A writer of a letter to the editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader was complaining that the flag was always at Half-Staff.
The reason why:
July 17 for Pfc. Michael S. Pridham, 19, of Louisville, Ky. died July 6 at Qalat, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels, Germany.
July 10 for Sgt. John M. Rogers, 26, of Scottsdale, Ariz., died June 27 at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
July 9 for Spc. Nathan W. Cox, 21, of Fremont, Calif., died June 16 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained June 14 when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire at Near Forward Operating Base, Khogyani, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
July 8 for Sgt. Eric B. Shaw, 31, of Exeter, Maine died June 27 in Konar, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
July 8 for Spc. Russell E. Madden, 29, of Dayton, Ky., died June 23 at Charkh district, Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with rocket fire. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Conn Barracks, Germany.
July 4 for Spc. Blair D. Thompson, 19, of Rome, N.Y. died June 25 at Konar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
July 2 for 1st Sgt. Robert N. Barton, 35, of Roxie, Miss., died June 7 in Konar, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
July 2 for Staff Sgt. Brandon M. Silk, 25, of Orono, Maine, died June 21 of injuries sustained when the helicopter in which he was travelling made a hard landing. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
June 29 for Staff Sgt. James P. Hunter, 25, of South Amherst, Ohio, died June 18 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
June 28 for 2nd Lt. Michael E. McGahan, 23, of Orlando, Fla., died June 6 in Khogyani district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
June 24 for Spc. Benjamin D. Osborn, 27, of Queensbury, N.Y., died June 15 in Shigalwashheltan district, Konar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
June 22 for Spc. Blaine E. Redding, 22, of Plattsmouth, Neb. died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device June 7 in Konar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Random Thoughts by Lord Kalvan / Devil Anse 
Wow. That is sad and stunning! I imagine the person that wrote in to the editor feels chagrined.
I just calculated the average age of these twelve dead soldiers = 2525. when will these maddening wars end?
every flag everywhere should be at half-staff until the last deployed soldier in Afghanistan and Iraq comes home.
I know that my heart is at half-staff. Such a horrible tragic waste. It is well past frickin' time the USA stopped this and began to evolve. Work on defense if you must. But this is getting us NOWHERE.
Makes my heart weep.