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Apr 15, 2004

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NIGHT SEARCH — Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, search for caves containing weapon caches in the mountains of Afghanistan, April 4, 2004. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gul A. Alisan More Photos

Army's 1st Cavalry Div. Takes On Baghdad Responsibility

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 15, 2004 — Task Force Baghdad, made up mostly of the 1st Cavalry Division, has assumed responsibility for Baghdad and its environs from the 1st Armored Division.
Maj. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey handed over the responsibility to Maj. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli in a "no-fuss, no-muss" manner. "We weren't going to have a ceremony for this," said Army Lt. Col. Jim Hutton, the public affairs officer for Task Force Baghdad. "Our people have more important things to do." More

Myers, Abizaid Hold Strategy Session on Situation in Iraq

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

     BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 14, 2004 — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of U.S. Central Command held discussions about the situation in Iraq here today.
     Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers and Army Gen. John Abizaid spoke for about an hour and 20 minutes after Myers arrived from meetings in Kuwait.
     A Joint Staff official characterized the discussions as "frank, productive, a good give-and-take." The chairman is in Iraq following meetings with leaders in Bahrain and Kuwait. More

Chairman Visits Italian Brigade At Multinational Division in Iraq

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

     TALLIL, Iraq, April 14, 2004 — A visit with foreign members of the coalition force in Iraq was the first stop for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff here today.
     Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers visited with Italian members of the Multinational Division Southeast. Italian Brig. Gen. Gian Marco Chiarini, the commander of the 132nd "Ariete" Brigade briefed the American officer and his staff.
     The brigade, which is a mix of regular army and police, patrols the area in and around Nasiriyah. More

Myers Thanks Kuwaiti Leaders For 'Steadfast' War Support

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait, April 14, 2004 — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived here today for talks with Kuwaiti leaders.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers , who traveled here from Bahrain, is meeting with Prime Minister Sheihk Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah, Defense Minister Jabir Mubarak Hamad al-Sabah and his counterpart, Air Force Lt. Gen. Fahad Ahmad al-Amir, the chief of staff for the Kuwaiti military. It is the first time since the United States named Kuwait a "major non-NATO ally" that discussions at this level have been held. More

U.N. Official Sketches Out Iraq Government After June 30

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2004 — U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi emphasized today that Iraqi elections scheduled for January 2005 are "the most important milestone" for the country in its progress toward sovereignty.
"There is no substitute for the legitimacy that comes from free and fair elections," he said during a Baghdad news conference. "Therefore, Iraq will have a genuinely representative government only after January 2005." More

More Weapons Found,
Seized in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2004 — Coalition forces in Afghanistan have found and seized more weapons, officials said at a news conference today in the Afghan capital of Kabul. More

Fighting, Roadside Bomb
Claim American Lives

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2004 — Four Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force died in recent fighting in Iraq's Anbar province, and a roadside bomb south of Baghdad claimed the life of a 1st Infantry Division soldier.
A Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release reported today that two of the Marines were killed by enemy action April 12, and two others April 13 while conducting security and stability operations. Story

Defense Officials
Identify Casualties

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2004 — Defense Department officials have released the names of four soldiers killed while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. More

Defense Leaders Speak

President George W. Bush

"America's commitment to freedom in Iraq is consistent with our ideals, and required by our interests. Iraq will either be a peaceful, democratic country, or it will again be a source of violence, a haven for terror, and a threat to America and to the world. By helping to secure a free Iraq, Americans serving in that country are protecting their fellow citizens. Our nation is grateful to them all, and to their families that face hardship and long separation."

Address to the Nation, April 13, 2004

Defense Views

Quotes by U.S. defense leaders

Honoring the Fallen

Marine Regiment
Memorializes Fallen Warrior

CAMP AL QAIM, Iraq, April 13, 2004 — Twenty-one-year-old Lance Cpl. Elias Torrez III, a radio operator, was driving back to base when his convoy was ambushed in the city of Sa'dah. More

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

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

Radio

Television

The Hunt Continues 9 More Photos

2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, soldiers pass through a valley during a mission in Orgun-E, Afghanistan, April 5, 2004.
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gul A Alisan Photo Essay Archive

Bush: U.S. 'Must Not Waver'

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

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2004 — The United States is committed to an independent, free and secure Iraq, and "must not waver" despite "a tough, tough period," President Bush said at an April 13 news conference.
The president stood before reporters in the East Room of the White House to make his administration's case for standing firm in Iraq, even with sporadic violence continuing and the June 30 transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government two months away. More Remarks

Court Convicts Three Iraqi Men For Actions Against Coalition

     BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 14, 2004 — Three Iraqi men were tried and convicted April 14 by a three-judge panel of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq for actions against Coalition forces . The men were each sentenced to 10 years in an Iraqi prison, according to officials at Combined Joint Task Force 7.
      The men were detained near Balad Nov. 20, 2003, after being discovered by Coalition forces in the act of burying an improvised explosive device alongside a road consisting of 12-14 pounds of C-4 explosives in a coffee can-type container.
      "The defendants were tried in an Iraqi court with a prosecutor and defense counsel," said Army Col. Dwight Warren, chief liaison officer to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. "This marks another step forward in the establishment of an independent Iraqi judiciary.
      "As a result of their vigilance, the Coalition soldiers not only saved lives by discovering the IED, but their apprehension of the three perpetrators will prevent these terrorists from attempting to murder other soldiers or civilians," he added.

Marine Expeditionary Unit Arrives
In Afghanistan to Add Stability

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan, April 14, 2004 — More than 2,200 Marines and sailors of the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) have completed their movement into Afghanistan to assist the country in its quest for long-term stability.
"We're ready to hit the ground running," said Cheplick, who saw action alongside most of his platoon mates in Iraq last year during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. "Morale is really high, and there's no real fear among the Marines, but just the usual apprehension about the uncertainty of what lies ahead." Story

USS Hyman G. Rickover Returns from Deployment

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) — The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) returned to Norfolk Naval Station April 10 after a six-month deployment.
Rickover, assigned to Commander, Task Force 69, U.S. 6th Fleet, deployed Oct. 10 to conduct joint operations in the Northern Atlantic in support of the global war on terrorism. More

War on Terrorism

. DoD Ready to Step Forward In Event of Homeland Attack

Iraq

. Myers Explains U.S. Position on Iraq to Journalists in Bahrain

. Fallujah Stable as Coalition Conducts Hunt for Zarqawi

. Coalition, Iraqi Forces Work Together to Find Hostages

. Myers Says Iraq's Problems Can Be Solved Over Time

Military News

. Guard, Reserve Leaders Discuss Budget, Deployment Issues

. National Guard, Reserve Update

Iraq to Sign U.N.
Convention on Torture

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2004 — The Iraqi delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva has announced Iraq's intention to sign the 1984 U.N. Convention
against Torture, according to Coalition Provisional Authority officials.
This convention makes it incumbent on the Iraqi government to pass domestic legislation to protect Iraqis against torture. The officials said this is another example of respect for international law in the new Iraq and illustrates another way Iraq is reintegrating into the international community.

. Maps of Afghanistan

Profile

U.S. Navy
Lt. James J. English

AL ASAD, Iraq — Navy Lt. James J. English, an entomologist with Forward Deployable Preventive Medicine Unit 2, is not your ordinary Navy doctor. Leaving the enlisted ranks after more than eight years of active duty, he wondered what he could do to benefit the military with other than ordinary service. More

More Profiles

REUNION IN KUWAIT — U.S. Army Master Sgt. Margaret Bruner reunited with her son, 2nd Lt. Lee M. Bruner III, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, after 6 months apart. Master Sgt. Bruner, NCOIC for the 336th Finance Command, recently arrived in Kuwait from Concord, N.C. 2nd Lt. Bruner just returned from Bayji, Iraq, where he served with 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor, 4th Inf. Div., which is in the process of returning to Ft. Hood, TX. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Marc Loi

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In Iraq

Marines Maintain Order in the Skies

Cpl. Richard B. Fiske, a 22-year-old air traffic controller with Detachment Alpha, Marine Air Control Squadron 1, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, relays information to aircraft from his control tower at Al Asad, Iraq, April 11. The Mandan, N.D., native is serving his first deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

AL ASAD, Iraq, April 14, 2004 -- For the air traffic controllers of Detachment Alpha, Marine Air Control Squadron 1, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II meant a chance for them to put their training and certifications to use. More

In Kuwait

'Cable Dawgs' Battle
Desert to Set Up Commo

CAMP NEW YORK, Kuwait, April 14, 2004 — When Camp New York reopened its doors to soldiers supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom in early January, service members had no mode of communication. More

'On The Ground' Archive