One was from Mashpee. She was a mother of three and a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. Her name is Staff Sergeant Alicia A. Birchett. She was crushed by a truck after changing its tire.
The other was from Franklin. His name was Staff Sgt. Robert Ryan Pirelli, and he was killed in action. There aren't further details about how, yet.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon reports that:
All Things Considered, August 16, 2007 · A new report from the Defense Department says 99 active duty soldiers committed suicide last year — more than a quarter of them while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also, the Daily Show yesterday featured a fascinating clip from 1994:
Link to clip about how Dick Cheney didn't think that having a war in Iraq would not be a successful endeavor because, "It's a very volatile situation over there and if you take down the central government in Iraq, you could see pieces of Iraq fly off."
Just the facts.
Get ready for the draft, because it's probably going to happen. Most likely, it will be both men and women, up to age 36 (up to 42 for those with specialized skills in computers and what not). This is truly the Vietnam of our generation, and we won't be able to get out of it cleanly.
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