DefendAmerica 11/12/2003

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Nov 12, 2003

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Capt. Eric Lui with the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron, treats a non-coalition casualty with a gunshot wound at Baghdad International Airport, Nov. 10, 2003. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall

Bremer Prepares to Return to Iraq, Continues Discussions

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2003 — Following meetings with President Bush and his advisers, Ambassador Paul Bremer will go back to Baghdad and continue discussions with the Iraqi Governing Council.
     In a White House press conference, Bremer, the coalition administrator in Iraq, said the discussions centered around two questions: How does the coalition win the war on terrorism in Iraq, and how should the move proceed toward a sovereign Iraqi government?
     "I'll be taking (the governing council) a message from the president that he remains steadfast in his determination to defeat terrorism in Iraq and steadfast in his determination to give the Iraqis authority over their country, authority they're already beginning to assume very quickly in the area of security and in the area of running the Iraqi ministries," Bremer said. More

Terrorists Strike Italian HQ
In Iraq; More Weapons Seized

By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2003 — At least 22 people were killed today when two vehicles crashed the gate of the Italian military headquarters in Nasiriyah, Iraq, and one exploded.
     News reports say the death toll is expected to rise. The blast leveled the building, and people are presumed to be trapped under the rubble. Eight Iraqis and 14 Italian military police and soldiers accounted for the preliminary death toll number.
     In overnight raids that concluded this morning, 4th Infantry Division soldiers took 36 suspected insurgents into custody, including the man believed to have shot down a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Tikrit on Nov. 7, and five suspected accomplices. Six U.S. soldiers died aboard the Black Hawk. Story

Tax Relief Act Aids Families Of Fallen Service Members

By K.L. Vantran / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2003 — Legislation signed by President Bush on Veterans Day increases the death gratuity payment to $12,000 and provides that the full payment is tax-free.
      That portion of the Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003 is retroactive to Sept. 10, 2001, to provide for service members who died in the terrorist attacks the following day and in the ongoing global war on terror, said Army Lt. Col. Janet Fenton, director, Armed Forces Tax Council.
      The death gratuity has been $6,000 since 1991, with half of it being taxed, said the director. "It just didn't seem to be fair for the military family who was left grieving for their service member to get hit with a tax bill," she added. Story

Iraq Weekly Progress Update (Governance, Electricity, Education, Oil, Security, Economics, Health Care)

Send Your 'Best Wishes' to the Troops
Pay tribute to service members supporting the global war on terrorism. Send your message. Read messages to the troops.

America Pays Tribute to the Troops

Elementary Students Warm the Hearts of 82nd Airborne Soldiers

ONECO, CONN. — When Sterling Memorial School students sat down last winter to write letters to a group of 82nd Airborne Division Soldiers serving in Afghanistan, reading consultant Jodi Ross wasn’t expecting anything more to come of the school-wide project.
Ross, who coordinated the mass mailing with school nurse Cheryl Risavich, thought of it as a one-time patriotic effort to let the troops know the kids were rooting for them. Some of the Soldiers thought differently. They wrote back. More

Join the OTF Team Find an Event

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

Sanchez: Enemy Will Not
Break Coalition's Will

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2003 - Anti-coalition forces "will fail" to breakthe will of the coalition and of the vast majority of the Iraqi people, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said in Baghdad.
Militarily, he said, the regime terrorists have no chance to defeat the coalition. "I would like to remind those who might attempt to undermine or subvert the progress of the Iraqi people through violence that although the coalition can be benevolent, this is still the same lethal formation that removed the former oppressive regime," he said. "And we will not hesitate to employ the appropriate levels of combat power in order to safeguard the interests and safety of the Iraqi people, as well as our coalition service members." Story

Iraqi War Vets Still Want to Serve

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 11, 2003 — Among the many veterans who came to see President Bush pay tribute to the nation's veterans on the 50th anniversary of Veterans Day here today, three said they still are willing to serve their country, ready to go back to war and rejoin America's latest battle in Iraq. More

Radio

Television

A Captain's Letter from Bagdhad

Friends,
     I write this late on Veterans Day 2003 from Baghdad. I did up this special edition of the Ironsides and I wanted to send it out with a special note.
     I know most of you will get this later or tomorrow morning but please take a minute and read the 1st Armored Division Veteran's Day Message.
     This morning we conducted our usual brief to the Commanding General. We then stood as one as Maj. King read Brig. Gen. Dempsey's message. We then watched a presentation put to Darryl Worley's "Have You Forgotten". Then each primary staff member read one of the enclosed names who gave their life in defense of our country and it's ideals. I sounded off with Sgt. Francisco Martinez. Although I never met Sgt. Martinez I have spent most of my day thinking about him. I am proud to serve in the same division as Sgt. Martinez.
     In the afternoon I attended a memorial ceremony for a young soldier recently killed by an explosive device. His friends talked about his dedication to our mission. Pvt. Kurt Frosheiser is an example of the great Americans I am surrounded with everyday. The same young men and women who are bringing freedom to Iraq. More

Veterans Day 2003

Marines Raise 50 Flags

Service members honor their brothers and sisters in arms as they remember those who have served and given their lives for our country.
U.S. Marine Corps photo Story

. Veterans Day 10K Race Draws Army Runners

. A Veteran's Salute

. Veterans Day: Not Just a Normal Day Aboard Ike

. USS Ronald Reagan Makes Maiden Port Visit in Honor of Veterans' Day

Veterans Day in Pensacola More Photo Essays

Pensacola Beach, Fla. Students at the Officer Candidate School prepare to march in the Veteran's Day parade at Pensacola Beach, Fla. The OCS students regularly participate in the annual event. U.S. Navy Photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Chris Desmond 4 More Photos

'Terror is Not the Tool of the Free'; U.S. Will Finish Mission

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2003 — "We will finish the mission we have begun, period," President Bush said during a Veterans Day speech at the Heritage Foundation here Nov. 11.
Bush said that two years into the war on terror, the United States cannot afford to appear weak. He contrasted the decision Harry S. Truman made to launch the Berlin Airlift to the current war on terror. More Remarks

America's Only Exit Strategy in Iraq is Success, Rumsfeld Says

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2003 — The only "exit strategy" for U.S. forces in Iraq is success, but the coalition is well on its way to achieving that aim, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Nov. 11.
Rumsfeld spoke on the CBS and Fox News morning shows for the Veterans Day observance. He said success in Iraq is defined as turning sovereignty back to a duly elected, representative government. More

Task Force Medical Team Upgrades Hospitals in Eastern Afghanistan

By U.S. Army Spc. Cain S. Claxton / 10th Mountain Division

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Nov. 10, 2003 — A Combined Joint Task Force-180 medical team administered a much needed shot in the arm to three Afghan hospitals, installing $750,000 worth of new equipment and training local health care workers how to
use it.
Soldiers from the 452nd Combat Support Hospital, Milwaukee, Wis., refitted Nangarhar University Training Hospital and Public Hospital in Jalalabad, as well as Kandahar’s Mir Wais Hospital, with new and upgraded equipment and supplies. More

. U.S. to Give $1.6 Billion to Speed Up Afghan Reconstruction Projects

Global War on Terrorism

. Pace: U.S. Making Progress In Global War on Terrorism

. President Signs $87.5 Billion Package for Iraq, Afghanistan

. U.S. Believes Terrorists Still Pose Threat to Civil Aviation

On Iraq

. Powell Urges Attention to the Good News in Iraq As Well As the Bad

. Iraqis Shouldering More of Security Mission

. The New Iraq: Progress and Accomplishments

Military News

. Predictability, Stability at Heart of New Troop Rotation Policy

. VA Secretary Details Plans for Better Care, Service to Veterans

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Service Members Involved in 'Noble Cause,' Chairman Says

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2003 — American service members are involved in a "noble cause" in protecting the United States from the threat of terrorism, Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said today.
The fights in Iraq and Afghanistan are crucial to U.S. national security, the chairman said, and service members fighting this battle understand that. "Ask any troop … and they'll tell you that they understand exactly what we're fighting for," he said. "It's important for the survival of our way of life." Story

	U.S. Views — Quotes by President Bush & other U.S. leaders
	Defense Views — Quotes by U.S. defense leaders
	Maps of Iraq — Maps of the nation of Iraq and the region
	Women of Iraq — U.S. is committed to women's participation in rebuilding Iraq
	Demining Iraq — U.S. is committed to demining program in Iraq

President George W. Bush

"Two years into the war on terror, the will and resolve of America are being tested, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Again, the world is watching. Again we will be steadfast; we will finish the mission we have begun, period. "

Remarks to the Heritage Foundation,
Nov. 11, 2003

Stryker Brigade Lands in Kuwait

PORT OF KUWAIT, Kuwait, Nov. 12, 2003 (Army News Service) — For the first time since World War I, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division has deployed overseas.
The brigade’s Stryker vehicles and other equipment arrived Nov. 12 in the port of Kuwait on board the USNS Shughart and USNS Sisler after a three-week voyage from Fort Lewis, Wash., via the Port of Tacoma. More

Navy Ordnance Disposal
Techs Awarded Bronze Stars

CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) — Eight Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians were recognized recently for their accomplishments while participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom from March to August of this year.
The sailors deployed with Commander, Task Force 56 and provided operational support for the First Marine Expeditionary Force. Their mission, while in a combat environment, was to remove ordnance and any other explosive materials from the Rumaylah and the Az Zubayr oil fields located in southern Iraq. Story

Profile

U.S. Air Force
Airman 1st Class Vernon Millican
Airman 1st Class Toni Chapman

Airmen First Class Vernon Millican and Toni Chapman are all smiles as they get ready to take their wedding vows on board a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter Nov. 6. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Richard Watson

BALAD SOUTHEAST AIRFIELD, Iraq, Nov. 10, 2003 (AFPN) — Two airmen said "I do" above Iraqi soil in an Army UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter here Nov. 6.
Airmen 1st Class Vernon Millican and Toni Chapman, both of the deployed security forces contingent here, pledged to spend the rest of their lives together before God and four of their friends during the helicopter's training mission. More

More Profiles

In Afghanistan

U.S. Troops Destroy
Recovered Ordnance

U.S. Army Spc. Joseph London, 441st Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), arranges explosive ordnance in preparation for disposal Saturday. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kelly Hunt

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2003 — Troops supporting Operation Enduring Freedom looked toward the horizon as an enormous blast transformed the sky into the backdrop for a firework’s show as more than 2,300 pounds of hazardous ordnance went up in smoke. Story

In Iraq

Task Force 1-35
Aid Station Staff Honored

1st Armored Division’s Task Force 1-35 aid station staff poses for a group picture after receiving certificates of recognition, in Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Chad Wilkerson

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2003 — Soldiers who work at the Task Force 1-35 Armor aid station were recognized recently for outstanding performance of their duties during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Story

. Army Engineers & Kurdish Rebuild Airport

. Reservist's Colleagues Donate Care Packages

'On The Ground' Archive

Ballistic Missile Defense |