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Rumsfeld
in Pacific Rim
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| Secretary
of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld responds to a
reporter's question during an informal press
briefing while en route to Tokyo to meet with
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on
Nov. 14, 2003. Reuter's reporter Charles Aldinger
(center) and New York Times reporter Thom Shanker
are accompanying Rumsfeld as he travels to
Guam, Japan and South Korea to meet with U.S.
military forces and the local military and
civilian leadership. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt.
Andy Dunaway, U.S. Air Force |
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| Commentary:
The Passenger |
| By U.S.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeramie Brown
/ Air Force News Agency |
RAMSTEIN
AIR BASE, Germany, Nov. 14, 2003, (AFPN) — Like
most Americans, I find that I am pretty
selfish sometimes. I learned just how selfish
on a recent trip to Iraq. I was sitting
on a C-130 Hercules waiting to leave a
location I can’t spell or pronounce,
when we got delayed. I was annoyed. I’d
been traveling for hours trying to get
to my destination and here we were, stuck
in some out-of-the-way place and I was
hot, tired and ready to get there already.
Then it happened. I found out we were waiting
on another passenger.
I didn't know his name. I say ‘his’ but
I didn’t know if he was actually a he or a she. I didn’t know what
branch of service he was in or what rank he was. All I knew was that this passenger
cost me another hour and a half on that plane.
Little did I know how profound an impact "The
Passenger" would have on me. You see, this passenger that we had to wait
on, who delayed our trip and annoyed me and the other passengers, was a casualty
of war. More |
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| Japanese PM Tells Rumsfeld Iraq
Mission 'Important Cause' |
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| By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press
Service |
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TOKYO,
Nov. 14, 2003 — Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
told Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today that he agrees that
the cause of rebuilding Iraq is important to the international
community.
"He said he believes that Japan's support of successful
reconstruction of Iraq is within the national interest of Japan," said a senior
U.S. Defense official present at the 45-minute meeting. The Japanese government
has made significant financial contributions toward rebuilding Iraq, including
a $1.5 billion grant in 2004 and $3.5 billion in loans over the following three
years. More |
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| PRESIDENT BUSH |
| Extols Importance of Employer Support
for Guard, Reserve |
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| By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service |
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WASHINGTON,
Nov. 14, 2003 — President Bush recognized the importance
of employers in making their employees' military service possible
as he signed a proclamation marking National Employer Support
for the Guard and Reserve Week.
"In times of need, our nation counts on the Guard
and Reserve members to fulfill their commitments of service," Bush said
during a White House ceremony. "We value their courage and we honor their
sacrifices. They're defending their nation in the war on terror and they are
serving in a just cause." More |
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| Wolfowitz Praises Top Civilian Employers
of Guard, Reserve |
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| By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press
Service |
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WASHINGTON,
Nov. 14, 2003 — Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz
today praised the exemplary support provided by nine civilian
employers of Guard & Reserve members.
Speaking at the 2003 Secretary of Defense Employer Support
Awards ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Congress, Wolfowitz noted that 156,000
Guard and reserve members are now on active duty in support of the war on global
terrorism. More |
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| Wolfowitz: Women's Rights Must be
Guaranteed in Iraq |
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| By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service |
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WASHINGTON,
Nov. 14, 2003 — "One can't separate the rights of
women from the rights of all people," Deputy Defense Secretary
Paul Wolfowitz told a delegation of Iraqi women visiting the
Pentagon today.
The 21 women, on a tour sponsored by the World Bank,
the Woodrow Wilson Center and the American Bar Association, pushed the deputy
secretary to appoint more Iraqi women to official positions in Baghdad. More |
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| Feith Defends Coalition's Move To
Take Down Saddam Hussein |
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| By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press
Service |
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WASHINGTON,
Nov. 14, 2003 — Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's
regime presented a clear and present danger to the United States
and to the world and had to be removed, DoD's top policy official
told a think tank here Nov. 13.
Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations, Undersecretary
of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith defended the actions taken to remove Saddam,
which occurred with the fall of Baghdad in early April. More Transcript |
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| Fighting Terror War Involves Choice
Between Freedom, Fear |
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| By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press
Service |
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 TOKYO,
Japan, Nov. 14, 2003 — American and other coalition military
forces fighting the war on terrorism are making a choice between
living in freedom and living in fear, Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld told a crowd of service members in Guam.
"Free people are people who can do what they
want and say what they want," the secretary told some 200 U.S. troops having
lunch at an Andersen Air Force Base dining facility. "Free people cannot
live in fear." More |
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| Gen. Abizaid: Iraq's 'Despicable
Thugs' Can't Defeat Coalition |
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| By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press
Service |
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WASHINGTON,
Nov. 13, 2003 — The terrorists trying to undermine coalition
efforts in Iraq are a "despicable bunch of thugs," but
no military threat exists in Iraq that can drive the United
States out, the commander of U.S. Central Command said today.
"The enemy will stop at nothing to create
the impression that we can't win," Army Gen. John Abizaid said. "They
put ammunition and explosives in ambulances. They store ammunition and explosives
in schools and mosques. The same things that you saw from this enemy during the
march to Baghdad, you see from this enemy now. More Transcript
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U.S. Army Veterinarian Treats
Ailing
Brown Bear at Baghdad Zoo |
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| By U.S. Army Spc. Chad Wilkerson / 372nd Mobile
Public Affairs Detachment |
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BAGHDAD,
Iraq, Nov. 12, 2003 — A tranquilizer gun is a rare type of weapon
to see in central Baghdad. Although most U.S. Army servicemembers
in Iraq carry assault rifles or machine guns, the veterinarians’ “weapon” of
choice at Baghdad Zoo is a syringe dart filled with anesthetic.
This
tranquilizer is not meant to cause damage, however, but rather
as an aid in repairing damage caused by various medical
problems. More |
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| Global War on Terrorism |
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| On Iraq |
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Defense Officials
Identify Army Casualties |
WASHINGTON,
Nov. 17, 2003 — Defense Department officials have announced
the names of four soldiers killed in Iraq and one killed in Afghanistan.
Spc. Irving Medina, 22, of Middletown,
N.Y., was killed on Nov.14 in Baghdad, Iraq.
He was traveling in a convoy when it struck an improvised explosive
device. Medina was assigned to 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery
Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort
Riley, Kan.
Pfc. Jacob S. Fletcher, 28, of
Bay Shore, N.Y., was killed on Nov. 13
in Samara, Iraq. Fletcher was riding on a bus when an improvised
explosive device
exploded. He died of his injuries. Fletcher was assigned to
Company C, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd
Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy.
Sgt.
Joseph Minucci II, 23, of Richeyville, Pa, was killed on Nov.
13 in
Samara, Iraq. Minucci was riding on a bus when an improvised
explosive device
exploded. He died of his injuries. Minucci was assigned to
C Company, 2nd
Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne
Brigade, Camp Ederle,
Italy.
Spc. Marlon P. Jackson, 25, of
Jersey City, N.J., was killed on Nov. 11
in Tampa, Iraq. He died of injuries sustained when an improvised
explosive
device exploded on the road. Jackson was assigned to A Company,
94th Engineer
Battalion (Combat) (Heavy), 130th Engineer Brigade, Vilseck,
Germany.
Sgt. Jay A. Blessing, 23, of
Tacoma, Wash., was killed on Nov. 14 in
Asadabad, Afghanistan. Blessing died of injuries sustained
from an improvised
explosive device. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, 2nd
Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.
These incidents
are under investigation. |
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Florida
Church Launches
Operation Sweet Tooth |
| WASHINGTON,
Nov. 14, 2003 — When Mary Massey adopted Robert
Campbell earlier this year, she had no idea what to
expect. Like others who adopt, she thought that adoption
might be a positive and kind gesture that would help
another person. Little did Massey know that shortly
after adopting Campbell, he would ask for enough cookies
to feed 600 of his friends. More |
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| Ambassador Bremer:
'Future of Hope' in Iraq Includes Justice |
WASHINGTON,
Nov. 14, 2003 — Justice is part of the "future of
hope" in Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority administrator
told the Iraqi people in his weekly broadcast address from Baghdad
today.
Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III said "the quest for
justice takes on a special importance and urgency" in a country such as
Iraq, which has known "much injustice." More |
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Veterans Welcome
R&R-Bound Troops |
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| BALTIMORE,
Nov. 14, 2003 — The moonlight dances with the
lights on the tarmac at Baltimore-Washington International
Airport as the winds blow rustling leaves across
the runway. It's 4 a.m., or "oh-dark thirty" as
those in the military like to say. More |
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| Profile |
Frank Schaeffer
Lance Cpl. John Schaeffer, USMC |
|
 PENSACOLA,
Fla., Nov. 13, 2003 (NNS) — The only Navy pharmacist
to have deployed inside Iraq doubles as the head
of the pharmacy department at Naval Hospital Pensacola.
When he’s not “making meds” in the
desert of southern Iraq or preparing to implement the first-ever bar coding prescription
tracking device at a military medical facility, he’s taking a day off to
accept an award as the Navy’s Senior Pharmacist of the Year. More |
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| Goodwill Game Volleys Coalition Relationship to New Height |
|
 BAGRAM,
Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2003 — With
intent to foster unity between
the coalition forces based
here, elements of the Korean
hospital and the U.S. hospital
at Bagram Air Base joined for
a volleyball game
and luncheon. More |
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| B-Huts Improve Life at Bagram |
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| BAGRAM,
Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2003 — They’re
going up everywhere on Bagram
making life a little more comfortable
for coalition troops supporting
Operation Enduring Freedom
here at Bagram Air Base. B-huts
are replacing the standard
shelter option for troops. More |
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| 'On The Ground' Archive |
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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. |
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BALTIMORE,
Nov. 15, 2003 — "Today is Army day," proclaimed
5-year-old Allan 'AJ' Hill II on Nov. 14 as he stood
in the arrival area for international flights at Baltimore-
Washington International Airport.
