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| Barno Addresses Challenges of Dual
Missions in Afghanistan |
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| By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service |
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BAGRAM
AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Dec. 19, 2003 - While coalition forces
will do their utmost to kill or capture terrorist leaders here,
the provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan are the
wave of the future, said Army Lt. Gen. David Barno.
Barno, commander of Combined Forces Command, Central
Asia, also said operations in Afghanistan have not been limited by the war in
Iraq. "We have a robust capability here that continues to do daily work against
critical targets - Osama bin Laden, Al Zawahiri, Mullah Omar, Gullbaden Hekmatyar," he
said. "Those are very important targets here in the theater, and we have assets
going after them on a daily basis."
But provincial reconstruction teams are becoming "pretty
close" to the main effort in the country, the general said. More |
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Antiterrorism
Training at Shaw
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| Airmen
1st Class Jesse Killingsworth and Karen Santiago
from the 20th Civil Engineering Squadron tow
equipment needed to detect possible chemical
contamination during a local antiterrorism exercise
at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., Dec. 11, 2003.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Josef Cole |
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| AFGHANISTAN VISIT |
Myers Highlights Progress in
Economic, Government Areas |
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| By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service |
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BAGRAM,
Afghanistan, Dec. 18, 2003 — Afghanistan is advancing on
the security front, but now there is visible proof of advances
on the economic and governmental fronts, Air Force Gen. Richard
B. Myers said here today.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff visited
Afghanistan and brought a USO Holiday Show for U.S. service members deployed
in the theater. The trip also gave the chairman the chance to get briefings from
commanders.
Speaking at the American headquarters here, Myers
said there is a lot of good news coming out of Afghanistan. More |
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Iraqi Volunteering Increases
Following Capture of Saddam |
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| By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press Service |
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2003 — Iraqi citizens are volunteering in record numbers to serve in the country's new security services since the Dec. 13 capture of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein, with the largest concentration of volunteers coming from the area around Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, coalition officials said today.
In a Baghdad, press conference, Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor – while cautioning that it's too early to label it as a steady trend – said a "record spike" in volunteers for service in the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps took place the day after Saddam's capture was announced. More Briefing |
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Iraqi Legal Profession Trains
To Prosecute Regime Crimes |
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| By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press
Service |
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WASHINGTON,
Dec. 18, 2003 — Iraqi legal community members have completed
training that will help them investigate and prosecute alleged
crimes committed by Saddam Hussein's regime, the senior spokesman
for the Coalition Provisional Authority said at a Baghdad press
conference today.
Dan Senor said the authority's office of transitional
justice and human rights organized and coordinated the program at the Iraqi Governing
Council's request. The council selected the participants, which included judges,
lawyers, prosecutors and legal professors, for the two-week advanced legal seminar
in Baghdad. More |
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| 101st Airborne Passing Along Knowledge
to Successors |
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| By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service |
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MOSUL,
Iraq, Dec. 18, 2003 — The soldiers of the 101st Airborne
Division here are working to give their follow-on unit – a multinational
division – a head start, division commander Army Maj. Gen. David
H. Petraeus said Dec. 17.
During combat operations in March and April against
Saddam Hussein's regime, the 101st fought from Kuwait up through the west of
Baghdad and into the north of Iraq. The unit is due to rotate back to Fort Campbell,
Ky. in January and February. More |
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| Oregon Reservists Tackle
First Tanker Mission at Incirlik Air Base |
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| By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Elaine Aviles /
39th Air Base Group Public Affairs |
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INCIRLIK
AIR BASE, Turkey — More than 125 people and four KC-135 tankers
from the 939th Air Refueling Wing from Portland, Oregon, deployed
here recently in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi
Freedom, relieving reservists from Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind.,
and McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.
The reservists’ mission
is to refuel E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar Systems
and C-17s hauling people and supplies downrange during their 45-day
stint at Incirlik. More |
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| Thousands Gather for USO Show |
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| By U.S. Army Sgt. Greg Heath / 4th Public
Affairs Detachment |
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 BAGRAM,
Afghanistan, Dec. 19, 2003 — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, Gen. Richard Myers and some all-star guests visited Bagram
yesterday as part of the United Service Organizations’ sponsored
Christmas tour.
Myers brought along actor and comedic legend Robin
Williams, Olympic gold medalist and World Wrestling Entertainment
superstar Kurt Angle, and NASCAR racer Mike Wallace to Afghanistan
to thank all military members for doing their part in the war
on terrorism. More |
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| Global War on Terrorism |
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| On Iraq |
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Despite
Loss of Leg,
Marine Goes Army Airborne |
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 FORT
BENNING, Ga., Dec. 19, 2003 — Sgt. Christopher
Chandler, an Aurora, Colo., native, lost his left
leg from below the knee Dec. 16, 2001, when he stepped
on a land mine while providing security for an explosives
ordnance disposal unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Chandler recently made history when he graduated
from the U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course. Story |
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President
George W. Bush |
“Members
of the Armed Forces are now serving in
a great cause, serving in an historic time.
the peace and security of our fellow citizens
depend upon their bravery and their willingness
to serve. In so doing, our soldiers accept
the dangers and the hardships that this
cause sometimes requires.” |
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At
Walter Reed Army Medical Center,
Dec. 18, 2003 |
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Deputy
Defense Secretary
Paul Wolfowitz
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“The
state of Saddam Hussein I think has already
sent a powerful message to those who would
make it their business to support exporters
of terror through weapons of mass destruction.
One way or another, the world is determined
to put them out of business.” |
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Remarks, Dec. 17, 2003 |
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BAGRAM
AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Dec. 19, 2003 – Afghan Militia
Forces in the Kandahar area led a coalition patrol to a
cache of rockets, Dec. 18, 2003, according to Combined
Joint Task Force 180 (Afghanistan). Coalition soldiers,
including experts from the 767th Explosive Ordnance Detachment,
transported the 44 Chinese 107mm rockets and fuses to Kandahar
Air Field for destruction.
As part
of an ongoing humanitarian assistance, coalition civil
affairs soldiers traveled to Nisswan School in Gardez province
and distributed several boxes of school supplies. More |
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| U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Middleton, a sailor aboard USS Enterprise supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, sends Hanukkah greetings home to his loved ones. U.S. Navy Photo by Seaman Justin N. McGarry |
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![Home Page - DefendAmerica
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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Dec. 19, 2003 — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld welcomed a new crop of Air Force combat controllers , watched an Army infantry training exercise and consoled family members Dec. 18 during a visit to Pope Air Force Base and Fort Bragg here. 
WASHINGTON,
Dec. 18, 2003 — Five-time Grammy-winning gospel
and pop music star Amy Grant pays special tribute
to U.S. service men and women deployed far from home
through the holidays during her "Simply Christmas
with Amy Grant and Vince Gill" tour. 
