Operation Phantom Fury--Day 165 - Now Operation River Blitz--Day 60

Various Media Outlets | 4/21/05

[TexKat]

Photo Essay - Baqubah Duty

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brian Henke and Sgt. Elizabeth Deany, both assigned to the 2nd Military Intelligence Center, test samples collected from detainees for explosive residue in Baqubah, Iraq, April 12, 2005. The soldiers are attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

U.S. soldiers assigned to Bravo Company, 130th Infantry Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, secure a street while other members of Bravo Company search for weapons and possible insurgents near Baqubah, Iraq, April 12, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

U.S. Army Sgt. Pleszko, assigned to Tactical Psychological Operation Team 1583, hands out psychological operations material to children while conducting a mission with Bravo Company, 130th Infantry Battalion, in Baqubah, Iraq, April 12, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

A U.S. soldier assigned to Bravo Company, 130th Infantry Battalion, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, searches a home for weapons and possible insurgents during a raid in Baqubah, Iraq, April 12, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

U.S. Army Sgt. Pleszko, assigned to the Tactical Psychological Operation Team 1583, hands out psychological operations material to children while conducting a mission with Bravo Company, 130th Infantry Battalion, in Baqubah, Iraq, April 12, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

A U.S. soldier assigned to Bravo Company, 130th Infantry Battalion, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, provides security while other members of Bravo Company search for weapons and possible insurgents near Baqubah, Iraq, April 12, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

U.S. soldiers assigned to Bravo Company, 130th Infantry Battalion, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, patrol the streets of Baqubah, Iraq, and provide security while other members of Bravo Company search for weapons and possible insurgents, April 12, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

U.S. soldiers assigned to Bravo Company, 130th Infantry Battalion, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, send a radio message while other members of Bravo Company search for weapons and possible insurgents in Baqubah, Iraq, April 12, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

A U.S. soldier with Bravo Company, 130th Infantry Battalion, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, provides security while other members of Bravo Company search for weapons and possible insurgents near Baqubah, Iraq, April 12, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie L. Bradley

[Gucho]

MSM once again blows Pentagon Briefing off the air for other insignificant news :(

[Gucho]

Photo Essay


Great photos - Thank you - You and Sara RULE with pics :)

[TexKat]

Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar Guilty of Murder in Kuwait Grenade Attack

[Gucho]

Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar Guilty of Murder in Kuwait Grenade Attack


BUMP

[TexKat]

MSM once again blows Pentagon Briefing off the air for other insignificant news :(

I sure hope you are not surprised. They need time to talk about Michael Jackson having one of his servants go fetch him a bottle of vaseline.

[Gucho]

I sure hope you are not surprised. They need time to talk about Michael Jackson having one of his servants go fetch him a bottle of vaseline.


No, not surprised, but po'd about their priorities.

[TexKat]

Akbar found guilty on all counts

4/21/2005 3:59 PM

By: News 14 Carolina Staff

A jury has unanimously found Sergeant Hasan Akbar guilty in the attacks on fellow soldiers just days before the Iraq war.

Akbar was charged with two counts of first degree murder and three counts of attempted first degree murder.

Two officers died and 14 others were injured.

A sentencing hearing will be held to decide his fate.

Prosecutors say Akbar told investigators he launched the attack because he was concerned U.S. troops would kill fellow Muslims in the Iraq war.

[mystery-ak]

Im so happy....this makes my day...HOOAH

[Bahbah]

Nice! (The young man behind Akbar is quite nice looking.) I hope Akbar has a not so pleasant time in prison.

[Gucho]

Akbar found guilty on all counts


A good decision.

[TexKat]

Have the Islamic fundamentalist overstepped their bounds when they go messing around in the holy MECCA or not??

Update:

4 Dead As Militants, Saudi Forces Clash

By SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writer

MECCA, Saudi Arabia - Islamic militants clashed with Saudi security forces Thursday in Islam's holiest city in a gunbattle that killed two militants and two policemen, the latest in the kingdom's confrontation with al-Qaida-linked militants, security officials said.

The fight started when four militants in a taxi — a driver and three others disguised in women's all-covering robes — tried to cross through a checkpoint into Mecca in the evening, said Brig. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

When the group was stopped, they tried to flee. Police captured the driver, but the three other militants fled with police in pursuit, al-Turki told the state-run television station Al-Ekhbariya.

Several security officials in Mecca said the three entered the neighborhood of Umm al-Joud — which like much of Mecca is build on hills — and took shelter in houses. After several hours of fighting, two of the militants were killed and third was wounded and captured, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Al-Ekhbariya showed footage of police with automatic rifles keeping back civilians in what appeared to be a residential neighborhood.

Two policemen were killed in the battle and a number were wounded, and 15 police and civilian cars in the area were burned, the officials said.

Al-Turki confirmed to The Associated Press that the fighting had ended, but refused to give any details.

[TexKat]

I guess they wanted it to appear legit, so the jury deliberated the verdict for about two and a half hours.

IMHO there was no deliberation necessary.

[Gucho]

Have the Islamic fundamentalist overstepped their bounds


IMHO they have overstepped their bounds worldwide.

[TexKat]

Pace Most Likely To Lead Military

Associated Press

April 21, 2005

WASHINGTON - Marine Gen. Peter Pace, a Vietnam veteran whose military postings have ranged from the ceremonial halls of the White House to the violent streets of Somalia, is expected to be named Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a senior official said Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has recommended Pace to President Bush, who is expected to announce his choice soon, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Pace, 59, who has served for nearly four years as the Joint Chiefs vice chairman, would be the first Marine to hold the top job in the military. He was the first Marine to be vice chairman.

The Joint Chiefs chairman, who normally serves two two-year terms, is the senior military adviser to the president and the secretary of defense. He commands no troops and is not in the chain of command that runs from the president to the secretary of defense to commanders in the field.

It is widely expected that Bush will name Navy Adm. Edmund Giambastiani Jr. to succeed Pace as vice chairman. Giambastiani, 56, was Rumsfeld's senior military assistant before being named commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command in 2002.

The Pace and Giambastiani moves are among many changes in the works at senior levels of the Pentagon. The Navy's top officer, Adm. Vern Clark, is retiring and the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John Jumper, is due to depart this fall. The job of Air Force secretary is vacant, and Navy secretary Gordon England has been nominated to replace Paul Wolfowitz as deputy defense secretary. Rumsfeld's top policy aide, Douglas Feith, also is leaving.

If confirmed by the Senate, as expected, Pace would succeed Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, 63, who is scheduled to retire late this summer after four years as chairman. Myers, who also was vice chairman for 19 months, was the first to rise from the No. 2 spot to the chairmanship.

By law, an officer cannot serve for more than a combined six years as chairman and vice chairman, but the president may extend that to eight years if he deems it to be in the national interest. The time limit does not apply in time of war. Pace will have served four years as vice chairman by the time Myers leaves in September.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Teaneck, N.J., Pace graduated from the Naval Academy and earned a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University.

After basic training in 1968, he was sent to Vietnam as a rifle platoon leader. He later served in Korea, was a commander for two years during the Somalia intervention, and was head of the U.S. Southern Command.

He became vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs on Oct. 1, 2001, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Earlier in his career Pace's assignments included an unusual combination of staff and command jobs. After his return from Vietnam in 1969 he served as head infantry writer at the Marine Corps Institute in Washington, D.C., then security detachment commander at the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat.

He also served as a presidential social aide at the White House and later was commanding officer of the Marine Corps recruiting station in Buffalo, N.Y. After he reached the rank of brigadier general in 1992 he became president of Marine Corps University. It was during that assignment that he was sent to Somalia as deputy commander of Marine forces. He reached four-star rank in 2000.

[TexKat]

Task Force Clashes With Insurgents Near Salerno

American Forces Press Service

April 21, 2005

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - More than a dozen insurgents were killed April 19 as coalition helicopters, aircraft and artillery responded to a rocket attack at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan.

"It was a combined-arms effort," said Army Maj. J.R. Mendoza, Task Force Thunder's brigade fire support officer. "We were able to see the launching point of the rockets, and we brought everything we had to bear on it."

Mendoza explained that the base was postured to respond to just such an attack. "They shot at us with rockets, and we responded with artillery, fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft," Mendoza said.

U.S. Air Force A-10s and an AC-130H expended two 500-pound bombs, 10 rockets, 565 30 mm rounds, eight 105 mm rounds, and seven 40 mm rounds.

"These rocket attacks are, by their nature, indiscriminate. They attack not only our forces but innocent civilians as well. This seems to be the norm with insurgent rocket attacks," said Army Lt. Col. Robert Cornejo, Combined Joint Task Force 76's fires chief. "Our fires, by contrast, are precision-oriented fires and are only launched after precautions are taken to prevent collateral damage."

The base came under attack from an initial volley of four rockets. No one was injured, and no equipment was damaged as a result. Initial reports indicated that the insurgents intended a second volley but Task Force Thunder's counterattack prevented it, officials said.

[Miss Behave]

Thanks for the dailies ping, TexKat. Your sweet son, you and yours, continue to be in my prayers. Hope you're doing OK today.

[TexKat]

Pace Speaks on Leadership at Kings Point Academy

By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service

April 21, 2005

WASHINGTON - When Marine Gen. Peter Pace graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy 38 years ago, the nation was at war.

During a speech to the midshipmen of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, at Kings Point, N.Y., the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke to young men and women in similar circumstances: the nation is at war and they are facing careers as military leaders.

"I didn't have a clue at all if I could be a good leader or a good Marine, but I knew I could try," Pace said April 20. "I have not regretted a day of service to this country, and you will not either." Pace told the midshipmen that when they are commissioned, the Congress of the United States will consider them to be leaders. But "you will prove you are leaders in a different way," he said.

He told them they will think of their oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic" during important times in their service. "Whether … you spend five years or 40 years serving in uniform, you will remember that oath and what it means to you as an individual," he said.

Speaking of the war on terrorism, Pace said, "If we had the ability to do so, we would wish it otherwise. We didn't pick this war -- in fact, we didn't even know we were at war for many years -- not until those twin towers (fell)."

If the nation is at war, then young academy graduates have the responsibility to do something about it, he said. About one-third of the academy's graduates go onto active duty in the U.S. military. The rest incur a service obligation with the U.S. Naval Reserve.

He said the current generation of military men and women have a responsibility, handed down through the sacrifices of previous generations, to pass the freedoms Americans have to the next generation. "You may very well be sitting there asking yourself "How will I do as a leader?' "How will I do in combat if called on?' You will do what Merchant Marine Academy graduates have always done: your duty magnificently well," Pace said.

He said that what the midshipmen have learned at sea and in the classroom will enable the young officers "to dig down inside and do the right thing at the right time."

Pace told the young men and women that he didn't plan on staying in the military. He did so because of the searing experience of leadership in Vietnam. "Because as a second lieutenant of Marines I went into combat with incredible young men who were following my orders, and (some) lost their lives. I can never repay it," he said. "I've tried, but I cannot repay it."

From his position as the No. 2 officer in the Defense Department, Pace said he sees a phenomenon that he is still trying to puzzle out. "The more I have tried to give to those who look to me for leadership, the more they have given me," he said. "The more I have tried to be a decent leader for them and do the right thing, the more they have given back to me because they know I've been trying."

The general said he does not wish combat on anyone, but there are many more positive experiences that come with military service. "I do wish for you the feeling of awe, gratitude, indebtedness that every leader comes to hold, to those they are so fortunate to try to lead properly," he said. "I envy you your time."

[TexKat]

Use it or lose it: They may be the bulkier version of "lederhosen," but Kevlar Shorts protect one of your most important arteries.

Air Force Begins Using Kevlar Shorts

[TexKat]

Thanks Miss Behave. Yes I am doing better. I talked to my daughter-in law today and she had spoke with Khevin. He is back at camp and is ok but still sore.

I appreciate all the posts and prayers. Please keep sending them up for all our brave military men and women.