Marine reunites with dog from Afghanistan

Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach, of Madison, Wisc., gets a kiss from Casey, a four-year-old yellow lab he had worked with while deployed in Afghanistan, as the two are reunited during a surprise ceremony Friday at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa.

story by: The Associated Press
photo courtesy of: Charlie Neibergall / AP

When Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach served as a dog handler in Afghanistan, he told the yellow lab who was his constant companion that he’d look her up when he returned home.

“I promised her if we made it out of alive, I’d do whatever it took to find her,” Gundlach said.

On Friday, he made good on that vow with help from some sentimental state officials in Iowa who know how to pull off a surprise.

Since leaving active duty to take classes at the University of Wisconsin this summer, Gundlach, of Madison, Wis., had been seeking to adopt 4-year-old Casey.

The 25-year-old learned Casey had finished her military service and had been sent to the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office, where she was used to detect explosives.

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Photo Friday: “Operation Eagle Mountain”

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Nickolas Aloi provides security for other soldiers as his military working dog looks on during Operation Eagle Mountain in Didar, Afghanistan, April 14, 2012. Aloi is assigned to Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment. The operation’s purpose was to clear the town of improvised explosive devices, and provide security to the town through U.S. and Afghan presence

photo courtesy of: Sgt. Marc Loi, USA

Emotional documentary ‘Honor Flight’ thanks WWII veterans for their service

Volunteers and passengers cheer as they land at Dulles International Airport for the Honor Flight Chicago trip that takes World War II veterans to the Washington D.C. memorial.

story by: Hollie McKay
photo courtesy of: Heather Eidson

It has almost been seventy years since the end of World War II, but at least according to the upcoming documentary “Honor Flight,” it’s never too late to say thank you.

Directed by Dan Hayes, the poignant film chronicles a Midwest community racing against the clock to fly thousands of veterans to Washington, DC to see the memorial constructed for them in 2004, decades after their epic battle. In particular, “Honor Flight” highlights four former servicemen: Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Ambassador Joe Demler, Orville Lemke who fights to hold off terminal cancer to make the trip, 89-year-old poet Julian Plaster and Harvey Kurtz, who saw the iconic flag go up at Iwo Jima.

“It was important to make this film to educate Americans on the amazing lives of the greatest generation and create awareness for the efforts of the Honor Flight Network non-profit, which flies veterans to see the memorial built in their honor,” director Hayes told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “These ‘Honor Flights’ are often the first time they’ve been thanked and the last trip of their lives. The 24-hour journey is full of surprises that deeply move all who are involved.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/05/14/emotional-documentary-honor-flight-thanks-wwii-veterans-for-their-service/#ixzz2TOLcxCfN

Photo Friday: “Pull the Cord”

Marines with Battery N, 5th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, fire an M777 A2 howitzer during a series of integrated firing exercises at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Centter Twentynine Palms’ Quakenbush Training Area April 26, 2013.

photo courtesy of: Cpl. Ali Azim, USMC

Carbine competition may be killed

U.S. Army Spc. Robert Zarlenga, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, fires his M4 carbine at insurgent forces June 15, 2012, near Joint Security Station Hasan, southern Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. Zarlenga was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

story by: Lance M. Bacon
photo courtesy of: Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod, USA

The $50 million competition to build a better carbine is on its way to being canceled.

The decision is not yet official, but Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno on Tuesday said word is coming soon. He was hesitant to elaborate, but did take the opportunity to salute the venerable M4 carbine that would have been replaced.

“My position on the M4 [is] we’ve modernized it and it’s a great system,” he said. “I feel very comfortable with the M4. Very comfortable. I think it’s a great system. We’ve made like 95 improvements with it, we’ve improved ammunition, I feel very good about it.”

The Army is moving forward with efforts to pure-fleet its M4 inventory with the ambidextrous M4A1, which has a better barrel and bolt. A reprogramming proposal will see $7 million, or one-fourth the budgeted total, cut from that effort this year. That money is part of larger cuts designed to help cover a $7.8 billion shortfall in emerging overseas contingency operations.

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Humble hero: Marine receives Silver Star Medal

Jenna Ridgeway, left, laughs while she listens as people congratulate her husband, Staff Sgt. Daniel W. Ridgeway, for receiving the Silver Star Medal during a ceremony at Camp Lejeune (pictured left). Staff Sgt. Daniel W. Ridgeway (pictured right) on patrol during his deployment to Afghanistan.

story by: Cpl. Shawn Valosin
Photo courtesy of: www.jdnews.com and www.wnct.com

Service members shuffled through the doors and filled rows of seats at the Goettge Memorial Field House April 30, to honor a man who risked his life to save his fellow Marines in Afghanistan in 2011.

The Silver Star Medal, the third highest military decoration for valor, has only been awarded to 40 Marines for actions in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Daniel W. Ridgeway, an explosive ordnance disposal team leader with 2nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, was the 41st to receive the medal for his actions in combat during Operation Enduring Freedom.

His award citation reads that Ridgeway cleared a 40-meter path on his hands and knees to a fellow Marine after the team member was struck by an explosive device. Upon reaching the victim, he treated the Marine’s wounds and turned him over to a corpsman for continued care. Ridgeway then began clearing a 100-meter by 100-meter landing zone so his team member could be evacuated. Once his team member was evacuated, Ridgeway’s unit came under fire. He continued to clear more paths for his team and disarmed five more improvised explosive devices.

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Photo Friday: “A Walk in the Park”

Pfc. Joshua Burley, a rifleman with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, pauses during a hike with his company on their way to their culminating training event in a mock battle against Combat Logistics Battalion 3 at Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif., Apr. 15, 2013.

photo courtesy of: Lance Cpl. Suzanna Lapi, USMC