Make a point of heading over to ROFASix today for these great photos of the Florida ANG protecting the Shuttle launch.


Also, check out this update on the efforts to keep the pressure on the eminent domain issue.

Go and check out "A Long Strange Trip" for the self-portrait of a milblogger who really likes his cheese.

Hat Tip to Stacy

Finally, I actually get to post one of my own!

Say hello to Major Juan R., currently deployed to Iraq, and serving as a transportation officer - he's one of the Heroes it's been my honor to personally thank through my involvement with Soldiers' Angels. The Major has a wife and children back home in the States. He also left two suh-weet motorcycles, which are much-coveted in this house, as we wait for a back-ordered clutch for my hubby's bike. (Mine, fortunately, is running just fine). Below are some of the great pics he sent along of himself and some fellow Heroes.











Juan - Thanks for everything you do (including sending the great pics)! Let me know if you want to show off the Hog and La Busadora, and we'll get those pics up, too! My best to all of you. Keep your helmets on, take care, and stay safe!

BAGHDAD VISIT — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (right) and Iraqi Minister of Defense Sa'dun al-Dulaymi meet with Iraqi soldiers prior to a counterinsurgent terrorism-training scenario near Baghdad, Iraq, July 27, 2005. Rumsfeld made an unannounced stop in Baghdad following visits to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald Story

London Bombings
London Bombing Suspect Arrested in Zambia
Stun guns to arrest bombers a huge risk-UK police

Bombings in Egypt
25 Arrested in Egypt Attacks

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Two U.S. Marines Slain in Firefight in Iraq
Saddam Hussein questioned during hearing

Operation Enduring Freedom
Officials Report on Copter Incidents
Marines, Sailors Open Medical Clinic in Afghanistan

Homeland Security / War on Terror
IRA Ends 'Armed Campaign'
Government Shuffling Luggage, Baggage Screeners
U.S. Muslim Scholar Decree Condemns Terror
U.S. aims to strengthen terror sanctions

Other News of Note
Officials Report on Combat Stress Treatment
Worst Writers Alive Honored

Fox News
Rice Tops Forbes' Most Powerful Women List
House Passes Energy Bill
Princess Di's Car Examined
NASA: Discovery OK
Foam damage shouldn't prevent re-entry
Video: Astronauts Board Space Station
Photo Essay: Shuttle Flips

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq
Farmers in Gaza settlements near U.S. deal
Egypt resort tries to keep party spirit
Group: Iran execution of teens a violation
Iraq president praises special court
Vatican denounces some Israeli retaliation
Egypt's Mubarak launches re-election bid
Israel plans high-tech barrier around Gaza
Iraq urges neighbors to stop infiltrators
Iraq builds up military, police forces
Egypt leader expected to announce summit

Reuters: Top News
UK army pulls down N.Irish watchpost to spur peace
UN to expand its crackdown on al Qaeda, Taliban
U.S. condemns killing of Algerian envoys in Iraq
Discovery crew to look again for shuttle damage
N.Korea, U.S. seek to bridge gap on nuclear crisis
Grief as raw as ever for IRA victims
Roberts tells Democrat he won't be 'activist judge'

Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Iraqi Kurds demand say over northern oil fields
Guard Unit Tied to Elite Iraqi Force

CENTCOM: News Release
INVESTIGATION OF APRIL 6 CH-47 CRASH COMPLETED

Department of Defense
Iraq Withdrawal to Be Conditions-Based — Story
Troop Withdrawals Could Begin Next Year
Employer Support of Guard, Reserve Vital — Story

ON THE GROUND
Georgia Military Cadets, Alumni Serve in Iraq — Story
Soldiers Provide Food to Kindi Residents — Story
Flightline Marines Keep Helicopters Ready — Story
U.S. Army Europe Preps 5th Corps Staff for Iraq —
Story

IN IRAQ
Over 400 Louisiana Guard Soldiers Re-enlist
Training, Hydration Help Troops Cope With Heat
3rd Platoon Soldiers Keep Supplies Moving
Reservists Protect Airmen at Baghdad Base
Troops Become U.S. Citizens During Iraq Tour

IN SOUTHWEST ASIA
Team Helps Overcome Platelet Shortage

FACE OF DEFENSE
Army Medic Signs Up for Third Iraq Tour — Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
'Cookie Lady' Bakes for Troops — Story

TOP NEWS
IN IRAQ
IED Kills Two U.S. Soldiers
Forces Secure Station After Attack
Rumsfeld Talks Iraq Border Issues
Iraqi, U.S. Troops Nab Insurgents
5 U.S. Troops Killed in Attacks
Soldiers Help Attack Victims
Iraqi Police Graduate Training
IG Report Topics: Iraqi Police
Bush, Babil Province Leaders Meet
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Iraq Daily Update
Multinational Force Iraq
Iraq Progress Fact Sheet (pdf)
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Insurgents Killed, Captured
New U.S. Ambassador Sworn In
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps
Afghan Reconstruction Group Recruiting

WAR ON TERRORISM
Coast Guard Topic: Chem Security
NORTHCOM Stands Ready, Able 24/7
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Army Unveils Repositioning Plans
Virtual Convoys, IEDs Train Troops
Myers: QDR Must Look at Missions
National Guard, Reserve Update

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

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
1588 - The attacking Spanish Armada is crushed by English defenders.
1715 - A hurricane sinks ten Spanish treasure galleons off the coast of Florida.
1786 - The "Pitts Gazette" becomes the first newspaper published west of the Alleghenies.
1858 - The first commercial treaty between the U.S. and Japan is signed; U.S. citizens are allowed to live anywhere in Japan.
1899 - Manhattan Beach, NY, witnesses the first motorcycle race.
1915 - U.S. marines land in Haiti to quell anarchy and help establish the Haitian armed forces; the last leave in 1934.
1920 - The first transcontinental airmail flight goes from New York to San Francisco.
1928 - Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" is released
1938 - Olympic National Park is established
1952 - First nonstop transpacific jetflight.
1956 - Jacques Cousteau's Calypso sets a record, anchoring in 7,500 m of water.
1957 - The U.N establishes the International Atomic Energy Agency; Jack Paar's "Tonight Show" premiers.
1958 - President Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act.
1967 - In the Gulf of Tonkin, an explosion and fire aboard the carrier USS Forrestal kills 134 and causes $100 million worth of damage.
1969 - Mariner-6 begins transmitting far-encounter photos of Mars.
1975 - Gerald Ford becomes the first U.S. President to visit Auschwitz.
1978 - Pioneer-11 transmits images of Saturn and its rings.
1981 - Charles, Prince of Wales, weds Lady Diana Spencer.
1988 - In Lansing, MI, the last Playboy Club in the U.S. closes.
1991 - Donald Trump gives Marla Maples a 7+ carat engagement ring

Birthdays
1861 - Alica Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, Teddy's first wife
1871 - Rasputin (Gregory Efimovich), the mad Russian monk
1883 - Benito Mussolini, Fascist Italian dictator
1898 - Isidor Isaac Rabi, physicist, explored the atom, Nobel Prize winner
1905 - Dag Hammarskjöld, second U.N. Secretary-General (1953-61), Nobel Prize winner
1932 - Nancy Kassebaum (Sen-KS)
1936 - Elizabeth Dole, U.S. Secretary of Transportation (1981-87), wife of Bob Dole
1938 - Peter Jennings, news anchor (ABC Evening News)

Passings
1030 - King Olaf Haraldsson of Norway (Olav II - later canonized as St. Olaf), in battle of Stiklestad
1890 - Vincent Van Gogh, artist
1900 - King Umberto I of Italy, assassinated by anarchist Gaetano Bresci
1960 - Richard Simon, cofounder of Simon and Shuster
1974 - Cass "Mamma Cass" Elliot (Mamas and Papas)

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Brown, Edward D., Jr., USN (NC); F8E shot down, KIA, body not recovered
Weatherby, Jack Wilton, USAF (TX); RF101 shot down, remains returned August, 1978

1966
Bossio Galileo F., USAF (WA); RC47D shot down, presumed dead
Cameron, Virgil K., USN (TX); A4E shot down, remains ID'd August, 1999
Chiarello, Vincent A., USAF (NY); RC47D shot down, KIA in crash, remains returned March, 1988
Conklin, Bernard, USAF (NY); RC47D shot down, KIA in crash, remains returned March, 1988
Di Tommaso, Robert J., USAF (NY); RC47D shot down, presumed dead
Hall, James S., USAF (NC); RC47D shot down, KIA in crash, remains returned March, 1988
Hoskinson, Robert E., USAF (OR); RC47D shot down, presumed dead
Laws, Delmer L., US Army SF (MO); KIA when his unit was ambushed
Mamiya, John II, USAF (HI); RC47D shot down, KIA in crash, remains returned March, 1988
Smith, Herbert E., USAF (FL); RC47D shot down, KIA in crash, remains returned March, 1988

1967
Bennefeld, Steven Henry, USMC (KS); KIA, body not recovered
Johnson, Richard H. USMC (NY); KIA, body not recovered

1968
Auxier, Jerry E. Dixie, US Army (WV); presumed Killed, body not recovered

1972
Kula, James D., USAF (NH); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel in 1999
Matsui, Melvin K., USAF (HI); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973