Free Republic

Since we don’t see a newspaper over here more than once every six weeks (hey, Stars & Stripes – what’s up with that, anyway?), I’m not even as minimally attuned as normal to what’s going on in the Land of Balmy Temperatures. However, I do get some inklings of what the buzz is from my li'l buddy, ry, who recently asked my thoughts on a subject he'd heard bruited about: “Why haven’t we gotten a better Iraqi Army for all the money we’ve spent?” Ummmmm -- huh? First, *we* didn’t get an Army -- Iraq did. Sure, we foot the...

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2008 – Building or remodeling homes to accommodate the needs of severely wounded warriors returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is the way Kirt Rebello and everyone else involved with “Homes for Our Troops” have chosen to thank servicemembers for their sacrifice. “A wounded servicemember’s life is forever changed,” Rebello -- vice president and projects director for Homes for Our Troops – said during an interview on “ASY Live,” a program on BlogTalkRadio.com that’s part of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program. America Supports You connects citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, March 27, 2008 – Task Force Pacemaker’s engineers have conducted construction workshops throughout eastern Afghanistan to promote positive relationships with Afghans while providing them with skills critical to rebuilding their nation and economy. Fifty Afghan men learn how to use tools and safety equipment issued to them during a skilled-labor workshop at Forward Operating Base Sharana, in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. Photo by Sgt. David Roscoe, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. January marked the beginning of four separate construction workshops for Afghan men between the ages of 18 and 60. The task force...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2008 – More than 180 representatives of 122 troop-support groups gathered today at the Pentagon to share information and insights about ways to boost their efforts during the third annual America Supports You National Summit. Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Allison Barber, the program’s architect, opened the all-day session welcoming the participants she credits with making America Supports You such a big success. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is slated to close the summit, thanking the groups for their contributions. The Defense Department launched the America Supports you program in November 2004 to showcase support for the country’s...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 5, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates talked with Iraqi leaders and U.S. commanders here today to explore ways to maintain momentum built in recent months and continue to build on it. Gates met with Iraqi President Jalal Talibani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Defense Minister Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji and U.S. commanders. Here on his sixth visit as defense secretary, Gates noted vast security improvements. During a joint news conference with Mufriji, Gates cited “recent months of dramatic change in the security situation across the nation, a decline in violence to levels not seen since the Samarra mosque...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2007 – The biggest challenges Afghanistan’s security forces face are not recruiting, training or fighting, but have more to do with building the systems that will sustain the country’s forces, a senior advisor in the region said this week. “The greatest challenge that I have observed in working with the Afghan National Security Forces is not their fighting capability, it’s not their desire to create a national army and police, (and) it's not their willingness to sacrifice. Rather, it is the creation and sustainment of a national industrial base from which to maintain the army and the...

KHOWST, Afghanistan, Aug. 28, 2007 — In this rugged border province formerly known for its notorious al-Qaeda training camps, 88,000 Afghan students sit in open fields attending classes, enduring hours under the scorching sun for any opportunity to learn and build a better life. "Khowst used to be considered a place of death. Now it is a place for new life." Khowst Gov. Arsala Jamal One of those students is Farishta, a 12-year-old girl from Jaji Maidan, an outer district of Khowst Province. Speaking just two miles from the Pakistani border, Farishta forcefully explains her commitment to education. “All I...

U.S. Army Engineers Continue Work on Health Care Centers Increased availability to medical care will help reduce infant mortality. By A. Al BahraniGulf Region South, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MAYSAN, Iraq, Aug. 24, 2007 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to make a significant and positive impact on the reconstruction of Iraq. The design-build projects of four Primary Healthcare Centers in Maysan Province are a prime example. "We are making history here. I enjoy working in Iraq and seeing the benefit of the reconstruction work." Maj. Stephen Herda Maysan resident engineer, Basrah Area Office. “The four...

KIRKUSH — Coalition advisors gathered at the Kirkush Military Training Base Wednesday to see the progress being made in the region. Denmark Army Gen. Werner P. Kahle visited Iraqi Army Gen. Sabah, head of the Regional Support Unit (RSU) at the base, located approximately 70 miles northeast of Baghdad. “Think of it [the RSU] as a distribution center,” said Navy Capt. Joe Hedges, Assistance Chief of Staff of Engineering. “we are building distribution systems to get supplies to Soldiers in the front,” “If you have an army in the field, you have to be able to support them,” said Karl...

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2007 – While Iraqi forces are progressing, it will take time before they are fully ready to shoulder the security burden, the man in charge of training Iraqi Army and police said today. Army Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard also said that one of the lessons of the war in Iraq is that the coalition must not “draw forces down too quickly when we think there's a glimmer of success.” Pittard is finishing up a year as the commander of the Iraq Assistance Group in Baghdad. He briefed Pentagon reporters via video teleconference. The Iraq Assistance Group...

An Iraqi Army Soldier makes friends with an Iraqi boy, March 17, during a foot patrol near the village of Kem, Iraq. The boy rushed over to show the Soldier a fish he had caught. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. KEM -- Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) and U.S. Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment went on a joint foot patrol in the villages surrounding Kem, Iraq Saturday afternoon.While on patrol, Iraqi Soldiers and U.S. Soldiers paired up in two...

Soldiers from 510th Sapper Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, of Fort Hood, Texas, work on constructing a building in the Baghdad area. The unit repairs damaged Iraqi infrastructure, and performs construction in support of U.S forces, improving the quality of life on remote bases for U.S and Iraqi army soldiers. BAGHDAD -- As Soldiers stand up security stations and patrol bases across the Iraqi capital the need for operational buildings increases. This is where the 510th Sapper Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, of Fort Hood, Texas, comes into play.The unit repairs damaged Iraqi infrastructure, and performs construction in support of U.S forces,...

Students applaud during the opening ceremony earlier this week of a new girls’ high school in north Baghdad. The $470,000 project includes 16 classrooms that handle an enrollment of up to 450 students. Ali Bunni, the Qada Council’s deputy chairman, said during the ceremony that he could not adequately express in words his community’s happiness about the new facility. BAGHDAD — A new high school for girls opened in northern Baghdad Feb. 5, courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The school is one of many projects focusing on education and reconstruction of Iraq’s infrastructure. Residents in north Baghdad...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2007 – The Fisher House Foundation will expand its efforts to help injured U.S. troops and their families by building five new comfort homes per year until 2010, the foundation’s chairman said last night on CNN's "Larry King Live." “These are families that make sacrifices. This program is designed to help them,” Ken Fisher said. The foundation builds homes on and near active military and Veterans Affairs medical facilities. The houses provide free lodging for servicemembers who must stay near a hospital for continuing treatment, as well as families visiting wounded loved ones. The work done...

Is this a joke? No, say a bunch of physicists. One day, it may be possible for a person to create a universe! This is not going to happen tomorrow. Not even close. But according to Columbia University physics professor Brian Greene, it is theoretically not impossible (which is his way of saying the possibilities are not zero) that one day, a person could build a universe. The very idea is so startling it's hard to know what this means. Think about it this way: One day (far off, no doubt), it may be possible to go into a laboratory...

BASRAH, Iraq, Oct. 3, 2006 — A group of California National Guardsmen from the 40th Engineer Brigade are making a difference in Iraq serving with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Basrah Area Office of the Gulf Region South District. “There are three of us serving down here in Basrah,” said Maj. Zac Delwiche, a liaison officer with the Oil Area Office. “We all have different jobs, but the Corps is making good use of all of our skills.” Delwiche is joined in Basrah by fellow 40th Engineer Brigade soldiers: Master Sgt. Bob Lamoureux and Sgt 1st Class...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2006 – More than 140 Afghan laborers are currently working to complete local dam and building construction projects worth a total of nearly half a million dollars, according to Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news releases. More than 90 Afghan workers are helping to build a water-retention dam on a natural waterway near the village of Rawza in Ghazni district, Ghazni province. Work on the $200,000 concrete dam began July 25, but much of the work was redone because of heavy rain and flooding that month. Work on the more than 45-foot-high dam is 25 percent complete. The...

US to build 1,800 towers to guard borders By Francis Harris in Washington (Filed: 21/09/2006) America is to build 1,800 watchtowers bristling with high-tech sensors as part of an $8 billion (£4.25 billion) programme to secure its borders against illegal migrants. The towers will form the centrepiece of a network to be constructed by the aerospace company Boeing along the 5,000 miles of border with Mexico and Canada. Each watchtower will be equipped with an array of equipment, including cameras, which can zoom in on suspicious movements then transmit live video to border agents with handheld computers. Some of the...

Capt. Luke A. Coyle, a Military Transition Team communications advisor, watches while Lance Cpls. Timothy A. Ebert and Jesse L. Jamison attempt the task of engineering wires. Department of Defense photo by Marine Lance Cpl. Geoffrey P. Ingersoll. CAMP TAQADDUM -- As the early morning sun slips over the horizon, it illuminates a group of Marines and their line of humvees, loaded heavy with gear. The industrious Marines suit up, mount up and roll out of their home-away-from-home: a dry, dusty lot they call “Comm Company.” The Marines of Wire Platoon, Communications Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group, wear enough equipment...

US warns of 'build-up' in Darfur AU forces in Darfur are stretched beyond capacity A senior US envoy has said Washington is "very concerned" about a "build-up of military forces" in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan. US Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer has gone to Khartoum to try to persuade the ruling party to accept a United Nations peacekeeping force. Washington has said urgent action must be taken to stop a "genocide". The African Union has agreed to the UN taking over from its own peacekeepers, but Khartoum rejects having a UN force. 'Foot-dragging' Ms Frazer said before...

BISBEE — The federal government is preparing to build a border barrier that will extend from the Huachuca Mountains in the west to Douglas in the east, a Border Patrol spokesman confirmed Monday. The project will connect existing fencing in and around Douglas and Naco to create a continuous barrier along the approximately 40-mile stretch of border, Border Patrol Tucson Sector Spokesman Jesus “Chuy” Rodriguez told the Herald/Review. “They are going to build a mixture of drive-through barriers and the type of fencing that exists in Douglas and Nogales,” Rodriguez said. The drive-through barriers, which are designed to stop vehicles...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2006 – Iraqi forces captured two wanted men in separate early morning raids yesterday. Iraqi soldiers in Ash Sharqat, Iraq, captured a facilitator of terrorist activity in that area. Soldiers from the 4th Iraqi Army Division, assisted by coalition advisers, conducted a precision raid and captured this facilitator, whose alleged involvement in fraud, local corruption and embezzlement provides support to terrorist operations in the area, U.S. officials said. He also is believed to be responsible for improvised explosive device attacks against coalition forces, including one attack that killed a U.S. soldier. In another operation, Iraqi security forces,...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 10, 2006 — Coalition medical teams have treated more than 64,000 Afghan patients since August 2005 as part of a joint Afghan-Coalition effort to bring medical and humanitarian aid to all regions of the country. Coalition medical efforts have focused on treating patients while at the same time helping Afghanistan rebuild its medical infrastructure, said Air Force Col. Donald Thompson, the command surgeon for Coalition forces in Afghanistan. He spoke to reporters during a media roundtable event at Camp Eggers here Aug. 4. The end goal, said Thompson, is to give the Afghanistan government the capability to...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2006 -- Coalition commanders and prominent religious leaders in the Khost Province conducted their first shura, or meeting, July 26 to provide a forum for open discussion of provincial issues. Army Lt. Col. David A. Bushey, Task Force Wolfpack commander, and Navy Cmdr. John F. Wade, commander of the Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team, clarified Coalition policy toward the religion and culture represented by the mullahs in attendance. “We make three promises to all Afghan citizens, “ Bushey told the assembled mullahs. “The soldiers under our command will respect your religion, they will...

SACRAMENTO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to build two prisons and other units to relieve extreme inmate overcrowding will cost an estimated $6 billion, Acting Corrections Secretary James Tilton said Tuesday. That figure is part of the total amount California taxpayers will be asked to pay in the coming years toward reforming various aspects of the state's correctional system. Federal and state courts are overseeing reforms to inmate health care, mental health services, employee discipline and the juvenile justice division. They are requiring new construction and other changes that could reach billions of additional dollars. The governor has called a special...

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is getting ready to build another security fence. The high-security fence will be constructed 20 miles east of Palominas. Richard Hodges is looking forward to seeing the fence constructed on his property. "It is not uncommon to run upon 20 or 30 people," Hodges said. Hodges has seen his share of illegal crossers. He's lived on his Cochise County ranch his entire life. He says many of the illegal immigrants fall prey to robbers, once they get close to the Arizona-Mexico border. "You see signs of violence up here. You see where scuffs have been...

BILOXI, Miss. (Army News Service, July 20, 2006) – Twenty-five Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) put selfless service into action July 14 when they spent their weekend in Biloxi, Miss., building houses for people who lost their homes in last year’s Hurricane Katrina. Maj. C’Wayne Brittian, chaplain for Arlington National Cemetery, and Capt. Stephen Pratel, chaplain of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), worked together with Habitat for Humanity International to arrange the trip. The Soldiers were received by Lutheran Episcopal Disaster Response, a church group dedicated to rebuilding the...

7/18/2006 - NAWAJ, PARWAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- In the culmination of more than a year's efforts, the Parwan deputy governor cut the ribbon on a bridge July 11 in the northern part of this province connecting Afghans to their country. The new bridge spans a river in the mountains and was built with the future in mind as it accommodates both foot and vehicle traffic. It will connect 600 to 700 families in mountain villages to a main highway and, by extension, to the rest of Afghanistan. "This is a very great day," said Parwan Deputy Governor Gulam Sedeeq Sedeeq...

Just when you thought California's 20-year prison construction boom was over, here comes another election season. Gubernatorial candidates Arnold Schwarzenegger and Phil Angelides are falling over each other to launch a new era of prison construction. This is bipartisan, equal opportunity pandering and fear mongering, with an obvious impetus. The prison guards union, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), has $10 million to spend to help or defeat a candidate for governor. How obvious is this link? Schwarzenegger recently told The Bee editorial board that Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez, a card-carrying member of the CCPOA, would be handling his prison...

'Foreigner' helped build Terracotta Army Jonathan Watts in Beijing Wednesday June 28, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Chinese archaeologists have unearthed evidence that a foreign worker helped build the Terracotta Army mausoleum, the resting place of the country's first emperor, who died more than 2,200 years ago. The remains of the worker, described as a foreign man in his 20s, were found among 121 shattered skeletons in a labourers' tomb 500 metres from the mausoleum in the north-western city of Xian, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. According to Xinhua, the man may prove to be "China's first foreign worker", though...

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's prime minister announced plans Tuesday to build three nuclear power plants by 2015 to meet the country's growing energy needs. Turkey has limited energy resources, relying on natural gas supplies from Iran and Russia. "As a country whose energy consumption is increasing rapidly, we want to benefit from nuclear energy as soon as possible," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an energy conference in Istanbul. "We foresee the building of three nuclear power plants by 2015." Turkey has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and strict agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Mohamed El-Baradei, head of...

FORT HUACHUCA — Germany is hosting soccer’s World Cup, but this Southern Arizona Army post has it own international tournament. The 27th Conseil International du Sport Militaire Volleyball Championships began on Saturday. A very small, Olympic-like opening ceremony was held on Bujalski Field outside Barnes Field House, the venue for the games between teams from nine nations. With military members from the post carrying signs identifying the nations, the teams marched on to part of the field, behind one of their members carrying their national flags. First to be announced was L’Allemagne — Germany. The others followed in alphabetical order...

PALOMINAS — For many people, building a barbed-wire fence under the burning Arizona sun would probably be the last way they would want to spend their Memorial Day weekend. Not Minuteman Project volunteer Christie Czajkowski, however. She signed up for the group’s weekend fence-building inauguration almost as soon as she heard about it — even though it meant driving 15 hours from her home in Chula Vista, Calif. “What else am I going to do, go to another beach party?” laughed the 33-year-old baker as she paused from a turn at stringing wire. “No, I need to do something to...

PALOMINAS — Unimpressed by President George W. Bush’s pledge to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the border and a Senate bill that would construct 370 miles of new border fencing, the Minuteman Project began building its own barrier Saturday at a local ranch. By early afternoon, volunteers had planted posts and strung five tiers of barbed wire along an approximately 750-foot-long stretch of Jack and John Ladd’s property in Palominas. It was the first step in an ongoing project the civilian border watch group hopes will eventually be taken over by the federal government. Minuteman Project founder Chris Simcox...

A humvee, followed by a 20-ton dump truck, crosses a newly constructed bridge at Logistics Support Area Anaconda's north entry control point. Courtesy photo 84th Engineers Build Bridges for Anaconda The roadwork project cleared the field of vision for guards manning an entry control point at Logistics Support Area Anaconda. By U.S. Army 1st Lt. Waukemsha Kirkpatrick 84th Engineer CombatBattalion (Heavy) LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Iraq, May 18, 2006 — U.S. soldiers assigned to the 84th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) jumped into action to complete a project at Logistics Support Area Anaconda's north entry control point. Civilian trucks delivering...

U.S. Army Warrant Officer Clifford Merrill, supply system technician, 589th Brigade Support Battalion, Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, highlights numerous shelving units that will be filled with supplies to support members of the 9th Iraqi Army Division on Camp Taji, Iraq. The 589th Brigade Support Battalion soldiers support a Military Transition Team mission by helping Iraqis set up five warehouses, which will soon be under their control. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Malec U.S. Soldiers Build Iraqi Army Supply, Support Capacity A small team of U.S. soldiers work diligently to train their Iraqi counterparts on the...

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2006 – Just as noncommissioned officers and petty officers are the backbone of the U.S. military, they also are increasingly becoming the backbone of NATO, a top U.S. NCO said here today. Marine Sgt. Maj. Alford L. McMichael, senior noncommissioned officer for NATO's Allied Command for Operations, is at the forefront of that effort. He spoke during a conference of service senior enlisted advisors and combatant command senior enlisted leaders meeting at the Pentagon this week. McMichael is a former sergeant major of the Marine Corps. He assumed his current position in September 2003 and is the...

TUCSON, Ariz. - A civilian border-patrol group said Tuesday that it plans to build two short security fences on a ranch in southern Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point on the U.S.-Mexico border. Chris Simcox, a leader in the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said last month that the group would break ground on the fence unless the White House deployed U.S. troops to the border by May 25 and endorsed more secure fencing. "We are not anticipating that the White House will make any effort in the next 2 1/2 weeks as far as putting troops on the border," Minuteman...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (May 05, 2006) -- Currently at the Combat Center’s Battle Simulation Center is a personal computer-based stand alone trainer designed to allow an individual to develop proficiency with the Arabic language. This simulated program is known as the Tactical Iraqi Language Trainer. The program uses a mixture of skill building lessons and practice “talk-em-up” missions. It is intended for all skill levels and uses voice recognition systems to enable speaking practice. Unlike most simulation systems, this generally requires a significant investment in time for anything beyond the most basic language skills....

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 3, 2006) – The work of American Soldiers is helping countries like Afghanistan and Iraq recover from years of war and repression, according to the Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth O. Preston. Preston has visited forward operating bases across Southwest Asia and the Balkans several times during his tenure, and will visit again this summer and fall. In addition to checking on the welfare of U.S. enlisted Soldiers, Preston will look for continued progress in Iraq and Afghanistan’s emerging enlisted army structure. In spite of terrorist and insurgent attempts to unseat the stability of...

As immigrants and their supporters prepared for a massive boycott, opponents of illegal immigration went to work building a border fence meant to symbolize their support of a secure border. About 200 volunteers organized by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of California began building a six-foot barbed wire fence Saturday along a quarter-mile stretch of rugged terrain in Boulevard, about 50 miles east of San Diego. Tim Donnelly, the group's leader, said volunteers ate apple pie and hot dogs as they worked on the fence, which was connected to an existing 12-foot high fence previously built by the federal government....

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, April 25, 2006) – Iraqi Security Forces demonstrated again this week an increased role in the security of their nation as they continued to assume more responsibility, build capabilities and foster trust within Iraqi communities. During a transfer of authority ceremony April 24 at Forward Operating Base Hotel, the Iraqi Army’s 1st Brigade, 8th Division, assumed security responsibility for nearly 11,583-square-miles of the An Najaf Province. Col. Saadi Saleh Muhsin of 1st Brigade and Col. Majeed Muhammed Hannoon of 2nd Brigade each assumed responsibility for a battalion sized area of operations as witnessed by Najaf...

When in Vietnam, Build Boats as the Romans Do Richard Stone INDO-PACIFIC PREHISTORY ASSOCIATION CONGRESS, 20-26 MARCH 2006, MANILA In December 2004, researchers drained a canal in northern Vietnam in search of ancient textiles from graves. They found that and a whole lot more. Protruding from the canal bank at Dong Xa was a 2000-year-old log boat that had been used as a coffin. After a closer look at the woodwork, archaeologists Peter Bellwood and Judith Cameron of Australia National University in Canberra and their colleagues were astounded to find that the method for fitting planks to hull matched that...

Plans for US-Mexico border fence draw fireBy Tim Gaynor Posted on: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 08:07 CST TIJUANA, Mexico (Reuters) - Hurling himself over a steel fence into the no-man's-land between Mexico and California, an undocumented migrant sprints across a narrow strip lit by harsh arc lights and watched over by video cameras on tall posts. Before he can shin up a second barrier of tall concrete pillars topped with seismic sensors and a layer of steel mesh more than an arm's-length wide, U.S. Border Patrol agents close in fast and arrest him . That scene is repeated dozens of...

Soldiers Build Trust with Local People Bastogne soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne have a mission with the dualityof destroying the insurgency and rebuilding the nation by garnering trust from the local populace. By U.S. Army Spc. Michael Pfaff 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment Kirkuk, Iraq, March 23, 2006 — Bastogne soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne have a mission with the duality of destroying the insurgency and rebuilding the nation by garnering trust from the local populace. Many times, these missions go hand-in-hand, but can be reflective of each other. Destroying the...

ARLINGTON, Va., March 21, 2006 – Annual observances provide a chance to reflect on history that defines "how women were treated and how they struggled, organized and contributed significantly to the positive change in this country," a history-making woman general said here today. Army Brig. Gen. Belinda Pinckney, principal deputy director of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, tells the audience at the Defense Department's observance of Women's History Month that the annual event isn't about idealizing women. "It's about expanding the vision of what women can do," she said. Photo by Rudi Williams  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

LOS ANGELES – Philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad donated $25 million to build a stem cell research center at the University of Southern California, school officials said Thursday. Groundbreaking for the center, which will be named the Broad Institute for Integrative Biology and Stem Cell Research, will begin in the fall. The 215,000-square-foot facility is expected to be the largest stem cell research center in the state when it opens in 2008, the university said. The Broad Institute will bring together various scientific disciplines to study stem cells, which some believe hold promise for treating an array of diseases like...

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Geoffrey Heath Marine Helps Build Stronger Iraq By Cpl. Shane Suzuki 2nd Marine Division AR RAMADI, Iraq, Feb. 21, 2006 — Sacrifice. It’s a word that is often thrown around when deploying to war. For some, it means foregoing college for a year; for others, it means being away from family for months at a time. For Lance Cpl. Geoffrey Heath, it meant missing the birth of his first child. “I left a month before my wife had our first child,� said the native of Miami, Fla. “When I get home, I’ll meet him...

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., Feb. 1, 2006 – Estonia is helping two nations rebuild in the wake of extremism and a violent dictatorship. Its forces are now deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and the country is a coalition partner at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla. An Estonian soldier checks a map while patrolling in Iraq. Estonia has troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Photo courtesy of Estonian Defense Forces   Estonia sent 23 soldiers to Afghanistan, a number that will grow to 150 by 2007, said Estonian army Maj. Kuido Pettai, the senior national representative for Estonia...

Israel 'will not sit back' and let Iran build atomic weapons By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem (Filed: 23/01/2006) Israel issued thinly-veiled warnings yesterday that it was preparing to take direct action to stop Iran, its bitter enemy, acquiring nuclear weapons. Remarks by Shaul Mofaz, the defence minister, raised the temperature of the worsening international crisis over the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions and prompted Iran into a swift and strongly-worded response. The war of words increased the prospect of another pre-emptive strike by Israel similar to that in 1981 when its warplanes destroyed Saddam Hussein's nuclear programme with an attack on...