Gentleman, I post this here only because most of you including Saeed know the story about Doug Norman. He is the son of Matt Norman and one of our own who not only is an avid hunter but has gone with his father to Africa and is hooked as are the rest of us. As you remember Doug was wounded in an rpg attack that killed his two companions almost 3 three years to the day ago. When he got back he not only refused a medical discharge from the army but went on to ranger school as a tribute to his two friends. It dosnt matter if you agree with the politics of the situation or not you have to admire a young man like that. It seems Doug has been busy as of late and here is part of the last email I received from Matt.

quote:

Doug spent most of last week at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina involved in the next level of NCO competition. On Thursday, July 20th, he was selected as the N.C.O. of the Year for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

It was three years ago to the day that Doug was wounded in action in Iraq, (July 20th, 2003).

The next level is the NCO of the Year for the Army. That will take place in Washington DC during the first two weeks of October.

He has already won two or three such honors and the next is NCO of the year for the army if he gets it. Quite an achievement for a guy who had his legs shredded by explosives!

I dont consider this a political statement for or against the war. It is a tribute to a young man many of us know who went above and beyond to overcome adversity to achieve his goals. BTW the army has wanted Doug to be an officer for quite a while but he keeps turning them down. He had his degree when he enlisted. He just isnt interested. He loves what he does. I hope to have the opportunity to hunt with him and his dad soon.
Mike

I second what you've said here. A real hero. Hope you can hunt with him soon as you stated.

It literally brings a tear to my eye when I hear of brave young men and women who will do everything in their power to protect us and our freedoms. We need more like him, but I suspect we have more like him that we realize.

God bless him and all that fight for freedom.

Mike, as well I appreciate your comments about Doug and what he is accomplishing after what he has been through. A true hero in every sense of the word. Hopefully I too can join you and Matt and hunt with him sometime.

Pass on the many comments you are sure to get from this post and continue to encourage Doug.

Larry

Doug is an exceptional young person, as are so many of the young people (and old!) serving in our armed forces. I know his dad is as proud of him as I am of my two sons.

It is these young men who represent the incredible high standards and professionalism in the ranks, but it sells more newpapers to focus on the allegations of misconduct of a few. I am proud of all the men and women who are serving, and we all should be. They have volunteered to put their lives on the line for us.

We owe them no less than our total support in doing a very hard job working hours and in conditions we can only imagine. They just got less pay raise than civilian employees of the government.

We need to support pay and benefits consistent with their effort, now and after they retire or are released from AD. Kudude

Congratulations Doug!!!!

With all the negative we are bombarded with by the world's collective media, I always try to rememeber there are men and women like Doug who are out there every day giving it their best so that all of us enjoy our freedom. It is heartwarming to see reports like this.

Thank you for your service.

Phil

RANGERS LEAD

Congratulations and thank you for your service.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." —John F. Kennedy

I don't think, for any reasonable person, politics enters into the equation at all. It is only common sense that an enlisted man, in his 20s, has zero say in where he is deployed and what his mission is.

When military commitments are unpopular, it raises the level of one's commitment to call of duty.

No one should have anything but admiration for people who serve honorably under these circumstances, regardless of the political background of the engagement.

Whoa! I've been on the road a couple days and this thread came as a complete surprise. Here are links to a news release.

http://news.soc.mil/releases/06JUL/060720-02.html
http://news.soc.mil/releases/06JUL/060720-01.html

First, my regards to Doyle Hufstedler and his son. Justin Garvey and his father Gregg. Jason Jordan and his parents Danny and Sandy. They lost their sons. God be with them. My son was wounded. It happens that he received this most recent award three years to the day that he was wounded (July 20, 2003)

I was blessed and got to go hunting in Africa with my son. Something that I recommend to all of your fathers; take your sons and daughters and do special things with them!


This may sound weird, but I also pay my respects to the parents on the other side that have lost their loved ones. I do not find any joy in their pain either.

P.S. There is something else I want to note here. When my son was recovering from his wounds three years ago, he received a very nice, heartfelt "get well soon" card from non other than Saeed. It's that kind of class that makes me believe that there is hope that good people; Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or whatever can get co-exist in peace.

Hey my friend. Maybe I should have asked you before I posted this but I was so proud of Doug I couldnt resist. I thought others would like to hear this as well. Very positive and heartfelt stuff this. Also nothing weird about your sentiments. Nice blue bull that Doug has there. European or shoulder mount?

That is a first rate eland that Doug took on his last day of hunting on Hartmut Freyer's ranch in Namibia, (Gauss Hunting). He also took some decent trophies with Peter Stofberg (Nimrod Safaris), Gerd Sohrada (Sohrada Safaris) and with Gauss. He shot everything with (our) George's old Savage 110 338 Win Mag and Winchester Fail Safe 230 grain bullets.