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Around 3800 Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed on Operations overseas and in Australia this Christmas, spending the festive season away from family and friends. Defence is also gathering Christmas messages from ADF personnel who will be serving on Operations this Christmas. The majority of Australian Defence Force personnel deployed overseas are working in a number of operational areas, including: Afghanistan as part of the Australian government's commitment to the international coalition against terrorism; Iraq and the Middle East as part of the Australian government's contribution to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iraq; East Timor as part of a...

Norad it tracking Santa. Next stop is Iraq for our troops right now.

BASRA, Iraq — The small group of American troops and Iraqi Catholics held hands around a table heaped with dishes of rice, chicken, lamb and pizza. "Our Father," began the archbishop of Basra, the Most Rev. Imad Aziz al-Banna, before continuing the prayer in Aramaic, a version of the ancient language likely spoken by Jesus Christ. In the next room at Basra’s Chaldean Catholic Church, a plastic Christmas tree twinkled amid graying photographs of old patriarchs and a newer shot of Pope Benedict XVI. Several of the Americans said while assembling and decorating the tree that it was likely the...

Iraq Christians face 'bleak future' Story Highlights: · Iraq's Christians face killings, intimidation; many have fled to other countries · Community has decreased from 1.4 million in 2003 to half that · One expert sees diversity decreasing, fears Muslim extremist majority in Iraq · Christians in Iraq face "horrible situation," says U.S. congresswoman By Joe Sterling CNN (CNN) -- It's a bittersweet Christmas season for Joseph Kassab, who grew up in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime and now lives in Detroit, Michigan. Tempering the season's joy is his concern for fellow Iraqi Christians, who have endured killings, displacement and...

JALALABAD AIR FIELD, Dec. 26, 2008 – While people around the world made their final Christmas preparations, members of the Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team and the Chaparhar Police Mentor Team visited a school in the Terelay Village, of the Chaparhar district, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, Dec. 24, 2008, to distribute clothes and school supplies. Members of the Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team and Chaparhar Police Mentor Team meet with village elders at a school in Terelay Village, Chaparhar District, Dec. 24, 2008. The teams met with the elders to discuss current conditions in the village, as well as pass out school...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2008 – After nearly seven months of holding religious services in conference rooms, the Army Strikers at Forward Operating Base War Eagle in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad christened their new chapel with a Christmas Eve candlelight service Dec. 24, 2008. Army Spc. Dale Harris, an information systems specialist, 1st Lt. Ivan Lugo, an unmanned aerial vehicle platoon leader, and Spc. Jerrod Fox, an unmanned aerial vehicle operator, lead Christmas carols at a Christmas Eve candlelight service on Forward Operating Base War Eagle Dec. 24. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Mike Humphreys   (Click photo for screen-resolution...

Servicemembers walk alongside their float during the inaugural Joint Base Balad holiday parade, Dec. 25, 2008. Photo by Airman 1st Class Jason Epley, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. JOINT BASE BALAD — The sight may have been out of the ordinary, but for some strange reason, seeing reindeer, sleighs and Santa Claus detained by U.S. Navy Customs agents did not surprise service members here Christmas Day. This odd scene took place along the route of the inaugural Joint Base Balad Holiday Parade, sponsored by the U.S. Army’s 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and displayed the sense of tradition U.S. servicemembers try to...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Army Sgt. Robin Cameron stood guard outside a once opulent Iraqi shopping mall that now serves as a small U.S. military outpost, trying not to think about what he was missing with his family on Christmas. "It's just another day in Iraq," he said, waving through a convoy of armored vehicles heading out to patrol Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood, once home to Saddam Hussein's favored officers and later an insurgent stronghold known for its deadly attacks on American troops. Although troop levels are expected to start declining after provincial elections on Jan. 31, the same number are in...

Iraqi scouts get a visit from Santa Claus, played by civilian contractor Joseph Lord, during a holiday-themed scouting event on Victory Base Complex, Dec. 20, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Joy Pariante. VICTORY BASE COMPLEX — Cries of delight filled the scouting compound here when Iraqi boy and girl scouts received a surprise visit and presents from Santa Claus during a holiday-themed scouting event, Dec. 20. The Victory Base Council military and civilian volunteers gather once a week with local Iraqi children to participate in arts and crafts, team building events and other scout related activities, but this...

partial...BAGHDAD – Iraq's Christians, a scant minority in this overwhelmingly Muslim country, quietly celebrated Christmas on Thursday with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time. A senior Shiite cleric, Ammar al-Hakim, attended the Mass flanked by bodyguards in a gesture of cooperation with Christians. "I thank the visitors here and ask them to share happiness and love with their brothers on Christmas; by this they will build a glorious Iraq," the cardinal said.

PANJWAII DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- Christmas on Afghanistan's front lines was as festive as a company of tired soldiers could make it. There was turkey and trimmings, red Santa hats, as well as a Christmas tree decorated in candy canes and photos of pretty girls. There was even beer, a special treat for a bunch of guys who hadn't tasted alcohol in nearly four months. Despite the festivities, it was hard for the soldiers to forget why they're there. Just days before, the members of Mike company -- who man this forward-operating base deep in Taliban territory -- were trading fire...

In his homily on Thursday, Chaldean Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly praised the establishment of Christmas as an official holiday as a step toward easing tensions. "I thank the government for giving chances to all to serve each other for the general benefit, and I thank it too for making this day an official holiday where we pray to God to make us trust each other as brothers," he said at the Christmas Mass before several dozen worshippers in the small chapel of a Baghdad monastery....A senior Shiite cleric, Ammar al-Hakim, attended the Mass flanked by bodyguards in a gesture of...

BAGHDAD — Iraq's Christians, a small minority in the overwhelmingly Muslim country, quietly celebrated Christmas on Thursday with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time. But security worries overshadowed the day for many, particularly in the north where thousands of Christians have fled to escape religious attacks. Overall security in Iraq has improved markedly in the past year, but a fatal car bombing in Baghdad on Christmas morning was a gruesome reminder that serious problems remain. The bombing outside a restaurant frequented by police killed four people and wounded 25 others in...

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki unexpectedly cancelled a scheduled visit to Tehran, which was to follow an official visit to Turkey. Reliable sources explained that Maliki’s sudden return to Baghdad has to do with the possibility that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama might be visiting U.S. troops in Iraq during Christmas. Source: Al-Wasat, Iraq, December 24, 2008

Christmas for the Commandos in Afghanistan was always going to be different - but no one could have predicted just how different. One minute they were singing carols at dusk beneath a mellow sun in the baked bare wasteland of Helmand province while wearing festive Santa hats, the next they were firing mortars after their Christmas Day service came under attack from the Taliban. So rapid was the reaction of Royal Marines of 40 Commando that within less than a minute of the first "contact" from the Taliban's machine guns, they had sprinted the 200 metres to their mortar lines...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2008 – The holiday decorations are ever-present at the 926th Engineer Brigade headquarters at Camp Liberty, Iraq. Competitions are under way to determine who can fashion the most festive door, and holiday parties – without liquor, of course – remind everyone that the days are counting down to Christmas. The lineup for Dec. 25 includes an all-hands “Saper call,” a “basketball brawl” similar to the one the brigade sponsored at Thanksgiving, and football games playing back to back on the dining facility TVs. But Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Talley, the brigade commander, said the festivities can’t overshadow...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Dec. 22, 2008 – For the first time in 26 years, Army Capt. Michael Beissinger won’t be home for Christmas. Army Capt. Michael Beissinger distributes gifts to members of his unit during their company Christmas celebration at Camp Taji, Iraq, Dec. 15, 2008. Beissinger’s parents, Stephen and Chris Beissinger, managed to gather support from more than 60 families from the Winter Haven, Fla., area to help make his company's holiday season a little happier. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Michael Shaw  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Apache attack helicopter platoon leader, along with 32...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- From a distance, it looks like an apparition: a huge multi-colored hot-air balloon floating in the Baghdad sky, bearing a large poster of Jesus Christ. Below it, an Iraqi flag. Santa and his helpers stand under palm trees at Baghdad's first public Christmas festival. Santa and his helpers stand under palm trees at Baghdad's first public Christmas festival.

Taliban blow up lorry carrying Christmas turkeys for British troops Army chiefs have flown out a special consignment of Christmas turkeys to replace the ones destroyed when Taliban insurgents attacked a lorry packed with the birds bound for British troops.... The frozen birds were completely destroyed....en route from Pakistan to Camp Bastion. The consignment of turkey roll breasts weighing 325kg was intended for soldiers stationed at Britain's main base in Helmand Province,...where...3,000 personnel will spend the festive season. Dinner will be served: Replacement turkeys have been flown in... Regimental Catering Warrant Officer Nick Townley, who is in charge of organising...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, sound off the men and women of Combined Joint Task Force-82 as they count down to midnight, Dec. 31. Though no one popped open a bottle of bubbly, Servicemembers here still found a way to have fun on the last night of 2007. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines celebrated the count down to New Year’s 2008 here with live music and lots of laughs. The tunes were courtesy of visiting Boston band Lansdowne and Level 82, part of the 82nd Airborne Division’s All-American Band. Two comedians, Daniel Kinno and Julie...