Free Republic

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - An Army sergeant charged with killing two officers in a grenade attack in Kuwait two years ago is competent to stand trial, a military judge ruled Friday. Sgt. Hasan Akbar, 33, is scheduled to undergo a court-martial this month in a March 2003 attack on fellow members of the 101st Airborne Division days after the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Akbar is accused of stealing grenades from a Humvee and using them and a gun in the attack. The pretrial hearing was originally scheduled for Wednesday. But two hours before it was to begin,...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Staff Sgt. Joshua Olson called it his "Alive Day," the one-year anniversary of the day he lost his leg in Iraq. He marked the date by traveling from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington back to the Fort Campbell woods where he once instructed men as a squad leader. Instead of camouflage, he wore jeans and a T-shirt, and used crutches to get around on one leg. He wanted to get back to the comrades ---snip---

Army Sergeant's Court-Martial Wins Hearts and Minds in Iraq, but Loses Some Back Home The Associated Press July 24, 2004 — The directive at the core of U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq was simple: Win hearts and minds. But supporters of one soldier, Sgt. 1st Class James Williams, say Army efforts to win the good will of Iraqis ended with charges that could send him to prison. Williams, 37, is accused of carjacking at gunpoint a sport utility vehicle driven by the son of an influential sheik in Mosul, Iraq, in April 2003 less than a week before President Bush...

<p>The closet poet with ambitions beyond the military died serving his country. His family and friends are left to deal with anger, sorrow and uncertainty.</p> <p>MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Paulette Crawford-Webb felt giddy when her daughter called her at work to say two military men were at the door. Her son, Army Staff Sgt. Morgan Kennon, was due home soon from Iraq for her 47th birthday. The "military men" had to be Morgan; her son and daughter were pulling a prank.</p>

President and First Lady Laura Bush traveled to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky this morning, where he addressed a crowd of 25,000 people, including members of the ‘Screaming Eagles’ 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army who have just returned from Iraq. The 101st has suffered more casualties than any other Division in the war. After his speech, the President and First Lady had lunch with the troops, and met with families of soldiers who have died in the War on Terror. There are lots of fabulous pictures today (half of which could have been picked as ‘first’), so enjoy your trip...

Bush Thanks Soldiers for'Job Well Done' By SCOTT LINDLAW Associated Press Writer President Bush waves as he arrives to address troops at Fort Campbell, Ky., Thursday, March 18, 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) Bush welcomes home the troops that have served abroad. (Audio) http://customwire.ap.org/audio/20040318123502-253.ra (I couldn't get it to work) FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) -- A year after he sent troops to Iraq, President Bush thanked thousands who have returned home for "a job well done" and said the United States must persevere in the war against terrorism. "Welcome home!" exclaimed the president, wearing a military-style jacket as he spoke Thursday...

<p>FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. ; Standing in formation with his fellow soldiers who had just arrived from Iraq, Staff Sgt. Ronnie Silverhorn kept his jaw straight and his rifle steady ; but his eyes gave him away.</p> <p>Silverhorn, an Army Ranger, couldn't help the tear that formed, and the broad smile that crept over his face, as he saw his wife, children and parents in the hangar, just before his Alpha Company of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment was dismissed.</p>

<p>Call me crazy, but spending Christmas at Walter Reed Army Community Hospital in Washington, D.C., was probably one of the most memorable holidays I've had in a long time.</p> <p>While most people headed out of D.C. on Christmas Eve, I arrived by car in the afternoon with my husband and 15-year-old son in tow. Believe me, it took some time to convince them to drop the comforts of home and satellite television in Clarksville to drive 12 hours to a place under a high terror alert, random bomb searches and lots of traffic. But when I heard about Blanchfield Army Community Hospital's commander traveling to Walter Reed with some of his staff to play Santa Claus and deliver donated presents to the badly injured Fort Campbell soldiers, I knew I wanted to be there.</p>

Edgerton woman's son earns Bronze Star for heroism in Iraq (Published Saturday, November 29, 2003 11:53:49 PM CST) By Brian E. Clark/Gazette Staff Staff Sgt. Jason Van Kleeck, son of Pam Wahl of rural Edgerton, has earned the Bronze Star for Valor for combat heroism in Iraq. Van Kleeck, 25, attended kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary School in Janesville before moving to Indiana. Van Kleeck was decorated on Nov. 2 in Karbala. A military policeman with the 101st Airborne Division based in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, he has been in Iraq since February. "He's supposed to return to the United States...

<p>Since the 101st Airborne is the only air assault division in the world, it's only natural for the training to go where the troops are.</p> <p>But for the first time in the division's history, the Sabalauski Air Assault School at Fort Campbell is headed overseas. A cadre from the school left this week for Iraq.</p>