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Gen. David H. Petraeus assumes command of Multi-National Force - Iraq during a ceremony Saturday at Camp Victory. BAGHDAD — General David H. Petraeus assumed command of Multi-National Force-Iraq from Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., in a change of command ceremony held at Camp Victory Saturday.Casey was the commanding general of MNF-I for two and a half years. He will go on to replace the current Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.The reviewing officer for the ceremony was Gen. John P. Abizaid, commander, U. S. Central Command. He thanked Casey for his...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2007 – Iraq is at a pivotal crossroad, the new commander of Multinational Force Iraq said in a letter to the command’s troops today. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus took command of all U.S. forces in Iraq today during a ceremony at Camp Victory, in Baghdad. “The stakes could not be higher,” he wrote in a letter addressed to Multinational Force Iraq troops and civilians. “Our task is crucial.” Security is the essential component needed for Iraqis to build a better future, and U.S. troops will help them achieve that goal, Petraeus wrote. “Shoulder-to-shoulder with our...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2007 – The main goal of the new U.S. command in Africa will be to develop a stable environment on the continent to promote civil society and improved quality of life for the people there, a top Defense Department official said here today. Africa, which represents 35 percent of the world’s land mass and 25 percent of the population, is growing in significance, and it is time for the U.S. to recognize its importance and consolidate efforts there, Ryan Henry, principal undersecretary of defense for policy, said in a Pentagon news conference. “This command will focus...

Florida Democrat, Sen. Bill Nelson, tried what amounted to a frontal assault against four retired generals-- Nelson’s question was premised on the notion that active military generals who had come before congressional committees during the last six years had done Congress and the nation a grave disservice by toeing the Bush Administration line, giving Congress a picture of what was happening in Iraq that was rosier than the reality. Moments later, McCaffrey continued the counterattack. Members of Congress have gotten the truth from military brass in numerous off-the-record and private conversations both in Washington and in Iraq, he said. If...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2006 -- Defense Department officials continue to examine the idea of establishing a U.S. Africa Command, a top DoD official said here this week. A team of DoD officials is looking at all options in examining the need for a new combatant command, Theresa Whelan, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, said in an interview. Responsibility for U.S. military operations in Africa is currently divided among three combatant commands. The area from Kenya to Egypt is part of U.S. Central Command. The rest of the continent falls under the auspices of U.S. European Command....

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2006 -- Iraqi officers will soon command all four Iraqi army divisions operating in northern Iraq, a senior U.S. officer said today. “By February, all four Iraqi divisions in Multinational Division North will be under Iraqi ground-force command,” U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon told Pentagon reporters during a satellite briefing. Mixon is the commander of Multinational Division North as well as commander of the 25th Infantry Division. The two-star general’s area of responsibility covers six Iraqi provinces in northern Iraq that include the cities of Kirkuk, Balad, Tikrit, Mosul and Samarra. The general said...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2006 – The plan to bring security to Baghdad has not been a failure, but coalition and Iraqi officials are going to refine it, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said during an interview today. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said that any time the military puts a plan in play “you are constantly reassessing and reevaluating it. That’s what we’ve been doing since the beginning.” He said the coalition is working with a new Iraqi ministerial group to make adjustments to the plan, and that Multinational Force Iraq commander Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. does this...

Rumsfeld favors a new Africa command Fri Sep 22, 1:45 PM ET US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he favors setting up a separate command to oversee US military operations and relations in Africa. "Pete and I are for it," Rumsfeld said, referring to General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We've been pushing and pushing for six months and trying to get the system to come up with the details as to how it would be done," he said. One key decision that is yet to be made is whether the command would be on...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2006 – One result of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was the establishment of U.S. Northern Command to deal with threats aimed at the United States, the organization’s commander said here today. During an interview at the Pentagon’s Radio Day event, Navy Adm. Timothy Keating spoke his personal experiences during the attack and about his command. Keating, who is also the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command, was the Navy’s director of operations in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. “I was in the operations update when the news hit of the first plane...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 – For the man who now serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, watching the televised image of an airliner hitting the World Trade Center signaled the end of an era as the country was thrust into war. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, then regimental sergeant major for the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Polk, La., said he remembers returning home after an early morning run Sept. 11, 2001, and flipping on the TV news as he cooled down. Gainey was transfixed by shots of...

BAGHDAD, Sep. 1, 2006 – The Iraqi Ground Forces Command assumed command and control here today of one of its Iraqi army divisions from the Multinational Corps Iraq, marking what officials here said is the first step toward Iraqi sovereignty over the country’s armed forces. The 8th Iraqi Army Division, commanded by Maj. Gen Othman Ali Salih Farhood, which had been a subordinate unit of Multinational Division Baghdad, will now report directly to the IGFC as an adjacent unit to MND-B. When the division took the lead for operations in its sector on Jan. 27, it was the first to...

Sea Launch Delivers Koreasat 5 Satellite to Orbit Tuesday August 22, 1:48 am ET LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Sea Launch Company today successfully delivered the Koreasat 5 communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). Early data indicate the spacecraft is accurately positioned and in excellent condition. ADVERTISEMENT A Zenit-3SL vehicle lifted off at 8:27 pm PDT (03:27 GMT, Aug. 22) from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude in the equatorial Pacific. All systems performed nominally throughout flight. The Block DM upper stage inserted the 4,448 kg (9,806 lb) Spacebus 4000 C1 platform to...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – U.S. European Command will assume command of U.S. military forces operating off the coast of Lebanon and in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the organization’s commander said here today. Marine Gen. James L. Jones, speaking at a Pentagon news conference, said European Command elements will assume command of the operations in that area from U.S. Central Command Aug. 23. European Command has supported U.S. Central Command in the effort. Central Command originally received the mission because Lebanon is in that organization’s assigned area of operations. But Central Command also is responsible for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan...

NADIA BOROWSKI SCOTT / Union-Tribune Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler (left) shook hands yesterday with Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis after Mattis took over as commander of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton Quotable and iconic, controversial and laconic, Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis took command of 50,000 troops at Camp Pendleton yesterday as allegations of war crimes and mounting war casualties hang over the base. Mattis replaced Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, 57, as commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which has done most of the fighting in Iraq's volatile Anbar province this year. “This...

KABUL, Afghanistan — Army Col. William E. Bulen assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Afghanistan Engineer District from outgoing Commander Army Col. Christopher J. Toomey on Aug 2 during a change of command ceremony here. Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, commander of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan, presided over the transfer of leadership while Master Sgt. Eric O. Johnson, AED’s Command Sergeant Major, oversaw the exchange of colors. Lt. Gen. Eikenberry used the occasion to reflect on America’s continued commitment to Afghanistan illustrated in the District’s work. “As we look to improve Afghanistan’s infrastructure, AED is helping to lead...

British general takes command and promises ruthless strikes on Taliban · 18,000-strong force ready for first land operations · Nato troops take charge of most of Afghanistan Richard Norton-Taylor Tuesday August 1, 2006 The Guardian (UK) A British general yesterday took command of an expanded Nato force in Afghanistan, vowing to "strike ruthlessly" against the Taliban as the west's military alliance prepared to conduct land combat operations for the first time in its 57-year history. Lieutenant General David Richards, commander of Nato's international security assistance force, Isaf, based in Kabul, took over a multinational force in southern Afghanistan where British,...

British general takes command of US troops By Ahmed Rashid in Lahore (Filed: 31/07/2006) A British general will command American troops for the first time since the Second World War when Nato takes charge of the mission to pacify southern Afghanistan today. Lt Gen David Richards Lt Gen David Richards, Britain's most experienced officer in developing world arenas, assumes control of a merged Nato and US force that will grow from 9,000 to 18,000. It is one of the largest and toughest missions the alliance has faced, covering six southern provinces and extending its authority to almost all of the...

Troops stand at attention during the ceremony. BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Training and Doctrine Command officially opened in a ceremony at the Cultural Center Compound in Baghdad Tuesday. The ITDC now has the ability and sufficient resources to oversee all Iraqi national defense related education and military doctrine development. This is an important milestone as Iraq progresses toward its goal of being fully operable by July 2007, said Gen. Babakir Badir Khan Zebari, Iraqi Joint Forces commander. “Compared to the activities of insurgents and terrorists who try to plant death and destruction in every part of Iraq, our government...

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2006 – The coalition corps commander in Iraq has completed his review of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 24 Iraqis around Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, and has passed his findings and recommendations to the coalition commander in the country. Officials said Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell reported on the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the subsequent actions of Marine leaders, focusing on "training and command climate," to Multinational Corps Iraq Commander Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli. Chiarelli completed his findings and recommendations and passed them and the report to Army Gen. George W....

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., July 3, 2006 – U.S. Northern Command has a new partner in defending North America from future terrorist and natural disasters. During his first official visit to NORTHCOM headquarters here as the commander of Canada Command, Canadian Forces Lt. Gen. Marc Dumais promised the two nations would take their already strong military cooperation to new heights. Canada Command is the Canadian Forces formation responsible for all of Canada's routine and contingency domestic operations. The creation of Canada Command was based on the new international security environment and a commitment to place greater emphasis on the...