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AL TAMAL, Iraq (Jan. 14, 2006) -- Seaman Bryan W. Stocks, a 20-year-old Kenai, Alaska, native and platoon hospital corpsman for 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, had a tough choice to make when he was considering enlisting into the Navy: nuclear physics or medicine. One involves high mathematics and accounting for the behavior of atoms; the other, calculating medicinal dosages and accounting for the behavior of human beings. Two equally demanding and difficult jobs suitable for only the most trustworthy and intelligent of enlistees. Ultimately, though, the decision came down to a question of what Stocks...

HADITHA DAM, Iraq (Sept. 19, 2005) -- With all of the military vehicle convoys traveling over Iraq’s roads, carrying troops and equipment, the drivers and mechanics aren’t the only ones keeping the motor transportation operation going – someone has to keep their fuel tanks full. Lance Cpl. Milton A. Gamez knows his job as a bulk fuel specialist with 7th Engineer Support Battalion attached to 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, is essential to completing the ongoing mission in Iraq. And it’s not as simple as one might think. He maintains up to 40,000 gallons of fuel at the fuel farm,...

CANBERRA, Australia - As thousands of anti-war demonstrators protested outside Parliament, President Bush (news - web sites) thanked Australia on Thursday for sending troops to Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) to stand and fight alongside the United States "instead of wishing and waiting while tragedy drew closer." Bush personally saluted Prime Minister John Howard as "a leader of exceptional courage" for not buckling earlier this year to his nation's largest peace marches since the Vietnam War. Instead, Howard sent 2,000 troops to Iraq. Forty-one opposition lawmakers signed a letter criticizing Bush's war decision, saying...

Ken Nichols O'Keefe doesn't fit easily into the stereotype of a peace activist. A decorated former United States marine and veteran of the Gulf War, he has the look and tattooed body of the infantryman he once was. But it's O'Keefe - self-described "world citizen" with the word "expatriot" etched into his right hand - who is leading a campaign against United States policy in Iraq by becoming a "human shield." He hopes his presence, along with dozens of similarly-minded war protestors, will prevent President Bush from engaging in a conflict that seems inevitable. O'Keefe and about 50 others left...