Serving through the season: Senior Airman Jose Reyes
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) -- Senior Airman Jose Reyes knows all about spending the holidays with a large family. As the youngest of nine brothers and sisters growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., he did it and now he's doing it with a new family. More

Just in time for the holidays, I've decided to start something new here at IWT. Actually, I'm resurrecting an old idea that didn't get much response.

I'd like to start naming a Hero of the Month - here's how it works:

Nominations will be taken from IWT readers - you can email them to me here. Your submission should include a picture (if available), and a description of why you believe they should be selected. Those eligible for nomination include:

Deployed Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, or Marines

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, or Marines serving stateside

Military veterans

Military spouses / family members

Those who go above and beyond to support our Heroes

Selection will be determined by reader vote, or, in the event of a tie / insufficient number of votes, at my discretion.

Those selected as the Hero of the Month will receive:

A blog post in their honor (NOTE: Last name, rank, unit, and specific location of any deployed Hero will be edited, including photoshopping pictures, unless I am specifically told that such detail is OK to post)

If a deployed Hero, a care package and letter, and submission to Soldiers' Angels for adoption if not already an adoptee, and if requested

If stateside / a veteran / a civilian, a care package sent in their name to a Hero in harm's way.

Care packages will be generously provided by Patti of Soldiers' Angels - thank you, Patti!

Depending on how many nominations come in before the end of the month, I'll begin with a Hero of the month for January - deadline for submissions is December 31st.

Don't delay - submit your nomination today!

172nd Reflagged
Photo by SRTV
December 19, 2006
The 172nd SBCT gets reflagged and becomes 1st SBCT 25th ID.

By U.S. Army Sgt. Tony White
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

SAMARRA, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2006 — Local Iraqi army forces assumed control of Patrol Base Razor from Coalition Forces on Dec. 15.

The 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army, took responsibility for the patrol base from the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The transfer of authority indicates the readiness of the Iraqi army to take the lead in the Samarra area, said Maj. Brian Flood, 2-505th PIR executive officer.




“It allows them to show they are capable of providing security for the citizens of Samarra and its surrounding villages, Flood said. “It's a positive step in the right direction for the long-term security for this part of Iraq,” he continued. “The Iraqi army is the future and is the security answer here.”

According to Flood, the Iraqi army will use the patrol base very much in the same fashion as the Coalition Forces.

“(The Iraqi army) will use it to secure the bridge leading into Samarra and as a forward operating position to secure and patrol the (surrounding) towns,” Flood said.

Strategically located outside Samarra, Razor has been a key installation since its establishment in early 2004 because it guards the only land bridge into Samarra from the west.

“The 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army is quite frankly one of the better Iraqi companies we have worked with,” Flood said.

“When we took over with our RIP/TOA (relief in place/transfer of authority) process they came with a great reputation.

They have been operating around Patrol Base Razor, partnered with the company (in charge of the patrol base) for quite some time. I think this is a positive step and I think they are going to do a good job.”

BUILDING SUPPORT — Staff Sgt. Erik Decker, civil affairs noncommissioned officer, Civil Affairs Team A, from CA Team C, 489th CA Battalion, talks with an Iraqi Policeman Dec. 5, near Camp Rustamiyah. The team was on a mission to meet with a local committee trying to improve its local government and improve local infrastructure. U.S. Army photo

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Gates Makes First Visit to Iraq as Pentagon Chief
Bush says U.S. not winning war in Iraq
Report: Ex-Iraqi Official Flees Jail After Death Threat
Iraq troop buildup idea worries generals
Iraq executes 13 convicted criminals

Operation Enduring Freedom
NATO says 50 Taliban killed in Afghan offensive

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
WTC tower steel rises at ground zero
Al-Zawahiri Condemns Palestinian Elections (and calls for a Holy War...)
Rival Palestinian forces withdraw from Gaza streets - Video

Other Military News
Top U.S. Mideast general to retire: report
US Considers Navy Buildup in Mideast
Bush to Increase Size of Military

Worldwide Wackos
N.Korea nuclear talks to continue through Friday - Video
Envoy urges details in Korean nuke talks
Blair urges bold action against "extremism" in Iran

Moonbat Watch
Joy's Hitler Remark? 'No Comment' - VIDEO
Official Reaction To Behar's Comments on Rumsfeld Is Tepid; Others See Her As 'Jerk'
Holocaust Denier Freed
White House-Nazis Comparisons

Politics / Government
FBI investigates N.Y. Senate leader
Laura Bush: Skin cancer 'no big deal'
Cheney to be defense witness in CIA case

U.N. News
Annan: Iran intervention would be unwise (Just can't go away, can he?)

Science / Nature
Rescuers Fear Survival Unlikely for Missing Hikers
Search for missing climbers scaled back
Mount St. Helens Erupts, Spewing Steam, Ash Into Washington State Sky
Space shuttle crew begins trip home
Floods hit south Malaysia, 30,000 flee homes
Wash. residents hope power returns

News from My Neck of the Woods
Northeast so warm they're making snow

Oddities
Mom Faces More Time for Renting Kid to Molestor
Officials: Fake Docs Perform Female Exams
Injured man wins damages for sex overdrive

Other News of Note
Russia says Libyan verdict on medics is cruel - Video

Fox News
FDA Seeks Sterner Pain Reliever Warnings
L.A. Natal Unit Reopens After Bacteria Outbreak
Stocks to Watch: Nike and Darden Restaurants

Reuters: Top News
Police question two over prostitutes' murders
U.S. wants prominent warnings on pain relievers
YouTube to meet Japan media on copyright protest
Sharp starts blue laser diode production
Fabled Friday lunch thrives in hard-hit New Orleans
Arab-American writer is ambassador for Middle East
Vitamin D may cut multiple sclerosis risk, study finds
Sudoku anyone? Limber brain keeps seniors sharp
Cast of "Grey's Anatomy" tops entertainer list
McConaughey leads "Marshall" mishap
Stocks rally on Thai turnaround, euro strong - Video
Oil steady over $63 as U.S. stock draw forecast
Futures point higher on M&A action
Euro rides high, hits fresh peak vs. yen
Gold holds above $620 on softer U.S. dollar
Buyout bash to spill into 2007
Don't bet yet on BOJ sitting tight in Jan
Ericsson paying steep price for Redback: analysts
Home loan demand slumps as refinancing plunges
Pepsi Bottling forecasts 2007 earnings below Wall St.
Harrah's accepts $17.1 billion private equity bid
Housebuilder Wimpey flags continuing U.S. concerns
Arcelor Mittal buys Mexico's Sicartsa for $1.44 bln

AP World News
Eminem divorces wife for second time
Harrah's development plans questioned
The Answer: Iverson traded to Nuggets
Delta files stand-alone Chapter 11 plan
U.S. regulators revoke steel tariffs
Duff drops restraining order request
Former AA chief Don Carty named Dell CFO
Trump to Miss USA: 'You're not fired!'
Obituaries in the news
Pa. to award licenses for slot machines
Miss. capital eyed as museum home
Accused drug kingpin faces new charges

Military.com
Op-ed: Were the French Right?
SpouseBUZZ: Socks as ID Tags
DT: Green Zone Jail Break
Complete Info on Military Bases
Ace the ASVAB
Find "Your People"
Gear in the News: MV-22 Osprey

CENTCOM: News Releases
IA CAPTURES IED CELL LEADER IN AL KUT

INSURGENT KILLED BY COALITION FORCES IN BAGHDAD

LOCAL LEADERS MEET TO DISCUSS SOLUTIONS FOR SINIYAH

MND-B TROOPS FOIL IED ATTACKS

IRAQI NATIONAL POLICE COMMANDER RELIEVED OF DUTY; TWO OTHERS ARRESTED

COALITION FORCES DISCOVER LARGE CACHES

IRAQI ARMY DETAINS THREE IN CONNECTION WITH IED EMPLACEMENT

IA SOLDIERS CAPTURE 2 INSURGENTS NEAR RAMADI

EXPLOSIVES FOUND IN MEDICAL FACILITY, INSURGENTS KILLED

USJFCOM
USJFCOM’s new super computer to enhance joint experimentation, training - podcast
Command surgeon hosts joint task force medical seminar - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Conference Aims to Quell Division - Story
Stability & Security in Iraq Report (pdf)
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Chief of Chaplains Brings Support to Region - Story
Iraqis Graduate from Police Academy in Kirkuk - Story
U.S. Soldiers Lay Training Foundation for Iraqis - Story
Iraqi National Police, Cavalry Calm Tensions - Story
Iraqis Donate Clothing to Displaced Sunni Muslims - Story

IN IRAQ
Cooks Hone Skills, Prepare Hot Meals for Troops
Soldiers Create System to Handle Holiday Mail
'Ironhorse' Troops Serve as Escorts
Fallen Engineer Missed Not Forgotten
Power Transfer Over Multinational Corps Iraq
Baghdad Counts on Local Improvements
Iraqi Police Return Home

IN AFGHANISTAN
Buccaneers Return from Afghanistan Tour
Patrol Trucks to Increase Security in Afghanistan
Flight Surgeons Certify Afghan Army Aviators
Military Policemen Prepare for Return to States
Afghan Farming Communities to Receive Tractors

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 Marine 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

South Korea

Gitmo

** If you're deployed, and want to see your location's weather listed here, please email me! **

Today in History
0069 - General Vespasianus occupies Rome
1046 - Synod of Sutri: German king Henry III removes Popes Gregory VI, Benedictus IX & Silvester III & names Bishop Siutger, Pope Clemens II
1192 - Richard the Lionheart captured in Vienna
1585 - English fleet & earl Robert Dudley van Leicester reach Vlissingen
1606 - Virginia Company settlers leave London to establish Jamestown, VA
1626 - Emperor Ferdinand II/Transylvanian monarch Gábor Betlen signs Peace of Pressburg
1661 - Corporation Act enforced in England
1669 - 1st jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection & sentenced to flogging, branding & slavery
1688 - Prince Willem III's troops pull into London
1694 - Frederik van Brandenburg flees Schweiben
1699 - Peter the Great ordered Russian New Year changed - from Sept 1 to Jan 1
1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlie's army meets de Esk
1780 - England declares war on Netherlands
1803 - Louisiana Purchase formally transferred from France to US for $27 million
1820 - Missouri imposes a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men between 21 & 50
1830 - England, France, Prussia, Austria & Russia recognize Belgium
1850 - Hawaiian post office established
1860 - South Carolina votes 169-0 for Ordinance of Secession, 1st state to secede
1861 - Battle of Dranesville VA
1862 - Battle of Holly Spring, MS; Battle of Kelly's Ford, VA; Confederate Brigadier-General Nathan Bedford Forrest occupies Trenton, KY; Vicksburg campaign
1864 - Battle of Fort Fisher, NC
1879 - Tom Edison privately demonstrated incandescent light at Menlo Park
1880 - Battle at Bronker's Spruit, Transvaal: Farmers beat Britten
1883 - International cantilever railway bridge opens at Niagara Falls
1892 - Pneumatic automobile tire patented, Syracuse NY
1893 - 1st state anti-lynching statute approved, in Georgia
1900 - Giacobini discovers a comet (will be 1st comet visited by spacecraft)
1906 - Venezuela (under Vice-President Gomez) attacks Dutch fleet
1907 - Explosion at Yolande, AL, coal mine kills 91
1915 - Russian troops overrun Qom, Persia
1917 - Russian secret police in Czechoslovakia forms under Felix Dzerzjinski
1919 - US House of Representatives restricts immigration
1920 - Bob Hope becomes an American citizen
1922 - 14 republics form Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics (USSR); Polish parliament selects Stanislaw Wojcieckowski as president
1924 - Adolf Hitler freed from jail early
1928 - 1st international dogsled mail leaves Minot ME for Montréal, Québec
1933 - Bolivia & Paraguay sign weapon cease fire
1938 - Vladimir K Zworykin (Pennsylvania) receives patent on the Iconoscope TV system
1941 - Free France under Admiral Muselier occupies St-Pierre et Miquélon; Japanese troops lands on Mindanao
1942 - 1st Japanese bombing of Calcutta
1944 - Battle of Bastogne, Nazis surround 101st Airborne (NUTS!)
1945 - Rationing of auto tires ends in US
1956 - Military coup under colonel Simbolon in Sumatra; Montgomery, AL, removes race-based seat assignments on its buses
1957 - Elvis Presley given draft notice to join US Army for National Service
1960 - Auschwitz-commandant Richard Bär arrested in German Federal Republic
1963 - Berlin Wall opens for 1st time to West Berliners; Massemba-Debate elected President of Congo-Brazzaville; Trial against 21 camp guards of Auschwitz begins
1964 - Levi Eshkol forms Israeli government
1966 - Brussels: Nuclear Planning Group established
1967 - 474,300 US soldiers in Vietnam
1970 - Edward Gierek succeeds Wladyslaw Gomulka as Poland's party leader
1971 - Pakistan President Yahya Khan resigns
1973 - Dutch Antillean government of Evertsz forms
1974 - Ethiopia becomes socialist one-party state
1976 - Israel's PM Yitzhak Rabin resigns
1977 - 1st Space walk made by G Grechko from Salyut
1978 - H.R. Haldeman, Nixon's White House chief of staff released from jail
1980 - USSR formally announces death of Alexei Kosygin
1983 - El Salvador adopts constitution
1985 - Howard Cosell retires from television sports after 20 years with ABC; Position of American Poet Laureate established (Robert Warren is 1st)
1987 - Worst peacetime shipping disaster, Dona Paz ferry sinks after collision with oil tanker Vector; 1,749 confirmed deaths (probably closer to 3,000)
1988 - Animal rights terrorists fire-bomb Harrod's department store in London; Premier Ranasinghe Premadasa elected President of Sri Lanka
1989 - US troops invade Panamá & oust Manuel Noriega, but don't catch him
1990 - Pentagon warns Saddam Hussein that US air power is ready to attack on 1/15; Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze resigns
1991 - Paul Keating installed as premier of Australia
1992 - Slobodan Milosevic re-elected President of Serbia
1995 - American Flight 965 crashes in Colombia, 159 die, 5 survive
1999 - Portugal returns Macau to China

Birthdays
1720 - Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie/Young Pretender)
1805 - Thomas Graham, father of colloid chemistry
1807 - Richard Lucian Page, Confederate Brigadier-General
1808 - Thomas Tinsley Craven, Union Navy Commander
1813 - Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, Governor-IA/US Secretary of Interior (1881-82)
1819 - John Geary, 1st San Francisco postmaster, 1st mayor (May 1, 1850)
1825 - Romeyn Beck Ayres, Union Brevet Major General
1833 - Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, convicted of giving medical aid to John Wilkes Booth
1841 - Ferdinand-Èdouard Buisson, French educator (Nobel Peace Prize 1927)
1865 - Maude Gonne, Irish nationalist (Irish Joan of Arc)
1868 - Harvey S. Firestone, industrialist
1876 - Walter S. Adams, US astronomer/director of Mount Wilson (1923-46)
1884 - Marius H.L.W. "Max" Blokzijl, Dutch Nazi collaborator/traitor
1894 - Sir Robert Menzies, Australian PM (1939-41, 1949-66)
1901 - Robert Van de Graaff, US physicist (Mobility of Gaseous Ions)
1902 - Max Lerner, columnist (New York Post); Sidney Hook, anticommunist philosopher (Paradoxes of Freedom); George, English prince/earl of St. Andrews
1906 - Dick White head of British secret service (MI-5/MI-6)
1924 - Errol John, actor (PT-109, Assault on a Queen)
1925 - Datuk Seri Mahathir bin Mohamad, premier of Malaysia (1981-2003)
1929 - Milan Panic, premier of little Yugoslavia
1932 - John Hillerman, actor (Higgins-Magnum PI)
1933 - Gordon Getty
1946 - Uri Geller, psychic (bends forks)

Passings
0069 - Aulus Vitellius, Roman commandant of Rhine & 7th emperor, murdered
0910 - Alfonso III, Great king of Asturias
1073 - Domingo Spanish, monastery founder/abbot/saint
1355 - Stefanus IX, Uros IV, Dusan king (1331-46)/Serbia (1346-55), dies
1679 - Johan Maurits, count of Nassau-Siegen, dies at 75
1749 - Pakubuwono II, susuhunan of Mataram Java
1812 - Sacagawea, Shoshone interpreter for Lewis & Clark (or April 9, 1884)
1876 - Hannah Omish, at 12 is youngest ever hanged in US
1929 - Emile Loubet, French premier (1892)/President (1899-1906), dies at 90
1936 - Baron De Borchgrave, Belgian ambassador, murdered in Madrid
1937 - Erich Ludendorff, German general (WWI), dies at 72
1939 - Hans Langsdorff, German captain (Graaf Spee), commits suicide
1944 - Abbas Hilmi II, viceroy of Egypt (1892-1914), dies at 70
1968 - John Steinbeck, author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel 1962), dies in New York at 66
1973 - Bobby Darin, singer (Mack the Knife), dies of heart failure at 37; Luis Carrero Blanco, PM of Spain (1973), assassinated by ETA
1976 - Richard J. Daley, Chicago mayor, dies at 74
1988 - Max Robinson, 1st Black network (ABC) TV anchor, dies of AIDS at 49
1991 - Sam Rabin, Speaker of the House, dies at 88
1993 - W. Edwards Deming, US economist (helped Japan after WWII), dies at 93
1994 - Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State (1961-69), dies at 85
1996 - Amata Kabua, President of Marshall Islands (1979-96); Carl Sagan, scientist (Contact), dies at 62
1997 - Vincent Ciccone, inventor (Blow-Pops candy), dies at 81

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Hudson, Henry M., Civilian; rescued

Jeffrey, Robert D., USAF (CA); F4C shot down (w/Mims), released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Johnson, Guy D., USN (WA); RA5C shot down (w/Nordahl) - remains returned March, 1977

Jones, Edwin D.; rescued

Mims, George I., Jr., USAF (SC); F4C shot down (w/Jeffrey)

Nordahl, Lee E., USN (MT); RA5C shot down (w/Johnson), presumed KIA

Pitchford, John J., USAF (MS); F100F shot down (w/Trier), released by DRV (injured) February, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive as of 1998

Trier, Robert Douglas, USAF (TN); F100F shot down (w/Pitchford); KIA resisting capture - remains returend October, 1982

Wax, David J., USAF (MA); C130E shot down, remains ID'd August, 1993

1966
Lucas, Larry F., US Army (WV); OV1A shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Lum, David Anthony, USAF (HI); F4C shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1967
Craner, Robert R., USAF (NY); F100F shot down, released March,1973 - deceased October, 1980

Gruthers, Guy D., USAF (FL); F100F shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive as of 1998

1968
Bouchard, Michael L., USN (MT): A6A shot down

Kent, Robert Duane, USMC (TX); F4B shot down (w/Morin)

Morin, Richard Girard, USMC (MA); F4B shot down (w/Kent)

1969
Long, Carl Edwin, USMC (TX); OV10A shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1972
The following USAF personnel reported MIA when their B52D was shot down:
Arcuri, William Y. (FL); released by DRV February, 1973 (injured) - alive and well as of 1998

Geloneck, Terry M. (AL); released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Granger, Paul L. (CA); released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Klomann, Thomas J. (IL); released by DRV February, 1973 (injured) - retired as a Captain - alive and well as of 1998

Lerner, Irwin S. (CT); believed KIA

Madden, Roy, Jr., (CA); released by DRV February, 1973 (injured) - retired as a TSgt - deceased as of 1997

Martini, Michael R., (CA); released by DRV February, 1973 - alive as of 1996

McLaughlin, Arthur V., Jr., (MA); possibly KIA

Paul, Craig A., (OH); remains returned by SRV September, 1977

Perry, Randolph A., Jr., (MT); possibly KIA

Spencer, Warren R., (CA); remains returned by SRV September, 1977

Stuart, John F., (IN);

Also reported MIA in 1972
Wieland, Carl T., USN (FL); A7C shot down, released March, 1973 - deceased - murdered in 1987