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Photo Essay: Leaders head to trenchesSubmitted by: 1st Force Service Support GroupStory Identification #: 200482510530Story by Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Aug. 25, 2004) -- Several senior military leaders recently visited Marines, sailors and soldiers of the 1st Force Service Support Group here, while touring Marine bases throughout Iraq. The visits allowed leaders to see firsthand the conditions their men and women face daily, personally thank them for their service and gather knowledge which will assist them in making decisions that affect the troops. Approximately 30,000 troops with the I Marine Expeditionary Force are deployed throughout Iraq...

NAJAF, Iraq - U.S. warplanes bombed Najaf's Old City and troops clashed with Shiite militiamen Sunday amid fears a plan to end the standoff could collapse. An Iraqi mediator pleaded for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to pull his fighters from the revered shrine at the center of the crisis. Meanwhile, four U.S. Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force have been killed in separate incidents in Iraq's volatile Anbar province, the military announced. U.S. forces also appeared to have sealed off the Old City where al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia is holed up, restoring a cordon that had been loosened...

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) -- U.S. warplanes bombed Najaf's Old City and troops clashed with Shiite militiamen Sunday amid fears a plan to end the standoff could collapse. An Iraqi mediator pleaded for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to pull his fighters from the revered shrine at the center of the crisis. Meanwhile, four U.S. Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force have been killed in separate incidents in Iraq's volatile Anbar province, the military announced. .... A car bomb also detonated near a U.S. military convoy outside Mosul, the military said. Two children were injured in the blast.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - One U.S. marine was killed in action in the southern city of Najaf, the center of a two-week uprising led by radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the U.S. military said on Thursday. The marine, assigned to the First Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed on Wednesday while conducting security and stability operations, a statement said. The death brought to at least 708 the number of U.S. servicemen and women killed in action in Iraq since the start of last year's U.S.-led invasion. Marines backed by tanks and militants loyal to Sadr were in a tense standoff on...

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Staff Sgt. John R. Howard, 26, of Covington, Va. Lance Cpl. Tavon L. Hubbard, 24, of Reston, Va. Both Marines died August 11 in a helicopter crash in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Howard was assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 166 (Reinforced), 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. Hubbard was assigned to the Command Element, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. The incident...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents killed seven Iraqi security personnel in a car bombing and other attacks Tuesday, and the U.S. military announced the deaths of six Americans, including four killed by guerrillas. The American dead included two soldiers killed by a roadside bomb and two Marines who died after being wounded in fighting Monday. Two others died in non-combat-related incidents. The U.S. deaths brought at least 919 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq. Baghdad Mayor Alaa al-Tamimi, who took office in May, is leading a campaign to remove the...

Tonga deploys soldiers to Iraq A contingent of Tongan soldiers is heading to the Middle East to join American forces in Iraq. The 44 Tongan troops will travel to Kuwait first, and after acclimatising will then join the First US Marine Division. Their exact role hasn't been determined, but at first it is likely they will be confined to camp duties and training. The Tongan Government says the Kingdom's contribution to the effort to bring peace and stability to Iraq is relative to what the country can afford. The Tongans are expecting to stay in Iraq for six months

Service Members Killed in Afghanistan, Iraq American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 29, 2004 – Three Marines were killed today in Iraq's Anbar province, and four U.S. service members were killed today in southern Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command officials announced in news releases. The Marines, assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, were conducting security and stability operations, but officials provided no further details. CENTCOM reported the service members killed in Afghanistan were members of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan, but the news release did not specify their service affiliations or provide any further information. CENTCOM...

(FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., May 12th, 2004, 12:30 p.m.) -- A military police battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation on Wednesday for extraordinary heroism in Iraq, receiving it for the second time in unit history. The award Wednesday for the 716th Military Police Company was especially gratifying to the soldiers because it contrasts news out of Iraq about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military police officers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "I think you should take this story and put it right over top of the other one," said Terri Dorn, commander of the 194th Military...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Two U.S. sailors were killed in Iraq's central Anbar province, a hotbed of resistance that includes the city of Fallujah, the U.S. military said Saturday. The two sailors, who were assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, were killed Friday ''while conducting operations against anti-coalition forces,'' the military said in a press release. It gave no further details. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is based throughout Anbar province and has been the main force involved in the siege of Fallujah. Marines began withdrawing from the city Friday as part of an agreement that will turn security over...

  1st Marine Expeditionary Force Creating 'Fallujah Brigade' By John D. BanusiewiczAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 30, 2004 – The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is putting together the first battalion of a new Iraqi brigade being formed to restore and maintain order in the western city of Fallujah, a coalition military spokesman announced at a Baghdad news conference today. An officer from the former Iraqi army will command the unit, which will be an interim organization under 1st MEF command, said Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7. Kimmitt said the...

Baghdad, Iraq-AP -- The U-S military says a Marine has died of wounds suffered while fighting guerrillas in Iraq's western Anbar province. The Marine was a member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. The military says it's withholding the circumstances of the death in order to avoid providing information to enemy forces. The injuries were sustained April 14th and the Marine died Thursday. The soldier's name will not be released until the family is notified.

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 April 12, 2004Release Number: 04-04-09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1ST MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE UPDATE CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq –– Marines reinforced positions yesterday by adding to the cordon encircling the city. Marines are also maintaining their defensive positions in accordance with a unilateral suspension of offensive operations. The Coalition directed that offensive operations in Fallujah be temporarily halted to facilitate dialogue between Iraqi leaders of Fallujah and a delegation from the Iraqi Governing Council. The Marines operating in Fallujah received consistent enemy...

Marines Prepared, Trained for Iraq Mission, Says Commander By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 8, 2004 -- Although the rules of engagement specifically identify mosques as protected structures, Iraqi insurgents forfeited that protection when they used a mosque in central Fallujah, Iraq, April 7 to launch attacks on U.S. forces, the commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade told reporters at Camp Pendleton, Calif., today. Marine Maj. Gen. Keith Stalder said that when a platoon-size group of enemy forces occupied the mosque and the grounds immediately surrounding it and fired on Marines, that mosque lost the...

Coalition Working to Pacify Fallujah, Destroy Sadr Militia By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 8, 2004 – Coalition forces are working to pacify Fallujah and other parts the Sunni Triangle area, and they are destroying the militia led by Muqtada al-Sadr in the central and southern areas of Iraq, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq said today. Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 7, said during a briefing from Baghdad that the coalition will not allow thugs, extremists and terrorists to stop the transition to Iraqi sovereignty or to try...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 April 7, 2004Release Number: 04-04-06 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OPERATION VIGILANT RESOLVE NETS HIGH VALUE TARGETS CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – I Marine Expeditionary Force continued to execute Operation Vigilant Resolve yesterday throughout the Al Anbar Province and in several cities known to harbor anti-Iraqi forces. Operations from the Syrian border to the Baghdad suburbs have resulted in the capture or death of a significant number of anti-Iraqi Forces and foreign terrorists. To the west, a combination of the ongoing efforts in...

  Four Marines, Three Soldiers Killed in Iraq American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 6, 2004 -- Four Marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed April 5 as a result of enemy action while conducting security and stabilization operations in Iraq's Anbar province, a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release reported today. No further information on this incident was available. Three Task Force 1st Armored Division soldiers were killed during separate attacks April 5 and today in Baghdad's Kadhimiya district, according to another release. The first soldier died of wounds received during an attack that took...

FALLUJAH, WITH THE 1st MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, April 6--U.S. Marines have established control over a significant portion of the flashpoint city of Fallujah following two days and nights of resistance from insurgents firing from rooftops, windows and doorways at Marine convoys. The Marines fought their way deep into the city -- the most hostile in Iraq's Sunni triangle -- starting early Monday, taking constant fire as they entered from automatic rifles, mortars and rocket propelled grenades. Fighting continued Tuesday morning, but the streets were deserted and Marine units were well ensconced in force at two positions, one in the north...

AP News Alert BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Four U.S. Marines killed in western Anbar province, military says. MORE...

  Troop Rotation to Iraq Continues, Units Assuming Control By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, March 31, 2004 – The largest rotation of U.S. forces since World War II continues in Iraq, Defense Department officials said today. In all more than 250,000 U.S. service members are affected. Planning for the rotation began months ago. New units worked with units in Iraq to learn their new missions and to plan the movement. In December, new units began flowing into the region, and in January, they began the relief-in-place process. Officials expect the rotation to continue through May, when 110,000 U.S....