39th Brigade passes torch at Camp Taji

from Stars and Stripes

from http://www.defendamerica.mil


Estonian Cpl. Roman Metsatalu, from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, holds his position while awaiting orders to move out on a foot patrol in western Baghdad, March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley



Estonian Cpl. Eiko Oim and Peeter Heinsaar, from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, walk past an Iraqi wedding party in Gazalia, March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley



Estonian Cpl. Eiko Oim and Sgt. Janar Kuningas, from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, move across a street in Gazalia while patroling the neighborhood, March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley



Estonian Staff Sgt. Sigmar Zelinski from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, stands guard over an empty lot across from a fruit stand in western Baghdad while his teammates pass by, March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley



Estonian Cpl. Ranno Pettai, right, from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, searches an Iraqi citizen's car while patroling a neighborhood in western Baghdad, March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley



An Iraqi woman passes Estonian Cpl. Benno Ratmanov, from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, who is on patrol of a neighborhood in western Baghdad, March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley



Estonian Cpl. Ranno Pettai, from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, looks in a parked car while patroling a street in western Baghdad March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley



Estonian soldiers Master Sgt. Ramil Sadkov (left) and Jun Sgt. Toomas Kynnapuu (right) from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, await orders to begin patrolling the street of a neighborhood in western Baghdad, March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley



Iraqi children follow Estonian Sgt. Hardi Ansar from the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, while he patrols a neighborhood in western Baghdad, March 4, 2005. A platoon of Estonian soldiers is working with U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of Multinational Corps-Iraq to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in western Baghdad. They are currently stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Foley

READY FOR TAKEOFF — A sailor guides a U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler, assigned to the "Zappers" of Electronic Attack Squadron 130, to a catapult on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf, March 5, 2005. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Ricardo J. Reyes

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CNN.com
Syrian troops come home from Lebanon
Iran dismisses U.S. policy shift
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Fox News
U.K. Passes Terrorism Bill
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Syrians Cheer Troops
Hong Kong Leader's Resignation Approved
Hamas to Run in Election
Bomb Warning in Jakarta
U.S. Soldier Killed in Iraq
Satellite Phones Examined in Italian Hostage Inquiry
Report: NSA Advised Bush on Eavesdropping
Intel Commission Close to Wrapping Report
Alleged Agent for Saddam Indicted
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Department of Defense
Rumsfeld: Terror War Transforms Military — Story
Elections Boosted Security Forces, Myers Says — Story
Shifting Threats Require New Approaches — Story

ON THE GROUND
Lejeune Marine Regiment Deploys to Iraq — Story
Army Divers Clear Debris Threatening Bridge — Story
Personnel Specialists Keep Mission Moving — Story

IN IRAQ
Joint Effort Cleans Up Neighborhood
Inspections, Canines Keep Veterinarians Busy
Iraqi Soldiers Learn Close-Quarters Combat
Marine Aviation Excels During River Blitz
Troops Help Iraqi Commandos to Communicate

IN AFGHANISTAN
Acquisition Training Graduates Second Class
Afghan Army Trainees Head to School

IN UZBEKISTAN
Aerial Delivery Team Manages Crucial Mission

FACE OF DEFENSE
Homeless Teen Finds Home in the Military — Story


TOP NEWS
SPECIAL REPORT - 'Gitmo' Detainee Camp

IN IRAQ
Iraqis Support Commando Ops
Iraqi Army Captures Insurgents
Year in Review 2004 Fact Sheets (pdf)
Iraq Daily Update
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Detainee Process Improves
No Policy Condoned Torture
Reviews Focus on Detainee Issues
School Trains for Dual Missions
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Capital Area Troops Help Wounded
Official: No Recruiting Crisis
Expansion Begins on Feeding Lab
Air Force Top Doc Talks Troop Care
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Casualty — Story


Today in History
1470 - At the Battle of Empingham, or "Losecoat field," rebels loyal to Robert Welles (a Lancaster) throw off their coats and flee the battlefield before even engaging King Edward IV's forces (he is a York).
1496 - Syria expels the Jews
1507 - In Spain, Cesare Borgia is killed while fighting at the side of his brother, the King of Navarre.
1609 - Bermuda becomes an English colony.
1664 - New Jersey becomes a British colony.
1809 - Great Britain and Persia sign a treaty which forces the French out of the country.
1863 - President Jefferson Davis delivers the State of the Confederacy address.
1864 - Union forces begin the poorly-managed Red River campaign.
1867 - Under pressure from the U.S. , Napoleon pulls his troops out of Mexico.
1879 - The British Zulu War begins.
1903 - The Czar of Russia grants nominal freedom of religion.
1909 - British Parliament increases naval appropriations.
1917 - Russian troops mutiny at the start of the "February Revolution."
1930 - To protest British rule in India, Gandhi begins his march to the sea.
1933 - President Paul von Hindenburg orders the flying of the swastika and the empire banner side by side, and the dropping of the flag of the German Republic.
1933 - President Roosevelt has his first Sunday evening fireside chat.
1938 - German troops enter Austria without firing a shot. Hitler announces the Anschloss (union) of Austria and Germany.
1940 - The signing of a treaty between Finland and the U.S.S.R. ends the "Winter War."
1944 - Great Britain bars all travel to neutral Ireland, suspected of collaborating with the Nazis.
1945 - Diarist Anne Frank dies at Bergen-Belsen.
1959 - The U.S. House of Representatives confirms the Senate's approval of the statehood of Hawaii.
1984 - In Lebanon, President Gemayel opens the second meeting in five years to call for the end of nine-years of war.
1985 - In Geneva, the United States and the Soviet Union open arms control talks.

Birthdays
1479 - Giuliano de' Medici, monarch of Florence
1816 - David Stuart, Union Brigadier General
1818 - John Lorimar Worden, Union Captain
1821 - Sir John Abbott, Québec Canada, Canadian Prime Minister
1823 - William Flank Perry, Confederate Brigadier General
1827 - John Robert Jones, Confederate Brigadier General
1827 - William Richard Terry, Confederate Brigadier General
1830 - William Felix Brantley, Confederate Brigadier General
1881 - Kemal Atatürk, 1st President of Republic of Turkey
1911 - Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, President of Mexico
1925 - William G Whitehurst, Virginia Representative
1926 - George R Ariyoshi, Governor of Hawaii
1930 - Antony Acland, British ambassador to US
1932 - Andrew Young, US ambassador to UN