting
Hematology oncology nursing
HIV/AIDS nursing
Home health nursing
Hospice nursing
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Nursing
Intavenous therapy nursing
Infectious disease nursing
Legal nursing
Legal Nurse Investigator
Maternal-child nursing
Medical-surgical nursing
Military and uniformed services nursing, including Public Health Service
Neonatal nursing
Neuro-surgical nursing
Nurse anesthetist
Nurse-midwife
Nurse practitioner
Nursing educator
Nursing informatics
Nursing management
Obstetrics gynecology nursing
Occupational health nursing
Oncology nursing
Operating room nursing
Orthopaedic nursing
Ostomy nursing
Pain management and palliative care nursing
Pediatric nursing
Perianesthesia nursing
Perioperative nursing
Plastic and reconstructive surgical nursing
Private duty nursing
Psychiatric or mental health nursing
Public health
Pulmonary nursing
Quality improvement
Radiology nursing
Rehabilitation nursing
Renal dialysis nursing
Renal nursing
Research
School nursing
Sub-acute nursing
Substance abuse nursing
Tele-medicine nursing
Telemetry nursing
Telephone triage nursing
Transplantation nursing
Travel nursing
Urology nursing
Utilization management
Wound care
Professional organizations or certifying boards issue voluntary certification in many of these specialties.
Nursing assistant skills are the set of learned tasks used in helping residents or patients with activities of daily living (ADLs) and providing bedside care–including basic nursing procedures–under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).
In today’s hospitals and extended care facillities a nurse assistant is an important part of a healthcare team that includes many personnel outside of nurses. In the quest to make a profit from providing care many hospitals in the United States have reduced their nurse to patient ratios, requiring one nurse to take care of as many as twelve or fourteen patients at a time. In order for good care to be provided to those patients a nurse assistant is needed to provide the routine care so that the nurse can focus on tasks only he/she can do, such as care plans, nursing assessments, administering medication, and assist in surgery room preparation. The nurse assistant must not only be very skilled in the actual procedures being performed but must also be able to make quick observations of a patient’s condition and report that information back to the nurse. Since the nurse cannot spend large amounts of time in the room with the patient, the nurse assistant is known as the nurse’s “eyes and ears”.
A nurse assistant must also have a strong grasp of emergency procedures and be able to stay calm in stressful situations. They must be able to initiate a Code Blue and be well-drilled in CPR.

In the military of the United States and other militaries, the Color guard carries the National Color and other flags appropriate to its position in the chain of command. Typically these include a unit flag and a departmental flag (Army, Navy, or Air Force). In addition to the flag bearers, who are positioned in the center of the color guard, there are two individuals who carry rifles.Colorguards can be found in most colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and independent drum corps. Members of colorguard teams march along with their fellow marching band members. Today the guard uses choreography and equipment for added visual appeal during a marching band show.There are several types of color guards. The two most popular are: * Military color guards. * Marching band color guards.Being assigned to the Color guard is considered an honor due to the fact that these individuals present and carry the symbols of their unit and country. Depending on the circumstance and subject to the orders of their commander, members may wear full dress or less formal uniforms. The Color guard is formed and marched in one rank at close interval (shoulder-to-shoulder). Since the National Colors must always be in the position of honor on the right, he Color guard must execute a special movement to reverse direction. It does not execute rear march, nor does it execute about face. Rather, it performs a maneuver derived from the standard countercolumn command, generally known as counter march or colors reverse march. Other drill movements performed by the Color guard include presenting arms, left and right wheel marches, eyes right (upon passing the reviewing stand during a parade), casing/uncasing the Colors, and fixing/unfixing bayonets (by the arms bearers).The Color guard renders honors when the national anthem is played or sung, when passing in review during a parade, or in certain other circumstances. In these cases, the unit and departmental flags salute by dipping (leaning the flag forward). However, with the exception of a response to a naval salute, the United States national flag renders no salute.

In the US military patches, medals and awards are selected for each area of military service such as army, navy, air force, coast guard, separately. Each sector of the military has their own kind of military patches, chevrons, ribbons, etc. The navy is the section of the military that regulates sea warfare and defense. Navy medals are rewarded in appreciation of special feats such as the metal emblem for meritorious service of naval personnel. The Medal of Honor for the navy was first introduced in 1862. The concept of medals had evolved from the practice of bestowing insignias in the knight hood.

Navy medals are a way for personnel to express their bravery and commitment to risk their life for the nation, and they should be worn with pride. Navy medals are generally made from precious metals such as gold, silver, bronze, or lead. Navy medals are attached to ribbons which can be pinned to a uniform or worn around the neck. Shields or hangers are used to connect Navy medals with the ribbons. Navy medals are beautifully decorated and can be overlaid with particular symbols of the country such as an eagle. Navy medal ribbons represent the characteristic colors of the country. In the past, the reverse part of Navy medals was encrypted with the name of the recipient to avoid loss or theft.

Navy medals are divided into different categories depending on the relevance of the committed action. The supreme Navy medals are given for deeds which have contributed to the victories or successes of missions. Sincere service of navy members is rewarded with unit medals and service medals. Navy medals include Navy Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy & Marine Corps Medal, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and many more.

Navy medals are presented in official ceremonies and are worn over the left pocket of the uniform on official occasions. The recipient of more than one Navy medal has to wear them according to the order of precedence of the Navy medals. The misuse of a Navy medal is strictly regulated with the law, but models of the medals can be purchased from the market.

If you want to find out more about Military patches or about Medals or even about Crests please follow these links.