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Operation Freedom Lodging Offers 1,000 Nights to Returning Troops Story Number: NNS040329-11Release Date: 3/29/2004 4:29:00 PMFrom North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command Public Affairs PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (NNS) -- Vail Resorts in Colorado is offering 1,000 free nights to service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as part of “Operation Freedom Lodging." Members from any branch of service who served for 30 or more days in these countries are eligible for up to three consecutive nights of lodging at Vail Resorts-owned and -operated hotels in Breckenridge and Keystone. “Operation Freedom Lodging is a...

The Defense Department's top transportation and supply organizations have joined forces to fix a combat supply system that at times didn't perform well during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As U.S. and coalition forces raced toward Baghdad last year, some units reportedly experienced a shortage of "bullets and beans" – an alarming state of affairs in the deadly serious business of waging war. The overseas logistics problems have been fixed, in part, through application of more integrated communications between supply procurers, transporters and customers, two senior military logisticians told journalists during a March 18 press conference at Defense Logistics Agency headquarters at...

Although the security situation in Iraq has been difficult, U.S. and coalition forces have made much progress since Operation Iraqi Freedom began one year ago, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today. "They're tracking down and finding the terrorists," he said in an interview with American Forces Radio and Television Service. In 12 months, Iraq has gone from a dictatorship defeated in war to a country with an interim constitution, he added. "The schools are open, hospitals are open, and there are something like 1,200 clinics functioning," said Rumsfeld. "New textbooks have been issued. There's a new currency. There's...

In the week that marks the one-year anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz commented on various aspects of the operation in a series of radio interviews March 16. In an interview with Eric Westervelt and Juan Williams on National Public Radio, Wolfowitz wondered why some people ask in hindsight why the United States didn't do more with incomplete intelligence information before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, yet criticize U.S. action in Iraq on the grounds that pre-war intelligence lacked certainty. "I thought the lesson of Sept. 11 is you can't wait for...

History has shown that appeasement doesn't work, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said here today. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke at the Foreign Press Center and gave his assessment of the coalition in Iraq a year after the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "The mission was to liberate the Iraqi people from one of the world's most brutal and dangerous dictators, and to begin laying the foundation for a free and prosperous Iraq," Myers said. "We have done that." The chairman said that if history has shown anything, it is that appeasement just hasn't worked....

Home along with his soldiers after a one- year deployment in Iraq, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) called the division's experiences in Operation Iraqi Freedom "a roller coaster" of highs and lows. Since the first elements of the division began leaving their sprawling post that straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border north of Nashville in February 2003, Army Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus said they experienced amazing high points in Iraq. Division troops engaged and killed Saddam Hussein's two sons, Uday and Qusay, in Mosul, and also captured Asa Hawleri, third in the terrorist group Ansar al- Islam's...

With the March 19 approach of the one-year anniversary of the war on Iraq, the secretary of defense thanked members of the military community today for transforming lives, not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in America too. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told service members and DoD civilians at a Pentagon town hall meeting that the struggle for freedom "has transformed the lives of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq," freeing millions of people from tyranny and oppression. But Rumsfeld said the war on terror is transforming America too. "As a nation we are rediscovering our character and our...

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (FMF) Alan P. Dementer and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Kenneth W. Ball were both awarded the Bronze Star with Combat "V" for heroic action during Operation Iraqi Freedom, in a ceremony Feb. 23 at Naval Hospital Corps School at Naval Station Great Lakes. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to an individual who, while serving in or with the military of the United States, distinguishes him or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement service while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an...

A bronze statue of a soldier mourning a fallen comrade traveled from Tikrit, Iraq, to Fort Hood, Texas, this week to become the focal point of a memorial to the soldiers of Task Force Ironhorse who have died during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The statue arrived at Fort Hood's Robert Gray Army Airfield Feb. 16, along with the first 60 soldiers in the task force to redeploy from Iraq, said Capt. Charles Armstrong, secretary of the general staff for the rear detachment. Armstrong said the statue will be moved today to a 4th Infantry Division storage site as preparations for the...

Britain's Prince Charles paid a surprise visit to Iraq Feb. 9, praising the British troops deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom for maintaining security in southern Iraq and supporting the war on terror. British Embassy officials in Washington said the prince arrived at the Al- Sarraji Palace compound in Basra — once Saddam Hussein's palace and now an operational headquarters for British troops — for the first visit by a member of the British royal family to Iraq since the former dictator's ouster from power. Some 9,000 British soldiers are serving in Iraq, with 4,500 of them based in Basra, forming...

"Knowing what I knew then, and knowing what I know today, America did the right thing in Iraq," President Bush told a crowd in Charleston, S.C., today. Bush spoke at a homeland security event at the container port in Charleston. He said the liberation of Iraq was an act of justice. "The liberation of Iraq removed a source of violence and instability from the Middle East," he said. "And the liberation of Iraq removed an enemy of this country and made America more secure." The president said Operation Iraqi Freedom has shown the world that America and its allies are...

Defense Department officials announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom when their vehicle was hit on Jan. 31 by an improvised explosive device during convoy operations in Kirkuk, Iraq. Killed were: Sgt. Eliu A. Miersandoval, 27, of San Clemente, Calif., Cpl. Juan C. Cabralbanuelos, 25, of Emporia, Kan., and Pfc. Holly J. McGeogh, 19, of Taylor, Mich. The soldiers were assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mech), Fort Hood, Texas.

GEN. DEMPSEY: Good evening. [Arabic greeting] -- for those of you celebrating Eid ul Adha. Today I'm going to update you on the Task Force 1st Armored Division's ongoing operations in the city of Baghdad. Because this operation is aimed at, focused on the former -- continuing to defeat the former regime operating here, some of it will be familiar to you. But the piece of it that may not be familiar that I want to highlight is the participation in these operations by the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps in Baghdad is currently trained to...

DoD announced today the deaths of seven soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on Jan. 29 west of Ghazni, Afghanistan. The seven soldiers and an additional soldier, whose status is currently being listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown," were working around a weapons cache when there was an explosion. Another soldier died from wounds suffered in Iraq. Killed were: Staff Sgt. Shawn M. Clemens, 28, of Allegany, N.Y., Spc. Robert J. Cook, 24, of Sun Prairie, Wis., Spc. Adam G. Kinser, 21, of Sacramento, Calif., Sgt. 1st Class Curtis Mancini, 43, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Staff Sgt. James D....

Defense Department officials announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. The three Combined Joint Task Force Seven soldiers were killed in an improvised explosive device attack on Jan. 27 near Iskandariyah. Killed were: 2nd Lt. Luke S. James, 24, of Oklahoma, Staff Sgt. Lester O. Kinney II, 27, of Zanesville, Ohio. Kinney and Luke were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry, Fort Bragg, N.C. Sgt. Cory R. Mracek, 26, of Hay Springs, Neb. Mracek was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Marines are getting ready to deploy again into Iraq, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael Hagee told the House Armed Services Committee today. Hagee stressed to the congressmen that the Marine Corps is heavily committed to the war on terror. He said in the past year, Marines have been engaged in operations from Afghanistan to the Arabian Gulf. Marines have also been deployed to the Horn of Africa, Liberia, the Republic of Georgia, Colombia, Guantanamo Bay and the Philippines. He said the Marine participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom last year was the best example of what the Marines bring...

If the men and women serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom have it, chances are they got it from the 3rd Corps Support Command. At a news conference today in Baghdad that was beamed to the Pentagon press corps, Army Brig. Gen. Vincent E. Boles explained to reporters that the unit he commands is responsible for getting Combined Joint Task Force 7 forces the things they need. If the troops in Iraq "eat it, drive it, move it, drink it, fly it or wear it, we're responsible for getting it to them," the general said. The 3rd Corps Support Command, normally...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 — Defense Department officials announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 4th Infantry Division soldiers were killed in a mortar attack on a forward operating base near Ba'qubah the evening of Jan. 21. Killed were: Spc. Gabriel T. Palacios, 22, of Lynn, Mass. and Pfc. James D. Parker, 20, of Bryan, Texas. Both soldiers were assigned to the 588th Engineer Battalion (Heavy), 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. This incident is under investigation.

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), which landed in Kuwait in February 2003 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, is beginning its 10,500-mile, three-month odyssey back home to Fort Campbell, Ky., with a massive transfer of troops and equipment by air and land. Brig. Gen. Jeffery Schloesser, 101st Airborne Division assistant division commander for support, has overseen the division's redeployment operations in Kuwait, which serves as the primary staging area for all equipment and personnel returning to the United States. The division's first redeployment convoys arrived shortly after the beginning of the new year, and the soldiers are washing their equipment,...

Despite what he called a "spike" in the operational tempo in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today he hopes stress from increased operations will not lead to increased troop strength in the country. "We hope and believe that the current stress that is being put on the force is a spike … a temporary increase, rather that what would prove to be a plateau," he told reporters during a Pentagon briefing. "Very simply, we do not expect to have 100,000 (or) 120,000 troops in a single country permanently deployed." For troops under the stress of increased military...