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<p>Iraq's information minister said Thursday that Baghdad would be the "graveyard" of coalition forces and they would lose "even if they bring double American troops."</p> <p>"Americans are now in disarray," Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told Arabic language TV network Al-Jazeera. "They try to engage the world as much as they can and we will continue until they leave our land."</p>

(English-language translation) As the war between the United States and Iraq intensifies, 770 troops from the [Puerto Rico] National Guard await mobilization at any moment, while an additional 500 await activation. Adjutant-General Francisco Márquez reported yesterday that the U. S. Armed Forces have expressed their interest in activating two Guard units comprising 500 soldiers. Márquez declined to identify the units for security reasons until they are activated. On the other hand, he indicated that 770 soldiers are awaiting to be mobilized at any time to the Middle East. They remain stationed at Camp Santiago in Salinas and at [U. S....

<p>FORT HOOD, Texas — Female pilots of attack and supply helicopters are as determined as any to go into battle in Iraq, even as reports come back of choppers downed by accidents and hostile fire.</p> <p>"I think resolve usually tends to strengthen in the face of adversity," said Lt. Hartleigh Caine, an Apache Longbow attack helicopter pilot and member of the high-tech 4th Infantry Division. "I don't think about what we're going to do in a different light because I'm a woman. I don't see myself as any different from my compatriots."</p>

US calls up 30,000 new troops By Roland Watson in Washington and Michael Evans, Defence Editor MORE than 30,000 American reinforcements were ordered to the Gulf last night as fierce battles raged through southern Iraq and the Republican Guard went on the offensive. American war planners were forced to change tactics and put the battle for Baghdad on hold as Pentagon chiefs conceded that they had underestimated the resistance they would face. Armoured columns and supply convoys have come under repeated attack while trying to bolster the American front line 50 miles south of the capital. These ambushes have severely...

The II Marine Expeditionary Force is now believe to be located in Jordan.This analysis is based on news reports coming out of North Carolina indicating that some 11,000 Marines in addition to the 2nd MEB have departed Camp Lejune.

March 24 - Fort Hood's Fourth Infantry Division expects to finally ship out sometime this week, after their deployment was held in limbo for weeks. Getting them out of here will be a huge logistical challenge, though (cut).

Washington has announced it is flying another 30,000 troops from the US to the war zone. The announcement came after Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard was ordered on the offensive and a column of 1,000 vehicles was sent from Baghdad to confront US troops in central Iraq. The US is flying its high tech 4th Infantry Division and other units to the Gulf - raising fears the American forces have become overextended in their race to the southern approaches to Baghdad

US 4th Infantry Division heading for Gulf WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - The United States is flying its high-tech 4th Infantry Division and other units totaling more than 30,000 troops to the Gulf to join the invasion of Iraq, the military said on Wednesday. Troops from the division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, and considered one of the most modern fighting forces in the military, will begin flying to the Gulf region in coming days to join its heavy armor and equipment, a spokesman at Fort Hood told Reuters. The division, with a total of 16,000 troops at Fort Hood...

U.S. Army Forces Kill at Least 150 Iraqis By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer WASHINGTON - U.S. Army forces killed between 150 and 500 Iraqi troops Tuesday in a fierce fight after coming under attack near the central Iraqi city of An Najaf, a senior defense official said. No U.S. casualties were reported, although the official cautioned that few details were immediately available. Elements of the 7th Cavalry Regiment were east of An Najaf when they suddenly came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades, the official said. The Iraqis were on foot and it was not clear whether they were from...

March 23, 2003 Fort Hood units may leave this week BY KEVIN J. DWYER Herald Staff Writer After years of training and months of anticipation, it now looks like the 4th Infantry Division will get the chance to put their skills to the test in Iraq. Ending the weeks of frustrating indecision, the division's 12,500 soldiers stationed at Fort Hood are expected to begin shipping out to the Persian Gulf this week. Defense Department and Army officials said Saturday the United States had abandoned efforts to send the 4th ID into northern Iraq through Turkey. "It's like, OK, at last,"...

FORT HOOD, Texas - For two months they lived on the edge, expecting the call at any moment. At last, soldiers with the Army's 4th Infantry Division on Saturday got some welcome news: Ships loaded with their equipment were on their way to the Persian Gulf. It was a big relief. "The speculation's over, the waiting is over, the wondering is over," said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a public affairs officer. "Now it's time to go do our jobs." Some 33,000 troops of the division or attached to it have been under orders to deploy since Jan. 18. They had to...

<p>Reuters Monday, March 24, 2003; 10:17 PM LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led force in Iraq risks as many as 3,000 casualties in the battle for Baghdad and Washington has underestimated the number of troops needed, a top former commander from the 1991 Gulf War said on Monday. Retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the 24th Infantry Division 12 years ago, said the U.S.-led force faced "a very dicey two to three day battle" as it pushes north toward the Iraqi capital. "We ought to be able to do it (take Baghdad)," he told the Newsnight Program on Britain's BBC Television late on Monday. "In the process if they (the Iraqis) actually fight, and that's one of the assumptions, clearly it's going to be brutal, dangerous work and we could take, bluntly, a couple to 3,000 casualties," said McCaffrey who became one of the most senior ranking members of the U.S. military following the 1991 war. "So if they (the Americans and British) are unwilling to face up to that, we may have a difficult time of it taking down Baghdad and Tikrit up to the north west." McCaffrey said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had misjudged the nature of the conflict. Asked if Rumsfeld made a mistake by not sending more troops to start the offensive, McCaffrey replied: "Yes, sure. I think everybody told him that." "I think he thought these were U.S. generals with their feet planted in World War II that didn't understand the new way of warfare," he added.</p>

Fort Bragg, N.C. — Army National Guard soldiers from Puerto Rico’s 92nd Infantry Brigade (Separate), commanded by Brig. Gen. Roberto Marrerro-Corletto, have arrived here for training in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In the weeks following their arrival, the 1,600 soldiers of 92nd SIB had to complete a combination of administrative processing and basic combat training stations. Administrative processing includes verifying personnel and financial records, conducting medical screenings, providing immunizations, and confirming equipment readiness. Combat refresher training includes weapons qualification, and chemical, nuclear and biological protection. "This process prepares them physically and mentally for the mission they are about to...

<p>FORT HOOD, Texas — The biggest coordinated ground and air assault in recent history is well under way in Iraq, and the Army's most technologically advanced units are finally on their way.</p> <p>The 4th Infantry Division, which has been waiting in Texas for two months, got word yesterday it will ship out soon to Kuwait instead of the initial plan of southern Turkey.</p>

The few and the proud produce pioneering pilotBy Bartholomew Sullivansullivan@gomemphis.com March 23, 2003 First Lt. Vernice Armour Age: 29 Hometown: Memphis Unit: Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 Duty: Attack helicopter pilot Deployed: Kuwait/Iraq -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vernice Armour is flying history. The 1991 Overton High School graduate, now flying missions in Iraq, is the first African-American female combat helicopter pilot in both Marine Corps and Defense Department history. The 29-year-old Armour, whose resume includes a stint as a Nashville motorcycle patrolman and a running back in a women's professional football league, has been the subject of glowing profiles in recent weeks....

For two months they lived on the edge, expecting the call at any moment. At last, soldiers with the Army's 4th Infantry Division on Saturday got some welcome news: Ships loaded with their equipment were on their way to the Persian Gulf. It was a big relief. "The speculation's over, the waiting is over, the wondering is over," said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a public affairs officer. "Now it's time to go do our jobs." Some 33,000 troops of the division or attached to it have been under orders to deploy since Jan. 18. They had to wait at Fort Hood...

South Korea on Friday decided to send up to 700 non-combatant troops to Iraq to support the US-led war, the presidential Blue House said.A meeting of cabinet ministers, presided over by President Roh Moo-Hyun, agreed to the dispatch of up to 600 construction engineers and up to 100 medical personnel to Iraq. There is a possibility that the war might be over earlier than expected. Therefore, we are considering sending some 40 members of the medical unit operating in Afghanistan at an early date," Roh's spokeswoman Song Kyung-Hee said. She said Roh would ask for an extraordinary session of the...

It is extremely difficult to attain solid and dependable numbers for the deployment of United States and United Kingdom military personnel in the Middle East currently positioned for an invasion of Iraq. These figures are also constantly shifting as troops are being supplemented daily. Nevertheless, it is possible to offer a snapshot with some rough estimates at the present moment. US buildupWithin the last week and a half, the US Department of Defense reported that the total force strength in the relevant arena known as Central Command (also called CENTCOM) as 211,000, with roughly half of those numbers in...

Troops gather below ensign in Fort Campbell. "Are you ready to meet your destiny, men? I know I am, I've been waiting 24 years to meet mine." This the final exhortation to his troops before deployment. The strangely soft voice of the enormously powerful Sergeant Major Richard Montcalm echoes across the parade square at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. It is an exhortation that sends a shiver of expectation through the ranks. They are going to war, writes Sky News correspondent Stuart Ramsay. This is the home of the 101st Airborne Division - the "Screaming Eagles" - decorated in action...

A private plane pulls a banner as sailors man the rails of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz as it departs from San Diego, March 3, 2003. Sailor Jason Buerger holds his wife Maggie before departing from San Diego on the the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz for the Middle East, March 3, 2003. A U.S. flag flutters in the wind as sailors man the rails of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz as it departs from Naval Air Station North Island San Diego for the Middle East, March 3, 2003. Dave Clendenon holds up a sign that says...