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Thursday, August 24, 2006

Do You Have What It Takes?



THE DATE IS SET...

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES....

TO SURVIVE?

MARINE CORPS ULTIMATE CHALLENGE RUN

- Team Mud Run

- 5K Certified Fun Run

- 10K Cross Country Challenge

Date: September 23, 2006

Time: 8:00am EST

Info: (803)783-0759

Website: http://www.usmcmudrun.active.com/

Marine Corps Reserve Center
5490 Leesburg Road
Eastover, South Carolina 29044


A Note from Pam: This race, the largest of its type in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, consists of a 4.3 mile course with plenty of obstacles, including plenty of mud and water.

This is one heck of a mudrun, and supports a number of great causes, including:

  • The Marine Corps Coordinating Council of South Carolina, which assists wounded Marines and their families, and the families of fallen South Carolina Marines.


  • High school scholarships named for fallen Marines


  • Last year, there were approximately 300 four-person teams competing!

    The website has the details, a downloadable registration form, and pictures.

    Diyala governor visits FOB Warhorse to discuss Iraqi law issues

    Diyala Province's Governor Ra'ad Rashid Mulla Juwad Al-Timimi talks with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Anne Patterson International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, as Col. Brian Jones, commander, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, takes notes during a conference on the state of the judicial system in Diyala Province Aug. 14 at Forward Operating Base Warhorse. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, Aug. 14, 2006)


    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    August 16, 2006
    SR# 081606-140

    by Pfc. Paul J. Harris
    3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team,
    4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office


    BAQUBAH, Iraq (August 15, 2006) -- The Diyala Province's Governor, Ra'ad Rashid Mulla Juwad Al-Timimi, joined Anne Patterson, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, on Aug. 14 at Forward Operating Base Warhorse to talk about the condition of Diyala's legal system.

    Col. Brian Jones, commander, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, hosted the discussion which focused on how to bolster Iraq?s judicial system and the status of the police force in Diyala Province.

    The State Department's Provincial Reconstruction Team, which works with local governments to foster economic development and infrastructure repair, is working with Iraqis to find resources to improve their courthouses and other infrastructure.

    To facilitate law enforcement, Lt. Col. Chris Johnson, deputy team leader, PRT, 3rd HBCT, 4th ID, said Iraqis need training, computers and various other infrastructure improvements. Additional training could provide a marshal force to secure judges who preside over high profile cases such as the prosecution of insurgents. Judges who preside over these cases are routinely targeted by the insurgency in Iraq.

    "Ideally we would like the judges in the provinces to try the insurgents, but for now they are being tried in Baghdad," said Maj. Alyssa Schwenk, brigade judge advocate, 3rd HBCT. "Provincial judges are trying straight criminal cases."

    "Rule of law is a foundation for democracy, if there is no law or respect for peoples rights you do not have a democracy," said Johnson. "People have to feel safe and feel that their government is empowered."

    Schwenk added that it was important for the rule of law to be equally representative in all areas of Iraq and not just in Baghdad.

    "Unless we can establish a rule of law that works Iraq will not be able to stabilize," Schwenk said. "If they (the Iraqi people) have no faith in the system then it will result in anarchy."

    Under more than 30 years of rule under Saddam Hussein, Iraqis floundered on the global scene because they had limited access to knowledge and advances in technology.

    They have plenty of bright and educated people but these people have not been in contact with the latest developments in their professions, commented PRT leader Kiki Munshi.

    "We can put up the odd courthouse or jail but what they really need at the police and judge level is more access to knowledge," she said.

    However she was quick to add that the governor, who is pleased with the efforts of coalition forces, does not want a wholesale American judicial system.

    "The governor asked Ambassador Patterson to take the message back to Washington 'they need us stay the course in Iraq,'" Munshi said. "But they also wanted us to work with them, fully recognizing their unique Iraqi culture, its value and their desire to retain that culture."



    Diyala Province's Governor Ra'ad Rashid Mulla Juwad Al-Timimi speaks at a conference on the state of Diyala Provinces' judicial system in Iraq Aug. 14 at Forward Operating Base Warhorse. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, Aug. 14, 2006)

    A Blogger Hits the Presses...

    Blogger Chris Wagoner, over at One American's View...Like it or Not, has been featured in a guest editorial:
    Flag flown to honor the men and women who serve America
    By CHRIS WAGONER
    August 20. 2006 6:01AM

    The other day I held a flag that made me cry.

    Let me try to explain.I had the chance to talk with a former student of mine (from the police academy) who just got back within the last week or so from Iraq/Afghanistan, where he served in the U.S. Army. He served in Task Force Phoenix, at Base Blackhorse in Afghanistan for almost two years.

    We talked of his service time, how he felt about being home and how great it was to be back in the United States and what he looked forward to now that he was settling in a bit.

    We talked of his lovely wife, who I helped get his paperwork together to submit for a job. He is in the process of being hired as a deputy sheriff in our county. A really squared away young man, he will do a great job. Then he did me in.

    I saw him carry a small bag in when he walked into my office, but I really figured it was paperwork and stuff for his testing he was doing in the hiring process here at the academy. But he reached in a pulled out an American flag...

    Make sure to check it out!

    Sigonella, Sicily (Aug. 23, 2006) - Equipment Operator 3rd Class Steven Peeler, assigned to Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella Public Works Department, digs a hole to fix a water leakage. Public Works provides support to all of NAS Sigonella and tenant commands. NAS Sigonella provides logistical support for Commander, 6th Fleet and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in the Mediterranean area. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Chad Zenthoefer

    A Marine Got There First

    Over at BlackFive you can learn an important lesson: If you're going to rob a store, don't pick one that Marines shop in:
    By Pat Reavy
    Deseret Morning News

    A man who had just been released from jail was sent right back Monday after police say he picked the wrong store to attempt a robbery.

    The 30-year-old man was in line at a 7-Eleven, 2175 E. 9400 South, just before 8 p.m. When he got to the counter he asked the female clerk for a carton of cigarettes, said Sandy Police Sgt. Victor Quezada. But after he received them he walked out without paying, Quezada said.

    The clerk told another female clerk who followed him outside the doors and told him to stop.

    Instead, the man turned around and punched the clerk in the face, Quezada said.

    James Sjostrom was standing in line right behind the man who took the cigarettes and saw the entire thing unfold...
    Read what happened next...at BlackFive

    by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika
    August 23, 2006
    Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division fly to Forward Operating Base Dagger near Tikrit, Iraq, aboard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army.

    In Today's News - Thursday, August 24, 2006

    Quote of the Day
    And each man stands with his face in the light
    Of his own drawn sword,
    Ready to do what a hero can.

    -- Elizibeth Barrett Browning, Poems Before Congress, 1860

    News of Note
    Operation Iraqi Freedom
    White House Brushes Off McCain's Iraq War Criticism
    2 U.S. Soldiers Killed During Anti-Terror Raid in Iraq

    Operation Enduring Freedom
    Coalition Refutes Taliban Claims
    U.S.-Led Afghan Operation Kills Seven Al Qaeda Agents

    Homeland Security / War on Terror
    12 Detained After 'Suspicious' Behavior on Flight to India
    Prosecutors Take Case of 12 Men Arrested on NWA Flight
    Six kidnapped oil workers freed in Nigeria: govt
    Custody extended for bomb plot suspects
    Second Suspect in Attempted German Train Blasts Nabbed

    Other Military News
    Female Citadel cadets report assaults

    Mideast Ceasefire
    New Zealand Won't Negotiate With Journos' Kidnappers
    Video: 'Fairly Good Condition'
    State Dept. Rejects Demands by Journalists' Kidnappers
    Video: 'Fairly Good Condition'
    Text: Kidnappers' Statement
    Syria Rejects Force on Border
    Lebanon Calls on U.S. to Help End Israel's Air, Sea Blockade
    Palestinian killed in Israeli army raid in Gaza

    Immigration / Border Control
    SWAT teams may step up role on U.S.-Mexico border - Video

    Worldwide Wackos
    Iran's Nuke Response 'Falls Short'
    U.N. Security Council sanctions loom - Video
    Congress report faults intelligence on Iran
    Iran, N.Korea spur PAC-3 missile demand
    U.S. warns banks of Iran, N.Korea links
    North Korea's Kim may visit China next week: report
    Iran urges West to see 'positive' signs

    In the Courts
    Families, Survivor Sue Sago Mine Operators
    Judge orders probe of leak in spy case

    U.N. News
    Annan plans Mideast trip to Syria and Iran - Video

    Mother Nature
    Tropical Storm Debby Weakens in Eastern Atlantic
    Video: Mountain Lion Wrecks Havoc
    Katrina: One Year Later
    New Orleans questions
    Katrina recovery has "gross inequalities": Oxfam
    Nagin urges evacuees to come home
    More stories, video from New Orleans...
    Bush: Katrina recovery will take time
    Rebuilding a Shattered Art Scene

    News from My Neck of the Woods
    Lieberman's lead on anti-war rival narrows
    Lieberman Back on Ballot

    Oddities
    Police crack down on striptease funerals...
    Robber mistakes town hall for a bank
    Medicare erroneously pays patients $50M
    New restaurant bears Hitler's name

    Other News of Note
    Karr's 'Fascination' Revealed in 2001
    Video: DNA May Not Be Key to Case
    Video: Is Karr Planning Insanity Defense?
    Comments by JonBenet suspect fuel skepticism - Video
    Bodies recovered from Russian plane crash site - Video
    Mourning Relatives Visit Site of Russian Jet Crash
    New 'Survivor' divides groups by race

    Fox News
    Astronomers: Pluto's Status as Planet Looks Doomed
    Pluto No More? - Astronomers to vote today
    Company: Stem Cell Process Doesn't Destroy Embryos
    Apple to Pay $100 Million to Settle iPod Patent Lawsuits
    Unprovoked Attacks Against Homeless on Rise in U.S.
    China Pledges to Use Prosperity to Promote Peace
    Stocks to Watch: Apple

    Reuters: Top News
    Darfur sex attacks rise as security deteriorates
    Brazilian policeman convicted over Rio massacre
    NASA names new moon spaceships Orion
    Apple to pay $100 mln to Creative in settlement
    Canon to start making its own photo printers
    California middle-class packing up, heading east
    Wish you were here? Mediterranean jellyfish pose problem
    Sleep apnea in kids linked to brain damage
    1 in 10 teenage girls self-harm: study
    Criticism of Tom Cruise stirs Hollywood debate
    "Trainspotting" author says his wild days are over
    Bernanke gets message across
    Stocks slide on weak housing data, Iran standoff
    Home builder shares fall on existing home data - Video
    Chico's falls 16 pct on Inet
    Medtronic firms after results in line with views
    American Woodmark misses Street view
    Long-term care coverage
    Value investors eye Getty
    Apple to pay $100 mln to Creative in settlement
    McDonald's says president and COO Roberts resigns
    Condos may become rentals in slow U.S. housing market
    Weyerhaeuser to merge copier paper unit with Domtar
    Michigan economic gloom tied to autos: economist

    AP World News
    McPhee not counting calories on tour
    White Sox finally win, but lose Thome
    Riley seeks 'two-peat' with Miami Heat
    Huff keys wacky rally as Astros win 7-3
    Tom Cruise's star likely to shine on
    Dow ends down 42, Nasdaq closes down 15
    Anthony's 35 helps U.S. improve to 4-0
    IBM to acquire Internet Security Systems
    Pastor accused of molesting girls
    Vegas closing 24-hour marriage office
    Woman admits stealing to play lottery

    Military.com
    Navy's New Tack on Mine Warfare
    Vets Await Ruling on Benefits Enhancements
    Commanders Want THAAD Fielded Early

    CENTCOM: News Releases
    TRIPARTITE COMMISSION MEETS FOR 18TH TIME

    UNNAMED TALIBAN SPOKESPERSON MAKES FALSE CLAIMS TO MEDIA

    TALIBAN MAKE ADDITIONAL FALSE CLAIMS

    EXTREMIST'S ROCKETS INJURE NOMADS

    SUSPECTED TERRORISTS CAPTURED NEAR PARU KHYL VILLAGE

    IA, MND-B SOLDIERS SEIZE WEAPONS, MUNITIONS, DETAIN 5 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS

    USJFCOM
    Speech-to-speech translation capability makes its way to Iraq breaking down language barriers - podcast

    Department of Defense
    NEWS UPDATES
    For Top News Visit DefenseLink

    ON THE GROUND
    Air Force ‘Legal Eagles’ Meet Afghan Lawyers - Story
    Civil Affairs Soldiers Monitor Progress - Story
    Seahawk 2006 Hones Anti-Terrorism Skills - Story
    Purple Heart Recipient Praises Training - Story

    IN IRAQ
    Iraq's Army Striding Towards Independence
    Baghdad Shows Progress, Battle Not Over
    Soldiers Help Citizens of Southwest Baghdad
    Local Leaders Discuss Progress, Stability
    Chief of Staff Visits Soldiers at Speicher
    Iraqi Police Receive Protective Vests

    IN AFGHANISTAN
    A-10 Thunderbolts Surge for Afghan Offensive
    Chief Master Sgt. Praises Afghan Progress
    Security Forces ‘Fly Away’ to Support Mission

    BACKGROUND
    IRAQ
    Renewal In Iraq
    Iraq: Security, Stability
    Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
    Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
    Iraq Daily Update
    This Week in Iraq
    Multinational Force Iraq
    State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
    'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
    Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
    Iraq Reconstruction
    Maps

    AFGHANISTAN
    Afghanistan Update
    Maps

    WAR ON TERRORISM
    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

    CASUALTIES
    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

    Today in History
    79 - Mt. Vesuvius erupts, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum.
    410 - Rome is overrun by the Visigoths, symbolizing the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
    1572 - King Charles IX orders the massacre of thousands of French Protestants.
    1662 - The Act of Uniformity requires all English to accept the book of Common Prayer.
    1682 - Delaware is awarded to William Penn.
    1751 - In England, Thomas Colley is executed for drowning a supposed witch.
    1814 - The British sack Washington, D.C., burning the White House.
    1853 - In Saratoga Springs, NY, Chef George Crum prepares the first potato chips.
    1869 - The waffle iron is invented.
    1891 - Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.
    1909 - Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.
    1912 - The Territory of Alaska is organized.
    1912 - The U.S. passes the Anti-gag law, giving Federal employees the right to petition the government.
    1932 - Amelia Earhart completes the first non-stop transcontinental flight by a woman.
    1949 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is established.
    1950 - E.S. Sampson becomes the first U.S. Negro delegate to the U.N.; Operation Magic Carpet transports 45,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel.
    1954 - At the height of McCarthyism, the Communist Control Act is passed.
    1956 - The first non-stop transcontinental helicopter flight arrives in Washington, D.C.
    1959 - Hiram L. Fong is sworn in as the first Chinese-American Senator, while Daniel K. Inouye becomes the first Japanese-American Representative; both are from Hawaii.
    1961 - Former Nazi leader Johannes Vorster becomes South Africa's Minister of Justice.
    1966 - The U.S.S.R. launches Luna-11 for a lunar orbit.
    1968 - France becomes the world's 5th thermonuclear power.
    1970 - A bomb kills one person at the University of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center.
    1976 - Soyuz-21 returns to Earth.
    1979 - The U.N.'s Vienna office begins issuing postage stamps.
    1981 - Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20-years-to-life for the murder of Beatle John Lennon.
    1987 - It is announced that Mars may experience tornadoes.
    1989 - Pete Rose is suspended from baseball for life for gambling.
    1989 - Voyager-2 flies past Neptune.
    1990 - Iraqi troops surround embassies in Kuwait City (including the U.S. embassy).
    1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the U.S.S.R's Communist Party; the Ukraine declares its independence from the U.S.S.R.

    Birthdays
    1113 - Geoffrey Plantagenet, conquerer of Normandy
    1787 - James Weddell, Antarctic explorer (Weddell Sea)
    1898 - Albert Claude, physician, Nobel Prize winner (1974)
    1922 - Rene Levesque, Quebec premier (1976-85)
    1927 - William V. Shannon, journalist / ambassador to Ireland (1977-81)
    1944 - Gregory B. Jarvis, astronaut (STS 25)
    1946 - Richard "Dick" N. Richards, USN / astronaut (STS-28, 41, sk:50)
    1949 - Anna L. Fisher, M.D. / astronaut (STS 51-A)
    1962 - Mary E Weber, Ph.D. / astronaut

    Passings
    1991
    - Bernard Castro, patented the convertible couch

    Reported Missing in Action
    1965
    Brunhaver, Richard M., USNR (WA); A4C shot down (pilot), released by DRV February, 1973 - alive as of 1998

    Doremus, Robert H., USN (NJ); F4B shot down (NFO, w/Franke), released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive as of 1998

    Franke, Fred A., USN (NY); F4B shot down (pilot, w/Doremus), released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive and well as of 1998

    1967
    Allard, Richard M., US Army (MI); UH1H crashed after being caught in a downdraft (crewchief)
    Goff, Kenneth B., Jr., US Army (RI); UH1H crasehd after being caught in a downdraft (passenger)

    Hess, Jay C., USAF (UT); F105 shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

    Holtzman, Ronald L., US Army (VA); UH1H crashed after being caught in a downdraft (gunner)

    Schell, Richard J., US Army (MN); UH1H crashed after being caught in a downdraft (passenger)
    1968
    Heep, William Arthur, USN (CA); F4B shot down (pilot), KIA, body not recovered

    Ladewig, Melvin E., USAF (CO); F4D shot down (WSO, w/Read)

    Read, Charles H., Jr., USAF (FL); F4D shot down (pilot, w/Ladewig)

    1969
    Hatch, Paul G., US Army; escaped August, 1969

    nocashfortrash.org