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KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 26, 2009 – The first class of National Military Academy of Afghanistan cadets graduated yesterday in a ceremony here, becoming what the Afghan president called “the heartbeat of the entire nation.” An Afghan cadet shakes hands with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a graduation ceremony at the National Military Academy of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 25, 2009. U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tim Newborn  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “I am very proud to be a part of this ceremony, which is a very important and vital step toward a stable...

If further proof was needed that the field of Middle East studies is marred by a politicized, morally vacuous approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the reaction of many of its leading lights to the current war in Gaza should suffice. According to these self-appointed arbiters of international law, Israel’s military campaign against Hamas following the firing of over 6,000 rockets at Israeli civilian targets since 2005 is unjustified. Hamas, they tell us, is not a terrorist organization bent on Israel’s destruction, but rather a national liberation movement that seeks only the noble founding of a Palestinian state. Either that or...

1. Best Picture: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," "The Reader," "Slumdog Millionaire."

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2008 – The Pentagon Channel and cable company Comcast are teaming up to offer customers televised coverage of this year’s graduation ceremonies at the service academies. “We appreciate Comcast’s decision to carry the Pentagon Channel’s coverage of the military service academy graduations,” Brian Natwick, general manager of the Pentagon Channel, stated in a Comcast news release. Featured coverage includes this year’s graduation ceremonies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Comcast digital cable customers throughout New Jersey,...

ASHRAF — Four hundred and thirteen Iraqis graduated, May 16, from the Multi National Division Regional Training Academy located in Ashraf, Iraq. The Iraqis attended the four-week course in order to become Iraqi police. “The training the IP received was top notch training, and it’s going to help them when they go out to their stations and start doing the job of taking care of the Iraqis and providing their security,” said Sgt. Richard Forbes-Watkins, a soldier with 202nd Military Police Company. The Iraqi police graduation is a huge step forward for Iraq, said Sgt. Maj. Gerald Stegemeier, the senior...

Folks, I want to invite all Freepers and Lurkers in good standing to attend the rally to welcome the families of the graduating cadets of the Coast Guard Academy on May 21, 2008. Vice President Dick Cheney will be the honored speaker.

4/1/2008 - NAVAJO, N.M. (AFPN) -- Air Force Academy cadets, civil engineering professors and family members performed volunteer work during the Academy's spring break March 24 to 28 on a Navajo reservation here. Organized by the Academy's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Southwest Indian Foundation, one of this year's spring break projects took the Academy volunteers to the home of Korean War veteran Hoskie Bitsilly, Sr. Mr. Bitsilly's wife, Grace, suffered a stroke recently and is now wheelchair-bound, but their home was not wheelchair-accessible. "The cadets are trying to renovate the deck, to extend out the deck...

SAMARRA — Sixty-four Iraqi Policemen (IP) took the first step toward becoming full-fledged members of the police force in Samarra during a ceremony honoring their completion of a two-week training course in February. During the first ever Samarra Preparatory Police Academy graduation ceremony, the newest members of a force designed to protect and serve the citizens of Samarra received certificates recognizing their completion of the course. The course was designed to give the men the tools they will need in order to perform basic police duties. With an urgent need to fill the police ranks with qualified, trained IP, the...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Feb. 28, 2008 – More than 80 Iraqi soldiers and policemen graduated from Task Force Marne Noncommissioned Officer Academy training here Feb. 25. Iraqi soldiers find cover during a training exercise at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2008. The soldiers were part of the second class to graduate from the Task Force Marne Noncommissioned Officer Academy. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. For two weeks, they participated in foot patrols, Humvee combat patrols, rifle ranges and classroom lectures to increase their skills and ability to lead in combat. “You...

BAGHDAD — History was made when the inaugural class of more than 1,100 Iraqi Police (IP) recruits graduated the two-week Basic Recruit Training Course, Feb. 21, at the Furat Iraqi Police Training Academy in Baghdad. During the initial phase of their training, the graduates successfully completed training on weapons familiarization, law, ethics, crime scene, handcuffing and various other skills. “Today’s graduation makes us very happy because this will provide security and control to this area,” said Nihad Mahmad Taha, an IP graduate. “We’re all very excited about it. I joined the IP because I’ve seen how much damage the extremists...

FOB KALSU — For 56 Iraqi noncommissioned officers (NCO), their recent graduation from the Task Force Marne NCO Academy on FOB Kalsu is just the starting point. The class of NCOs included 55 Iraqi Army NCOs and one Iraqi Police NCO; they are the first class to graduate from the course, which began Jan. 14. The hope is that these leaders will take lessons learned and pass them on to troops they lead. Additionally, lessons learned from the class will be used in future training after the academy’s official grand opening, Feb. 12. “What do you do now? You go...

Public Service Academies by: Amanda Busse, January 11, 2008 A panel debate over the need for a U.S. Public Service Academy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on Wednesday left some wondering whether its benefits would be worth its costs. “It’s got great potential, but it definitely needs more support from Congress, and taxpayers might have a problem with it,” said Brianne Aderly, a member of the non-profit group City Year, who came to watch the debate. The Public Service Academy is the brainchild of Chris Meyers Asch, 33. A Teach for America veteran who co-founded the project, Asch wants...

Hit And Run On Air Force Academy Campus Posted: 7:17 AM Dec 4, 2007 Last Updated: 7:17 AM Dec 4, 2007 Reporter: 11 News Email Address: news@kktv11news.com A civilian employee at the U.S. Air Force Academy is dead as the result of a hit-and-run collision near the academy's community center yesterday morning. It happened about 9 a.m. Monday, and kept the north and south entry gates to the campus closed for about four hours. The driver still has not been located.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Its most virulent critics have dubbed it "Terror High," and 12 U.S. senators and a federal commission want to shut it down. The teachers, administrators and some 900 students at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax County have heard the allegations for years — after the Sept. 11 attacks and then a few years later when a class valedictorian admitted he had joined al-Qaida. Now the school is on the defensive again, with a report issued last month by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom saying the academy should be closed, pending a review of its...

11/2/2007 - KABUL, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Nearly, 2,000 young hopefuls descended upon the Afghan National Military Academy recently, all vying for the chance to be accepted into the academy and possibly study in the United States and Great Britain. A group of U.S. Airmen and Soldiers are currently working at the academy helping process the admissions, develop the course and mentor the faculty members. "It's very important that the future officers of the Afghan National Army have a good education so that they can lead their troops properly," said Lt. Col. Kevin Burns, a math mentor at the Academy, deployed...

In a weekend speech to College Democrats, Senator Hillary Clinton discussed her proposal for a West Point for bureaucrats. Not only is it a silly idea on its face, but the fine print contains additional embarrassment “I’m going to be asking a new generation to serve,” she said. “I think just like our military academies, we need to give a totally all-paid education to young men and women who will serve their country in a public-service position.” She has introduced legislation (S. 960) to establish a United States Public Service Academy. According to the bill text, such a school is...

Nisreen Hama Amin receives instruction on firing a Glock 9mm pistol during weapons training at the KirkukPoliceAcademy. Nisreen is one of the first women to graduate from the academy. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Amanda Morrissey. KIRKUK — The first women to train at Kirkuk Police Academy were among the 980 police officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) to graduate from the academy, May 27.Nisreen Hama Amin and Mirvat Amin, no relation, have joined their male counterparts in donning the blue uniform of the Iraqi police force to answer what they see as the patriotic call to duty.“I want to help...

Soldiers with Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, out of Fort Bliss Texas, practice reflexive fire drills at the Spears Academy range in Mosul, Jan. 26. The Soldiers are brushing up on their weapons skills in preparation for the inaugural class of Iraqi Army soldiers at the troop-run noncommissioned officers academy. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment) MOSUL -- Soldiers with 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, launched a noncommissioned officers academy for Iraqi Army soldiers at Forward Operating Base Marez Feb. 3. The Spear Academy grounds include a firing range, obstacle course,...

A Naval Academy midshipman who was expelled after he failed a running test will have to pay the Navy for the cost of his education. Baltimore County resident Frank Shannon had asked that the 127-thousand dollar bill be waived. But a senior Navy official rejected his appeal this month, saying the academy provided Shannon with ample opportunity to meet its minimum fitness standards. Shannon failed 12 of 18 fitness tests, and failed in a series of attempts to run a mile-and-a-half in 10 minutes and 30 seconds. In his final test, he was 20 seconds short. He was expelled just...

By Maj. Raul E. Marquez3rd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. PAO An Iraqi Police officer receives his IP patch from Maj. Mason W. Crow, Task Force Blue executive officer, during the graduation ceremony, Dec. 24. TF Blue is responsible for training and equipping the Iraqi Police. Official U.S. Army photo. BAQUBAH -- About125 Iraqi Police officers assigned to various units in the Baqubah area, graduated from the first IraqiPolice Training Academy in Baqubah, conducted under the guidance of coalition forces from Task Force Blue and the International Police Liaison Officers, Dec 24. “Officers from the Emergency Ready Forces, the Quick...