DefendAmerica 02/06/2004

Home Page - DefendAmerica
[NOTE: Because of increased web traffic, you may experience delays. Please be patient.]

Feb 06, 2004

Saddam's Capture - A Video from Golf Troops' Perspective

Government

Military

Help Fight Terror

Coast Guard Auxiliary

Transcripts

DESERT HAWK — Senior Airman David Tillery, assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, aligns the control surfaces of a Desert Hawk before a launch at Balad Air Base, Iraq. The 7-pound unmanned aerial vehicle allows security forces to see beyond a base's perimeters and provide accurate, real-time visual assessments of detected threats. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. A.C. Eggman

Special Operations Troops
Relate Iraqi Freedom Missions

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2004 –- Multi-service special operations troops have led the way to victory in overseas campaigns during the war against terrorism, a senior U.S. military officer said here today.
Special operators' expertise was a factor in driving the Taliban out of Afghanistan, noted Air Force Lt. Gen. Paul V. Hester, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, as well as in the ouster of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. More

Coast Guard Tackles Security
Challenges in Post 9-11 World

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

President George W. Bush discusses seaport and cargo security at the Port of Charleston, S.C., Feb. 5, 2004. White House photo by Paul Morse

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2004 –- Like every governmental agency and military service, the Coast Guard had to do some re-evaluation after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and is working hard to close gaps in the nation's waterway security.
Vice Adm. Terry Cross, commander of the Coast Guard's Pacific Area, said that while the Coast Guard was not necessarily any better prepared to meet the terrorist challenge than any of the other services or agencies from a force structure or capabilities perspective, the service did have two big advantages after the attacks. More

Defense Ministers to Discuss Iraq, Future of NATO Forces

By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 6, 2004 - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived here late Feb. 5 on the first leg of a five-day European trip that will also include stops in Zagreb, Croatia, and London.
The secretary is in Munich to attend the Wehrkunde Security Conference, attended by defense ministers from countries throughout NATO and elsewhere. Top topics at the conference are likely to include Afghanistan, Iraq and the future of NATO forces in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Rumsfeld explained to reporters traveling with him during the trans-Atlantic flight. Story

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

. Mass Graves

Navy Cargo Handlers
Prepare to Deploy

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Feb. 5, 2004 — More than 500 Naval Reserve Expeditionary Logistics Support personnel have been mobilized to active duty and are preparing to deploy overseas to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. The reservists will depart from Norfolk, Va., in February to assist in what is being called the largest rotation of troops since World War II. More

Dad to Bike Across Country
In Support of Son, Troops

Dan Forant will bike from New York to California to show his support for troops serving in the war on terror, especially his son, who is an infantryman in Iraq. He will begin the 3,000-mile journey March 1. Courtesy photo

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2004 — One of Dan Forant's favorite photos is of his young son wearing an Army helmet. And, one of the duo's favorite pastimes is cycling. Today, Spc. Dan Forant III sports his own Army gear as an infantryman in Iraq.
The elder Forant, who will soon bicycle from New York to California in support of his son and others serving in the war on terror, plans to leave his home in Cohoes, N.Y., March 1 and head toward New York City and the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Story

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

Send your message Read more messages

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

Guantanamo Detainees
Assigned Defense Counsel

      WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2004 — Defense Department officials announced today that Guantanamo detainees Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan have been assigned military defense counsel.
     Although neither detainee has been charged, both are in the group of six detainees President Bush determined to be subject to his military order of Nov. 13, 2001.
     Military commission rules require that a defense counsel be available to an accused sufficiently in advance of trial to prepare a defense. More

Radio

Television

Rumsfeld Commends Tenet for Supporting Intell Community

By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 6, 2004 — Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Feb. 5 that it was important for CIA chief George Tenet to talk about U.S. intelligence successes.
Earlier that day at Georgetown University, Tenet made a detailed presentation in support of statements administration officials made in the weeks leading up to war in Iraq. More

CIA Chief Details Pre-War Intell Estimates of Iraq’s Weapons

Some Soldiers Missed the Super Bowl

Not all soldiers got an opportunity to watch this year's Super Bowl. Many were on duty, in Iraq and Afghanistan, continuing the fight in the war against terror. And as millions of spectators around the globe watched the game on Feb. 4, three soldiers who gave their lives so that their fellow Americans can live without fear returned to their homeland in flag-draped caskets. Here's the story of an Army Reservist who helped welcome them home.

Commentary by U.S. Army Reserve Lt. Col. Andrew Straw

Soldiers, Texas Reservists Help
Charity Renovate Baghdad School

Pfc. James Taylor, driver with 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, passes out candy to students at the grand opening of the Kalid Al-Walid elementary school in the Al-Yarmuk district of Baghdad Jan 26. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Chad D. Wilkerson

BAGHDAD, Iraq - More than 250 students and teachers welcomed soldiers at the grand opening of the Kalid Al-Walid elementary school in Al-Yarmuk district of Baghdad Jan 26.
The children clapped and sang as Lt. Col. Richard Bowyer, 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment commander, and the school’s headmaster cut the shiny, red ribbon to reopen the refurbished school building. More

MPs Transfer Duties

A boy smiles at receiving a new suit delivered Jan. 13, 2004 to his school in Taji, Iraq as part of Operation Clothes for Kids. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. David Bennett

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 5, 2004 - In a transfer of authority ceremony at the Warrior Palace, the 18th Military Police Brigade handed over the responsibility for the Military Police mission in Baghdad to the 89th Military Police Brigade Jan 31. Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, 1st Armored Division commanding general, spoke on the success of the 18th Military Police, saying the brigade set Iraq on a course for freedom, while providing area support for a military movement “such as the world has never known.” More

Iraqis Securing Iraq 7 More Photos

An Iraqi Civil Defense Corps member stands proudly during the opening ceremony of the Joint Operations Center in Tuz, Iraq, Jan. 31, 2004. The center, considered a major step forward as Iraqis assume increased responsibility for maintaining security in Iraq, will house the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, the Iraqi Police Department and emergency responders and will be in direct communication with coalition forces. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jeffrey A. Wolfe Photo Essay Archive

War on Terrorism

. Bush: Iraq Liberation Removed Source of Violence, Instability

. U.S. Faces Struggles Similar to Churchill's, Bush Says

Iraq

. Mortar Attack Kills U.S. Soldier

. Olympic Hopefuls Will Train in U.S. for Summer Competition

Military News

. Experience Shows Anthrax, Smallpox Immunizations Safe

. National Guard, Reserve Update

More Afghanistan Update Details

. Maps of Afghanistan

Defense Leaders Speak

President George W. Bush

"After we were attacked in 2001, I said time would pass and people would assume that the threats to our country had gone away. That's false comfort. The terrorists continue to plot against us. They still want to harm us. This nation will not tire, we will not rest until this threat to civilization is removed."

Remarks in Charleston, S.C., Feb. 5, 2004

Defense Views
Quotes by U.S. defense leaders

Profile

U.S. Marine Corps
Sgt. Major Juan D. Williams

Look around the office of Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific sergeant major, Sgt. Major Juan D. Williams and you'll see what is most important to him -- the Marine Corps and his family. His walls, which holds 27 years of well-earned memories, tell why he enlisted for the eighth time Jan. 14, at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Danielle M. Bacon

CAMP H. M. SMITH, Hawaii — There is no missing him as a Marine, whether it's in uniform or not. Not that the hair cut alone is a dead give away, but it, combined with a bulldog physique and an intense stride, immediately gives away the sergeant major of Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific. More

More Profiles

In Iraq

Desert Hawk: Silent Eye in the Sky

Senior Airman David Tillery (left) and Tech. Sgt. Lloyd Joyner look over Desert Hawk after a mission. The 7-pound unmanned aerial vehicle allows security forces to see beyond a base's perimeters and provide accurate, real-time visual assessments of detected threats. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. A.C. Eggman

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Feb. 5, 2004-- At first glance, it appears to be an airplane model a child might pull off a local toy-store shelf. But unlike the recreational remote aircraft, this force-protection asset is no toy. The 7-pound aircraft allows security forces to see beyond what the human eye can see and silently survey the surroundings without anyone knowing it. It cannot be heard and sometimes is mistaken for a bird.
The 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron here is equipped with the latest in unmanned aerial vehicle technology -- the Force Protection Airborne Surveillance System. The system allows security forces to see beyond Balad’s perimeters and provides accurate, real-time visual assessments of detected threats. More

In Southwest Asia

Lakenheath Engineers Provide
Behind-the-Scenes Support

Staff Sgt. Lindon Crozier, 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron electrical specialist, strips wire before connecting to a fuse box. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lynne Neveu

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 4, 2004 — Every day, team members of the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron here are seen doing a multitude of tasks, from digging trenches for electrical wiring to working multiple 12-hour and longer days to set up Cadillac restroom facilities. More

'On The Ground' Archive