DefendAmerica - Home Page 02/22/2004

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Feb 23, 2004

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

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MEDICAL CARE— U.S.Army Specialist Margarita Prieto, a medic with 10th Mountain Forward Support Battalion, marks a number on the hand of a local woman before being seen by medics in the Roza Sharif village clinic during Civil Medical Assistance mission. The medical assistance mission was held by Combined Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force Civil Affairs team in Roza Sharif Village clinic, Ghazni, Afghanistan, Feb. 13, 2004. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gul A Alisan

U.S. Task Force Troops Assist
Iraqis Following Bomb Attack

By American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2004 -- Task Force Ironhorse soldiers arrived on the scene today at a police station in Kirkuk, Iraq, to provide security and medical assistance following a car bomb attack there, according to a Combined Joint Task Force 7 release.
The explosion killed eight Iraqi national police officers and wounding at least 33 others along with two children, according to officials. More

Rumsfeld Praises Iraqi Resolve To Fight for Freedom, Liberty

By John D. Banusiewicz / American Forces Press Service

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait, Feb. 22, 2004 — Terrorists have been targeting some of the roughly 200,000 Iraqis participating in their country's security, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today the Iraqi people don't like it - and they're not giving in.
"Instead of responding by acquiescing," Rumsfeld told reporters during a refueling stop earlier in the day at Shannon, Ireland, "we see that volunteers are still in line to join the police. They're still in line to join the army. Instead of retreating, they are leaning forward and taking losses, and God bless them for it." More Secretary, Troops Surprise Each Other

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. More
Remarks

Coalition Clarifies 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 an interview on Al Arabiya satellite TV. 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

More Pay for 1,500
Soldiers in War Zone

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2004 (Army News Service) - About 1,500 soldiers are eligible to receive an extra $1,000 a month for being involuntarily extended in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Officials from the Army and the Office of the Secretary of Defense identified 12 units, mainly from Germany, where soldiers will receive an incentive package if they meet certain requirements. More

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. 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. 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

. Red Cross Committee Visits Saddam

. Raids Flush Out Terror Suspects

. Troop Rotations in Full Swing; Patrols, Searches Continue

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

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

President George W. Bush

"In the past three years our country has faced some great challenges. We're still at war. The war on terror is a new kind of war, in which every American is threatened and every level of government must work together. We've taken vital steps to secure our homeland."

Remarks to Nation's Governors, Feb. 22, 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

Southwest Asia

Precision Experts Keep
Equipment Running, Personnel Safe

Staff Sgt. Andrea Lopez prepares to turn a digital test set on its side so she can inspect its circuit cards. Sergeant Lopez is a precision measurement equipment laboratory technician with the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron and is deployed from Aviano Air Base, Italy. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Chawntain Young

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) — They diagnose, treat and cure. There is no room for error in their line of work, or it could cost someone his or her life.
The professionals assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron’s precision measurement equipment laboratory are doctors for one of the Air Force’s most precious resources — its equipment. More

'On The Ground' Archive