SEA OF JAPAN (Feb. 15, 2007) A Marine from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) practices fast roping aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2). Essex is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed U.S. Expeditionary Strike Group and serves as the flagship for Combined Task Force (CTF) 76, the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force commander. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark R. Alvarez

Labels: 31st MEU, CTF-76, LHD-2, photos, ships, US Navy, USMC, USS Essex

Blades of Glory
A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter lands in Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 13, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav.

Labels: aircraft, Baghdad, Black Hawk, helicopter, Iraq, photos, US Army

STRYKER TALK
U.S. Army soldiers talk about the M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System Vehicle capabilities in Salah ah Din province, Iraq, Feb. 12, 2008. The soldiers are from the 2nd Infantry Division and 101st Airborne Division. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Johnpaul Arnold

Labels: 101st Airborne Division, 2ID, Iraq, M1128, photos, Salah ah Din province, Stryker Mobile Gun System Vehicle, US Army

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Dispute Clouds Sale of Saddam's Yacht - PHOTOS
Attacks in Baghdad fall 80 percent: Iraq military - Video
Iraqi Brigade Graduates Besmaya Combat Training Center
‘Sons of Iraq’ Keep Residents Safe
Joint Operation Helps Displaced Families Return Home
UH-60 Blackhawk precautionary landing made safe with Iraqi Police assistance (At Ta’Mim Province)
Suicide bombers kill 4, injure 16 during prayer at Tal Afar mosque
Iraqi Army, Rakkasans find second large cache in two weeks (Qarghuli)
General: Terrorists Won’t Return to Anbar Province
Troops, Girl Scouts Surprise Iraqi Children With Gifts
Coalition Targets Suicide-Bombing Cell, IED Network

Operation Enduring Freedom
Army Medics Lauded for Actions in Taliban Attack

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
2 Arrested in Madrid Airport Bombing Probe - VIDEO
Purported Al Qaeda Video Shows Prisoners Burned Alive
Army ends sectarian riots in Beirut after 14 hurt
Somali leader unhurt in mortar attack on residence
Hamas airs "confessions of pro-Abbas plotters"
Bomb kills 37 on last day of Pakistan vote campaign
Sailors Uphold Guantanamo Mission

Fallen Heroes
Vehicle delay blamed for Marines' deaths
Missing WWII Airmen Identified

Wounded Warriors
Defense Agency Makes Big Advances in Prosthetics Research

Supporting Our Heroes
Pentagon to Set Up Nationwide Troop, Family Support Network
Guard, Reserve Units Cited for Superb Support for Families

Other Military News
Kosovo Braces for Independence from Serbia
Albanian triumph and Serb anger as Kosovo secedes - Video
Russia: US satellite shot a weapons test

Religion of Peace??
Danish youths riot for sixth night - Video

Politics / Government
Hillary Camp: Victory is Ours
McCain Picks Up Louisiana, Michigan Delegates
Chelsea Emerging as Full-Fledged Surrogate
VIDEO: String of Crowd Faintings at Obama Rallies
U.S. Diplomat Accused of Pressuring Visa Applicants for Sex
State Department Drops Ban on HIV-Positive Diplomats
Bush Pledges to Help Resolve Turmoil in Africa
Schwarzenegger signs budget cuts, warns more to come
Expanding service workers union backs Obama
Obama hits back as Clinton heads to Wisconsin - Video
Democrats accuse Bush of fanning terrorism fears - Video
Mich., La. delegates back McCain
Clinton aide changes Mich., Fla. stance
McCain's sharp tongue: An Achilles heel?
Bush calls lawmakers 'irresponsible'
Obama picks up another labor endorsement
Kindness, then sharp words, from Clinton
Experts question Spears lawyer's moves
Power shift brings uncertainty to Russia
Key facts about Pakistan's election
Pakistan votes; fears violence, rigging

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Suspect Arrested in Meat Cleaver Killing
Police ID Body of Missing Reno Coed - VIDEO
Twin Brothers Push Intruder Out Second-Story Window
Campus Killer Didn't Fit Profile of Mass Murderer
Friends Baffled by NIU Shooter's Actions - PHOTO ESSAY
Police investigate NIU shooter's 2 sides
Teen Shot in Junior High Classroom Taken Off Life Support; Classmate Charged
Cop Taped Dumping Man From Wheelchair Turns Self In
8 Dead in Md. Street Race Wreck - PHOTOS - VIDEO
Texas Youth Minister Admits to Slaying as Teen
Same gun dealer sold to 2 campus killers

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Yahoo big investors may back Microsoft
Free business book is Web sensation

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Tiny Finger Cut Triggers Infection That Leads to Teen's Death
Sex Toys 101 and Other Lessons From Yale Sex Week
Doctors group backs marijuana for medical uses
Whole new flu vaccine needed next year: WHO
Precision clock traps atoms in light to keep time
British unmanned Moon probe wins UK-NASA backing
Wal-Mart picks Blu-ray in HD DVD disaster
Super Bowl boosts digital sales for Petty and others
Astronauts work on space lab during busy mission - Video
Wal-Mart picks Blu-ray in HD DVD disaster
Toshiba to give up on HD DVD, end format war: source
Astronaut can't wait to eat on plates

Mother Nature
Night of the Living Dogs
Colorado Town Fears Catastrophic Tidal Wave - VIDEO

News from My Neck of the Woods
NYPD: Parks Staffer Goes on Golf Cart Rampage, Kills 5 Birds

Oddities
Vanity Plate Reading '1' Goes for $14M in Abu Dhabi
Colombian artist Oscar Munoz revamps Narcissus myth
"Squeezed in" subway ad angers passengers
"Winning" Super Bowl shirts end up in Nicaragua

Other News of Note
Skate-Slashed NHL Star Out of Hospital - PHOTOS
Plane Crashes, Burns at Oregon Airport, Killing 1
Ex-Nazi guard jailed in Italy after extradition

Fox News
FOXBusiness: Consumer Sentiment Drops in February
Racy Photos of Sacramento Kings Dancers Surface
Pamela Anderson's Parisian Striptease a 'Baring' Success
Portman, Johansson Share Steamy Red Carpet Kiss

Reuters
Sidelined home buyers frozen by fears
Olympic Games offer unique path to China markets
Cyprus votes in tight three-way presidential race
Travel Picks: Top 10 places to fly solo
Jack Black in comical tribute to film pioneers
Violent Brazil cop drama named best film in Berlin
Credit Suisse CEO sees credit crisis nadir in months
United-Continental talks pick up pace: source
Bond insurer breakups could hurt Wall Street
Chrysler, Plastech reach short-term supply deal
Germany frets for economic model after tax scandal
Wall St Week Ahead: Bond insurer plan could inject positive note
Dow and Nasdaq slip on consumer spending worry - Video
Fed will continue to act decisively: Mishkin
Bear Stearns shares up amid renewed takeover talk
Food stocks rally on Heinz, Buffett news
Barnes Group profit falls on charges
Best Buy cuts year forecast as sales soften
Oil steady as economic concerns weigh - Video
Platinum hits record high $2,060 on panic buying
Behind Xstrata

AP World News
Hawks send 4 players to Kings for Bibby
Singer, 104, takes stage amid protests
Austrie lifts UConn over Bulls in OT
Fossett remembered for daredevil spirit
Uncertainty leaves Bryant, Kidd in limbo

CENTCOM: News Releases
JOINT STATEMENT By the U.S. Embassy Baghdad and Multi-National Force-Iraq
Coalition forces disrupt Special Groups criminal networks, detain two suspects
Coalition targets al-Qaeda in Iraq networks; two terrorists killed, two detained
Soldiers report largest cache finds since beginning of year
Coalition forces disrupt Special Groups criminal networks, detain two

USJFCOM
Phase one of Multinational Experiment 5 wraps up
More about Multinational Experiment 5
Joint Knowledge Online extends cultural awareness training for U.S. Forces Korea - podcast
Newsmaker Profile: Director of Joint Training Army Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya - podcast
Joint fires team, Army training center leaps forward with joint integrated training
Learn more about the Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team

Multi-National Force-Iraq
National Police, Coalition Forces find caches (Boob al Sham)
Weapon cache found in Babahani area
Joint IA and IP operation nets 21 suspects detained by Mosul ISF
Weapons Cache Found Near Jurf as Sakhr

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Mullen: Iraq Surge Gives Window of Opportunity
New Iraq Laws Show Maturity
Top Doc Says Walter Reed Improved Wounded Care

MILITARY NEWS
Online Chats Net Valuable Results

IRAQ NEWS
Austin Assumes Command of Multinational Corps

WHY WE SERVE
Airman Recalls Firefight

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Troops Can Battle Pro Athletes On Xbox Games

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
0374 - 9th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
0600 - Pope Gregory the Great decrees saying "God bless You" is the correct response to a sneeze
1349 - Jews are expelled from Burgsdorf, Switzerland
1512 - Battle at Valeggio - French troops beat Venetianen
1559 - Pope Paul IV calls for deposition of sovereigns supporting heresy
1641 - English king Charles I accept Triennial Act
1659 - 1st known check (£400) (on display at Westminster Abbey)
1666 - Netherlands & Brandenburg sign treaty
1677 - Earl of Shaftesbury arrested/confined in London Tower
1741 - Benjamin Franklin's "General Magazine" (2nd US Magazine) begins publishing
1742 - Earl of Wilmington becomes British premier
1760 - Native American hostages killed in Ft. Prince George, SC
1771 - Messier presents his original list of 45 M-objects to French Academy
1777 - Messier adds M53 to his catalog (globular cluster in Coma Berenice)
1804 - Lieutenant Stephen Decatur raids Tripoli Harbor & burns Navy frigate Philadelphia after pirates seized it
1832 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reaches St-Pauls (1ºN, 29ºW)
1838 - Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under conditions
1840 - American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1846 - Battle of Sobraon ends 1st Sikh War in India
1860 - Dutch Rochussen/Van Bosse government resigns
1862 - Ft. Donelson captured by General Grant (1,400 Confederates surrender)
1864 - Battle of Mobile, AL - operations by Union Army
1868 - Benevolent & Protective Order of the Elks founded in New York
1878 - Silver dollar becomes US legal tender
1883 - "Ladies Home Journal" begins publication
1887 - 1st newspaper convention (Rochester NY)
1894 - British troops occupy Ilorin, Gold Coast
1900 - 1st Chinese daily newspaper in US publishes 1st issue (Chung Sai Yat Po-San Francisco)
1909 - 1st subway car with side doors goes into service (New York, NY); Serbia mobilizes against Austria-Hungary
1913 - President Taft agrees not to intervene in Mexico
1914 - 1st airplane flight from to Los Angeles from San Francisco
1916 - Russian troops conquer Erzurum, Armenia
1917 - 1st synagogue in 425 years opens in Madrid
1918 - Lithuania declares independence from Russia & Germany (National Day)
1923 - Howard Carter finds Pharoah Tutankhamen; Allies accept Latvia's occupation of Memel territory
1927 - US restores diplomatic relations with Turkey
1931 - Extreme right wing Svinhufvud becomes President of Finland
1932 - 1st patent issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree
1933 - Catholic newspaper Germania warns against Nazis/communists
1936 - 4th Winter Olympics games close at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
1936 - Spanish Frente Popular (People's Front) wins elections
1937 - DuPont Corp patents nylon, developed by employee Wallace H. Carothers
1938 - US Federal Crop Insurance program authorized
1940 - British search plane finds German Altmark off Norway
1942 - German submarines attack Aruba oil refinery
1943 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gets pneumonia; Red Army conquers Kharkov; Sign on Munich facade "Out with Hitler! Long live freedom!" done by "White Rose" student group, caught on 2/18, beheaded on 2/22; Withdrawing Africa Corps reaches Mareth-line in North-Africa
1945 - US forces land on Corregidor, complete conquest on March 3; Venezuela declares war on Nazi-Germany
1946 - 1st commercially designed helicopter tested, Bridgeport, CT
1948 - Miranda, famous moon of Uranus, photographed for 1st time; 1st newsreel telecast, "20th Century Fox-Movietone News" shown on NBC
1950 - Longest-running prime-time game show, "What's My Line" begins on CBS
1951 - NYC passes bill prohibiting racism in city-assisted housing; San Francisco City Hall dome fire
1956 - Britain abolishes the death penalty
1959 - Fidel Castro names himself Cuba's premier after overthrowing Batista
1960 - US nuclear submarine USS Triton sets off on underwater round-world trip
1961 - 1st all-solid-propellant rocket put in orbit, Wallops Island, VA; China uses it's 1st nuclear reactor; US satellite Explorer 9 is launched
1963 - 1st round-trip swim of Strait of Messina, Italy (Mary Revell of US); C & A Building in Amsterdam burns down
1965 - Pegasus 1 launched to detect micro-meteors
1968 - Country's 1st 911 phone system goes into service in Haleyville, AL
1972 - German mass murderers "Three of Breda" freed
1978 - 1st Computer Bulletin Board System (Ward & Randy's CBBS, Chicago)
1980 - Continuous traffic jam extends 176 km north of Lyons, France; Eric Heiden skates 5k in 7 02.29 (Olympics Record)
1982 - Agatha Barbara elected as 1st female President of Malta
1984 - Bill Johnson becomes 1st American to win Olympics downhill skiing gold
1986 - Mário Soares (Socialist) elected Portugal's 1st civilian president
1986 - French air force bombs Ouadi Doum airport in Chad
1988 - 1st documented combat action by US military advisors in El Salvador
1989 - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan & North Yemen form common market
1989 - William Hayden becomes governor-General of Australia
1991 - Dutch PPR, Political Party Radicals, disbands
1994 - 6.5 earthquake strikes SE Sumatra, kills 200; Premier Alfonso Bustamente ends government in Peru

Birthdays
1519 - Gaspard de Coligny, Huguenot leader/French Admiral
1620 - Frederick William, Great Elector, founder of Brandenburg-Prussia
1807 - Lysander Cutler, Union Brevet Major General
1812 - Henry Wilson, 18th Vice-President (1873-75)
1813 - Joseph Reid Anderson, Confederate Brigadier General
1822 - James Patton Anderson, Confederate Major General
1823 - Brigadier General John D. Imboden, organized 1st Virginia Partisan Rangers
1832 - Camille Armand Jules Marie de Polignac, Confederate Major General
1834 - Ernst Heinrich Haeckel, biologist (Causes of Evolution)
1848 - Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist (How species emerge)
1852 - Charles Taze Russell, founded Jehovah's Witnesses
1866 - Johann Strauss, composer (Waltz King)
1904 - George F. Kennan, US ambassador (to Moscow)
1905 - Lord Franks British ambassador (to US)
1909 - Hugh Beaumont, actor (Ward Cleaver - "Leave it to Beaver")
1912 - Machito "Frank Grillo", bandleader (created salsa music); Maitland Mackie, Lord Lieutenant (Aberdeenshire)
1918 - Károly earl Khuen-Héderváry, Hungarian Governor/premier (1910-12)
1924 - Peter Webster, British High Court Judge
1931 - George E. Sangmeister (Representative-IL)
1937 - Valentin Vasilyevich Bondarenko, cosmonaut
1942 - Kim Jong-Il (Yura), President of North-Korea (1994- )
1943 - James Beaton British GC
1950 - Peter Hain, British MP
1998 - Mr. Jefferson, 1st cloned calf

Passings
0309 - Pamphilus van Caesarea, Palestinian scholar/martyr, beheaded
0923 - Abu Dja'far Mohammed Djarir al-Tabari, Islamic historian, dies at 83
1247 - Hendrik Raspe (Papenking), count of Thüringen
1279 - Afonso III, King of Portugal (1248-79)
1391 - Johannes V. Palaeologus, Emperor of Byzantium (1341-91)
1538 - Everhard/Erardus van de Mark, prince-bishop of Liege, dies at 65
1600 - Giordano Bruno, burned at stake
1791 - Richard earl d'Alton, General of S. Netherlands, commits suicide at 58
1834 - Lionel Lukin, life boat pioneer
1899 - François Félix Faure, President of France (1895-99), dies at 57
1900 - George Labram, US mine engineer in South Africa, dies in battle
1912 - Edgar Evans, British explorer (Antarctica)
1951 - Henri Velge, 1st chairman (Belgian Council of State), dies at 65
1957 - Leslie Hore-Belisha (Lord Halifax), British Minister of Transport, dies at 63
1966 - Hendrik W. Tilanus, artillery officer/leader (CHU 1939-63), dies at 81
1979 - Nematullah Nassiri, Iranian General/head of Savak, executed
1986 - Howard Da Silva Cleveland OH, actor (Ben Franklin-"1776"), dies at 76
1991 - Enrique B. Varela, commandant, Nicaragua Contras
1992 - Abbas Musawi, leader of Hezbollah, assassinated; Janio Quadros, President of Brazil (1961)
1993 - Richard Salant, news president (CBS-60 Minutes), dies at 78
1996 - Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, politician, dies at 90; MacLean Stevenson actor (MASH), dies of heart attack at 66; Roger Bowen, actor (MASH, Main Event, What about Bob), dies at 62
1998 - Martha Gellhorn, war reporter (Reuters), dies at 89

Reported Missing in Action
1968
Vollmer, Valentine Bernard, US Army (WI); KIA, remains recovered August, 1974

1969
Moore, Jerry L., US Army (NC); disappeared during mortar attack on observation post

Wogan, William M., US Army (NY); disappeared after evacuating wounded at a landing strip, when a bomb exploded at his location

1971
Hoskins, Charles L., USAF (KS); F4D shot down (weapons/systems officer, w/Pattilo)

Pattillo, Ralph N., USAF (AL); F4D shot down (pilot, w/Hoskins)

1972
Galati, Ralph W., USAF (PA); F4D shot down (w/Schwertfeger) - released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Lee, Albert Eugene, USN (OH)

Schwertfeger, William R., USAF (OK); F4D shot down (pilot, w/Galati) - released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

Labels: Headlines, History