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Thursday, May 19, 2005

At Work in the USMC...


AL UBAYDI, Iraq- Marines from 3d Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment patrol a street during a cordon and knock May 10, 2005 during Operation Matador. Operation Matador is for disrupting the insurgents known to be a staging area for Syrian and other nationality foreign insurgents. 2D Marine Division is conducting security and stabilization operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Taken by Cpl. Eric C. Ely



AL ASAD, Iraq – Marines from 6th Engineer Support Battalion, augmenting 8th ESB and supporting Combat Logistics Battalion 2, 2d Force Service Support Group (Forward), inspect their work on a crater they repaired in Western Iraq recently as part of an Engineer Crater Repair mission. Taken by Cpl. John E. Lawson Jr.



FALLUJAH, Iraq – Lance Cpl. Thomas Heinzelman, combat engineer team leader with 2nd Platoon, Company A, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, uses his AN/PSS-14 mine detector to look for concealed threats while helping the infantrymen of Company C, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment fortify their new base of operations here May 10. The 21-year-old Twin Falls, Idaho native and his team build base fortifications and search for hidden munitions to help root out the remaining insurgency here. Taken by Cpl. Mike Escobar


and I just couldn't resist this one...

Lance Cpl. Brandon Hawke, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-461 logistics clerk volunteered to help a combined 600 children at the Parkwood Elementary School’s kindergarten through fifth grade field day May 16. Approximately 30 Marines from HMH-461 volunteered.Photo by: Lance Cpl. Jeffrey A. Cosola. Read the story here.

In Today's News - Thursday, May 19, 2005

Quote of the Day
"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle!"
-- John J. Pershing


News of Note:
FBI says grenade tossed near Bush was liveCongress may create a $50B Iraq fund
Bill Clinton: Iraq changes good for regionHouse Passes Bill to Scale Back Terror Alert System
House OKs $$ for GIs' Health

In Iraq:
Timing Is Everything In Mom's Return From Iraq
Bush acknowledges problems in post-war Iraq
Turkey Launches Attacks On Kurdish Bases In Iraq
Official: Al-Zarqawi ordered Iraq attacks
Task Force Rock Paratroopers Repel Ambush -- Story


JuneauEmpire.com: Associated Press
Senators to resume talks on Bush nominees
Report paints divergent views of Bolton
Canadian gov't faces confidence vote


Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq
Gaza violence threatens fragile truce
Official: Iran won't give up nuke program


The US News: Iraq News:
Bodies of 7 Iraqi Turkmen dumped west of Baghdad
Australian sheikh says he spoke to Iraq hostage
More terror suspects caught in Iraq
Iraq vows to defeat insurgents


Various Sources:
Syria on edge over U.S.-Iraq fighting
Alleged al-Zarqawi tape defends deaths
Bush proposes creating federal worker corps to support emerging democracies
Sunni cleric accuses Shi'ites of Iraq killings
US, North Korea met on nuclear program
Israel wages first airstrike since truce
5 Afghans working on anti-opium project killed
Tehran dismisses threat of sanctions
Rebels appear in control of Uzbek town

Fox News:
U.S.: Latest Iraq Violence Planned in Syria
Tribe: Ward Churchill's Membership 'Honorary'
U.S., N. Korea Talking


Department of Defense:
Bush Praises New National Intel Director — Story
Myers: Latest Zarqawi Message 'An Outrage' — Story
Intelligence Community Faces Challenges — Story

ON THE GROUND
TroopS Help Clinic, Deliver School Supplies — Story
Army Mechanics Keep Apaches Airborne — Story

IN IRAQ
Iraqi Battalion Prepares for Future
M1A1 Abrams Rolls Over Insurgency in Iraq
Marine Security Detachment Helps Rebuild Iraq
Soldier's Goal: Clean Water for Baghdad
Civil Affairs Gunners Protect Convoys
Soldiers, Marines Defuse Explosive Situation
Caldwell Air Medics Respond to Injured Soldier

IN AFGHANISTAN
U.S. Troops Adopt Kids Near Charikar
A-10 Unit Continues 'Flying Tiger' Legacy
U.S. Mentors Help Afghan MPs Face Threats

IN SOUTHWEST ASIA
Desert Lifestyle Results in Big Weight Loss

IN PERSIAN GULF
CENTCOM Commander Visits USS Carl Vinson
Chef Mentors USS Kearsarge Culinary Specialists

FACE OF DEFENSE
Topeka Marine, Working Dog Help Save Lives in Iraq — Story

HOMECOMING
Army Leaders Salute Task Force Danger
Marine 'Tomcats' Finish Deployment, Return to Yuma

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Girl Scouts Send Cookies to Troops — Story
Singer Toby Keith Visits Troops
Celebrities Visit Camp Fallujah
Auction Helps Wounded Troops
Indiana School Supports Troops

TOP NEWS
IN IRAQ
Cooperation Foils Insurgents
IED Kills U.S. Soldier
Iraqi Army Opens Headquarters
Two Kirkuk Rail Stations Rebuilt
Iraq Daily Update
Multinational Force Iraq
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Raid Nets Three Insurgents
Roadside Bomb Kills Afghan Troops
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps
Afghan Reconstruction Group Recruiting

WAR ON TERRORISM
Official Debunks Desecration Story
Official: Desecration Story 'False'
Counterterrorism Focus: Africa
Chertoff Visits USNORTHCOM
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Army to Help Reshape Force
New Law Affects SGLI Payments
Officials Encourage Tax Compliance
Unit Deploys to 5th Fleet Area
MP Gets Profile in Courage Award
System Improves Force Protection
Chairman Describes BRAC Process
Navy, Marines Support Proposals
National Guard, Reserve Update

TRANSFORMATION
Process Streamlines Warfighting — Story

PHOTO ESSAYS
Aboard the USS Nimitz
Ordnance Disposal in Afghanistan
Iraqi Troops Patrol Abu Ghraib
Marine Musicians in Iraq
Deployment Training
Iraqi Soldiers Destroy Ordnance
Camp Victory Motor Pool


Weather
from The Weather Channel

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Today in History:
1568
- Queen Elizabeth I of England arrests Scottish queen Mary.
1585 - Spain confiscates English ships.
1588 - The Spanish Armada sets sail for Lisbon, bound for England.
1635 - France declares war on Spain
1643 - The French destroy the Spanish army at the Battle of Rocroi / Allersheim; Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Harbor form the United Colonies of New England.
1848 - Mexico gives Texas to the U.S., ending the war.
1862 - The Homestead Act goes into effect, providing cheap land for settlement of the West.
1864 - Battle of Port Walthall Junction, VA; last engagement in the Spotsylvania series of battles.
1884 - The Ringling Brothers circus premieres.
1898 - The Post Office authorizes the use of postcards.
1913 - In California, the Webb Alien Land-Holding Bill passes, prohibiting the Japanese from owning land.
1923 - Communists revolt in German Ruhr cities occupied by the Allies.
1926 - The French air force bombs Damascus, Syria.
1929 - China’s General Feng Yu-Xiang of China declares war on Chiang Kai-Shek’s government. 1930 - White woman win voting rights in South Africa.
1931 - The Ironclad cruiser Germany is launched in Kiel.
1939 - Churchill signs the British-Russian anti-Nazi pact.
1941 - German occupiers in Holland forbid bicycle taxis; the Nazi battleship Bismarck leaves Gdynia, Poland.
1943 - Berlin is declared free of Jews - "Judenrien"; Churchill pledges England's full support to the U.S. against Japan.
1944 - More than 200 gypsies are transported to Auschwitz from the Netherlands; the German defense line in Italy collapses.
1951 - The U.N. begins a counter-offensive in Korea.
1954 - Postmaster General Summerfield approves the CIA’s mail-opening project.
1958 - The U.S. and Canada form the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
1960 - USAF Major Robert M. White takes the X-15 to 33,222 mph.
1964 - U.S. diplomats find at least 40 secret microphones in the Moscow embassy.
1965 - Patricia R. Harris is named the first American black female ambassador – to Luxembourg.
1967 - The U.S. bombs Hanoi; the U.S.S.R. ratifies a treaty with England and the U.S. banning nuclear weapons in space.
1971 - The U.S.S.R. launches Mars 2, the first spacecraft to crash land on Mars.
1976 - The Senate establishes a permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
1983 - NASA launches Intelsat V.
1992 - The 27th Amendment is ratified, prohibiting Congress from raising its salary.

Birthdays:
1808 - Confederate Brigadier General Samuel Jameson Gholson
1812 - Confederate Brigadier General Felix Kirk
1815 - Union Brevet Major General John Gross Barnard
1828 - Union Brevet Major General Adin Ballou
1890 - Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese leader
1915 - Pol Pot, dictator / mass murderer
1925 - Malcolm X (Little), black muslim leader
1935 - David Hartman, TV personality (Good Morning America)
1938 - James H. Bilbray (Representative-NV)
1939 - Francis R. Scobee, USAF / astronaut (STS 41C, 51L-Chal disaster)
1941 - Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., son of Jimmy Hoffa / Teamster union leader
1948 - Jean-Pierre Haignere, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-17)

Passings:
1536 - Anne Boleyn Queen of England / wife of Henry VIII, beheaded; Lord Rochford English, brother of Anna Boleyn, beheaded
1795 - Josiah Bartlett, physician / judge, signer of Declaration of Independence
1864 - Nathaniel Hawthorne, writer (Scarlet Letter)
1935 - Thomas E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), motorcycle crash
1966 - Tortoise reportedly given to Tonga's king by Captain Cook in 1773
1994 - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former First Lady
1997 - Millie, dog of President Bush

Reported Missing in Action:
1965
Donovan, Leroy M., US Army (CO); Aircraft overdue
Harper, Richard K. , US Army (MA); Aircraft overdue

1967
Anderson, Gareth L., US Navy (MA); Released by DRV March, 1973, deceased 1974
Griffin, James Lloyd, US Navy (TN); Remains returned March 1974
Hellbach, Harold J., USMC (LA); Remains returned 1997, ID'd May, 1998
Knight, Roy A., Jr., USAF (TX);
McDaniel, Eugene B., USN (NC); Released by DRV March, 1973, alive and well 1998
Metzger, William J., USN (WI); Released by DRV March, 1973, alive and well 1998
Patterson, James K., USN (CA); probably captured with broken leg
Plumb, Joseph C., USN (KS); Released by DRV February, 1973, alive and well 1998
Rich, Richard, USN (CT)
Russell, Kay, USN (TX); Released by DRV March, 1973, deceased
Stark, William R., USN (CA); Released by DRV March, 1973; alive and well 1998
Walters, Jack, Jr., USN (NC); Died in captivity, remains returned March, 1974

1968
Davies, Joseph E., USAF (VA)
McCubbin, Glenn D., USAF (KS)

1972
Mott, David P. , USMC (ND); Released by PRG March, 1973, alive and well 1998
Nichols, Aubrey A., USN (TX); Released by DRV March, 1973, alive and well 1998
Thomas, William E., USMC (PA); Released by PRG March, 1973, alive and well 1998

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