Calling ALL Angels,

Our book is being written,

Yes the Oral History Of Soldiers Angels is going to be put into a book.

If you would like your letter, or your picture with a writing, or a story to be considered
then you MUST SEND TO ME

SOLDIERS ANGELS
1792 East Washington Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91104

When the book is completed, your submission will go into The Soldiers Angels Museum. We are very excited about this, and want the book to be done my July1, so I need all submissions by Feb. 29th.

I am so excited about this and hope to get you ALL in the book

Email me if you have any questions,

Patti Bader
Founder
Soldiers Angels Network

Soldiers dismount from a Black Hawk helicopter during Operation Falcon Sweep in Shakaria, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2006. One of the operation's objectives was to identify and capture terrorists in the village. The soldiers are assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.


Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division use a tactical radio to call in their position upon being dropped off by the helicopters in Shakaria, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.


A 101st Airborne Division machine gunner maintains rooftop security in Shakaria, Iraq, as his Squad leader tells him what sector to focus on, Jan. 11, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.


U.S. Army soldiers check every building they encounter in Shakaria, Iraq, for terrorists, weapons, explosives and contraband, Jan. 11, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.


A U.S. Army soldier of the 101st Airborne division searches a home in Shakaria, Iraq, looking for terrorists, weapons and explosives, Jan. 11, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.


U.S. Army Sgt. Isreal Rearica and a fellow soldier check the hands of residents for traces of explosives. Rearica and his comrade are assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.


U.S. Air Force Airman Gevoyd Little operates his remote explosive detection robot in Shakaria, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2006. Gevoyd is assigned to the 447th Air Expeditionary Group Explosive Ordnance Disposal section, which supported the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Falcon Sweep. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.


U.S. Army soldiers search fields for terrorists after searching the village of Shakaria, Iraq, during Operation Falcon Sweep in Jan. 11, 2006. The soldiers are assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

Note: there is another picture that is part of this photo essay; I posted it here, and we were privileged to be visited by the mother of the Hero in that photo...

You may remember my posts about Michael and the 359th Transportation Company vets who joined Soldiers' Angels...

They're supporting another group of Transporation Heroes. Their first care packages were a huge hit, and for Christmas, they got a care package of their own. (Note: photos below edited to remove last names)









And here's a picture of one of their adoptees, Denise, doing some holiday decorating:


A big HOOAH to these vets for supporting those who are following in their footsteps.

OK, after a little bit of a break from traveling during December, I am back on the road for work.

The first three who guess correctly this month (in the comments section of this post or via email) get a GI-Bracelet, with the proceeds going to the charity of your choice (go here for the list)

OK, so here's the details:

The city I'm currently in is the home of Company B, 2nd Battalion 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), a National Guard unit currently deployed.

It's also the home of a number of other Army and Air National Guard units, among them:

The 121st Air Refueling Wing
The 122nd Army Band
The 437th PSD

And, it's the site of this WWI Doughboy statue.

So, Where Am I?

by Staff Sgt. Kevin Moses Sr
January 17, 2006
Soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment participate in Operation Falcon Sweep, near the village of Shakaria, Iraq.

Yesterday, I included this story as part of the news posts:

Iraqi Soldiers, U.S. Marines Find 11 Arms Caches

MaryAnn, over at Soldiers' Angels Germany, let me know that she's got another version of that story posted. She's also got some pictures of the area, including the one below.


She tells me the pictures have been sent by a US Marine, currently deployed.

Go check out "A Good Day in Western Iraq"

PERSIAN GULF — An F-14D Tomcat assigned to the "Tomcatters" of Fighter Squadron 31 sits parked on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Persian Gulf, Jan. 15, 2006. The Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment conducting maritime security operations and supporting the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Snyder

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq Terrorists Make Demands
Thugs threaten U.S. journalist
Deputy May Replace Saddam Judge
Iraq Sailor Dies in Iran Ship Clash
Video: Saddam's Chief Judge Resigns
Family pleads with abductors of reporter in Iraq

Operation Enduring Freedom
Karzai Orders Probe of Suicide Bombing

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Domestic spying challenged in courts Video
Pakistan: Terrorists Killed in U.S. Strike
U.S. eases passport requirement for some travelers to Canada, Mexico

Troops on Trial
Filipinos Protest U.S. Refusal on Marines

Politics
White House Chides Gore
Sen. Clinton Says GOP-Led House Is 'Like a Plantation'
Republicans propose Congress ethics reforms
New Orleans mayor sorry for 'chocolate' remark
Sen. Trent Lott to run for re-election
Former President Ford hospitalized for pneumonia

Oddities
Quick! Move that TV into the den!
I'm no dentist, but my girlfriend is -- open wide

Other News of Note
Al-Jazeera Seeking Bush-Blair Transcript

Fox News
Supreme Court Upholds Oregon Assisted Suicide Law
Alaska Volcano Spews Ash
NASA Pluto Mission Delayed
Nagin Sorry for Comments- Lawmakers Irked Over Gulf Aid
Calif. 'Intelligent Design' Nixed
Sago Mine Survivor Out of ICU
Dominatrix Manslaughter Trial
Russia, China Not Ready to Support Move to Sanction Iran
SPORTS NEWS AND SCORES

Reuters: Top News
Fear and loathing on lawless "third border"
Major powers dismiss Iran call for nuclear talks Video
Cheney has talks on Syria crisis in Saudi, Egypt
Mutation trades AIDS protection for West Nile risk
Winds delay launch of NASA's Pluto probe
Fox TV takes time on new distribution outlets
Israel's "Arab-counter" influences land debate
Astronaut's memoir questions US space shuttle safety
Aspirin's heart benefits varies by sex - study
Former 'Beethoven' child star missing near Seattle
Intel reports weak profit growth Video
Yahoo posts weak results, stock drops 13 pct
Boston Scientific raises Guidant offer again
IBM profit gains on services
Valera Pharmaceuticals sets IPO at 3.75 mln shares
Google to buy radio advertising company
Intel, Yahoo disappoint, markets seen driven lower
Dana reports $1.27 billion loss; shares slide
Continental warns of 1st-quarter loss, shares tumble
Sherwin-Williams raises outlook, aiding stock

AP World News
China, Russia Urge Iran Nuke Negotiations
Thousands of Lebanese Protest Against U.S.
Two U.N. Peacekeepers Killed in Haiti
Austria to Return Art Stolen by Nazis
Bolivia's President-Elect Visits Argentina
Liberian President Unveils Cabinet Picks
North Korean Leader Reportedly in Beijing
Mideast Asks Cheney for Patience With Iran
Merkel Shows Break From Schroeder's Ways
China Village Secured After Deadly Protest
Turkish Official Wants Agca Re-Imprisoned
Nigerians Try to Win Oil Workers' Release
Britons Dedicate Renovated Franklin Home
Bodies From Jet Crash Found in the Alps

The Seattle Times
Augustine Volcano erupts, sending plume 8 1/2 miles into the air
Mass. high court says state can take 11-year-old off life support

Chicago Sun-Times
Daley, Blagojevich press for weapons ban
Russia: Sanctions not best way handle Iran
Ex-ND football player pleads guilty to battery

Boston Globe: World
Russia, China said to call for halt by Iran
Liberia's new leader seeks time of peace

Military.com
Army, Air Force to Work on New Airlifter

Department of Defense
Pentagon Seeks Answers in Crashes - Story
Apache Helicopter Crash Kills Two in Iraq
New Liberian President Thanks U.S. Sailors - Story

ON THE GROUND
Units Transfer Authority in Iraq Ceremony - Story
Marine Mortarmen Support Infantry Near Hit - Story
Vendor Day Educates Business Leaders - Story
CENTCOM Air Forces Chief Visits Troops - Story

IN IRAQ
First Fires Brigade Arrives in Theater

IN AFGHANISTAN
Photos: Operation Counterstrike

FACE OF DEFENSE
Marine Serves Third Iraqi Freedom Deployment - Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Fox News Spotlights Teen’s Efforts - Story
Group Collects Valentines for Troops

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Suicide Bomber Kills 5, Wounds 18
Iraq, U.S. Troops Find Weapons
Al Basheer Celebrates Water Work
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (pdf)
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (pdf)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Detainees Released; Bombs Found
Proceedings Face Unique Issues
Hearing Deals With Publicity
Capabilities Key, Rumsfeld Says
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Soldiers Get Reimbursed for Gear
Bush, German Leader Discuss Iran
Cheney, Rice Warn of Threat
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Marine 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

Today in History
0336 - St. Mark begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0350 - General Maxentius drives out Western Roman emperor Constans
0532 - Nika uprising at Constantinople fails, 30-40,000 die
1307 - German king Albrecht I makes his son Rudolf king of Bohemia
1478 - Grand Duke Ivan II of Moscow occupies Novgorod
1486 - King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV
1520 - Christian II of Denmark & Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Asunde
1535 - Francisco Pizarro founds Lima Peru
1644 - Perplexed Pilgrims in Boston reported America's 1st UFO sighting
1650 - French Prince Louis II of Condé captured
1671 - Pirate Henry Morgan defeats Spanish defenders, captures Panamá
1691 - English king Willem III travels to The Hague
1701 - Frederik I/Sophie Charlotte van Hanover crowned king/queen of Prussia
1777 - San Jose CA founded
1778 - Captain James Cook stumbles over Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands)
1795 - French admitted to Amsterdam without resistance; Governor/Viceroy Willem V flees Scheveningen to England
1817 - San Martin leads a revolutionary army over Andes
1850 - British blockade Piræus, Greece to enforce mercantile claims
1854 - Filibuster William Walker proclaims Republic of Sonora in NW México
1862 - Confederate Territory of Arizona is formed
1865 - Battle of Fort Moultrie SC
1871 - 2nd German Empire proclaimed by Kaiser Wilhelm I & Bismarck
1884 - General Charles Gordon departs London for Khartoum
1896 - 1st demonstration of an x-ray machine in the US, New York City, NY; British troops occupy Kumasi, West Africa
1905 - French government of Combes falls
1911 - 1st shipboard landing of a plane (Tanforan Park to USS Pennsylvania)
1913 - Turkish-Greek sea battle near Troy
1915 - Train crashes at Colima-Guadalajara Mexico, about 600 die
1919 - WWI Peace Congress opens in Versailles, France
1929 - Stalin proposes to ban Trotsky from the Politburo
1933 - White Sands National Monument, NM established
1942 - Nazis arrest journalists Frans Goedhart & Wiardi Beckman
1943 - Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto begin resistance of Nazis; Presliced bread sale banned to reduce bakery demand for metal parts; Soviets announce they broke the long Nazi siege of Leningrad
1944 - 1st Chinese naturalized US citizen since repeal of exclusion acts
1947 - Small river steamer sank on Yangtze River, kills 400
1951 - 1st use of lie detector in Netherlands; Hermann Flake sentenced to death due to "hate campaign against German Democratic Republic"
1954 - Fanfani forms Italian government
1956 - German Democratic Republic forms own army (National People's Army)
1957 - 3 B-52's set record for around-the-world flight, 45 hours 19 minutes
1960 - US & Japan sign joint defense treaty
1962 - Southern University closed due to demonstrations; US begins spraying foliage in Vietnam to reveal Viet Cong guerrillas
1964 - Plans for the World Trade Center announced (New York City, NY)
1965 - H.L. de Vries appointed Dutch Governor of Suriname
1966 - Robert C Weaver, confirmed as 1st black cabinet member (HUD)
1967 - Albert DeSalvo (Boston Strangler) sentenced to life in prison
1969 - Expanded 4 party Vietnam peace talks began in Paris; Soyuz 5 returns to Earth
1973 - John Cleese's final episode on "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on BBC
1974 - "The $6 Million Man" starring Lee Majors premieres on ABC-TV; Israel & Egypt sign weapons accord
1978 - Roof of 3-year-old Civic Center in Hartford CT collapses (no injuries)
1981 - Iran accepts US offer of $7.9 billion in frozen assets
1985 - US renounces jurisdiction of World Court despite previous promise
1986 - 24th Space Shuttle (61-C) Mission-Columbia 7-returns to Earth
1988 - Airliner crashes in SW China, killing all 108 on board
1989 - Astronomers discover pulsar in remnants of Supernova 1987A (LMC); Otis Redding, Dion, Rolling Stones, Temptations & Stevie Wonder inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
1990 - South Africa says its reconsidering ban on African National Congress; Washington, DC, Mayor Marion Barry arrested in drug enforcement sting
1991 - Eastern Airlines goes out of business after 62 years; Iraq launches SCUD missiles against Israel; US acknowledges CIA and US Army paid Noriega $320,000 over his career
1993 - Martin Luther King Jr holiday observed in all 50 states for 1st time
1995 - Pope John Paul II begins visit to Australia

Birthdays
1641 - François Michel le Tellier, French statesman (Marquis de Louvois)
1657 - Hendrik Casimir II, Dutch Fieldmarshal (Nassau)
1782 - Daniel Webster, orator/politician/lawyer
1795 - Anna Paulowna Romanova, monarch of Russia/daughter of czar Paul I
1809 - Richard Caswell Gatlin, Confederate Brigadier General
1815 - James Chesnut, Jr., Confederate Brigadier General; Richard Yates, Governor-IL (1861-65)
1820 - Abraham Buford, Confederate Brigadier General
1831 - Edward Ferrero, Union Brevet Major General
1849 - Sir Edmund Barton, 1st PM of Australia (1900-03)
1857 - Otto von Below, German commandant (WWI)
1878 - Hendrik Baels, Belgian politician
1879 - Henri-Honoré Giraud, French General /member of parliament
1892 - Oliver Hardy, comedy team member (Laurel & Hardy)
1908 - Albert P. Morano (Representative-CT, 1951-59)
1913 - Danny Kaye, UNICEF/comedian/actor (Danny Kaye Show)
1933 - Vladimir Yevgrafovich Bugrov, cosmonaut
1944 - Relus ter Beek, Dutch Minister of Defense (PvdA)
1958 - Jeffrey N. Williams, Major Army/astronaut

Passings
1367 - Pedro I, King of Portugal (1357-67), dies at 46
1479 - Louis IX the Rich, duke of Bayern (U of Ingolstadt), dies at 61
1677 - John A. van Riebeeck, Dutch founder Cape Colony, dies at 57
1730 - Peter II, Czar of Russia (1727-30), dies at 14
1862 - John Tyler, 10th US President (1841-45), dies in Richmond VA at 71
1890 - Amadeus I, King of Spain (1870-73), dies at 44
1906 - Bartolomé Mitre, President of Argentina (1862-70), dies at 84
1913 - Edmond R.H. Regout, Dutch industrialist/politician, dies at 49
1936 - Rudyard Kipling, author (Gunga Din, Nobel 1907), dies in Burwash England at 70
1984 - Malcolm H. Kerr, 9th president of American University of Beirut, shot dead
1985 - Mahmoud Taha, Sudanese Moslem leader, hanged at 76
1995 - Adolph F.J. Butenandt, German bio-chemist (Nobel 1939), dies at 91
1996 - N.T. Rama Rao, PM of Andhra Pradesh India (1983-84, 84-89, 94-95)
1997 - Paul Tsongas (Senator-MA), dies at 55

Reported Missing in Action
1964
Metoyer, Bryford G., US Army (LA); UH1B crashed (w/Straley)

Straley, John L. US Army (PA); UH1B crashed (w/Metoyer)

1967
Madsen, Marlow E., USNR (MN); A1H crashed in water (landing attempt), KIA, body not recovered

1968
Boles, Warren W., USN (MA); F4B crashed (w/Roehrich), presumed KIA, body not recovered

Hinckley, Robert B., USAF (ME); F4D shot down (w/Jones), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive as of 1998

Jones, Robert C., USAF (NJ); released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

Roehrich, Ronald L., USN (AR); F4B crashed (w/Boles), presumed KIA, body not recovered

Smith, Wayne O., USAF (KY); F4D shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

Simonet, Kenneth A., USAF (IL); F4D shot down released by DRV March, 1973
*** also served in the Pacific in WWII ***

1969
Coady, Robert F., USAF (LA); A1H shot down, presumed KIA, body not recovered