Did you know there were 1800 US troops in the "Horn of Africa"? Where is the "Horn", you ask? Think Somalia and you're in the right area. You don't hear about it any more because troops aren't dying there. They are working with the local governments that include Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Eritria, etc. in an attempt to peacefully weed out the subversive Al Qaeda influence in the area.

 You might have actually heard in recent news that "peaceful" to the military doesn't always mean "without arms", as a AC-130 gunship was spotted assisting Ethiopian troops in Mogudishu last week. To give you an idea of what we're talking about here, the SPECTRE AC-130 gunship has enough firepower to fill every square inch of a football field inside of 60 seconds. Every single square inch. So there is still SOME fighting going on there, but by and large, it's a peaceful mission.

 OK, so why am I talking about it? Because Chief Master Sgt. John Harris, a graduate of Derby, KS, is basically number two in charge of the operation reporting as an advisor to Rear Admiral Rich Hunt.

 This is important because its Kansans helping people; helping people on the other side of the world. Harris has been in the AF since 1980 and is helping lead this troup of 1800 men that cover an area roughly 2/3 the size of the continental United States. 1800 men.

 It is spectacular. It is amazing and Kansans should count themselves lucky to have a hero of this caliber representing us on the other side of the planet.

 The Combined Joint Task Force MUST be doing a terrific job, because everyone knows the media would be on it like flies on horse**** if there was any human suffering to be broadcast. Good news on TV? The ratings would suck!! :)

"A lot of people try to paint this as a religious war, but it's not that at all," Harris said. "It's about making sure that extremism that fosters terrorism doesn't prevail."

If you know the Harris family, give them a thumbs-up and a gracious thank you from yours truly.

 ~Dubya