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WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2007 – For some servicemembers of past generations, the USO evokes images of comedian Bob Hope telling jokes while clutching a golf club. But during USO Night yesterday at RFK stadium here, troops on hand were treated to an up-close view of professional baseball players wielding Louisville Sluggers. Marine Sgt. Justin L. Clough; Army Spc. Marion D. Pettus, III; Air Force Senior Airman Nicole P. O’Hara; Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Samuel S. Jordan; Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel J. Walsh; and Ned Powell, president and chief executive officer of USO, pose with Screech,...

Source: University of Adelaide Date: August 17, 2007 Brains Learn Better At Night Science Daily — If you think that the idea of a morning person or an evening person is nonsense, then postgraduate student Martin Sale and his colleagues from the University of Adelaide have news for you. Martin Sale demonstrates the technique to stimulate nerve activity in the brain. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Adelaide) They have found that the time of day influences your brain’s ability to learn—and the human brain learns more effectively in the evening. And by identifying at what point in the day...

  Night Air Assault Mission Nets Insurgents   Preparation results in successful mission to capture insurgents and weapons. By Sgt. Johnnie French, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, June 26, 2007 — U.S. Paratroopers targeted an insurgent stronghold nicknamed “Hawaii” outside of Mahmudiyah June 23. The paratroopers from Company C, 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (BCT) (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division conducted Operation Peregrine II and captured five members of an insurgent cell in north Babil. “It was difficult. This was our first air assault, and at the last...

Aircrew aids Globemaster carrying severely injured troops from Iraq. ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England, Feb. 14, 2007 — A late night call, a cancelled sortie and flexibility led an aircrew from the 351st Air Refueling Squadron here to expedite medical care for more than a dozen severely injured troops being transported from Iraq to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Feb. 7. "The maintainers and my crew worked unbelievably fast because we realized how critical the mission was, " Capt. Colin Henderson, 351st Refueling Squadron According to Capt. Brent Toth, 100th Operations Support Squadron scheduler, the refueling mission was far...

I have searched and searched for the thread that was present late last week. Someone named Old sargeant or something like that started this story that was to be carried on by others on the thread. However, this person did such a good job that they continued the story. Can anyone provide the link please?

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2006 – Over the past two and a half years, about 500 severely wounded servicemembers and their families have enjoyed 5,000 free dinners out on the town thanks to Hal Koster and Marty O’Brien. “Some of them have come to multiple dinners because some of them are here for years,” Koster said Aug. 18, as he looked over the 60 or so guests dining on the rooftop of The Exchange restaurant here. About 20 servicemembers, many in wheelchairs and prosthetics, family members and other guests dined overlooking a panoramic view of the U.S. Capitol, and the Washington...

2006 ABC Saturday Night College Football schedule • Sept. 2, 8 p.m. ET: Notre Dame at Georgia Tech • Sept. 9, 8 p.m. ET: Ohio State at Texas • Sept. 16, 8 p.m. ET: Nebraska at USC • Sept. 23, 8 p.m. ET: Notre Dame at Michigan State; USC at Arizona • Sept. 30, 8 p.m. ET: Ohio State at Iowa or Michigan at Minnesota* • Oct. 7, 8 p.m. ET: Oregon at California; ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection) • Oct. 14, 8 p.m. ET: Michigan at Penn State; Arizona State at USC • Nov. 4, 8...

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2006 – For the past two and a half years, veterans of wars past have been helping heal the latest generation of wounded troops every Friday in a basement steakhouse here. Members of Disabled American Veterans help a wounded servicemember before the final Friday night dinner for wounded troops at Fran O'Brien's steakhouse in downtown Washington, D.C. Groups like DAV and Helping Our Heroes Foundation bring dozens of wounded troops out to the Friday dinners, which now will be held at various locations in the nation's capital, beginning May 5. Photo by Paul X. Rutz  (Click photo...

FOB KALSU, Iraq (Army News Service, April 21, 2006) – As Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, fight terrorists and help the Iraqi army protect its country, Soldiers from Company A, 204th Support Battalion, 2nd BCT, silently creep through the streets of Iraq re-supplying Soldiers in the fight. New supply shipments arrive daily at Forward Operating Base Duke, where they are processed and distributed by the Soldiers of Co. A, 204th Spt. Bn. “Everything from food, water and office supplies to oil, wood and serviceable parts are sent on logistical packages to each base in the 2nd...

Site requires membership to pull up story but here is excerpt... Grandson Wants Russian Authorities to Investigate Stalin’s Death Joseph Stalin’s great-grandson has appealed to the Russian authorities with a request to investigate the circumstances of his great-grandfather’s death, news agencies reported Thursday. “When Stalin was disposed of, Khrushchev, who imagined himself to be a statesman, was able to come to power. His so called activities were nothing but a betrayal of the interests of the state that he headed,” Jacob Jugashvili said in a statement. The betrayal committed in the Kremlin should be judged in the Kremlin, too, he...

Clooney film faces censorship (But You Know The New York Slimes...) by Julia Wheeler The film which won George Clooney an Oscar may be banned in one of the countries where it was shot because of political sensitivities. Syriana was partly filmed in the United Arab Emirates. The authorities there are still deciding whether the film, which is a political thriller, will be shown.

MARINE BARRACKS WASHINGTON (Feb. 24, 2006) -- In 1776, the United States declared its independence from the British government. However, the United States Marine Corps finds itself 230 years later, modifying the traditions of the British Royal Marine Corps and using those traditions as a foundation to create some of their own. H & S Company NCOs of the “Oldest Post” carried on the tradition of formal military dining, or the Marine Corps Mess Night, Wednesday, Feb. 22. First Sergeant Walter C. Baldwin, company first sergeant, H & S Company, said the purpose of the Mess Night, although formal, is...

Pakistanis 'killed in US strike' Two Pakistani nomad women have been killed after a rocket fired across the border from Afghanistan landed on their tent, Pakistani officials say. Four children were hurt in the attack late on Saturday in North Waziristan. Locals say US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan fired four rockets into Pakistan's tribal area after coming under fire from unknown attackers. A US spokesman confirmed coalition forces had returned fire into Pakistan, but was not aware of casualties. Post 'attacked'The incident is the third this year in which civilians have been killed inside Pakistani territory in apparent missile strikes...

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Jan. 19, 2006) -- The commanding officer of 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), gives an order to one of his Marines to dance. Without hesitation the Marine starts “busting a move” to the hip-hop music that blares through the speakers. Normally this kind of order would be considered unlawful, however, this kind of behavior is not only accepted, but expected during the Marine Corps tradition known as the mess night. Usually mess nights are held at officer clubs or other suitable places either on or off base where Marines can suit up in...

Leaders fiddle as France burns By Colin Randall in Paris (Filed: 08/11/2005) France was struggling to overcome one of its gravest post-war crises last night as every major city faced the threat of fierce rioting that began 12 nights ago and now seems to have spun out of control. More than 1,400 vehicles were destroyed during a night of increasing violence Despite an assurance from Philippe Douste Blazy, the foreign minister, that France was "not a dangerous country", the spread of violence prompted the Foreign Office in London to warn travellers that trouble could break out "almost anywhere". Dominique de...

French violence enters 10th night Nearly 900 vehicles were burnt on Friday night Urban violence in France has entered a 10th night, with fresh arson attacks in suburbs of Paris and elsewhere. Reports say that the Essonne region south of the capital and the southwestern city of Toulouse are the latest to be affected. The attacks came as the French authorities said they were determined to stop the unrest. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy warned of stiffer jail sentences for arsonists following Friday's damage. Nearly 900 vehicles were set on fire, as incidents were reported in Nice, Lille, Marseille and Dijon...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (March 28, 2005) -- Bellows from the 7-ton's diesel exhaust echoed off of brick buildings lining the narrow streets. Corporal James P. Kohler Jr. and his fellow squad members sit cramped in the big rig's bed singing halfhearted Marine Corps' cadences trying to relieve nervous tension as they traveled to their destination. It was late; close to 10 p.m. They knew nothing good was out at that hour and that is why they're there. The 21-year-old Grandterrace, Calif., native and the other Marines with 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, spent a night on...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Oct. 18., 2005)— Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces captured 15 suspected terrorists in a series of pre-dawn combat operations conducted in and around Baghdad Oct. 18. Three of the suspects taken into custody are thought to be bomb emplacers and another is believed to be a weapons dealer and terrorist cell financier. The largest operation was carried out by Iraqi Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division. Shortly after midnight, the Iraqi Army Soldiers captured five suspected Anti-Iraqi Forces during a raid against a terrorist safe-house in the Adhamiyah district of central Baghdad....

RED DEVIL, Alaska, Aug. 22, 2005 – Air Force engineers brought a gift of light to this remote Alaskan village last week. In the small village of Red Devil, 250 air miles west of Anchorage, air travel is the sole means to enter and leave the town. The 4,750-foot gravel airstrip lined with orange cones is essentially the town's lifeline to the rest of the state. This lifeline was significantly strengthened Aug. 17 when airmen from the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron, based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, installed a runway lighting system. Red Devil, along with 62 other communities,...

Abbas poses pragmatic for the Western press, while the PA Media Portray Feb. 25's Suicide Bomber of a Tel Aviv Night Club as a Hero fighting for Allah. While PA leader Mahmoud Abbas issues tersely worded condemnations of the February 25th suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv night club, the PA news media has been glorifying the memory of the bomber, Abdalla Badran, calling him a “shahid”, a martyr, a person who died for the highest ideals of Islam. Taking a page right out of Arafat’s book, Abbas has been projecting a moderate, pragmatic image abroad while the PA's state-controlled...