DefendAmerica 03/30/2004

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Mar 30, 2004

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TRANSPORTERS — A Military Sealift Command ship sits tied-up to the pier at the port of Mina Ash-Shu'aibah, Kuwait, to take part in the recent troop rotations in Iraq. Military Sealift Command is the transportation provider for the Department of Defense with the responsibility of providing strategic sealift and ocean transportation for all military forces overseas. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric L. Beauregard

Bush Welcomes NATO Nations, Pledges Unity in War on Terror

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, March 30, 2004 — President Bush welcomed seven new NATO members at a March 29 White House ceremony, noting the alliance "is made stronger by their presence."
     Bush, accompanied by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, congratulated the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, pointing out that their countries had once been imprisoned behind the former Soviet Union's "Iron Curtain."
     The president noted that NATO's mission to defend free nations against aggression harkens back to when the organization was founded in 1949 as a bulwark against Soviet expansionism in Europe. He said today's global terrorism is "a new enemy which has brought death to innocent people from New York to Madrid." Story     Remarks

Marines on Troop Stay in Iraq:
No Longer Than Necessary

By U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq, March 30, 2004 — While pleased at the speed Marines answered the call to return to Iraq, U.S. Marine Forces Central Command leaders said the stay here won't be any longer than it takes to transfer power back to the nation's citizens.
Marine Forces Central Command commander Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson, Jr., his deputy, Brig. Gen. Jerry C. McAbee, and senior enlisted advisor, Sgt. Maj. Royce G. Coffee, among others, spent two days touring I Marine Expeditionary Forces in Iraq, including 1st Force Service Support Group here on March 27, 2004, as well as the 1st Marine Division and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing on March 28. More

Myers Thanks Italian Defense
Minister for Terror War Support

By Donna Miles / American Forces Press Service

Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, chats with Italian Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, Italy's new chief of defense, during a March 29 Pentagon meeting. Photo by Salli Sobsey

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2004 — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff thanked the new Italian chief of defense at the Pentagon today for Italy's staunch and ongoing support for the war on terror.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers hosted the visit by Italian Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, who traveled to Washington to attend a defense aerospace industry seminar this week. Myers noted that Italy has been a strong supporter in the war on terror, with significant contributions to operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Africa. More

U.S.-Funded Projects to Propel
Iraqi Economic Renaissance

By Gerry J. Gilmore / American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2004 — After enduring decades under a corrupt state-run economy, the Iraqi people are poised for an economic renaissance through reconstruction projects funded by an $18.4 billion American grant, senior U.S. and Iraqi officials announced today in Baghdad.
"The waiting is all but over. The partnership between the American and Iraqi people for the reconstruction of Iraq is on the move," Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, Coalition Provisional Authority administrator, told reporters during a news briefing. More Briefing

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.

. Iraq Update . Maps of Iraq

. Iraq's 55 Most Wanted

Transformation

Scientific Innovations Serve Troops Today, Tomorrow

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2004 — Scientific innovations developed by the Defense Department and in the private sector are helping to prosecute the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq while helping DoD to realize its transformation goals for tomorrow. More

Special Ops Must Modernize

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2004 — With the help of special operations forces, the United States has made significant progress in the war on terrorism, Thomas W. O'Connell, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, told the Senate Armed Services Committee March 25. More

More Transformations News

A-10 Friendly Fire
Investigation Wraps Up

MACDILL AFB, Fl., March 29, 2004 — The investigation into a March 23, 2003, friendly fire incident between U.S. forces is complete, according to U.S. Central Command officials. More

Al Arabiya
Investigation Complete

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 29, 2004 — The investigation into the events of March 18, 2004, that resulted in the death of two Al Arabiya employees is complete, according to Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials. More

Defense Leaders Speak

President George W. Bush

"NATO's core mission remains the same: the defense of its members against any aggression. Today, our alliance faces a new enemy, which has brought death to innocent people from New York to Madrid. Terrorists hate everything this alliance stands for. They despise our freedom, they fear our unity, they seek to divide us. They will fail. We will not be divided. We will never bow to the violence of a few...we will face the mortal danger of terrorism, and we will overcome it together."

NATO Alliance Ceremony, March 29, 2004

Defense Views

Quotes by U.S. defense leaders

. Maps of Afghanistan

http://www.defendamerica.mil/homecoming/archive.html

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

Radio

Television

Scenes From Iraq 5 More Photos

A Iraqi man fishes in the marshlands of Basrah, Iraq. The New Zealand Engineer Regiment, working, with the Multinational Division/Southeast, visited the village in February to discuss and survey the village in preparation for widening the road, and expanding and raising the land where houses are built in the marsh flood during the rainy winter season. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Rachel M. Ahner

Photo Essay Archive

Airmen Fend Off Convoy Attack,
Provide Medical Aid to Wounded

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 29, 2004 (AFPN) — During an Iraqi insurgent attack on an American convoy north of here March 24, time seemed to stand still, said Tech. Sgt. George B. Stewart.
“It seemed like forever,” said the airman from the 447th Air Expeditionary Security Force Squadron. Squadron airmen credit Sergeant Stewart, their independent-duty medical technician, with stabilizing and preparing three wounded servicemembers for an aeromedical evacuation during the action. More

Marine Reaction Team Repels Ambush

By U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald

Left to right, U.S. Marine Corps Pfcs. Daniel G. Neil, Salvador Mendoza Jr. and Jeremy C. Ramirez repelled an enemy ambush outside the camp March 25, 2004. During the battle, the Marines from Company E, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment killed four enemy assailants and found mortar tubes, mortars, rifles and grenades.U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald

CAMP HURRICANE POINT, Iraq, March 27, 2004 — It was supposed to be a routine mission for the quick reaction force from Company E, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
The 21-man team from 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon was tasked with tracking down a group of enemy assailants thought to be preparing to launch a mortar attack against the Marine camp here March 25. More

Marines Take the Reins
Of Camp Al-Mahmudiyah

Army Sgt. 1st Class John R. Coomer, from Logan, Ohio and a platoon sergeant for Company C, 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, speaks with a local Iraqi boy about any suspicious people in his neighborhood. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes

CAMP AL-MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq, March 28, 2004 — Marines from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., took the reins of the operational area from the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment March 26.
"Our goal is to stabilize the area by developing it economically, which will provide the jobs to give people skills," said Maj. Christopher G. Dixon, executive officer for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. The Bellefonte, Pa. Marine added, "We're ultimately trying to help them take over their own economy and government." More

USS Wasp, Strike Group Transit Suez Canal

By U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark C. Schultz / USS Wasp

The guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf enters the Red Sea after the day long transit of the Suez Canal. Leyte Gulf is currently on deployment as part of Expeditionary Strike Group 2, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class D. Keith Simmons

SUEZ CANAL, Egypt, March 29, 2004 (NNS) — The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, and the sailors and Marines of Expeditionary Strike Group 2, entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations March 17 as they made their way through the Suez Canal.
After a port visit in Malta and an amphibious landing exercise in the Adriatic Sea, Wasp, along with the expeditionary strike group, began its journey to the Central Command area of operations in support of the global war on terrorism. More

War on Terrorism

. Afghan Militia Members Turn in Weapons at Kandahar Ceremony

. U.S. Condemns Terrorism in Uzbekistan, Extends Condolences

. Rumsfeld: 9/11 Commission's Task 'Legitimate, Important'

. Global Community to Reaffirm Long-Term Commitment to Afghanistan

. U.S. to Pledge Additional $1 Billion for Afghanistan in Berlin

. Guard, Reserve and Employers Named 'Citizen of Year'

. Cheney Tells Troops America Must Remain on Offensive

. Troop Levels Must Address Challenges of 21st Century

Iraq

. Military Police Kill 4 Drive-by Shooting Suspects in Mosul

. Panel Faults Security Precautions in Bombing of U.N. Baghdad Office

. Remembering the 3rd Infantry Division's Thunder Runs

Military News

. Wolfowitz Pins Wounded Soldier with Purple Heart

. Land Warrior System to Improve Soldier's Ability on Battlefield

. Army Report Addresses Troop Suicide Rates

. Fort Campbell Families Adjust To Newfound Togetherness

. National Guard, Reserve Update

A-10 Pilot Relates
Iraqi Freedom Mission

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2004 — The Iraqi republican guard may have had luck on their side that miserable Baghdad day, but they did not know who was flying the A-10 Thunderbolt II they had just hit with a rocket. Capt. Kim Campbell of the 75th Fighter Squadron, speaking to a large crowd at the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum on March 24, said she knew there would be considerable risk involved in the mission. Story

Honoring the Fallen

Fallen Marine Honored

Marines and sailors gathered March 25, to pay tribute to Cpl. Andrew Brownfield, killed in action here March 18 in the Al Anbar Province of Western Iraq. U.S. Marine Corps photo

AL ASAD, Iraq, March 25, 2004 — Inside the hollow walls of an abandoned aircraft bunker, Marines and sailors gathered to pay tribute to Cpl. Andrew Brownfield, killed in action here March 18 in the Al Anbar Province of Western Iraq. More

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Profile

U.S. Marine Corps
1st Sgt. Nicolyn Woodarek

Marine 1st Sgt. Nicolyn Woodarek prides herself on her high personal standards. Her love for physical fitness and professionalism have driven her to success in the Corps. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jess Levens

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO — The campaign cover comes off as she sits at her desk. Her Florida Gator smile lets people know there is much more to this former college basketball player than the campaign cover and the icy, mysterious image of a drill instructor. More

More Profiles

In Djibouti

'Red Horse' Deploys to
Support Horn of Africa

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti — Airmen in red hats from the Montana Air National Guard, along with 65 tons of equipment, recently arrived here to support Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa in the global war on terrorism. More

In Afghanistan

Kentucky Guard Medics
Train Combat Lifesavers

Master Gunnery Sgt. Craig Stafford charges ahead with his 'casualty', Pfc. Phillipe Villagran, during the physical training stress test portion of Kabul Compound's first combat lifesaver course. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ron Burke

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 29, 2004 — Twelve people gasp for breath and suck down water as Staff Sgt. Thomas Leonard paces back and forth in front of them. A medic here at the Coalition Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force Compound, Leonard offers a little encouragement. More

'On The Ground' Archive

FLAG RAISING — U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Clark, of Washington, D.C., raises the American flag on the signal bridge aboard USS George Washington. The Norfolk, Va.-based nuclear powered aircraft carrier is on a regularly scheduled deployment to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Michael D. Blackwell II