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Jan 09, 2004
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Photo, caption below.
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SCHOOL OPENING — U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) commander, cuts the ceremonial ribbon marking the grand opening of the Al Hasoodia School in Kanash, Iraq, Jan. 7, 2004. The almost $10,000 coalition project to rebuild the school began after an Air Assault by the 101st in November 2003. Defense Dept. photo by Pfc. Chris Jones, U.S. Army
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Ridge Lowers Threat Level,
But Nation Remains On Guard
By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service
     WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2004 — Although the nation's terrorist threat indicator level was lowered from Code Orange to Yellow, America remains on guard, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said here today.
     "The (terrorist) threat conditions that we've been following have diminished," Ridge noted to reporters at a press briefing.
     Code Orange, which was implemented Dec. 21, indicates a high risk of a terrorist incident, and is the second-most-severe threat index of a five level, color-coded scale. More
Task Force 'All American'
Reports Progress in Fallujah
     FALLUJAH, Iraq, Jan. 9, 2004 — The 82nd Airborne Division and its subordinate units conducted 191 patrols, including 11 joint patrols with the Iraqi Police and Border Patrol Guards, and six offensive operations during the past 24 hours, U.S. Central command officials reported today.
     While conducting a patrol, paratroopers from the division’s 3rd Brigade identified a vehicle and two people placing an improvised explosive device along the road. Officials said the soldiers engaged the enemy with direct fire, killing one, wounding the other and destroying the vehicle. The wounded individual was evacuated for treatment and is in stable condition. Paratroopers found a large propane tank with wires protruding from it. An explosive ordnance detachment secured the device. More
101st Airborne Division Troops Capture Anti-Coalition Suspects
     MOSUL, Iraq, Jan. 9, 2003 —Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) captured six people suspected of anti-coalition activities during pre-dawn raids in northern Iraq Jan. 8, according to U.S. Central Command officials.
     Officials said an element of the division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team detained five individuals in Ash Shura for attacks on coalition forces and for their connections to making improvised explosive devices. The element confiscated an AK-47 rifle and electrical components that could be used for making the homemade bombs.
     In Mosul, officials said 3rd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment detained a man wanted for the sale of two Samoud missiles during a joint cordon-and-knock operation with Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldiers. More
Guard Artillerymen Training
As MPs to Support Terror War
By Donna Miles / American Forces Press Service
     WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2004 — The third group of National Guard artillerymen is slated to begin retraining as military police at the Army’s Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Jan. 12 to support the war on terror.
     The soldiers are among the first of about 2,200 Army National Guard soldiers to be retrained as provisional military police to conduct patrols, control crowd and direct traffic at military installations in the United States and Germany. More
Powell: U.N. Speech Presented
Facts about Weapons Program
By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service
     WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2004 —Secretary of State Colin Powell today defended his Feb. 5 assertions before the United Nations Security Council that Saddam Hussein's Iraq possessed and was hiding weapons of mass destruction in defiance of numerous council resolutions.
     "The fact of the matter is Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction and programs of weapons of mass destruction, and used weapons of mass destruction against Iran and against their own people," America's senior diplomat told reporters.
     In his U.N. speech given just weeks before the start of the U.S.-led military campaign that ousted the former Iraqi dictator, Powell cited Saddam's repeated failure to jettison his weapons of mass destruction in compliance with Resolution 1441. More
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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.
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Iraq Update
Maps of Iraq
Iraq's 55 Most Wanted
Mass Graves of Iraq: Saddam's Reign of Terror
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Unit Issues Mail Guidance
For Redeploying Troops
      CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, Jan. 9, 2004 — The Army's 3rd Personnel Command has issued guidance to redeploying troops about redirecting their mail for a smooth, timely transition to their home-bound addresses.
     The unit manages postal operations in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater, and has provided procedures to be followed by soldiers, mail clerks and commanders to ensure mail is properly channeled. More
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Transformation
DoD Tests Supply
Tracking Technology
      WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2004 - In its ongoing effort to improve support to troops in the field, the Defense Department is testing radio-frequency identification technology, Alan Estevez, assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for supply chain integration said here today.
     RFID tags contain microchips that, when scanned, send out a unique identification signal. Tagged items can be added quickly to inventory databases and can even be wirelessly tracked for short distances. More
More Transformation News
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Defense Dept. Resumes Anthrax
Vaccine Immunization Program
      WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2004 — A federal judge ruled Jan. 7 that the Defense Department could again legally administer anthrax immunizations to troops.
     That same day, Defense Department personnel chief Dr. David S.C. Chu noted in a departmentwide memorandum that military commanders "should immediately resume the anthrax vaccination program."
     The department's anthrax vaccine immunization program had been in hiatus since Dec. 23, after an injunction granted the previous day by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia caused the department to suspend the program. More
Humvees Getting Extra
Armor Reinforcements

An Iraqi worker of the Peerot Co. Ltd. arc welds a steel plate; a piece of the new armor kits for Humvees offered to units with soldiers constantly on the road in soft-back vehicles. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Samuel A. Soza      FORWARD OPERATING BASE IRONHORSE, TIKRIT, Iraq — For soldiers conducting missions outside the walls of Forward Operating Base Ironhorse, Humvees, canvas-covered, or soft-back, may not be the best protection on the road.
     In an effort to improve the protection of these soldiers, improvised armor kits are being assembled for four-passenger Humvees at FOB Ironhorse. More

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Afghanistan Update
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U.S. Aids Afghan Women
     WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2004 — The United States has implemented more than 175 programs for the benefit of Afghan women in the areas of political participation, economic opportunity, education, and health care, according to a fact sheet released Jan. 8 by the State Department's Office of International Women's Issues. Fact Sheet
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Coalition Condemns Attack 
Medics Bring Care to Communities 
More Afghanistan Update Details
Maps of Afghanistan 
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Photo Essay - banner image
Slingloading Equipment for Redeployment 
More Photo Essays
Photo, caption below.
Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Bravo Company, 501st Signal Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) prepare to hook a Humvee up to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, Jan. 4, 2004. The 501st slingloaded equipment from a remote outpost on top of a mountain in Iraq in preparation for redeployment to Fort Campbell, Ky. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua Hutcheson 3 More Photos     Story
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Sailors, Marines Crack Down On
Drug Smuggling in Arabian Sea
By U.S. Army Spc. Chad D. Wilkerson / 372nd Mobile Public Affairs Det.
     ABOARD USS PELELIU, January 5, 2004 — Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), along with sailors of Expeditionary Strike Group-One, recently interdicted a dhow bearing an estimated 2,800 pounds of hashish while crossing the North Arabian Sea.
     Allied forces helped to track the dhow as U.S. Naval forces prepared for the interdiction. “We knew by the look of some of their (crewmembers’) faces that something was up,” said Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Mark V. Anderer, who was involved in the vessel boarding search and seizure mission. Story
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On the FrontLines - banner image
Baghdad Neighborhood
Advisory Council Votes in New Members
Citizens of Baghdad's Ameria neighborhood pack in to a building to fill out ballots at the neighborhood advisory council refreshing caucus to reselect council members. U.S. Army photo    BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 9, 2004 — Residents of Baghdad’s Ameria neighborhood lined the streets near the old Iraqi Airways Club to choose new neighborhood advisory council members recently.
    Votes were cast in this caucus-style after residents determined that the current five council members - selected by the Coalition Provisional Authority in June - did not represent the neighborhood’s diversity.
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Coalition Provisional Authority
Rebuilds Iraq's State Services
    WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2004 — The Coalition Provisional Authority is working to shore up Iraq's state service capabilities in preparation for the handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi transitional government in June 2004.
    
Currently, the firefighters in Babil Province, south of Baghdad, are benefiting from an authority project to equip the forces with the necessary clothing and trucks to better enable them to meet their responsibilities. More
Reserve Team Handles Reimbursement
To Rasheed District Neighborhood
Citizens of Baghdad's Ameria neighborhood pack in to a building to fill out ballots at the neighborhood advisory council refreshing caucus to reselect council members. U.S. Army photo    BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan 8, 2004 — “Our main objective is to get everyone paid,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ronald McGraw from Bravo Detachment, 411th Civil Affairs, 1st Armored Division, a U.S. Army Reserve unit from Danbury, Conn. tasked with handling reimbursements for the Rasheed District neighborhood.
    “Second of all, we need to get all the information sheets filled out completely,” McGraw adds.
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Mosul Central Bank Rebuilding Project Begins
    MOSUL, Iraq — The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the Central Bank of Iraq recently began a project to rebuild the Mosul Central Bank, left in ruins by looters after the fall of Saddam Hussein in March.
    The building is now just a burned-out cavern of what was the local central bank, it is expected to be complete by early 2005.
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'Leaders’ Rest’ Facility Dedicated To Memory of Fallen U.S. Soldier
By U.S. Army Spc. Chad D. Wilkerson / 372nd Mobile Public Affairs Det.
     BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 9, 2004 — Freedom Rest, the U.S. Army’s designated location for troop rest and recuperation in Baghdad, opened a new addition last month.
Command Sgt. Maj. Ioakimo Falaniko, 1st Armored Division's engineer brigade command sergeant major, unveils the entrance to the new Leaders' Rest facility in Baghdad Dec. 23. The building, a rest and recuperation facility for general officers and brigade and battalion command teams, was named in honor of Pvt. Jonathan Falaniko, the command sergeant major's son who was killed earlier this year when his convoy was attacked in Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Chad D. Wilkerson     Several Task Force 1st Armored Division brigade and battalion command leadership teams joined Brig. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, 1st Armored Division commander, and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, Combined Joint Task Force 7 commander, for the opening and dedication of the new facility. More
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More News - banner image
Global War on Terrorism
Hundreds of Nonviolent Iraqi Detainees Eligible for Release
Rumsfeld: War on Terrorism Remains Top Priority for 2004
Gen. Myers: Top U.S. Focus Continues To Be War on Terror
Defense Leaders Cite Recent Milestones in War on Terror
Blair Lauds British Troops During Iraq Visit
Iraq
Army Helicopter Crash Kills 9; Coalition Continues Patrols
Bechtel Receives Iraqi Reconstruction Contract
Video Dispels Claims That Troops Desecrated Mosque
. 1st Armored Div. Commander Optimistic About Iraq's Future
Military News
Fort Campbell Troops Return Home After Deployment to Iraq
Injured Iraqi Merchant Seaman Treated Aboard USS Enterprise
Expanded Army Stop-Loss to Affect 7,000 Deployed Troops
. National Guard, Reserve Update
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Iraq Update Afghanistan Update
Iraq Update Afghanistan Update
Recon Mission Provides Key Step
To Building Afghan National Army
      FARYAB PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 9, 2004 — The Afghan National Army took a step closer to building its Army’s strength with a reconnaissance mission recently in the province of Faryab.
     The reconnaissance mission conducted by the Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan’s U.S. Recruiting Assistance Team was an attempt to select a prominent site and the secure land to build an Afghan National Army Volunteer Center in the province. More
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Profile
U.S. Army
Capt. Eric Strong
U.S. Army Capt. Eric Strong has been nominated for the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stanis      BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 7, 2004 — “Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be … they build your basic character. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the Nation's defense. They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid,” said Gen. of the Army Douglas MacArthur in his 1962 Sylvanus Thayer Award acceptance speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. More
More Profiles
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Saddam's Iraq: Reign of Terror
Iraqi Freedom
bullet U.S. Views — Quotes by President Bush & other U.S. leaders
bullet Defense Views — Quotes by U.S. defense leaders
bullet Maps of Iraq — Maps of the nation of Iraq and the region
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Secretary of State Colin Powell

“We regret the loss of life of our brave young men and women and other coalition men and women and those civilians who have lost their lives (in Iraq) .... They are serving in a good cause to give the Iraqi people peace and freedom, and what is not there anymore is a horrible, dictatorial, filthy regime that did develop weapons of mass destruction, that used them against people, a regime that filled mass graves. It is gone. It is not coming back.”
Remarks during press conference, Jan. 8, 2004
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On the Ground
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In Afghanistan
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Soldiers Give School Supplies
To Students in Afghanistan
U.S. Army 1Lt. Melinda Demott and Capt. William Nelson hand out school supplies at Tangi Kalay, near Kabul, Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo
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     TANGI KALAY, Afghanistan, Jan. 9, 2004 - Members of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan Psychological Operations team recently visited Tangi Kalay, the most eastern village in the Kabul Province, to distribute school supplies. More
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In Iraq
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Canine Gate Guard
Follows His Nose
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Master of Arms 1st Class Sean Stull, a 4th Infantry Division canine handler, stands with his German Shepard, Rocky, trained to detect explosives. U.S. Army photo by Bronwyn M. Meyer     FORWARD OPERATING BASE IRONHORSE, TIKRIT, Iraq — The newest security guard for the 4th Infantry Division can sniff out trouble before others know its coming. Good instincts and loyalty are just two things that make this sentry at the front gate of Forward Operating Base Ironhorse the best at his job. Also, no matter the hour or the weather, he doesn’t complain. More
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Soldiers Help Set Up
Mosul Phone Network
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     AL SULAIMANYA, Iraq, Jan. 6, 2004 (Army News Service) — Members of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) participated in a two-day conference in the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq to set up a telephone network centered on the city of Mosul. More
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'On The Ground' Archive
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