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Iraqi Children take the 24th MEU Back to SchoolSubmitted by: 24th MEUStory Identification #: 2004101855951Story by Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq  (Oct. 16, 2004) -- Laughter and smiles filled a local school playground as Marines and sailors of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit presented children with various educational provisions during a visit to an elementary school in south-central Iraq. The visit was the latest in the MEU's ongoing Back to School Campaign. The event provided the children with water, stickers, balloons, sports equipment, and backpacks filled with school supplies, such as notebooks and crayons....

  Brotherhood of the BadgeBA’QUBAH POLICE STATION, BAQUBAH, Iraq -- It began as a plea for help – brother to brother, police officer to police officer. Diyala Police Chief, Gen. Waleed Khaled Abed Al-Salaam, had been fighting alongside coalition forces for the security of Diyala province since assuming his position in August 2003. When he started, he had only the most primitive tools and equipment. He needed help. So late one night last December, this dedicated and charismatic leader with over 20 years of law enforcement experience, sat down in his office in the Ba’qubah police station and wrote a...

Wounded bodies, hero hearts Buoyed by Army iron will, Stryker soldiers and their loved ones struggle to make their families whole when some of the pieces never come home MICHAEL GILBERT; The News TribuneSunday, October 17th, 2004 12:01 AM (PDT) Dean J. Koepfler | The News TribuneSgt. Scott Throson's wife, Tiffany, and daughter, Alyson, visit him in a Washington, D.C., military hospital. b dean j. koepfler/The News Tribune michael gilbert/The News Tribune Tacoma native and Stryker Lt. Damon Armeni, second from left, lost his spleen and parts of his colon and intestine when a grenade exploded Aug. 4 in...

Sunday, October 17, 2004 In Iraq military hospitals, all patients — friend and foe — are treated equally By Ward Sanderson, Stars and StripesEuropean edition, Sunday, October 17, 2004 Ward Sanderson / S&S Capt. Leslie Goodwin, an intensive care nurse at the Army hospital in Baghdad, helps Dihar Aljazy, 5, learn to walk again after bandits shot her in the back. Her grandmother, Jammala, center, says Americans “deserve more gratitude from our side.” Ward Sanderson / S&S Maj. Phil Spinella, a doctor, and Capt. Lisa Breece, a nurse, care for an injured Iraqi baby at the Army’s Ibn Sina Hospital...

Steakhouse Marks Year Honoring Troops With Weekly Dinners By Samantha L. QuigleyAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2004 -- They've been gathering at Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse in the Capital Hilton here on Friday nights for a year now, but this week was different. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz presents Hal Koster, left, co-owner of Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse, with the Distinguished Public Service Award. Fran O'Brien's other co-owner, Marty O'Brien, was presented with the same award later. They were honored for hosting weekly Friday night dinners for wounded servicemembers from the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda,...

  This Week in Photos  -    Week of 10/15 Bolt of color CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Airman 1st Class Kenny Payamps uses fluorescent magnetic particle testing to inspect a water separator bolt from a C-17 Globemaster here. Airman Payamps is a nondestructive inspection testing journeyman assigned to the 437th Maintenance Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt John M. Foster) Download Full Image --------------------------------   Q   Tarzan FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. -- Staff Sergeant Sally McCabe swings hand to hand on the training obstacle named "Tarzan" Oct. 14. Airmen on the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Defender...

Soldiers at Bagram Air Base enjoy the music of Pomeroy. Hundreds of Coalition members were on hand for a concert held in the Post Exchange parking lot. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Frank Magni College Band Trades Campus for Compound Alternative rockers "Pomeroy" bring their sounds to service membersserving in southwest Asia during six-day whirlwind tour.   By Sgt. Frank Magni / 17th Public Affairs Detachment BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Oct. 13, 2004 — Pomeroy, an alternative rock band commonly found playing on college campuses, embraced the spirit of bringing entertainment to the troops when they took a break...

  Official U.S. Navy file photo of an HH-60H Seahawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Special Squadron (HCS) 4 preparing to land aboard the command ship USS La Salle (AGF 3). Members from HCS-4 recently returned to Naval Station Norfolk from a three-month deployment in Iraq in support of Operation Iraq Freedom. View Larger Download HiRes   HCS-4 Returns From IraqStory Number: NNS041008-03Release Date: 10/8/2004 9:56:00 AMBy Journalist 3rd Class Melissa Pinsonneault, Naval Air Reserve Norfolk Public AffairsNAVAL AIR RESERVE NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Helicopter Combat Support Special Squadron (HCS) 4 Det. 2, returned to Norfolk Oct. 6,...

  This Week in Photos  -    Week of 10/08   Got gas? OVER SAN DIEGO, Calif. - An HH-60 Pave Hawk from the 55th Rescue Squadron moves in to refuel from a 79th Rescue Squadron's C-130.  Story Download Full Image --------------------------------   Q   Weather reports ORCUTT, Calif. -- Airman 1st Class Janina Kowalski takes test measurements on the next generation weather radar with an oscilloscope located on New Love Hill here. The technicians use an O-Scope to measure pulse widths. Airman Kowlaski is a ground radar systems maintenance technician assigned to the 30th Space Communications Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force...

Airmen Train With NATO Allies By Capt. Nicholas J. Sabula, USAF Special to American Forces Press Service POCEK, Slovenia, Oct. 8, 2004 -- Airmen from Aviano Air Base, Italy, joined forces with troops from one of NATO's newest member nations Oct. 4-7 to improve the way they rescue downed pilots. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. James Davis, left, goes over the use of a global positioning system with Slovenian Lt. Roskar Zelko, middle, and Maj. Ales Stimec during combat-search-and-rescue training in Pocek, Slovenia, Oct. 5. Davis is a survival, escape, resistance and evasion instructor assigned to Aviano Air Base,...

Albacore Crew Tells About Life Aboard Ship By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USAAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 07, 2004 -- Coast Guard Seaman Crystal Begley likes being in the Coast Guard, but she echoes the sentiments of shipmates when she says life aboard ship has its "good and bad." A boarding crew from the Coast Guard cutter Albacore prepares to board a vessel to do a routine inspection. During the inspection, the boarding crew will check to ensure the boat meets required Coast Guard safety regulations. Crewmembers will also check for illegal weapons, drugs and immigrants. Photo...

        U.S. Army Spc. Pedro Martinez kisses his 7-month-old daughter, Juliana, for the first time while his wife Raquel looks on during the 1st Cavalry Division's welcome home ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas, Sept. 28. Juliana was born while Martinez was deployed to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kelly Hunt ~ *            Supporters gather for the 1st Cavalry Division's welcome home ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas, Sept. 28 to celebrate the return of their loved ones from Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kelly...

Iraqi-Americans Describe Life in Iraq By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brent A. Hunt / Fort Hood, Texas FORT HOOD, Texas — In an initiative started by the Department of Defense, a group of Iraqi-Americans are touring military installations to provide military members and their families a first-hand account of how life in Iraq is changing. During six one-hour sessions, Tamara Quinn and Pakeza Alexander provided a full house crowd at the Phantom Warrior Center with an uplifting account of how life has changed in Iraq since the removal of the Saddam Hussein regime. “I never thought in my lifetime...

National Guard Chief Visits Taji By Cpl. Benjamin Cossel, 122nd Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentCAMP TAJI, Iraq -- With just a few months left until units deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II begin redeployment to home stations, planners and logisticians with the National Guard Bureau are facing challenges not seen since the end of World War II. Addressing issues ranging from the comfort of individual Soldiers to concerns of redeployment, Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau spent the day visiting Camp Taji, Sept. 29 talking to commanders and Soldiers of the Arkansas National...

Deployed medics save Iraqi childby Master Sgt. Don Perrien, 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public AffairsTALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Almost a week later, little Nahida still winces when doctors ask about the snake that bit her foot. Her father, Nafil Radi, a policeman in the local An Nasiriyah precinct of southern Iraq, sits beside the hospital bed and holds her hand. Gently he coaxes her to point out which type of viper she encountered only a few short nights ago. The 8-year-old girl now rests comfortably in a bed of the 407th Expeditionary Medical Group here. Doctors believe...

  Combining Forces Improves Medical Training (LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Balad, Iraq) - A new phase of medical training began Oct. 4 under a new plan; all medical units on post will assist in conducting training for the combat lifesaver course. The benefits of the joint training are that all the medical units can share in the training and will be able to provide the necessary instruction to units here more often. Medical units will be able to share in the training load while still accomplishing daily missions. “We all got together back in April and started talking with...

  Recruiting Command hits active Army, Reserve recruiting goals By Joe Burlas WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 1, 2004) -- For the fifth year in a row, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command hit its fiscal year active-duty and Reserve recruiting goals. As of Sept. 27, the command brought in 77,587 active Army recruits against a Department of the Army mission of 77,000, and 21,278 Reserve recruits against a 21,000 requirement. “Recruiting Command has served the nation well for the past 40 years and I am positive it will continue to serve well for the next 40 years at least,” said...

Coalition Nabs 16 Enemy Soldiers After Afghan Firefight American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2004 -- Coalition forces captured 16 enemy insurgents Oct. 3 during a daylong battle near the Afghan city of Spin Buldak, according to officials. The coalition troops were patrolling when enemy forces attacked them. No coalition troops were wounded or equipment damaged during the engagement. Six enemy troops were wounded during the battle and were taken to Kandahar for medical treatment. One wounded enemy soldier is in stable condition. The others were treated and detained for questioning. In other news from Afghanistan, insurgents launched...

Airfield manager flies U.S. flag for Afghan children’s aidby Staff Sgt. Jennifer Lindsey455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs 9/27/2004 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Each time Barry McKelvy sees the U.S. Flag waving from the air control tower here, he knows his nation’s symbol is providing comfort for Afghan children. Mr. McKelvy, the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing’s flag-flying program coordinator, flies flags in honor of family and friends for donations. The donations are used to provide children of nearby orphanages shoes, clothes, school supplies, radios, toys and basic toiletries. Originally Mr. McKelvy, the airfield manager, flew the flags as a “good...

                      Bearing Duel 2004 Seabee Daniel Trammel mans a defensive firing position during Exercise Bearing Duel 2004 at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman John P. Curtis lllllllllllllll Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 rush an "injured" man to medical during a mass casualty drill at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Aug. 31, 2004. The battalion participated in Exercise Bearing Duel 2004, which provides an opportunity to train in realistic field environments while preparing for contingency operations and future deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman John P. Curtis lllllllllllllll Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction...