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Two former Fort Monmouth workers, and the daughter of one of them, are accused of scheming to have government contractors provide no-show jobs for the daughter. Accused in an indictment made public today are 55-year-old Michael Rzeplinski, a former programs director for the General Services Administration and former Army supervisory engineer; 61-year-old Connie Davidson, a former G-S-A employee who lives with Rzeplinski in Red Bank, and her 33-year-old Kirsten Davidson of Red Bank. All three are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Rzeplinski also faces two counts of mail fraud and three counts of tax evasion. Rzeplinski and...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan, Pakistani and U.S. troops will conduct their first joint military exercise along the border between the two Asian nations, the U.S. military said Monday. The operation will be an "air assault exercise" involving a small contingent of Afghan soldiers and an unspecified number of Pakistani troops, U.S. military spokesman Col. Laurent Fox said during a news conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul. "We feel that it is important that the only way we will solve the terrorism and insurency problem is to work closely together with each other," Fox said.

Slain al-Qaida aide was Palestinian Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 21, 2006 One of Osama bin Laden's most trusted aides was a Palestinian from the West Bank who was recently killed in a US military operation in Afghanistan, Palestinian Authority security sources revealed on Thursday. The sources identified the man as Husam Abu Baker, 32. They said his family, which lives in the village of Ya'bad near Jenin, was notified about his death only this week. His father, Abdel Latif, said he last saw his son about 10 years ago. The family was then living in Saudi Arabia...

Prince Harry has threatened to quit the Army if commanders refuse to send him to the front line.He told senior officers before recently passing out of Sandhurst as a Second Lieutenant: ‘If I am not allowed to join my unit in a war zone, I will hand in my uniform.’ Harry, 21, and third in line to the throne, has previously talked of his desire to see action with his comrades and the prospect of him walking out on the Army if he is not allowed on to the front line has turned a theoretical problem into a nightmare for...

4/21/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Imagine being pinned down by enemy forces, with no relief in sight. Now, imagine picking up a phone and calling your friendly local fighter pilot, flying overhead only miles away, for help. With the new Fighter Aircraft Communication Enhancement, or FACE, pod, ground units in combat are now able to do just that. Fielded for the first time in late 2004, the FACE pod is a solution to communication problems often experienced by aircraft in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan. Used effectively in several theaters, the FACE pod allows ground units to communicate with...

td> U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Trotta enters a Humvee during a combat mission near Camp Blessing in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. Trotta, from Orange Park, Fla., is company gunnery sergeant of Headquarters and Service Company of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Courtesy photo U.S. Marine CorpsGunnery Sgt. John Trotta Marine Keeps Promise, Enlists to Fight for Country By Marine Sgt. Joe LindsayTask Force Lava Public Affairs JALALABAD, Afghanistan, April 21, 2006 — “I always told myself that if my country ever went to war, I would join the military and fight for her,” said Gunnery Sgt. John Trotta. He...

From left, U.S. Army Sgts. Jack Rauschenbach and Scott Buck and Spc. Michelle Frank help build housing for soldiers at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, April 12, 2006. The soldiers are assigned to the 961st Engineer Detachment, deployed from Milwaukee. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Samuel Hays Army Engineer Unit Ready for Afghan Duty The 961st Engineer Detachment looks ahead to "great things" during their Afghan deployment. By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Nicholas Lutton 345th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, April 21, 2006 — U.S. soldiers assigned to the 1224th Engineer Detachment transferred authority to...

Afghan Police Open Tactical Training Facility The facility allows Afghan National Police cadets to train to respond to domestic violence, apprehension of an insurgent, a hostage situation or when contraband is expected in the home. By Combined Security Transition Command–Afghanistan ABUL, Afghanistan, April 21, 2006 — The Afghan National Police took a major step toward advance training with the opening of the Brummet Tactical Training House at the Central Training Center April 18. This opening reflects the progress being made by the Afghan National Police.During a ribbon cutting ceremony, Afghan Brig. Gen. Khadadad Aga, Central Training Center commander, inaugurated...

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2006 – Afghans reported improvised explosive devices to local officials in two separate incidents today, and Afghan National Army aviators completed their first combat-support mission April 15, military officials in Afghanistan reported today. Afghan National Army Sgt. Abdul Khaliq, of the ANA's Central Movement Agency, hands a box of food to U.S. Army Sgt. Juan Trejos on an Afghan Air Corps Mi-17 Hip helicopter at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 12. Soldiers from ANA's Central Movement Agency trained with their coalition counterparts prior to the ANA Air Corps first aerial resupply mission in partnership with the...

West Bank, 20 April (AKI) - The Palestinian son-in-law of al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed during an American bombing in Afghanistan several days ago, the French news agency AFP reports. Family members of Houssam Abdellatif Abu Bakr opened a mourning house for condolence visits in his home village near Jenin in the West Bank, shortly after news of his death was received. Abu Bakr, 32, was married to Fatima Al Zahra'a, a daughter of Zawahiri, and was father to four children, his relatives told AFP. According to family, Abu Bakr was also "one of the main bodyguards" of...

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. (NNS) -- About 200 active and Reserve Sailors undergoing predeployment training at Camp Shelby, Miss., reached the midway point of 60 days of Army combat survival training April 14. They received orders directing them to the Navy Mobilization Processing Site in Norfolk with follow-on training at Camp Shelby, near Hattiesburg, Miss. Their mission is to work with joint U.S. forces in small teams called Embedded Training Teams, or ETTs, teaching military doctrine to the Afghanistan National Army (ANA). “Our training here and subsequent mission in Afghanistan is a prime example of how the role of the military...

U.S. Army Sgt. Eli Coman hands out candy to a group of students at the Sheragha Shahed Secondary School in the town of Ja Farkhel, Afghanistan. Coman is assigned to the 492nd Civil Affairs Battalion. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth McCooey Task Force Tiger Soldiers Aid Afghan School The civil affairs soldiers brought the secondary school children 200 book bags jammed with school supplies, teaching aids, pens, volleyballs and candy. By Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth L. McCooey19th Public Affairs Detachment BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, April 14, 2006 — Children with happy, gleaming eyes and eager hands...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, April 14, 2006 – As coalition leaders continue their efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan and prevent the re-emergence of terrorism, they often turn to the Commander's Emergency Response Program, which lets them quickly improve Afghans' lives with low-cost, high-impact projects. Workers build a new aqueduct system in Afghanistan's Khost province with funds from the Commander's Emergency Response Program. The program lets coalition leaders rapidly allocate resources to address local needs. Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert R. Ramon, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Such projects include rehabilitating roads and bridges, building and...

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Thomas Joscelyn, an expert on the international terrorist network. Much of his research has focused on the role that nations such as Saddam's Iraq and the mullah's Iran have played in providing support, training and funding for terrorist entities such as al Qaeda, al Qaeda's affiliates, Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. He has written extensively about these connections for the Weekly Standard and in several other publications. Currently, he is organizing a research project to review and translate the millions of documents captured from the fallen Iraqi regime and the Taliban. Joscelyn: For the...

KABUL, Afghanistan, April 13, 2006 – The command surgeon of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan presented the renovated Rabia Balkhi Maternity Hospital to Afghanistan 's minister of public health in a ceremony here April 9. Lailuma, a midwife at the Rabia Balkhi Maternity Hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul, prepares to weigh a baby in the hospital's renovated nursery here April 9. The U.S. departments of Defense and Health and Human Services invested a combined $10 million into renovations, then presented the hospital to Afghanistan's minister of public health in a formal ceremony April 9. Photo by Staff Sgt....

NAGAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani forces targeted an Egyptian al Qaeda member in an overnight helicopter attack on a hideout near the Afghan border, and officials said on Thursday there was a good chance he was among 7 militants killed.

The U.S. military has announced that the largest air assualt in 4 years in Afghanistan is underway in Kunar province. It was kicked off 15 hours ago, but a news embargo was imposed. An attempt has been made to keep the Al Queda and Taliban opposition contained so that they will not escape. Several thousand coalition soldiers are involved. The exit passes are being held since it was believed that too many opposition forces escaped during the previous Operation Anaconda.

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2006 – Afghan and coalition forces killed a senior Taliban commander April 6 and destroyed a Taliban district headquarters this morning in a series of ongoing offensive operations in southern Afghanistan, military officials there said. A joint coalition force killed the senior Taliban commander in the Musa Qaleh District in northern Helmand Province. The commander was tied directly to dozens of improvised explosive device attacks that killed and crippled multiple Afghans since 2001. He also was responsible for the deaths of Afghan and Coalition soldiers, officials said. We "effectively disrupted the command and control of Taliban fighters...

JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, April 8, 2006 – Afghan and coalition forces participated in platoon-level training missions near here April 5, improving their readiness for joint combat operations. Afghan and coalition forces regularly such operations, to kill and capture insurgents, deny them freedom of movement and hinder their ability to resupply. About 20 soldiers of the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, joined 30 soldiers from the Afghan National Army's 2nd Kandak, 3rd Brigade, 1st Corps, for the joint training session. The training marks the early stages of an important long-term relationship, said Capt. James M....

Gov. Marijadeen Patan of Khost Province (center left) helps hold a ribbon as U.S. Army Lt. Col. David A. Bushey cuts it during March 25, 2006, ceremonies marking the start of a project to rebuild the Matachena Madrassa, the largest religious school in Khost, Afghanistan. Bushey is commander of Task Force Wolfpack, composed primarily of soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, part of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, based in Fort Drum, N.Y. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Amber Robinson-Sonoda Governor, Khost Residents Celebrate Madrassa Project Start A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the start...