DefendAmerica - Home Page 02/20/2004

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Feb 21, 2004

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

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KEEPING WATCH — Soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division take up a defensive position outside a mosque while the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and Al Fallujah police search inside Feb. 12. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Charles B. Johnson

America is Making Progress
In War on Terror Says Bush

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

     WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2004 — "Over the last 29 months, many terrorists have learned the meaning of justice," President Bush said today in his weekly radio address on progress being made in the war on terror.
     "The terrorists are on the run, with good reason to fear what the night might bring," he said, pointing out that nearly two-thirds of al Qaeda's known leaders have been captured or killed.
     The president spoke proudly about his visit Feb. 17 with soldiers and family members at Fort Polk, La. More   Remarks

Coalition Clarifies What CPA Said in Al Arabiya Interview

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

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2004 - The Coalition Provisional Authority clarified today what CPA administrator Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III said in a Feb. 20 interview on Al Arabiya satellite TV.
The interviewer had asked Bremer about "the problems and the factors" on holding direct elections before the long-stated June 30 date for Iraqi sovereignty. "The most important problems," Bremer responded during the interview, "are technical ones, as the United Nations specialists pointed out when they were (in Baghdad) last week. More

Red Cross Committee Visits Saddam

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2004 — The International Committee of the Red Cross visited Saddam Hussein today at an undisclosed location, Coalition Joint Task Force 7 officials confirmed.
The visit, requested by the ICRC, occurred under Geneva Convention rules on visitation with enemy prisoners of war, according to a task force statement. "Coalition forces welcome the critical role of the advocacy of enemy prisoner of war rights," the statement read. More

Raids Flush Out Terror Suspects

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

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2004 — Coalition and Iraqi security forces rounded up several terrorist targets during overnight raids, including a former mayor of Tikrit and a cousin of Saddam Hussein suspected of providing false passports for individuals crossing the Iraq-Syria border.
Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters that in the past 24 hours coalition forces have conducted 1,400 patrols, 30 offensive operations and 20 raids, and captured 55 anti-coalition suspects. 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

Remembering the Fallen

Memorial to Honor Fallen
Task Force Ironhorse Troops

A statue commissioned by Task Force Ironhorse will form a focal point for a new memorial to task force soldiers killed in Iraq. Courtesy photo

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2004 -- A bronze statue of a soldier mourning a fallen comrade traveled from Tikrit, Iraq, to Fort Hood, Texas, this week to become the focal point of a memorial to the soldiers of Task Force Ironhorse who have died during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The statue arrived at Fort Hood's Robert Gray Army Airfield Feb. 16, along with the first 60 soldiers in the task force to redeploy from Iraq, said Capt. Charles Armstrong, secretary of the general staff for the rear detachment. More

Defense Officials
Announce Army Casualties

     WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2004 — Defense Department officials announced the Feb. 19 deaths in Khalidiyah, Iraq, of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died of injuries sustained from small arms fire and an improvised explosive device attack. Killed were: 2nd Lt. Jeffrey C. Graham, 24, of Elizabethtown, Ky., and Spc. Roger G. Ling, 20, of Douglaston, N.Y.
     Both were assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, Fort Riley, Kan.
     The incident is under investigation.

Transformation

Army Knowledge Online "Lite"
Speeds Up Access Time

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2004 — The Army now offers a stripped-down version of its Army Knowledge Online service, in response to concerns of soldiers deloyed in support of the war on terror who said the standard system takes too long to access and use. The new version loads up to 10 times faster than the regular service. Story

New Palm-Held Device
To Aid Field Communication

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. Feb. 19, 2004 — Small-unit infantry leaders who must serve on the digital battlefield are poised to take what observers say will be a huge leap forward in battlefield communications and navigation technology when they begin using a palm-pilot-like device called the Dismounted Data Automated Communications Terminal. More

More Transformation News

Radio

Television

Dragon Lady 7 More Photos

Maj. Mark Mount from the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron begins to taxi a U-2 "Dragon Lady" out to the flightline at an undisclosed forward operating base in Southwest Asia, Feb. 10, 2004. The Dragon Lady is a high altitude reconnaissance platform that provides near-real-time surveillance imagery in support of operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Jenkins Photo Essay Archive

Reservists Gain U.S. Citizenship
Before Afghanistan Deployment

Ten Army Reserve soldiers take the oath of American citizenship before deploying overseas. U.S. Army photo

FORT BLISS, Texas, Feb. 18, 2004 -- Ten soldiers from the U.S. Army Reserves were naturalized at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' El Paso District Office Feb. 6, officially earning citizenship in the country they protect.
In an early morning ceremony, fellow service members, family members and friends were witnesses to the next step in these soldiers' lives as they mobilize at Fort Bliss, Texas, for deployment to support Operation Enduring Freedom. More

Marine Corps Sergeant Major
Bids Farewell to Deploying Troops

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif., Feb. 20, 2004-- Emotions ran high for hundreds of deploying 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines and their families here, including visiting Sgt. Maj. John L. Estrada, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, as they prepared to leave for Iraq late into the night Feb. 12.
The sergeant major of the Marine Corps flew in from the East Coast to to thank the marines and give his best wishes personally before they departed on their deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Story

Deploying Marines Train Hollywood-Style

An actor portraying an Iraqi screams at U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Veronica Cortez, a 3rd Civil Affairs Group civil affairs specialist, during Military Operations in Urban Terrain training at a mock Iraqi town at Stu Seagall Productions in San Diego. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Matthew J. Apprendi

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 13, 2003 — Inside a movie studio, several hundred Marines from 3rd Civil Affairs Group participated in Military Operations in Urban Terrain last week to prepare for their upcoming deployment to Iraq.
Creating and fortifying a strong relationship between the people of Iraq and the U.S. presence will be their primary goal while deployed, according to Capt. Steve Coast, the group's training officer. More

Iraqi Border Guards, U.S. Troops Protect Border

AR AR, Iraq, Feb. 20, 2004--More than 15,000 pilgrims have passed through the Ar Ar border crossing in recent weeks while the Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement has worked closely with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's 2nd Squadron to secure the crossing and ensure safe travel at Iraq's western border, Combined Joint Task Force 7 reported today.
Officials said the border guards went through a two-week formal training at the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's Rifles Academy and were sent out to patrol the borders after graduation. More

Task Force 1st Armored Division
Trains Iraqi Civil Defense Corps

Senior Airman Micah Ramthun from the 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron checks the wheel well of a KC-135 Stratotanker. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Brus E. Vidal

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 20 - Soldiers from 1st Armored Division's 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment are spending the next month training soldiers from the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.
The corps is a guard unit consisting of Iraqi citizens who volunteered to serve their nation and fight terrorist insurgents within their homeland. More

War on Terrorism

. Reconstruction Teams Work to Secure, Rebuild Afghanistan

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

Iraq

. Troop Rotations in Full Swing; Patrols, Searches Continue

. Soldiers Use Detective Know-How To Detect Anti-Coalition Weapons

. Bomb Kills 2 Soldiers, Injures 1 As Coalition Pushes Forward

. Bremer Thanks U.S. Troops, Says June 30 Date Should Hold

. Coalition Encouraging Private Business Growth in Iraq

Military News

. Exercise Tests U.S. Response To Threats Against Homeland

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

Valentine's Day Messages to the Troops

Due to the volume of Valentine's Day messages received, DefendAmerica will display these messages through Feb. 24.

Defense Leaders Speak

Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld

"The people we have today on the active force, the Guard and Reserve, every one of them is there because they want to be there. They're all volunteers. It's a wonderful thing and God bless them for what they're doing, and they're doing an absolutely superb job in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and elsewhere across the world."

Interview with WTVT-TV and Fox News, Feb. 17, 2004

Defense Views

More Afghanistan Update Details

. Maps of Afghanistan

Profile

U.S. Air Force
Senior Airman Laurie Vroman

Shortly before her promotion to senior airman this month, Laurie Vroman leads an honor guard team in a formal retreat ceremony at a forward-deployed location. Vroman is a security forces journeyman with the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing and is deployed from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Brian Davidson

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM — With dark-brown hair pulled back into a perfect bun, and deep-brown, thoughtful eyes, Air Force Senior Airman Laurie Vroman demonstrates pride and precision in her duties.
Vroman, a security forces journeyman deployed to this undisclosed location from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., leads the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing honor guard team. More

More Profiles

In Kyrgyzstan

Airmen Keep Fuel Flowing
For Operation Enduring Freedom

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan, Feb. 19, 2004 — One of the key missions of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing here is providing fuel to the fighters and bombers supporting coalition warfighters in Afghanistan. More

In Kuwait

Soldiers Turn Professors
For Iraqi Freedom Troops

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — Some soldiers have discovered they don’t need to put college plans off until after their Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment. What’s more, their teachers are also soldiers, often credentialed “in the field” as college professors by major universities. More

In Qatar

Historians Preserve Details
From War on Terrorism

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Elder discusses current operations with Master Sgt. Paul Witt and Tech. Sgt. Jason Axberg, historians at the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeff Bohn

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar--With the volume of events from operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, someone has to decide what details from these operations are filed away for future leaders to draw upon years down the road.
This is the dilemma U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Paul Witt and Tech. Sgt. Jason Axberg face each day as historians deployed to the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Story

'On The Ground' Archive