DefendAmerica - Home Page 02/19/2004

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Feb 19, 2004

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

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PLAY BALL — U.S. Army Spc. Lamar Hudson kicks a soccer ball with some friendly Iraqi children on the first day of their school's reopening in Ramadi, Iraq, Feb. 18, 2004. Hudson is assigned to the 1st Infantry Division's 34th Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Lee Davis

Soldiers Capture Insurgents,
Seize Weapons in Iraq Raids

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2004 — News releases from Combined Joint Task Force 7 in Iraq have provided details of recent coalition successes in capturing insurgents and taking weapons out of circulation.
Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, raided three locations in Samarra just after midnight Feb. 17 and captured specifically targeted individuals suspected of attacking coalition forces. More

U.S. Central Command Releases Letter from Suspected Terrorist

Coalition Encourages Growth
In Iraqi Private Businesses

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2004 — While not precisely a "chicken-and-the-egg" analogy, many in Iraq are asking which comes first, security or prosperity.
     It's a bit of both, said Thomas Foley, director of private sector development for the Coalition Provisional Authority.
     "Security and prosperity are related," he said during an interview today. "With prosperity, people have a stake in the economy. There's a lot more pressure for people not to be disrupted." More

Reconstruction Teams Work
To Secure, Rebuild Afghanistan

By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2003 — Officials are happy with the progress of 11 provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan and are looking to expand the program throughout the country.
Eleven teams are operating in Afghanistan, with a 12th becoming active this week. Coalition partners operate three of these teams. New Zealand and the United Kingdom each operate a team, while Germany runs one under the auspices of NATO, the top American general in Afghanistan said Feb. 17. More
Briefing Video Report

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

Defense Agency Supports
Wheelchair Donations in Iraq

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2004 — Several hundred Iraqis have new-found mobility, thanks to a public-private partnership that provides wheelchairs to victims of war, disability and disease.
About 280 wheelchairs, donated by churches and private contributors through the Wheelchair Foundation, were delivered to Iraq in December and are being distributed throughout the country. More

Industry Mobilizing to
Produce Up-armored Humvees

MISHAWAKA, Ind., Feb. 18, 2004 (Army News Service) — Humvee production in February has ramped up from 25 to 30 vehicles daily at an AM General factory in order to meet the demand in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee visited the plant recently. He thanked workers for their service to the nation and reinforced their resolve to get the best Humvees to the troops as fast as possible. More

New Technology Helps Families,
Deployed Loved Ones Stay in Touch

Miss USA 2003, Susie Castillo (right) receives help from Meg King, a Vidisolutions representative, while making a video e-mail that expresses Castillo's appreciation for our troops. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. John S. Jamison Jr.

NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2004 -- The reigning Miss USA, Susie Castillo, visited the United Services Organization here to send her regards, using new technology, to service members who are presently serving outside the United States. More

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

Valentine's Day Messages to the Troops

Radio

Television

Lakenheath Squadron, Ground
Controllers Train for Deployment

By 1st Lt. Ed Ekpoudom / 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

Airman 1st Class Will Jorgenson, a tactical air command and control specialist with the 4th Air Support Operations Group based in Schweinfurt, Germany, gazes up at an F-15E Strike Eagle as Master Sgt. Jim Burt, a tactical air command and control specialist with the 4th Operations Group, directs a close-air-support training mission near Royal Air Foce Lakenheath, England Feb. 5. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Ed Ekpoudom

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England, Feb. 18, 2004 (USAFENS) — The 492nd Fighter Squadron is preparing for the next Air Expeditionary Force rotation in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom by training with some of the tactical ground controllers who will direct their close-air-support missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. More

Convoy Through Khyber Pass 6 More Photos

With a steady flow of people passing as they cross the border, members of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan and the 19th Special Forces Group move through the village of Torkham, Afghanistan, in the Khyber Pass, following a border security meeting in Pakistan, Feb. 10, 2004. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Belcher Photo Essay Archive

U.S. Troops Train Iraqi
Civil Defense Corps Soldiers

Sgt. Marlon Harper (right), a tanker with C Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, and an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps instructor, conducts an after-action review with Iraqi soldiers at Baghdad International Airport's Camp Slayer. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Shauna McRoberts

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 18, 2004 — Soldiers from 1st Armored Division’s 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, are training Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. soldiers."We're taking what the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division taught them and building on it," said 1st Lt. Matt Weightman, a scout platoon leader. More

Medics Train Iraqi Counterparts

CAMP STEEL FALCON, Iraq, Feb. 18, 2004 — The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps took another step toward selfsufficiency when 66 guardsmen recently completed the first combat medic course offered in Iraq.
The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps in the Al Rashid district of southern Baghdad now have trained medical specialists. The class consisted many of the same tasks found in the U.S. Army’s Combat Lifesaver’s Course. More

Iraqi Security Force Members Honored For Explosives Disposal Work

War on Terrorism

. U.S., Coalition Forcing Taliban To Change Tactical Response

. Bush Thanks Fort Polk Troops, Pledges Vigilance in Terror War

. FBI Chief Mueller: Counterterrorism is FBI's Top Priority

. Panel to Review Detainees Housed at Guantanamo Bay

. U.S. Troops Work Closely with Iraqi Police and Security Forces

Iraq

. Coalition Continues Offensive Operations in Iraqi Freedom

. Coalition Ups Rewards Program

. Dangerous Detainees Important To Intell Effort, Rumsfeld Says

. Terrorists Know Time Running Out as Iraqi Sovereignty Nears

. Terrorists Must Lose Race For Weapons of Mass Murder

Military News

. Imminent Danger Pay, Tax Relief Offered to Select Units

. Air Force 'Patriot Express' Flights Diverted to Support Deployments

. Some Reservists Eligible For New Health Benefits

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Defense Leaders Speak

President George W. Bush

"Every person in uniform also depends on the faithful support of their family. Military families have faced many hardships in this time of testing, and you have faced them together. Every military installation is a strong and caring community. You look out for each other. You accept the sacrifices of service to America. And I want you to know, our whole nation is grateful to our military families. "

Remarks at Fort Polk, La., Feb. 17, 2004

Defense Views

More Afghanistan Update Details

. Maps of Afghanistan

Transformation

U.S. Transportation Command's
Priority is Supporting Warfighters

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2004 - Supporting the warfighter is "job No. 1" for U.S. Transportation Command, the TRANSCOM deputy commander said here today. More

New Bouy System
To Protect Navy Ships

NAVAL WEAPONS STATION SEAL BEACH, Calif., Feb. 17, 2004 (NNS) — As part of an ongoing program to protect U.S. Navy ships from terrorist attacks, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach began installation of a new barrier system in Anaheim Bay in mid-January. Story

More Transformation News

Profile

U.S. Air Force
Lt. Col. Michael Fossum

Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Fossum (left) and fellow astronaut Steven Swanson train inside a specially built KC-135 Stratotanker at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for an upcoming mission. During initial astronaut training, the modified aircraft is used to test tools and basic techniques in moving around in zero gravity. Fossum is a reservist assigned to the F-16 system program office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Courtesy photo

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — An Air Force reserve officer assigned to the F-16 Fighting Falcon system program office here is one of four NASA astronauts named to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121. The mission, planned for November, will follow a shuttle mission scheduled for September. More

More Profiles

In Iraq

Readiness Squadron Fuel
Deliveries Keep Tallil Operating

Senior Airman Kasey Saunders pours aviation fuel through a funnel to test the amount of solid matter in a fuel sample. Airman Saunders is deployed here from Kadena Air Base, Japan. U.S Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bob Oldham

TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq, Feb. 18, 2004 (AFPN) — Twenty-three members of the 407th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron’s fuels flight are keeping the fuel flowing --about 1.1 million gallons every month -- to generators, aircraft and base vehicles. Story

'On The Ground' Archive