HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) -- Members from the 735th Air Mobility Squadron push a cargo pallet on to a C-17 Globemaster III to support relief efforts in the Philippines. The composite C-17 squadron of active duty and Hawaii Air National Guard loaded the pallets Feb. 21 to carry military rations, water, cots, tents and personnel from the 15th Airlift Wing to help out with the mudslide disaster. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo)

by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon II
February 21, 2006
Soldiers in an OH-58D Kiowa helicopter from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment conduct a surveillance mission over Tal Afar, Iraq.

One of the hardest things to do with your adopted Hero sometimes is to get them to tell you what they'd like you to send. Specific requests are rare - and amazingly enough, they usually spend a whole lot of time thanking YOU for thanking them...

And when you do finally get a specific request, sometimes it's completely humbling.

This is a message from my adopted Airman:

Dear Pam,

Just received your latest card today. Thank you again for really the time you put into these, not only for myself but all the other soldiers/airmen you help out. I did manage to get a personal letter out to you, hope you receive it soon and well. You always ask me if there was anything particular I could use....and I have come up with something I could use a little help with. I have started a little program here for local schools and children/families who do not have much. I have traveled the base asking for the units to donate what ever they can spare as to school supplies and things they think kids would want. I am mostly focusing on school supplies and etc, but there isn't much here for us to get ahold of to give to them If you could maybe find some of your friends, neighbors co-workers etc to just think of whatever they think under privileged kids and families might want and need. Just a thought I had, if this is something that you feel is to grand I will understand, just had to ask. Once again, thank you for all the time you put into the letters, cards and packages (I have received all from you and they are GREAT). Take care and be well.

Respectfully,

Philip B.
USAF


So now, I am a woman on a mission.

I'm tentatively dubbing Philip's program "Wings of Hope," and I'm asking for your help. Soldiers' Angels has stepped up to lend a hand, and I'm asking any of you who'd like to help with Philip's efforts to get some much needed supplies to the families of Afghanistan. If you are interested in helping, please email me for details on what's needed and where to send your items.

Thanks in advance for any help that you can give. I'll keep you updated.


Phil, you truly are a Hero. Keep your helmet on - take care, and stay safe.

HUMANITARIAN VISIT — U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mark Feffer distributes clothing to a child during a medical-civil action program at the Shahed Sayed Padsha School in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Feb. 15, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Leslie Angulo

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Rumsfeld says 'misstated' facts on planted Iraq news
U.S. Counts on Sheiks to Help in Ramadi
Car Bomb in Iraq Kills 22, Injures 28

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Three Arrested in Terror Bust
Video: Gonzales Announces Indictments
Video: Terror at Home
Bush Backs UAE Deal
Video: Bush Defends Port Deal
House Speaker asks moratorium on Dubai port deal
Germans Try to Verify CIA Kidnap Claim
Sectarian Mobs in Nigeria Kill 24
Military provides gentler images of Guantánamo prison

Other Military News
Bikers Fight Anti-Gay Protests at Soldiers' Funerals
(YES!!! Take that, Phelps!! This one you've got to read)

Philippine Landslide
Philippines Slide Dig Moved
Time Ticking for Philippine Mudslide Rescue

Cartooning Muhammad
Pakistanis, Iraqis Protest Cartoons

Hamas Rising
Bush warns over Hamas funding
Hamas PM Won't Respond to Deal Demand

Worldwide Wackos
Iran spurns Russian nuclear proposal
Iranian Envoy: Moscow Talks Offer Hope

Supreme Court
Supreme Court to take on late-term abortion issue
Supreme Court sides with church in dispute over hallucinogenic tea

XX Winter Olympics
Hitting the Ice
U.S. women skate for gold
More Drugs Found in Torino
FULL OLYMPICS COVERAGE (from Fox News)
Winter Olympics (Reuters)
Austrian gloom deepens
Italy's Fabris strikes gold again
Meals fit for princes in Olympic village

Oddities
Man Kills Roommate After Fight About Toilet Paper
San Francisco Hopes to Harness Power of Dog Poop
Dart injuries rise as beginners get the point
Swedish Hell's Angels find biking gets you down
Pepsi to test cans with chemical smell

Other News of Note
Official: Bosnian War Crimes Fugitive Near Surrender

Fox News
$365M Powerball Winner to Come Forward Tomorrow
Calif. Execution Postponed
One Dead in Vegas Standoff
Ex-Sago Mine Foreman Indicted for Falsifying Reports
Mich. Manhunt Under Way
Stocks to Watch: Viacom
FULL SPORTS COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
Serb media ignore denial, say Mladic handover near
California to postpone execution indefinitely
NY jurors asked is Gotti a mob boss or family man?
Taiwan's pro-independence Chen snubs US: paper
Japan launches satellite, second success in a week
Microsoft blunder leaks information about Vista
Second Apple worm targeting Macs found: experts
Serbs caught in the middle of Kosovo tug-of-war
Medicare to pay for certain obesity surgeries
China blood test lapses fuel "hidden AIDS epidemic"
Interest rates close to right after last hike: Fed
Bush pushes wind, solar power, cutback on oil use
Enron's Lay lied about cash problems: witness
Microsoft blunder leaks information about Vista
Nextel Partners 4th-quarter profit rises
AT&T, Yahoo link Web to Cingular mobile phones
Investors focus on Symbol Tech calls before earns
Marvell to buy printer semiconductor unit of Avago
Baidu rises 12.8 pct on Inet Baidu results top expectations, shares jump 12 pct
Stocks fall, led down by chips, rate worries Video
RadioShack shares off on outlook after CEO quits
Blackstone to buy MeriStar for $2.6 bln
OK to win small
Reuters Summit: Wyeth and biotech
Biotech Summit: Genmab's drug hope

AP World News
Miners' Families Threaten to Rush Pit
China, Japan Look to Make Progress on Talks
Museveni Warns on 'Foreign Meddlers'
Aristide Is Willing to Return to Haiti
Deal to Give Looted Goods Back to Italy
Witnesses: Anti-Gadhafi Forces in Protest
Chinese Gov't to Spend More on Countryside
Oil Prices Rise on Nigerian Woes
Deadly Bird Flu Hits Seventh EU Nation
Greek Seamen Extend Port Strike
Tower Ravens Caged Over Bird Flu Threat

The Seattle Times
Relatives of 65 trapped Mexican miners grow desperate
Violence crossing Chad-Sudan border, group says

Chicago Sun-Times
Tanker spills fuel in Franklin Park
Feds order review of Ill. nuclear plants
Pilot trainer to return to the air on Wednesday
Lindenhurst bank robbed for second time
Suburb to end delays on sexual assault reports
Four-hour emergency at nuke plant near Chicago
Were kids' drownings accident or murder?
Bush: Energy tech to 'startle' U.S.

Military.com
U.S. Joins Landslide Rescue Effort
Marines Dispute QDR
Frist Calls for Halt to U.S. Ports Deal

CENTCOM: News Releases
2/101 SOLDIERS FIND WEAPONS CACHE

IRAQI POLICE INDUCT MORE THAN 1,000 TO THEIR FORCE

IRAQI, U.S. SOLDIERS WORK TOGETHER TO UNIFY IRAQ

ROCKETS, OTHER WEAPONS TUNRED IN TO COALITION

TERRORIST BOMBS KILL 11 IRAQIS, WOUND 28

5TH BDE. ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY OF BATTLE SPACE IN CENTRAL BAGHDAD

IRAQI SOLDIERS TRAIN TO MAINTAIN

IRAQI POLICE CAPTURE SEVEN INSURGENTS IN KIRKUK

U.S. FORCES DISCOVER LARGE CACHE IN AL ANBAR PROVINCE

TERRORIST ATTACK KILLS 21 IRAQIS, WOUNDS 25

Department of Defense
Humanitarian Efforts Help Change Image - Story - Transcript - Video
General: U.S. Must Network to Defeat al Qaeda - Story
Indictments Highlight Need for Vigilance - Story
Attack Kills 21 Iraqis; Cav Unit Finds Weapons - Story

ON THE GROUND
10th Mountain Takes Command of Task Force - Story
U.S., Iraqi Medics Share Experience, Knowledge - Story
Soldiers Celebrate Black History Month in Iraq - Story

IN IRAQ
Palace Drill Prepares Combat Lifesavers
U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff Visits Troops
U.S. Troops Deliver Wheelchair to Disabled Girl
Iraqi Police Hand Out Donated School Supplies
Cadets First Graduates of Year-Long Training

IN AFGHANISTAN
Airborne's Sports Map Promotes Camaraderie
10th Combat Aviation Assumes Mission
10th Mountain Troops Join 'Team Paktika'
Task Force Devil Four-Mile Run Boosts Morale

FACE OF DEFENSE
Marine Helps Rebuild Iraq - Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Web Site is One-Stop Info Source - Story

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Iraqis Assume Baghdad Duties
Casey: Iraqis Benefit from Efforts
Terrorist Bombs Kill 11 Iraqis
U.S. Troops Find Weapons Caches
Coalition Forces Destroy Weapons
Troops Nab Suspects
Officials Identify Casualties
Troops Foil Bombing, Uncover Plot
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
Afghan Engineers Attend Workshop
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Army Chief: Soldiers Must Adapt
Weapons Found in Iraq, Afghanistan
Intel Director Outlines Threats
Global Hawk UAV Returns Home
USS Reagan Group Enters 5th Fleet
Officials Identify Helo Crash Victims
Bush: Democracy Will Yield Peace
Pace: Progress in Afghanistan, Iraq
Forces Bolster Maritime Security
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Unmanned Stryker Convoys Tested
Navy Ships Provide Disaster Relief
Photos: Philippine Relief Efforts
All 'Accounted For' After Helo Crash
Sailors, Marines Help Victims
Web Special: Iwo Jima
Flexibility Needed to Fight Terror
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Marine Casualty - 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
0606 - Sabinian ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0896 - Pope Formosa crowned king Arnulf of Karinthie/French emperor
1071 - Battle of Cassel-Robert I the Frisian defeats Arnulf III/I
1281 - Simon de Brion elected Pope Martinus IV
1288 - Girolamo Masci elected Pope Nicolas IV
1349 - Jews are expelled from Zurich Switzerland
1495 - French King Charles VIII enters Naples to claim the crown
1561 - William of Orange appointed viceroy of Burgundy/Charolais
1630 - Indians introduce pilgrims to popcorn, at Thanksgiving
1656 - New Amsterdam granted a Jewish burial site
1744 - Battle at Toulon English-French & Spanish fleet
1746 - French troops conquer Brussels; Jakobite troops vacate Aberdeen
1774 - English House of Lords rules authors do not have perpetual copyright
1775 - 1st US joint stock company (to make cloth) offers shares at £10; Jews expelled from outskirts of Warsaw Poland
1784 - 1st US ship to trade with China, "Empress of China", sails from New York
1819 - Spain renounces claims to Oregon Country, Florida (Adams-Onís Treaty)
1821 - Spain sells (east) Florida to United States for $5 million
1825 - Russia & Britain establish Alaska-Canada boundary
1828 - Russia & Persia sign Peace of Turkmantsjai
1835 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin leave Valdivia Chile
1836 - Dutch garrison evacuates fort Du Bus New Guinea
1847 - Battle of Buena Vista -- US troops beat Mexican army
1854 - 1st meeting of the Republican Party, Michigan
1856 - 1st national meeting of the Republican Party (Pittsburgh)
1860 - Organized baseball played in San Francisco for the 1st time
1861 - On a bet, Edward Weston leaves Boston to walk to Lincoln's inauguration
1864 - 2nd/last day of Battle of Okolona, MS; Battle at Dalton, Georgia; Skirmish at Calfkiller Creek (Sparta) Tennessee
1865 - Tennessee adopts a new constitution abolishing slavery; Battle of Wilmington, NC - Fort Anderson occupied by Federals
1872 - 1st national convention of the Prohibition Party (Columbus OH)
1878 - Greenback Labor Party formed (Toledo OH)
1879 - 1st 5¢ & 10¢ store opened by Frank W Woolworth in Utica NY
1887 - Union Labor Party organized in Cincinnati
1888 - John Reid of Scotland demonstrates golf to Americans (Yonkers NY)
1889 - Dakotas, Montana & Washington admitted to the union
1898 - Black postmaster lynched, his wife & 3 daughters shot in Lake City, SC
1900 - Battle at Wynne's Hill, South-Africa (Boers vs British army); Hawaii became a US territory
1903 - Due to drought, the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water
1907 - 1st cabs with taxi meters begin operating in London
1909 - Great White Fleet, 1st US fleet to circle the globe, returns to Virginia
1912 - J. Vedrines makes 1st airplane flight over 100 mph-161.29 kph
1915 - Germany begins "unrestricted" submarine war
1917 - German Navy torpedoes 7 Dutch ships
1918 - Germany claims Baltic states, Finland & Ukraine from Russia
1920 - 1st artificial rabbit used at a dog race track (Emeryville CA)
1922 - Congress authorizes Grant Memorial $1 gold coin
1923 - Transcontinental airmail service begins
1923 - 1st successful chinchilla farm in US (Los Angeles CA)
1924 - 1st presidential radio address (Calvin Coolidge)
1928 - 1st solo England to Australia flight lands (Bert Hinkler)
1932 - Purple Heart award re-instituted
1933 - Göring forms SA/SS-police, shoots 40-50
1935 - Airplanes are no longer permitted to fly over the White House
1939 - Netherlands recognizes Franco-regime in Spain
1940 - Finnish troops vacate Koivisto island; German air force sinks 2 German destroyers, killing 578
1941 - Arthur T. "Bomber" Harris becomes British Air Marshal; German assault on El Agheila Libya; I.G. Farben decides building Buna-Werke in Auschwitz Concentration Camp; Nazi SS begin rounding up Jews of Amsterdam
1944 - US 8th Air Force bombs Enschede, Arnhem & Nijmegen by mistake/800+ die
1945 - Arab League forms (Cairo); British troops take Ramree Island, Burma; Canadian 3rd Division occupies Moyland
1948 - Arab bomb attack in Jerusalem, 50 die
1955 - British aircraft carrier Ark Royal sets sail
1956 - Elvis Presley's 1st hit in Billboard's top 10 - "Heartbreak Hotel"
1958 - Egypt & Syria form United Arab Republic (UAR); Indonesian air force bombs Padang, Sumatra/Menado, Celebes
1959 - 1st Daytona 500 auto race-Lee Petty wins (135.521 MPH)
1965 - USSR launches Kosmos 57 into earth orbit (Voskhod Test)
1966 - Soviets launch Kosmos 110 with Veterok & Ugolek, 1st 2-dog crew
1967 - 25,000 US & S. Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction City, offensive to smash Viet Cong stronghold near Cambodian border
1971 - Lieutenant General Hafiz al-Assad becomes President of Syria
1972 - Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani becomes Amir & Prime Minister of Qatar; President Nixon, meets with Chinese Premier Chou En-Lai in Beijing
1973 - US & China agree to establish liaison offices in Beijing & Washington, DC; Israeli fighter planes shoot down a civilian Libyan Arab Airlines Boeing 727 killing 108
1974 - Ethiopian police shoot at demonstrators
1978 - 2 tankers with propane gas explode, killing 15 at Waverly, TN
1979 - St. Lucia gains independence from Britain
1980 - Afghanistan declares martial law; USA beats USSR in Olympics hockey 4-3 en route to a gold medal
1982 - NYC Mayor Koch announces he will run for New York governor (unsuccessful)
1983 - Hindus kill 3000 Muslims in Assam, India
1989 - 1st Spanish commercial on network TV (Pepsi-Cola-CBS Grammy Award); UK physicist Stephen Hawking calls Star Wars a "deliberate fraud"; US authors demonstrate against Iranian death treats against Salman Rushdee, author of "Satanic Rituals"
1991 - G.H.W. Bush & US Gulf War allies give Iraq 24 hours to begin Kuwait withdrawal
1995 - Algiers police kill at least 99 prison rioters; Steve Fossett completes 1st air balloon over Pacific Ocean (9600 km)
1996 - STS 75 (Columbia 19), launches into orbit
1998 - 18th Winter Olympics games close at Nagano Japan

Birthdays
1403 - Charles VII, king of France (1422-61)
1440 - Ladislaus V, Posthumus King of Hungary/Bohemia
1514 - Tahmasp I, shah of Persia (1524-76)/author (Tazkire-i Shah)
1684 - William Pulteney London, statesman (Earl of Bath)
1732 - George Washington, 1st American President (1789-97)
1797 - William I Berlin, King of Prussia (1861-88)/German Emperor (1871-88)
1798 - Charles Mynn Thruston, Union Brigadier General
1819 - James Russell Lowell, poet/critic/diplomat/abolitionist
1827 - James Barnet Fry, Union Brevet Major General
1828 - Robert Alexander Cameron, Union Brevet Major General
1838 - Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen, discoverer of hydrogen in Sun
1840 - F. August Bebel, German social-democrat
1857 - Heinrich Hertz physicist, 1st to broadcast & receive radio waves; Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder (Boy Scouts, Girl Guides)
1868 - Henri Polak, union leader/politician (Social-Democrat)
1879 - Johannes Brønsted, Danish physical chemist (acid-base reactions)
1892 - David Dubinsky, labor leader (Freedom Award, 1969 Medal of Freedom); Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet/writer/feminist (Harp Weaver-Pulitzer Prize)
1898 - Anton de Kom, Surinam/Dutch worker's union leader/resistance fighter
1901 - Charles E. Whittaker, US Supreme Court justice (1957-62)
1908 - Rómulo Betancourt, President of Venezuela (1945-48, 1958-64)
1917 - Harmen van Rossum, civil servant/resistance fighter (WWII)
1918 - Don (Dominic G.) Pardo, TV announcer (Jeopardy, Saturday Night Live)
1932 - Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (Senator-MA, 1962- )
1935 - Ineke (R.M.) Haas-Berger, Dutch MP (PvdA)
1943 - David E. Skaggs (Representative-CO)
1947 - John Bryant (Representative-TX)
1951 - Harley O. Staggers, Jr. (Representative-WV)
1952 - James Philip Bagian, MDPE/astronaut (STS 29, STS 40)
1975 - Drew Barrymore, actress (ET, Firestarter, Poison Ivy, Altered States)

Passings
0606 - Sabinian Italian Pope (604-06)
1071 - Arnulf III, earl of Flanders/Hainault (Arnulf I), dies in battle
1076 - Godfried III, with the Hump, duke of Lower Lorraine, murdered
1371 - David II Bruce, king of Scotland (1331-71), dies at 46
1512 - Amerigo Vespucci, Italian explorer (America), dies at 61
1770 - Christopher Snider, 11, in Boston - becomes 1st martyr of US Revolution
1913 - Suarez, Mexican vice President, assassinated in a military coup; Francisco Indalecio Madero Mexican President, assassinated in military coup at 39
1930 - Godfried van Daalen, Dutch General/governor of Atjeh, dies at 66
1943 - Christoph Probst, Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, German resistance fighters (Die Weisse Rose)
1958 - Michael Todd, film magnate, killed in an New Mexico air crash
1973 - Winthrop Rockefeller, US Governor (Arkansas), dies at 60
1984 - David, spent most of his life in a plastic bubble, dies at 12
1987 - Andy Warhol, pop artist, dies from complications following gall bladder surgery at 58
1993 - Jean Lecanuet, French UDF-presidential candidate, dies at 72; Pieter A.H. Bos, Dutch lawyer/procureur-General (Aruba), dies at 63
1995 - Lembarek Boumaarafi, Algerian murderer of President Boudiaf
1998 - Jose Maria de Areilza Spanish minister of foreign affairs (1975-76); Sandy Hume correspondent (Fox News), commits suicide at 28

Reported Missing in Action
1969
Macko, Charles, USAF (NY); B57B shot down (co-pilot, w/Paxton)

Paxton, Donald Elmer, USAF (IA); B57B shot down (pilot, w/Macko)

Pearson, Wayne E., USAF (IL); F4D shot down - remains ID'd July, 1993