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Jan 16, 2004

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SUPPLIES — Members of the 414th Civil Affairs and 4th Brigade pass out clothes, school supplies, food, and coats to children of the Ahmadania Elementary School, Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2004. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall

Defense Dept. Approves Duty Tour Extension; 1,600 Affected

By Army News Service

     WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 15, 2003 — The Defense Department has approved the extension of selected Army units past their 12-month “boots on the ground” time in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
     The extensions are for 12 units, affecting approximately 1,600 soldiers of about 130,000 currently deployed. The time extended will vary by unit, between five and 60 days.
     The Defense Department is committed to supporting the combatant commander and his mission while balancing the need to take care of soldiers, their families and communities. More

Cheney Addresses Terrorist
Threat, U.S. Security Strategy

By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2004 — In a speech that often evoked the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney emphasized Jan. 14 that the global war against terrorism is a long-term struggle.
Cheney spoke to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. "Remembering what we saw on 9/11, and knowing the nature of these enemies, we have as clear a responsibility as could ever fall to government," Cheney said. "We must do everything in our power to keep terrorists from gaining weapons of mass destruction." More Remarks

Iraqi Currency Now Official,
Replaces Saddam-Era Money

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2004 — Billions of dollars worth of new, hard-to-counterfeit Iraqi dinar bank notes are now officially in circulation throughout the country, the Coalition Provisional Authority reported today.
The money became the official currency of Iraq Jan. 15 after a three-month exchange period that also included the destruction of tons of Saddam Hussein-era notes, according to a joint Coalition Provisional Authority-Central Bank of Iraq news release. 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.

. Iraq Update . Maps of Iraq

. Iraq's 55 Most Wanted

. Saddam's Iraq Reign of Terror

Myers Praises Australian
Efforts in War on Terror

CANBERRA, Australia, Jan. 16, 2004 - The top American uniformed officer delivered the American military's thanks to one of its most steadfast allies here today.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thanked his counterpart, Army Gen. Peter Cosgrove, chief of the Australian Defense Force, for his nation's help in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the global war on terrorism. More

4th Infantry Div. Soldier
Saved by Body Armor

ABU KHARMA, Iraq, Jan. 16, 2004 — A 4th Infantry Division soldier, saved from more serious injury by his protective body armor and ceramic insert, known as the SAPI (Small Arms Protective Insert) plate, is in stable condition after being wounded by gunfire from attackers in the village of Abu Kharma at approximately 4 a.m. Jan. 14, according to Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials. More

Hawija City Council
Meeting Attacked

HAWIJA, Iraq, Jan. 16, 2004 — Seven people were injured, including four Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldiers, when two attackers threw hand grenades at a Huwija government building during a city council meeting Jan. 14, according to Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials. The grenades landed near a Task Force Ironhorse Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The Bradley gunner wounded one attacker when he responded to the attack. The wounded attacker was able to escape.
Soldiers were at the meeting at the time of the attack. The injured Iraqis were taken to the local hospital and are in stable condition. None of the injuries was life threatening.

Troops Nab Two More
Senior Iraqi Insurgents

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2004 — Task Force All-American soldiers nabbed two more senior anti-coalition leaders during combat operations in western Iraq, according to a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release. More

Radio

Television

Iraqi Reconstruction Facts

Iraq's New Currency

Iraq's new currency is an important indicator of economic revitalization. During the Iraqi currency exchange, which began on October 15, 2003, and ended on January 15, the value of the new dinar has risen by 25 percent. To date almost 4.5 trillion new Iraqi dinars or $3 billion are estimated to be in circulation. Transporting the money to Iraq required twenty-eight 747 aircraft loads of about 100 tons each. Iraq's historical monuments, landscapes, and accomplishments in the sciences are featured on the new notes, as opposed effigies of the Ba'ath Party on the old currency. (Coalition Provisional Authority, Baghdad)

Cell Phone Service Comes to Iraq

Improvements in telephone service are helping Iraq reintegrate into the international community and paving the way for the new economy. Today, mobile telephones are available in Iraq for the first time, and by April 2004, there could be more than half-million Iraqi cell phone subscribers. New technology is also making it possible for Iraq to establish its first emergency call network. (Coalition Provisional Authority, Baghdad)

Education in Iraq

Renewing Iraq's educational system is vital because Iraqi youth will determine their country's future. All universities are open, 5.1 million Iraqi primary school students are back in the classroom, and more than 51 million new textbooks - without propaganda - are being distributed. Plus, Iraqi teachers now earn up to 25 times their salaries before liberation. (U.S. Agency for International Development)

COMMENTARY

An Iraqi Education

This article originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 15, 2004.
Reprinted with permission from The Wall Street Journal © 2004,
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved

By Bill Evers

You come in-country on a military cargo plane, traveling from a military airfield in Kuwait. Your plane comes down steeply from the sky (to avoid Saddamist rocketeers) to the military side of the international airport in Baghdad. You're a senior adviser on education for the Coalition Provisional Authority, recruited by the White House and the office of the secretary of defense and approved by Ambassador Paul Bremer. Your five-month mission is to help revive teaching and learning in a country on the mend from a fascist despotism. What's it like? More

The Art of War More Photo Essays

U.S. Marine Cpl. Edwin Charles Broadnax, with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 2nd Marine Division, stands post at Echo Four at Camp Commando, Kuwait, March 18, 2003. This granite sketch is part of a collection drawn by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Jack Carillo in Iraq during 2003. 7 More Photos

North Carolina, Maryland Reservists
Assist Iraq's Disabled Veterans

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 15, 2004 – Soldiers from the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Greensboro, N.C., and the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, an Army Reserve unit from Riverdale, Md., both part of Task Force 1st Armored Division, said their goodbyes to the Iraqi disabled veterans at the Al Shamookh Village for Disabled Veterans after the units' final mission there Jan 4. More

Soldiers' Efforts Put Iraqi Fire Boat Back in Action

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2004 (Army News Service) — For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Baghdad has a fire boat officially patrolling the Tigris River.
The fire boat, named the Future 2, was discovered during the summer – looted and inoperable – by soldiers of the 40th Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Division, on the bank of the Tigris near the 14th of July Bridge. More

Reconstruction Funds Provide Improved Life for Iraqis

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2004 — Millions of dollars dispensed through a U.S. civil affairs fund have fueled myriad reconstruction projects across Iraq, improving the lives of Iraqis in the post-Saddam Hussein era, according to a senior U.S. military civil affairs officer. More Briefing

Global War on Terrorism

. Ridge Lowers Threat Level, but Nation Remains On Guard

. Guard Artillerymen Training as MPs to Support Terror War

Iraq

. Myers Thanks Mongolian Allies For Peacekeeping Help in Iraq

. Rumsfeld Takes Steps to Avoid Increasing End Strength in Iraq

Military News

. Myers Says Reenlistment Rate Strong During War on Terror

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Air Force Translator Arraigned

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Jan. 14, 2004 (AFPN) — The opening session in the court-martial case involving Senior Airman Ahmad A. Al Halabi convened here Jan. 13. The accused is charged with Uniform Code of Military Justice violations including failure to obey a lawful general order, making false official statements and attempted espionage. Story

Transformation

New Style of Warfare
Vital to War on Terror

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2004 — Within 10 years, U.S. forces around the world will enjoy greater combat effectiveness as a result of network-centric operations. That's a vision John Stenbit has pursued for the past two years, and it is already bad news for America's enemies. Stenbit is the assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration, and DoD's chief information officer.
The term "network-centric warfare" broadly describes the combination of emerging tactics, techniques and procedures that a fully or even partially networked force can employ to create a decisive warfighting advantage. Story

More Transformation News

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

Send your message Read others

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

	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

Vice President Richard B. Cheney

"We have, today, more than 125,000 Americans serving in Iraq. They are confronting terrorists every day in that country, so that we do not one day meet the same enemies on the streets of our own cities."

Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Jan. 14, 2004

Profile

U.S. Army
Chief Warrant Officer Douglas Clapp

FORWARD OPERATING BASE IRONHORSE, Iraq - Shelann Clapp saw her husband’s promotion to chief warrant officer 5, even though she was at Fort Hood and he was in Tikrit, Iraq.
Chief Warrant Officer Douglas Clapp was promoted during a Jan. 5 ceremony by Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse. More

More Profiles

. Maps of Afghanistan

In Afghanistan

The Eyes Have It at
Afghan Combat Hospital

Capt. Mark Reynolds, 452nd Combat Support Hospital ophthalmology clinic at Bagram, Afghanistan, examines the eyes of 1st Sgt. Earnest Robertson, 1st Embedded Training Team. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Johnny A. Thompson

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan. 14, 2004 – If U.S. and coalition forces here are going to be successful in their quest to kill, capture and deny sanctuary to al Qaeda and Taliban militants, they must first be able to see their nemesis.
And with the help of the hospital's ophthalmology unit, troops in the Afghanistan theater will never have to go into a combat operation with "blind" ambition. More

'On The Ground' Archive