DefendAmerica 03/31/2004

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Mar 31, 2004

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SCANNING THE HORIZON — Senior Airman James McGregor scans the horizon for potential threats, preparing for a convoy operation at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, March 29, 2004. McGregor, a vehicle operator deployed from the Oregon Air National Guard's 939th Air Refueling Wing, recently graduated from a training course designed to teach transportation airmen how to survive during convoy operations in potentially hostile locations. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Tom Knowles

President Bush Lauds First Responders, Military Members

By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, March 30, 2004 - The United States is at war and needs to be "ready on all fronts," President Bush told first responders in Appleton, Wis., today.
     "The first-responder effort and the strategy with the local, state and federal government is really an important part of making sure that we do everything we can to do our solemn duty, which is to protect our fellow citizens from harm," Bush said during a brief stop in the Wisconsin city of about 70,000 people.
     The size of the United States makes it particularly tough to stop terrorists on U.S. soil, Bush said. That's why it's vital to take the fight to the enemy. More

Spike in Iraq Violence Leaves
Two Coalition Soldiers Dead

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

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2004 — A recent spike in attacks against coalition forces in Iraq has left two more coalition soldiers dead, a coalition military spokesman said today in Baghdad.
A coalition soldier was killed and one was wounded today in an improvised explosive device attack on their patrol near Ramadi, said Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Combined Joint Task Force 7 deputy operations director. More

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. Story     Remarks

Marines to Stay No Longer Than Necessary, Officials Say

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 1st 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

Operation Freedom
Lodging Offers Free Stays

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., March 29, 2004 (NNS) — Vail Resorts in Colorado is offering 1,000 free nights to service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as part of “Operation Freedom Lodging." Members from any branch of service who served for 30 or more days in these countries are eligible for up to three consecutive nights of lodging at Vail Resorts-owned and -operated hotels in Breckenridge and Keystone. More

Sign an On-line Thank You Note

Future Iraqi Defense
Leaders Train in Washington

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2004 — Iraqis training for leadership positions within the new Iraqi Ministry of Defense told reporters here today they look forward to building a military that transcends ethnic and political differences to protect Iraq's people and its constitution. More

Iraq Survey Group
Continues WMD Search

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2004 — A U.S. official working with an international group of specialists searching post-Saddam Iraq for weapons of mass destruction said today that more work needs to be performed before arriving at any conclusions. 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

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. The investigation examined the circumstances surrounding an incident involving a U.S. A-10 aircraft firing on a company of U.S. Marines in An Nasiriyah, Iraq. 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

. 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 Rename
Bases to Reflect Iraqi Culture

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq, March 30, 2004 — In an effort to put an Iraqi face on the Corps' mission here, Marines recently cast off the Army's monikers for their new homes, replacing most of them with indigenous names.
In an order issued March 25, 2004, Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, I Marine Expeditionary Force's commanding general, directed that all base names be changed immediately. "We're trying to show that we're not here as an occupying force," said Lt. Col. Nick Marano, expeditionary force deputy current operations officer at Camp Fallujah. "We respect their culture, traditions and names." More

Marines Take the Reins
At 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

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

. Myers Thanks Italian Defense Minister for Terror War Support

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

. Scientific Innovations Serve Troops Today, Tomorrow

. Special Ops Must Modernize

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

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

. Change Only Constant in European Command, General Says

. Wolfowitz Pins Wounded Soldier with Purple Heart

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

. Army Report Addresses Troop Suicide Rates

. National Guard, Reserve Update

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

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

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 Iraq

Task Force Celebrates
West Point’s 'Founder’s Day'

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 30, 2004 — Alumni of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. who are now serving in Task Force 1st Armored Division and other units in Iraq celebrated their alma mater’s founding on the parade grounds where Saddam Hussein’s military forces once marched. More

'Ready First' Artillerymen
Adapt to New Missions

Spc. Dennis Swank, fire support specialist, Fire Support Element, 1st Brigade Combat Team, Task Force 1st Armored Division, provides security during a recent mission in downtown Baghdad. U.S. Army photo

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 29, 2004 — Force protection, information operations and information delivery are not the sort of tasks one typically thinks of when considering the mission of a Brigade Fire Support Element. More

Air Defenders Keep
Watch Over Dragoon Base

Spc. Carlos Antoine Fields, Air Defense Artillery Battery, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, observes incoming vehicles during a recent guard shift on Dragoon Forward Operating Base. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Erik LeDrew

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 29, 2004 — Pulling guard duty is something nearly every soldier does at some point during a deployment. And, the troopers of the Air Defense Artillery Battery, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based at Dragoon Forward Operating Base are no exception. 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