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| LONG WAY FROM WYOMING —
An H-model C-130 Hercules crew from the Wyoming
Air National Guard flies to Kandahar, Afghanistan,
in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Photo
by Tech. Sgt. Marvin Preston, USAF |
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| AFGHANISTAN |
U.S. Forces Discover
5 Tanks,
Weapons Cache in Mountains |
| By Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T.
Rhem, USA / American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON,
May 14, 2002 — U.S. forces operating in Afghanistan confiscated
five Soviet-made tanks in what might be the largest cache of
weapons found to date in the country.
U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman
of the Joint Chiefs, told reporters in the Pentagon Tuesday
that U.S. troops found large caches of weapons over the weekend
in Orgun, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border south of Gardez,
and in Herat, in the western part of the country. The haul included
more than 800,000 rounds of .50-caliber ammunition, 1 million
machine gun rounds, 600 rocket-propelled grenades, 700 mortars
and five T-54 tanks. The troops also found 15 containers with
about 1,500 mortar rounds buried in the side of a hill.
"We have found tanks in the past. We
have found large ammunition caches in the past. Whether or not
this is the largest (weapons find) I don't know," Pace
said.
Depending on their condition, the weapons
and ammunition could be destroyed in place or given to the newly
formed Afghan national army, Pace explained.
He mentioned that the Afghan national army's
first 250 soldiers began training today. The 10-week training
program will emphasize basic soldier skills in the beginning
and will progress from there. Another 160 Afghan soldiers are
scheduled to start training soon, he said. |
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| New
Joint Task Force for Afghanistan |
A U.S.
Army three-star general will assume command of a new joint task
force that will consolidate operations in Afghanistan under
one umbrella.
Joint Task Force Afghanistan is scheduled
to stand up in Kandahar by early June. Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill
will head the force. He currently commands XVIII Airborne Corps
at Fort Bragg, N.C.
McNeill will take fewer than 500 troops with
him to establish the JTF headquarters, according to U.S. officials.
Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said the establishment
of a joint task force does not signal a permanent U.S. presence
in Afghanistan. "We have made it so clear at every step
of the way that we'll stay as long as it takes to get the job
done, but we have no desire to stay one day longer," she
said. Story |
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| A-10 Thunderbolt
II |
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| The snow-capped
Himalayas provide a backdrop for A-10 Thunderbolt IIs |
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May 14, 2002
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May is National Military Appreciation Month in
the United States. Send your thanks to the men
and women of the U.S. military by signing this
online thank
you note
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Making Military
Training
Fit in the Environment |
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON —
A night flight from Los Angeles to San Diego, Calif.,
illustrates the problems facing the military as it trains
for war.
"You leave Los Angeles and below,
you see a blanket of lights," said Ray DuBois, deputy
undersecretary of defense for installations and environment.
"As you approach San Diego, you see the same blanket
of lights. But right in the middle of all these lights
is a 17-mile stretch of darkness that is Camp Pendleton."
The lights, he said, go right up to
the fence line of the U.S. Marine Corps base — one of
the Corps' most important training facilities.
The camp is undeveloped and is the place
where Marines train to ensure they are ready for war.
It is also the home of a number of endangered species
crowded out of the surrounding area by suburban development.
The simple fact is that the American
military needs realistic training in order to fight and
win America's wars, DuBois said. More
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| Two Completed School Projects
in Konduz - Coalition Humanitarian Liaison Cell-Konduz
facilitated the completion of two priority school
projects in Konduz. Both were all-girl high schools
that were renovated using Overseas Humanitarian
Disaster and Civic Aid program funds totaling over
$33,000. Repairs consisted of replacing doors and
windows, repairing roof and walls and providing
desks, chairs and other school supplies. |
| School Projects Underway in
Bagram - Coalition Humanitarian Liaison Cell-Bagram
has begun repairs, using local contractors and laborers,
of two of seven schools that are part of their school
rehabilitation projects. The population of both
schools is currently only 250 students, but when
repairs are completed, the schools will accommodate
1,750 students. |
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DefendAmerica
Website
Spotlights War on Terror |
| Some readers
of this site have asked why we don't have an "About
Us" link. Try this story
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| Patrick J. Murphy |
|
 U.S.
Naval Reserve Lt. Cmdr. Patrick J. Murphy was
serving a two-week assignment with the Navy
Command Center in the Pentagon.
He earned a B.S. degree at
the University of Mississippi and was commissioned
an ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1986 in the nuclear
propulsion program. He served on the USS Sand
Lance. In 1991 he left active duty to pursue
a career in chemical engineering. After earning
an M.B.A degree from the University of Chicago
he worked for the Naval Reserve and the Chief
of Naval Operations. His decorations include
the Navy Achievement Medal, the Navy and Marine
Corps Commendation Medal and the Purple Heart
(posthumously awarded).
He was a student of history
and a man of many interests. He enjoyed meeting
people and learning different cultures. He believed
strongly in family, God and country.
Survivors include his wife
Masako; children Mitchell and Casey; mother
Joan Miller; stepmother Joyce Murphy; brothers
John Murphy and David J. Ames; stepbrother Rodger
Miller and sisters Kathleen M. Schweikart, Susan
G. Johns and Gwynne L. Murphy.
We will not forget him.
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