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12/21/2006 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Despite inclement weather and the possibility of snowfall, a new $68 million runway was opened and celebrated by Air Force and Army servicemembers, civilian contractors and Afghan officials Dec. 20 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The project was executed by Contrak International workers from Cairo, Egypt, with an Afghan workforce supervised by the Army Corps of Engineers and Air Force members. "Bagram Airfield has been here in this valley for decades," said Brig. Gen. Christopher D. Miller, the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing commander. "Afghan airmen have flown from this field in years...

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Aug. 10, 2006 -- An improvised explosive device may have robbed Delaney Rocky Perez of his military career, but an Army program has given Perez an opportunity to serve again -- this time as a civilian. Delaney Rocky Perez, administrative officer for the Fort Sam Houston garrison commander’s office, is the first civil service employee hired at the base through the Army Wounded Warrior Program. Photo by Elaine Wilson  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Perez is the first civil service employee hired at Fort Sam Houston through the Army Wounded Warrior Program. The program,...

Troops stand at attention during the ceremony. BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Training and Doctrine Command officially opened in a ceremony at the Cultural Center Compound in Baghdad Tuesday. The ITDC now has the ability and sufficient resources to oversee all Iraqi national defense related education and military doctrine development. This is an important milestone as Iraq progresses toward its goal of being fully operable by July 2007, said Gen. Babakir Badir Khan Zebari, Iraqi Joint Forces commander. “Compared to the activities of insurgents and terrorists who try to plant death and destruction in every part of Iraq, our government...

Project Coordination Cell Opens in Multaka New office speeds up processing of project requests in Hawija district. By U.S. Army Spc. Cassandra Groce 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment HAWIJA, Iraq, July 11, 2006 -- A Project Coordination Cell, an outlying branch of the Kirkuk Regional Government’s engineer board, recently opened in Multaka, Iraq. It will handle all project concerns for the citizens living in the Hawija region. “It’s a substantial step for the Sunni Arabs in this country,” said Maj. Kelly Kendrick, the operations manager for 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. Prior...

First Rail Line Into Tibet Opens With Environmental Warnings LHASA, Tibet, July 6, 2006 (ENS) - With the opening of the new railway line through the Tibetan Plateau on Saturday, and the increased number of travelers expected to visit the area as a result, WWF and its wildlife trafficking monitoring arm, TRAFFIC, are calling for conservation measures to protect the world's largest and highest plateau. Billed as the highest railway in the world, the final stretch of the Qinghai-Tibet rail line opened Saturday, running over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from central China to the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Environmental groups are...

Afghan National Police Regional Command South Opens In addition to a new compound, Afghan National Police South officers received 5,000 new uniforms, 2,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 5,000 pistols, 500 police vehicles, and 43 rocket propelled grenades. By Combined Security Transition Command–Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 29, 2006 — The Afghan National Police sent a message to all enemies of Afghanistan recently with the opening of the Regional Command South here. "(Defending Afghanistan) will require hard work with our citizens and the rest of the national government to bring security to our land. The Afghan national Army is an important partner...

Mayor Ali Husan Ali (right) shakes hands with U.S. Army Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher as they prepare for a ceremony signifying the opening of a water treatment and distribution facility in the township of Hibhib, Iraq, June 25, 2006. Fisher, a native of Sioux Falls, S.D., is the commander, 1-68 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris Hibhib Water Treatment Plant Opens The project, a joint effort between the Iraqi government and coalition forces, will provide clean water for up to 4,000...

New Fire Department Opens in Husseniya The fire department has already started providing protection to the city as it responded to a car bomb explosion. By U.S. Army Spc. C. Terrell Turner 1st Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division CAMP TAJI, Iraq, June 23, 2006 — Local community members celebrated the grand opening of the Husseniya Fire Department June 3 as part of an ongoing effort by Iraqi army and Multinational Division–Baghdad soldiers to improve fire protection services for the people of the Baghdad region. Firefighters, trained in Baghdad and Bahrain, stood in front of their fire engines and...

BAGHDAD, June 16, 2006 – The next seven months are absolutely crucial to how Iraq will turn out, said a senior coalition official this week. Army Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell, the deputy chief of staff for strategic effects, said during an interview June 13 that there is a window of opportunity right now to ensure Iraq will remain whole and become prosperous. All players -- the new Iraqi government, U.S. officials and international partners -- agree that with the new government there is a bright opportunity. "Everything we've done for the last three years has brought us to the present...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (June 8, 2006) -- The Fort Campbell, Ky., Fisher House opened its doors June 6 to Soldiers and families in need of a place to stay during hospitalization at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital. The grand opening showcased the eight-family “comfort home” designed to give Soldiers and families a home away from home. The facility has private bedrooms and bathrooms with a shared kitchen, living and laundry room. There are now 35 Fishes Houses around the world. Each was built to honor the sacrifices of Soldiers and families for what they do for the country, said Arnold Fisher,...

5/9/2006 - DAYTON, Ohio (AFPN) -- Visitors can get a rare glimpse into the lives of prisoners of war through a dramatic new exhibit at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The exhibit, titled "Return with Honor: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia," located in the museum's Modern Flight Gallery, is now open to the public. Visitors enter the exhibit next to a reproduced doorway to the "Hanoi Hilton," the name given by Americans to Hoa Lo Prison. Photographs, videos, dioramas and artifacts tell the story of prisoner torture, political exploitation, filthy living conditions and endless...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, April 27, 2006) – Volunteering to work in public affairs for Task Force Guardian is somewhat like plunging into Lake Pontchartrain. It immediately awakens all of ones senses, while providing instant meaning to priorities and issues of real importance. While the experience was meant to expand my media-relations knowledge, it’s also schooled me in the power of the human spirit. As a Department of Army public affairs intern, I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to deploy to an emergency operations center. When the chance was offered to work with the Corps of Engineers, I quickly...

TEL AVIV – A Florida teenager lying in a coma here after being critically injured last week in a suicide bombing opened his eyes for the first time since the attack yesterday just as his rabbi donned him with teffillin, or Jewish prayer phylacteries. Daniel Wultz, 16, was one of over 60 people injured in last Monday's attack in which a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded section of Tel Aviv as Israelis celebrated the fifth day of the Passover holiday. The blast ripped through a falafel restaurant just outside the city's old central bus station, killing...

3/7/2006 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) -- Air Mobility Command added a new twist to the High Flight program here when Air Force civilians were added to the professional development and orientation course. Forty-seven captains from across the Air Force and six civilians from the command recently participated in the twice-a-year program. Patricia Dorsey, director of the family support center here and one of the first civilians to attend the course, found it extremely beneficial. "It is not often that civilians have the opportunity to attend leadership training with their military counterparts," Ms. Dorsey said. "The AMC mission...

VAIL, Colo., March 3, 2006 – Twenty-four servicemembers who lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan are here reaping the hospitality of a community first established by returning World War II veterans and to schuss down the slopes of this world-class ski resort. The guests, all patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., along with their spouses or guests, are participating in the third annual Vail Veterans Program that kicked off March 1 and continues through March 5. The all-expenses-paid program is hosted by Vail Mountain and the Vail community and gives wounded war veterans an opportunity to...

PORT OF DORALEH, Djibouti – USS Vicksburg (CG 69) became the first U.S. Navy ship to take on fuel at the new Defense Fuel Supply Point (DFSP) at the Port of Doraleh in Djibouti , Feb. 26. Vicksburg's historic refueling evolution coincided with DFSP Djibouti's inaugural ceremony, which drew a star-studded audience that included Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh; U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti Marguerita Ragsdale; and Vice Adm. Patrick Walsh, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Bahrain. The Navy has leased several fuel storage tanks from DFSP Djibouti for the exclusive use of ships operating in and around the Horn...

FORT BELVOIR, Va., Jan. 26, 2006 – The agency charged with reducing threats against American forces celebrated the opening of its new headquarters building, the Defense Threat Reduction Center, here today. The new center consolidates five separate locations and more than 1,400 people assigned to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in the Washington metropolitan area into a single, secure facility. James A. Tegnelia, agency director and host of the ceremony, introduced Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, chief of U.S. Strategic Command, as "part-owner" of the facility in his position as the operational commander responsible for combating weapons of mass destruction....

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Jan. 12, 2006 – A two-and-a-half-hour session yesterday morning raised thorny legal issues in the military commissions proceeding against an accused al Qaeda propagandist held at the U.S. detention facility here. The first such hearing here in over a year resulted in the defendant boycotting the proceedings and an ethical dilemma for the assigned military defense attorney. Yesterday's hearing highlighted the extent of refusal by defendant Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul to cooperate. When presiding officer Army Col. Peter E. Brownback III gave him an opportunity to speak, Bahlul launched into a lengthy speech...

Chinese memorial to 'the good Nazi' opens war wounds By Peter Goff in Beijing (Filed: 18/12/2005) A plan by China to honour "the good Nazi", a German who helped to save hundreds of thousands of civilians from Japanese troops, has reopened a dispute with Tokyo over its lack of atonement for the Second World War. The Chinese authorities are drawing up plans for a museum dedicated to the memory of John Rabe, who defied the "Rape of Nanking" - a six-week massacre during which an estimated 300,000 Chinese were slaughtered by Japanese soldiers. Honouring Mr Rabe gives China the chance...

Contact: Gregory Harris gharris@ucalgary.ca 403-220-3506 University of Calgary Jungle discovery opens new chapter in Maya historyUniversity of Calgary-led team discovers earliest known portrait of Maya woman A University of Calgary archaeologist and her international team of researchers have discovered the earliest known portrait of a woman that the Maya carved into stone, demonstrating that women held positions of authority very early in Maya history – either as queens or patron deities. The discovery was made earlier this year in Guatemala at the site of Naachtun, a Maya city located some 90 kilometres through dense jungle north of the more famous...