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NORFOLK — With tears in his eyes, his voice choked with emotion, Capt. Sinclair M. Harris watched his sailors load everything from baby formula to Band-Aids aboard their waiting ships Wednesday in a rush to reach the region destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. “These are Americans. They need our help,” Harris, commodore of Amphibious Squadron Four, said in the pre-dawn darkness as four ships began to weigh anchor for a rare deployment to help the nation’s helpless. Nearly 4,000 Hampton Roads-based sailors are en route to the Mississippi and Louisiana shores, bringing helicopters, medical supplies, water, food, bulldozers, blankets and other...

8/18/2005 - OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (AFPN) -- When providing medical care at a remote location, the pace of business and the variety of medical conditions can change quickly. For medical Airmen with the 40th Air Expeditionary Group at this forward-deployed location, it has been a combination of business as usual and urgent issues requiring 12 medical evacuations. “It seems surprising to have that many medevacs since we have a bunch of young, healthy people,” said Capt. (Dr.) Kevin Turneau, a flight doctor. The unrelated cases included appendicitis, heart attacks, a seriously gashed finger and a collapsed lung. Because the medical...

8/18/2005 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- An Airman here recently gained the distinction of being addressed as both a staff sergeant and a lieutenant. Staff Sgt. Gregg Magi, a 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Fire Department City of New York via telephone during an Aug. 16 ceremony in New York. “It feels good to be promoted,” said Sergeant Magi, who is deployed from the New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing. “I’ve always wanted to be involved in public service.” During the ceremony, he and two of his...

About 20 airmen from Eielson Air Force Base left Sunday evening, bound for the Iraqi theater and a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Army. The 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron is assigned to the 354th Operations Group at Eielson but for the last year and a half has been training with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Wainwright. It will be the first time a joint effort with the Army and Air Force has taken place in combat using the Stryker vehicle. The 3rd ASOS commander, Lt. Col. Russell Smith, said each of the squadron's five Stryker vehicles is...

Explosives unit headed back into Iraqi fray By ERICA WALSH About 20 Fort Knox soldiers are on their way to Iraq, some for a second time in two years. The 703rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment from Fort Knox left for Iraq on Saturday morning, family members said. This is the second deployment for the Fort Knox detachment, which spent September 2003 to March 2004 in Iraq. The unit is responsible for finding, recovering and disposing of explosive devices. About half of the group that left for Iraq Saturday also deployed to the country during the unit's first trip. The soldiers...

Family gives special farewell to Marine headed to Iraq written by: Andrew Resnik 9NEWS Reporter Created: 7/28/2005 10:13 PM MDT - Updated: 7/28/2005 10:36 PM MDT MORRISON - Mark Hickethier knew he was going to have to dig deep for this celebration dinner. "We were out to kill the fatted calf," he said, talking about his big plans. His chosen destination -- The Fort -- a funky, fancy restaurant in Morrison that serves "fine food and drink from the early West." It's a special occasion place, and it comes with a price tag. But no expense was too much for...

Well it's time to go and do what I have been called to do. Today I head for to the war for the third time and I have some things to say. To me this is a blessing, a calling from God to do what I can to help our brave men and women in uniform. Also this post is for my family as some of them still don't understand why I am on my third trip to Iraq. First of all:

AUSTRALIAN special forces will be sent to the most lawless areas of southern Afghanistan, where there has been the bloodiest fighting since the fundamentalist Taliban regime was overthrown in 2002. John Howard announced yesterday that Australia would commit 150 special forces to work with US forces to hunt down al-Qa'ida and Taliban loyalists in southern Afghanistan, but warned there was a high risk of casualties. "Military operations are dangerous ... the Australian military forces have been very fortunate in recent times ... although there have been casualties, they have not been extensive," the Prime Minister said. Supporting the deployment, Kim...

Fort Bragg, N.C. (Army News Service July 11, 2005) - More Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division are headed to Afghanistan, the Division’s commander announced during a press conference July 8. Between 700 and 800 Paratroopers from 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment will deploy within several weeks to Afghanistan to bolster security there in advance of the upcoming provincial elections in September, said Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV. The Division already has about 1,500 Paratroopers from its 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed to the country, which has seen a spike in violence against coalition forces in recent months....

80 area troops heading to Iraq By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian For Sgt. 1st Class Mike Smith, coming home from Iraq only meant that he was leaving his fellow soldiers behind. "He hasn't been mentally here since he's been back," said Smith's girlfriend, Carrie Johnson. "His mind has been over there because there are still men over there." So it didn't astonish Johnson when Smith, a Missouri National Guard soldier from Sedgewickville, Mo., told her he had made a decision that would leave many people scratching their heads. He was going back. "I knew he was going to say...

AUSTIN, Texas, June 21, 2005 – Children gathered on the steps of the state capitol June 14 to show support for deployed troops. Sculptor Heather McMahan’s Art for Soldiers, Children’s Courtyard, the Texas National Guard, and KVUE television news anchor Tyler Sieswerda presented the “It’s Flag Day! … Thank a Soldier” event. Ms. McMahan, known for her “Welcome Home” sculpture, which has been displayed in the Pentagon and at Bergstrom International Airport, invited Austin children to express their feelings about the war and show their support for the troops through art. The art was displayed in the main corridor at...

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2005 – While deployed parents can't actually attend their senior's graduation, U.S. Army Europe and the Department of Defense Education Activity are making sure that they can watch. With so many of its students' parents deployed in support of the global war on terrorism, DoDEA has found a way to show that it appreciates the sacrifices of deployed troops, DoDEA Director Joe Tafoya said in an interview with American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel. For the third year, DoDEA, will be providing a live satellite Web cast from high school graduations to forward deployed parents....

Three carrier battle groups are converging on the Persian Gulf. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has departed Singapore and is currently crossing the Indian Ocean, en route to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is also on the move, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, reportedly headed toward the Mediterranean. Reports are also circulating that the U.S. Navy has dispatched ships containing nuclear armaments to reinforce the battle groups. This will be the first time since February 2004 that the U.S. has had three major carrier groups stationed on or around the Middle East. Each of the carrier...

He's not wearing his seat belt," Patty Hauser said, a little alarmed, as she looked into the van that was about to take her son Daniel to the airport. A few minutes later, she laughed at the irony of the observation. The younger Hauser, 19, was on his way from Walnut Hills to Iraq. Hauser, a lance corporal, was one of 17 Marine Corps reservists from Communications Company, Headquarters Battalion, 4th Marine Division who deployed to Iraq today. The company's mission is to provide radio and data communications for a Marine division headquarters. That means if the situation has anything...

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Army's 3rd Division returns to IraqBy Rowan ScarboroughTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished February 26, 2005 The Army's 3rd Infantry Division is back in Iraq, 22 months after it stormed the country from Kuwait and was the first U.S. unit to penetrate downtown Baghdad to oust Saddam Hussein.     The Fort Stewart, Ga.-based division has a new commander and a whole new combat configuration. Of its roughly 20,000 soldiers, about 50 percent participated in the invasion and subsequent occupation that saw a rise in lawlessness and a burgeoning insurgency.     "Our soldiers, for the most part, feel like this is the...

Fort Wainwright Army chaplain Capt. Herman Cheatham is preparing for spiritual battle. While infantry soldiers are honing combat skills, the chaplain is ordering religious supplies and co-teaching combat stress training. Cheatham, who expects to be deployed to Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment sometime this summer, admits to experiencing pre-deployment jitters, just like the soldiers and military families he is counseling along with combat veteran chaplain Maj. Joe Melvin. It will be Cheatham's first experience in a combat zone. "At first I thought it (jitters) was a weakness on my part," Cheatham said, "but in talking to the...

Canadian troops may be deployed to Iraq to help with reconstruction if Prime Minister Paul Martin agrees to the anticipated request from U.S. President George Bush. The two leaders are expected to discuss the issue when they meet later this month in Brussels for a NATO summit meeting, the Toronto Star reported. The paper says a small contingent of 40 Canadian troops would be sent abroad, joining another 300 NATO forces, if Martin agrees. The news comes days after Bush's state of the union address during which he called on his allies for more foreign aid and support for Iraq's...

<p>WASHINGTON -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, along with Border Patrol agents, are on the ground in Iraq to help secure that country's war-torn borders prior to tomorrow's national elections, CBP officials said yesterday.</p> <p>CBP spokeswoman Kristi M. Clemens said the deployment team will bolster current border security efforts, providing support and additional training for Iraqi border police -- which will continue beyond the elections -- in an effort to keep saboteurs, terrorists and armaments from crossing into or out of the country.</p>

(LOUISVILLE, January 5th, 2005, 4 p.m.) -- Wednesday was a sad day for the families of some local troops. A departure ceremony was held in Shelbyville for soldiers in the 231st Military Intelligence Company. The National Guard unit leaves Friday for training in Mississippi before heading to Iraq this summer. WAVE 3's Justin Wilfon reports. Forty-seven soldiers. Forty-seven goodbyes. "You hate to leave your family," said 231st soldier David Woellert. "That's going to be tough, but we know we have a mission to do." It begins with this toughest of tasks: bidding farewell to his family. Woellert leads the 231st....

<p>WACO, Texas — Not far from the ranch where President Bush is spending the holidays, the impact of the war in Iraq is being driven home in this city of 113,000.</p> <p>In the biggest single call-up of the Texas National Guard since World War II, 3,300 citizen-soldiers are preparing to ship out for a year of combat duty in Iraq, the largest contingent to date that the state has sent there.</p>