Free Republic

Who got new homes and how they came to be was the big news Feb. 2 at this village near Mosul. A total of 18 families representing all ethnic and religious groups received new homes during a ceremony at the aptly named Village of Hope. The 101st Airborne Division initiated the project. Under it, families from all groups would work together to build homes for those needing them. Thousands of members of the former regime's army and from the Kurdish Peshmerga militias had no jobs. Many lived in government and military buildings inside Mosul – the second largest city in...

A change made to the Stryker infantry vehicle has proven itself in combat. The 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division – also called Task Force Olympia after its Fort Lewis, Wash., home -- is replacing the 101st Airborne Division in this city. The Stryker, an eight-wheeled infantry transporter, is an armored vehicle designed to stop 124.5 mm rounds. Critics said the main threat in Iraq is rocket-propelled grenades, and that the vehicle would not provide protection from them. Army officials outfitted the Strykers with what the soldiers call a "cage." The slat armor put on the vehicles in Kuwait does look...