DefendAmerica 02/06/2004

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Feb 06, 2004

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

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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

New Tax Laws Address
Guard, Reserve Duty

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 6, 2004 (Army News Service) - The Internal Revenue Service is helping taxpayers use a new law that adds deductions for some reservists, expands the definition of combat zone, and provides income exclusions for military death-benefit payments and certain home sales.
President Bush signed into law the Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003 on Nov. 11 with retroactive provisions making it beneficial for some soldiers to file amended returns on form 1040X. More

Military to Play Big
Role at Pro Bowl Game

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2004 - Representatives of all five military services in Hawaii will get a special honor this weekend as they take to the Aloha Stadium field in Honolulu to participate in Pro Bowl activities Feb. 8.
The game, which will bring together the top players in the American and National conferences of the National Football League, also will assemble the best and the brightest from throughout the U.S. military in Hawaii. 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 depart 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.

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Radio

Television

Raid in Al Fallujah 5 More Photos

Soldiers with Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, provide security while soldiers with 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, search a shop suspected of producing and selling anti-coalition compact disks and digital video disks in Al Fallujah, Iraq, Jan. 24, 2004. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Charles B. Johnson Photo Essay Archive

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

'Devil Siphon' Troops
Work to Stop Black Market Fuel

Soldiers of the 1/5th Field Artillery Bn, 1st Infantry Division, stop a truck loaded with propane as a part of Operation Devil Siphon in an effort to end black market fuel sales in the Ar Ramadi area. Photo by Pfc. J.H. French

AR RAMADI, Iraq, Feb. 6, 2004 (Army News Service) - In a country as oil rich as Iraq, fuel is in remarkably short supply. One reason is black marketers buy up the fuel to sell at elevated prices.
"Operation Devil Siphon" is the 1st Infantry Division, 1st Brigade Combat Team's way of bringing an end to the black market and re-establishing Iraq's fuel infrastructure. More

Navy Cargo Handlers Prepare to Deploy

By U.S. Navy Cmdr. Tom Gresback / Naval Expeditionary Logistics

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Feb. 5, 2004 (NNS) - 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.
The Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force assets are being deployed to meet joint military requirements as part of the Defense Department's scheduled force rotation. More

Donations Arrive in Iraq, Afghanistan

By U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Adam Johnston / 18th Wing Public Affairs

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan, Feb. 5, 2004 (AFPN) — Donated goods collected here and nine other bases are beginning to arrive in Iraq. A similar donation program in Afghanistan is expanding to weekly visits, after a year of monthly deliveries.
In January, workers here shipped nearly 500 pounds of school supplies, children's clothes and personal hygiene items to Iraq, said Chaplain (Capt.) Dominic Vitaliano of the 18th Wing. Donations for Afghanistan have also been collected, sent and delivered during the last year from here. More

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

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. More

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. More

In Djibouti

Task Force Troops, Local
Business Leaders Meet

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Feb. 3, 2004 — Members of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa along with the Djibouti Chamber of Commerce met with local business leaders recently to discuss the future of business in Djibouti.
This was the first time business leaders of Djibouti met with buyers aboard Camp Lemonier. Story

In Bahrain

Seabees Renovate Animal Sanctuary

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) — Seabees deployed to Bahrain teamed up with the Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to make life a little better for local abused and abandoned animals.
The Seabees, from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion replace roofs and created a drainage system for the sanctuary. Story

'On The Ground' Archive