DefendAmerica - Home Page 01/26/2004

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Jan 26, 2004

Jan. 20, 2004

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ARABIAN GULF — USS Philippine Sea and USS Gettysburg steam alongside USS Enterprise while a CH-53 Sea Stallion attached to Helo Mine Countermeasures Squadron One Four lands on the flight deck of Enterprise during daily operations, Jan. 23, 2004. Enterprise is currently underway in the Arabian Gulf. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Rob Gaston

HOMELAND DEFENSE

'No Doubt' Terrorists Would Use WMD If Given Opportunity

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

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2004 — If al Qaeda and other terrorists were given even "half an opening," they would use weapons of mass destructions within the United States, said the Defense Department's official responsible for homeland defense.
"That's a chilling but hard reality," Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense told members of the Reserve Officers Association here today. He said he's personally convinced that "we must be prepared not only to defeat such attacks, but, God forbid, to respond to them." More

Cheney: Democracies Must
Work Together Against Terror

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2004 — Vice President Dick Cheney called on all democratic nations to support the war on terror during a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 24.
Terrorism is a real threat, Cheney told the audience. He said that 19 men armed with "box cutters and airplane tickets" killed 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. Terrorists armed with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons could kill 300,000 and would not hesitate to use them. More Remarks

Three Airborne Div. Soldiers
Missing Following Accidents

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2004 — One accident appears to have spawned another and three American soldiers are missing near Mosul. Four U.S. soldiers were conducting a patrol on the Tigris River Jan. 25 when their patrol boat rolled over. Three soldiers escaped and a fourth was missing. More

Seven Killed, More Wounded During Three Incidents in Iraq

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2004 – Coalition officials reported seven Americans killed in operations in Iraq overnight and today.
Three Task Force All American soldiers were killed and six were wounded when a vehicle-based improvised explosive device detonated in Khalidiyah today, according to a U.S. Central Command release. In addition, several Iraqi civilians were wounded in this attack. The attack is under investigation. 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.

. White House Fact Sheet: Progress in Iraq

. Iraq Update . Maps of Iraq

. Iraq's 55 Most Wanted

. Saddam's Iraq - Reign of Terror

Company Keeping
Free Phone Bank Open

Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 24, 2004 — Due to overwhelming demand, MCI has extended free phone calls for soldiers at the company’s Baghdad International Airport phone bank until February.
“The use of the phone center was extended because of soldiers emailing MCI to say thank you,” said James S. Strom, program manager for MCI government markets in Vienna, Va. More

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

Patrols, Raids Net
Personnel, Weapons

TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan. 26, 2004 - Soldiers from 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse, over the past 24 hours, conducted 172 patrols, six raids and captured 60 individuals, according to U.S. Central Command officials. Seventeen of the patrols were joint operations conducted with the Iraqi Police, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and the Border Guard.
Weapons and equipment confiscated include 66 AK-47 assault rifles. More

Defense Officials
Identify Army Casualties

     WASHINGTON - Defense Department officials announced the deaths of three soldiers supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
      Chief Warrant Officer Michael T. Blaise, 29, from Tenn. and Chief Warrant Officer Brian D. Hazelgrove, 29, of Fort Rucker, Ala., were killed Jan 23 when their OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter crashed on its way back from a combat mission near Mosul in northern Iraq.
     Blaise was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Aviation Brigade based at Fort Campbell, Ky. Hazelgrove was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) based at Fort Drum, N.Y.
     Pfc. Ervin Dervishi, 21, Fort Worth, Texas, died Jan. 24 in Baji, Iraq, during a combat patrol when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Bradley Fighting Vehicle in which he was traveling. He was evacuated to the 28th Combat Support Hospital where he later died. Dervishi was assigned the Company B, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Radio

Television

Operating Predator More Photo Essays

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Hicks and Senior Airman John Fanning, both with the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, perform post-flight checks on an RQ-1 Predator at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2004. Predator is a remotely piloted aircraft that provides real-time surveillance imagery. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Jenkins 5 More Photos

Bush to Request $401.7 Billion
For Fiscal 2005 DoD Budget

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2004 — In a break from past practices, the Defense Department announced that President Bush will request $401.7 billion as the Fiscal 2005 Defense Budget Request. Officials said the number represents about a 7 percent increase from fiscal 2004.
The budget request will not fund the ongoing war on terror. DoD will request supplemental budget requests for those funds. Story

International Partners

Slovak Leaders Visit Troops in Afghanistan

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan. 26, 2004 – Slovakian troops here received the best wishes of their countrymen Jan. 23, as the country's prime minister and defense minister visited to offer them encouragement in their mission for freedom.
Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda walked steadily in front of a formation of troops who greeted their country's leader with a proud, solid salute as he began to cross their path. More

Officials Anticipate No Mass National Guard Troop Exodus

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2004 —Though the Army National Guard and Army Reserve specifically and the reserve components in general have been meeting their recruiting and retention goals, Defense Department officials still are concerned and are looking for ways to address retention.
But officials do not expect an exodus of Guard soldiers after they return from duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, contrary to news reports today. More

Enemy ‘Still Lurks Out’There,
Nation Must Remain Vigiliant

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2004 —Americans must remain watchful against another terrorist attack on the homeland, President Bush reminded the nation's mayors here today.
"There's an enemy that still lurks out there," he said. "The most solemn duty of government is to protect the American people." More Remarks

Task Force 1st Armored Division
Soldiers Swap Smiles With Orphans

Soldiers of 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, pose with some of the residents of the Al-Rhama's House for Orphans during a recent visit. The squadron soldiers frequently visit the children bringing gifts and supplies donated by family and friends from the United States. Courtesy photo

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 26, 2004 - Even in a hostile environment where the enemy could be just around the corner, nothing will put a smile on a soldier's face more quickly than little kids.
The soldiers of 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Camp Marlboro never pass up a chance to make life just a little bit easier for some of the less fortunate Iraqi children. More

Iraqi Police Provide Secure
Border for Pilgrims During Hajj

An Iraqi Border Police officer confirms the identity of an Iraqi citizen as she travels to Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage. More than 3,000 Iraqis participated in the pilgrimage thru the border town of Ar Ar. Two hundred Iraqi Border Police secured the area, stamped passports and performed security checks. U.S. Army photo

AR AR, Iraq, Jan. 23, 2004 – More than 200 Iraqi Border Police safely transferred thousands of Iraqi citizens through the Iraqi-Saudi Arabian border headed to Mecca on their Hajj, a religious pilgrimage conducted after Ramadan and lasting 10 days.
Iraqi Border Police spearheaded the complex security arrangement at their base in the remote town of Ar Ar, located on the Iraqi-Saudi Arabian border. More

War on Terrorism

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

. 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

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Transformation

Iraq, Afghan Battlefield
Calls Go Through Florida Base

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN), Jan. 23, 2004 — When American military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan want clear, secure and fast communications, they reach for their satellite phones. More often than not, the operator who patches through their calls is sitting in a building at MacDill AFB, Fla.
People at the one-stop-shop Regional Satcom Support Center here process requests for satellite phone time and schedule the required bandwidth to commanders all over the globe. Story

More Transformation News

Marines' Homefront Effort
Improves Marine, Iraqi Ties

     MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jan. 23, 2004 — Three Depot Marines recently took part in delivering donated toys, school supplies, medical supplies and sports equipment for deployed Marines to give to Iraqis as part of the No Better Friend Program.
      The No Better Friend Program is a Marine Corps effort to improve the relationship between Iraqis and the Marines in Iraq, said Capt. Dave Walker, assistant Depot inspector.
     "This is a great program," said Walker. "We want the Iraqis to trust us and look at the Marines as friends and protectors, not enemies." 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

Vice President Richard B. Cheney

"On September 11th, 2001, we saw the face of danger in our era with terrible clarity....And yet for all the destruction and grief it caused, September 11th gave us the merest glimpse of the threat that international terrorism poses to us all."

Remarks to the World Economic Forum,
Jan. 24, 2004

Profile

U.S. Air Force
Heidi Stover

      TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) — She is outgoing and friendly. She is an icon at the base’s shopette, and she is going home Jan. 24 after serving six months here.
     Anyone who has shopped at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service’s shopette in the Air Force’s tent city here cannot help but know Heidi Stover, the store manager.
     A 62-year-old mother of four and grandmother of seven, Mrs. Stover has seen a lot during the past six months, and said the people she has met here will forever stay in her mind. More

More Profiles

. Maps of Afghanistan

In Ethiopia

Old Guard Establishes
Forward Base in Ethiopia

Two soldiers construct tables at Camp United in Hurso, Ethiopia. Both soldiers are part of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, 'Old Guard,' Bravo Co., which set up Camp United as a forward base for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa missions and began training with the Ethiopian Army recently. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric M. McKeeby

HURSO, Ethiopia - Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard”, Bravo Company, established and began operating out of a forward base in rural Ethiopia recently.
The camp and the missions are part of the Bravo Co.’s continued involvement in the War on Terrorism as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. Story

In Kyrgyzstan

Manas Airmen
Assist Local School

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) — Leaving the place better off than when they arrived is one of the goals of the airmen here, and 11 airmen did just that for the local community recently.
The airmen delivered 30 heaters to a vocational school for underprivileged students in the local village of Jany Ger. More

'On The Ground' Archive