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FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (AP) - The questions were unusual for Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Wolford: Did you play with GI Joe action figures when you were a child? What if you could be one? "Usually, it is not something good when the sergeant major calls a platoon sergeant into his office," said Wolford, 29, of Oakland, Oregon. This time, it was good. Wolford, who used to own about 200 action figures, will now become one. He will model for a new line of figures based on the sequel to "America's Army," an online video game released by the Army in...

SAMAWAH, Iraq In the desert about three miles out of town, Col. Yasushi Kiyota is giving his morning briefing. Today, like most days, Kiyota has little to report. Samawah is probably the best place in Iraq for an army that is trying to avoid a fight - and that is exactly what Japan's troops are trying to do. Like all the Japanese soldiers here, when venturing outside Kiyota wears body armor and a helmet. Both carry patches with the Rising Sun flag, which stand out sharply from the camouflage green of his uniform. It is a precaution that has so...

The western part of Baghdad is now under the control of Fort Hood's First Cavalry Division. Soldiers with the Army Taskforce 2/70 "Thunderbolt" Division handed over responsibility to their newly arrived comrades today (Tuesday). The soldiers of 2/70 spearheaded the invasion of Iraq and fought their way up to Baghdad with battles in Nasiriyah, Samawah and Najaf. After spending nearly a year away from home, the First Armored Division will head home to Fort Riley, Kansas. The First Cavalry will officially take over all of Baghdad in April.

300 police added to security near GSDF base in Samawah By YASUNORI KAWAKAMI -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAMAWAH, Iraq-Iraqi police will reinforce security in the Samawah area, meaning there will be about one guard for every member of the Self-Defense Forces operating there. The security committee for the southeastern province of Muthanna decided to set up a checkpoint near the Ground SDF base camp and add 300 plainclothes officers to the current staff of 200. Samawah is the capital of Muthanna. During a meeting Tuesday, Col. Masahisa Sato, who heads the GSDF advance unit, and a Dutch military chief asked Muthanna Governor Mohammed...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Danish troops in southern Iraq (news - web sites) sealed off an area Monday where 36 mortar shells thought to contain a liquid blister agent were found, the army said, as they prepared the weapons for another round of tests by U.S.-led experts. AP Photo Latest headlines: · War College Report: Iraq War an 'Error' AP - 3 minutes ago · Troops Disperse Iraqis Rioting for Food AP - 20 minutes ago · Iraq tours extended for some 1,500 soldiers: defense officialsAFP - 37 minutes ago Special Coverage   The Iraqi Survey Group, an American-led group of...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 11/27/03 - Baghdad, Fallujah, Gardeza, Ghazni, Kabul, Karbala, Khalidiyah, Samawah BREAKING: Baghdad - Freedom (if they can keep it) courtesy of the USA BREAKING: Gardeza, Ghazni - Freedom (if they can keep it) courtesy of the USA BREAKING: Kabul - Freedom (if they can keep it) courtesy of the USA BREAKING: Fallujah, Karbala, Khalidiyah, Samawah - Freedom (if they can keep it) courtesy of the USA QFN ==== QUAGMIRE-FREE NEWS HAPPY THANKSGIVING I am thankful that the terrorists in Afghanistan are dead or on the run, and that Afghanistan is free. =========...

Interrogators Think They Have A Wolf In Shepherd Clothing A GPS Device and $30,000 Raise a Few Eyebrows At a Desert Checkpoint "The suitcase, the money, the book, the GPS with the grid positions of U.S. troop movements. Sheepherders don't carry that stuff around" Twenty miles west of Samawah, Iraq -- Four Iraqis cruising the barren desert in a white Toyota pickup at noon, came across a U.S. military checkpoint set up here to catch spies helping coordinate sniper attacks on U.S. convoys. As those convoys advanced toward Baghdad, 140 miles to the north, U.S. forces were focused on protecting...

0845: American troops using tanks and attack helicopters engaged in heavy fighting with Iraqi forces at the town of Samawah, about 150 miles south of Baghdad and on a crucial supply route. Black smoke reported above the town.