DefendAmerica - Home Page 01/23/2004

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Jan 23, 2004

Jan. 20, 2004

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MARSHALLING PREDATOR — Senior Airman Robert Mascorro from the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron marshals an RQ-1 Predator aircraft at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 20, 2004. The Predator is a remotely piloted vehicle that provides real-time surveillance imagery supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Jenkins

Bush Says Nation Will Prevail, ‘Bring the Terrorists to Justice’

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — Although significant victories have been achieved against global terrorists and their enablers in Afghanistan and Iraq, the war isn't over, the commander in chief noted today.
President Bush told New Mexico Military Institute cadets and emergency first responders in Roswell, N.M., that he remains committed to defend the American homeland from attack. Terrorists, he pointed out, "still plot against us." More Remarks

RUMSFELD

Terrorism Challenges Freedom

By Rudi Williams / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — Terrorism is a "truly deadly" challenge to freedom, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today. Speaking at a Pentagon breakfast honoring the late Martin Luther King, Rumsfeld said the terrorist threat is more deadly than any that could be imagined during King's era.
"It's a challenge – not only to the freedom that we enjoy, but also to the very idea of living free. It's a challenge to being able to say what you wish, go where you wish and behave as you wish. We're fighting it by setting in motion the forces of freedom and trying to help make that freedom real to others," Rumsfeld said. More

Change in Tactics: Insurgents
Shift Focus to Attacks on Iraqis

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

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — Anti-coalition and anti-Iraqi elements are moving away from attacking coalition forces as their primary targets and more toward attacks against Iraqi civilians, security forces and government officials, a military spokesman said in Baghdad press conference today.
Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7, said that in the latest attack on Iraqi civilians, three vans were ambushed about a kilometer west of Fallujah. More Briefing

Mortar Attack Kills 2 Soldiers; Raids Continue to Get Results

Coalition Requests U.N. Team Evaluate Iraq Election Potential

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

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — The Coalition Provisional Authority has asked the United Nations to send a team of advisors to take a look at the viability of direct elections in Iraq.
The request comes just months before the June 30 handover of sovereignty in the country, a timetable set by a Nov. 15 agreement and strongly supported by President Bush.
Dan Senor, the authority's senior spokesperson, said that authority officials met with the U.N. Security Council and U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan last week to request the deployment of a technical team to Iraq. More Briefing

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

California Resident Shows Support for Troops

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2004 — Last year, when the prospect of war was taking heat from critics, June Downum was concerned about the men and women in uniform about to risk their lives for America.
Her response to the criticism was, “No matter what your opinion of the war, these are our best and bravest, and we need to do something to let them know that we are behind them 100 percent.” More

Hockey Fans to Show
Support for Troops

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — National Hockey League fans will have a chance to show their support for the troops during an NHL matchup Jan. 25. The RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., will host Military Appreciation Night Jan. 25 as the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Buffalo Sabres 1:30 p.m. More

Former Marine Helps
Military Wife Visit Family

ABOARD USS PELELIU, Jan. 20, 2004 — The biggest sacrifices made in the current war against terror are not only made by the men and women currently serving in operations around the world, but also by the families they leave behind.
Stephen G. Smith, a former Marine, recognized those sacrifices, and during the holiday season, purchased a round-trip plane ticket for Julie Jones so she could visit her family while her husband, Marine Sgt. Jacob Jones, is deployed. Story

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

4th Infantry Div., Iraqi
Police Conduct Patrols, Raids

TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan. 23, 2004 — Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse have, over the past 24 hours, conducted 184 patrols, eight raids and captured 31 individuals. More

Soldiers Capture Weapons, Personnel

Defense Officials
Identify Army Casualties

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — Defense Department officials announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 4th Infantry Division soldiers were killed in a mortar attack on a forward operating base near Ba'qubah the evening of Jan. 21. Killed were: Spc. Gabriel T. Palacios, 22, of Lynn, Mass. and Pfc. James D. Parker, 20, of Bryan, Texas.
Both soldiers were assigned to the 588th Engineer Battalion (Heavy), 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. This incident is under investigation.

Radio

Television

Building Up Comanche Firebase More Photo Essays

U.S. Army soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, work together to build up their new home, Comanche Firebase, in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. The company arrived in Ghanzi Province Jan. 6, 2004, to support battalion operations in the province. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Greg Heath 4 More Photos

Resistance Elements 'Brought
To Their Knees,' Odierno Says

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — Former regime elements have been "brought to their knees" in the 4th Infantry Division area of Iraq, the division commander said in a news conference today.
Army Maj. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said the capture of Saddam Hussein was a major defeat for the enemy. The most important result of the capture, he added, was the increase in intelligence coming from Iraqis on anti-coalition activities. More Briefing

Terror War Highlights Troops' Need for Nonlethal Systems

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — To win hearts and minds during 21st-century military operations, it will be essential for U.S. service members to have options other than the use of deadly force, a senior Defense Department official asserted.
"You don't want to go into another person's country with the only option being lethal force, because that will turn the populace against you," said Alan R. Shaffer, the director for plans and programs with the Defense Department's Office of Defense Research and Engineering. More

USS Philadelphia Returns from Historic Deployment

GROTON, Conn., Jan. 22, 2004 (NNS) — USS Philadelphia returned to Naval Submarine Base New London Jan. 18 after completing a seven-month deployment supporting the global war on terrorism. This deployment was a historic one. The Philadelphia became the first Los Angeles-class submarine to complete 1,000 dives. More

Afghan, Iraq Lessons Learned Assist Transformation Efforts

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2004 — Lessons learned from U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are greatly assisting Defense Department transformation efforts, the chief of U.S. Joint Forces Command said here today. More

Iraq War Points Out Need to Improve Logistics System

International Partners

Multi-National Forces Conclude 'Sea Saber' Maritime Exercise

Spanish Special Operations Forces soldiers stand guard over role players aboard the Military Sealift Command combat stores ship USNS Saturn during a mock non-compliant boarding as part of exercise Sea Saber 2004. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Jeffrey Lehrberg MANAMA, Bahrain, Jan. 22, 2004 (NNS) — In a flash of explosive action, special forces teams successfully boarded and seized a suspected merchant ship Jan. 17 in the Arabian Sea, bringing to conclusion Sea Saber, a multi-national exercise aimed at stemming the flow of weapons of mass destruction. More

Task Force All American Troops
Renovate Rural Dental Clinic

Dr. Khamese, director general for health in the Al Anbar region of Iraq, cuts the ribbon to celebrate the reopening of the Specialty Dental Clinic in Ar Ramadi. Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Frank Christopher (near right), division surgeon for 82nd Airborne Division, and Capt. Tom Schumacher (far right), senior physician assistant for the division, look on. U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Dave Johnson

AR RAMADI, Iraq – Task Force All American soldiers celebrated yet another important medical clinic being reopened to treat patients in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. The Al Assan Specialty Dental Clinic, a subsidiary of Ar Ramdi General Hospital, has been refurbished and reopened during a huge ceremony on Jan. 13.
“It’s more than a dental clinic,” said Dr. Weedat, director of the clinic. “We also teach here. We have 11 interns.” More

Calif. Reservists Train Iraqis
For Embassy Security Duties

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Soldiers from the 382nd Military Police Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from San Diego, Calif., have been training Iraqi security officers for the several foreign embassies across Baghdad to ensure the safety of the diplomats visiting and working there.
The security officers, known as diplomatic protective services, are receiving training from U.S. Soldiers and Iraqi experts in everything from marksmanship to first aid. More

Global War on Terrorism

. Officials Explain Commissions That Will Try Terror Detainees

. Nation Strong, Americans Are 'Rising to the Tasks of History'

Iraq

. 101st Brigade Transfers Authority to Strykers

. Coalition Officials: Iraqi Army First Brigade Nearly Complete

Military News

. Bush Praises Nation's Military

. Guard-Staffed Civil Support Teams Slated to Increase

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Exercise Desert Talon
Prepares Marines for Iraq

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz., Jan. 23, 2004 — Marines from aviation units throughout the United States checked in here Jan. 17 for exercise Desert Talon 1-04.
Desert Talon will prepare the air combat element of the Marine Air Ground Task Force going to Iraq, said Maj. James T. Jenkins, special projects officer, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1. More than 1,100 Marine students, 1,000 support personnel and 50 aircraft are participating in the exercise. Story

Marine Expeditionary Commander
Visits Deploying Marines, Sailors

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Jan. 22, 2003 — U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton Calif., took time Jan. 21 to speak to hundreds of Marines and sailors preparing to deploy to Iraq this year.
"Our mission is to assume responsibility in the (north western portion) of Iraq and to provide stability and security in the region to return Iraq to the Iraqis," said Conway, who led I Marine Expeditionary Force troops during the intense fight to Baghdad last year. Story

Coast Guard Cutter Crew
Helps Keep the Homeland Safe

KODIAK, Alaska, Jan. 21, 2004 — The Coast Guard cutter Storis and its crew answered the call to keep the homeland safe from possible terrorist attacks when the Department of Homeland Security raised the national threat level to orange last month.
“Being at such a high state of readiness on the ship stretched us pretty thin; but we were ready for anything,” said Seaman Peter Avery. Story

	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

"...Two-thirds of known al Qaeda leaders have been captured or killed. We're making progress against them. ... We're chasing them, one by one. We're on an international manhunt for those who would do harm to America, or for anybody else who loves freedom."

Remarks in Roswell, N.M., Jan. 22, 2004

Profile

U.S. Marine Corps
Recruit Billy Joe McCulloch

      SAN ANTONIO — While most 18 year olds are preparing for college, a high school age Texan has already graduated from one.
     Billy Joe McCulloch received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Texas Lutheran University in December. Now what? Grad school? No. Civilian job market? No.
     McCulloch decided to enlist in the Marine Corps. More

More Profiles

. Maps of Afghanistan

In Uzbekistan

Airmen Accomplish Big
Mission From Small Base

Senior Master Sgt. Terry Gazaway (right) prepares to guide Master Sgt. Tom Guerrero as he backs a fuel truck toward a visiting C-17 Globemaster III here. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Brian Davidson

KARSHI-KHANABAD, Uzbekistan, Jan. 22, 2004 — At first glance, the little-known airfield in Karshi-Khanabad appears to be nothing more than a sleepy, little whistle-stop for aircraft supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Officially named Camp Stronghold Freedom, the base is most often referred to as “K-2.” More

In Iraq

Weapons, Explosives
Mark Bomb-Making Ring

Soldiers from 5th Engineer Battalion search an orange grove Jan 12, after coalition forces discovered a bounty of weapons and bomb making material buried in a rural village in Taji, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. David Bennett

TAJI, Iraq, Jan. 14, 2004 — A tip from an Iraqi informer led coalition forces Jan. 12 to a large bounty of weapons and explosives hidden in an orange grove a few miles from Forward Operating Base Gunner. Teaming with Macedonian Special Forces troops, members of 5th Engineer Battalion unearthed rockets, mortar rounds and plastic explosives from shallow holes in the rural village. More

'On The Ground' Archive