There have been rumors circulating through social media and chain e-mails claiming that our troops overseas are no longer receiving hot meals for breakfast or midnight 4th meal. Some claim it's due to budget cuts, others say it's logistics, but the rumors are flying that troops are only getting lunch and dinner provided.

January 15, 2013
Posted by Steve Weigand

"An Internet rumor that American troops in Afghanistan no longer get breakfast has prompted a response from the Pentagon via Twitter.

A chain email says the last-minute deal Congress passed to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" also denies breakfast to troops in Afghanistan.

The email garnered enough attention that rumor-debunking site Snopes.com picked up on it and rated the email "partly true" since some bases stopped serving hot breakfasts as they get ready for the drawdown."

The DoD has tried to fight the rumors by reassuring people through their twitter feed, that troops are getting 4 meals a day, but even according to the DoD's best spin, they're saying two of those meals are MRE rations.

Our troops deserve better.

If you think our troops deserve better, how about sending a care package filled with GOOD tasting food that's also portable, like powdered Gatorade or hot cocoa that can easily be mixed in minutes, or cookies and beef jerky that stay safe and delicious for weeks.

https://www.thecampaignstore.com/supportourtroops.asp?id=291&rname=eml_20130117&utm_source=MailSquadron.com&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=MREs+Campaign

This year's BCS championship game is college football's mother lode, a Notre Dame-Alabama showdown for the national title, arguably one of the greatest Championship-game matchups the BSC has ever delivered. And you can take part and help in MAF's first ever BCS "Trooperbowl". Now the BCS title will either go to the Fighting Irish or the Crimson Tide on Monday Jan, 7th but you can decide which team is the Trooper Bowl winner by donating today.

All you have to do is donate on behalf of either Notre Dame's Fighting Irish or Alabama's Crimson Tide. Whichever team has more donations by game time on Monday Jan 7th will win the "Trooperbowl" and in addition to the care packages sent from both teams donations, a special shipment of Care Packages will be sent to a Unit in Afghanistan from the winning team's home state.

If you like College football or if you just like to help the troops, the first annual BCS Trooper bowl is for you. Your donation could turn the tide in deciding which unit in Afghanistan with gets the special BCS Trooperbowl Care Package. Either way you can make a huge impact in a soldiers life by sending him the comfort of home and a personalize message letting them know they have your support!!

The winning team will be decided by which ever has more donations by game time Monday the 7th.  A lucky Unit from either Indiana (fighting Irish) or Alabama(Crimson Tide) will receive a special shipment of Care Packages with a BCS theme and be crowned the BCS Trooperbowl Champions.

It is with great respect, admiration and deep understanding that I write this letter to honor each and every Veteran that has served or is serving our blessed Country! I understand and appreciate all who have given so much for me, so that I could enjoy my daily freedoms.

I was able to sleep well in the safety of my bed last night, because you served.

I was able to pray before my meal this morning in a public place without fearing arrest, because you gave.

I am able to freely speak my mind and voice my opinion without fear of retaliation against me or my family, because you cared.

I am able to stand up for what I believe in and not have a Dictators thoughts and opinions forced down my throat, because you stood up to the call to defend.

I am free to worship the one true God who created me in His image, because you were selfless in your actions.

To each one of you I speak from the bottom of my heart when I say Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!! You are my Heroes and I want to remember and honor you this Veterans Day. Not a single day goes by that I don't think of the sacrifices you and your families have given!

My son Marc Alan Lee was laid to rest on Aug 2nd 2006.  I also remember him today as I do everyday and the sacrifice he made.

Thank you son!  His headstone says "Loved deeply, Deeply loved." The love doesn't go any deeper than that! He loved deeply!

He loved his brothers he served with, he loved me, he loved his family, he loved this nation, he loved his freedoms, he loved God, and he gave.

He gave it all! "Greater love has no one than this, that he laid down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) That's what a hero does. They are willing to give their lives for others if it's required.

I also think of my son Kris who served in the Marines, my son-in-law Christopher who served in the Army and my brother Jim who is serving in the Air Force! Thank you!

Each one of you have deeply loved this country and were willing to give your life if required for this country. Thank you!

Many of you have given your blood, and been wounded for this country. Thank you!

Many of you have  friends, family and brothers at arms who paid the ultimate sacrifice just like my son Marc! Thank you! We will never forget our fallen heroes or their families.

I have traveled around this country, to Iraq and Gitmo speaking out in support of you, thanking and honoring you "Our defenders of freedom." I have been blessed to meet many of you and your families, and have been so deeply touched by your stories and your sacrificial service to this nation. I don't take for granted our freedom which isn't free, it comes at a cost and you willingly paid that for me. So please remember this Veteran's Day that I am your biggest fan and that you are deeply appreciated and loved.

There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you and your families and I know I'm not alone. There is a grateful nation who also honors and remembers your sacrifice and knows that our country is what it is today because you selflessly gave.

I know the price of freedom and I understand the sacrifices that you have given. You have done that for me, and for this nation. You didn't do that for rewards or medals or recognition.

Please join me today as a grateful nation chooses to collectively remember, thank and celebrate our Vets, who they are and what they have selflessly given. I choose to do that every day because they are my HEROES and I am so grateful!

Happy Veterans Day and God bless each one of you!

Debbie Lee
Gold Star Mother and Proud American

On Sept. 30, CBS's 60 Minutes aired a program, aptly titled "The Longest War," that discussed al Qaeda's resurgence in Afghanistan. You can watch the program [above]. The program makes several points that we here at The Long War Journal have made for years: al Qaeda has provided key assistance to the Taliban, including training and personnel [see our report on the Shadow Army from February 2009]; al Qaeda remains entrenched in Afghanistan, and has a safe haven in Kunar (we warned about this starting in 2009); and the US military's own press releases detail the reach of al Qaeda and other terror groups in the country (LWJ has been covering this exclusively for years, in painstaking detail). See the following excerpt from the program's transcript: [Narrator:] He [a Taliban commander] told us al Qaeda fighters are rushing to Afghanistan and that he has more than a dozen of them under his command. He also said they have been the driving force that has made the Taliban more lethal on the battlefield. LOGAN: Are you the only commander with al Qaeda fighters? TALIBAN COMMANDER: There are many groups that have them. We can't do this without them. LOGAN: What skills do the al Qaeda fighters bring? TALIBAN COMMANDER: They are masters of everything. For example, making IEDs, something we don't know how to do. But they are teaching us. They are also master engineers and good with all weapons. When our weapons break, they are the ones who repair them. We can't do this without them. LOGAN: While the U.S. has been saying for a long time that al Qaeda in Afghanistan is almost defeated, the U.S. military's own reports from the battlefield reveal a very different picture. They are rich with detail about al Qaeda's leaders and operations today, confirming the existence of al Qaeda training camps and multiple attack cells. Among those they say they've killed are al Qaeda weapons and explosives experts. In one month, the U.S. says it killed more than 25 al Qaeda leaders and fighters. The Long War Journal OCT 9 2012 Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/10/reports_of_al_qaeda_taliban_de.php#ixzz28vIwXqPT