Manama, Bahrain (April 24, 20060 - Combined Forces Maritime Component Commander Vice Adm. Patrick Walsh and Commander, Combined Task Force One Five Zero (CTF-150), Pakistani Rear Adm. Shahid Iqbal speaks to the media following CTF-150’s change of command ceremony aboard HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (F802). Iqbal relieved Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Hank Ort as CTF-150. U.S. Navy photo by Illustrator Draftsman 2nd Class Danny Asberry

The Milblog Conference was awesome. By the time all was said and done, I'd met a number of top-notch bloggers....Matt (BlackFive), Holly Aho, Andi (Andi's World), MaryAnn (Soldiers' Angels Germany)ArmyWifeToddlerMom, Carla (SomeSoldiersMom), Laurie (Soldiers' Angels New York), Capt. B (One Marine's View), John of Argghhh, FbL (Fuzzilicious Thinking); Stacy (Keep My Soldier Safe), David G (Reverse Retina), David M. (The Thunder Run), the Friday-night-kilt-sporting Taco (Sandgram), and others.

Holly and I discovered that all grills are not alike. How the heck can you call a place a grill and serve absolutely no - repeat no- hamburgers? There oughta be a law...

One of the nicest things about the conference was the sense of community. There was a real sense of belonging at the conference, with small blogs just as welcome as larger blogs.

And the panel discussions were wonderful. Covering topics like MSM coverage (or lack thereof), OPSEC concerns, cathartic value of a blog, and the growing importance of blogs in the news community, the panelists were knowledgeable, and entertaining. I was suprised at just how quickly the day went by.

One of the highlights for me was when Capt. B was speaking of the difference between how the MSM covered a story, and what happened. He talked about a terrorist who killed his own nephew in an attempt to shoot U.S. troops - because his nephew happened to be standing between him and his targets. Casualties in that incident were covered, but there was no mention of the fact that a terrorist was willing to kill his own family to get to our Heroes.

Other hightlights were the comments by two Iraqis, one of whom was a Kurd. Both noted that the American presence was a positive - and they were grateful. One cited the need for American assistance "forever." He noted that under Saddam, women were "like slaves." He said that before the Americans came, the Iraqis were not able to breathe free, and were "not human."

We also learned about The War Tapes. Premiering at the Tribeca film festival this weekend, and then bound for a general release, this is one you won't want to miss. It's filmed entirely by troops in the field.

Andi and all those who worked on the logistics of the conference deserve one tremendous HOOAHH. Check-in went smoothly, and we had internet access to allow for live blogging and participation in the chat. The buffet luncheon at the JurysDoyle was top-notch, too.

A couple of other things learned at the conference -

- Marines are pretty darned good at giving the MSM heck.

- what Taco wears (or doesn't) under his kilt


The trip home was less than stellar, but that's a story for another post.

BAGHDAD OPERATION — An Iraqi special police officer prepares to conduct a joint cordon and search operation with U.S. Army soldiers for illegal weapons and munitions in Baghdad, Iraq, April 10, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Bart A. Bauer

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Baghdad Minibus Bomb Kills 2
Bush: I'd Do it Again

Operation Enduring Freedom
Coalition Forces Kill 8 Taliban Rebels in Afghanistan

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Assault on Egypt - Third strike on Sinai resort
Tourists describe carnage after Egypt bombs
3 Arrested in Egyptian Resort Bombings
Life or Death - Jury deliberates for second day
FBI Probe After CIA Leak
Friend: CIA Officer Not Source on Prisons
US seeks death penalty for Moussaoui

Other Military News
Army Artillery Gets a Makeover

Immigration
Hispanic Leaders Get Death Threats Over Immigration
Bush Talks Immigration
Bush: Massive Deportation Is Unrealistic

Worldwide Wackos
Iran to suspend IAEA ties if sanctions imposed

Politics
Gauging Gas Costs
Greek leftists greet Rice with violence

Oddities
Woman nabbed driving corpse across country
Axe-wielding men abduct dad from wedding

Other News of Note
Group Wants Prof Punished for Anti-Muslim E-Mail

Fox News
Lay Attempts to Deflect 'Lies'
Nepal Selects New Leader; Opposition Cancels Strike
Abducted Girl Found OK
Ken Lay: 'A Lot of Lies'- Video: Lay Takes Stand
South Korean Pledges to Defend Islands from Japan
Stocks to Watch: DuPont
NEW! Small Business Page
NEW! Cybersecurity Center

Reuters: Top News
US not ruled out WTO complaint over China piracy
Suicide bombing at Sri Lanka army HQ
Hassidic leader Teitelbaum dies
China condemns Falun Gong but spares U.S. criticism
Java volcano residents wait for signs from nature
Global warming behind record 2005 storms: experts
Nokia sells over 5 mln N-series multimedia phones
ABC, unions reach deal on cell phone TV shows
Slow death consumes Oklahoma mining town
Spanish architecture enjoys new golden age
Transgene vaccine shows cervical-lesion promise
World Bank criticized over anti-malaria efforts
EU judges question Microsoft in hearing
S.Africa's Netcare buys control of UK's GHG
EBay launches Express, new instant-buying service
Intel: Too Pricey Still
On the Radar: USB Holding

AP World News
Rather: Couric Will Need to Be a Leader
Sun CEO Steps Down After 22
Heat and Clippers Take 2-0 Series Lead
Mobley, Brand Lead Clippers Past Nuggets
Md. Boy Held in Deaths of Mother, Brother
Tornadoes Touch Down in Central Oklahoma
Wade Clutch As Heat Go Up 2-0 on Bulls
Study: Mormon Crickets Invade to Survive
Madden's Hat Trick Leads Devils Over NYR
5 Kan. Teens Charged With Threat to School
Povich, Others Sued for Sex Harassment

Military.com
Suit Claims DoD Data Use Illegal
Car Bombs Kill 10, Wound 80

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES INTERDICT ENEMIES

PAKISTANI ADMIRAL BECOMES FIRST REGIONAL COMMANDER OF MARITIME TASK FORCE

MARINES BRING MEDICAL CARE TO KUNAR PROVINCE

ANA CHIEF OF STAFF TOURS ASADABAD

COALITION ASSISTS WITH PLANE CRASH IN HELMAND

ANA TACTICAL TRAINING HOUSE PROVIDES ADVANCED SKILLS

TERRORISTS' IED KILLS 2 IRAQIS, WOUNDS 7 CHILDREN

WEAPONS CACHE FOUND IN NEW BAGHDAD NEIGHBORHOOD

THREE IRAQI MEN, ONE WOMAN DETAINED

MND-B SOLDIERS UNCOVER LARGE WEAPONS CACHE, BOOBY TRAP

EIGHT SUSPECTED TERRORISTS DETAINED BY MND-B SOLDIERS

Department of Defense
Unity Government Huge Accomplishment - Story
Victory in Iraq Will be Blow to Terror Ideology - Story
Bush Lauds Marines at Twentynine Palms
Task Force Faces Horn of Africa 'Complexity' - Story
Small Projects Make Big Changes in Ethiopia
U.S. Units Help Ethiopians Build Capacity
Military Commissions to Resume at GITMO - Story
Pakistani Admiral Commands Maritime Force - Story

IRAQIS TAKE THE LEAD
New Boats Help Police Secure Waterways - Story
Iraqi Police Force Takes the Lead in Baghdad

REBUILDING IRAQ
Iraqi School Gets New Playground Equipment - Story - Photos
Iraqi Oil Terminal Increases Loading Capacity

ON THE GROUND
IN IRAQ
Brigade Chinooks Deliver Vital Supplies
Soldiers Provide Medical, Humanitarian Aid
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Visits Iraqi Soldiers - Photos

IN AFGHANISTAN
U.S. Army Engineer Unit Ready for Afghan Duty
Afghan-Led Forces Detain Insurgents

FACE OF DEFENSE
Photos Document 50 Years of Air Force History - Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Ohio Initiative Connects Families - Story
Louisville Festival Ends With Bang

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Iraqi Airmen Part of Iraq's Future
Bush: Iraq Reaches Milestone
Troops Hold Suspects, Nab Weapons
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (PDF)
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Coalition Assists Crash Victims
Police Open Training Facility
Afghans Report Bombs, Fly Mission
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Bush Confident in Terror War Victory
Troops Killed in Iraq, Afghanistan
U.S. Troops Killed in Combat
U.S. Soldiers Detain Suspects
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
Anzio VBSS Team Trains to Deploy
Pentagon Channel on Charter Flights
General Honors Missing Soldier
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Marine Casualty - Story

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

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
1185 - Sea battle at Dan-no-ura - Minamoto Yoritomo beats Taira family
1449 - Anti-pope Felix V resigns
1507 - Geographer Martin Waldseemuller 1st uses name America
1604 - Count Maurits' army lands at Cadzand
1607 - Battle at Gibraltar - Dutch fleet beats Spanish/Portuguese fleet
1626 - Battle at the Dessauer bridge - Monarch Albrecht von Wallenstein beats Earl of Mansfeld
1660 - London Convention Parliament meets & votes to restore Charles II
1678 - French troops conquer Ypres
1684 - Patent granted for the thimble
1707 - Battle of Almansa - Franco-Spanish forces defeat Anglo-Portuguese
1719 - Daniel Defoes publishes "Robinson Crusoe"
1747 - Prince Willem V appointed viceroy of Zealand
1792 - Guillotine 1st used - to execute highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier
1850 - Paul Julius Reuter uses 40 pigeons to carry stock market prices
1859 - Ground broken for Suez Canal
1861 - 7th New York arrives to reinforce Washington, DC; Battle of Lavaca, TX
1862 - Admiral Farragut occupies New Orleans, LA
1864 - Battle of Marks' Mill, AR (Camden Expedition)
1867 - Tokyo is opened for foreign trade
1881 - 250,000 Germans petition to bar foreign Jews from entering Germany; French troops occupy Algeria & Tunisia
1886 - Sigmund Freud opens practice at Rathausstrasse 7, Vienna
1891 - President Benjamin Harrison visits San Francisco
1898 - US declares war on Spain over Cuba
1901 - Erve Beck hits the 1st home run in the American League
1901 - New York becomes 1st state requiring auto license plates ($1 fee)
1905 - Whites win right to vote in South Africa
1915 - 78,000 ANZAC troops land at Gallipoli
1925 - Paul von Hindenburg elected 2nd President of Germany (Adolf Hitler is 3rd)
1926 - Persian cossack officer Reza Chan crowns himself Shah Palawi
1927 - Spain routes 20,000 soldiers to Morocco (uprising Rifkabylen)
1928 - Buddy, a German Shepherd, becomes 1st guide dog for the blind
1933 - US & Canada drop Gold Standard
1941 - Operation Merkur - Hitler orders conquest of Kreta
1942 - Luftwaffe bombs Bath
1945 - 46 countries convene United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, CA
1945 - Clandestine Radio 1212, used to hoax Nazi Germany's final transmission; Last Boeing B-17 attack against Nazi Germany; US & Soviet forces meet at Torgau Germany on Elbe River; Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java; British troops reach Grebbe line Netherlands; Red army completely surrounds Berlin
1947 - Trial against WWII mayor of Amsterdam (Edward Voûte) begins
1950 - Chuck Cooper becomes the 1st Black to play in the NBA; Ambon proclaims RMS (Republik Maluku Selatan)
1952 - American Bowling Congress approves use of an automatic pinsetter; German "Country" Bathe-Württemberg forms
1953 - Scientists identify DNA
1954 - Bell labs announces 1st solar battery (New York, NY); British raid Nairobi, Kenya (25,000 Mau Mau suspects are arrested)
1957 - 1st experimental sodium nuclear reactor operated; Ibrahim Hashim forms Jordanian government
1959 - St. Lawrence Seaway linking Atlantic & Great Lakes, opens to shipping
1960 - 1st submerged circumnavigation of Earth completed (Triton)
1961 - Mercury/Atlas rocket lifts off with an electronic mannequin; Robert Noyce patents integrated circuit; Premier Moïse Tsjombe of Katanga arrested in Congo
1962 - US Ranger spacecraft crash lands on the Moon; Cleveland sends Harry Chiti to Mets for a player to be named later - on June 15, the Mets send Chiti back to Cleveland
1967 - Britain grants internal self-government to Swaziland; Abortion legalized in Colorado
1971 - US canal rights in Nicaragua & rights to Corn Islands expire; About 200,000 anti-Vietnam War protesters march in Washington, DC
1974 - NFL moves the goal posts & adopts sudden-death playoff; German Chancellor Willy Brandt's Secretary, Günther Guillaume, found to be a spy; Leo Tindemans forms Belgium government; Marcello Caetano overthrown in Portugal; he is exiled to Madeira and later to Brazil (Carnation revolution)
1975 - 1st Boeing Jetfoil revenue service, Hong Kong to Macao; Mario Soares' Socialist Party wins 1st free election in Portugal; West German embassy blown up in Stockholm, Sweden
1976 - Cub centerfielder Rick Monday rescues US flag from 2 fans trying to set it on fire; Elections in Vietnam for a National Assembly to reunite the country; Portugal adopts constitution
1978 - Supreme Court rules pension plans can't require women to pay more
1979 - Peace treaty between Israel & Egypt goes into effect
1980 - Announcement of Jimmy Carter hostage rescue bungle in Iran
1982 - In accordance with Camp David Accord, Israel completes Sinai withdrawal
1983 - "Nightline" expands from ½ hour to a full hour
1985 - West German Parliament rules it illegal to deny the holocaust
1986 - ETA bomb attack kills 5 in Madrid
1988 - NASA launches space vehicle S-211
1990 - Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by shuttle Discovery; Violeta Barrios de Chamorro begins a 6 year term as Nicaragua's President
1993 - Russia elects Boris Yeltsin
1994 - Bomb attack on taxi stand in Johannesburg - killed; King Azlan Shah of Malaysia resigns; Mexican businessman & billionaire Angel Losada kidnapped; Tsutomu Hata elected premier of Japan

Birthdays
1214 - Louis IX, king of France (1226-70)
1228 - Koenraad IV, Roman Catholic German king (1237-54)
1284 - Edward II, king of England (1307-27)
1599 - Oliver Cromwell, Puritan lord protector of England (1653-58)
1608 - Jean, duke of Orléans / brother of French King Louis XIII / General
1769 - Mark Isambard Brunel, engineer/inventor
1825 - Charles Ferdinand Dowd, US, standardized time zones
1840 - James Dearing, Confederate Brigadier General
1862 - Edward Grey English, Viscount of Fallodon/minister of Foreign affairs
1874 - Guglielmo Marconi, inventor (radio/Nobel 1909)
1900 - Lord [Hubert Miles] Gladwyn [Jebb], MP (Liberal); Wolfgang Ernst Pauli Austria, physicist (Pauli inhibition/Nobel 1945)
1906 - William J. Brennan, Jr., 92nd Supreme Court judge (1956-90)
1914 - Marcos Perez Jimenez, President/dictator Venezuela
1939 - Veronica Sutherland, British diplomat
1940 - Al Pacino, actor (And Justice For All, Godfather, Scorpio)
1941 - Lawrence J. Smith (Representative-FL)
1942 - Jon Kyl (Representative-AZ)
1951 - Ian McCartney, MP

Passings
1295 - Sancho IV the Brave, scholar/king of Castile/León
1342 - Benedict XII [Jacques Fournier], Pope (1334-42)
1607 - Don Juan Alvarez, Spanish Admiral (Gibraltar), dies in battle; Jacob van Heemskerck, Dutch Admiral (Nova Zambia), dies in battle
1647 - Matthias Gallas, Austrian earl of Campo/duke of Lucerna, dies at 62
1792 - Nicolas J. Pelletier, Frenchman, first to be guillotined
1862 - Charles Ferguson Smith, US Union General-Major, dies of infection at 55
1928 - Pjotr N. Wrangel, Russian baron General, dies at 49
1960 - Amanullah, emir/king of Afhanistan (1919-28), dies at 67
1981 - Dixie, a mouse who lived 6½ years, dies
1992 - Dany [Daniël S] Tuijnman, Dutch minister of traffic & water, dies at 77
1994 - George Gennimatas, Greek minister of National Economy, dies at 55; Talaat Yassin Hamman, militant Muslim leader, shot dead at 32

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Stackhouse, Charles D., USN (WI); A4C shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Commander - alive and well as of 1998

Weskamp, Robert Larry, USAF (CO); F105 shot down - remains returned March, 1974

1968
Crossman, Gregory J., USAF (MI); F4D shot down (w/Mitchell)

Guillory, Hubia J., US Army (LA); KIA in ambush - remains left behind

Kelley, Daniel M., US Army (MA); KIA in ambush - remains left behind

Mitchell, Albert C., USAF (NY); F4D shot down (w/Crossman)

Scott, David L., US Army (IL); KIA in ambush - remains left behind

1971
Lemon, Jeffrey C., USAF (IL); F4D shot down (w/Sigafoos)

Odom, Chester R. II, US Army; believed working with VC

Sigafoos, Walter H. III, USAF (PA); F4D shot down (w/Lemon)

1972
Brownlee, Robert W. US Army (IL); evaded across Dak Poko river

1975
Walsh, Brian - led away at gunpoint

Yim, John Sung - possibly beheaded