DefendAmerica 02/06/2004

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Feb 06, 2004

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

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Transcripts

ROCKY ROAD — Soldiers drive their humvees through a river on a rocky road on the way to Tangay in the Daychopan region of Afghanistan, Feb. 3, 2004. The soldiers are assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, which is combating terrorists and remnants of the former Taliban regime. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Horace Murray

'Robust' Special Operations Critical to Fighting Terror War

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2004 — Prosecuting the war against terrorism necessitates taking the fight to the enemy rather than waiting for another 9-11-style assault, a senior DoD civilian leader said here today.
"The stakes are so high that we must take action before the threats ripen and destruction is again brought to our shores," Thomas W. O'Connell, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low intensity conflict, said to attendees at a downtown defense industry symposium. More

Special Operations Troops Relate Iraqi Freedom Missions

NATO Defense Ministers Study Expanded Role in Afghanistan

By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 6, 2004 — NATO defense ministers meeting here today discussed expanding the role of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
"NATO's first priority … is to get Afghanistan right," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in a late-afternoon press conference. "We have no choice in Afghanistan but to meet our commitments to the people of that country and to the international community." More Secretary Rumsfeld's Remarks

Defense Ministers to Discuss Iraq, Future of NATO Forces

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

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

Bush Announces Members
Of Intelligence Commission

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2004 — President Bush today announced seven members of an independent commission that will look into U.S. intelligence capabilities.
The commission will especially study prewar U.S. intelligence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and compare that to what the Iraq Survey Group has found. "We're also determined to make sure that American intelligence is as accurate as possible for every challenge in the future," he said. 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 will soon bicycle from New York to California in support of his son and others serving in the war on terror. He 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.

Send your message Read more messages

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

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

Army Meeting Requirements for 'Up-armored' Humvees in Iraq

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2004 (Army News Service) — The Army is meeting Central Command's requirements for up-armored Humvees for operations in Iraq and doing it in a timely manner, according to Maj. Gen. N. Ross Thompson III, commanding general for the Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. More

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

'Operation Devil Siphon' Stems
Flow of 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. 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. Donations for Afghanistan have also been collected, sent and delivered during the last year from here. Story

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

. Pentagon Decides Against Internet Voting This Year

. Experience Shows Anthrax, Smallpox Immunizations Safe

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Defense Officials
Identify Casualties

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2004 — Defense Department officials announced today that the following servicemembers died while in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. During a recent examination of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps records, it was determined that these deaths had not been identified and announced as Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom casualties. This updates the record and honors those who gave their lives in the Global War on Terrorism. More

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. 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

New Dining Facility Opens at Kirkuk

In Djibouti

Troops, 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. 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. Story

'On The Ground' Archive