A HARRIER SUNRISE - AV-8B Harrier II aircraft are parked on the flight deck aboard the USS Tarawa at sunrise, Dec. 23, 2007. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel A. Barker

Labels: aircraft, AV-8B, Harrier II, photos, US Navy, USS Tarawa

From Multi-National Force-Iraq:


Charlotte native Staff Sgt. Antonio Ellison, a medic with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st National Police Division training team, chats with Yousef Kasim, an Iraqi boy who had suffered from severe burns, in front of the boy’s home in the "Five Farms" area of southern Baghdad, Dec. 20. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.


Saturday, 29 December 2007
By Sgt. 1st Class Robert Timmons
1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD — For Yousef Kasim, living in the “Five Farms” area of Baghdad is a challenge. His family lives in a mud brick home, with no running water or electricity, in a place where, until recently, al-Qaida terrorists roamed the area generating a swath of destruction. Coalition and Iraqi security forces helped Yousef and his family by first clearing the area of terrorists, then again Dec. 13 when they treated the boy’s severe burns.

That day, Yousef was chasing the family kitten around the family’s outdoor oven when his pants snagged on a grate covering the fire pit; he tripped and landed in the stew his mother was cooking, causing severe burns from his right hip down to his right knee.

With the terrorists being forced out by the surge of 30,000 U.S. troops and Iraqi National Police (NP) into Baghdad, Yousef was able to be seen by competent medical personnel.

It was one of those policemen who noticed the badly burned boy while passing out candy and informed American medics who treated Yousef.

Upon arriving at the family’s home Dec. 13, Charlotte native, Staff Sgt. Antonio Ellison, the 1-2-1 National Police Training Team medic squeezed into the small house along with the boy’s family, NPs and fellow Soldiers; quickly assessed the boy’s burns were major and began immediate treatment. He gave the boy some pain medicine and lotion for the burns he characterized as “real bad second degree burns over nine percent of the boys body.”

“When we first saw him, he wouldn’t eat or sleep, he would just lay there crying,” said Ellison. “During the second visit, the boy seemed much better. Four days (after being treated) he got up and was walking around, and yesterday he started to wear clothes over the burn site,” he added.

On Dec. 20, the medics and the policemen returned to the family’s home for the third time to check the youngster’s condition and to give him a much needed haircut.

“It is painful for me to see the people who have suffered so long from al-Qaida,” said Lt. Col. Rassan Gassid, the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi National Police Division commander, after seeing the boy, who is much better than the first time they met. “It makes me proud that one of my policemen found him.”

On the third visit, the burns were largely scabbed over, but he still needed more lotion to help the area heal properly.

“Put this on him before he goes to bed every night,” Ellison said to his mother.

Yousef’s mother was visibly happy for the attention her son and family were getting and said she couldn’t think of words to describe how she felt.

“Honestly, there are no words I can tell you,” said Saadya Ibrahim with a huge grin. “They are always coming around to take care of us.”

She added that she is always asking God to keep the policemen and their American counterparts safe as they go about their duties.

For one of the American Soldiers witnessing the attention Yousef and his family were getting, the scene reminded him of his own family in Germany.

Elgin, Ill., native Staff Sgt. Joseph Geier, a platoon sergeant with Company D, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, who is one his second tour in Iraq, said he was proud the boy was getting help, but that it makes him proud his children are safe at home.

“I have done many humanitarian missions,” the father of a daughter, Katelynn, 4, and son, Christopher, 2, said. “These types of missions are good. But I just hope my kids never have to go through this.”

Yousef reminded more than just one person of their family.

Gassid added that Yousef is “like one of my sons” and is a good boy and would have helped him even if he wasn’t a fellow countryman.

“Even if he was not from Iraq we would have helped him,” said the commander, who had moments before given the boy a haircut before playing a little soccer with him. “We all work on the same team.”

Labels: 1-2-1 National Police Training Team, 1st Infantry Division, Baghdad, children, Good News, Humanitarian Aid, Iraq, photos

C-17S OVER CHARLESTON - Fifteen C-17 Globemaster IIIs from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., fly over the city of Charleston, S.C.'s Arthur J. Ravenel Bridge Dec. 20, 2007, during a training exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. James L. Harper Jr.

Labels: aircraft, C-17, Charleston Air Force Base, Globemaster, photos

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bin Laden Issues Warning on Iraq - VIDEO
U.S. and Iraqi commanders hail security
US: al-Qaida fears Iraq Sunni councils
Kirkuk Iraqi Police: Dangerous, Most Sought After Occupation
Face of Defense: Marine Bridges Gap between Cultures
3 bodies discovered near Baquba, more suspected
First Signs of Hope Appear in Iraq
U.S. General Addresses Troops in Iraq
Petraeus' plans for 2008, Iraq's transition year (Daily Star)
SKorean MPs vote to extend Iraq troop deployment (AFP)
Crunch year ahead for Iraq (BBC)
Iraq to offer incentives in Kirkuk oil sales push (Gulf News)

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Somalia gang demands ransom for aid workers
Israel says finds explosive chemicals in EU aid bags
Hamas urges Egypt to open Gaza border to pilgrims
U.S. court overturns $156 million award in terror case

Fallen Heroes
DoD Identifies Army Casualties (Mosul)

Religion of Peace??
Pakistan rejects help in Bhutto probe (I'd put Musharraf as just as likely a suspect as Al Qaeda)
Bhutto Aides Accuse Pakistani Government of Cover-Up, Doubt Al Qaeda Involvement in Assassination
Woman Forced to Strip in Egypt 'Torture' Video
WEBCAMS AROUND THE WORLD: Pakistan TV
Bhutto Assassin Seen in Video? - VIDEO - PHOTOS
Mass Rioting Rocks Pakistan
Bhutto's party to decide on successor - Video
Pakistanis blame Musharraf for turmoil

Worldwide Wackos
Colombian hostage mission on hold - Video

Homegrown Moonbats
Protesters could disrupt Rose Parade (Mother Moonbat rides again!)

Politics / Government
Clinton: I Can Win
Giuliani Veterans' Co-Chair Out After Muslim Remark
GOP Candidates Unleash All-Out Ad War
Edwards Takes on Rivals to Be Candidate of Change
Religion less of a factor in New Hampshire vote
In Iowa, foreign policy means security
"Kremlin turf war" moves into Russian court
Candidates hammer home message in Iowa
Bush signs child health program extension into law
Iowa could make or break Democrats
Will Iowa caucuses shake up Republicans?
Bush tries to assure families on economy
Kenyans on edge for result of tight election - Video

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Prosecutor Outlines Gruesome Details of Washington Family Slaying
Murder Suspect Apologized, Then Shot Kids Dead
Cops: Little Kids Broke Into Home, Stole Gifts
Missing Illinois Woman Who Disappeared Christmas Eve Back, Doing Fine
Ill. woman embarrassed about search
NYC Cop Charged With Raping Teen Karate Student
Students' Cell Phone Texting Sparks Panic in Ark. Town
Ex-Yankee Leyritz Arrested on DUI, Manslaughter Charges
2 Injured in Hooters Shooting, Gunman on the Loose
Mo. tries new approach on teen offenders

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Frustration Factor a Common Theme in 2007 Headlines
Internet Opens Elite Colleges to World Classroom
Letterman to return in deal with striking writers

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Fellow Flyers of TB-Infected Woman Tracked - VIDEO
Mylan gets OK for generic of Pfizer allergy drug
Ancient pyramid found in central Mexico City - Video
Shuttle repair to delay European space lab launch
High-fat, high-carb meals more harmful to obese
Ancient mammoth carcass arrives in Japan

Mother Nature
Norwegian Cruise Ship Hits Iceberg in Antarctic
China's massive dam project causes worry
2007 a year of weather records in U.S.
Rain, snow hit NE after Midwest bash
Transcripts show chaos after zoo attack

News from My Neck of the Woods
Patriots try to complete unbeaten season (GO PATS!!!)
Wake Forest beats UConn in Meineke Bowl (Dang)

Oddities
Doggone Lucky (Dogs with $800G inheritance)

Other News of Note
Machete-Wielding Kenyans' Election Clash - PHOTOS

Fox News
4 Killed, 2 Hurt When SUV Slams Into Trees
Johnny Depp: Strangest Scene of Career in 'Sweeney Todd'

Reuters
South African unions pledge to rally support for Zuma
Sri Lanka military, rebels say clashes kill dozens
Rejuvenated Celtics expect happy new year
"27 Dresses" a bad fit for Katherine Heigl
Sean Penn and wife Robin to divorce after 11 years - Video
New home sales slump; business activity up - Video
Buffett starts up bond insurer to rival MBIA, Ambac
Macy's to close nine stores, affects 899 jobs
Dogs of Dow strategy lags in 2007, hurt by Citi
Shares of EchoStar's spin-off effective January 1
Merrill Lynch tops '07 list of U.S. IPO bookruners
Market finishes flat as housing concerns weigh
Oil falls as profit-taking clips rally
Midwest business robust in December, jobs weak
Dollar drops on housing data; worst week in year
Gold extends run-up on dollar and Pakistan tension
Court orders Finish Line to complete Genesco deal
Geopolitics, U.S. economy fuel risk aversion - Video
Nikkei ends 2007 down 11 percent, first loss in 5 years - Video
Pakistan investment risks

AP World News
Children challenge James Brown's will
Miss. State wins Liberty Bowl 10-3
SNL's Fallon marries producer Juvonen
AP bestows album kudos to Amy Winehouse
Weak end to 2007 expected for carmakers
Miller wins downhill
'Old Men' get nod as AP's movie of 2007

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES DISRUPT AL KUT CRIMINAL ELEMENT NETWORKS, 11 TERRORISTS KILLED

USJFCOM
2007 -- The Year in ReviewSee the year in photos
U.S. Joint Forces Command, IBM sign new cooperative research and development agreement
More about CRADAs
Ribbon cut for new SOCJFCOM headquarters - podcast

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Police Attention Helps Burned Boy
Iraqi Air Force Receives New Aircraft
Face of Defense: Marine Bridges Gap between Cultures
3 bodies discovered near Baquba, more suspected
Iraqi Police, MND-Center Soldiers detain 4 suspected extremists (Iskandariyah)
Iraqi military academy graduates new officers (Rustamiyah)
Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq operations; three killed, 34 detained
Coalition forces target criminal networks; detain six suspects

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Bush Thanks Troops, Families for Sacrifices
Petraeus: Violence Down in Iraq; Al Qaeda Still Poses a Threat
No Furloughs for Christmas

IRAQ NEWS
Scrap-Metal Yard Puts Iraqis to Work
'Ironhorse' Soldiers Witness Progress
Troops Detain Two Tied to Abduction
Troops Give Backpacks to Adil Children
Coalition Forces Kill 5 Terrorists, Detain 9

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Soldiers, Afghans Celebrate School Opening
General Delivers Gold Star Mother's Message
Coalition Troops Kill Several Militants, Detain 9
Afghan, U.S. Troops Deliver Aid to Nangarhar

MILITARY NEWS
Chairman’s Tour Wraps Up with Laughter, Tears

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Help for Wounded Techs
Scholarships for Spouses

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
1503 - Battle at Carigliano: Spanish army beats France
1539 - St Jacobs Church burns after being hit by lightning
1541 - Isabella of Poland & King Ferdinand of Austria sign Treaty of Gyalu
1558 - Charles V, German emperor, buried
1708 - Great Alliance occupies Gent
1778 - English troops occupy Savannah, Georgia
1782 - 1st nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston
1813 - British burn Buffalo New York during the War of 1812
1837 - Canadian militia destroy Caroline, a US steamboat docked at Buffalo; Steam-powered threshing machine patented, Winthrop ME
1841 - King/grand duke Willem II installs Order of Eikenkroon
1845 - Texas admitted as the 28th state
1848 - Gas lights 1st installed at White House (Polk's administration)
1852 - Emma Snodgrass arrested in Boston for wearing pants
1862 - Battle of Chichasaw Bayou: confederate armies defeat General Sherman; Bowling ball invented
1864 - Fire Department celebrates 1st annual ball
1867 - 1st telegraph ticker used by a brokerage house, Groesbeck & Company, New York
1876 - 11 passenger cars crash in a ravine near Ashtabula OH, 92 die
1885 - Gottlieb Daimler patents 1st bike (Germany)
1890 - US 7th Cavalry massacre 200+ captive Sioux at Wounded Knee SD; Indian "war" in the west
1891 - Edison patents "transmission of signals electrically" (radio)
1895 - Dr. L.S. Jameson begins failed raid on Johannesburg
1899 - English fleet brings German postschip Bundesrath up
1900 - General Viljoen surprise attack British garrison to Helvetia
1903 - French Equatorial Africa separates into Gabon, Chad & Ubangi-Shari
1908 - Patent granted for a 4-wheel automobile brake, Clintonville WI
1913 - 1st movie serial, "Adventures of Kathlyn" premieres in Chicago IL
1920 - The Netherlands/Venezuela recover diplomatic relations; Yugoslav government bans communist party
1921 - William Lyon Mackenzie King succeeded Arthur Meighen as Canadian PM
1922 - Revised Netherlands Law proclaims suffrage
1930 - Fred P. Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam MN, to New Orleans LA
1934 - Japan renounces Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 & London Treaty of 1930
1937 - Pan Am starts San Francisco CA-to-Auckland, New Zealand service; Ireland adopts constitution (Irish Free State becomes Eire)
1938 - Construction on Lake Washington Floating Bridge, Seattle WA, begins
1940 - Germany begins dropping incendiary bombs on London (WWII)
1944 - General Eisenhower's train returns to Versailles
1947 - Ship carrying Jewish immigrants driven away from Palestine
1948 - US State Department announces work on placing objects into Earth orbit; Canada recognizes Israel
1949 - 1st UHF television station operating regular basis (Bridgeport, CT); Hungary nationalized its industries
1952 - 1st transistorized hearing aid offered for sale (Elmsford NY)
1954 - Kingdom of the Netherlands, with Netherlands & Netherlands Antilles as autonomous parts, comes into being
1967 - Turkish-Cypriot government forms in Cyprus
1968 - Israeli commandos destroy 13 Lebanese airplanes
1972 - Eastern Tristar Jumbo Jet crashes near Everglades killing 101; Life magazine ceases publication
1975 - 11 killed, 75 hurt by terrorist bomb at LaGuardia Airport in New York NY
1978 - Shah of Iran asks Shapour Bahktiar to form a civilian government; Spain constitution goes into effect
1983 - US announces withdrawal from UNESCO
1984 - Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi claims victory in parliamentary elections
1989 - Vaclav Havel becomes President of Czechoslovakia
1991 - Boeing 747-200F of China Airlines crash into mountain at Taipei
1992 - Governor Cuomo grants Jean Harris ("Scarsdale Diet" Murderess) clemency
1994 - B737-400 flies into a mountain at Edremit East Turkey, 54 killed; Bangladesh government of Zia resigns
1997 - Russia signs agreement to build a $3B nuclear power plant in China

Birthdays
1586 - Francisco de Moncada, Spanish earl of Osuna/marquis of Aytona
1709 - Elisabeth Petrovna, tsarina of Russia/daughter of Peter the Great
1721 - Madame De Pompadour, mistress of French King Louis the 15th
1743 - Alexander van Bylandt, Dutch military officer
1776 - Charles Macintosh, patented waterproof fabric (Scotland)
1800 - Charles Goodyear, inventor (vulcanization process for rubber)
1808 - Andrew Johnson, (Unionist), 17th U.S. President (1865-69); György Apponyi, Hungarian Parliament member
1809 - William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal) British PM (1868-74, '80-86, '92-94)
1809 - Albert Pike, Confederate Brigadier-General
1831 - Adam Badeau, Union Brevet Brigadier-General
1833 - John James Ingalls (Rep-KS)
1843 - Elisabeth, queen of Romania/poet (Rumänische Dichtungen)
1859 - Venustiano Carranza, President of México (1915-20)
1866 - Joseph Limburg, liberal Second-Member of parliament (1905-19)
1908 - Gerben Sonderman, Dutch test pilot (Fokker)
1917 - Tom Bradley (Mayor-D-LA) (1973-93)
1939 - Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of Maldives
1946 - Laffit Pincay, Jr., jockey (Kentucky Derby 1984, Belmont Stakes 1982-84, Swale); Paul Trible (Senator-R-VA)
1970 - Yaroslav Ihorovych Pustovyi, cosmonaut

Passings
1141 - Yue Fei, Chinese general, executed
1170 - Thomas Beckett, archbishop, assassinated by 4 knights of King Henry II
1703 - Mustapha II, sultan (Turkey), dies at 39
1821 - Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau de Bergendael, South Netherlands general, dies at 61
1877 - Willem Sassen, Dutch Attorney General on Curaçao (Affair-S), dies
1890 - Big Foot, Sioux Indian chief, dies at Wounded Knee
1933 - Joh Georghe Duca, premier of Romania, murdered
1947 - Joseph Cuvelier, Belgian historian/general, dies at 78
1986 - [Maurice] Harold Macmillan, former British PM (1957-63), dies in Sussex, England, at 92
1995 - Madeleine Barot, resistance heroine, dies at 86; Nello Celio, President of Switzerland (1972), dies at 81
1996 - Daniel Raphaeautl Mayer, journalist/resistance leader, dies at 86

Reported Missing in Action
1964
Bennett, Harold G., US Army (AR); DIC June, 1965 (taken with Crafts)

Crafts, Charles, US Army (ME); released February, 1967 - alive as of 1998

1965
Hill, Arthur S., Jr., USN (CA); F4B shot down (bombardier/navigator, w/Rawsthorne) - presumed KIA/BNR

Rawsthorne, Edgar A., USN CA); F4B shot down (pilot, w/Hill) - presumed KIA/BNR

1967
The following USAF personnel reported Missing after radio contact was lost with their C130E:

Clapper, Gean P. (PA); crew

Claxton, Charles P. (IL); pilot

Darcy, Edward J. (ME); crew

Eckley, Wayne A. (OR); crew

Fisher, Donald E. (OR); crew

McCrary, Jack, (TN); crew

Osborne, Edwin N., Jr. (FL); pilot

Parker, Frank C. III (PA); crew

Van Buren, Gerald G. (OH); pilot

Wenaas, Gordon J. (MD); crew

Williams, James R. (NC); crew

The following USAF personnel reported Missing when their A26A was shot down:
Cruz, Carlos R., (PR); pilot - remains ID'd October, 1995

Foster, Paul L., (TN); crew - remains ID'd October, 1995

Potter, William J., Jr., (PA); co-pilot - remains ID'd October, 1995

1968
Scherdin, Robert F., US Army SF (NJ); severely wounded when left

Labels: Headlines, History