Free Republic

Link is to the first of the videos from my son's Iraq deployment. Iraq'd Up 1, 2, and 3 are in roughly chronological order. All the direct links are below.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/4/25/465019.html

N. Korea deploys advanced fighter jets ahead of rocket launch: official By Sam Kim SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has deployed a fleet of MiG-23 fighter jets along the east coast where it is gearing up to launch a rocket to send what it claims is a "satellite" into orbit, a senior Air Force official said Thursday. The latest relocation of the advanced fighter jets comes as the communist North steps up its warnings against any foreign attempt to intercept its rocket. South Korea, Japan and the U.S. maintain the launch will likely be a disguised test of...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US is expected this week to announce plans to dispatch more federal agents to its border with Mexico in a bid to combat drug cartel operations there, US officials said. Washington appears poised to bolster its customs and border protection forces along the 3000-plus kilometer (2000 mile) frontier, in what would be President Barack Obama's first major domestic security initiative. The announcement is expected to come "in the next few days" a Department of Homeland Security official told AFP ahead of the announcement. The impending plan comes as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares to visit...

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., March 13, 2009 – Air National Guard civil engineer squadrons comprising hundreds of construction and repair experts will involuntary deploy overseas in historic numbers and scope over the next two years, senior Air Guard officials said. The mobilizations involve nearly one-eighth of the Air Guard’s civil engineer squadrons and differ from previous deployments, when citizen-airmen stepped forward as volunteers to man joint expeditionary groups. "We have large groups being involuntarily mobilized in the beginning and middle of 2009,” Air Force Col. John Elwood of the Air Guard Readiness Center's civil engineer office said. He said...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2009 – As Wyoming prepares for the largest National Guard deployment in state history, much of the planning has gone into helping those who will be left behind for a year in communities scattered across the rural state. Nearly 1,000 soldiers will deploy in April to Iraq and Kuwait, leaving behind thousands of families and extended family members in nearly every community in the state. “A lot of people think of the ‘spouse’ when they think of military family programs. Not everybody’s married,” William Breckenridge, the state Family Support Program director, said. “We work in terms...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has approved the deployment of an Army aviation brigade to Afghanistan this spring, a Defense Department official said today. The deploying unit -- the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Bragg, N.C. -- will comprise about 2,800 soldiers and a fleet of rotary-wing aircraft, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The brigade will serve the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan mission as an “enabling type of force” for ground units, Whitman explained. “This is part of the continuing commitment to increase our military capabilities in Afghanistan,” he said. The plus-up...

NORFOLK, VA (NNS) -- Nearly 220 Sailors from Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON) 4 returned home Dec. 15 to the Naval Station Norfolk Air Mobility Command terminal after completing a seven-month deployment. While deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, the squadron's primary mission was to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the North Arabian Gulf and help provide security for Iraq's two oil platforms as well as U.S. and Coalition ships in the region. MSO helps maintain security in the maritime environment, which promotes stability and economic prosperity. MSO complements the counterterrorism and security efforts of regional...

CAMP SHELBY, Miss., Dec. 12, 2008 – Nearly 100 California National Guardsmen are preparing for a deployment to Kosovo in the spring, where they will serve as the NATO Kosovo Force’s quick-reaction force. Army Capt. Michael Riley, commander of Company C, 1-185th Combined Arms Battalion, and Army Brig. Gen. Keith Jones, assistant deputy adjutant general for California’s Army National Guard, get front-row action as they observe a M2 Bradley fighting vehicle live-fire exercise at Camp Shelby, Miss. The exercise is part of training to ready the 1-185th CAB for a deployment to Kosovo. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Dec. 5, 2008 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Nein didn’t have to come back here. He served in Iraq twice before and was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions as a squad leader under fire. If anyone could have gotten a pass, it was Nein. But he wouldn’t take it. Army Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Nein, who is on his third deployment to Iraq, serves with the Kentucky National Guard's 223rd Military Police Company, at Camp Taji, Iraq. Nein was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions as a squad leader with...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Nov. 14, 2008 – The senior noncommissioned officer of the fire effects and coordination cell for the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team in Multinational Division Baghdad began his mission almost immediately upon arriving at this base in southern Baghdad’s Rashid district in March. Army Master Sgt. Craig Wagner, a forward observer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Baghdad, is a veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and is serving his third combat deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army...

WAR MOM PALIN TAKES HARD LINE By CHARLES HURT Bureau Chief September 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - Vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin saw her eldest son off to war yesterday as she took a hard line on Russia, Iran and terrorists "hellbent on destroying America and our allies." Asked in her first extended interview since becoming John McCain's running mate if she thinks she's qualified to take over the presidency, Palin replied, "I do." "I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink," she told ABC News. "You have to be wired in a way of being...

In the next few weeks, my wonderful husband, Ron, will be re-deploying back to Iraq with the USAF for his FIFTH time flying the not-so-friendly skies over there. He is a pilot, and volunteered for this redeployment. (He just returned home about a month and a half ago from his last deployment and I'd rather hoped to have him home longer.) Prayers for his preparation, protection, and safe return would be greatly appreciated, as always. (Please consider adding him to any prayer lists or prayer pings, please.) Molly in California

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2008 – The Defense Department has extended by one month the deployments of about 1,250 Marines working as trainers to Afghan security forces, a U.S. Marine Corps official said today. The extension will keep the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in Afghanistan through late November, according to an Associated Press report that was confirmed by a Marine official. Ongoing discussions in the Pentagon center on providing additional troops to Afghanistan, where commanders have expressed a desire for three more brigade combat teams, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. “We are working to provide them with...

ABC News' Yunji de Nies reports: President Bush announced this morning that beginning tomorrow, US troop tours in Iraq will be reduced from 15 months to 12 months. "The progress in Iraq has allowed us to continue our policy of return on success," the President said from the Colonnade outside the Oval Office, "We have now brought home all five of the combat brigades and the three Marine units that were sent to Iraq as part of the surge. The last of these surge brigades returned home this month." The President gave a brief status report on the Iraq war,...

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2008 – A company that publishes an annual deployment guide has sped up its schedule to release the 2009 guide this fall. AmeriForce Publishing is changing its production schedule to get the 2009 guide out early because large-scale troop rotations are taking place later this year, Julie Miller, senior sales manager for AmeriForce Publishing, said. “Our servicemembers and their families need all the help we can offer,” she said. “We believe that by providing this publication this fall and updating the topics in the guide to remain current, we are providing the kind of support our...

FORT STEWART, Ga., June 29, 2008 – While most people only read about history, the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division helped to make history during their 15-month deployment to Iraq, the division’s commander said here June 27. Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch had lunch with Savannah and Coastal Georgia new media at Club Stewart here and thanked them for their efforts in telling the division’s story. Lynch expressed his pride in and appreciation for the “Rock of the Marne” soldiers whose dedication and sacrifice helped secure and improve life for the Iraqi people, and he recognized the sacrifices and...

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2008 – The last of the five Army brigades to deploy with the “troop surge” in Iraq will return in July after a 13-month deployment, during which soldiers detained more than 800 terrorist suspects and helped foster Iraqi self-governance. Video The 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team has operated in the Arab Jabour area of southeastern Baghdad, where the number of attacks plummeted from about 30 a week when they arrived in May 2007 to about one a week now. “All in all, it's been a very successful operation for us,” Army Col. Terry Ferrell,...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, May 19, 2008 – “Chief, what the heck are you doing?” Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christian Smith, a Villa Grove, Ill., native, stands at the open hood of a Humvee at Camp Taji, Iraq, May 16, 2008. Smith is the squadron maintenance technician for 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Task Force 12, Multinational Division Baghdad. He fought for, and won, the opportunity to deploy to Iraq in November despite being diagnosed with multifocal motor neuropathy. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Chris Seaton, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army...

About 3,500 American soldiers are scheduled to leave Iraq in the coming weeks, the U.S. military announced, part of a plan to reduce the number of troops who were part of last year's "surge" by 20,000. The soldiers, part of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, will redeploy to Fort Benning, Ga., the military said.