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All the major training is done. The vehicles will be loaded onto ships later this month at the Port of Olympia, and by the end of next month, the Army’s first Stryker brigade will be on its way back to Iraq. Nearly half the 4,000 soldiers in the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division were with the unit the first time it went over in November 2003. Their experience, and that of the two Stryker brigades that succeeded them, have informed preparations different from the last time, the Fort Lewis-based soldiers say. “Before, we went over thinking we knew what was...

U.S. Department of DefenseOffice of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)News Release On the Web: Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131 Public contact:http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html or +1 (703) 428-0711 IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 407-06 May 8, 2006 DoD Announces Adjustment to Iraq Deployment             The Department of Defense announced today that the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based in Schweinfurt, Germany, will not begin its deployment to Iraq in early May as scheduled.                Additional information about this unit, to include its revised deployment date in the rotation plan, will be announced as decisions are made.               The adjustment to the...

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2006 – About 3,500 active-duty soldiers who were slated to begin their deployment to Iraq in the coming days will remain at their base in Schweinfurt, Germany, until further notice, defense officials announced today. Members of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, were officially notified within recent days that they won't deploy early this month, as scheduled, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld approved the adjustment, which was recommended by Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, Whitman said. Whitman emphasized that the decision doesn't signal the start...

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea (NNS) -- The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW)1 departed Naval Station Norfolk, Va., May 2 for a regularly scheduled six-month deployment. Enterprise is the flagship for the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, which includes the USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), USS McFaul (DDG 74), USS Nicholas (FFG 47), all based in Norfolk, the USS Alexandria (SSN 757), homeported in Groton, Conn., and USNS Supply (T-AOE-6), homeported in Earle, N.J. The nearly 7,500 Sailors in the strike group will conduct operations in the Middle East in support of the global...

AL ASAD, Iraq (May 2, 2006) -- Lance Cpl. Michael L. Ford wasn’t one to keep quiet when he saw wrong doings. In fact, the Marine from New Bedford, Mass., often piped right up to correct mistakes – whether they were others’ or his own. “He had a lot of guts. If something was wrong, he’d stand up (against) it, no matter what the situation was,” said Cpl. Robert C. Shea, a 19-year-old from Haverhill, Mass. – just an “hour and a half” drive from Ford’s hometown. Ford, a M1A1 Main Battle Tank crewman, or “tanker,” was killed April 26,...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (Army News Service, April 25, 2006) – When deploying Soldiers leave behind loved ones, the disruption to family life can be especially hard on children. That’s why Dr. Thomas Hardaway, a child psychiatrist and chief of behavioral medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center, spoke with first- and second-graders at Fort Campbell, Ky., last fall when the 101st Airborne Division went to Iraq. He was coaching school administrators, counselors, nurses and parents to talk with children about deployment. “Deployment has potential to be destructive to a child’s development,” Hardaway said. “The message I’m trying to give is that...

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Arms is a forward-deployed Air Force chaplain’s assistant with the 40th Air Expeditionary Group in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This is his third deployment since Sept. 11, 2001. He said he loves God and country and feels very fortunate to be a chaplain’s assistant. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. John Rohrer U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Arms Chaplain's Assistant Serves Third Deployment By Master Sgt. Scott King 40th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, April 20, 2006 -- He is well known around this forward operating...

NORFOLK (NNS) -- More than 700 Sailors on two surface ships “surged” April 18 as part of the Global War on Terrorism Surface Strike Group (GWOT SSG) 06-2 from their homeports in Norfolk, Va. and Mayport, Fla. The amphibious transport dock USS Trenton (LPD 14), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk and the guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) homeported at Naval Station Mayport deployed. The guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) homeported at Naval Station Norfolk will depart at a later date to join the group. As a surface strike group, Trenton, Hue City, and James E....

NORFOLK, Va., April 14, 2006 – Supporting the global war on terror, homeland defense, humanitarian crises and disaster relief missions while maintaining deterrence around the world requires something of a juggling act - especially when you're striving to reduce stress on the force, according to a U.S. Joint Forces Command official. That's a challenge Jay Burdon, chief of JFCOM's Joint Deployment Operations Division, and his staff here deal with every day as they strive to ensure combatant commanders have the troops they need to carry out their missions. As the military's central "manpower broker" for conventional forces, JFCOM looks across...

AL ASAD, Iraq (April 9, 2006) -- Brushing the grit from their faces and the sand from their eyes, the Marines with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774 completed their second deployment to Al Asad, Iraq, April 1, and are heading home to Norfolk, Va. The Marines with HMM-774, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, have spent the last seven months transporting Marines and cargo, providing assault support and maintaining their aircraft in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "Our mission is to augment with the active duty forces and provide full mission capable Marine helicopter assault support in...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (April 7, 2006) -- For Navy corpsmen serving with Marine units, treating casualities in combat and saving lives is what their job is all about. Most of them jump at the chance to deploy with the Marines and serve their country. Petty Officer 1st Class Ronnie L. Mashburn, who recently returned from his second tour in Iraq, is one of those corpsmen. The Iron Station, N.C., native was deployed with 2nd Marine Division in Ar Ramadi, Iraq from February 2005 to February 2006. For the first part of his deployment, he was the battalion...

U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Daniel M. Knight, 19, from Simpsonville, S.C., looks at names on the Beirut Memorial at Camp Lejeune, N.C., March 30, 2006. Knight is preparing to deploy to Iraq for the first time. His father, Morris, is a Vietnam veteran and said he is extremely proud of his son. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Daniel Knight Marine Prepares for First Deployment By Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel 2nd Marine Division CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., April 5, 2006 —“My father, a former Marine, served in Vietnam,” said Pfc. Daniel M. Knight,...

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2006 – A new Defense Department Web site that debuts April 3 will feature government-funded scientific studies of medical issues experienced by military members during deployments, a contractor involved with the project said here today. The DeployMed ResearchLINK site will initially contain 1991 Gulf War-related medical research that's been compiled by government researchers, Dr. Francis L. O'Donnell, a physician and DoD medical consultant, said. Around June, additional medical information gathered from Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom will be added. The site contains "information that you really can't find anywhere else about what's going on within not only...

Unit stationed in Afghanistan returns home safely By M.B. Taboada AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Monday, March 27, 2006 Every day at noon they would stop what they were doing wherever they were and pray. For a year, the members of Grant African Methodist Episcopal Worship Center held prayer vigils for the safe return of the soldiers of the 111th Area Support Group who were stationed in Afghanistan. During Sunday's church service, they thanked God for answering their prayers — there were no fatalities and everyone in the Texas Army National Guard unit made it back earlier this month without injury — and...

CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) -- Approximately 200 Sailors from Inshore Boat Unit (IBU) 14 and Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit (MIUWU) 101 returned March 4 from an eight-month deployment in the Persian Gulf region. IBU 14, based in St. Louis, and MIUWU 101, based in Everett, Wash., are reserve units assigned to Naval Coastal Warfare Group (NCWG) 1. These Reservists were activated for one year, which consisted of a two-month training cycle, the eight-month deployment, one month of administrative work and one month of terminal leave. While in the Middle East, these Sailors used specialized patrol boats to prevent attacks on...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Mar. 8, 2006) -- Families and friends gathered with their Marines, helping them with their packs and giving them that one last hug for the seven months they’ll be apart. Hugs and kisses from families to Marines seemed synchronized as if there was a cue card letting them know when to do it. And for Lance Cpl. Ron G. Kramer, a Marine with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, this was an all too familiar scene having been deployed three times in the last two years. The Pittsburgh, Penn. native deployed to Haiti from March...

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jon Cope, of Phoenix, Ariz., holds a little girl he called "Gypsy" in the village of Al Risallah, located near the Abu Ghraib district of western Baghdad. Cope and his unit, the 860th Military Police Company from the Arizona Army National Guard, spent a year in Iraq working to train Iraqi police officers and to forge a bond of trust with local citizens. U.S. Army photo courtesy 860th Military Police Company Arizona Guard MPs Reflect on Iraq Deployment Heading home after a yearlong deployment, Arizona National Guard MPs look back upon their year training Iraqi...

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returned to San Diego Feb. 24, after a five-month deployment to the Western Pacific in support of the global war on terrorism (GWOT). Pinckney made port visits to Guam, Singapore, Australia, Fiji and Hawaii. While in Guam, Pinckney became the first guided-missile destroyer to refuel and replenish the Mark Five (MK V), a high-performance combatant craft used by Navy SEALs. Pinckney was also the first DDG to embark two HH-60H Seahawk helicopters with their detachment, 20 Marine Corps personnel of a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) detachment...

NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- As part of a larger U.S. interagency effort towards greater stability in Africa, approximately 1,400 Sailors and Marines aboard USS Emory S. Land (ESL) (AS 39) are deploying to the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) region in late February 2006. Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, Vice Adm. J. Boomer Stufflebeem says the deployment is part of a comprehensive theater security cooperation strategy benefiting all involved. “U. S. European Command and CNE-C6F (Commander, Naval Forces Europe-Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet) efforts in Africa, and specifically in the Gulf of Guinea, focus on strengthening partnerships and improving overall maritime security. By...

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The amphibious transport dock USS Cleveland (LPD 7) returned to San Diego Feb. 20, after completing a seven-month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. Cleveland, along with the rest of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1, conducted Maritime Security Operations, participated in Exercise Bright Star in Egypt, and served as an afloat staging base in the North Persian Gulf, training with the Iraqi Navy and protecting Iraqi oil terminals. “Cleveland was a major contributor in the coalition effort for anti-piracy operations,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dickson, Cleveland's commanding officer. “During these operations, visit, board,...