Biloxi, Miss. (March 2, 2006) – Personnel assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Seven Four (NMCB-74) remove debris from ankle-deep water off the coast of Southern Mississippi, during the Great American Cleanup event. NMCB-74 joined volunteers from the surrounding community and across the nation in a continuing effort to clean up and rebuild the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 1st Class Rob Wesselman

...we'd be in some serious trouble.

Visit ROFASix for the skinny on who'd be the next target if your average schmuck was calling the shots in the War on Terror - with your average schmuck's map knowledge. Look out down under! Apparently, all of these folks learned geography in Jay Bennish's class.

NOTR's also got a really cool video of a JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) test. I'm hoping Osama gets a new houseguest in the near future.

And if you've the stomach, NOTR's also got the trailer to Valley of the Wolves Iraq, the disgusting Turkish film that trashes our troops - and includes Billy Zane and Gary Busey among its cast. Remember, it's not a war for oil, folks - it's all about stealing organs for Israel.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld chats with retired Army Staff Sgt. Heath Calhoun, a 101st Airborne Division soldier wounded in Iraq, during the Vail Veterans Program. Defense Dept. photo by Donna Miles


U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Worley, who lost most of his left leg in Fallujah, Iraq, September 2004, is ready to hit the slopes in Vail, Colo., March 4, 2006. The veterans gathered for Vail's Adaptive Ski Program that provided ski and snowboard classes for twenty-four servicemembers who lost limbs in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Worley, who lost most of his left leg in Fallujah, Iraq, September 2004, steadies himself with the help of an instructor after his first attempt at advancing to a mono-ski in Vail, Colo., March 4, 2006. The veterans gathered for Vail's Adaptive Ski Program that provided ski and snowboard classes for 24 servicemembers who lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


Former Marine Sgt. Christopher Fesmire, who was medically retired from the 1st Marine Division after losing both legs above the knee in Qain, Iraq, in October 2004, whizzes down the tubing trail at Vail Mountain's Adventure Ridge during the Vail Veterans Program. Fesmire, an accomplished snowboarder before being wounded, called the Vail program "very special." Defense Dept. photo by Donna Miles


U.S. Army Sgt. Tim Gustafson prepares to hit the slopes on a "bi-ski" in Vail, Colo., March 4, 2006. The veterans gathered for Vail's Adaptive Ski Program that provided ski and snowboard classes for 24 service members who lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan. An improvised explosive device struck Gustafson on Jan. 24, 2005, while commanding a combat patrol on a routine clearance mission in the Diyala Province of Eastern Iraq. He suffered compound fractures and lost most of his right leg to the injury. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


U.S. Army Sgt. Tim Gustafson, a Tennessee National Guardsman participating in the Vail Veterans Program at Vail, Colo., gets instruction on how to traverse the slopes on a "bi-ski" from Carl Desrosiers, of the Vail Adaptive Ski Program. Defense Dept. photo by Donna Miles


America Supports You member Vail Resort sponsored the Vail Veterans Program March 1-5 at Vail, Colo. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, fifth from left in blue jacket, poses with wounded troops participating in the program just before they begin their third and final day of skiing. Defense Dept. photo by Donna Miles


For more information on Vail's Veterans and adaptive skiiing programs, go here or here.

by Petty Officer 3rd Class Shawn Hussong
March 7, 2006
Soldiers from the 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division await air transport back to base after a successful operation in Remagen, Iraq.

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S. Patrol, Police Find 23 Bodies in Iraq
U.S. Ambassador Discusses New Gov't With Shiites in Iraq
Troop Drawdown in Iraq a Delicate Balance
Rumsfeld says Iran moving forces to Iraq
ABC anchor hurt in Iraq starting to walk and talk

Operation Enduring Freedom
Drug Agents Target Afghan Poppy Crop
Afghanistan-Pakistan rift over terrorist data worsens

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Patriot Act Passes - Bill will go to President Bush
Video: Signing Ceremony Set
Bombings Kill 20 in New Delhi
Senate panel rejects bid for NSA inquiry
Pakistan-Iran Train Services Suspended
IRA Veteran to Stand Trial for Kidnapping
Madrid Bomb Victims Struggling to Recover
Three explosions rock capital, leaving 4 hurt (Addis Ababa)

Other Military News
Deputy to be charged in taped shooting of vet (See here for more details on this incident)

Hamas Rising
EU seeks ways to fund Palestinians despite Hamas
Israel Warns Hamas Not to Renew Attacks

Dubai Port Proposal
Leaders to let House vote on ports deal

Worldwide Wackos
Iran Remains Defiant Leading Up to IAEA Meeting
N. Korea Leaves Nuke Talks
Cheney Warns Iran on Nukes
Iran a litmus test for US-Russia ties
N.Korea says won't return to talks under duress
UN Security Council said to meet next week on Iran - Video
U.N. Urged to Take Action Against Iran

Politics
DeLay Wins GOP House Nomination in Texas
Political storms unabated in Bush New Orleans trip
Dems turning to technology to identify potential voters
Vermont towns back impeachment drive

U.N. News
Annan Urges Overhaul of U.N. Operations

Oddities
Get a whiff of this: School wants to ban fragrances
Cookie monster's phony $100 bill burns Girl Scout
Woman reports fight, then runs over man: cops
Drunk man sneaks onto runway
Chicagoan sues, alleges hotel let bedbugs bite 500 times
Barbershop or fence's hideout?
Obese Aussies need stronger toilets

Other News of Note
1 of every 20 workers is in U.S. illegally, report finds
Raising a racket against illegal immigrants' hirers
Teacher who likened Bush to Hitler defends himself

Fox News
Nation of Islam Criticizes Hate Crime Commissioners
UNC Grad Rented SUV to Maximize Injuries in Attack
Witness: Slain NYC Coed Argued With Bouncer- Video: Big Break
NASA May Delay Launch
Google Your Hard Drive?
Prosecutors Focus on Moussaoui's Sept. 11 Claim
Stocks to Watch: Google
Bonds Bombshell - Book details slugger's drug use
Opinion: Bonds Can't Dismiss Allegations - Video
FULL SPORTS COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
Filipino protesters clash with police - Play Video
Girl dies of bird flu in China, UN ups campaign - Video
WHO chief says Indian Ocean fever fears exaggerated
Toshiba unveils laptop with high def DVD and TV
Intel to have Wi-Max cards this year
Genes determine coffee-related heart attack risk
Lengthy drug testing not to blame for prices: study
Asia stocks sag, Bank of Japan meets
NY Stock Exchange to ring bells as goes public
VNU agrees to $9 bln private equity buyout
OPEC set to keep taps open to cool oil prices
C.Agricole Q4 profit beats forecast, shares rise
Toshiba, Canon delay SED TV launch to Q4 2007
VNU agrees to $9 bln private equity buyout
John Menzies to buy cargo handler Aeroground
Wall Street seen opening lower as Big Board debuts
AstraZeneca buoyed by hopes for new Crestor data
Prov Financial boosted by unit demerger hopes
ITV profits climb despite core channel's decline
The unsung Amazon.com story
Starbucks to keep on building

AP World News
Assailants Kill 2 Officers in Mexican City
Arias Costa Rica's Presidential Winner
Thousands in Kenya Protest Raids on Media
Buenos Aires Mayor Ousted Over Club Fire
Chinese Take Cold Comfort in Ice Swimming
Rape Victims Denied Abortions in Mexico

The Seattle Times
Coffee drinkers get a jolt in study
MS patients urge FDA to reapprove controversial drug
"Shaft" director Gordon Parks dies
Dana Reeve, widow of fallen "Superman" star, dies
Lesbian "king" prompts review
Monks turn on Thailand leader
Blasts in India kill at least 20
Mexico to pay teen who was denied abortion after rape
Prison takes center stage in Seoul musical
Deputy charged in taped shooting
Missing weapons sought in slums

Chicago Sun-Times
Police think dispute over woman led to teen girl's shooting
Field's leader says Bible isn't science
Crystal Lake reconsiders, gives OK to Gay Games
Grass-fed beef: It's what's good for you?
Hospitals see effects of spikes in pollution
Building painter shot to death in Bridgeport
Former fire lieutenant gets six years for setting blazes
Mother charged in Dolton girl's death
Suburb delays razings for O'Hare expansion
No-show murder witness gets 12 years for contempt
Curbside recycling possible through privatization: Daley
Too much weight capsized water taxi
New crustacean is blond, furry
Evidence continues to disappear from police vault in East St. Louis

Boston Globe: World
A leaderless nation learns to adapt (Somalia)
Blasts in India raise concerns on sectarian violence
Japanese defend a male monarchy

Military.com
Americans Want Saddam to Hang
Hopes of Troop Pullout Fading
Bush Faces Effort to Stop Port Deal
Iraq War Drains Guard of Equipment
Elite U.S. Troops Expand Role
Tanker Debate: Medium, Large, or Both?

CENTCOM: News Releases
DETAINEE DIES AT CAMP BUCCA

IRAQI AIR FORCE STANDS UP NEW AL MUTHANA AIR BASE

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION SOLDIERS CAPTURE TERRORISTS, DISCOVER CACHE

CIVIL AFFAIRS SOLDIERS DELIVER ESSENTIAL GOODS TO ORPHANS

IPS, CF WORK TOGETHER TO AVOID DISASTER

TERRORIST ATTACK WOUNDS 9 IRAQIS

IRAQI POLICE FORCES WELCOME NEW MEMBERS TO TEAM

MND-B SOLDIERS STOP TERRORISTS

TERRORISTS KILL 6TH IRAQI ARMY DIV. COMMANDER IN BAGHDAD

MNF-I EXTENDS DEEPEST CONDOLENCES

IRAQI ARMY UNIT GRADUATES TOGETHER

Department of Defense
Cheney Talks About Strategy for Victory - Story
Victory Tops Pacific Command's Priorities - Story
Rice: Iranian Uranium Enrichment Poses Risk - Story
Press Exaggerations Test American Will - Story

ON THE GROUND
Iraqi Air Force Stands Up Al Muthana Air Base - Story
Iraqi Soldiers, Police Graduate From Training - Story
Iraqi Police Graduates Demonstrate Abilities
Civil Affairs Mission Helps Afghan Villagers - Story

IN IRAQ
Lifesaver Course Designed for Combat in Iraq
Iraqi Police Escort Propane Delivery to Village
Iraqi Air Force Spreads Wings, Secures Future
Arizona Guard MPs Reflect on Iraq Deployment

IN AFGHANISTAN
New Zealanders Deliver Roof Beams to Camp
Bagram Airfield Celebrates Black History Month

FACE OF DEFENSE
Corpsman Administers Healthy Dose of Comedy - Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Program Recharges Wounded Vets - Story - Photos
Rumsfeld Visits Wounded Troops
Vail Hosts Wounded Troops

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Detainee Dies; Forces Kill Two
Iraqi Commander Killed in Attack
Bomb Attacks Kill, Wound Iraqis
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
Jones Sees Demise of Terrorists
Bush Pleased with Afghan Progress
Troop Killed in Afghanistan
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
U.S., Pakistan Pledge Unity in War
Rumsfeld Cites Truman Leadership
U.S. Diplomat Killed in Bombing
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
Poll Shows Military Still Admired
New Probe Into Tillman Death
U.S., India Make World Safer
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army 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
1658 - Peace of Roskilde between Sweden & Denmark
1702 - England's Queen Anne ascends throne upon death of King William III
1711 - Antoin de Guiscard tries English premier Haley for murder
1722 - Afghan monarch Mir Mahmud occupies Persia
1746 - Cumberland's troops occupy Aberdeen
1754 - Marquis of Ensenada becomes premier of Spain
1766 - Willem V (18) becomes Governor of United Provinces
1782 - Gnadenhutten Massacre: Ohio militia kills 90 Indians
1801 - British drive French forces from Abukir, Egypt
1838 - US mint in New Orleans begins operation (producing dimes)
1854 - US Commodore Matthew C. Perry's 2nd trip to Japan
1855 - 1st train crosses 1st US railway suspension bridge, Niagara Falls
1861 - St Augustine, FL surrenders to Union armies
1862 - Battle of Elkhorn Tavern ends with Confederate withdrawal; Confederate ironclad Merrimack launched; Naval Engagement at Hampton Roads, VA: CSS Virginia, Jamestown & Yorktown vs USS Cumberland, Congress & Monitor
1865 - Battle of Kingston, NC (Wilcox's ridge, Wise's Forks)
1887 - Everett Horton, Connecticut, patents fishing rod of telescoping steel tubes
1894 - New York passes 1st state dog license law
1896 - Volunteers of America forms (New York, NY)
1908 - Collingwood Elementary (Cleveland) burns, kills 173 kids & 2 teachers
1910 - Baroness Raymonde de Laroche of Paris France becomes 1st licensed female pilot
1913 - Internal Revenue Service begins to levy & collect income taxes
1915 - 1st US navy minelayer, Baltimore, commissioned
1916 - US invades Cuba for 3rd time, this to end corrupt Menocal regime
1917 - Russian revolution breaks out (in Petrograd/St Petersburg)
1920 - Denmark & Cuba join the League of Nations
1924 - Coal mine explosion kills 171 at Castle Gate, UT
1927 - Pan American Airlines incorporates
1929 - US worker union commission reports of slavery in Liberia
1930 - Mahatma Gandhi starts civil disobedience in India
1934 - Edwin Hubble photo shows as many galaxies as Milky Way has stars
1941 - 1st baseball player drafted into WWII (Hugh Mulcahy, Phillies)
1942 - Japanese forces captures Rangoon, Burma
1943 - 335 allied bombers attack Neurenberg; Limited gambling legalized in Mexico
1945 - 53 Amsterdammers executed by Nazi occupiers; Phyllis M. Daley is 1st black nurse sworn-in as US Navy ensign
1946 - 1st helicopter licensed for commercial use (New York NY)
1948 - Supreme Court rules relg instructions in pub schools unconstitutional
1950 - Marshall Voroshilov of USSR announces they developed atomic bomb
1951 - International Table Tennis Federation bans Egypt (for refusing to play Israel)
1952 - Antoine Pinay forms French government
1957 - Israeli troops leave Egypt; Suez Canal re-opened for minor ships
1959 - Groucho, Chico & Harpo's final TV appearance together
1959 - Pro-Egyptian coup fails in Mosul Iraq
1961 - US nuclear submarine Patrick Henry arrives at Scottish naval base of Holy Loch from South Carolina in a record underseas journey of 66 days 22 hours
1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1963 - Syrian Arab Republic Revolution Day: Military coup in Syria
1965 - 1st US combat forces arrive in South Vietnam (3,500 Marines)
1966 - An IRA bomb destroyed Nelson's Column in Dublin; Casey Stengel elected to Hall of Fame
1968 - Students demonstrate in Warsaw
1971 - Radio Hanoi broadcasts Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner"
1972 - 1st airship flown over Britain in 20 years (Europa); 1st flight of the Goodyear blimp
1973 - Eisenhower Tunnel, world's highest/US longest, opens
1974 - Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris France
1976 - 1,774 kg (largest observed) stony meteorite falls in Jilin, China
1979 - 1st extraterrestrial volcano discovered (Jupiter's satellite Io); China withdraws invasion troops from Vietnam; Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) transported 38 miles overland from Palmdale
1983 - House Foreign Affairs Committee endorses nuclear weapons freeze with USSR; IBM releases PC DOS version 2.0; President Reagan calls the USSR an "Evil Empire"
1986 - 4 French TV crew members are abducted in west Beirut Lebanon; Japanese probe Suisei passes Halley's Comet at 109,800 km
1987 - FBI apprehends most wanted Claude L Dallas, Jr in California
1991 - Planeloads of US troops arrive home from the Persian Gulf, Iraq hands over 40 foreign journalists & 2 American soldiers it captured
1994 - B737 collides with Ilyushin-86 in New Dehli, at least 8 killed; Defense Department announces smoking ban in workplaces; Train accident at Pinetown, Natal kills 47
1995 - Costis Stephanopoulos becomes President of Greece; Dutch Liberal Party wins Provincial-National elections

Birthdays
1495 - Juan de Dios, saint/founder (Brothers of Mercy)
1748 - Willem V. Batavus, Prince of Orange-Nassau
1783 - Hannah Hoes Van Buren, wife of President Martin Van Buren (1837-41) (died 1819)
1787 - Karl Ferdinand von Grafe, helped create modern plastic surgery
1799 - Simon Cameron Secretary of War (Union), died in 1889
1836 - Matthew Calbraith Butler, Confederate Major General
1839 - James Mason Crafts, US chemist (Friedel-Crafts-synthesis)
1841 - Oliver Wendell Holmes, 59th Supreme Court justice (1902-32)
1862 - Joseph Lee helped develop playgrounds
1879 - Otto Hahn German physicist/chemist (Nobel 44, radiothorium/actinium, co-discoverer-nuclear fission)
1886 - Edward Kendall chemist, isolated cortisone (Nobel 1950)
1892 - Mátyás Rákosi Hungarian party leader/premier (1952-53)
1898 - Theophilus E. Dönges, South African minister of Internal Affairs
1918 - Alan Hale [MacKahan], Jr., actor (Skipper Jonas Grumby-Gilligan's Island)
1923 - Booth Colman, actor (Zaius-Planet of the Apes); Juan M. G. "Wancho" Evertsz, premier of Dutch Antilles (NVP, 1973-77)
1925 - Petrus Steenkamp, Dutch politician (KVP/CDA)
1937 - Juvenal Hayarimana, President of Rwanda (1973-94)
1939 - Mike Lowry (Representative-WA)
1945 - Jim Chapman (Representative-TX)
1952 - Vladimir Vladimirovich Vasyutin, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-14)

Passings
0883 - Albumasar [Ahmad Aboe M Gafar al-Balkhi], Arabic astronomer,
1144 - Celestine II [Guido], Italian Pope (1143-44), dies in battle
1403 - Bajezid I Jildirim, 4th sultan of Turkey (1389-1403), dies at 42
1466 - Francesco Sforza, Italian condottiere/duke of Milan, dies at 64
1550 - Juan de Dios, Portuguese / Spanish saint (Brothers of Mercy), dies at 55
1638 - Jacob C. van Neck, Admiral/mayor of Amsterdam, dies at about 73
1661 - Jules Mazarin, Italian cardinal/premier of France, dies at 58
1702 - William III, Dutch King of England (1689-1702), dies at 51
1754 - Don José de Carvajal bon Lancaster, Spanish minister of Foreign affairs, dies
1862 - Nat Gordon, last pirate, hanged in New York NY for stealing 1,000 slaves
1874 - Millard Fillmore, 13th President (1850-53), dies of at 74
1889 - Jens/John Ericsson, Sweden/US, engineer (fire extinguisher), dies at 85
1901 - Karl Freiherr von Stumm-Halberg, German politician, dies at 64
1917 - Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Dutch count/air pioneer, dies at 78
1923 - Johannes S. van der Waals, Dutch physicist (Nobel 1910), dies at 85
1930 - William Howard Taft, 27th US President (1909-13)/Chief Justice, dies at 72
1945 - H.J. Jamin, Dutch resistance fighter, dies in Buchenwald; Jan Beekes resistance fighter, executed at 26
1951 - The Honeymoon Killers (Martha Beck & Raymond Fernandez) die in electric chair
1955 - Clementine, Princess of Belgium, wife of V. Napoleon Bonaparte, dies at 82
1959 - Abdel Wahab Shawwaf, Iraqi Colonel/putschist, murdered
1985 - Thomas Creighton, US heart patient (3 implants in 46 hours), dies at 33
1994 - Knut Haukelid, Norway/US resistance fighter (Rjukan 1943), dies at 82
1996 - Jack Malcolm Thorpe Fleming, Churchill commando, dies at 89

Reported Missing in Action
1967
The following USN personnel reported MIA when their A3B disappeared on a strike mission:
Crain, Carroll O. (TN);

Galvin, Ronald E. (IL)

Pawlish, George F. (CO);

1971
Anshus, Richard C., US Army (MN); OH6A shot down (observer, w/Prather), released by PRG March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Grantham, Robert E., US Army (CA); OH6A shot down (observer, w/Hale)

Hale, John D., US Army (KY); OH6A shot down (pilot, w/Grantham)

Prather, Phillip D., US Army (TX); OH6A shot down (pilot, w/Anshus), released by PRG March, 1973 - retired as a CW4 - deceased November, 1997