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WASHINGTON, April 16, 2007 – Stars for Stripes knows troops deployed to remote locations don’t have the luxury of heading out to their favorite venue to take in a concert, so it takes the concerts to them. From left: Army Command Sgt. Maj. William M. Johnson, Jim McMahon, Kevin Butler, Army Col. Jeffrey Bannister, Karri Turner and Dave Price pose for a photo in Iraq. The civilian celebrities entertained servicemembers during a Stars for Stripes tour in December 2006. Bannister is commander of the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and Johnson is his senior enlisted...

MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq (Army News Service, March 22, 2006) – An estimated 3 million Shiites began a yearly journey to Karbala March 17 and Iraqi forces have posted additional security elements along the main highway leading out of Baghdad to safeguard travellers. Participating in the pilgrimage to Karbala was previously forbidden under ousted ex-president Saddam Hussein. . “Our job is to make sure that everyone is safe and that there are no weapons in the crowd,” said Cpt. Saad Abdullah, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division. “My soldiers have done a very good job following their orders, and I am proud...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 15, 2006) -- More than 600 Soldiers so far have benefited from TSGLI, the new traumatic injury protection through the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance. Payments have ranged from $25,000 to $100,000 depending on the injury for Soldiers who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. TSGLI provides monetary assistance to Soldiers and their families who have suffered an injury resulting in a traumatic loss (i.e. loss of limbs, sight, hearing, traumatic brain injury, etc.) This assistance enables family members to be with them during their recovery time from such an injury....

/13/2006 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Day and night they arrive -- four-star generals, ambassadors. congressional leaders and even Vice President Dick Cheney. Whether they stop for a formal visit or are here en route to another location, a two-person protocol team is there to greet them with a salute and a smile. “We are the first people (distinguished visitors) see when they get off of the plane here,” said Capt. Edgar Lopez, 447th Air Expeditionary Group protocol chief. “We have to present a crisp military image, because that is often what they base their impression of their...

A federal court will soon sentence attorney Lynne Stewart to prison for "providing material support" to terrorists, among related charges.[1] The charges center upon her assistance to Egyptian sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman who, from a federal prison cell in Minnesota, has continued his quest both to install an Islamist government in Egypt and to kill Americans and Jews around the world. Stewart's case is symbolic of a corollary battle in the war against terror and highlights the need not only to counter terrorism but also the ideology of Islamism. Her infatuation with her client's cause evolved into an example of...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2005 – A program designed to help wounded veterans find meaningful civilian jobs is paying off by enabling some to use their military expertise to ensure their former comrades are getting the quality weaponry they need in combat. Since becoming a partner in the Defense Department's "Hire a Hero" program last summer, the Defense Contract Management Agency has hired five permanent employees as well as two volunteers who lend their talents while undergoing rehabilitation, Nancy Adams, the agency's program director, told the American Forces Press Service. DoD established the program last December to encourage agencies to develop...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2005 – People who wonder why it's taking so long for Iraqi security forces to become capable of providing for their nation's security need to look at what's happened since coalition forces toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in a Nov. 8 radio interview. Speaking with Samir Nader on Voice of America's Radio SAWA, Rumsfeld pointed to the progress evident today in building Iraq's security forces from scratch. "First of all, it's not taking so long," Rumsfeld said. "It's been two and a half years, and we've gone from zero to 210,000 Iraqi...

Teheran 'providing refuge for al-Qaeda terrorists' By Philip Sherwell in Washington (Filed: 06/11/2005) About 25 al-Qaeda leaders, including three of Osama bin Laden's sons, are running terrorist operations from their refuge in Iran rather than languishing under house arrest as the Teheran regime claims, intelligence officials have said. The disclosure comes as Maj-Gen James Dutton, the commander of British forces in south-eastern Iraq, reiterated on Friday that the technology for lethal new rebel bombs was crossing into the country from Iran. A "top-ranking Western secret service agent" has told Cicero magazine that the senior al-Qaeda operatives, who fled across the...

WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Joint Task Force Katrina is setting up Aug. 31 at Camp Shelby, Miss., as the Defense Department's focal point to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency's relief efforts along the Gulf Coast, said Maj. Eric Butterbaugh, a U.S. Northern Command spokesman. Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, 1st U.S. Army commander, will head the task force to coordinate DOD active-duty support for disaster relief efforts in the hurricane's aftermath, much of it already under way or in the works. Meanwhile, the number of National Guardsmen on duty in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida rose to almost 8,300 on...

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The banking industry is opening its doors to a controversial new market: illegal immigrants. Despite heated political debate in Washington over illegal immigration in the United States, an increasing number of banks are seeing an untapped resource for growing their own revenue stream and contend that providing undocumented residents with mortgages will help revitalize local communities. It's a win-win situation, they say. But skeptics worry about the message these home loans send to illegal immigrants: break our laws and we'll reward you with a home. "It's institutionalizing illegality," said Marti Dinerstein, president of Immigration Matters, a...

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Tehran should be recognized for its role in unmasking the nuclear black market, a senior Iranian envoy said Wednesday, challenging criticism that his country was not working closely enough on the issue with the U.N. atomic watchdog agency. At the same time, Sirus Nasseri suggested Iran was entitled to supply itself with nuclear technology by all means available - including through illicit channels if it is blocked from legal means by international embargoes. "If you restrict countries ... from (getting access to) what they should be having ... things are bound to go (underground) again," Nasseri...

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SACRAMENTO (AP) - Despite legislation approved in April that overhauled the state's workers' compensation system, injured workers still face lengthy delays in getting treatment and resolving insurance claims. The main reason is that the new legislation took effect before critical rules and guidelines could be developed to accompany it, according to The Sacramento Bee. Officials say the new rules will not be ready before Jan. 1. Among other things, the new guidelines will establish a pool of doctors that companies can use to evaluate injuries and dictate care. A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played a key role in...