Yellowcard rocks servicemembers in Southwest Asia
The Yellowcard band performs one of their songs Jan. 12 at a Southwest Asia air base. The tour was a way for the band to saying thank you to American servicemembers on their five-day United Service Organizations' tour. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Patrick Dixon)

Labels: photos, Supporting the troops, USO, Yellowcard

From Multi-National Force - Iraq



The Marines of Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, and Iraqi Police, who both live and work out of the same Joint Security Station, patrol through the fields and into the villages of Habbaniyah, Iraq. Photo by: Cpl. Bryce C.K. Muhlenberg, USMC.


Monday, 14 January 2008

HABBANIYAH — Cpl. Christopher J. Sevigny recently led a patrol of Marines and Iraqi Police (IP) through the withered, brown reeds and sturdy concrete houses of the Habbaniyah villages, taking time to meet with the residents living there.

This patrol wasn’t staged from a regular patrol base or forward operating base, and the Marines didn’t meet up with the Iraqi Police along the way. They live together and departed from Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6’s Joint Security Station (JSS) South Angels, together.

The squad leader and Marines with 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, have been living in a secure structure with Iraqi Police for more than three weeks. They have been integrated and act as one team.

“We live and conduct operations out of the JSS so, sooner rather than later, these people can stand up on their own and will no longer need our support,” said 1st Lt. Alistair E. Howard, first platoon commander

Sevigny, 21, led the patrol across canals, through fields and along the paths into town, stopping his men to talk with the locals about how their families and livelihoods are affected by the combined Marine and IP presence.

As his Marines set up security in a cul-de-sac, the Boston native explained, in between talk with locals, how important the patrols are for the community they have taken a vested interest in.

“Joint security patrols amongst the local populace ensure they are still comfortable with us and the Iraqi Police and with the security situation in their area,” said the 2004 Bayside High School graduate. “It also allows the Iraqi populace to have reassured confidence in their own police and allow the police and Army to become more familiar with their area of operation and the people they protect.”

These operations have been a success in an area that was once rife with insurgent activity, which forced Iraqi citizens out of the community, turning the area into a figurative ghost town, said Sevigny.

“There wasn’t anybody in this area,” he said. “The mosque was abandoned and nobody ever came out during the day. We were trying to hunt terrorists and there weren’t any Iraqi Police, but since we pushed out the terrorists and started these types of operations, I’ve seen the Iraqi people take a proactive approach to improving their country by allowing the IPs and IA (Iraqi Army) what they need to improve their communities.”

The Marines stopped by the local mosque and met with one of the speakers to have lunch during their patrol. It was a common dish, served hot and fresh; flat bread, potatoes, eggs and steaming hot chai (tea), loaded with sugar. The Marines and Iraqis sat with each other, enjoying the company and conversation, after which they began their patrol back to the JSS, where they now call home.

It had been a long patrol, but it had been successful. The community outreach operations have sustained the peace and security brought to their area of operations by the Marines of the “Ready to Fight” battalion throughout their seven-month deployment.

As Sevigny’s patrol returned from the fields and another squad prepared to depart, Howard explained the battalion’s success.

“We’ve kicked out the insurgents.” said Howard. He then gestured toward the station and the resident Marines and IPs. “And all of this; the station, the patrols and the IPs, is to make sure they don’t come back.”

(Story by Cpl. Bryce C.K. Muhlenberg, 2nd Marine Division)

In Other Recent Developments Here:

TIKRIT — Multi-National Division - North Soldiers destroyed three booby-trapped houses in Himbus, Jan. 11, during Operation Raider Harvest, which is part of the countrywide Operation Phantom Phoenix.

SUQ ASH SHUYUK — Paratroopers in Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division discovered and thwarted 21 107mm rockets set to launch toward their command outpost – thanks to a tip from a local shepherd, Jan. 6.

Labels: Good News, Habbaniyah, Iraq, Iraqi Police, photos, USMC

SOLDIERS SEARCH KIRKUK - U.S. Army soldiers search after air-assaulting into Chinchal Village in Kirkuk province, Iraq, Jan. 8, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 71st Cavalry, Chinchal Village, Iraq, Kirkuk Province, photos, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Turkish PM says Iraq operations may be extended
Ceremony mourns victims of Iraq's "Anfal" genocide
Coalition forces disrupt foreign terrorist facilitation networks, eight detained
Large cache, underground bunker system discovered during Operation Phantom Phoenix (Esalwid)
Iraqi National Police foil kidnapping (Baghdad)
Operation Phantom Phoenix: Pursuit of al–Qaeda continues

Operation Enduring Freedom
Explosion, Gunfire Rock Luxury Hotel in Kabul
US envoy meets former Taliban commander
Troops Save Mother, Child in Emergency

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Report: Al Qaeda Building a White Army of Terror - VIDEO
Sudan "bombs" Darfur rebels as violence hampers aid
Mideast talks begin
Bush in Saudi Arabia to court Mideast ally
Joint Chiefs chairman: Close Guantanamo

Troops on Trial
$25G Reward in Marine Slay Case - VIDEO - PHOTOS

Fallen Heroes
Pilot error cited in Blue Angel crash

Other Military News
China general downplays military buildup

Religion of Peace??
Attack in Thailand kills 8 soldiers

Worldwide Wackos
More News: Iran brushes off Bush remark
Israeli PM: All options open on Iran

Politics / Government
Race Divides Democrats As Campaign Turns Ugly
McCain Wins Key Endorsement; Romney Prepares Speech
Huckabee Speaks to Thousands at S.C. Church
Congress may again see one of its own in White House
McCain leads Romney in Michigan
Giuliani Defends Florida Strategy - FNS Transcript
Clinton, Obama spar as race heats up
Romney to push for helping automakers
Blog: Heckler calls Giuliani "baby-killer"
Congress faces war, economy, election
D.C. Mayor: Six to Be Fired in Slain Kids Case
Bush Visits Saudi Arabia for Talks After Touring Dubai

Illegal Immigration / Border Control
Court declines experimental drugs case

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Irish Mob Boss James 'Whitey' Bulger Wanted for Murder
Woman Pleads Guilty in Australian Cult Sex Murder
Cops Fired for Allegedly Holding Country Singer at Gunpoint Over Foosball Game
Judge's Hats-Off Order Angers Cancer Patient
Baby Dies After Sitter Swings Him in Sleeping Bag
Calif. sheriff facing indictment retires
Search for 2 kids resumes in bridge case

U.N. News
EXCLUSIVE: U.N. Ignores Its Own Procurement Ban (At what point will we have had enough of the U.N.?!?!)

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Porno Paranoia Burns Up the Web
Report: Bjork Attacks Photographer at New Zealand Airport
MySpace Strikes Deal to Block Sex Predators

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Chevy Malibu, Mazda CX-9, Take Top Awards at North American International Auto Show
The Brother and Sister Born Just Minutes Apart Who Aren't Twins
Puberty at Three: A Little Girl Grows Up Too Fast
U.S. court rejects appeal seeking unapproved drugs
Britain's fastest supercomputer unveiled
EU says costs for Galileo satellite project reliable
Study probes why U.S. blacks wary of medical trials
Biofuel impact overplayed
Video: Turning manure into energy
European Union opens new Microsoft probe
Video ads are planned for grocery carts

Mother Nature
Alligator Attack Leaves One Dog Missing
New Polar Bear Cub Gets Own Web Page - PHOTOS
At least 2 killed in Montana avalanche

News from My Neck of the Woods
Schools Closed as New England Gets Winter Blast

Oddities
Man goes out window with Christmas tree
Waving at girls costs man his arm
German experts crack Mona Lisa smile

Other News of Note
Three Cunard Queen Ships Meet in Manhattan for Once-in-a-Lifetime Event

Fox News
Butler: Diana Considered Marrying Doctor in 1996
Pop Tarts: Here Comes the Brit: Spears Wears Old Wedding Dress
South African Double Amputee Barred From Competing in Olympics

Reuters
Royal family didn't plot to kill Diana: butler
Foreclosures spread - Video
Once buoyant Italy wilts under cloud of gloom
Spice Girls gaze at gowns in Cavalli men's show
Marriage advisers caution Sarkozy not to rush
"Atonement," "Sweeney Todd" win Golden Globes - Video
Directors contract talks off to a fast start
IBM shares jump after early results
Citigroup to cut thousands of jobs: report
Overtime hours point to manufacturing recession
Investors brace for bank losses in pivotal week
A Delta merger would face tough antitrust review
Ford sees challenges in first half of 2008
EU launches new probes against Microsoft
Gold hits record above $910
IBM results spur rebound on Wall Street
Oil rises near $94 as commodities rally
Harman shares tumble after forecast
Sears reports lower holiday sales
Dollar hits fresh record low vs Swiss franc
Citi expects gold to test $1,000 in 2008
Goldman sees more softness in U.S. consumption
Tetra Technologies sees 2008 EPS below estimates
Dollar may finally find reprieve

AP World News
No sign of Spears at custody hearing
Giants beat Cowboys, head to Green Bay
British defies order to shut NGO offices
GM, UAW negotiating more buyouts

CENTCOM: News Releases

USJFCOM
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise commences - podcast
2007 -- The Year in Review - photos
U.S. Joint Forces Command, IBM sign new cooperative research and development agreement
More about CRADAs

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Army Chinooks Help Carry Work Load
Corps of Engineers Oversees Complex Basrah Children’s Hospital Project
U.S. Army Stryker Soldiers Improve Soldier Care, Iraqi Economy with Clinic Upgrade
CLCs, ‘Strike’ troops locate caches, mortar rounds (Mansour)
CF, IA work together to clear out al-Qaeda in Iraq (Chaka Four)

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Chairman: Cuba Mission Mitigates Global Risk
U.S., Iraq to Discuss Future Relations

IRAQ NEWS
Marine Combat Team Leaves Anbar

FACE OF DEFENSE
Family Sustains Deployed Soldier

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Bowlers Group Brings Fun to Troops

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Afghan Pilots Learn English at New School

WHY WE SERVE
Army Major Wants to Share Her Story

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
1526 - Charles V & Francis I sign Treaty of Madrid; Francis I forced to give up claims in Burgundy, Italy & Flanders
1639 - 1st Connecticut constitution (Fundamental Orders) adopted in Hartford; Rodger Ludlow publishes"Fundamental Orders of Connecticut"
1641 - United East Indian Company conquerors city of Malakka, 7,000 killed
1659 - Battle at Elvas Portuguese beat Spanish
1690 - Clarinet is invented, in Nüremberg, Germany
1699 - Massachusetts holds day of fasting for wrongly persecuting "witches"
1717 - German mob leader "Sjako" sentenced to death in Amsterdam
1724 - Spanish King Philip V abdicates throne
1739 - England & Spain signs 2nd Convention of Pardo
1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie's army leaves Glasgow
1783 - Congress ratifies peace treaty between US & England
1784 - Revolutionary War ends; Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris
1794 - Dr. Jessee Bennet of Edom, VA, performs 1st successful Cesarean section operation on his wife
1799 - Eli Whitney receives government contract for 10,000 muskets; King of Naples flees before the advancing French armies
1814 - King of Denmark cedes Norway to King of Sweden by treaty of Kiel
1847 - Conspiracy in New Mexico against US
1858 - French Emperor Napoleon III escapes attempt on his life by Felice Orsini, an Italian patriot who was later executed
1861 - Fort Pikens, FL, falls into state hands
1863 - Battle between gunboats at Bayou Teched, LA
1864 - Battle of Cosby Creek, TN; General Sherman begins his march to the South
1868 - North Carolina constitutional convention meets in Raleigh; South Carolina constitutional convention, meets with a black majority
1878 - US Supreme court rules race separation on trains unconstitutional
1912 - Raymond Poincaré becomes premier of France
1914 - Henry Ford introduces assembly line, for T-Fords
1916 - Dutch South Sea dike cracks
1924 - Allies direct Fiume (Rijeka) in Italy
1929 - Afghan King Amanullah forced to resign
1935 - Oil pipeline Iraq-Mediterranean goes into use
1938 - National Society for the Legalization of Euthanasia formed (NY)
1939 - All commercial ferry service to East Bay ends; Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica
1943 - FDR & Winston Churchill confer in Casablanca concerning WWII; Heinrich Himmler views Warsaw
1944 - Soviet army begins offensive at Oranienbaum/Wolchow
1946 - 2 jetties collapse in Ganges-160 Hindu pilgrims are crushed
1949 - Black/Indian race rebellion in Durban, South Africa; 142 die
1950 - US recalls all consular officials from China
1952 - "Today Show" premieres with Dave Garroway & Jack Lescoulie on NBC-TV; Rationing of coffee in Netherlands ends; Snow storm in Sierra, NV, kills 26
1953 - Yugoslavia elects its 1st president (Marshal Tito)
1956 - Jordan government refuses to join Pact of Baghdad
1960 - US Army promoted Elvis Presley to Sergeant
1963 - George C. Wallace sworn in as Governor of Alabama, his address states "segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!"
1964 - Jacqueline Kennedy's 1st public appearance (TV) since assassination
1967 - New York Times reports Army is conducting secret germ warfare experiments; Earthquake in Sicily kills 231
1969 - 25 members of US aircraft carrier Enterprise die during maneuvers; Soyuz 4 launched; rendezvous with Soyuz 5 two days later
1972 - "Sanford & Son" starring Redd Foxx premieres on NBC TV
1975 - USSR breaks trade agreement with US
1976 - "The Bionic Woman" with Lindsay Wagner debuts on ABC (later NBC)
1979 - President Carter proposes Martin Luther King's birthday be a holiday
1980 - "Blues Brothers" movie with Dan Akroyd & John Belushi opens
1981 - FCC frees stations to air as many commercials an hour as they wish
1985 - 16 indicted by US for granting sanctuary to Central American refugees
1986 - Vinicio Cerezo becomes only the 2nd freely elected President of Guatemala since the CIA-sponsored coup in 1954; Constitution of Guatemala takes effect
1989 - 29 year old French woman gives birth to sextuplets in Paris; 1,000 muslims burn Rushdies' "Satanic Verses" in Bradford, England; Former Belgian premier Paul Vanden Boeynants kidnapped
1990 - Perez de Cuellar says he has lost all hope for peace in the Gulf
1991 - Jorge Serrano Elías sworn in as President of Guatemala; Valentin Pavlov become new premier of USSR
1994 - Russian manned space craft TM-17, lands
1995 - 10,000s South Africans attend state funeral of Joe Slovo

Birthdays
1467 - Henry van Stolberg & Wernigerode, German Governor/Viceroy of Frisia
1592 - Sjihab al-Din Sultan Choerram Sjah, Djahan leader of India
1705 - Jean-Baptiste C. Bouvet de Lozier/Lozier-Bouvet, Governor (Reunion Is)
1730 - William Whipple, merchant/judge/patriot (Declaration of Independence signer)
1741 - Benedict Arnold, US General turned traitor (Revolutionary War)
1798 - Johan R. Thorbecke, Premier of Netherlands (Liberal-1849-72)
1806 - Matthew Fontaine Maury, Confederate Naval Commander
1819 - Frederick Steele, Union Major General
1831 - John Bullock Clark, Jr., Confederate Brigadier General
1836 - (Hugh) Judson Kilpatrick, Union Major General
1845 - Henry C.K. Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th marquess of Landsdowne/Governor-General Canada
1861 - Mehmed VI, last sultan of Ottoman Empire (1918-22)
1875 - Albert Schweitzer, doctor/humanitarian/organist (Nobel 1952)
1892 - Martin Niemöller, clergyman (German Protestant); imprisoned by Hitler
1899 - Fritz Bayerlein, German Lieutenant-General (WWI, Poland, Libya, St Louis)
1901 - Carlos P. Romulo, Philippine General/Diplomat/Jurist
1907 - Derek Richter, British neuro chemist (Aspects of learning & memory); Sophie Redmond, Suriname's 1st female physician
1919 - Andy Rooney, CBS news correspondent (60 Minutes)
1920 - George Herman, newsman (CBS-TV)
1926 - Harold Wolpe, sociologist lawyer/South African activist
1940 - Julian Bond, (D-GA), civil rights leader
1942 - Amichand Rajbansi, South African politician
1943 - Shannon W. Lucid, astronaut (STS 51G, STS 34, STS 43, STS 58, STS 76/79)
1958 - Colin Ferguson, murderer (6 people on the Long Island Railroad on Dec 7, 1993)
1989 - Sextuplets, Paris, France, (to a 29-year-old woman)

Passings
0973 - Ekkehard I, monk of St Gallen (Vita Waltharii manu fortis)
1163 - Ladislaus I Arpad, king of Hungary (1162-63)
1236 - (or 1237) Sava (Rastko), son of Serbia's king/saint, dies at 64
1301 - Andreas III Arpad, king of Hungary (1290-1301), dies at 50
1595 - Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria/mayor of Bohemenia
1623 - Paolo Sarpi, Italian church historian/politician, dies at 70
1742 - Edmund Halley, genius eclipsed by Newton, dies at 86
1766 - Frederik V, King of Denmark/Norway (1746-66), dies at 42
1847 - Governor Bent, 5 others in US occupation, killed by revolt in New Mexico
1898 - Reverend Charles L. Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, dies at 66
1901 - Victor Balaguer, Catalaans historian/politician/author, dies at 76
1909 - Sinovi P. Rozhestvensky, Russian admiral, dies at 60
1929 - Cornelis W. Lely, Dutch Governor of Suriname (1902-05), dies at 74
1948 - Anna "Ans" van Dike, Dutch Jewish Nazi-collaborator, executed at 42
1966 - Sergei Korolev, Russian space station constructor
1972 - Frederik IX (Christiaan FFMKW), King of Denmark (1947-72), dies at 72
1974 - Josef Smrkovsky, Czechoslovakian parliament chairman, dies at 62
1977 - Abdul Razak bin Hussain, premier of Malaysia (1970-77), dies at 53; Anthony Eden British premier (1955-57), dies at 79
1978 - Blossom Rock actress (Grandmamma-Addams Family), dies at 81
1988 - Georgi M. Malenkov, PM of USSR (1953-55), dies at 86
1991 - Sallah Kharaf (Abu Iyad), co-founder (Al-Fatah), assassinated
1993 - Elisabeth A. de Vreugd, chambermaid for Dutch Queen, dies at 98

Reported Missing in Action
1964
Hickman, Vincent Joseph, USAF (NY); B26B shot down (pilot)

Mitchell, Carl Berg, USAF (MT); B26B shot down (navigator)

1966
Pruner, William R.; remains recovered January, 1966

1967
Canup, Franklin H., Jr., USN (NC); MSB-14 rammed and sunk by merchant ship

1968
Horne, Stanley W., USAF (CA); F105D shot down - remains returned April, 1990 - ID'd November, 1990

The following USAF personnel reported MIA when their EB66C was shot down:
Lebert, Ronald M. (SD); EB66C shot down (EWO), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as Lt. Colonel - alive in 1998

Sumpter, Thomas W. (TN); released by DRV March, 1973 - deceased February, 1995

Terrell, Irby D. (TX); released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Walker, Hubert C. (OK); released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

1969
Guggenberger, Gary J., US Army (MN); released by PRG February, 1973 (injured) - retired as a Staff Sergeant - alive as of 1998

Labels: Headlines, History