DefendAmerica - Home Page 01/28/2004

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Jan 28, 2004

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SHOW BIRD — U.S. Navy Cmdr. Thomas Halley, commanding officer for the “Marauders” of Strike Fighter Squadron 82, pilots the squadron's "show bird" F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter sporting a brand new paint scheme over the Arabian Gulf, Jan. 22, 2004. The aircraft, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war on terrorism, has its tailhook down in preparation for an arrested landing aboard USS Enterprise. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Peter R. Catalano

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM

Army Support Command Keeps
Supplies Flowing to Troops

By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2004 - If the men and women serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom have it, chances are they got it from the 3rd Corps Support Command.
At a news conference today in Baghdad, Army Brig. Gen. Vincent E. Boles explained that the unit he commands is responsible for getting Combined Joint Task Force 7 forces the things they need. If the troops in Iraq "eat it, drive it, move it, drink it, fly it or wear it, we're responsible for getting it to them," the general said. More Briefing

Coalition Supports U.N. Plan to
Evaluate Iraq Election Potential

By Donna Miles / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2004 — Coalition officials in Baghdad expressed strong support today for a United Nations plan to send a team to evaluate the feasibility of holding direct elections before June 30.
Dan Senor, senior coalition spokesman, told reporters that he welcomes U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's announcement that he will dispatch a security team to Iraq. The team will assess the security situation on the ground to determine the feasibility of sending an electoral team. More Briefing

‘Today’s Generation’ Faces
New Kind of War, Cheney Says

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2004 — A new generation of American service members has picked up the gauntlet thrown by terrorists and has accepted new responsibilities in the world, Vice President Dick Cheney said at Aviano Air Base, Italy,
Jan. 27.
"Today's generation of our military has been called to fight in the first war of the 21st century - a war that began on September 11th, 2001, when enemies struck the United States and murdered thousands of our fellow citizens," Cheney said to assembled airmen, their families and their Italian allies. More

Remarks at Caserma Ederle Army Base, Italy

Remarks at Aviano Air Base, Italy

Video Report: VP Praises Troops' Efforts, Aviano Air Base, Italy

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

3 More Soldiers Killed in
Day's Second Fatal Attack

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2004 - An improvised explosive device killed three soldiers and wounded three others in Iskandariyah, Iraq, south of Baghdad Jan. 27. This attack came about seven hours after another IED had killed three other U.S. soldiers in Khalidiyah, west of Baghdad.
Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials said the wounded soldiers were taken to the 28th Combat Support Hospital. No report on their condition was available. Officials are withholding all the soldiers' names until their families are notified. More

Spirit of America Supports
Efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2004 — To Los Angeles businessman Jim Hake, winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi and Afghan people requires personal - not just governmental - intervention.
That's why Hake founded Spirit of America, a nonprofit group that seeks donations to support grassroots efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan forged in the name of friendship. 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

Navy Medical Course Teaches
Effective Crisis Communication

PORTSMOUTH, Va., Jan 28, 2004 (NNS) -- Naval Medicine’s Office of Homeland Security, partnering with the Navy Environmental Health Center, has developed a unique course to train military medical leadership personnel and disaster preparedness personnel to communicate more effectively in a crisis.
“The tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001, followed by the anthrax deaths and the emerging threat of bioterrorism, have re-emphasized the need for [military treatment facilities] personnel to communicate effectively with their own staff, their beneficiaries, the public and the media to deliver messages that inform without frightening and educate without provoking alarm,” said Capt. Paul Gillooly, Navy Environmental Health Center project director. Story

Radio

Television

2-17th Cavalry Gets Ready for Return to Fort Campbell

CAMP DOHA, Kuwait, Jan. 28, 2004 - The 2-17th Cavalry Regiment, an aerial reconnaissance asset of the 101st Aviation Regiment and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is now at Camp Doha, Kuwait, preparing for redeployment, according to Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials. The unit has been in theater since February 2003.
Fifteen of the 2-17th Cavalry’s 24 Kiowa helicopters were carried into theater for the deployment. They have flown more than 12,000 flight hours during Operation Iraqi Freedom, an average of more than 800 flight hours per aircraft just this past year. More

Iraqi Job Fair More Photo Essays

Iraqis who arrived early at a job fair held by the British Army's 1st Battalion, 1st Light Infantry Brigade at the stadium in Al Amarah, Iraq, express happiness at being toward the front of the growing line. More than 11,000 Iraqis began arriving at 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2004, to register for 2,500 manual labor jobs. The British soldiers pulled riot patrol to keep the Iraqis from trampling one another during the long wait in line. Royal Air Force photo by Cpl. Gary Wort 7 More Photos

Cheney Urges European Allies To Help Spread Democracy

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2004 — Vice President Dick Cheney urged European allies to join with the United States in spreading democracy and the rule of law in the Middle East. Cheney spoke Jan. 26 at the Pallazo della Minerva in Rome to Italian government leaders. He continued a theme he developed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 24.
He told the Italians that "civilized leaders" must do everything in their power to stop another terrorist attack. More Remarks

Guard Leaders Address Troop
Concerns During Bagram Visit

By U.S. Army Sgt. Alex Delgado / 211th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2004 - The adjutants general from several states visited here Jan. 23 and attended a Town Hall Meeting for members of the National Guard.
Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbot from Utah, Maj. Gen. William Cugno from Connecticut, Maj. Gen. David Poythress from Georgia, and Maj. Gen. John Smith from Ohio, along with Lt. Col. Austin Smith, an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve representative, responded to concerns voiced by National Guard soldiers. More

Afghan Army Training Combat Medics

Afghan National Army Private Mirwais inserts a saline infusion IV during a training session at the Kabul military forces hospital. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Richard Sater

POL-E-CHARKI, Afghanistan, Jan. 26, 2004 (Army News Service) — The Afghan National Army has begun training its own combat medics to provide baseline care for soldiers in the field through a collaborative effort with the U.S. Army.
About 80 medics have graduated so far, and the second class is due to complete the course this month. More

Resort Hotel Recognized for R&R Service

LAKE DOKAN, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2004 - Iraqi workers at the Ashour Hotel, a hotel in northern Iraq that has been a rest and relaxation site for many Task Force Ironhorse soldiers, were recognized recently for providing outstanding service.
“They were great,” said Sgt. 1st Class William R. Reid, a native of Hayden, Ala., who serves as liaison officer at the hotel. More

Some Iraqis Civil Defense Troops
Eligible for Hazardous Duty Pay

TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan. 26, 2004 (Army News Service) - Iraqi Civil Defense Corps troops who have been working with Coalition forces are enjoying the benefits of incentive pay.
Like their American counterparts, ICDC members have begun receiving hazardous duty pay, in addition to their base pay, said Staff Sgt. Laura Blunt of the 418th Civil Affairs Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas. More

War on Terrorism

. 'No Doubt' Terrorists Would Use WMD If Given Opportunity

. Enemy 'Still Lurks' Out There, Nation Must Remain Vigiliant

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

. Officials Explain Commissions That Will Try Terror Detainees

Iraq

. Thousands Gather, Pledge to Support New Iraq

. Three Airborne Div. Soldiers Missing Following Accidents

. 101st Brigade Transfers Authority to Strykers

. Coalition Officials: Iraqi Army First Brigade Nearly Complete

Military News

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Defense Officials
Identify Army Casualties

     WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2004 — Defense Department officials announced today the identity of three soldiers listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. The soldiers under the operational control of the 101st Airborne Division were involved in two incidents in Mosul, on Sunday, Jan. 25.
     Reported as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown are:
     Staff Sgt. Christopher Bunda, 29, of Washington State. On Jan. 25 Bunda's boat capsized during a river patrol on the Tigris River. He is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry, Fort Lewis, Wash.
      1st Lt. Adam G. Mooney, 28, of Cambridge, MD., and Chief Warrant Officer Patrick D. Dorff, 32, of Min. Mooney and Dorff's helicopter went down in the Tigris River during a search. They are assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Iraqi Native Helps
Train U.S. Soldiers

FORT POLK, La., Jan. 23, 2004 (Army News Service, Jan. 23, 2004) -- A native-born Iraqi, who began her career as an elementary school teacher in Baghdad, now works as a translator and cultural specialist for the U.S. Army at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk.
Daily, Noora Alshahlan translates news broadcasts into Arabic for broadcast into “the box,” a training area established to replicate the situation in Iraq. More

	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

"Today's generation of our military has been called to fight in the first war of the 21st century – a war that began on September 11th, 2001, when enemies struck the United States and murdered thousands of our fellow citizens."

Remarks at Aviano Air Base, Italy, Jan. 27, 2004

Profile

U.S. Marine Corps
Pvt. Kolapo Babatunde

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Nigerian-born Kolapo Babatunde is a Marine today after a journey blocked by tribulation, personal loss and learning to be a man early in life. More

More Profiles

. Maps of Afghanistan

In Iraq

Dedicated Airmen Fix,
Manage Base Vehicles

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Juan Hurtado removes a caliper from a Humvee on Jan. 22. Airman Hurtado is a vehicle mechanic with the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron and is deployed from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bob Oldham

TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- When a vehicle breaks down here, airmen do not have the luxury of calling a commercial roadside assistance team for help. Instead, a team of 48 people work behind the scenes 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the base’s fleet of vehicles on the road. More

Big Game Set for Task
Force Ironhorse Resort

FORWARD OPERATING BASE IRONHORSE, TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2004 - The Task Force Ironhorse Resort is bringing the biggest sporting event of the year to the big screen.
Super Bowl XXXVIII will be shown live at 2:25 a.m., Feb. 2 on “the biggest screen in Tikrit - the theatre,” said Sgt. 1st Class Celeste Proctor, the resort’s event coordinator. Until then there is plenty of time for speculation about the game’s outcome. More

'On The Ground' Archive