DefendAmerica 02/10/2004

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Feb 10, 2004

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

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STACKING SHELLS — U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Manuel Orozco stacks red smoke artillery shells for demolition at a supply point outside Ar Ramadia, Iraq, Feb. 9, 2004. Orozco is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's Headquarters Battery, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph Roberts

General Says Letter Reflects
Terrorists' Desperation in Iraq

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2004 — A suspected al Qaeda operative's urging of starting a religious civil war in Iraq indicates that terrorists are increasingly uneasy over pro-coalition developments in that country, senior U.S. officials said in Baghdad today.
     Commenting on an article that appeared in today's New York Times, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7, acknowledged to reporters that coalition forces had intercepted a courier and confiscated a letter written by Abu Musab al Zarquwi, a known terrorist with suspected links to al Qaeda.
     The author of the 17-page letter writes about conducting 25 anti-coalition operations since being in Iraq, Kimmitt said, but the tone of the letter indicates that the terrorist "is disappointed in his lack of success." More

Explosion Kills Two Soldiers, Injures Five in Mosul Region

MOSUL, Iraq, Feb. 9, 2004 — An explosion killed two soldiers and injured five others Feb. 9 in the Mosul region when unexploded ordnance that was being moved to a demolition point detonated, according to Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials in Baghdad.
The ordnance, a large collection of rocket propelled grenades and mortar rounds that had been found or turned in, was being moved from a storage bunker to a demolition point. Officials said the explosion occurred at 12:45 p.m. as the ordnance was being offloaded for demolition. More

Rumsfeld Supports Preemption To Confront Terrorist Threats

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2004 — Maintaining that the best defense against threats is a strong offense, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told attendees at an international security conference in Munich Germany, on Feb. 7 that the United States has no option but to maintain its policy of preemption—particularly when confronted with terrorism.
During a joint press conference Feb. 8 in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader expressed his agreement with the concept of "preventive action" and promised to give "serious consideration" to sending military support to Iraq.

Rumsfeld Staunchly Defends Preemption to European Officials

Croatian PM Voices Support for U.S. Policy of Preemption

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

DoD Identifies
Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Richard P. Ramey, 27, of Canton, Ohio, died Feb. 8 in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated. Ramey was assigned to the 703rd Ordinance Company, Fort Knox, Ky., and he was supporting the 82nd Airborne Division. The incident is under investigation.

PRO BOWL GUESTS — Military honorees at the Feb. 8 Pro Bowl game in Honolulu included, from right to left, Adm. Walter F. Doran, commander Pacific Fleet; Spc. Emilee Pardo, soldier of the year for the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and for U.S. Army, Hawaii; Cpl. George Mellone, marine of the year for Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew Danforth, sailor of the year for the USS O'Kane; Tech. Sgt. Homero Lucero, volunteer of the year at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; Petty Officer 1st Class Allen Melendez, Coast Guardsman of the year for Coast Guard Integrated Support Command Honolulu; and Rear Adm. Barry McCullough, commander of Navy Region Hawaii. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Ryan C. McGinley

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Army Leaders Assess
Intelligence in Iraq War

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. (Feb. 9, 2004) — In the Silent Warrior Conference Room at Fort Huachuca, Jan. 23, there were more stars to be seen than on a cold, clear winter's night. Among them was Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, V Corps commander in Operation Iraqi Freedom and now commanding general of the U.S. Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Story

Radio

Television

Rumsfeld Visits Germany 7 More Photos

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld answers questions from the press at the 40th Munich Conference on Security Policy. The secretary as well as other Ministers of Defense met to discuss mutual defense policies abroad. Defense Department photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jerry Morrison Jr. Photo Essay Archive

Armored Vehicles Stand Up
To Roadside Bomb Threats

By U.S. Army Cpl. Joe Niesen / 350th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

U.S. Army Pfc. Lester Rhodes, an RG-31 armored car operator with Taskforce 'Pathfinder,' compares the vehicle to an 'armored Cadillac'. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Joe Niesen

FORWARD OPERATING BASE RIDGWAY, Iraq-The U.S. Army has a few new weapons to use in its war against the threat of improvised explosive devices on Iraq's roadways.
Soldiers from the 82 nd Airborne Division's Task Force Pathfinder now use the Husky, Meerkat, Buffalo and RG-31 armored car. More

Soldier, Worker Cooperation
Pays off at Phosphate Plant

Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack, commanding general of 82nd Airborne Division, and Col. David A. Teeples, regimental commander of 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, stand with managers of the Super Phosphate Plant behind a super-sized check for $2.5 million. The check, from the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, was presented to plant management at a ceremony Jan. 31. U.S. Army photo

AL QA'IM, Iraq, Feb. 7, 2004 - The economy in the Al Qa'im area got a big boost Jan. 31 when the management of the Super Phosphate Plant received a check for $2.5 million from the Ministry of Industry and Minerals.
Plant managers say the money will enable the plant to start partial operations in one month. Civil affairs personnel in 1 st Squadron, 3 rd Armored Cavalry Regiment have been working for months to get the plant - considered to be full of economic potential - up and running. The plant would employ 5,500 workers and produce several products that are currently in demand on the world market, like zeolite and sulphuric acid. More

Afghanistan Mission Nets 'Big Fish'

By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeff Troth / Task Force 1-501 Airborne

AFGHANISTAN, Feb. 6, 2004 — Soldiers of Task Force 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment recently captured weapons caches and an al-Qaeda member who's been called "a big fish" by one noncomissioned officer.
The "Geronimos" spent the two weeks of Operation Blizzard doing cordon and searches of villages in the mountains along the Khowst-Gardez Highway where coalition forces' convoys and contracted trucks had been attacked. Operation Blizzard was also successful in gathering intelligence. More

Jenny Prokop wipes away tears of joy as she greets her husband, U.S. Army Spc. Michael Prokop of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 18th Military Police Brigade, in Mannheim, Germany. The unit returned to Mannheim Feb. 3 with the 76th Army Band. During her husband's deployment, Jenny served as the co-leader of his unit's family support group. U.S. Army photo by Arthur McQueen

Medics Train Using Lessons from Iraq

By U.S. Army Spc. Kristopher Joseph / V Corps Public Affairs

LANDSTUHL, Germany, Feb. 9, 2004 — Fresh from their successful real-world experience in Operation Iraq Freedom, the soldiers of the 212th Mobile Surgical Hospital are home at Landstuhl, Germany, now, but they’re not resting on their laurels. To keep their skills fresh and current and ready for whatever the next contingency might be, the MASH team came home and went right back to training. But walking through the sterilized maze of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, one would never suspect that this forward-ready, battle-hardened unit is here conducting a three-week exercise.
The 212th calls it a “hospital in hospital” exercise, and it gives the MASH’s field medical experts an opportunity to leave their hospital tents stowed away and train inside Europe’s largest military medical center. Story

War on Terrorism

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

. 'Robust' Special Operations Critical to Terror War

. Coast Guard Faces Increasing Security Challenges

Iraq

. Bush Defends Iraq Decision, Says Saddam Threatened U.S.

. Rumsfeld, Conference Attendees Discuss Security Improvements

. Mortar Attack Kills U.S. Soldier

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

Military News

. Army Changes Enlistment Lengths to Support Stabilization

. U.S. and European Officials Work to Strengthen Bridges

. Troops Continue Forward Steps In Taking Iraqi War to Enemy

. New Tax Laws Address Guard, Reserve Duty

. Pentagon Decides Against Internet Voting This Year

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Black History Month

Black Airmen Express Pride
In Support for War on Terror

GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D., Feb. 9, 2004 — From the buffalo soldier of wars past to the KC-135R Stratotanker pilot of today supporting the war on terrorism, blacks have and continue to play a large role supporting the U.S. military.
With the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, many blacks here said being a part of those operations is a reason to be proud and builds on their heritage. More

Single Marines Not Forgotten
As Deployment Time Nears

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Feb. 9, 2004 — In the weeks leading up to unit deployments, sometimes the single marine gets forgotten in the flurry of family readiness briefs geared toward spouses and children.
The 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) Command Element has ensured this is not the case for its single marines and sailors when the unit's top leadership recently conducted a Single Marine Pre-Deployment Brief. More

Soldier Wounded in Iraq
Marries on Regis and Kelly

On the Feb. 6 "Live with Regis and Kelly," Spc. Robert Fleming and his new bride April (center), their family and friends, along with show hosts Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, raise their glasses as the couple is toasted live via satellite by Fleming's Army unit in Fallujah, Iraq. Photo courtesy of Buena Vista Television

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2004 — An Army specialist wounded in Iraq and his fiancée from Syracuse, N.Y., were married Feb. 6 on Live with Regis and Kelly as millions watched across the country.
U.S. Army Spc. Robert Fleming of the 10th Mountain Division and his fiancée April Zehr got "the wedding of their dreams during Live's Wedding Week," said Michael Gelman, the show's executive producer. More

More Afghanistan Update Details

. Maps of Afghanistan

Defense Leaders Speak

Vice President Richard B. Cheney

"We and our friends and allies in many countries have inflicted heavy loses on ... al Qaeda's leadership and on their foot soldiers, tracking them and finding them in hiding places from Pakistan to Indonesia. Those not yet captured or killed live in fear, and their fears are well founded."

Remarks in St. Louis, Feb. 7, 2004

Defense Views
Quotes by U.S. defense leaders

Profile

U.S. Marine Corps
Cpl. Lisa C. White

Marine Cpl. Lisa C. White holds up 13 inches of her own hair, which she donated to the Locks of Love charity. Her hair will be used to make wigs for children who have lost their hair from skin diseases or chemotherapy. Photo courtesy of Cpl. Lisa White

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII — A corporal with Marine Aircraft Group 24 took the simple task of changing her appearance to a whole new level.
Though getting a hair cut is a pretty routine activity - especially for Marines - fortunately for children involved with Locks of Love, Cpl. Lisa C. White, a nuclear, biological and chemical defense specialist, decided to put a little more thought behind her actions. More

More Profiles

In Iraq

Bus Delivers
'Medical Care on Wheels'

Maj. Dan Barnes, a surgeon with the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (far left), looks on as an Iraqi physician treats a man with chest pains inside a CAROLE bus at a village 30 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. Carden

YUSUFIYAH, Iraq - During the past 11 months, coalition forces have spent thousands of dollars improving healthcare services to the people of Iraq.
Newly renovated and supplied medical facilities all across the country are available for the Iraqi people. More

Soldiers Surprise Students
With School Supplies

Students in the Al-Jasmine Primary School in the Mustansyria neighborhood show off donated school supplies. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jean-Pierre Brown

Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 7, 2004 -- As on any day in Baghdad, the sun rose on the students of the Al-Jasmine primary school in the Mustansyria neighborhood. But on this bright day, the students were in for a big surprise. More

In Afghanistan

Airmen Carry Old Glory
During Combat Missions

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan, Feb. 9, 2004 — The spirit of Sept. 11, 2001, is still evident in the sky above Afghanistan as airmen here do their part to support a long-standing tradition of carrying U.S. flags onboard aircraft flying combat missions. More

'On The Ground' Archive