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Coinciding with increased tensions with Iran over the resumption of illicit uranium enrichment, the U.S. Air Force has dispatched additional warplanes to the region in a not-so-subtle sign, military sources say. An entire wing of F-16s, the Air National Guard's 122nd Fighter Wing based in Fort Wayne, Ind., left for a base in southwest Asia on Tuesday. A wing is usually about 72 aircraft and several hundred support personnel. F-16s and support personnel from the 4th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, also deployed recently to Iraq. The squadron has 12 F-16s....

Well, this is not what I expected, but at National Guard Drill this weekend, I expected to receive orders to deploy to New Orleans, LA in support of Operation Katrina relief (yes, Arkansas National Guard is still there), or to Iraq/Afghanistan since I didn't go with the 142nd FA this month. But instead, I received orders to active duty for many months to Fort Huachuca, Arizona.I was needing advice on the SE area of Arizona, specifically, Sierra Vista, Tuscon, Bigsby, etc.I spent all day with ATF getting my Class III firearms ready to go to be stored at the company...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2006 – In the age of e-mail, podcasts and blogs, it's easier than ever before for deployed troops to stay in contact with their friends and loved ones at home. MotoMail is a free, Internet-based letter writing and delivery service that puts letters in the hands of deployed Marines and sailors much faster than traditional mail, often within 24 hours. Courtesy of U.S. Marine Corps   But many say none of these high-tech communications can compete with an old-fashioned card or letter they can tuck away in a pocket or backpack and reread anytime, anywhere, until it's...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 25, 2005 – Servicemembers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are re-enlisting in high numbers, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today said he thinks he knows why. Marine Gen. Peter Pace spoke with Chris Wallace on the Fox News Channel's "Fox News Sunday," making his first appearance on a Sunday talk show as Joint Chiefs chairman. "(The high re-enlistment rate) shows their pride in what they're doing and their understanding of how important it is," the general said. "It is absolutely true that for those units that have served overseas in Iraq and...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2005 – To military families who've endured a double whammy - Hurricane Katrina's devastation and their loved ones' deployments - first lady Laura Bush's Dec. 12 visit to Gulfport, Miss., represented a welcomed burst of encouragement. Bush visited about 50 children of Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalions 133 and 74 at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport. NMCB 133 had been slated to leave on a deployment in October, but remained a month longer in Gulfport to provide hurricane relief as part of a "super-Seabee battalion," explained Lt. Cmdr. Kyra Hawn, 22nd Naval Construction Regiment public affairs...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2005 – A group that began in a Marine Corps wife's basement when her husband deployed to Iraq is in the midst of sending thousands of care packages to deployed troops for Christmas. "Give2theTroops" is a nonprofit group aimed at supporting the physical, moral and spiritual health of America's armed forces in combat zones through the world through letters and packages prepared and shipped by volunteers. Andi Grant of Connecticut founded the group three years ago when her husband Brian and his Marine Reserve unit prepared to deploy to the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom. As...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2005 – President Bush remembered America's deployed servicemembers who he said are "serving the cause of peace" during the Dec. 1 Christmas Pageant of Peace and lighting of the national Christmas tree here. "We ask for God to watch over our men and women in uniform who are serving overseas," Bush said during the ceremony on the Ellipse. "Their families miss them, hold a seat open for them and pray for their safe return." America's men and women stand for freedom and serve the cause of peace, he said. "Many of them are serving in distant lands...

More Fort Hood Soldiers Leave For Iraq Wednesday Fort Hood Troops Board Planes For Iraq Tuesday Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s Fires Brigade and 2nd Brigade Combat Team will leave Fort Hood Wednesday for a yearlong deployment to Iraq. Hundreds of 4th ID soldiers said goodbye to loved ones and boarded planes Monday for the trip to Iraq. Baskets were laid out on tables for soldiers to pick up writing paper, packets of sunscreen, American flags and decks of playing cards as parting gifts. Other volunteers offered rosary beads and Bibles with camouflage covers. By the end of December,...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- More than 600 Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) and the frigate USS Carr (FFG 52), homeported in Norfolk, deployed Nov. 28 in support of the global war on terrorism. Porter and Carr will participate in regional exercises with allies as a Surface Strike Group (SSG). The SSG will make diplomatic port calls and respond to any contingency operations, including those associated with the war on terrorism. “The primary focus is going to be enhancing the U.S. diplomatic missions by interacting with foreign countries,” said Cmdr. Douglas Nashold, commanding officer of Porter. Nashold...

11/29/2005 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFPN) -- While most people were waiting to make an important call on Thanksgiving, an Airman here was awaiting a call from an important person. Airman 1st Class Sarah Sullivan, an airfield management operations supervisor, received that call at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 24, when the White House switchboard put the commander in chief through to her. She had learned about a week earlier President George W. Bush would call on Thanksgiving to thank her for her service in Iraq. “I was in total and complete shock,” Airman Sullivan said. “I never really thought I would...

The last few days have gone by maddeningly fast. But I knew they would, and kept telling myself to expect it. Tomorrow will be my last day with my family prior to reporting for active duty and deployment to Iraq. We've been told that there will be a few days leave at Christmas to return home from our pre-deployment work-ups, but as with most things military, I believe nothing I hear and only half of what I see. I'm preparing myself for tomorrow to be it. It's time to put my money where my mouth is. Last Sunday I went...

As we celebrate this holiday season, we should also celebrate the spirit of the American Soldier. For more than 230 years, this spirit led America’s men and women to courageously answer the call to duty and help preserve liberty throughout the world. Today, this same noble spirit inspires our Soldiers as they simultaneously fight the war on terror and transform the Army to meet future challenges. This holiday season should also be a time of remembrance. We should remember our Soldiers deployed in 120 countries around the world. Likewise, we should keep in our hearts our family members while their...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 8, 2005) -- While deployed to Iraq, many Marines of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, will unfortunately miss important family events that happen only once a year or perhaps once in a lifetime. But one Marine, Lance Cpl. Matthew J. Hutchison, a combat cameraman with the battalion, was fortunate enough to see one of the most important events in his life, his first child being born, via video transmitted across the World Wide Web. He received some help from the hospital and fellow deployed Marines, allowing him to see the birth shortly after the actual event....

The Guam National Guard detachment, which operates Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units, will be tasked to water support duties while deployed. By U.S. Army Spc. Cheryl Ransford 17th Public Affairs Detachment SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii, Nov. 1, 2005 — Since 1982, the 909th Quartermaster Detachment has participated extensively in humanitarian support missions to provide water to people affected by typhoons, floods, earthquakes and other disasters. "I'm nervous but very confident in the skills of the team. Also, I am looking forward to the different things that we'll have the opportunity to experience while we are over there." U.S. Army Spc....

10/11/2005 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- The 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron’s expeditionary theater distribution center here is leading the way in expeditionary mobility gear processing to make life easier for thousands of deploying Airmen. The center is part of an Air Force test where Airmen can deploy from their home stations to the Central Asia theater without their A, B and C mobility bags. When they arrive here to stay, or before heading “downrange,” they are issued everything they will need from the ETDC. Airmen are still required to bring a helmet, gas mask, web belt and...

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Staff Sgt. James Murphy isn’t your typical Airman. A 30-year-old tattoo of U.S.M.C. peeking out from his T-shirt sleeve and his no-nonsense attitude may shed light on some of his life story, but it wouldn’t come close to telling most of it. Sergeant Murphy, a night shift supervisor for the flightline dining hall in the 380th Expeditionary Services Squadron, is deployed from the 920th Rescue Wing from Cocoa Beach, Fla. After almost three years in the Air Force, the 48-year-old never thought he’d be here, in the Air Force. He also didn’t think he’d go from...

BAY ST. LOUIS, Mississippi (AP) -- The deployment of thousands of National Guard troops from Mississippi and Louisiana in Iraq when Hurricane Katrina struck hindered those states' initial storm response, military and civilian officials said Friday. Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said that "arguably" a day or so of response time was lost due to the absence of the Mississippi National Guard's 155th Infantry Brigade and Louisiana's 256th Infantry Brigade, each with thousands of troops in Iraq. "Had that brigade been at home and not in Iraq, their expertise and capabilities could have been brought...

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (Army News Service, Sept. 8, 2005) -- More than 800 Soldiers on duty in Iraq and Kuwait have been directly impacted by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, and the Army has sent a newly created “Tiger Team” to Camp Victory, Iraq, to help them. The Tiger Team, led by Brig. Gen. Sean Byrne, director of Military Personal Management for the U.S. Army, was established to identify Soldiers who have family and/or property in the affected regions. More than 545 Soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq were identified as having property and...

The USS Bataan, having just finished exercises off Panama, was in a position to shadow Hurricane Katrina as she headed for New Orleans. The Bataan boasts 6 operating rooms, beds for 600 patients, helicopters, and a crew of 1200 able sailors. Yesterday, Andrew Sullivan linked to a post on The Carpetbagger Report claiming that, once Katrina passed through New Orleans, the Bataan sat impotent some 90 miles south of the city awaiting President Bush's orders to help with the emergency. According to Carpetbagger, the Bataan needed permission to proceed: << Apparently, that permission could have been given right away, but...

Total of 1,500 will go to combat, other areas Brooke McDonough smiled bravely Monday morning as her husband, Lt. Col. Marty McDonough, slowly guided his A-10 fighter jet down the runway at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The airman was one of about 50 who took off from the base Monday, the first wave of about 1,500 D-M personnel who will be sent this month to combat theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan and other sites overseas. McDonough and other members of D-M's 354th Fighter Squadron will provide cover for Marines and soldiers on the ground. It will be January before McDonough...