EARLY MORNING MANNA

Shalom Fellow Vertical Warriors,

Yesterday while grocery shopping with four of our five children and about to enter the checkout line I curiously noticed a display of American flags for sale. Maybe it is just my perceptions, but I have observed this Memorial Day weekend here in suburbia Atlanta, GA., that very few homes are outside displaying the colors of “Old Glory”! So I told one of my kids to run back to that display aisle in the store and grab one of those American flag packages (and of course all four of my kids sprint as if in a indoor 100 meter completion to see who could get it first. LOL).

When we arrive home and unpackaged our new American flag, I suddenly began to feel led to have a flag raising ceremony right in our front yard. All four of our children line up and began to passionately quote the pledge of allegiance with several of our neighbors curiously looking on. I then began to exhort my children on the bravery and courage that so many of our fellow citizens are now displaying on the battlefields of Afghanistan, Iraq, and unknown others, in our fight against anti-Semitic and anti-American terrorists. While encouraging my children in our front yard with this spontaneous ceremony I could not help but to think of two acts of bravery I have come across recently that I would like to share with you’all today.

The first act of bravery is found on the US military Operation Iraqi Freedom website. It is one of the most heroic and selfless acts of bravery and love that I have recently seen…not only of enlisted soldiers, but that of a selfless Major.

Soldier of Heroic Battle Receives Silver Star
Saturday, 05 May 2007
By Sgt. Nicole Kojetin
1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD — “Men, you have one second in your life where you can decide if you are going to be a coward or if you are going to fight. The time to decide is now.”

That sentence is something that Maj. James “Jim” Gant, who serves as the chief of the Iraqi National Police, Quick Reaction Force Battalion Transition Team, tells his policemen all the time, encouraging them to fight for what they believe in.

Though most the time he was talking in generic terms, this time he knew the fight was waiting for them. For six weeks his patrol of three armored high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles and 23 “soft-shelled” national police pick-up trucks had been getting in fire fights with an organized insurgent force in an area between Balad and Baghdad. On Dec. 11, his patrol was finally on their way back home. Gant knew there would be a grand finale.

“We took frequent trips back and forth in the area and the engagements kept getting bigger,” the Las Cruces, N.M., native said. “They knew that we were going to leave. They are a determined enemy force. They wanted to give us a going away present, and we definitely wanted to receive it.”

His actions, during that gift, resulted in him earning the Silver Star, which will be awarded on May 3 at a Iraqi National Police station near Forward Operating Base Prosperity. The Silver Star is the third highest award given for valor in the face of the enemy. It is given to American heroes.

Gant knows four Soldiers who have earned Silver Stars; two died for them. He said heroes are everywhere, it just depends on if they get the chance to show it.

“There are a lot of very good Soldiers, very brave Soldiers that have never had the opportunity to show it,” he said. “As good as you are, you don’t control the enemy. I have been blessed since 2001, since our nation has been at war to fight with incredible warriors and heroes.”

He was given his change to prove himself on that fateful day in December.

The enemy on that stretch of road was well trained and waiting, Gant said. But he knew his crew was ready. After spending 17 years in the Army, he should know.

“I had a really well trained transition team,” he said. That confidence was also extended to his Iraqi brethren as well, with good reason.

“On Nov. 24, (insurgents) hit my vehicle (with an improvised explosive device) and it flipped three times,” said Gant, half of a dual-military couple of 11 years. His wife, Maj. Giselle Pozzerle, currently serves at Fort Bragg, N.C. “One of my Iraqis got me out of that vehicle.”

That was just a recent example, and the training and experience of the Iraqi policemen and U.S. Soldiers were about to be tested. As the patrol headed south, machine gun fire started from the west.

Gant ordered his gunner, to return fire, eventually breaking contact and moving towards Baghdad. In the initial fight, one of his Iraqi Police “Commandos” was injured with a gunshot wound to the face.

“It wasn’t a wound that we could continue without treatment right then and there,” he said.
Using his advanced medical skills that he gained during his time in the Special Forces, he dismounted and rushed to stabilize the Iraqi and called in a medical evacuation helicopter.
In order for a helicopter to land, an area had to be cleared. They moved into nearby palm groves on foot pushing the enemy back in a close range fire fight.

“At this point, it became very apparent to me that the (insurgent’s) intent was to destroy our patrol,” he said. “We had over 20 vehicles with us that were spread out across a large area. It is a large enemy force to have our entire patrol engaged at once.”

They moved back to their landing zone, but the fire intensity increased on both sides. If they could not clear the landing zone the helicopter would not be able to land.

“The fire was so heavy you could feel it inside; you could see and feel the shake of the gunfire, with the Commandos fighting just as heroically as the Americans” Gant said.

After pushing the enemy back, the bird was able to land, but before the fight took a turn for the worse, Gant wanted that helicopter out of the danger zone.

“I told the flight medic, ‘I believe you have about two minutes before we start receiving mortar fire. They know we are here and we are going to start receiving mortar fire within the next 60 seconds to two minutes,’” he said.

They swiftly loaded up the casualties and within 15 seconds of the helicopter taking off, the landing zone started receiving mortar fire, he said.

He considered the fact that they were still in contact a good thing, though.

“We try to maintain contact with the enemy as long as possible and kill as many as we can,” Gant said. “We were going to do some serious damage that day.

“It is easy to sit in a room in safety and talk about it,” he said. “I came here to fight. I came here to kill the enemy. I knew at the time what a huge engagement it was… I also had a huge concern for my team and my Iraqis, because I love these guys. I wanted to ensure that we didn’t take unnecessary risks or have unnecessary casualties.”

He decided that he needed to get the insurgents out of their well built positions. It was obvious to him that this complex attack was well planned. They mounted up and started to move again toward Baghdad still taking fire from both sides.

“We were receiving some sporadic machine gun fire (as we moved,) and I got word that the rear was being pinned down with intense small arms fire,” he said.

He peeled his vehicle to the rear putting him between the patrol and the incoming fire. Laying down suppressive fire, his gunner went through 18,000 rounds that day. The rear of the convoy was moving up out of the hot zone, and Gant’s humvee pushed back to the lead of the convoy.
They were moving toward an urbanized area, with the threat of improvised explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenade teams rising. This is when the heaviest fire of the day began, and in the middle of the median, was an obvious IED.

He wasn’t going to put his team in a situation where they are forced to pull security in the area, especially since they were still under small arms fire. His logic was if the IED struck one of the police vehicles that did not have any protective siding the results will be catastrophic and they would be pinned down.

“We couldn’t get off the road. There were markets and such on the sides of the road,” Gant said. “The IED had to go off and I wanted it to be on an up-armored vehicle. I wanted it to be mine.”

He told the rest of his patrol to push left, and pulled his gunner inside of the vehicle. He told his driver to have the IED detonate on his side.

“We moved up. Nothing. (We) got closer. Nothing,” he said. “We were within about twenty feet, when (the IED) went off.”

Nobody was hurt and the vehicle was still operational. They continued on, discovering a second IED about 50 feet from the first.

“My driver was fearless that day. He didn’t even hesitate,” he said.

They started the same drill but at this point a civilian vehicle had linked up with the convoy. He knew it was there, but he still needed the second IED to go off on an armored vehicle. The passengers braced themselves for the second blast. Everyone was all right, once again.

“There was a bend in the road. We were receiving machine gun fire from the front and both flanks,” Gant said.

There was a third IED; a ploy to get them to stop and be sitting ducks for another ambush. It was a hoax.

This is when Gant received word that a woman in the civilian vehicle had been severely injured in the first blast. Still under heavy small arms fire in a hasty perimeter, he got out and tried to perform first aid on her.

“She didn’t want me touch her. She was going to die and she didn’t want me to touch her,” Gant said. His Iraqi counterpart, consoled the woman saying, “It’s OK. He is my brother.”

She then allowed him to apply tourniquets to both of her severely wounded legs. There was also a little girl in the vehicle. Gant, a family man with two kids of his own back in North Carolina, Tristen, 9, and Scout, 7, wanted to keep this child safe.

“I realized that we might all die today, but this little girl will not,” he said, talking about how he put the child in his up-armored vehicle. “We had some sporadic small arms fire after that, but we had broken their back. They wanted us to stop there.

“I later found out that the women lived, and the little girl,” he said with a smile, “was still afraid of U.S. forces, but she was really small… maybe one. She didn’t understand; (she) just knew that someone had grabbed her from her mom and dad. She didn’t know that it was for her own protection. I hope that one day, her parents tell her what happened that day.”

They engaged the insurgents until the patrol was able to get out of the area, eventually making it into Baghdad and down a route known for explosively-formed projectiles.

When they finally made it back that day, they were met with a celebration. There were more than 200 Commandos singing and bathing the road with goat’s blood and planting bloody handprints all over there war-torn, bullet-ridden vehicles. There were celebrating.

“I will never forget them hugging and kissing us, their brothers in arms,” he said of their return. “They do this in celebration, when they think we gave our lives for them, or could be dead.”
Though nearly six months has passed since that battle occurred, Gant can tell the story of the battle like it was yesterday.

Only two Soldiers remain on his crew that were with him that day, most of the American Soldiers have rotated back to the United States, but he remembers all of his team.

“On that day, there were no Americans. There were no Iraqis, no whites and no blacks. There were no Sunnis, Shias, Christians. There was just a group of warriors working and fighting together,” he said. “All the men I fought with that day showed incredible courage and bravery. That was one of the highlights of my life; working with those men that day.”

The second heroic story of bravery and courage is found much closer to home and it has to do with my lovely wife of 19 years…Dalit Holtz. She would not want me to write this testimony about her, but since she is in San Diego, CA with her family this week (some of whom have flew in from Israel), arranging a surprise “70th” birthday party for her mom. I have taken my “liberty” to share with you her simple yet profound example of bravery and love. A few days ago I read an excellent article by a Christian writer entitled Israel’s Next War, which I encourage everyone here to read concerning the possible war against Israel this summer. After reading this article I came into Dalit’s Special Forces command and logistics center (i.e. her desk cubicle area in the kitchen) and looked for an entry point to share this above article with her. Her area is the true meaning of the word “multi-tasking” as she is preparing the motherly logistic side of our move to Israel with its hundreds of little details that we husbands don’t even remember… So as I noticed the phone call to Israel has just ended…and I get Dalit’s attention before the next call goes out…”Dalit, take a minute and look at this article of what we are going into again like last summer”, then she looks at me with those eyes of compassionate courage and then looks heavenward and says, “Shlomo, this is why God wants us to go now and be there. We must reach and help these people.” You see dear friends, Dalit and I know what our OIT operation entails and yet it is not the perception of safety that brings her comfort but the action of obedience. I do not know many mothers here in this area that portray her compassionate courage rather they seem so caught up in vanities of life. I feel so blessed to have her by my side when I know the volume of comments coming in from the neighbors, parents, teachers, and other “believers” about us moving our family to Israel. Yet, Dalit is one of those rare and courageous woman who will not let the mentality of some of these CNN brain washed suburbanites hinder our destiny to reach the Jewish harvest.

Even though these two testimonies of bravery are very different in their individual circumstances, yet if you look closely they are really the same. Both of these acts of bravery and courage are something we need to highlight today to be effective warriors for the Master.

1) Major Jim Gant says, “Men, you have one second in your life where you can decide if you are going to be a coward or if you are going to fight. The time to decide is now.” (This is so true in the tactical spiritual warfare we are finding ourselves in today. Either you fight or you’re a coward. You are either hot or you are cold. You either advance or you retreat. What are you going to choose today?)

2) The major continues with a statement that is so powerful and full of tactical wisdom. “He considered the fact that they were still in contact a good thing, though. We try to maintain contact with the enemy as long as possible and kill as many as we can,” Gant said. “We were going to do some serious damage that day. (In the same way God wants to use you and I to run to the battle line and get the enemy to manifest and expose his strongholds…so we can take it out! We need leaders like this Major who wants contact with the enemy! This is what I like! Warriors who rejoice when they are under attack because they know why and what is really going on!)

3) And again…”It is easy to sit in a room in safety and talk about it,” he said. “I came here to fight. I came here to kill the enemy. I knew at the time what a huge engagement it was… I also had a huge concern for my team and my Iraqis, because I love these guys.” (Let’s face it fellow warriors the majority of our Western Sunday services have nothing to do with raising up warriors but rather comforting the fears of the draft-dodgers. I don’t want you’ all to just sit back and wave the Israeli flag in your services but do something physically and financially to help. It is time to do tactical counter-terrorism with the victory already provided for us. It is time to get out of the peacenik solidarity movement ! Are we here making things comfortable for ourselves while we wait to get “raptured” out of here? Or are you and I going to engage the enemy? Also notice the brotherly love this Major had for both the US and Iraqi commando’s working with him!).

4) Look at these incredible acts of sacrifice…“My driver was fearless that day. He didn’t even hesitate,” he said.” (This is powerful! His enlisted man driving that day should also get a medal with a “V” crest in it also for “Valor”. To sacrificially run over 3 improvised explosive devices to save others! They did it because the enemy wanted the convoy to stop moving and get into a defensive position so they could pick them off one by one. This applies to all of us today…keep moving and don’t stop! Sacrifice yourselves to keep others moving in their faith!)

5) And it is this type of love that will bring in the harvest of Jews and Muslims in this hour…”I will never forget them hugging and kissing us, their brothers in arms,” he said of their return. “They do this in celebration, when they think we gave our lives for them, or could be dead. On that day, there were no Americans. There were no Iraqis, no whites and no blacks. There were no Sunnis, Shias, Christians. There was just a group of warriors working and fighting together,” he said. “All the men I fought with that day showed incredible courage and bravery. That was one of the highlights of my life; working with those men that day.”

6) But let us not forget either the courage before the battle that Dalit exemplifies to us today by her hard work and preparations. She is being motivated by a love even deeper than these commandos’ know. It is the love of laying down our lives for Israel’s

“I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises…” - Romans 9:1-4

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.” - John 15:12-14

So there you have it…two stories of bravery and courage both complex but simple. Simply in the fact that they both come from the wellspring of love. May this be the defining word for all the acts and endeavors you and I will be launching on in the near future.

Concerning the ongoing OPP project we have been receiving a increasing flow of emails and donations from many of you, yet due to our time constraints in getting packed and moved to Israel we cannot respond to some of them right away. Just know that we love you and appreciate your desire to be a part of this tactical warfare community. GOOD NEWS: We have spoken with the attorney and owner of the property in Israel and we were able to get a payment extension for one more week due to the Memorial Day weekend. So we have until June 6th, 2007 (D Day) or 9 days to raise the remaining $378,152.00. We encourage you that now is the time to give and complete your pledge amounts! God bless you!!!

In His service for your faith,

Scott and Dalit