SADR CITY
U.S. Army Capt. Jeff Noll, a fire support officer assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, speaks with local nationals in Sadr City, Iraq, March 4, 2007. Coalition forces, led by the Iraqi army, searched the area and met with elders to discuss how to better the conditions. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. M. Benjamin Gable

Labels: 1-23 Infantry, Iraq, photos, Sadr City, US Army

VAJoe.com is holding a contest for Active Duty servicemembers and their families -


It's that time of year again—NCAA March Madness. Fill out your bracket for your FREE chance to win the $2,000 Grand Prize. $1,000 will also be split among 2nd – 10th place.


For more, including the complete rules, go here.


The site also has a caption contest - this month's ends March 31st.

Labels: contests, Supporting the troops, VAJoe

OK, I refuse to stoop to the level of unloading on Hillary for her little speech in the church over the weekend, and I refuse to rant about Barack Obama's oh-wouldn't-this-disappoint-Biden-ish comments during the same weekend in Selma, AL. No, I'm not going to spend a couple thousand words on how condescending all of this is, and how if you look at it, you'll see just how hypocritical the Left really is...



...mostly because I can't stop laughing long enough.

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Left-Wingnuts, opinion, politics

BALIKATAN
U.S. Army Capt. Natalie Wendling autographs local child's notebooks at a medical civic action program during exercise Balikatan 2007 in Lanao Del Norte, Republic of the Philippines, Feb. 23, 2007. Balikatan 2007 focuses on interoperability of forces and humanitarian/civic assistance operations. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Johansen Laurel

Labels: Balikatan 2007, Phillippines, photos, US Army

Michael Yon is back in Baghdad after completing a 10-day, 1,200-mile trip around Iraq.

He has a whole lot packed into his latest dispatch, "Meanwhile":

about the trip...

Often the most dangerous places in Iraq are at the front gates of bases where suicide attackers roll in. Outside the wire—and often inside the wire—is bad-guy country. A block away from a base might as well be a hundred miles away. We rolled out in humvees for what would be about a 1,225 mile trip inside Iraq, and another portion to Germany and back.

...about why honest coverage is important...

...we must stick with our people who have been mostly abandoned at war. I understand the position of the journalists. Especially the ones who get blown up or shot at fairly regularly, but the informed interest of ordinary Americans is critical to the outcome of this war. And the truth is that our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, most of whom rarely (if ever) see a writer, are abandoned by default.

...about the morale of our Heroes in Iraq...

...I watch morale very closely. More closely than all else. Low morale in a particular unit can be the result of poor leadership in that unit, or just not getting mail, for instance. But gauging morale is not a simple affair of asking a few soldiers. A person has to live with them across Iraq. Having done so, my opinion is that overall troop morale is good to high. (If their morale could be bottled, it would probably would sell like crack, then be outlawed.)...

...and about a whole lot of other things, too. Though he's been plagued by Internet connectivity issues during this embed, he is still out there, telling an honest tale from Iraq.

Labels: Blogwatch, Iraq, Michael Yon

KIRKUK PATROL — Senior Airman Chris Cabibi checks his gear before going out on patrol at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, March 2. Cabibi provides an armed response capability to limit, counteract, and neutralize hostile action directed against the installation. He is with the 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Bradley A. Lail

Labels: 506th ESFS, Iraq, Kirkuk, Kirkuk Air Base, photos, USAF

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
At Least 106 Killed in Bomb Attacks on Pilgrims in Iraq
Senate confirms Crocker as ambassador to Iraq
Qaeda-led militants storm Iraq jail, free 140 - Video
Bush: U.S. making progress in Iraq

Operation Enduring Freedom
NATO begins Afghan spring offensive in Helmand - Video

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Top Secret Tribunals - Pentagon bans press from terror hearings

Troops on Trial
U.S. medic gets 8 months jail for Iraq desertion
Soldiers Charged in Gang Rape

Other Military News
Gates praised for handling scandal but not by all
House endorses further NATO expansion
Military.com Advisors: Fund Walter Reed Right
Shalala, Dole Lead Walter Reed Probe

Religion of Peace??
Saudi Kidnap, Rape Victim Faces Lashing for 'Crime' of Being Alone With Man Not Related to Her

Worldwide Wackos
U.S., North Korea deal on track: official - Video
Delay seen at U.N. on drafting Iran sanctions text - Video
Iran offers to negotiate with U.N.
Military.com - DT: How the Iranian Strike Will Go Down

Politics / Government
Libby Guilty On 4 Counts - VIDEO- Full Text of Indictment (FindLaw pdf)
Vermont towns seek to impeach Bush
Will Bush pardon Scooter Libby? - Video
Military.com Poll: Pardon Scooter Libby?
Senate: Airport screeners can unionize

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Hedge-Fund Manager Sets Up Ex for Rape
Cops: Man Told Toddler 'Now You Stab Mommy' After Knifing Teen Wife
Astronaut Lisa Nowak 'Disappointed' in Pilot's Relationship With Rival (Gee, ya think?)
Documents reveal astronaut romance
College Team Questioned in Alleged Rape
No Bail for Suspect in Plot to Kill NYPD Head
Stephen Grant Says Not Guilty in Wife's Death
Cops: Man Targeted Mother-in-Law With Plane
Texas Probes Youth Prison Inmate Abuse
Police: Artest slapping caused injuries

Adventures in Political Correctness
College Reaches Cross Compromise
France Bans People From Taping Violence

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
New York Times Reporter Paid Source $2,000

Science / Medicine / Technology
NRO spy satellite may be total loss: sources
Risks of aspirin outweigh cancer benefit for most
First woman in space dreams of flying to Mars
As biofuels boom, will more go hungry?
China denies being source of bird flu virus

Mother Nature
Indonesia cranks up aid after quake - Video

Oddities
Wassup! Princes Pull Phone Prank on Queen
Teenager leaves "deposit" in bank
R-rated movies lure white teens into smoking?

Other News of Note
Official says Indonesia plane crash kills 49
Long Island Witch Hunt - Teacher fights firing over claims she taught magic

Fox News
Winemaker Ernest Gallo Dead at 97
Dow Industrials Reverse Slide, Gain Over 150
Study: Atkins Beats Other Diet Plans
Reality Check: No More Mr. Nice Guys and Girls

Reuters: Top News
Groups link fight against AIDS to rape prevention
AT&T, Verizon launch DVR programming by cell phone
Dell may offer Linux as alternative to Windows
Risk-taking kiwis protest looming "party pill" ban
Is Royal progressive enough for France?
Walking helps shed post-baby pounds
Pussycats search for new doll
Director adds real life to Queen Latifah film
Nikkei down as U.S. economy concerns weigh
Shares of Nikko Cordial rise on Citigroup bid
Yen gains on Nikkei slip
Share recovery stalls in Tokyo
Parker stock rises
Reuters Summits: Food
Hormel sees M&A as best use of cash
Video: Chipotle's push to shorten lines
Sizing the yen carry trade
Sony to delay annual earnings
Senators to shine light on credit card practices
Estee Lauder sees double-digit profit growth
Starbucks memo stirs unwarranted fears: analysts
Paulson confident on U.S. economy
Sirius faces second House hearing on XM deal

AP World News
'American Idol' flap: Barba vs. Frenchie
Topps accepts $385.4M takeover bid
Joey Porter finds his defense in Miami
Microsoft links technology, common tools
Yoko blocks premiere of film on Lennon
No $3,900 curry for Kanye West
Porter gets $32 million from Dolphins
Bono to edit Vanity Fair's Africa issue
Powerful Indonesian earthquake kills 70
Hurley's wedding fest begins in India
Marlins pitcher Johnson out 2 months

Military.com
Blog: Live From a Legion Rally
Test: What Famous General Are You?
All Benefits, All the Time
Military.com Career Fairs Coming Soon

CENTCOM: Press Releases
CLEARING SADR CITY: MND-B GENERAL PLEASED WITH INITIAL RESULTS
5 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS ARRESTED IN KHOWST PROVINCE
NO FATALITIES FROM MARINE HELICOPTER CRASH IN KENYA
LARGE CACHE DISCOVERIES HIGHLIGHT SECURITY EFFORTS
AIR STRIKE DESTROYS BUILDING USED TO BUILD IEDS
NEW PLAN FOR GREATER SECURITY

USJFCOM
NATO military committee visits USJFCOM
More about USJFCOM and Allied Command Transformation
JIOC-X continues to improve intelligence support for joint warfighter - podcast
New data technology makes aerial reconnaissance video available to users in the field - podcastCongressman calls command modeling and simulation hub - podcast

DefenseLink
Tribunals to Begin for High-Value Detainees - Story
Testimony Focuses on Fixing Health Care - Story
Bush Discusses Emergency Funding For War - Story
Bush: Commission to Review Military Health Care - Story
Remarks: Bush Discusses Care for America's Wounded
Bush Sends USNS Comfort on Goodwill Mission - Story

More Headline News
Organization Makes Progress Defeating IEDs
EUCOM Deputy Visits East African Nations
IRS Offers Free Tax Assistance for Troops
VA Seeks Volunteers to Play ‘Taps’ at Cemeteries

Military News
Multi-service Crew Fights War on Terror in Afghanistan
U.S. Military Airlifts Relief Supplies to Bolivia
General Discusses Africa, European Commands

War on Terror
Troops Capture Terrorists - Story
Ten Soldiers Killed in Iraq
Forces Tackle Sadr City
Jihadists Use Internet as Tool

America Supports You
Shops Offer Free Oil Change - Story
Wrestlers Give Tickets to Troops
Foundation Supports Troops
New Yorkers Get Taste of Home

Transformation
F-35 Production Inches Closer - Story
Security Model Stresses Partnership
Marines Test New Antenna
National Trauma Institute Forms

Face of Defense
Troop Keeps Soldiering - Story
Woman Gunner Protects Unit
Soldier Tackles Numerous Duties
Father, Son Serve in Afghanistan

DefendAmerica
Bloggers' Roundtable Web Site

NEWS UPDATES
Group Works to Defeat IEDs - Story

ON THE GROUND
Afghan Workers Keep Vehicles in Prime Condition - Story
Brigade Combat Team Opens Sixth Water Plant - Story
Army Engineers Complete 64 More Projects - Story
U.S., Iraqi Troops Work to Secure Sadr City - Story

IN IRAQ
Hospital Offers Advanced Care in Afghanistan
Iraqis to Complete Work on Drainage Station
Camp Liberty Soldiers Up-armor Humvees
Golden Dragons Discover Six Weapons Caches

IN AFGHANISTAN
Paratroopers Trade Shop Tools for Security
Air Defense ‘Family’ Returns to Afghanistan
Donation ‘From The Heart’ Saves Wounded Ally
Spartans Turn Over Afghan Provinces

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
'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: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

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

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Philippines
Baler Radar Site Catanduanes Radar Site Manila

South Korea
Cheju Upper/Radar Chonju Chunchon Inch'on Kunsan Masan Mokp'o
Osan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar Site Ulsan Yosu

Today in History
1138 - Conrad II von Hohenstaufen re-elected German king
1530 - King Henry VIII's divorce request is denied by the Pope - Henry then declares that he, not the Pope, is supreme head of England's church
1560 - Christian fleet under Gian Andrea lands at Djerba, N. Africa
1573 - Turkey & Venice sign peace treaty
1621 - John Pieterszoon Coen's troops land on Lontor, East Indies
1633 - Prince Frederik Henry appoints himself viceroy of Limburg
1644 - Massachusetts establishes 1st 2-chamber legislature in colonies
1696 - English King Willem III departs Netherlands
1774 - British close port of Boston to all commerce
1778 - Captain James Cook 1st sights Oregon coast, at Yaquina Bay
1801 - Massachusetts enacts 1st state voter registration law
1835 - HMS Beagle returns from Concepción to Valparaiso
1843 - 1st Catholic Governor in US, Edward Kavanagh of Maine, takes office
1847 - US General Scott occupies Vera Cruz Mexico
1850 - Daniel Webster endorses Compromise of 1850
1851 - Poll tax levied on Russo-Polish Jews entering Austrian Galicia ends
1854 - Charles Miller patents 1st US sewing machine to stitch buttonholes
1857 - Baseball decides 9 innings constitutes an official game, not 9 runs
1862 - Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, Day 2, Generals McCulloch & McIntosh killed
1865 - Battles near Kinston, NC
1876 - Alexander Graham Bell patents telephone; Battle at Gura: Ethiopian emperor Yohannes beats Egyptians
1900 - Battle at Poplar Grove South Africa - President Kruger flees
1902 - Boers beat British troop in Tweebosch, Transvaal
1906 - Finnish Senate accepts universal suffrage, except for poor
1908 - Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before city council & announced that, "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles"
1911 - US sent 20,000 troops to Mexican border; Willis Farnsworth, Petaluma CA, patents coin-operated locker
1912 - Roald Amundsen announces discovery of the South Pole
1914 - Prince Wilhelm von Wied becomes King of Albania
1917 - 1st jazz record "Dixie Jazz Band One Step", recorded by Nick LaRocca Original Dixieland Jazz Band, released by RCA Victor in Camden NJ
1918 - President Wilson authorizes US Army's Distinguished Service Medal
1921 - Red Army under Trotsky attack sailors of Kronstadt
1925 - American Negro Congress organizes
1926 - 1st transatlantic telephone call (London-New York)
1927 - Earthquake measuring 8 on Richter scale strikes Tango, Japan
1932 - Riots at Ford-factory Dearborn, MI, kills 4
1933 - Game of "Monopoly" invented
1935 - Saar incorporated into Germany
1936 - Hitler breaks Treaty of Versailles, sends troops to Rhineland
1937 - Bucharin, Jagoda & Rykov pushed out of CPSU in USSR
1941 - 50,000 British soldiers lands in Greece; British troops invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
1942 - 15 Mk-VB Spitfires reach Malta; 1st cadets graduated from flying school at Tuskegee
1943 - General Patton arrives in Djebel Kouif Tunisia
1944 - Japan begins offensive in Burma
1945 - Cologne taken by Allied armies; US 9th Armoured Division attacks Remagen, Germany, crosses Rhine; Yugoslavia government of Tito forms
1954 - Russia wins title in their 1st international ice hockey competition
1955 - Mary Martin as "Peter Pan" televised
1959 - 1st aviator to fly a million miles (1.61 Mkm) in a jet (MC Garlow)
1962 - Launch of OSO 1, 1st astronomy satellite (solar flare data)
1965 - Alabama state troopers & 600 black protestors clash in Selma
1965 - Christian-democrats win parliament in Chile
1967 - Teamster president Jimmy Hoffa begins 8-year jail sentence at Lewisburg Federal Prison for defrauding the union & jury tampering (commuted Dec 23, 1971)
1971 - Egypt refuses to renew the Suez ceasefire
1973 - Comet (Lubos) Kohoutek discovered at Hamburg Observatory; Sheik Mujib ur-Rahman's Awami League wins election in Bangladesh
1974 - Monitor (US Civil War Ship) restored at Cape Hatteras, NC
1975 - Senate revises filibuster rule, allows 60 senators to limit debate
1976 - Morocco & Mauretania break diplomatic relations with Algeria
1977 - Ali Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party wins elections; Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin meets President Carter
1978 - Belgian baron Charles Bracht kidnapped
1978 - Dutch 2nd Chamber votes against neutron bomb
1981 - 1st homicide at Disneyland, 18 year old is stabbed to death
1982 - NCAA Tournament Selection televised live for 1st time
1983 - TNN (The Nashville Network) begins on Cable TV
1985 - IBM-PC DOS Version 3.1 (update) released
1986 - South-Africa emergency crisis in Brabant & Limburg ends
1989 - Iran drops diplomatic relations with Britain over Salman Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses"; Partial eclipse of the Sun (Hawaii, NW North America, Greenland)
1990 - 3 passengers killed & 162 injured as subway train derails (Philadelphia)
1991 - Iraq continues to explode oil fields in Kuwait
1994 - ANC chief Nelson Mandela rejects demand by white right-wingers for separate homeland in South Africa; Charles Taylor resigns as President of Liberia
1994 - US Navy issues 1st permanent order assigning women on combat ship
1995 - New York becomes 38th state to have the death penalty
1996 - 1st surface photos of Pluto (photographed by Hubble Space Telescope)
1997 - 5 sue Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, because his smoking has violated the country's constitution guaranteeing a wholesome life

Birthdays
1543 - Johan Casimir, count of Rhine (occupied Gent)
1682 - Johan W. van Ripperda, Dutch diplomat/baron/duke
1693 - Clement XIII [Carlo Rezzonico], Pope (1758-69)
1707 - Stephen Hopkins (Governor-RI) signed Declaration of Independence
1827 - Henry DeLamar Clayton, Confederate Major General
1831 - John Bratton [Old Reliable], US physician/Confederate Brigadier General
1832 - Orlando Metcalfe Poe, Union Brigadier General
1837 - Henry Draper Virginia, astro-spectro-photographer (Moon, Jupiter)
1850 - Tomás G. Masaryk, President of Czechoslovakia (1918-35)
1875 - Maurice Joseph Ravel, composer (Boléro)
1888 - Alidius van Starkenborch Stachouwer, Governor of Netherland Indies (1936-45)
1904 - Reinhard Heydrich, German Governor (Bohemen/Moravia (Lidice))
1908 - Joop [Joseph] van Santen, Dutch 1st chamber member (CPN)
1915 - Jacques Chaban-Delmas, French politician
1934 - Willard Scott, weather forecaster (Today Show)
1937 - Don Bonker (Representative-WA)
1938 - Janet Guthrie, race car driver, 1st woman to race in Indy 500
1940 - Viktor Petrovich Savinykh, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-4, T-13, TM-5)
1942 - Tommy F. Robinson (Representative-AR)
1944 - Elton Gallegly (Representative-CA)
1947 - Robert O'Neill Crossman, politician
1953 - Kathleen Sullivan, newscaster (E!)

Passings
322 BC - Aristotle
0161 - Antoninus Pius [Titus Aurelius], emperor of Rome (138-61), dies at 74
1040 - Harold I, King of England (1035-40)
1111 - Bohemund I of Tarente, French ruler of Antioch
1305 - Gwijde van Dampierre, Count of Flanders/count of Namur, dies at 78
1724 - Innocent XIII [Michelangiolo dei Conti], Pope (1721-24), dies at 68
1737 - Guido Starhemberg, Austrian earl/fieldmarshal, dies at 79
1810 - Albertus H. Wiese, Governor-General of Netherland Indies, dies at about 48
1862 - Ben McCulloch US Confederate Brigadier-General (KIA), dies at 50; John Baillie McIntosh, Union General-Major, dies at 32; William Slack, Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle
1932 - Aristide Briand, 11x premier of France (Nobel 1926), dies at 69
1941 - Günther Prien, German commandant (U-47), dies in battle
1951 - Ali Razmara, Shah of Iran (1950-51), assassinated
1959 - Hinsdale Smith, developer of roll-down auto windows, dies at 88
1961 - Max Hymans, WWII resistance fighter/Head of Air France, dies at 60
1968 - Yuri Aleksayevich Gagarin, cosmonaut (Vostok I), dies at 31
1973 - André de Meulemeester, Belgian WWI pilot [Eagle of Flanders], dies at 78
1985 - Robert W. Woodruff, CEO (Coca-Cola), dies at 95; Victor W. Farris, inventor of paper milk carton
1986 - Jacob K Javits (Senator-NY), dies in Palm Beach FL at 81
1988 - Robert Livingston, actor (Lone Ranger), dies at 83 of emphysema
1995 - Don Cook, British foreign correspondent, dies at 74; Jacques Lefebvre Belgian air force general, commits suicide at 64; Paul-Emile Victor, French pole explorer, dies at 87; Thijmen Kuijt resistance fighter/co-found paper (Typhoon), dies at 82
1996 - Aled Eames, maritime historian, dies at 74

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Page, Gordon L., USAF (CA); RF101C shot down (w/Wright) - remains returned 1989 - ID'd April, 1998

Smith, Harold Victor, USAF (IL); F105D shot down - remains ID'd May, 2000

Wright, Jerdy A., Jr., USAF (TX); RF 101C shot down (w/Page) - remains returned June, 1988 - ID'd September, 1989

1967
Miller, Robert L., USN (CA); F8E shot down - Killed, body not recovered

1970
Gates, Albert H., Jr., USMC (NY); CH46D shot down - KIA, body not recovered

1971
Ard, Randolph J., US Army (FL); OH58A shot down (w/Burnett)

Burnett, Sheldon J., US Army (NH); OH58A shot down (w/Ard)

1972
Howell, Carter A., USAF (NC); F4E shot down (w/Rusch)

Rusch, Stephen A., USAF (NJ); F4E shot down (w/Howell)

1973
Ackley, James W., Civilian - Air America; C123K shot down (w/Driver)

Driver, Clarence N., Civilian - Air America (CA); C123K shot down (w/Ackley)

Labels: Headlines, History