Michael Yon sends this picture, taken on the road in Iraq...

I thought it lent itself well to reader captioning, so let fly in the comments section.


My first contribution - "Harry, I told you to stop and ask for directions, but oh, no...now will you admit we're lost??"


Michael's pictures are copyrighted, and posted by permission. Please do not publish or repost without same.


UPDATE: OK, Michael has asked that I let him know who's got the best caption, and right now the only ones in are mine, and my husband's rather pathetic attempt. (Sorry, honey, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em). So, to sweeten the pot....

Best caption (by reader vote) gets their choice of one of Chuck Z's T-Shirts (I don't have my own yet, but I'm working on that...). Proceeds from the shirts go to support Soldiers' Angels, so everybody wins. Some of them are really funny - I'm partial to the @$$hats shirt, but my husband's choice was - much to my chagrin - "I'm with stupid." You can get a look at all of them here.

So hurry up and enter your caption in the comments section - submissions close on Monday, March 12th.

Labels: contests, Iraq, Michael Yon, photos

Hundreds of family members celebrate the homecoming of the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. The Marines' arrival marked the end of a seven-month deployment in Habbaniyah, Iraq, conducting combat operations under Regimental Combat Team 5. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ray Lewis


Family members look for their loved one at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 7. Hundreds of women and children came here for the homecoming of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. The Marines' arrival marked the end of a seven-month deployment in Habbaniyah, Iraq, conducting combat operations under Regimental Combat Team 5. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ray Lewis


U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Corey A. Cativera kisses his infant daughter at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 7. She and hundreds of other family members celebrated the homecoming of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. Cativera, 22, is from Dubois, Pa. He is also a squad automatic weapon gunner with Company K. The Marines' arrival marked the end of a seven-month deployment in Habbaniyah, Iraq, conducting combat operations under Regimental Combat Team 5. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ray Lewis


U.S. Marine Cpl. Donald R. Harris reunites with his fiancée at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 7. Harris, 21, is a section leader with Weapons Company. The Marines' arrival marked the end of a seven-month deployment in Habbaniyah, Iraq, conducting combat operations under Regimental Combat Team 5. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ray Lewis


U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Matthew A. Moore receives a peck on his cheek from his 6-year-old daughter at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 7. She and hundreds of other family members celebrated the homecoming of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. Moore is an infantry staff noncommissioned officer assigned to Company K. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ray Lewis


More photo essays at DefendAmerica

Labels: 3-2 Marine Regiment, Camp Lejeune, photo essay, USMC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR# 030807-01
March 8, 2007


MUQDADIYA, Iraq – Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division supported by Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, attached to 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, discovered three caches and two improvised explosive devices while conducting routine patrols in Muqdadiya, Iraq, Thursday.

“The weapons and supplies found during this patrol have multiple uses, however, the primary reason for their use is to disrupt the future of the Iraqi people living in the Diyala province,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, 3-1 Cav. commander and senior U.S. Army officer in the Diyala province. “The people in the province are choosing reconstruction, stability, and development. The choices being dictated to them by the terrorists are fear and oppression. The Iraqi Security Forces are committing themselves to removing the terrorists’ tools.”

The caches consisted of improvised explosive device making materials including approximately 20 propane tanks and several mortar rounds.

A Coalition Forces’ explosive ordnance disposal unit conducted controlled detonations of the caches and the IEDs.

The unit also detained three individuals riding on a motorcycle with a mortar round prepared to explode. The detainees will be processed for further questioning.

Labels: 1-505th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division, 3BCT, 5th Iraqi Army Division, 6-9 armored Reconnaissance Squadron, Iraqi Security Forces, Muqdadiyah, Operation Iraqi Freedom, US Army, weapons cache

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Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
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Followers mark bin Laden's 50th birthday

Other Military News
Bush's $3.2 Billion Request
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Czechs, Poles wary of U.S. anti-missile shield

Worldwide Wackos
Chavez Taunts Bush on Latin America Tour
Bush ignores Chavez on Latin American tour - Video
Chavez gets a cool reception in Bolivia
U.S. calls Iran, Syria talks cordial
Iran, U.S. Trade Barbs at Iraq Conference
ElBaradei to go to shore up N.Korea atom halt pact
North Korea says war games hurt nuclear talks

Politics / Government
Democrats cancel Fox News debate
'Lunatic Fringe' in Charge of Dems
John McCain Says GOP to Blame for Losing Elections
Bush vows swift action in FBI records scandal
Bush, Brazil's Lula upbeat on global trade deal - Video
France's Chirac poised to end political career
Long lost Churchill paper on Jews uncovered
Poll: Character trumps policy for voters
Laws on open government often fall short

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Fake Nurse Kidnaps Texas Newborn
Video Captures Attack on Woman, 101
Cops: Daughter Kept Slain Mom in Trunk

U.N. News
U.N. Envoy: Kosovo Talks Hit Deadlock

Science/ Medicine / Technology
Man Saves Bulldog With Mouth-to-Mouth
PB&J — But Hold the PB, Please
Big Booties Were the Stone Age Rage

Mother Nature
Global Warming Report to Warn of Drought
EU challenges world with climate change plan - Video
Texas snake roundup rattles ecologists

News from My Neck of the Woods
Conn. man aims to dispel ski mask fear

Oddities
Dad Drops Dead at Daughter's Wedding (How sad...)
Accused Child Molester Cuts off Monitoring Bracelet to Attend 'Jerry Springer' Talk Show
Art Show With Vomiting, Simulated Sex Nixed

Other News of Note
Spring Forward A Bit Earlier This Year
Democrats slam GOP over Walter Reed woes

Fox News
10th Victim Dies From Deadly Bronx Fire
Report: O.J. Simpson Says Anna Nicole Smith's Baby Might Be His
Teacher Accused of Sex With 11-Year-Old

Reuters: Top News
Russian regions to vote, Kremlin may tighten grip
Courtney Love sued by rehab center over fees
Stocks to track mortgage woes and CPI
Vonage shares plunge after patent verdict
Stocks mixed on job growth, mortgage fears
New Century stock falls
Gold closes lower on dollar rally after jobs data
Citigroup must show cost cuts work
A year later, organic just mild, not hot
New Century stock falls
Chrysler recalls SUVs after dozens of reported fires
Countrywide ends no down-payment lending
Caremark: FTC request shows Express bid may fail
Adam Smith gets O'Rourke alternative
Soaring executive pay meets reforms

AP World News
John Legend takes Soul Train honors
Americans increasingly medicating pets
Georgetown crushes Pitt to win Big East
Badgers set up showdown with Buckeyes
NYPD ire keeps Busta Rhymes off film set
Alito trades robe for Devil Rays jersey
Mexico: Threats won't end drug crackdown
James Brown's body placed in S.C. crypt
Oden powers Buckeyes into Big Ten final
Ga. barrier a site of previous wrecks
Memphis wins Conference USA and NCAA bid
Cuche wins at Kvitfjell, clinches title

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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 - podcast
Congressman calls command modeling and simulation hub - podcast

DefenseLink
Ambassador: Iraqi Government Makes Progress - Story
Iraqis Help Troops Find Weapons, Bombs Caches - Story
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Transcript: Mixon Briefs from Iraq
Independent Review Group Seeks Comments - Story
Army Notes Walter Reed Leadership Changes - Story

More Headline News
STRATCOM Refines, Fields New Capabilities
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Nominee Cites U.S. Pacific Command Priorities
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Military News
Army Guard Leader Visits Troops in Afghanistan
Commander Wants to End One-Year Tours
Multi-service Crew Fights War on Terror in Afghanistan

America Supports You
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Groups Donate Gift Certificates
Wounded Tackle Snowboarding

War on Terror
Communications Thwart Taliban - Story
U.S. Troops Nab Al Qaeda Killer
Unit Weathers Dust Storm
33 Detained in Iraq

Transformation
Marines Finish Corporals Course
Cadets Conducting Research
Navy to Commission Transport
F-35 Production Inches Closer

Face of Defense
Son Motivates Marine's Success
Reunion After 20 Years
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DefendAmerica
NEWS UPDATES
Communications Thwart Taliban - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
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IN IRAQ
Radio, Television Network Hits Iraq Airwaves
Class Helps Soldiers Care for Combat Casualties
More than 60 Sign Up for Iraqi Police Force

IN AFGHANISTAN
Soldiers Deliver Supplies for Women's Day Event
Afghan Workers Keep Vehicles in Prime Condition

IN DJIBOUTI
Army Engineers Plan Well for People of Assama

DefendAmerica Week in Review
Sunday - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday

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
0417 - Zosimus becomes bishop of Rome
0537 - Goths lay siege to Rome
0843 - Icon worship officially re-instated in Aya Sofia, Constantinople
1302 - Romeo & Juliet's wedding day, according to Shakespeare
1502 - Tebriz shah Ismail I of Persia crowned
1513 - Giovanni de' Medici chosen Pope Leo X
1563 - League of High Nobles' second protest against King Philip II
1567 - Geuzen army leaves Walcheren to return to Oosterweel
1597 - Land guardian Albrecht occupies Amiens on France
1649 - Treaty of Rueil destroys 1st Fronde-uprising
1669 - Volcano Etna in Italy erupts, killing 15,000
1779 - US Army Corps of Engineers established (1st time)
1789 - Benjamin Banneker and L'Enfant begin to lay out Washington, DC
1791 - Samuel Mulliken, Philadelphia PA, is 1st to obtain more than 1 US patent
1795 - Battle at Kurdla India: Mahratten beat Mogols
1812 - Citizenship granted to Prussian Jews
1824 - US War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs
1835 - HMS Beagle anchors off Valparaiso, Chile
1861 - Confederate convention in Montgomery, adopts constitution
1862 - General Stonewall Jackson evacuates Winchester, Virginia; Lincoln removes McClellen as general-in-chief & makes him head of Army of the Potomac. Gen Henry Halleck is named general-in-chief
1864 - Skirmish at Calfkiller Creek (Sparta), Tennessee
1865 - General Sherman's Union forces occupy Fayetteville, NC
1867 - Great Mauna Loa eruption (Hawaii)
1888 - Great blizzard of '88 strikes northeast US
1895 - Spanish cruiser Reina Regenta sinks at Gibraltar, 400 killed
1917 - British troops occupy Baghdad
1918 - Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia
1919 - General strike in Germany, crushed
1926 - Eamon da Valera ends leadership of Sinn Fein
1927 - 1st armored commercial car hold-up in US, Pittsburgh
1930 - President & Chief Justice William Taft buried in Arlington
1935 - Hermann Goering officially creates German Air Force, the Luftwaffe
1938 - Artur Seyss-Inquart replaces Kurt von Schuschnigg as Chancellor of Austria; German troops enter Austria
1941 - FDR signs Lend-Lease Bill (lend money to Britain)
1942 - 1st deportation train leaves Paris France for Auschewitz Concentration Camp; General MacArthur leaves Corregidor (Bataan) for Australia; Japanese troop land on North-Sumatra
1943 - Nazi Militia forms in Netherlands
1944 - Dutch resistance fighter Joop Westerweel arrested
1945 - 1,000 allied bombers harass Essen, 4,662 ton bombs; Flemish Nazi collaborator Maria Huygens sentenced to death
1948 - Jewish Agency of Jerusalem bombed
1953 - 1st woman army doctor commissioned (FM Adams); An American B-47 accidentally drops a nuclear bomb on South Carolina, the bomb doesn't go off due to 6 safety catches
1954 - US Army charges Senator Joseph McCarthy used undue pressure tactics
1960 - Pioneer 5 launched into solar orbit between Earth & Venus
1963 - Somalia drops diplomatic relations with Great Britain
1966 - Military coup led by Indonesian General Suharto breaks out
1970 - Iraq Ba'th Party recognizes Kurd nation
1974 - Mount Etna in Sicily erupts
1975 - Portugal military coup under General Spinola fails
1977 - 34 Israelis killed by Palestinians on the Tel Aviv-Haifa highway; Muslims hold 130 hostages in Washington, DC
1978 - Terrorists attack mail truck at Tel Aviv, 45 killed
1981 - Chile constitution takes effect, Augusto Pinochet 2nd term begins
1982 - Failed military coup under Rambocus/Hawker in Suriname; Harrison Williams (Senator-NJ) resigns rather than face expulsion; Menachem Begin & Anwar Sadat sign peace treaty in Washington, DC
1985 - Mikhail S. Gorbachev replaces Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet leader
1986 - 1 million days since traditional foundation of Rome, 4/21/753 BC; Japanese probe Sakigake flies by Halley's Comet at 6.8 millionkm
1988 - £ note ceases to be legal tender, replaced by £ coin
1990 - Lithuania declares its independence
1994 - Eduardo Frei succeeds Patricio Aylwin as President of Chile
1995 - President Nazarbajev disbands Kazakhstan parliament; Sinn Fein party leader, Gerry Adams, arrives in US
1997 - Ashes of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry are launched into space; Beatle Paul McCartney knighted Sir Paul by Queen Elizabeth II

Birthdays
1731 - Robert Treat Paine, judge, signer of Declaration of Independence
1811 - Marsena Rudolph Patrick, Union Brevet Major General; Urbain Jean Joseph le Verrier, co-discovered Neptune
1812 - James Speed, Union Attorney General; Pieter Blussé van Oud-Alblas Dutch liberal minister of Finance
1818 - John Wilkins Whitfield, Confederate Brigadier General
1822 - Allison Nelson, Confederate Brigadier General
1832 - Franz Melde, German physicist (Melde test); William Ruffin Cox, Confederate Brigadier General (2nd North Carolina Infantry)
1840 - Edmund Kirby, Jr., Union Brigadier General
1876 - David Wijnkoop, Dutch revolutionary socialist
1879 - Niels Bjerrum, Danish chemist (ph tests)
1892 - Wladyslaw Anders, Polish General (WWI, WWII)
1899 - Frederick IX, King of Denmark (1947-72)
1904 - Cornelis Jan Bakker, Dutch/US nuclear physicist
1907 - Helmuth J. von Moltke, German politician (July 20th plot)
1907 - Margaret Herbison, British minister (Lab)
1910 - Robert H G Havemann, German chemist
1911 - Fitzroy Maclean, British diplomat, soldier politician/historian
1916 - Sir [James] Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister (1964-70, 1974-76)
1922 - Abdul Razak bin Hussain premier of Malaysia (1970-77)
1926 - Ralph Abernathy, civil rights leader (Southern Christian Leadership)
1934 - Keith Speed British, MP
1934 - Sam Donaldson, ABC White House correspondent (Prime Time)
1936 - Antonin Scalia, 105th Supreme Court Justice
1938 - Malcolm Keith Speed, British high court judge
1956 - Curtis L. Brown, Jr., Major USAF/astronaut (STS 47, STS 66, 77, 85, 95)
1966 - Pavel Petrovich Mukhortov, Russian cosmonaut

Passings
0222 - Varius A. Bassianus, Syrian emperor of Rome (218-22), murdered at 18?
0638 - Sophronius of Jerusalem saint/patriarch of Jerusalem, dies
1907 - Nikola Petkow, premier (Bulgaria), murdered
1921 - Sherburne W. Burnham, US astronomer (binary stars), dies at 83
1949 - Henri-Honoré Giraud, French General/MP, dies at 70
1955 - Alexander Fleming, English bacteriologist (penicillin), dies at 73
1965 - James Reeb, US vicar/civil rights activist, murdered
1992 - Heinz Kühn, Prime Minister (Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany), dies at 80

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Smith, Richard D., USAF (KS); B57 shot down - remains ID'd September, 1994

1967
Greene, Charles E., USAF (NY); F105D shot down released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Hiteshew, James E., USAF (WV); F105D shot down - released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Karins, Joseph J., Jr., USAF (NY); F105D shot down - remains returend April, 1988

Moore, Ernest M., USN (CA); A4E shot down, released by March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

The following USAF personnel lost in an attack on Lima 85, Phao Pha Thi, Laos:
Blanton, Clarence F., (OK); KIA, body not recovered

Calfee, Hames Henry, (TX); KIA, body not recovered

Davis, James Woodrow, (MS); KIA, body not recovered

Gish, Henry G., (PA); KIA, body not recovered

Holland, Melvin A., (WA); KIA, body not recovered

Hall, Willis Roselle (NE); KIA, body not recovered

Kirk, Herbert A., (PA); KIA, body not recovered

Price, David Stanley (WA); KIA, body not recovered

Shannon, Patrick Lee (OK); KIA, body not recovered

Sprinsteadah, Donald K. (NJ); KIA, body not recovered

Worley, Don F. (AR); KIA, body not recovered

The following also reported MIA this day in 1968:
Bond, Ronald Dale, USAF (ND); A37A shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Calloway, Porter E., US Army (LA); captured wounded, died

McMillan, Isiah, US Army (FL); released by PRG March, 1973 - retired as a Master Sergeant - alive as of 1998

Olds, Ernest A., USAF (MD); F4D shot down (w/Rodriguez) - remains ID'd August, 1996

Rodriguez, Albert E., USAF (NY); F4D shot down (w/Olds) - remains returned December, 1988 - ID'd July, 1989

Davis, Thomas, J., US Army (AL); released by PRG March, 1973 - retired as a CSM - alive as of 1998

Labels: Headlines, History