DefendAmerica - Home Page 01/16/2004

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Jan 16, 2004

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DOWN UNDER — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staf Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers troops the line during a ceremony at the Australian Defense Force headquarters in Canberra. AFPS photo by Jim Garamone

Bremer: Sovereignty Handover
Should Happen on Schedule

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2004 – The Coalition Provisional Authority administrator today said he thinks the handover of sovereignty to the Iraqi people ought to occur on schedule.
In Washington to discuss Iraq issues with President Bush, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III told reporters at the White House that he and Bush discussed preparations for his Monday meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council and other CPA officials in New York City about the future of Iraq. Coalition plans to hand over sovereignty to the Iraqis June 30 hit a snag recently. More

Iraq, Afghanistan Rotation Plan
To Provide Right Mix of Forces

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

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2004 — Possibly the largest rotation of military forces in United States history is about to take place, as thousands of troops prepare to relieve units that have been in Iraq and Afghanistan for as long as a year, the director of operations for the Joint Staff said here today.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz said the rotation will involve all varieties of active duty and reserve combat and support forces. He said the goal of the rotation will be to satisfy the needs of ground commanders for the right kinds of forces -- especially civil affairs, military police and intelligence units. More

Sanchez: Saddam Loyalists
Should Disarm, Look to Future

By K.L. Vantran / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2004 — Anti-coalition forces and former regime elements should "lay down their arms and embrace the future," the commander of U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq said in a briefing from Baghdad today.
"The former regime is never going to come back," said Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 7. "We're going to be relentless in the pursuit of these targets. We're going to capture or kill them, as is our mission. Those that remain at large, and given the pace that we're moving toward sovereignty, it's time for them to lay down their arms and become part of the solution." More

U.S. Not Seeking Bases in Australia, Myers Says

SYDNEY, Jan. 17, 2004 – The United States is not even thinking about basing American troops in Australia, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said here today.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said Jan. 16 that U.S. and Australian officials are considering building a joint training area in Australia. The Australian press has magnified that embryonic project into a U.S. request for permanent bases. 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

101st Airborne Division
Starts to Head Home

CAMP DOHA, Kuwait, Jan. 16, 2004 — The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), which landed in theatre in February of 2003, is beginning its 10,500 mile, three-month odyssey back home to Fort Campbell, Ky., with a massive transfer of troops and equipment by air and land.
Brig. Gen. Jeffery Schloesser, 101st Airborne Division assistant division commander (support), has overseen the division’s redeployment operations in Kuwait, which serves as the primary staging area for all equipment and personnel returning to the U.S. More

Florida Naval Reservists
Receive Presidential Unit Citation

MIAMI, Jan. 16, 2004 (NNS) — Naval Reservists in Miami, back from combat support operations in Iraq and Kuwait, were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation Jan. 10 for their efforts from March through April.
U.S. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart of the 25th District of Florida recognized the Naval Reserve 4th Force Service Support Group, 4th Medical Battalion, Headquarters and Service Company Detachment 15 at a special ceremony. More

Defense Officials
Identify Army Casualty

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2004 — Defense Department officials announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Keicia M. Hines, 27, of Citrus Heights, Calif., died on Jan. 14 when she was struck by a vehicle on Mosul Airfield in Mosul, Iraq. Hines was assigned to the 108th Military Police, Combat Support Co., Fort Bragg, N.C.

Radio

Television

Operation Ivy Blizzard More Photo Essays

U.S. Army Pfc. Artura Franco, a member of 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, looks through a box of papers and identification cards during a house raid in Samarra, Iraq, mid-December, 2003. The battalion was participating in Operation Ivy Blizzard, an effort to eliminate insurgents, secure control for the local governing council and leave the city secure under the watch of Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and police elements. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Benjamin R. Kibbey 6 More Photos

Top American Officer Praises Australian Efforts in Terror War

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

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. Story

Army Chief Praises
Troops, Acknowledges Sacrifices

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2003 — “We are entering the most challenging period for our Army since World War II,’’ Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, Army chief of staff, said in a message to soldiers whose tours of duty in the U.S. Central Command theater have been extended from five to 60 days.
About 1,600 of the 130,000 soldiers currently deployed will be affected by the extension, Army officials announced Jan. 15. More

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. (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)

Task Force Helps Rebuild Afghan High School

By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Johnny A. Thompson / 4th Public Affairs Detachment

A soldier assigned to the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade chats with an Afghan girl as she enters the newly renovated Meanshakh High School in Meyan Shakh, Afghanistan, Jan. 14. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Johnny A. Thompson

MEYAN SHAKH, Afghanistan, Jan. 16, 2004 — The $72,000 cost to rebuild Meanshakh High School was worth a million dollars - if the looks of excitement and gratitude on students' faces factored in.
That's how members of the Coalition Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force and the Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team attending the reopening ceremony of the rebuilt Meanshakh High School here Jan. 14 saw it. More

Texas Army Reservists Help Train Afghan Army

By Maj. Wayne Marotto / 75th Division (Training Support)

KABUL, Afghanistan (Army News Service, Jan. 15, 2004) — A group of observer/controllers who normally train deploying soldiers returned recently from their own deployment, where they put their teaching skills to use with a foreign Army.
More than 30 observer/controllers from the 75th Division (Training Support), headquartered in Houston, Texas, spent six months near Kabul training members of the Afghan National Army. More

Soldiers Learn to Avoid Hazards of Convoy Duty

FORT SILL, Okla., Jan. 15, 2004 — Lessons-learned in the sands of Iraq have led to a regular diet of dust for some Army National Guard soldiers here as they prepare for deployment. Training in a live-fire environment, the soldiers began learning the hazards of convoy operations in Iraq. Story

Global War on Terrorism

. Cheney Addresses Terrorist Threat, U.S. Security Strategy

. Ridge Lowers Threat Level, but Nation Remains On Guard

Iraq

. Iraqi Currency Now Official, Replaces Saddam-Era Money

. Myers Thanks Mongolian Allies For Peacekeeping Help in Iraq

Military News

. Myers Says Reenlistment Rate Strong During War on Terror

. National Guard, Reserve Update

	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

"In the liberation of Iraq, the American military acted with speed, with precision, and with skill. And to this hour they continue their work -- striking hard against the forces of murder and chaos, conducting raids, countering attacks, seizing weapons and capturing killers."

"By the devoted service of our military, our own safety is assured. And people in lands faraway are getting the chance to lead their lives in peace and freedom."

Remarks to Veterans, Jan. 15, 2004

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

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 Iraq

Cargo, Passengers
All in a Day’s Work

Air transportation workers load cargo into a Georgia Air National Guard C-130 Hercules temporarily assigned to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing here. U.S. Air Force and Estonian cargo movement specialists work together to move cargo and passengers through here. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bob Oldham

TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq, Jan. 15, 2004 (AFPN) — Air Force and coalition forces are working together to keep cargo and passengers moving through the aerial port here.
Airmen from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., and Lackland AFB, Texas, have teamed with members of the Estonian military to move more than 4,000 passengers and 880 tons of cargo on more than 500 monthly aircraft missions. More

In Kyrgyzstan

Transient Alert Team Keeps
Air Operations Moving

Staff Sgt. Aaron Schutter starts the pump motor on the de-ice truck here. He is assigned to the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing's transient alert team. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Brus E. Vidal

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan, Jan. 15, 2004 (AFPN) — Unlike the old saying which goes, “jack of all trades, master of none,” the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing’s transient alert team here are "airmen of all aircraft, masters of most."
The team is primarily responsible for meeting the fuel, cargo and maintenance needs of military and commercial passenger and cargo aircraft as well as distinguished visitor aircraft not assigned to Manas Air Base. More

In Turkey

Incirlik Serves As
Army 'Terminal'

Air transportation workers load cargo into a Georgia Air National Guard C-130 Hercules temporarily assigned to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing here. U.S. Air Force and Estonian cargo movement specialists work together to move cargo and passengers through here. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bob Oldham INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey, Jan. 14, 2004 (AFPN) — Incirlik has a new role as a temporary "terminal" for U.S. soldiers traveling home after serving about a year in Iraq.
The more than 300 soldiers who arrived here Jan. 6 are the first of what will be thousands transiting through Incirlik during the massive Army troop changeover. "We're providing a place for the soldiers to relax while they wait to transfer aircraft," said Capt. Andrew Hunt. More

'On The Ground' Archive