Balbala, Djibouti (Nov. 19, 2006) – U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Wendy Halsey assigned to Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (JTF-HOA) hands out soccer balls to students in Balbala, Djibouti. Halsey's family and friends collected more than 300 soccer balls to donate to schools and orphanages through out the Horn of Africa. JTF-HOA is a unit of United States Central Command. The organization conducts operations and training to assist partner nations to combat terrorism in order to establish a secure environment and enable regional stability. More than 1,500 people from each branch of the U.S. military, civilian employees, coalition forces and partner nations make up the organization. U.S. photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Eric A. Clement

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2006 – The Defense Commissary Agency and the Fisher House Foundation have teamed up for the seventh year to offer educational scholarships to children of military families and retirees.
The Scholarships for Military Children Program helps children of servicemembers pay for college by providing at least one $1,500 scholarship for each of DeCA’s more than 260 commissaries worldwide, DeCA spokesman Kevin Robinson said.

"We consider the commissary to be one of the pillars of the military community," Robinson said. "As such, it is important that we invest in the future of the families we serve."

Nearly 3,000 scholarships, totaling more than $4 million, have been awarded since the program began in 2001, he said.

Authorized applicants include unmarried children under age 21 of active duty, Guard, reserve, or retired military families, Robinson said. Applicants also may range up to 23 years in age if they are enrolled in school.

Scholarship eligibility will be determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database. Applicants should ensure that they, as well as their sponsor, are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current ID card.

The application period for this year's DeCA-Fisher House scholarship program began Nov. 1 and closes Feb. 21, 2007, Robinson said.

Application forms for the program are available for pick-up at commissaries worldwide and for download via the Internet at www.commissaries.com, www.militaryscholar.org or www.dodea.edu.

A significant number of scholarships, about 10 percent each year, go to high school students attending DoD schools overseas.

“Every cent that community organizations can mobilize to support college-bound students is an investment in the future,” Joseph Tafoya, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity, said.

The Fisher House Foundation administers the scholarship program, Robinson said. Funding for the program is provided by manufacturers and suppliers of groceries and services in the commissary system.

“We’re excited to see this worthwhile program gaining recognition and funding from the community at large, Jim Weiskopf, vice president of communications at Fisher House Foundation, said. Increased public support helps ensure that the Scholarships for Military Children program will continue to benefit the military community for years to come.

Fisher House is renowned for building and managing living quarters on the grounds of major military installations and Veterans Affairs medical centers so military family members can be close to hospitalized loved ones. The organization is a member of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, which highlights grassroots and corporate support for U.S. military members and their families.

Donations for the scholarship program can be made through the program’s official web link at militaryscholar.org.

Completed applications must be turned in at a commissary by the close of business on Feb. 21, 2007. The application includes an essay section where applicants are to describe how and why they’d change a historical event.

Eligible applicants must be planning to attend or already attending an accredited college or university full time in the fall term of 2007, or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program.

(Bonnie Powell, chief of marketing at the Defense Commissary Agency, contributed to this report.)

Related Sites:
Scholarships for Military Children Program
Defense Commissary Agency
Fisher House
America Supports You

FOOT PATROL — U.S. Army soldiers with Company C, 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment cross a foot bridge over a canal while on patrol in Jabella, Babil province, Iraq, Nov. 24, 2006. The unit is conducting a patrol to foster good relations with the residents of Jabella. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Sean A. Foley

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S. helicopter down in Iraq
U.S. Officials Condemn Iraq Bombings, Attacks
Annan: Iraqi Life Worse Now Than Under Saddam (With 'friends' like these...)
50 bodies found in Baghdad - Video
Bush to meet with Shiite leader today

Operation Enduring Freedom
NATO says kills 70-80 Taliban in fierce battle - Video

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Somalis rally against U.S. peacekeeping plan
Lawyers show images of Padilla in chains

Troops on Trial
U.S. Marine Convicted of Rape in Philippines

Other Military News
Women face emotional wounds of war
Women Take on Major Battlefield Roles

Mid-East Ceasefire / Hamas Rising / Israel at War
Lebanese army increases forces in tense Beirut - Video

Worldwide Wackos
Kim's Cash Cow - Insurance scam may funnel money to North Korea
'Long Live the Revolution' (Chavez wins)
France hosts Iran talks, hopeful on resolution deal

Homegrown Moonbats
Gwyneth Paltrow Bashes America

Politics / Government
President Carter: Bury Me in Front Yard
Clinton holds up Cambodia's AIDS effort as model
Congress prepares to wrap up unproductive year
Bolten sees Bush reaching out to Congress
Clinton, Bayh step up efforts for 2008
Clinton dogged by 'electability' questions

In the Courts
Supreme Court looks at race and schools
Courts ponder value of man's best friend

U.N. News
Rule-Bending at the U.N.? (Naahhh....)
Bush accepts Bolton's U.N. resignation

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News
Philly newspapers reach tentative pact

Science / Nature
Santa Ana Winds Drive Wildfire That Destroyed 5 California Homes, Threatens Hundreds More
Nepal court orders protection for threatened rhino
U.S. seen warmer next week after brief big chill
Philippines fears 1,000 killed in typhoon's wrath - Video
4 die in Missouri as temperatures plunge

Other News of Note
Poisoned Ex-Spy Investigation Heads to Russia

Fox News
Study Finds Volunteering at 30-Year High
Gas Prices Climb 4 Cents as Holidays Approach
'Prison Break' Actor Lane Garrison Involved in SUV Accident That Killed Teen Boy
How Danny Devito And George Clooney Got So Drunk

Reuters: Top News
Pinochet stable but seriously ill - Video
Europeans, Americans wary of China economy: poll
Illinois freight train derailment causes evacuations
East-West sparks fly at OSCE ministers' meeting
German high-tech sky sail may cut costs, emissions
Elderly perplexed over Medicare choices
WHO launches new drive for malaria vaccine by 2015
Age no barrier to anorexia, illness afflicts children
Washington, entertainment elite at Kennedy Honors
L.A. movie pirate gets seven years
Dollar rebounds from 20-month lows
Mellon shares up on takeover bid
Gold ticks lower, silver off six-month highs
Pfizer shares plunge after key drug fails - Video
Stocks set to open slightly up after deal news
Reuters Aerospace & Defense Summit
No end in sight for aero, defense boom
Bank of New York to buy Mellon
Cost cuts and deals seen as Pfizer balm
Icahn-backed group in Reckson bid
LSI Logic to buy Agere for about $4 billion
Lafarge to sell roofing unit to PAI Partners
Pilgrim's Pride, Gold Kist reach deal

AP World News
Penguins top box office for 3rd weekend
Gators will face Buckeyes for BCS title
1 killed as actor Garrison's SUV wrecks
Virus sickens over 380 on cruise ship
FDA probes safety of popular heart stent
Obituaries in the news
Shooting witnesses talk to prosecutors

Military.com
Future Med Techs Save Soldiers' Lives
Fighter Jet Program Vulnerable
Op-ed: The Senate Kabuki Dance
Blog: And the Winner Is . . .
Warfighters, Kit Up!
Podcast: Operation Homecoming
Real Been There, Done That Tales
ALERT: VA Retro Pay Update

CENTCOM: News Releases
IRAQI SECURITY FORCES CAPTURES INSURGENT, DETAINS SEVEN SUSPECTS

TWO TERRORISTS KILLED, SIX DETAINED IN N. BAGHDAD RAID

HELICOPTER MAKES EMERGENCY WATER LANDING

JOINT STATEMENT BY AMB. ZALMAY KHALILZAD AND GEN. GEORGE CASEY REGARDING RECENT SECTARIAN VIOLENCE

BUILDING DESTROYED AFTER GUNFIRE ATTACKS

IRAQI, COALITION FORCES PROVIDE SECURITY FOR SINIYAH

REPORT OF VBIED IN AL-HUSSANAYA UNCONFIRMED

IRAQI POLICE CAPTURE TERRORISTS

IRAQI POLICE CAPTURES TERRORIST DURING RAID

IRAQI ARMY FINDS CACHE DURING RAID

IRAQI ARMY, COALITION FORCES SECURE BAQUBAH

IRAQI, US FORCES COMBINE TO FIND CACHE, DETAIN 12 SUSPECTS

CAVALRY PARATROOPERS FIND BOMB-MAKING MATERIALS AND WEAPONS IN HAWR RAJAB

IRAQI POLICE SEARCH KARRADA KHARIJ

ISF CAPTURES TERRORIST CELL MEMBER DURING RAID

IA CAPTURES INSURGENT CELL MEMBER DURING RAID

IA CAPTURES INSURGENT LEADER IN BAQUBAH

IA, CF MAINTAIN SECURITY, STABILITY IN BAQUBAH

TWO IRAQI CHILDREN WOUNDED BY INSURGENT ROCKET-PROPELLED GRENADE ATTACK

COALITION HELICOPTERS FOIL MORTAR ATTACK

PATROL FINDS WEAPONS CACHE, DETAINS THREE SUSPECTS

COALITION FORCES CONDUCT STRIKE ON INSURGENTS

USJFCOM
C4 program to deliver joint training set to begin - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Iraqi Forces Taking Lead in War - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Marines, Sailors Transport Personnel, Cargo - Story
Sibling Tanker Pilots Connect Miles from Home - Story
Close-combat Drills Prepare Recruits for Battle - Story
Infantry Soldiers Help to Rebuild Afghanistan - Story

IN IRAQ
Army Engineers Aid Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
'Port Dawgs' Limit Ground Convoys, Save Lives
U.S., Coalition Forces Train, Support Iraqi Airmen
Musicians Perform for Troops, Visit Wounded
Training Takes Over As Medics Treat Soldiers
Battle Tanks Bring the Thunder to Camp Fallujah

IN AFGHANISTAN
Operation Season's Greetings Stops at Bagram
Florida Guard Delivers Donations to Orphanage
U.S. Units Steadily Secure, Rebuild Afghanistan
Military Missions Change as Afghan Army Evolves

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

AfghanistanBost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
0771 - Karel, the Great, becomes king of all France
1110 - The Syrian harbor city Saida (Sidon) surrenders to Crusaders
1197 - Crusaders wound Rabbi Elezar ben Judah
1259 - English King Henry III and French King Louis IX sign the Treaty of Paris.
1489 - At the Battle of Baza, the Spanish army captures Baza from the Moors.
1534 - Turkish sultan Suleiman occupies Baghdad.
1563 - The Council of Trent holds its last session, after 18 years.
1619 - America's first Thanksgiving Day.
1655 - Middelburg, Netherlands forbids the building of a synagogue.
1674 - Father Marquette builds the first dwelling in what is now Chicago.
1680 - A hen in Rome lays an egg imprinted with a comet not seen until December 16th.
1691 - Emperor Leopold I takes control of Transylvania.
1745 - Bonnie Prince Charles reaches Derby.
1783 - General Washington bids his officers farewell at Fraunce's Tavern, in NY.
1791 - Britain's "Observer," the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, is first published.
1798 - Rebellious Flemish farmers occupy Hasselt.
1812 - Peter Gaillard of Lancaster, PA patents a horse-drawn mower.
1816 - James Monroe is elected as the 5th U.S. President.
1829 - Britain abolished "suttee" in India (widow burning herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre).
1832 - The French army begins bombing the citadel of Antwerp.
1833 - The American Anti-Slavery Society is formed by Arthur Tappan in Philadelphia.
1843 - In Massachusetts, Manila paper (made from sails, canvas and rope) is patented.
1844 - James K. Polk is elected as the 11th U.S. President.
1851 - French President Louis Napolean Bonaparte's forces crush a coup d'etat.
1864 - Romanian Jews are forbidden to practice law; Battle of Waynesborough, Brier Creek, GA.
1867 - The Grange is organized to protect farm interests.
1875 - William Marcy "Boss" Tweed (NYC-Tammany Hall) escapes from jail.
1889 - Stanley's expedition reaches Bagamoyo, in the Indian Ocean.
1890 - Willem III, Dutch king, is buried.
1899 - The 56th U.S. Congress (1899-1901) convenes.
1905 - The British government of Balfour resigns.
1908 - Haiti's President General Alexis Nord flees from a military coup.
1915 - F.F. Fletcher is the first admiral to receive a Congressional Medal of Honor; the Ku Klux Klan receives a charter from Fulton County, GA.
1918 - The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) is proclaimed; President Wilson sails for the Versailles Peace Conference in France, becoming the first chief executive to travel outside the U.S. while in office.
1922 - Lucille Atcherson becomes the first woman officer in the U.S. foreign service.
1930 - The French government of Tardieu falls.
1933 - FDR creates the Federal Alcohol Control Administration.
1935 - At St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia, 1,200 enroll in an anticommunism class.
1941 - Nazi ordinances place the Jews of Poland outside the protection of the courts.
1942 - James Hoey becomes the first alien on foreign soil to be granted U.S. citizenship; FDR orders the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration; U.S. bombers strike the Italian mainland for the first time in WWII.
1943 - FDR, Churchill, and Turkish President Inönü meet for the second Conference of Cairo; the Yugoslavian resistance forms a provisionary government under Dr. Ribar.
1944 - Germans destroy Rhine dikes, flooding Betuwe.
1945 - The Senate approves U.S. participation in the U.N.
1951 - Superheated gases roll down Mount Catarman in the Philippines, killing 500.
1952 - Killer fogs begin in London England, and "Smog" becomes a word; Walter P. Reuther is chosen as chairman of the CIO.
1957 - At St. John's, England, two commuter trains collide in heavy fog, killing 92.
1958 - Dahomey (Benin), and the Ivory Coast become autonomous within the French Community; the Finnish government of Fagerholm resigns.
1961 - Tanganyika becomes the 104th member of the U.N.
1963 - Aldo Moro forms the Italian government.
1965 - Gemini-7 is launched with two astronauts aboard (Borman and Lovell); two passenger planes collide above Danbury, CT, killing 4.
1974 - A Dutch DC-8 charter plane crashes in Sri Lanka, killing 191 Muslim pilgrims.
1975 - Six South Molukkans occupy the Indonesian consulate in The Hague, killing one person.
1977 - Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Empire, crowns himself.
1978 - Dianne Feinstein is named as San Francisco's first female mayor; Pioneer Venus-1 goes into orbit around Venus; Dutch War criminal Pieter Menten is freed.
1981 - According to South Africa, Ciskei gains independence - it is not recognized as an independent country outside South Africa; President Reagan allows the CIA to engage in domestic counter-intelligence (Order No. 12333).
1982 - China adopts its constitution.
1983 - U.S. jet jet fighters strike Syrian anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon.
1984 - Hijackers commandeer a Kuwaiti airliner.
1985 - President Reagan appoints Vice Admiral John Poindexter as security adviser.
1986 - NASA launches Fltsatcom-7.
1990 - Iraq announces it will release all 3,300 Soviet hostages.
1991 - Muslim Shiites release the last U.S. hostage Terry Anderson (held for 6½ years); Pan American World Airways ceases operations.
1992 - U.S. Troops land in Somalia.
1996 - NASA's first Mars rover is launched from Cape Canaveral.

Birthdays
1443 - Pope Julius II, (1503-13), patron of Michelangelo, Bramante, Raphael
1584 - John Cotton, Puritan clergyman in Massachusetts Bay colony
1812 - Elias Smith Dennis, Union Brevet Major General
1818 - William Wing "Old Blizzards" Loring, Confederate Major General
1865 - Edith Louisa Cavell, British nurse (WWI)
1881 - Erwin von Witzleben, German fieldmarshal (July 20th plot)
1892 - Francisco Franco (y Bahamonde), general / dictator of Spain (1936-75)
1905 - Emilio Médici, President of Brazil (1969-74)
1908 - A.D. Hershey, U.S. biologist, worked with bacteriophages (Nobel 1969)
1910 - Ramaswamy Venkataraman, President of India (1987-92)
1928 - Russell L. Rogers USAF / astronaut (X-20)
1932 - Roh Tae Woo Taegu, President of South Korea (1988-93)
1933 - Horst Buchholz, German actor (Magnificent 7, Raid on Entebbe, Sahara)
1934 - Wink (Winston Conrad) Martindale Jackson, TV host (Tic-Tac-Dough, Can You Top This)
1936 - Larry Davis, blues singer / guitarist
1938 - Andre Marrou, Libertarian presidential candidate (1992)
1944 - Dennis Wilson, drummer/vocalist (Beach Boys)
1948 - Roberta Lynn Bondar, astronaut (STS-42)
1952 - Ronald Michael Sega, Ph.D. / astronaut (STS-60, 76)
1973 - Tyra Banks, model/actress (Fresh Prince of Bel Air)

Passings
0771 - Karloman II, French king of Burgundy
0811 - Charles, eldest son of emperor Charles the Great
1137 - Emperor Lotharius III of Supplinburg (1125, 33-37)
1182 - Henry, Earl of Gelre/Zutphen (1141/79-82)
1334 - John XXII (Jacques Duèze), Pope (1316-34)
1371 - Reinald III (the Fat Duke), Duke of Gelre (1343-61); Stefanus X, Uros V, King of Serbia (1355-71)
1514 - Richard Hunne, English "heretic," suicide (?)
1807 - Prince Hall, activist / Masonic leader
1923 - (Auguste-) Maurice Barrès, French writer / parliament leader
1943 - Carlo Mierendorff, German politician / antifascist
1948 - Karl Bonhoeffer, German psychiatrist / neurologist
1952 - Karen Horney German/U.S. neo-freudian psycho analyst
1967 - Bert Lahr (Irving Lahrheim), comic (Cowardly Lion - "Wizard of Oz")
1969 - Fred Hampton, U.S. Black-Panther leader, murdered
1975 - Hannah Arendt, German/U.S. sociologist
1976 - Benjamin Britten, British composer (Beggar's Opera, War Requiem)
1978 - Samuel Abraham Goldsmith, Netherlands / U.S. physicist
1980 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, PM of Portugal (1980) in an air crash
1984 - John Rock, American co-developer of the birth-control pill
1993 - Frank Sturgis, watergate burglar; Frank V. Zappa, musician / composer (Mothers of Invention, Thingfish)
1994 - Jakob Kaplan, French head rabbi (1955-81)
1995 - Itzhak Rabin, PM of Israel (1968-73), assassinated
1996 - Basil Nield, judge/politician; Muriel Monkhouse, Red Cross worker

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Collins, Arnold, USMC (NY); KIA, body not recovered

1970
Green, George C., Jr., US Army SF (IN); recon team attacked at LZ, KIA, body not recovered