From Multi-National Force Iraq:

A child in Sabbah Nissan receives a new backpack from members of the Concerned Local Citizens group, Nov. 26. The bags were provided by Battery A, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery. Battery A has distributed 1,422 backpacks to the children of Sabbah Nissan since they came to the area in October.


FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery helped the Concerned Local Citizens group of Sabbah Nissan deliver backpacks to school children, Nov. 26.

Soldiers from Battery A have supplied 1,422 backpacks to the children of Sabbah Nissan since they took over the area in October.

During his short time in the area, Capt. Pat Moffett, from Manhatan Beach, Calif., the commander of Battery A, has seen noticeable improvements as a result of the battery’s humanitarian missions.

“On school days we are seeing a decrease in the numbers of children out on the streets,” he said. “It’s great, because they are going to school because they have the supplies to learn and succeed. We cannot drive down the streets here without seeing at least 100 children with those backpacks.”

In addition to supplying the children with backpacks, Battery A has supplied Sabbah Nissan with 7,000 cases of bottled water.

“We have an understanding with the people that as long as the region is stable and they help us keep insurgents in check, we will have more opportunities to help provide other services to them,” Moffett said. “Obviously, if the area was unstable, our main priority would have to be security. The people and the concerned citizens are a big reason this area doesn’t have those concerns.”

The 1-10th FA is part of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March.

Labels: 1-10th FAR, 3rd ID, children, Good News, Iraq, Sabbah Nissan

TARGET PRACTICE - U.S. Air Force airmen of the 354th Fighter Wing walk down range to set up their targets prior to a shooting exercise firing at the snow-covered small arms range on Eielson Air Base, Alaska, Nov. 29, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Christopher Griffin

Labels: 354th Fighter Wing, Eielson Air Force Base, photos, USAF

From Multi-National Force Iraq:

Army Spc. John Ackerman, a medic with the Civil Military Operations Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, keeps watch as members of his platoon conduct a census of the Daklea Market in the Yarmouk neighborhood of Baghdad, Nov. 18. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons, USA.


CAMP LIBERTY — Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment’s Civil Military Operations (CMO) Platoon, stopped at the Daklea Market in Baghdad recently to take a census of sorts among the shop owners.

The platoon was documenting all the shop owners in the area. That day they catalogued the last shops. “It’s all about sales,” said Army 1st Lt. Quinn Robertson, the platoon’s leader from Richmond, Va., who sold stocks before joining the Army. “It’s all about selling yourself. That’s how you talk to them.”

Robertson’s strong background in the business world and his time as a battery executive officer and battalion intelligence officer have served him well with the platoon, he said, as he helps Iraqis learn how to rebuild their nation.

“It’s all about the relationship building,” he said after meeting and greeting various Iraqis at the market. “They don’t come from the same backgrounds as we do, so we are reintroducing them to the process – the who and where you get the money from to get things done. The way you talk to them goes a long way.”

The CMO platoon, created in September, was the brainchild of former Civil-Military Officer, Army 1st Lt. Alex Barnett, who saw its creation as a way to free up combat power, said Lancaster, Pa., native Army 1st Lt. Neal Rice, the battalion’s civil military operations officer.

“Before we had the platoon, line platoons were escorting us all over the battlefield,” the 27-year-old said. “CMO became such a big part of our mission that we were getting inundated. So the commander said, ‘Let’s get a platoon.’ Now CMO has freedom of movement anywhere in the area of operations.”

The platoon -- made up of various military occupational specialties including administrative, medical, infantry and cannon crewmembers -- has helped to calm a once restive market.

The battalion, and the platoon, brought a local religious leader over to their side with signs of progress, Robertson said.

“He was not exactly on the fence,” he said. “But we brought him onto the fence then our actions brought him over. We asked if he was the power in the neighborhood and he said, ‘Yes.’ So we put him together with the neighborhood (advisory) council (NAC). With the NAC and him together, the bad guys could only take him so far.”

And the neighborhood began to steadily improve, he added.

Besides helping get the Daklea Market back on its feet, the platoon is tasked with “getting sewage off the streets, getting the pumping stations working, assessing schools and assisting the Iraqi police auxiliary in Yarmouk,” said Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Whaley, an infantryman from Bloomington, Ind., and CMO platoon sergeant.

The platoon also helped with police auxiliary recruitment drives in Hateen and Yarmouk. But, the success of the platoon goes back to one thing, Robertson said.

“It’s all about relationship building,” the 33-year-old five-year Army veteran said.

(Story by Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons, 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs)

In Other Recent Developments Here:
BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division – Baghdad troops arrested a suspected terrorist bomb-maker and two financiers and found two improvised explosive devices in the Iraqi capital’s Rashid district, Nov. 30.

BAGHDAD — Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 16 suspected terrorists during operations Friday and Saturday to disrupt al-Qaida operations in the central and northern parts of the country.

Labels: 2-32 FAR, 350th Civil Affairs, Camp Liberty, Good News, Iraq, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq ministry eyes power to arrest foreign guards
Violence reportedly hampers Iraq forces
Iraq troops find 12 bodies in mass grave

Operation Enduring Freedom
Pentagon chief in Afghanistan as al Qaeda regroups

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
U.S. presses Sudan, experts query peacekeeper plan

Other Military News
U.S. defense outlays seen staying high

Religion of Peace??
'Teddy Bear' Teacher Flies Out of Sudan - VIDEO

Worldwide Wackos
Venezuela's Chavez Defeated in Bid for Indefinite Re-Election, Sweeping Reform
Chavez vote defeat tests his Venezuela revolution - Video
Chavez: Plan may have been too ambitious
Bush Intel Chief: 'Keep Pressure On Iran' - NIE Report (pdf)
Report contradicts Bush on Iran nuclear program
Iran hails Gulf ties, Gulf Arabs tightlipped

Homegrown Moonbats
Dixie Chick Urges Donations to Defense Fund for Murderers

Politics / Government
Gay Prostitute Who Outed Ted Haggard Alleges Date With Idaho Sen. Larry Craig
Clinton: Now the 'Fun' Begins - VIDEO - CAMPAIGN CARL
Obama seeks consumer credit guards
White House threatens to veto energy bill
Monitors say Russian vote unfair
Crowded agenda greets returning Congress
In Iowa, Clinton doubts Obama's political courage - Video
Rice plans to name Wolfowitz to advisory panel
Sen. Clinton proposes moratorium on foreclosures - Video
Europe urges Russia election probe - Video
Pakistan's Sharif barred from January vote - Video

Illegal Immigration / Border Control
Border Guard Case Overblown? (Gee, ya think?!?)
Border Patrol Discovers Tunnel Along U.S.-Mexico Border

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Cops: Wisconsin Parents Poured Water on Pantsless, Duct-Taped Children Outside
Jailers Fired for Encouraging Female Inmate Bikini 'Fashion Show'
Police Find No Evidence of Pepper Spray in Alleged Sabotage of Miss Puerto Rico Universe's Clothing
'Mourning' Thief Nabs $10,000 From Memorial Service
Accused Clinton Office Hostage-Taker Held on $500G Bail
Sperm Donor Ordered to Pay Child Support for 18-Year-Old (un-flippin-believable)
Celebs, Fans Mourn Sean Taylor - PHOTOS
Police: Pair financed fun with ID theft .

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Prosecutor: No Criminal Charges in MySpace Suicide
E-Mail, Instant Messaging: The Tools of Cyber Harassers
Dead Pregnant Woman Texted She Feared Baby's Dad
YouTube restores account of Egypt anti-torture blogger
Radio host Imus returns after firing
Ad targeting improves on Web sites

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Spectacular Mummified Dinosaur Found in North Dakota
Smaller babies prone to depression, study finds
FDA science dearth puts public health at risk
Astronauts arrive in Florida for shuttle launch
Klausner sues Apple iPhone over voicemail
News Corp, LinkedIn not in takeover talks: source
Over 40 million in U.S. can't afford health care: report
Groups say HIV rate being revised upward
Study: Try honey for children's coughs
Young chimp beats college students

Mother Nature
Storm Pounds Northwest - Powerful winds gusting at more than 100 mph - PHOTOS

Oddities
Wedding Ring Deflects Robber's Bullet, Saves Mississippi Store Owner's Life, Police Say
British Man Believed to Have Drowned Shows Up 5 Years Later
Report: Pilots' Strange Illusions May Cause Death
Meet the Only Man on Campus, Among 2,300 Women
Death Becomes Them: Morticians Strip for Calendar
Merry Christmas, we're stealing your pork!
Air force left red-faced by botched test
Hmmmm. Something's different about you

Other News of Note
Best Foot Forward

Fox News
FOXBusiness: How to Find Strong Mentors
Point of Impact: Camera Captures Amtrak Crash - PHOTOS
Pop Tarts: Did Reality Show Lead to Demise of Hulk Hogan's Marriage?

Reuters
Paulson says mortgage plan to be ready this week
U.S., China to sign import safety pacts: HHS' Leavitt
Couples still view husband's career as more important
Britney Spears tops list of Yahoo! searches for 2007
Depp plays "punk rock Sweeney Todd" in new film
Actor Brad Pitt plans 150 homes for New Orleans
Wall St falls on ISM factory data, mortgage doubts
NovaStar soars 69 percent, prompts NYSE request
Oil ends slide as OPEC hike seen unlikely - Video
Forex-Yen, Swiss franc gain as risk aversion resurfaces
SAP shares climb on bid talk: traders
EADS eyes $1.5 billion U.S. acquisition
EADS sees decision soon on production
Fed officials see slower growth
November auto sales weak
Motorola technology chief leaves
Countrywide CEO says bankruptcy not an option
Vivendi breakup cloud remains
Teamsters seek vote to represent UAL mechanics

AP World News
Pat Robertson's son takes over CBN
Hewitt strikes back over bikini shots
Knievel's victim goes after the money
Ford, Toyota US sales flat; GM down
Kuhn, O'Malley elected to Baseball Hall
Pettitte to pitch for Yankees in 2008
Snowfall is 'white gold' to ski areas
Vivendi, Activision shares rise on deal

CENTCOM: News Releases
SIRAJ HAQQANI SHARES NAME OF FATHER ONLY: DIFFERS IN PHILOSOPHY, TACTICS
AN NASIRIYAH SWAT CAPTURES HIGH-LEVEL IED FACILITATOR, FOUR OTHERS

USJFCOM
Capability development leadership to change
More about Capability Development
USJFCOM readies for Joint Task Force Senior Medical Leadership Seminar - podcast
USJFCOM garners cutting edge technology award - podcast
New USJFCOM super computer will enhance command efforts - podcast

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Army Engineers Looking for Strong Finish on Projects in Iraq
U.S. Army Engineers Check Water Projects, Make Donations
Coalition forces target an al-Qaeda facilitator; one detained (Baghdad)
Announcement of Hajj Flights from Mosul Airport
Troops capture suspected terrorists (Baghdad)
Coalition forces disrupt terrorist operations; seven detained (Tarmiyah)
Iron Reaper continues pursuit of al-Qaeda
Troops arrest 3 alleged terrorists, find roadside bombs (Rashid district)

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Djibouti Lessons May Help in Iraq
Pentagon Hosts U.S.-China Talks

IRAQ NEWS
Brigade Lifts 'Blanket of Fear'
Leaflets Identify 'Wanted' Insurgents
SWAT Unit Targets Bomb-Making Cells
Soldiers’ Trust Contributes to Success
Coalition Disrupts Terrorists, Detains Seven
Leader Alive Thanks to 'Check It' Effort

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
New Afghan School Opens
Precision Strike Kills Several Militants
Afghan Security Forces Prove Themselves

MILITARY NEWS
Military Children Attend White House Holiday Party
Five Guard Brigades Alerted for 2009 Deployments
Navy Claims Sixth Straight Victory Over Army

HUMANITARIAN RELIEF
Bangladeshis Thank U.S. Sailors, Marines

WHY WE SERVE
Chef Happiest at Sea

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Toys Salute Soldiers
Spouse Support Gathering

FACE OF DEFENSE
Engineer Hopes He’s Making a Difference

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

Today in History
1621 - Galileo perfects the telescope.
1678 - Edmund Halley receives a Master of Arts degree from Queen's College, Oxford.
1685 - Charles II bars Jews from settling in Stockholm, Sweden.
1775 - The first official U.S. flag raising takes place aboard the naval vessel Alfred.
1818 - Illinois is admitted as the 21st U.S. state.
1828 - Andrew Jackson is elected as the seveth President of the U.S.
1835 - The first American mutual fire insurance company issues its first policy, in Rhode Island.
1847 - Frederick Douglass publishes the first issue of his newspaper "North Star."
1863 - Confederate General Longstreet abandons his siege at Knoxville, TN.
1864 - Skirmish at Thomas' Station, Georgia.
1868 - The Trial of Jefferson Davis starts, marking the first time Blacks serve on a U.S. trial jury.
1878 - Settlers arrive at Petach Tikvah, Israel.
1883 - The 48th Congress (1883-85) convenes.
1912 - Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria sign a weapons pact.
1920 - Turkey and Armenia agree to a peace treaty.
1923 - For the first time, a U.S. Congressional open session is broadcast via radio.
1930 - Air-borne chemicals combine with fog to kill 60 in Meuse Valley, Belgium; Otto Ender forms the Austrian government.
1931 - Alka Seltzer first goes on sale.
1932 - General Kurt von Schleicher becomes chancellor of Germany.
1934 - Italian colonial Tripoli and Cyrenaica are annexed to Libya.
1941 - Hitler views Poltava, in the Ukraine.
1943 - The Battle of Monte Cassino, Italy begins.
1944 - In Greece, the British order to disarm causes a general strike; the Hungarian death march of Jews ends; the U.S.' 5th Armored division occupies Brandenburg Hürtgenwald.
1946 - The U.S. government asks the U.N. to order dictator Franco out of Spain.
1948 - The first U.S. woman Army officer not in the medical corps is sworn in; the Chinese refugee ship "Kiangya" explodes in the East China Sea, killing 1,100.
1950 - Paul Harvey begins his national radio broadcast.
1952 - Hawaii sees its first TV broadcast.
1953 - Eisenhower criticizes McCarthy for saying communists are in the Republican party.
1958 - The Indonesian parliament accepts nationalization of Dutch businesses.
1959 - The state of emergency on Cyprus ends.
1962 - Edith Spurlock Sampson is sworn-in (the first American Black female judge); Pravda criticizes western art.
1964 - Police arrests 800 sit-in students at the University of California at Berkeley; "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" first airs on TV .
1965 - The U.S.S.R. launches Luna-8; it crashes on the Moon.
1967 - The first human heart transplant performed (Dr Christiaan Barnard, South Africa); The "20th Century Limited," famed New York-Chicago luxury train, makes its final run; in Indonesia, ex-President Sukarno is placed under house arrest.
1971 - President Nixon commutes Jimmy Hoffa's jail term.
1972 - A Convair 990A charter plane crashes in Tenerife, Canary Islands, killing 155.
1973 - Pioneer-10 passes Jupiter (first fly-by of an outer planet).
1976 - Dr. Patrick J. Hillery is elected President of Ireland.
1979 - Iran accepts its constitution.
1980 - A New York Federal jury finds Representatives Thompson (D-NJ) and Murphy (D-NY) guilty of influence peddling and bribery.
1982 - 77ºF becomes the highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in December.
1985 - The 23rd Shuttle Mission (61-B / Atlantis 2) lands at Edwards AFB.
1989 - George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev end their summit in Malta.
1991 - Muslim Shiites release US hostage Alan Steen; White House Chief of Staff John Sununu resigns.
1992 - The U.N. Security Council votes unanimous for U.S.-led forces to enter Somalia.

Birthdays
1368 - King Charles VI (the Well-Beloved) of France (1380-1422)
1753 - Samuel Crompton, English inventor (mule-jenny spinning machine)
1755 - Gilbert Stuart, portrait painter (painted Washington)
1795 - Sir Rowland Hill, introduced the first adhesive postage stamp (1840)
1806 - Henry Alexander Wise, Confederate Brigadier-General
1809 - Thomas Alfred Davies Union Brevet Major General
1822 - Charles Adam Heckman, Union Brigadier-General
1826 - George Brinton McClellan, Union Major General
1829 - Green Berry Raum, Union Brigadier-General
1838 - Cleveland Abbe, meteorologist (Father of the Weather Bureau)
1857 - Joseph Conrad, novelist (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness)
1862 - Jules Renkin, Belgian jurist/minister/premier (1931-32)
1886 - Karl Manne Georg Siegbahn, physicist (röntgen spectroscope, Nobel 1924)
1900 - Richard Kuhn Austria, biochemist, worked with vitamins (Nobel 1938)
1924 - John Backus, inventor (FORTRAN computer language)
1934 - Viktor Vassilyevich Gorbatko, cosmonaut (Soyuz 7, 24, 37/36)
1937 - Bobby Allison, auto racer (3 time winner of Daytona 500)
1948 - Ozzy Osbourne England, rock vocalist (Black Sabbath-Bark at the Moon)
1951 - Rick Mears, Indy-car racer (over 25 wins)

Passings
1137 - Lotharius III of Supplinburg, Roman-German emperor (1133-37)
1154 - Anastasius IV Pope (1153-54)
1463 - Louis Chalon, prince of Orange
1469 - Piero de' Medici, ruler of Florence
1533 - Vasili III, great prince of Moscow (1505-33)
1839 - King Frederik VI of Denmark (1808-39) / Norway (1803-14)
1893 - Allan Wilson, British/Rhodesian major, in battle
1894 - Robert Louis Stevenson, English writer (Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde)
1957 - Frank E. Gannett, newspaper publisher
1984 - Virginia Lacy Jones US librarian/presidential advisor
1994 - Giorgi Chanturia, President of Georgia, assassinated
1996 - Babrak Karmal, PM of Afghánistán (1980-81); Det Glynn, teacher/anti-apartheid activist

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Johnson, Stanley, USMC (CA); UH34-D shot down (co-pilot), KIA, body not recovered

Labels: Headlines, History