DefendAmerica - Home Page 12/30/2003

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Dec 30, 2003

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TRACKING TARGETS — Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Montejo from Freeport, Maine, tracks air targets on the Ship's Weapons Coordinator System aboard USS Enterprise, deployed to the Arabian Sea in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, Dec. 27, 2003. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Justin McGarry.

Coalition Battles Sabotage,
Smuggling of Iraqi Gasoline

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2003 — Coalition personnel are working with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to head off gasoline smuggling, sabotage of the oil industry infrastructure and black-market profiteering. Officials said these continue to be among the greatest problems facing the Iraqi people.
     Coalition spokesman Dan Senor and Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the operations deputy at Combined Joint Task Force 7, briefed the press in Baghdad today. Senor talked about steps the coalition is making to combat the gas shortage that is plaguing life in Iraq.
     Senor cited a number of causes to the gasoline shortage, which has made for long gas lines at neighborhood stations throughout the country. He said prosperity is one reason. There are 250,000 more cars in Iraq since the fall of Saddam, he said, and the increase in demand is one reason for the shortage. More

U.S. Delivers Supplies, Experts
Following Earthquake in Iran

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

U.S. Central Air Forces C-130 aircraft commander, Lt. Col. Scott Decker, center, works with Iranian soldiers and other Air Force personnel to offload 20,000 pounds of medical supplies at Kerman, Iran, Dec. 28, 2003, two days after a devastating earthquake destroyed the city of Bam, Iran. U.S. Central Command plans to provide nearly 150,000 lbs of relief supplies from U.S. military logistics sites in the Arabian Gulf. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Jenkins

     WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2003 — Proving that disaster knows no politics, U.S. service members are delivering humanitarian aid to Iran in wake of an earthquake that has left an estimated 25,000 Iranians dead.
     A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck the area near the city of Bam. Iranian officials said the death toll could reach 40,000 in Bam and the surrounding countryside.
     The U.S. military responded by deploying more than 150,000 pounds of medical supplies from bases in Kuwait to the people of Iran. It was the first U.S. aircraft to land in Iran since the end of the Iranian hostage crisis in 1981. Story

Ops. Enduring & Iraqi Freedom Show Transformation in Action

By Paul Stone / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2003 — If you want to see the face of transformation - if you want to see what it looks like in action - you need not look any further than Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
     That's the view from the top by Retired Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski, chief of the Defense Department's Office of Force Transformation and one the department's chief architects in the effort to transform the military.
     Cebrowski said several elements of OEF and OIF were both representative of transformation and historic. More

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

U.S. Defense Dept. slides with facts &
figures on reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

. Maps of Iraq

Transformation

Defense Dept. Studies Creation
Of Stability, Reconstruction Force

     WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2003 — The Pentagon is considering creating a military force that would be dedicated to stability and reconstruction operations, according to retired Navy Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski, chief of the Defense Department's Office of Force Transformation.
     Although it may be some time before a final decision is made on whether such a force becomes reality, Cebrowski -- one of the department's chief architects in the effort to transform the military -- said the ever-changing post-Sept. 11 security environment, as well as the lessons of history itself, make a strong case for stability and reconstruction operations.
     "We're going to need this capability. And we're going to need it repeatedly," he said in a recent interview. "Just because we need it today in Iraq doesn't mean that's the only time." More

More Transformation News

Defense Officials
Identify Army Casualties

     WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2003 — Defense Department officials announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
     Sgt. Curt E. Jordan, Jr., 25, of Green Acres, Wash., died on Dec. 28 near Bayji, Iraq. Jordan died of non-combat injuries. Jordan was assigned to the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion (Corps) (Wheeled), 555th Combat Engineer Group, based in Fort Lewis, Wash.
     Pvt. Rey D. Cuervo, 24, of Laguna Vista, Texas, was killed on Dec. 28 in Baghdad, Iraq. Cuervo was on a mounted patrol when an improvised explosive device hit his vehicle. Cuervo was assigned to 1st Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based in Fort Polk, La.
     These incidents are under investigation.

Task Force Patrols Net
Weapons, Enemy Personnel

AR RAMADI, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2003 – During the last 24 hours, the 82nd Airborne Division and subordinate units, also known as Task Force “All American,” conducted 193 patrols, 33 of which were joint patrols with Iraqis, and carried out two offensive operations, according to U.S. Central Command officials. These operations resulted in the capture of four enemy personnel. Entry was denied to 170 personnel at the border crossing in Trebil – all due to insufficient documentation. More

Radio

Television

Bush Praises Troops Fighting Terrorism, Defending Freedom

By Rudi Williams / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2003 — President Bush expressed the nation's gratitude to military men and women "defending freedom around the world," in his weekly radio address Dec. 27.
"These brave Americans are fighting terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere so that we do not meet these killers on our own streets," he said. "We are grateful for the courage and commitment of our troops, and we are safer because of their skill and sacrifice." Story

Operation Avalanche in Afghanistan More Photo Essays

Task Force 1-501st E Company paratroopers board a Ch-47 Helicopter at dawn earlier this month after providing security during Operation Avalanche at Salerno Forward Operating Base, Afghanistan. The operation was designed to impede the enemies of Afghanistan from moving weapons and supplies across the border to stage them for a spring offensive. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gul A. Alisan 6 More Photos

Ensuring A Silent Night For Those We Love

By U.S. Air Force Col. D. Lee Hall

The commander of the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group
addresses his troops after a midnight rocket attack on their air base.

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — When the Russians pulled out of Afghanistan in February 1989, they left in their wake a country in ruins. Over the next 12 years, Afghanistan became a lawless, dark place and the perfect hideout for thugs like the Taliban and misguided zealots like Osama bin Laden. After the brutal Sept. 11. attacks on the freedoms we hold so precious, America sent her best, brightest and bravest sons and daughters here to clean house, and to shine a light of justice into the Afghan darkness. More

Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction
Team Continues Efforts in Petaw

Spc. Edward Maxa from the Civil Military Operations Center sector of the Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team , unloads boxes from a van in Petaw Village Dec. 15 with the help of villagers during a humanitarian aid distribution effort. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kelly Hunt BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Dec. 30, 2003 — Troops from the Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team continued to make their good intentions known as they ventured to Petaw Village Dec. 15 to discuss security issues in the area and to be updated on the villagers’ concerns.
“Today’s mission was to go back to Petaw Village, talk to the villagers and to follow up on the well project,” said Lt. Col. Mark Schnur, Ghazni team commander. More

Festivities Mark Openings At Bab Muadham Campus

Lt. Col. John Kem, commander of the 16th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, speaks to the audience of Baghdad University staff and faculty, with the help of a translator, during the unveiling of the new museum entrance statue, a lion. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Conrad College

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 26, 2003 – Soldiers and Baghdad University staff, faculty and students mingled earlier this month at the university’s Bab Muadham campus, all apparently realizing, happily, that this was a historic day for the university. The Iraq Museum of Natural History was reopened, a new Internet café was opened and a refurbished child care center for staff and faculty was opened during the ceremonies.
The three projects were a cooperative effort of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the Ministry of Higher Education, the University of Baghdad and the U.S. Army. More

101st Airborne Division
Celebrates Youth Center Opening

TALLAFAR, Iraq, Dec. 28, 2003 - Leaders from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Tallafar Youth Center today in northern Iraq.
In attendance at the ceremony was Col. Michael Linnington, commander, 3rd Brigade, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the Mayor and Chief of Police of Tallafar, and Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st. More

Gamble's Deployment Journal

Army Staff Sgt. Zeno Gamble, a Gulf War veteran, is one of the thousands of reservists who have been called to active duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Gamble left his civilian job at the Pentagon Dec. 7. Gamble plans to share some of his deployment journal entries with DefendAmerica.mil.

Dec. 22, 2003 - I made a mistake. I missed the warning on the package that said "take medication with food." That is why at noon on Wednesday, I pulled over at a weigh station on I-95 to get rid of the malaria pill in a very painful fashion. It took a few hours for the pain to subside, and I wanted to double-check with the medics.
I stopped to see Larry Skummer at the Flight Medicine Clinic at the Pentagon for my third anthrax shot. He chuckled at me when I told him about the malaria pill. He told me I should not take it on an empty stomach. That, however, was not my only medical worry. More

Global War on Terrorism

. Heightened Security Not Tied to Saddam Hussein's Capture

. Bush, Blair Welcome Libya's Pledge to Dismantle Weapons

. 'Tremendous Strides' Made in Iraq, Afghanistan, Collins Says

On Iraq

. 5 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq; Operation Nets 66 Prisoners

. Samarra Blast, Urbil Suicide Attack Kill U.S. Troops, Iraqis

. Rewards Announced for Capture Of Former Regime Members

Military News

. Rumsfeld, Myers Laud Troops, Caution Terror Threat Remains

. Military Blood Program Seeks Holiday Donors

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Send your 'Best Wishes' to the
troops waging the global war on terror.

Send your message

Read other messages

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

New England Patriots Salute
War on Terrorism Veterans

FOXBORO, Mass., Dec. 29, 2003 — Chaplain (Capt.) Ricky Reaves (left) and Tech. Sgt. Michael Robblee watch the New England Patriots football team practice before a game at Gillette Stadium, Dec. 27. The New England Patriots hosted more than 75 service members from the U.S. military services at the game to show their appreciation for those who deployed overseas supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Reaves is assigned to the 66th Air Base Wing at Hanscom Air Force Base, and Robblee is assigned to the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Eric M. Grill

Profile

U.S. Air Force Civilian Augmentee
Jim Wagner

Jim Wagner, Air Force Civilian Augmentee Program air traffic controller, hoists the American flag at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Brian Davidson

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — Countless American families have loved ones doing their part to support the war on terrorism, and one family has answered the call of duty on two fronts, in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Serving as an air traffic controller at Bagram Air Base, Jim Wagner is supporting Operation Enduring Freedom under the Air Force Civilian Augmentee Program, while his son, Spc. Joshua Wagner, is serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 615th Military Police Company in Baghdad. More

More Profiles

	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

President George W. Bush

“These brave Americans are fighting terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere so that we do not meet these killers on our own streets...We are grateful for the courage and commitment of our troops, and we are safer because of their skill and sacrifice.”

Remarks during weekly radio address,
Dec. 27, 2003

. Maps of Afghanistan

In Iraq

Neighborhood Survey
Sheds Light on Samarra

Trash litters a street corner in Samarra, where the 418th Civil Affairs Battalion of Belton, Mo. is trying to expand its presence in the city, which is located inside the Sunni Triangle. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tim Berger

SAMARRA, Iraq - The maps inside the detachment's tent simply did not tell the whole story of southeast Sammara or its people. So a team of civil affairs soldiers, armed with digital cameras and global positioning systems, toured the city Dec. 8 to get a clearer picture.
Using the high-tech equipment, members of the 418th Civil Affairs Battalion's general support detachment set out to snap pictures and map points of interest for a neighborhood survey that will be a blueprint for rebuilding an area that is now considered hostile to Coalition forces. More

'On The Ground' Archive