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| STORMY
WEATHER — Lightning fills the horizon
and lights up the flight deck and air wing aircraft
parked on USS Abraham Lincoln's forward elevator
and bow. The Lincoln and Carrier Air Wing Fourteen
14 are conducting combat missions in support of
Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch.
U.S. Navy
Photo by Lt. Troy Wilcox |
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Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz
Reaches Out to Indonesians |
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| By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service |
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2002 — Terrorism is a "great
challenge" to democracy and unity in Indonesia, but U.S. Deputy
Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the Indonesian people
today that he thinks they are up to the challenge.
Speaking live on an Indonesian television station via a
telephone link from the Pentagon, Wolfowitz used the
opportunity to reiterate the oft-made point that America is
not an enemy of Islam, terrorists are.
Indonesia is the most populous predominantly Muslim nation
in the world, and it has had its own recent problems with
terrorism. A terrorist bombing at a nightclub in the mostly
Hindu province of Bali in October killed nearly 200 people,
many of them Western tourists.
Wolfowitz has a special bond with the people of the island
nation. He was U.S. ambassador to Indonesia under the
Reagan Administration. He invoked those close personal ties
today in getting his message across.
"If Indonesians don't do something to stop terrorism in
Indonesia, it's going to have really terrible consequences
for democracy in that wonderful, important country that I
love so much," Wolfowitz said. More |
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| Land Mines a Major Safety Issue |
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| By U.S. Army Sgt. Eric C. Barker
\ 300th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment |
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — By some estimates, there are more than 100 million land mines buried all over the world. A land mine blows up every 22 minutes, killing or disfiguring 26,000 people a year. Afghanistan is one of the countries most devastated by land mines.
Afghanistan has an estimated 10 to15 million mines in place. Land mines were placed by the Soviets in the 1970s and ’80s, then later by tribal warlords and the Taliban. It is clear that many of these have been randomly scattered in inhabited areas precisely to cause civilian casualties and terrorize the population.
With millions of mines unaccounted for, no place is 100 percent safe. According to officials at Task Force Panther's Military Mine Action Center here, there are mines still inside the perimeter of Kandahar Air Field. Clearance of these mines is high priority.
“Kandahar is one of the most mined cities in a country that has the most mines in the world," said Maj. Steven A. Baker, Task Force Panther engineer. Most of the Russians areas are not marked. Mines were placed by artillery, aircraft and by hand. Numerous mines from numerous armies, everybody put something in a different place.” More |
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| Iraq Threatens
No-fly Zone Pilots |
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| By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service |
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WASHINGTON,
Nov. 4, 2002 – Iraq continues to threaten coalition
forces patrolling that country's northern and southern
no-fly zones, top U.S. defense officials said Monday.
Iraqi air defense measures have largely been ineffective
against coalition aircraft. Myers attributed this to
several different things. "In some cases it's cautiousness;
in some cases it's probably luck; and in some cases it's
good tactics on our part," he said. More |
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| Medic Work |
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| Kahrkia
Kalay, a village outside of Khowst, Afghanistan. |
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A Personal View
Of Ramadan |
 There are a reported 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide. Seven million Muslims live in the United States and worship in more than 2,000 mosques and Islamic centers. On Nov. 6 Muslims begin the month-long religious observance of Ramadan marked by abstinence, charity and fasting. Ramadan begins in the ninth month of the Muslim Calendar and ends in early December.
Here, DefendAmerica presents a personal look at Ramadan. Rabia Jami, a web developer on the DefendAmerica staff who was born in Afghanistan, shared a glimpse of her family life and discussed what Ramadan means to Muslims everywhere. Story |
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U.S. Personnel Show
Respect for Ramadan |
By U.S. Army Sgt. Reeba Critser
28th Public Affairs Detachment |
BAGRAM, Afghanistan — For the Afghans who fast, work may be demanding as the month of Ramadan approaches. Ramadan begins Wednesday and ends with a festival, Eid al Fitr, Dec. 6. During this period, Muslims enforce the duty to keep the fast of Ramadan — one of five pillars of Islam.
“The workers will need more breaks and they can’t have water,” said Capt. Chris Evans, 360th Civil Affairs Brigade, Fort Jackson, S.C. “Be patient with them; especially to those guys working for us. They will be tired and thirsty. To those Muslims training at the Afghan National Army site in Kabul, you can’t push them harder. They’ll be tired. They need more breaks.”
Soldiers who deal with Afghans workers on a day-to-day basis need to be considerate of the religious beliefs, he said. More |
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| Americans Working Together |
Deployed Pilot Helps
Girl Scouts Earn Badges |
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OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (AFPN) — The last place 1st Lt. Connie Holen thought she would be re-living old memories of her time as a Girl Scout was during a deployment to Southwest Asia.
Holen is a KC-10 Extender pilot from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., deployed with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing to a forward-deployed location supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch. When she heard the United Services Organization was trying to help a local American Girl Scout troop find a guest speaker, she jumped at the opportunity. More |
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| Profiles |
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Air
National Guard
Maj. Charles Moose |
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ARLINGTON,
Va., Nov. 1, 2002 — Most
Americans know him as Montgomery County Police Chief
Charles Moose, the leader and national spokesman
for the multi-agency task force that devoted three
weeks to tracking down those responsible for killing
10 innocent people, wounding three others and terrorizing
people around the nation's capital before the Oct.
24 arrests.
His
military colleagues also know him as Maj. Charles
Moose, commander of the District of Columbia Air
National Guard's 60-member security forces squadron
in the 113th Wing based at Andrews Air Force Base
in Maryland. More
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| Sept.
11, 2001, marked the beginning of the war on terrorism
and brought a tragic end to thousands of lives.
Here we honor those who died in the attack on the
Pentagon. |
| Pentagon
Attack |
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| Since
Oct. 7, 2001, 53 Americans have died supporting
the war on terrorism. Here we honor those who died
while serving their country. |
| Fallen
Warriors |
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