Members of the special operations community join U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper, Valerie Chapman and her family on the gangplank of the U.S. Navy ship MV Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman in Sunny Point, N.C., April 8, 2005, after the renaming of the ship. The ship was named for Chapman, an Air Force combat controller who gave his life for his team in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Michelle M. Butzgy



U.S. Air Force Gen. John W. Handy greets the family of U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman at the naming of a U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command vessel in Chapman’s honor, in Sunny Point, N.C., April 8, 2005. Handy is Air Mobility Command and Transportation Command commander. The ship was named for Chapman, an Air Force combat controller who gave his life for his team in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Lisa Terry McKeown



U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper stands with Brianna Chapman, 6, during the posting of the colors at the ship-naming ceremony in honor of Brianna's father, Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, in Sunny Point, N.C., April 8, 2005. The ship was named for Chapman, an Air Force combat controller who gave his life for his team in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Becky J. LaRaia



Valerie Chapman (left) and Mickey Handy christen the U.S. Navy ship MV Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman on the ship’s railing, in Sunny Point, N.C., April 8, 2005. The women co-sponsored the ceremony. Mrs. Chapman is Chapman’s widow and Mrs. Handy is married to U.S. Air Force Gen. John W. Handy, Air Mobility Command and Transportation Command commander. U.S. Air Force photo by Lisa Terry McKeown



Four F-15 Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., fly over the newly christened U.S. Navy ship MV Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman, in Sunny Point, N.C., April 8, 2005. The ship was renamed for Chapman, an Air Force combat controller who gave his life for his team in Afghanistan on March 4, 2002. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Becky J. LaRaia



The newly renamed U.S. Navy ship MV Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman. The ship was named for Chapman, an Air Force combat controller who gave his life for his team in Afghanistan. The ship is 670-feet long and can move at speeds of as fast as 16 knots. U.S. Air Force photo by Michelle M. Butzgy

from http://www.defendamerica.mil

JuneauEmpire.com: Associated Press
Militants kill one, injure 3 in Baghdad
Rumsfeld presses Iraqi interim leaders
Bolton denies pressuring officials
Sharon dismisses Bush warning


Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq
Iran denies buying missiles from Ukraine
Iraq ambassador urges lifting sanctions
Lebanon leaders delay Cabinet formation
U.S. to promise $1.7B in aid for Sudan


The US News: Iraq News
Final review of 'Gulf War syndrome'
American contractor abducted near Baghdad
Rumsfeld visits Iraq to press new leaders
Afghan baby who had surgery in US for heart defect heads home


Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld arrives in Baghdad
Rumsfeld Visits Baghdad, Warns Against Corruption


Fox News
Bush: Return to Road Map
Palestinian Jobs-for-Guns Plan
Iran Nixes Probe Into Canadian Journalist's Death
Bolton Confirmation Battle
U.S. Forces Kill Afghan Rebels
Standoff Suspect in Custody
Sources: Rudolph Kept TNT Near Manhunt Headquarters
Rumsfeld Visits Troops in Iraq
Troop Levels in Iraq May Decrease
Lawyers: Army Attacker Mentally Ill
U.S. Contractor Kidnapped in Iraq

Video
American Kidnapped in Iraq
U.S. May Reduce Iraq Troops


Department of Defense
New Iraqi President Discusses Coalition — Story
Military Confronts Stress at Front Lines — Story
Engineer District Chief Updates Projects — Story

ON THE GROUND
Joint Fuels Effort Keeps Airlift Airborne — Story
Battalion Gets a New Look at Insurgents — Story
Civil Affairs Sergeant Organizes Donations — Story
Recon Soldiers Scout Desert, Meet Locals — Story
Marne, Rainbow Soldiers Get Combat Patch — Story

IN IRAQ
U.S. Soldiers Awarded for Hostage Rescue
Troops Deliver Donated School Supplies

IN AFGHANISTAN
Deployed Airmen Adopt a Village, or Two
Medal of Honor Recipients Visit Troops

Company Donates Comfort Insoles — Story

TOP NEWS
SPECIAL REPORTS
Medal of Honor
Two Years in Iraq
'Gitmo' Detainee Camp

IN IRAQ
Baghdad Fall Marks New Beginning
Government Moves Forward
Bush Praises New Iraqi Government
Success in Iraq - DoD Fact Sheet
Year in Review 2004 Fact Sheets (pdf)
Iraq Daily Update
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps
Afghan Reconstruction Group Recruiting

WAR ON TERRORISM
Department Goal: More Linguists
Adaptability Key to Success
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Partnership Helps at Tax Time
Moroccan Frigates Guide Kearsarge
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualties — Story


Today in History
1204 - Constantinople is sacked in the Fourth Crusade.
1606 - England adopts the Union Jack as its flag.
1770 - The Townsend Acts are repealed by the British Parliament.
1782 - The British navy wins its sole naval engagement against the American colonists at the Battle of Saints, off Dominica.
1811 - The first colonists arrive at Cape Disappointment, Washington.
1861 - Confederates shell Fort Sumter, starting America's Civil War.
1864 - In Tennessee, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest captures Fort Pillow. Black Federal soldiers there are massacred.
1916 - The US Cavalry and Mexican bandits clash at Parrel, Mexico.
1927 - The British Cabinet comes out in favor of voting rights for women.
1944 - The U.S. Twentieth Air Force is activated to begin the strategic bombing of Japan.
1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies at Warm Spring, Georgia. Harry S. Truman becomes president.
1955 - Dr. Jonas Salk's discovery of a vaccine for polio is announced.
1963 - Police use dogs and cattle prods on peaceful civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama.
1975 - The US Embassy in Cambodia is evacuated.
1983 - Harold Washington becomes the first black mayor elected in Chicago.

Birthdays
1777 - Henry Clay, the "Great Compromiser", American politician and statesman who ran unsuccessfully for president three times.
1838 - John Shaw Billings, American librarian, Army physician.