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BAGHDAD, Oct. 10, 2008 – Schools are now in session in the Sadr City district here, an area that six months ago was the scene of some of the war’s fiercest fighting. Students from the Jawalala School in the Jamilla neighborhood of Baghdad’s Sadr City district show off their newly issued backpacks Oct. 9, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The rooms that children now fill at this school in northeastern Baghdad once were home to militia fighters who launched attacks against the Iraqi government and Iraqi and coalition forces. “I...

JAMILLA, Iraq –This year the children of Iraq will have safer, refurbished schools thanks to the work of Renegade Soldiers.Before Company A, Task Force 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, arrived in Sadr City’s Jamilla neighborhood, the schools here were not even used for classes; militants were using the grounds as makeshift hiding places and torture cells. At the few schools that remained open, militants would kidnap children as they went to or from school and hold them for ransom.“The schools in Jamilla were places of terror, not places of learning,” said 2nd Lt. Nicholas Boykin, Co. A, TF 1-6, 2nd...

Iraqi children applaud the opening of their newly remodeled school, Sept. 25, 2008, during a ribbon cutting ceremony signifying the start of a new school year in the central Radwaniyah community of the Rashid District in southern Baghdad. Photo by Capt. Mark Miller, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — At the beginning of their school year, the kids of the Halwan school in Jari Village and Malaly school in Radwaniyah are not returning to the same schoolhouse they left before the summer break in southern Baghdad’s Rashid District. Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, partnered with...

Samantha Schroth, a local 4-H member and Hortonville High School student, helps unload donated school supplies, June 12, 2008, in Hortonville, Wisc. Photo by Capt. Casey Plamann, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier has reached back to his native homeland to gather English school books for use in Baghdad classrooms. Capt. Casey Plamann, a school teacher from Hortonville, Wis., presently serving as a civil affairs information manager and planner with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team “Strike,� 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), in northwest Baghdad, took a great concept...

BAGHDAD — When bells ring for a return to schools throughout the Sadr City district of Baghdad later this month, students at 38 schools throughout the area are in for a big surprise. Following the end of hostilities in Baghdad’s most densely populated district, nearly all the 38 schools located in Task Force Gold’s operational environment were selected for repair and refurbishment by the Soldiers of the 926th Engineer Brigade. “The youth of Sadr City represent the future,” said Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Talley, commander of the 926th Eng. Bde., in speaking about the importance of the project. “They are the...

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, Sept. 5, 2008 – When bells ring for a return to schools throughout Baghdad’s Sadr City district later this month, students at schools renovated by Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers are in for a big surprise. Local contractors in Baghdad’s Sadr City district work on refurbishing the Thatt Al Salasel School, Sept. 3, 2008. Multinational Division Baghdad spearheaded the renovation of 38 schools throughout the area. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Following the end of hostilities in Baghdad’s most densely populated district, nearly all of the 38 schools in Task Force Gold’s...

Capt. Sean Nolan, of San Antonio, and a soon-to-be student of the newly-refurbished primary school in Jisr Diyala, await cookies and cake during the school's ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 21, 2008. Photo by Pfc. Michael Schuch. COMBAT OUTPOST CASCHE SOUTH — A kindergarten and primary school opened in the She Shon area during ribbon-cutting ceremonies Aug. 21.Soldiers from the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion helped local contractors renovate two schools in She Shon to ensure the children of the area have the opportunity to receive a formal education."We are very thankful this project is now complete," said Fatema Rhady, the headmistress of...

Sgt. Michael Daniels, a military police Soldier with the 716th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, and native of Aiken, S.C., hands out school supplies, Aug. 13, 2008, to orphan children in the Salhiya District of Baghdad. U.S. Army photo. BAGHDAD — Anxious but appreciative orphan children in the Salhiya District of Baghdad had something to smile about when Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers arrived, Aug. 13, to hand out school supplies as part of an assistance mission named “Operation Iraqi Children.� During the engagement, Soldiers from the 18th MP Brigade lent a hand in...

Maj. Peter Colt, 443rd Civil Affairs Battalion, plays with young Iraqi children in Gaydah village, which is in the Kirkuk province of northeastern Iraq. Colt, along with 2nd Battalion, 22nd Inf. Regt. Soldiers, met with the village leaders recently to discuss developments and projects that will benefit the area. Photo by Spc. Jason Jordan. KIRKUK — In the southern Rishad valley of Kirkuk province lies the remote village of Gaydah, located several miles off the nearest main road and even further from the nearest substantial city or district. Already accustomed to seclusion, the village residents were surprised when Soldiers from...

Spc. Marisol Riley, a driver for the 164th Military Police Company and Riverside, California native, screws a part into place on a wheelchair for an Iraqi child, August 4, 2008. Photo by Pfc. Amanda Tucker. JOINT BASE BALAD — Military police sponsors, a chaplain and one huge-hearted civilian reached out to help the local community in Balad, Iraq, by giving two handicapped Iraqi children wheelchairs recently.Members of the 164th Military Police Company based out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, and currently commanded by 18th Military Police Brigade; go in sector on a daily basis, patrolling surrounding areas and helping to improve...

BASRAH — “I feel blessed to be working on this important project,” said Ryan Hartwig, construction representative with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Basrah Children’s Hospital Office “Each time we go, we see more progress. I can look at the place now and actually visualize patients using this facility,” he continued. “It’s just very satisfying being part of this effort that will no doubt save or change the lives of so many Iraqi children.” Several key partners are involved in the project including Project Hope (a non-government organization), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Iraqi Ministry of...

”I feel blessed to be working on this important project,” said Ryan Hartwig, construction representative with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Basrah Children’s Hospital Office “Each time we go, we see more progress. I can look at the place now and actually visualize patients using this facility,” he continued. “It’s just very satisfying being part of this effort that will no doubt save or change the lives of so many Iraqi children.” Several key partners are involved in the project including Project Hope (a nongovernment organization), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, explained...

Ali Abu Nebid, the Saydiyah Support Council Chairman, rides a merry-go-round with children after the opening of a playground on June 23 in the Saydiyah neighborhood of Baghdad's Rashid District. "I think the children will really enjoy this, and I am honored to be here at the official opening," said Maj. Peter Sicoli, the executive officer for the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad. Photo by Capt. Mark Miller. BAGHDAD — As daylights last remaining hours set over the horizon, and the summertime heat of Baghdad’s Rashid...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's love for children is by no means limited to their own: The couple has donated $1 million to help kids affected by the war in Iraq, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict announced Wednesday. The organization will distribute the donation, made through the couple's Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to four organizations working on behalf of children who have lost parents, homes and schools in Iraq. Children in the U.S. who have lost parents in the conflict will also benefit. "These educational support programs for children of conflict are the best way to...

An Iraqi father holds his 12-year-old son tightly upon reuniting after militant criminals kidnapped the boy in the Kamaliyah area of New Baghdad in eastern Baghdad, June 18. Officers from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police Division, rescued the boy while conducting a cordon-and-search mission after hearing his calls for help. U.S. Army photo. FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY — National police officers rescued a kidnapped 12-year-old Iraqi boy and seized a weapons cache while patrolling the New Baghdad security district of eastern Baghdad, June 18. Policemen from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police Division, answered a child’s calls...

An Iraqi foreman goes over issues with the construction on the site of the Basra Children's Hospital in Basra, Iraq. The hospital will have more than 90 beds and serve primarily as a pediatric cancer treatment facility. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Sheely. BASRA — The new Basra Children’s Hospital, a 94-bed pediatric cancer treatment facility, is currently under construction and is scheduled to open for patients in February 2009. The Gulf Region South Corps of Engineers Basra Area Office is responsible for over 40 reconstruction sites the city. Site surveys are an integral part of the process to...

Inside CoverNancy Reagan Joins 'Candy Diplomacy'Friday, June 13, 2008 10:51 AMBy: Jim MeyersFormer first lady Nancy Reagan is lending her support to Move America Forward’s “Candy Diplomacy” campaign aimed at bringing 100,000 bags of “American goodwill” to the children of Iraq and Afghanistan.Nancy said in a statement that her husband Ronald Reagan “would often break the ice in meetings by passing around his jar of Jelly Bellys. It had a way of putting a smile on everyone’s face and putting them in the mood to work cooperatively.“I know the Iraqi and Afghani people will feel the warmth and goodness of...

School children of the al-Menahay Primary School pose for a photo at their makeshift school north of Joint Security Site W-1. A house with five rooms near the destroyed school was used for classes until their school could be rebuilt. Photo by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FOB KALSU — For school children in the south Baghdad area, getting an education has become a difficult, even dangerous prospect in recent years. In some cases, supplies were short and facilities were in disrepair. Sometimes the teachers weren’t there. In a few cases, the schools themselves were all...

Staff Sgt. Joseph Reinsburrow, 64th Military Police Company and native of Towanda, Pa., holds an Iraqi child June 12 in Hurriyah, while Iraqi Police and Coalition forces hand out toys and school supplies to the local children. Photo by Sgt. Daniel Blottenberger, Multi-National Division Baghdad. CAMP VICTORY — When Iraqi Police (IP) and Coalition forces arrived at the Zainab Girls School in Hurriyah June 12, they were met by the smiling faces of more than 50 children and their caretakers in the Baghdad community. “This makes it all worth while,� said 1st Sgt. Thomas Gray, 64th MP Co., 18th Military...

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq, June 5, 2008 – More than 100 Iraqi families showed up to receive diapers, formula and cereal at the Radwaniyah Palace Complex Civil Military Operations Center, about seven kilometers southwest of Baghdad, May 31. An Iraqi woman and her children leave the Radwaniyah Palace Complex Civil Military Operations Center with free diapers, cereal and formula, May 31, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Rakkasan” soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team distributed two packages of disposable diapers, two cans of powdered formula and...

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Cristina Williams, the medical officer for Marine Wing Support Squadron 274, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), checks the vital signs of an Iraqi schoolboy here May 15, 2008. Photo by Lance Cpl. Jessica Aranda. AL ANBAR PROVINCE — Medical personnel attached to Marine Wing Support Squadrons 172 and 274 visited a local village to participate in a cooperative medical engagement here recently. CME missions are dedicated to providing health care to local nationals who lack adequate facilities while simultaneously raising awareness on the people’s health conditions to the Iraqi government.“The Marine Corps is often involved in special...

BAGHDAD, June 4, 2008 – Playing outside her Baghdad home in January 2007, 6-year-old Shams couldn’t have imagined that destiny was about to drastically change her life, along with the lives of many other Iraqi children. Dr. Samuel Kakish, a Jordanian dentist, checks a pediatric patient prior to surgery. Kakish volunteers his services to the Baghdad-based National Iraqi Assistance Center. Courtesy photo by Marikay Satryano  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Mortars don’t discriminate between women or men, rich or poor, adults or children. One found Shams. It was a miracle Shams’ father managed to flag down a passing...

Children eagerly wait in line for toys and candy in Dehna Village, west of Baghdad, May 29. Iraqi army soldiers from the 6th Company, 24th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, partnered with the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, "Gimlets," 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, worked together to hand out humanitarian aid in the village. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dustin Weidman. BAGHDAD — The line extended out the gate, around the corner and disappeared up the narrow street. The residents of Dehna Village, west of Baghdad, lined up waiting for aid May...

KUTIMIYAH — As if the last day of school wasn’t enough to put smiles on Kutimiyah children’s faces, they also received a special surprise courtesy of 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers. Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, delivered school supplies to the children May 24, courtesy of Mrs. Casandra Hanson’s 9th grade literature class at Germantown High School, in Germantown, Wis. The children had been without a school for several months after it was ravaged by insurgents, said 1st Lt. Greg Highstrom, leader of 2nd Platoon, Battery B. The insurgents cracked windows, damaged the building’s structural integrity and destroyed most...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – For the 38 grassroots groups who took up a temporary home in the Pentagon’s center courtyard today, the mission was clear: show support for the troops and share information about just how they do that. Tennessee's Helping Hearts table at the America Supports You Salute to Our Military Men and Women concert May 16, 2008, was staffed by the group’s pageant winners. From left, Paige Wilson, 12, 2007 Ms. Tennessee Helping Hearts; Shay Salmon, 16, 2008 Tennessee Helping Hearts Queen runner up; Amanda Britt, 18, 2008 Ms. Tennessee Helping Hearts; and Summer Salmon, 14,...

Young Iraqi Girl Receives Prosthetic Legs May 12, 2008 BY Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq Shiad Abas Aziz and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon, a squad leader with the 2nd Infantry Division, look on as Shiad is given instructions on how to properly care for her new legs. Photo by Airman 1st Class Andrew Davis BAGHDAD (Army News Service, May 12, 2008) - A 12-year-old Iraqi girl received two new prosthetic legs May 9, as part of an Iraqi Ministry of Defence program at the MOD Prosthetics Clinic located in the International Zone. Shiad Abas Aziz from Baquba...

Shahad Abbas, 11, lost her legs to a roadside bomb blast Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon, 38, was patrolling the streets of Baqouba, north of Baghdad, when he saw Shahad Abbas. The 11-year-old girl was in a large decrepit wheelchair Falcon stopped to talk. He came back the next day and the day after that, then every day for six months, bringing her toys, gauze for her legs, a new wheelchair. Anything she asked for, he would bring. Shahad became his mission. So when she asked for legs, that became his mission, too. On Friday, his dream and hers came...

BAGHDAD — Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon , 38, was patrolling the streets of Baqouba , north of Baghdad , when he saw Shahad Abbas . The 11-year-old girl was in a large decrepit wheelchair, and the stumps of her legs where her calves should have been were crusted with dried blood. Falcon couldn't just walk on, so he stopped to talk. He came back the next day and the day after that, then every day for six months, bringing her toys, gauze for her legs, a new wheelchair. Anything she asked for he would bring

BASRA — Residents of Basra, Iraq have been steadily returning to their daily lives and rebuilding their infrastructure in the city as well as other support services. The Basra Children’s Hospital is one of those services being rebuilt with the assistance of the Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South Coast Basrah Office. Iraqi workers on the project are currently installing lighting and running plumbing lines inside the building. The hospital’s primary mission is a cancer treatment facility, which will be run by western standards. (Multi-National Division South East PAO)

A promise to help a little girl live a better life is becoming reality. When a cooking accident in Iraq left Esmma badly burned, a group of Minnesota soldiers who helped her in Iraq, knew she'd get better care in Minnesota. The soldiers were determined to get Esmma to the Mayo Clinic. Two months ago, she and her father Hader arrived in Rochester. Hader explained through a translator that he sold his house and cars to afford the trip to Minnesota. "Even what I did, I don't think I did a lot for her. She deserves more then that, even...

Displaced families and Soldiers from Company B, 415th Civil Affairs, currently attached to 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, distribute humanitarian aid bags filled with food at the Hateen apartment complex in Iskandariyah, Iraq. Photo by Spc. Amanda Mcbride, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FOB KALSU — Coalition forces recently participated in a 200-bag humanitarian aid drop to more than 20 displaced families in Iskandariyah, approximately 30 miles south of Baghdad. Soldiers from Company B, 415th Civil Affairs (CA), currently attached to 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, distributed the aid in the Hateen...

Staff Sgt. Joseph Marcy, of the 511th Military Police Co., shares a moment with Iraqi children after a food distribution mission in the Zuwerijat district of Al Kut, Iraq, April 30. U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Daniel T. West. FOB DELTA — Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and American Soldiers recently gave humanitarian assistance to more than 200 families in the Zuwarijat district of al-Kut, 163 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, as part of Operation Thunder II. The humanitarian mission furthered the operation’s goal of establishing a permanent ISF presence in the area.During Operation Thunder II, ISF occupied three buildings to serve...

BAGHDAD, May 2, 2008 – Several years ago, the diagnosis of baby Noor’s rare congenital condition would have been equal to a death sentence. Today, she is on her way to leading a happy and healthy life, thanks to the soldiers of Multinational Division Center. Salvadoran Col. Walter Arevalo, commander of the Cuscatlan Battalion 10th rotation, holds Hussein Kase, 12, during a wheelchair distribution at Rhama Disabled Association in Kut, Iraq, April 18, 2008. Kase is unable to talk and suffers from a skin condition in addition to being paralyzed. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles...

Local leaders cut the ribbon signifying the opening of the Salman Pak Girls Secondary School, April 24, in Salman Pak, Iraq. DoD photo. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — The only secondary school for girls in the Salman Pak area opened its doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 24.Leaders of the Salman Pak Council, the Iraqi Army, the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, gathered in Salman Pak for the ceremony, which marked the completion of a $200,000 project initiated Feb. 28.Members of the Salman Pak Council brought the decrepit school to the attention of 1-15th...

AWJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iraqi schoolchildren were brought to the modest mausoleum of Saddam Hussein on Monday to celebrate the birthday of the executed dictator in the village where he was born. Saddam, who was hanged in late 2006 for crimes against humanity, is hated in much of Iraq. But in parts of his native Salahuddin Province, especially among his fellow Sunni Arabs, he is still revered. "Bush, Bush you low-life! Saddam's blood is not cheap!" a crowd of pupils in white uniforms from a nearby girls' school chanted while standing around Saddam's grave in the mausoleum where...

A teenage Iraqi girl who fell in love with a British soldier when he was in Basra was murdered by her father in an "honour killing", it was revealed today. Rand Abdel-Qader, 17, was suffocated and then hacked at with a knife after her family discovered she was friends with the 22-year-old soldier who she knew only as Paul. The pair first met when Rand was working on an aid project for displaced families but it is thought the soldier is unaware of the girl's fate. She was stamped on, suffocated and stabbed - leaving her with puncture wounds all...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, April 25, 2008 – After months of fighting, coalition forces in Arab Jabour, Iraq, have rid the area of al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists and have turned their attention to rebuilding the community. Army Capt. James Anthony, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, watches as children play at the Al-Alemia school in Arab Jabour, Iraq. Anthony and his company helped to rebuild the school. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Those efforts have opened numerous schools, water pumps and health clinics in Arab Jabour. The Islah School, Alula School and...

A student from Abu Shear School takes an arm full of backpacks back to the classroom April 14 in the Monsouri area of Iraq. Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1-76th FA, 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., delivered backpacks, soccer balls and notebooks to students there. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tami Hillis. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — A convoy rolls up to a small school in the Monsouri area of Iraq, just outside FOB Kalsu, and at first glance the school looks abandoned. Then small faces start appearing and heads lean out the windows. Moments later, Soldiers with Headquarters...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, April 16, 2008 – U.S. and Iraqi soldiers made April 13 a happy day for Iraqi children at two schools near Taji, northwest of Baghdad. Iraqi soldiers from 1st Battalion, 34th Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, hand out toys at the Asim bin Omar school in Sab Al Bour, northwest of Baghdad, April 13, 2008. During Operation Bounty Hunter Pencil, the Iraqi soldiers worked with Company A, 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Baghdad, to hand out toys and school supplies to children. Photo by Army Sgt. Waldemar...

Spotting irregularities is a tactic that is drilled into the minds of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers throughout training and in practice while in Iraq. Soldiers recently watched as a car pulled up to an entry control point at Forward Operating Base Callahan in northern Baghdad. They continued to watch as a woman stepped out of the car holding a bag. Once the woman dropped the bag near the gate, internal alarms were ringing and a careful search was called for and conducted... ...That search yielded a newborn baby wrapped tightly in several cloths. Soldiers raced to the bag, retrieved...

4/11/2008 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- Since 3-year-old Al Amreeki left Balad Air Base, Iraq, with more than 45 percent of his body burned from a stove fire at his home, he has come a long way due to treatment from Airmen and medics throughout the world. The young boy's uncle brought him to the Air Force Theater Hospital in Iraq Jan. 25, and since then the boy has traveled aboard a C-17 Globemaster III to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and onto Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and finally arriving by commercial air bus to...

With the ball, Spc. Cortez Cox, a water purification specialist, and Staff Sgt. Howard Benjamin, a section leader, both with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), teach Radwaniyah children how to defend and take the ball away during day two of a three-day basketball camp at Patrol Base Lion’s Den. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tony M. Lindback, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT). BR>PATROL BASE LION’S DEN — Radwaniyah area children were treated to something a little out of the ordinary when U.S. Soldiers at Patrol Base Lion’s...

An Adwaniyah middle school student receives school supplies during the school's grand opening. Some of the supplies were donated by American students to Iraqi students. The remodeled school will hold traditional and religious classes. FORWARD OPRATING BASE KALSU — Adwaniyah citizens who were once afraid to leave their homes because of al-Qaeda in Iraq, freely gathered last week to celebrate the grand opening of a middle school and health clinic. Much of the work was done using Commander’s Emergency Response Program funds. Coalition forces assisted in rebuilding the school and clinic but the Government of Iraq was key to the...

PATROL BASE YUSIFIYAH, Iraq - Students and teachers had looks of joy - and bewilderment - as Soldiers handed out school supplies and toys at the Mullah Fayad school in Yusifiyah, Iraq, March 27. Children grinned ear-to-ear as they looked over the treasure. When teachers asked who had sent the truckload of goods, they were surprised by the answer. Everything had been donated in the name of Sgt. Michael Stokely, who was killed Aug. 16, 2005, in Mullah Fayad. Stokely, from Sharpsburg, Ga., served with the 48th Georgia National Guard. After his death, his father began the Mike Stokely Foundation....

First Lt. Greg Highstrom (left), from Cedarburg, Wisc., a platoon leader, and Spc. Nick Waterman, from Princeton, Idaho, an artilleryman, both with Battery B, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, speak with students of the Manahel primary school in Kutimiyah, March 30. The school is temporarily using a nearby home to hold classes because al-Qaida insurgents destroyed the school building. Photo by Sgt. Luis Delgadillo. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Many schools in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division's area of operation have been rebuilt through the efforts of coalition forces.There were...

Calif., native 1st Lt. Casey Zimmerman of Company C, 3rdBattalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, hands out footballs at a school in Mullah Fayad March 27. All the items were donated by the family and community of Sgt. Nathan Barnes, who served in the area and was killed in Rushdi Mullah July 17. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tony M. Lindback, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. PATROL BASE YUSIFIYAH — Whoever said violence begets more violence never met the family of Sgt. Nathan Barnes.American Fork, Utah, native Sgt. Nathan Barnes, a Soldier with 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBkDdsx8T-4

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2008 – On his way home from working in his family’s field near Kirkuk, Iraq, Rahmey didn’t see the hidden improvised explosive device until it was too late. Soldiers and U.S. soldiers load an Iraqi teenager injured by an improvised explosive device onto a medical evacuation helicopter near Kirkuk, Iraq, March 27, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade.  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Staggering for home after the blast, the 13-year-old Iraqi boy had no way to know that his life would be saved by...

An Iraqi worker adds a fresh coat of white paint to one of the buildings comprising the al Nassir School in al Buaytha, March 25. Coalition forces are funding repair of the school's four buildings. Before al-Qaida was driven from the area, the school was hit several times by mortars, causing structural damage. Photo by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FOB KALSU — The al Nassir Elementary School is once again a kid-friendly place where area children can go to study.The school, which suffered severe damage while al-Qaida dominated the area, is now...

A young Iraqi girl holds her new Beanie Baby, donated by children of North Hills Christian School in Salisbury, N.C. Soldiers of Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, distributed the toys to children from the Oman and Nassir schools in al Buaytha, March 24. Photo by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FOB KALSU — Iraqi school children in Al Buaytha received toys from children their age from halfway around the world, March 24. Soldiers of Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry...