By Staff Sgt. Luis P. Valdespino Jr., USMC Special to American Forces Press Service HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, March 17, 2008 – Special operations Marines deployed to Afghanistan\’s Helmand province operate at a fast pace.   A special operations Marine examines a poppy plant handed to him by an Afghan National Army soldier (right) in Afghanistan\’s Helmand province during a patrol through a village in which they were looking for Taliban fighters. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Luis P. Valdespino Jr. (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Accompanied by a small group of Afghan National Army soldiers, the Marines are constantly on the go: visiting villages, distributing humanitarian aid and always searching for insurgents. Their breaks between operations vary from 12 hours to three days. Part of the 2-year-old Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, they thrive on missions that have them patrolling for enemy forces. \”We don\’t like being on the (forward operating base),\” one MSOC Marine said. In the northern part of the province, an MSOC leatherneck said, his Marines were attacked four times throughout a four-day mission. He described how they overcame enemy machine-gun positions, mortar attacks and rocket-propelled grenades. \”Needless to say, we silenced their weapons,\” another MSOC Marine said. On their next mission, a three-day assignment in the province\’s north-central region to visit villages, the Marines slept on the desert ground – in sleeping bags, but not on cots. On foot patrol through the first village with no schedule constraints, they took no shortcuts. In full combat gear, they searched all compounds, streets and paths in the village. When it was secure, they set up distribution sites for the humanitarian aid they brought with them. On the second day, the unit came under attack within five minutes of arriving at a small village. Immediately, the MSOC Marines positioned themselves throughout the village and began engaging the enemy insurgents. Halfway into what turned out to be a nearly four-hour battle, a Marine who seemed to never rest said with a grin, \”We\’re not done yet.\” He seemed unfazed that earlier a rocket-propelled grenade missed him by less than two feet. Despite several other close calls, the Marines relentlessly pursued the insurgents until they secured the village, and the Taliban fighters were either killed or fled. Before they were done, the MSOC hospital corpsmen cared for and treated villagers injured by insurgents. Afterward, Marine leaders met with village elders and committed to return with much-needed aid and support, as long as the Marines had the villagers\’ support. (Marine Staff Sgt. Luis P. Valdespino Jr. serves with Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan Public Affairs. He recently spent 16 days embedded with a Marine special operations company deployed to Afghanistan\’s Helmand province from the 1st Special Operations Battalion, Camp Pendleton, Calif. The names and specific locations of special operations personnel are not used in this article for their security and for the security of their mission.)

Related Sites: Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command

Marines with a Marine Special Operations Company take aim on Taliban fighters in a Helmand province village. Afghan National Army soldiers and the MSOC Marines were visiting the southern Afghanistan village when they were attacked by Taliban fighters. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Luis P. Valdespino Jr. Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution An Afghan boy receives a school bag from Afghan National Army soldiers and a Marine Special Operations Company\’s team member. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Luis P. Valdespino Jr. Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution Marines with a Marine Special Operations Company and an Afghan National Army soldier position themselves to fight Taliban fighters who attacked them a few minutes earlier. ANA soldiers and MSOC Marines were visiting the southern Afghanistan village when they were attacked by Taliban fighters. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Luis P. Valdespino Jr

Josephine Schefseck, On March 14, 2008. Age 93. Of Sewell. Formerly of Woodbury. Loving mother of Linda Schaefer-Schefseck of New York. Josephine was a resident of Woodbury and recently lived in Sewell. At the request of the family, interment is private at Morgan Cemetery, Cinnaminson. Expressions of sympathy can be e-mailed to the family through our funeral home website www.mccannhealey.com under online obituaries of Josephine Schefseck. Funeral Arrangements and Inquiries may be made through: McCANN-HEALEY FUNERAL HOME: 851 Monmouth Street, Gloucester City, NJ 08030. Phone: 856-456-1142

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
BASEBALL: Scott Fisher (Toms River/TR East) went 1-3 with an RBI against Delaware Valley and 4-4 with a home run and four RBI vs. Philadelphia Biblical. Fisher then pitched a two-hitter with eight strikeouts in the first game against Old Westbury and went 2-5 with a triple, home run and six RBI in the nightcap.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Seniors Jon Greene (Wildwood/Wildwood) and Mario Lancioni (Runnemede/Triton) scored 16 and 14 points respectively in Stockton’s NCAA Tournament game against Amherst. Greene grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while Lancioni dished a game-high eight assists.
LACROSSE: Keith Bologno (Glen Gardner/Voorhees) notched three goals and six assists for nine points in two Stockton victories last week. Bologno tallied three goals and four assists in the 14-6 win over Alvernia.
SOFTBALL: Samantha Horner (Newfield/Buena) went 3-8 with two home runs, six RBI and three runs in two Stockton victories. Horner was 2-5 with two home runs and six RBI in a 17-4 win over St. Lawrence.
WOMEN’S TENNIS: Christy Alexander (Centerville, IN/Centerville) dropped a total of only two games in two wins against Villa Julie. Alexander won 8-1 in doubles and 6-0, 6-1 in singles.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD: Lisa Shepherd (Mays Landing/Oakcrest) became an All-American for the second time in her young career by finishing second in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Shepherd also set a school record with her best jump of 1.69 meters (5’6.50\”).

LATEST RESULTS

Men’s Basketball (22-7, 10-3 NJAC)
NCAA Tournament:
Amherst 85, Stockton 77

Baseball (7-3, 0-0 NJAC)
Delaware Valley 6, Stockton 5
Stockton 34, Philadelphia Biblical 1
Stockton 3, Old Westbury 1
Stockton 16, Old Westbury 14
Stockton 6, Norwich 0
Norwich 9, Stockton 8

Lacrosse (2-2, 0-0 Skyline)
Stockton 7, Catholic 6
Stockton 14, Alvernia 6

Softball (2-0, 0-0 NJAC)
Stockton 17, St. Lawrence 4 (6 inn.)
Stockton 5, Albright 2

Women’s Tennis (12-2, 4-1 NJAC)
Stockton 8, Villa Julie 1

Track & Field
Shepherd second, Barden 16th in high jump/DeFeo no height in pole vault at NCAA Championships

UPCOMING EVENTS (Home opponents in CAPS)

Monday, March 17
Softball vs. Concordia/Fitchburg State@ 11 am/1 pm
Women’s Tennis vs. St. Lawrence$ 1 pm

Tuesday, March 18
Women’s Tennis vs. Westminster$ 9 am
Baseball vs. Medaille (DH)# 9 am
Softball vs. Edgewood/Salve Regina@ 5/7 pm

Wednesday, March 19
Women’s Tennis vs. Greenville$ 9 am
Softball vs. UMass-Dartmouth/W. New Eng.@ 1/3 pm

Thursday, March 20
Softball vs. Carroll/Worcester State@ 9/11 am
Baseball vs. Bridgewater State (DH)# 1 pm
Women’s Tennis vs. Nazareth$ 1 pm
Lacrosse vs. PLYMOUTH STATE 3 pm

Friday, March 21
Baseball vs. Penn College (DH)# 9 am

Saturday, March 22
Track & Field – STOCKTON INVIT. 10 am
Lacrosse vs. CENTENARY 6 pm

@ at Fort Myers, Florida
# at Cocoa Beach, Florida
$ at Hilton Head, South Carolina

Stockton Athletics Home

Source TCNJ Read More

Mary E. Hess On March 16, 2008. Age 88. (nee Boehner) Of Gloucester City. Loving mother of Paul W. (Vera) Prangler of Arkansas, Nancy (Robert) Hope of Gloucester City and Lorraine (Larry) Beach of W. Collingswood Heights. Grandmother of 9 and great-grandmother of 10. Dear sister of Rose Sharp of Mt. Ephriam.

Mary was a longtime resident of Gloucester City and was a resident of Gloucester Towne. She was a former member of Sweet Adeline\’s singing group and enjoyed music and dancing.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend her viewing on Thursday morning from 11 am to 12 Noon at the McCANN-HEALEY FUNERAL HOME: 851 Monmouth Street, (at Brown Street) Gloucester City. Presbyterian Service 12 Noon in the funeral home officiated by Pastor Kathryn Morgan of First Presbyterian Church in Gloucester City. Interment Cedar Grove Cemetery, Gloucester City. No Evening Viewing. Expressions of sympathy can be e-mailed to the family through our funeral home website www.mccannhealey.com under online obituaries of Mary E. Hess.

Funeral Arrangements and Inquiries may be made through: McCANN-HEALEY FUNERAL HOME: 851 Monmouth Street, Gloucester City. Phone: 856-456-1142

By Albert Countryman Jr.

Power was knocked out for 16 hours in a large portion of Gloucester City after a viscous rain and wind storm around 6 p.m. Saturday night ten days ago.

The lights finally came on again around 10 a.m. Sunday morning in an area bounded by the railroad tracks, Monmouth Street, Johnson Boulevard to Klemm Avenue to Route 130, and the Brooklawn Borough border.

Residents had to make do with candles, no heat in many cases, and could not even go to WaWa on Market Street, as it closed after the power outage.

Personally, I was driving to a surprise birthday party at 7 p.m. Saturday when I made a left onto Johnson Boulevard from Nicholson Road. It was very dark, and I double checked to make sure I had turned on my headlights.

Then, as I turned onto Baynes Avenue and approached Market Street, the streetlight was out. Patiently, I waited for the traffic to go by before crossing over by Cold Springs School. It was very eerie, and a large tree had fallen across the road.

The report from PSE&G was that by Sunday evening the power was back on for some 180,000 homes in South Jersey. At that time, some 12,000 customers were still without power.

As for the party, everyone enjoyed the candlelight illuminating a beautiful home full of family and friends.

 

The utterly impractical, never predictable,
Sometimes irascible, quite inexplicable, Irish.

Strange blend of shyness,
pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat.

He\’s spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
Yet the smile of a child
fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up with tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest
to banish your fears.
His hate is as fierce as his devotion is grand,
And there is no middle ground
on which he will stand.
He\’s wild and he\’s gentle,
he\’s good and he\’s bad.
He\’s proud and he\’s humble,
he\’s happy and sad.
He\’s in love with the ocean,
the earth and the skies,
He\’s enamoured with beauty wherever it lies.
He\’s victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he\’s Irish—
in love with his God.

source: Irish Sayings

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By Fred W. Baker III American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 14, 2008 – There were about the same number of sexual assaults reported across the military this past year as there were the year before, according to Defense Department report released today. Kaye Whitley, director of the Defense Department\’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, answers a question during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., March 14, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adam M. Stump  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Officials released today 2007 report on sexual assault along with the 2006 gender relations survey. Both are congressionally mandated reports Because of reporting changes, this year\’s data cannot be directly compared to last year\’s. In this report the DoD changed its reporting window from calendar year to fiscal year. As a result, one quarter\’s worth of data from calendar year 2006 is also recorded in this report. Officials said they made the change in reporting to align with changes in the Uniform Code of Military Justice definitions for sexual assault crimes. Still, officials said it appears the number of reports remain \”relatively constant\” with last year\’s, according to the report. For fiscal year 2007 there were 2,688 reports of sexual assault among the services. Of those, just over 2,000 were unrestricted reports, meaning it is sent to the command for investigation. There were 705 restricted, or confidential, reports of sexual assault. Those allow the victim to receive medical care and other services without an investigation being initiated. The restricted option is a change to the military reporting system, and one that officials said affords many victims access to care who would not have reported the crime otherwise. \”We felt that the investigation and the notification of the command may possibly be a barrier to report. So we removed that,\” said Kaye Whitley, director of the the Defense Department\’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. The command is notified only that an assault was reported. The victim can later change the report type. In this reporting period, 102 switched their report from restricted to unrestricted. \”When I see that number [of restricted reports] I truly believe that is 705 victims that would not have come forward and would not have gotten the help and assistance they needed,\” Whitley said. Nearly 70 percent of the restricted reports were for rape. According to the report, just more than 1,500 of those reports investigated involved servicemembers as victims. About 60 percent were reports of rape. The services finished about 2,000 investigations in fiscal year 2007. About 1,300 of those were reported in the fiscal year. The rest were carried over from the previous year. Of the investigations finished, commanders were able to take action against about half of those accused of the crimes. There were 181 courts martial, 201 non-judicial punishments and 218 administrative actions and discharges. Of those reports that the commanders could not take action against, more than three-quarters were found unsubstantiated or unfounded, lacked sufficient evidence or the victim recanted. There were 174 reports of sexual assault in U.S. Central Command. One hundred and five were made in Iraq and 43 in Afghanistan. The others were at other sites within the command. The term sexual assault for the purposes of DoD reporting includes a wide variety of offenses ranging from rape to indecent assault and attempts at those crimes. The DoD is required to report to Congress annually the number of sexual assaults in the military.

Related Sites: DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office

What began 14 years ago as a small band of Garden City, Mich., Legionnaires riding their motorcycles for fun has developed into a national American Legion program. Today, Legion Riders boast about 800 chapters across the country. Connecticut Rider Bill Anderson (left) is one of more than 40,000 Riders at the post, district or department levels. READ MORE