IRAQ WAR TODAY
Keep Your Helmet On!




Be A Part of a Tribute to Fallen Heroes - Help Build the Fallen Soldiers' Bike
Help support the families of our deployed Heroes - Visit Soldiers' Angels' Operation Outreach
Help Our Heroes Help Others - Click Here to visit SOS: KIDS
Nominate your Hero for IWT's "Hero of the Month" - click here for details!
Search Iraq War Today only

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Lawn Chair Drill Team

There are many great drill teams in our country....both military and civilian....

The US Army Drill Team, for instance, or the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon.

Yep, there are a lot of great drill teams out there.

This team is not one of them.

But it is pretty funny.


Thanks, Eileen!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Anthony Gardner
Coalition of 9/11 Families


Alliance of 15 Major 9/11 Family Groups Says: Thank You, Governor!

New York, N.Y.---September 29, 2005---The alliance of 15 major 9/11 family groups applauds the decision by Governor George E. Pataki to remove the International Freedom Center (IFC) from the World Trade Center Memorial site. Responding to concerns voiced by 9/11 families and New York City's first responders that the IFC would dilute and detract from the history of the 9/11 attacks and engage in controversial programming which would dishonor the victims on a site dedicated to their memory, the governor demanded that the IFC be moved elsewhere.

We are deeply grateful to Governor Pataki for taking this decisive action after the IFC issued its latest report on their plans for the center. We believe he did so after giving its organizers a fair opportunity to demonstrate that their institution would respectfully fulfill the memorial's mission.

We also appreciate the important bi-partisan support of Senator Hillary Clinton, Congressmen Peter King, Vito Fossella and John Sweeney, as well as the support of the UFA, FASNY, UFOA, PBA, Rudy Giuliani and others who all understood that this memorial belongs to all Americans, and that we have a public trust to future generations who will come to this site hoping to pay their respects and learn the important story of that day, a day of heartbreaking loss, uncommon valor and the coming together of a nation.

We look forward to their continued support as we pursue our common goal of ensuring that from the ashes of the World Trade Center site rises a 9/11 Memorial and Museum on a Memorial site dedicated solely to the stories of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 and their aftermath with enough space to accommodate visitors safely and tell the story fully. As the future of the Memorial site is honed, the tactic of portraying the 9/11 families as divided must end. The goal is clear. The mission joined by the majority. We sincerely hope that the LMDC and the WTC Memorial Foundation will not ignore these voices as we attempt to resolve the outstanding issues in unity.

We and the tens of thousands of supporters who fought for this memorial did so, not because we wish to turn these few acres in Lower Manhattan into a cemetery or convert the site into one of enduring sadness. We did so because of our unshakable belief that this is Sacred Ground, that the truth should be told there, and that the core values of our nation will be amply demonstrated by the lives remembered, the deeds done and the spirit reawakened.

##

Advocates for 9/11 Fallen Heroes (rjtallon@cs.com, jalel31@hotmail.com, l59e85@aol.com)
Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund (www.cantorrelief.org)
Coalition of 9/11 Families (www.coalitionof911families.org)
Fix the Fund (www.fixthefund.org)
Give Your Voice (www.giveyourvoice.com)
Margie Miller 9/11 Support Group (WTCFamilyCenter@aol.com)
9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America (www.911familiesforamerica.org)
9/11 Families for a Secure America (www.911fsa.org)
Skyscraper Safety Campaign (www.skyscrapersafety.org)
September 11th Families Association (www.911wvfa.org)
September's Mission Foundation (www.septembersmission.org)
Voices of September 11th (www.voicesofsept11.org)
W. Doyle 9/11 Support Group (www.joeydoyle.com)
WTC Families for Proper Burial, Inc. (www.wtcfamiliesforproperburial.com)
World Trade Center United Family Group (www.wtcufg.org)

Operation Rhma

Michael Yon's latest is up:

American “Deuce Four” soldiers found Rhma one night in Mosul. She needed serious medical attention. Doctors, nurses and others back in America, along with the soldiers in Mosul, worked diligently on behalf of this child, and eventually they generated the support required to get Rhma the treatment she desperately needed. But it wasn’t just Americans: I also saw offers come in from the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, among others.


Read the rest here.

I continue to be amazed by Michael's writing, and as always am in awe of our Heroes.

Pvt. Kueth Dolvony from the 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, provides security behind a house while fellow Soldiers enter the front during a weapons cache search near Rawah, Iraq. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway.

And a Teenager Shall Lead Them

Soldiers' Angel Hannah knows a little something about doing right by our troops...In addition to her "angelling," she recently showed us all how to welcome home a fallen hero.


There was a soldier killed in Iraq that was being buried in my hometown. Monday morning, while I was getting ready for school, I decided that something needed to be done! I came up with the idea of doing the "Texas Style" soldier funeral. I went to school and got it approved there for the First Priority Leadership team to go. I called my mom and dad during Drivers Ed...

Read the rest at Soldiers' Angels Germany, and then visit 365 and a Wake-Up for ThunderSix's description of the memorial service held at the FOB.

Godpseed SGT Deckard, 1SGT Gifford, and SPC Ford. Our hearts are with their families, friends, and comrades in arms.


Marine Patrol in Kharma, Iraq

U.S. Marine Master Sgt. Steve Flick, with Mobile Assault Platoon, Red Platoon, Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, looks through his binoculars at a possible improvised explosive device during a patrol in Kharma, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison



U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick Bruff, with Mobile Assault Platoon, Red Platoon, Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, cleans his M240G Medium Machine Gun before going on patrol in Kharma, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison


U.S. Marines prepare to use their Improved Target Acquisition System to examine a possible improvised explosive device during a patrol in Kharma, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison



U.S. Marines use a construction vehicle to dig up buried wires on the side of the road during a patrol in Kharma, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison


U.S. Marines question local residents of Kharma, Iraq, about suspicious activity after a recent improvised explosive device (IED) attack during a patrol Sept. 24, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison



U.S. Marines with the 2nd Marine Regiment, explain the events of a recent improvised explosive device (IED) attack to Marines with 8th Engineers Support Battalion in Kharma, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison


A U.S. Marine sprays red paint to mark the area where his Marines were hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) during a patrol in Kharma, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison


U.S. Marine Cpl. Joseph Taylor, with Mobile Assault Platoon, Red Platoon, Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, provides security after a recent improvised explosive device (IED) attack during a patrol in Kharma, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison


Click the image to go to this Special Feature at Army.mil
Korean War Veteran Awarded Medal of Honor
New York Jewish Times
Wed, 28 Sep 2005 6:17 AM PDT
Sixty years ago, elements of the 11th Armored Division from Patton's own 3rd Army liberated the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Among the prisoners freed was Tibor "Ted" Rubin, a 15-year-old Hungarian who had lost his father, mother and sister to concentration camps.

MARITIME SECURITY OPERATIONS — U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the coastal patrol boat USS Firebolt lower a rigid hull inflatable boat to patrol the waters of the Persian Gulf near the Iraqi Al Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya oil terminals Sept. 25, 2005. The Firebolt is currently forward deployed to the region to conduct maritime security operations. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Phillip A. Nickerson, Jr.

In Today's News - Thursday, September 29, 2005

Quote of the Day
"No better friend, no worse enemy"
1st Marine Division motto

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bush Boosts Iraqi Troops
Female Bomber Kills Six

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghan Bike Bomber Kills Nine

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Australia PM: Terror Laws Necessary

Troops on Trial
Soldier Gets Five Months for Afghan Prisoner Abuse

U.N. News
Bolton: U.N. Can Be Fixed

Hurricane Season
Blanco Testifies on Katrina
Video: Eyes on Blanco
FEMA Nixes Rita Relief Center
New Orleans to allow more residents to go home
Hurricane bonds crucial to Gulf recovery-governors
Gulf Coast city insured for casino losses
Four-legged evacuees arrive in style
Licensing issues slowed medical response
Strong hurricane likely in October

Supreme Court
Supreme Court takes up political spending
Roberts Confirmation Thurs.

Other News of Note
Freedom Museum Axed From WTC Redevelopment Plan

Fox News
U.S. Customs Chief Quits
Gas Prices Strain Credit
Army Probes Source of Photos of Alleged Dead Iraqis
House Majority Leader DeLay steps down in finance scandal

Reuters: Top News
Indicted DeLay leaves House leadership post
U.S. general casts doubt on 2006 troop cut in Iraq
US Republicans seek spending cuts to pay for aid
Israeli missile fire knocks out power in Gaza
Bush waives some arms export restrictions on Libya
Blunt picked to replace DeLay as US House leader
Film with word "Muslim" in title stirs controversy
Flight attendants outraged over Jodie Foster film
New labels for medicines coming soon: FDA official
Packed jails and delays deny Liberians justice

AP World News
Bush Warns of Iraq Violence Before Vote
Israel Presses Forward With Offensive
Colombian Who Hijacked Plane to Be Freed
In Turkey, Hughes Gets an Earful on Iraq
Algerians Being Asked to Forgive, Move On
Jailed Haitian Priest Appeals Suspension
U.N. Defends Having Tech Summit in Tunisia
Somalia Piracy Reaching Alarming Levels
Two Killed in Home of al-Sadr's Bodyguard
U.N.: Darfur Violence Threatens Needed Aid
Putin Aide Says It's Time to Bury Lenin
Gaza Policy Presents a Dilemma for Egypt
Parmalat Founder Appears for Fraud Trial
Turkish Campaign Seeks to Educate Girls
China Warns Against U.S.-Taiwan Arms Deal
Chernobyl Material Thought Stolen Found
French Police Retake Ship Held by Sailors

The Seattle Times
Illegal immigrant population increasing; rise linked to economy
U.S. says Al-Zarqawi network now driving force behind Iraq violence

Boston Globe: World
Saudi ban on women drivers questioned
Putin hints at new role after he steps down
Blair defends his Iraq policies, place 'alongside America'

CENTCOM: News Release
COALITION OPERATIONS CATCH 9 TERROR SUSPECTS RED-HANDED

Department of Defense
Bush Discusses Recent Gains in Iraq — Story Remarks
Rumsfeld, Myers: Collaborative Efforts Vital — Story
Myers Looks Back on Tumultuous Years as Chairman
Resolve Key to Defeating Terrorists, Myers Says

ON THE GROUND
Marines Issue Equipment to Georgian Soldiers — Story
First All-female Crew Flies Combat Mission — Story

IN IRAQ
Marine Psych Class Offers Many Benefits
Marine MPs Stay a Step Ahead of Insurgents
Engineers Help Rebuild 'Fractured' Healthcare

IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Army Learns How to Counter IEDs
New Garrison Opens Doors to Afghan Troops

FACE OF DEFENSE
Commander Flies Combat Missions in Iraq — Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Grandmother Bakes 30,000 Cookies — Story

TOP NEWS
SPECIAL REPORTS
Hurricane Coverage
Iraq Transition of Power

IN IRAQ
Suicide Bombing Kills Civilians
U.S. Soldier Killed in Ramadi
Marine, Soldier Killed
Al Qaeda Leader Killed
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Iraq Daily Update
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
Iraq Progress Fact Sheet (pdf)
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Forces Ensured Secure Elections
Soldier, Marine Killed in Attacks
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps
Afghan Reconstruction Group Recruiting

WAR ON TERRORISM
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Ceremony Marks Unit Deployment
Pearl Harbor Personnel Deploy
Acquisition Improvements Cited
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Defense Officials Identify Casualties — Story

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

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1349
- In Krems, Austria, Jews are accused of poisoning the wells.
1364 - The British defeat the French Battle of Auray.
1650 - In Englande, Henry Robinson opens the first marriage bureau.
1785 - The Chaidic sect is excommunicated in Krakow, Poland.
1789 - The First Congress adjourns; the U.S. War Department establishes a regular army.
1829 - London's Metropolitan Police Force goes on duty; Scotland Yard is formed.
1853 - The emigrant ship Annie Jane sinks off Scotland, drowning 348.
1892 - In Mansfield, PA, the first night football game is played.
1907 - Construction begins on the Washington National Cathedral.
1915 - A hurricane claims 275 lives in the Mississippi Delta.
1918 - Allied forces score a decisive breakthrough of the Hindenburg Line.
1936 - For the first time, the radio is used for in a presidential campaign.
1940 - The Booker T. Washington, the first U.S. merchant ship commanded by a Black captain, is launched at Wilmington, DE.
1943 - General Eisenhower and Italian Marshal Pietro Badoglio sign an armistice.
1944 - Soviet troops invade Yugoslavia.
1951 - S.B. Nicholson discovers the 12th satellite of Jupiter.
1953 - The Milton Berle Show premiers
1954 - Willie Mays makes his famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz's 460' drive.
1969 - Love American Style premiers on ABC-TV.
1973 - Soyuz-12 returns to Earth.
1977 - The Soviet space station Salyut-6 is launched into Earth orbit.
1979 - Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to visit Ireland.
1983 - For the first time, Congress invokes the War Powers Act.
1986 - The U.S.S.R. releases U.S. journalist Nicholas Daniloff, confined on spy charges.
1988 - The 26th Space Shuttle mission, Discovery-7, is launched; U.N. peacekeeping forces win the Nobel Peace prize.
1990 - After 83 years, construction of the Washington National Cathedral is completed.

Birthdays
1511 - Michael Servetus, physician (Christianism Rostituta)
1755 - Robert Lord Clive, founder of the British empire in India
1758 - Horatio Nelson, British naval hero (Trafalgar)
1895 - Joseph Banks, parapsychologist (Extra-Sensory Perception)
1901 - Enrico Fermi, physicist (fission), Nobel Prize winner (1938)
1902 - Miguel Alemán, president of Mexico (1946-52)
1925 - John Tower (Sen-TX)
1927 - Paul McCloskey (Sen-CA)
1929 - Bob Newhart, actor/comedian (Bob Newhart Show)
1935 - Jerry Lee Lewis, singer (Great Balls of Fire, Breathless)
1939 - Larry Linville, actor (Frank Burns-M*A*S*H)
1942 - Madeleine Kahn, actress (Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety); William Nelson (Rep-FL), astronaut (STS 61C)
1943 - Lech Walesa, leader of the Polish Solidarity movement, Nobel Prize winner (1983)
1948 - Bryant Gumbel, sportscaster/TV host (Today Show)
1964 - Julie Peterson, Playboy playmate (Feb., 1987)
1969 - Erika Eleniak, Playboy playmate (Jul., 1989)

Passings
1895
- Louis Pasteur
1978 - Pope John Paul I
1987 - Henry Ford II
1988 - Charles Addams, cartoonist (Addams Family)
1989 - A.A. Busch, Jr., brewer/baseball owner (St Louis Cardinals)

Reported Missing in Action
1968
Newberry, Wayne E., USAF (IL); A1H shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1969
Curran, Patrick R., USMC (IL); A6A shot down (bombardier / navigator)

Lono, Luther A., USMC (WA); A6A shot down (pilot)

1972
Bosiljevac, Michael J., USAF (NE); F105G shot down (EWO, w/O'Neil) , KIA, remains returned in 1988

Brett, Robert A., Jr., USAF (OR); F111A shot down (navigator, w/Coltman)

Coltman, William C., USAF (PA); F111A shot down (pilot, w/Brett)

O'Neil, James W., USAF (CA);F105G shot down (pilot, w/Bosiljevac), released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

nocashfortrash.org