Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Oct. 20, 2006) - Chief Special Operations (SEAL) Mitch Hall assigned to Naval Special Warfare Center road tests the Navy SEAL racing bike one day prior to the 2006 Ironman World Championship. Commander Naval Recruiting Command (CNRC) sponsored Hall’s bike and racing uniform in support of SEAL recruiting efforts. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ben A. Gonzales

Sadly, it looks like the milblogging community is (temporarily) losing the Tanker Bros:

This is, without a doubt, the most difficult thing I have had to write, in terms of this Blog.I'm not going to mince words with you: TankerBrothers is about to go away.

Make no mistake, it has nothing to do with not wanting to Blog anymore: on the contrary, this has been a labor of love for me. I started this blog with one goal, and only one goal: to let the American Public know what was REALLY going on in Iraq. I wanted to tell people about the War being won in the streets of Baghdad, and in the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

Unfortunately.... sometimes things don't always work out the way we want them to.

[...]

The DoD is cracking down on MilBlogs, and I wouldn't be able to continue Blogging and still be compliant with AR 25-1, the Army's Regulation governing Personal Websites. With the "running out" of local commercial Internet Service Providers in Iraq, the only bandwidth available to me would be government-owned. AR 25-1 states that I cannot use government time or resources to maintain a personal Web Site.

[...]

Read the Rest, at the Tanker Bros.

For more on how military regulations are putting the squeeze on the milbloggers, the Boston Herald writes:
Blog of War Now Camouflaged

H/T to Ros and Blackfive

TRAINING CONVOY — U.S. Army Cpl. Christopher Voros, of the 1st Cavalry Division, and fellow soldiers stand ready to go on a training convoy with participants in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference 72 at an undisclosed location, Oct. 19, 2006. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby Web Special

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S. Forces Canvas District in Baghdad for Missing GI
U.S. Soldier Reported Missing in Baghdad
Iraqi PM Announces Crackdown Targeting Violence in South
VIDEO: White House Denies Contingency Pullout Plan
White House won't shift Iraq strategy
Internecine Shiite killings resume in Iraq
Iraq Urges Coalition not to Panic, Run

Operation Enduring Freedom
$94 Million to Help Rebuild, Improve Afghan Roads and Water Systems

Homeland Security / War on Terror
WTC officials wanted more remains search
Medical Views of 9/11's Dust Show Big Gaps

Troops on Trial
Sailor Pleads Guilty to Murder

Other Military News
Debt Keeping Troops From Duty

Mid-East Ceasefire / Hamas Rising / Israel at War
Gunmen Kidnap Associated Press Photographer from Gaza Apartment
Israelis and Lebanese reach across war's divide

Immigration / Border Control
Ceremony to Accompany Border Fence Bill Signing

Worldwide Wackos
China Denies N. Korea Apologized for Nuke Test
More Nuclear Tests Worry Japan
Iran's supreme leader urges high turnout in polls
Iran: We 'Will Not Retreat One Iota' on Nuke Program
Iran warns Muslims about U.S., Israeli "plots"
Diplomats: Iran expanding enrichment
Chavez suffers international setbacks

Politics / Government
Bush Campaigns on U.S. Economy - VIDEO
GOP Rep.: Punish Reporters for Airing Sniper Video
Sen. Clinton 'Great' With an Obama Presidential Bid
Bush suggests would favor indexing retirement benefits
Bush to OPEC: high oil prices may "wreck economies"
U.S. Republicans losing crucial swing voters: poll
Harris, Nelson end up agreeing on much
Sen. Clinton Says It's Great Obama Is Weighing 2008 White House Run
Lieberman blasted on all sides at debate

Media in the Media
Republican Lawmaker Wants CNN Reporters Punished for Airing Sniper Video

Mother Nature
Earthquake With Preliminary Magnitude of 6.8 Strikes Off Coast of Japan
Mexican Resort Prepares for Weakened Hurricane

Oddities
Ah, the start of my new life! But first...
Obedient driver follows orders, crashes car

Other News of Note
Explosion at Pa. coal mine kills 1

Fox News
Ex-Enron CEO Receives 24-Year Prison Sentence
Bus Blaze Kills at Least 18 in Panama City
Stocks to Watch: Amazon and Kraft Foods
About 1,680 Pounds of Beef Recalled in E. Coli Scare
Anna Nicole Smith Skips Meeting in Paternity Dispute
Janet Jackson: No Control Over CD Chaos

Reuters: Top News
Humans living far beyond planet's means: WWF
Hungarian coalition says backs PM Gyurcsany - Video
South Korean defense minister offers to quit
Australians among world's top resource consumers
Army lawyer picked to lead post-coup Thai assembly
No solution in sight for U.S. gun violence
U.S. and EU hold climate talks despite Kyoto rift
Sony: won't quit battery business despite recalls
IBM sues Amazon over Web patents
No solution in sight for U.S. gun violence
Statin drugs may protect smokers' lungs -study
Vegetables slow memory loss in old age: study
Oil drifts below $59 on OPEC doubts - Video
Stocks set for weaker start; results in focus
Omnicom quarterly earnings rise after client wins
Dollar inches up but hemmed in ranges ahead of Fed
CME profit rises on record futures trading
Sprint could become buyout target
A fair price
Whirlpool profit up as Maytag boosts sales
BP says Q3 profits jump 58 pct on asset sales
Enron's Skilling gets 24 years
Starbucks obtains majority stake in Beijing stores
Sony: won't quit battery business despite recalls
Stocks look stretched, but outlook strong: BlackRock

AP World News
'High School Musical' concert tour set
Bledsoe benched as Giants beat Cowboys
La Russa:'I don't believe it was dirt'
Ford loses $5.8B in 3Q on sagging sales
Lawyer: Merriman's supplement to blame
Snoop Dogg caught with weapon at airport
Roethlisberger's head injury worrisome
Punter sought in stabbing surrenders
Dow hits new high on earnings optimism
LA police allege patients left on street
Some fret NYC apartment complex sale
Ohio State U. elevator death probed
Cult leader headed to execution in Ohio

Military.com
There's one Last Thing to Try
Is it Ever Going to End?
Nuclear Program Oversight Increased

CENTCOM: News Releases
U.S. MARINES CAPTURE SNIPER RIFLES, KILL 6, WOUND 4 INSURGENTS

IRAQI ARMY ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY OF NORTHERN RAMADI

SOLDIERS DETAIN MILITIA MEMBER, SEIZE WEAPONS

FIVE INSURGENTS KILLED, BUILDING DESTROYED SOUTH OF BALAD

$94 MILLION HELPS PROGRESS IN AFGHANISTAN

MND-B SOLDIERS FIND, DESTROY 2 LARGE WEAPONS CACHES

AIR STRIKE KILLS ONE TERRORIST IN JULAYBA

TERROR SUSPECT DETAINED IN MOSUL

IA SOLDIERS FIND, DETAIN SNIPER TEAM IN GHAZALIYA

AIR STRIKE KILLS ONE TERRORIST IN JULAYBA

TERROR SUSPECT DETAINED IN MOSUL

SOLDIER REPORTED AS DUTY STATUS-WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN

AIR STRIKE KILLS FIVE TERRORISTS SETTING ROADSIDE IED

NPs SEIZE IEDs IN ALl KUR MOSQUE

16 DETAINED FOLLOWING TIP FROM LOCALS

USJFCOM
USJFCOM, USTRANSCOM commanders sign joint vision statement
Command's experiment bringing focus to urban challenges
Command leadership assisted as Navy transforms officer training
USJFCOM exhibits Joint Force Projection ACTD - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Navy Leader Talks with Sailors in Afghanistan - Story
Electricity Levels in Baghdad at All Time Lows - Story
Reservists Return Proud of Work Done in Iraq - Story
172nd Soldiers Deliver 75 Generators to Schools - Story
Brigade Nets 45 Re-enlistments in October - Story

IN IRAQ
Civilian Leaders Encouraged to Support Troops
Joint Patrols Knock on Doors in Neighborhood

IN AFGHANISTAN
Warriors Share Dinner, Conversation with Locals

IN DJIBOUTI
Horn of Africa Troops Work to Stem Terrorism

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 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

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1648 - The Peace of Westphalia ends a 30-year war and the Holy Roman Empire
1795 - Austria, Prussia, and Russia make the third partition of Poland.
1836 - The match is patented.
1851 - William Lassell discovers Uranus' satellites Ariel and Umbriel.
1861 - The first transcontinental telegram is sent, ending the Pony Express.
1901 - Anna Taylor becomes the first woman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
1911 - Robert Scott's expedition leaves Cape Evans for the South Pole.
1929 - "Black Thursday" - the beginning of the stock market crash.
1931 - The George Washington Bridge (NY to NJ) opens.
1935 - Italy invades Ethiopia.
1939 - Nylon stockings go on sale for the first time in Wilmington, DE.
1940 - Japan eliminates American terms (strike, play ball) from baseball.
1943 - The Anti-nazi Clandestine Radio Soldatsender Calais begins transmitting.
1945 - The United Nations Charter takes effect.
1951 - The U.N. publishes its first postage stamps.
1952 - The Arab Liberation Movement becomes the only political party in Syria.
1956 - Soviet troops invade Hungary.
1960 - Disaster strikes on a Soviet launch pad; missile expert Nedelin and his team are believed killed (unconfirmed - the U.S.S.R. later claims he was killed in a plane crash).
1964 - Zambia gains independence from Britain.
1970 - Salvador Allende Gossens is elected president of Chile.
1973 - On the NJ Turnpike, heavy fog causes a 65-car pileup that kills 9; the Yom Kippur War officially ends.
1980 - The Polish government legalizes the independent labor union Solidarity.
1984 - Intelsat-5 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, five months after it failed.
1987 - The Senate officially rejects the nomination of Robert Bork.
1988 - Typhoon Ruby sinks a Philippine ferry; hundreds drown.
1989 - Rev. Jim Bakker is sentenced to 50 years for fraud.

Birthdays
1788 - Sarah Josepha Hale, author (Mary Had a Little Lamb)
1890 - Chicago Mainbocher, uniform designer (Red Cross, Girl Scouts, Waves)
1911 - Clarence M. Kelley, FBI head
1926 - Y.A. Tittle, NFL QB (Baltimore, SF, NY Giants, MVP 1963)
1936 - Bill Wyman England, rocker (Rolling Stones); David Nelson, actor (Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet)
1940 - F. Murray Abraham, actor (Amadeus, Mad Man)
1947 - Kevin Kline, actor (Sophie's Choice, Big Chill)

Passings
1537 - Jane Seymour, 3rd wife of Henry VIII, due to complications after childbirth
1601 - Tycho Brahe, astronomer
1957 - Christian Dior, French designer
1961 - Dr. Milan Stoyadinovich, Fascist Yugoslavian PM (1935-9)
1971 - Chuck Hughes, Detroit Lion, collapses during game, and later dies
1972 - Jackie Robinson, first African-American player in modern major league baseball
1973 - Allan "Rocky" ,actor (voice of Mr. Ed)
1975 - Ismail Erez, Turkish ambassador, killed by a car bomb in Paris
1991 - Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek creator, of a heart attack

Reported Missing in Action
1964
Woods, Lawrence, US Army SF (TN); C123 shot down (passenger); Killed, body not recovered

1967
Clark, Richard C., USN (WA); F4B shot down (backseater, w/Gillespie), captured

Frishmann, Robert F., USN (CA); F4B shot down (w/Lewis), released August, 1969

Gillespie, Charles R., USN (MS); F4B shot down (pilot, w/Clark), released by DRV March, 1973 - killed in MU2 crash February, 1989

Lewis, Earl G., USN (MO); released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Commander - alive as of 1998

1968
Tyler, George E., USAF (MI); F4D crashed


Heideman, Thomas E., USAF (IL); CH3C shot down (aircrew), KIA, body not recovered

1972
Bixel, Michael Sargent, USN (FL); A6A shot down (aircrew), KIA, body not recovered