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WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2006 -- Defense secretary nominee Robert M. Gates told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing today that if he’s confirmed to the top Pentagon post, his highest calling will be to ensure success in Iraq and look out for the men and women in uniform. Robert M. Gates, defense secretary nominee, responds to questions during a Senate Armed Services Commitee hearing regarding his confirmation, Dec. 5. Photo by Cherie A. Thurlby  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gates told committee members during his opening statement that he’s “under no illusion why...

FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Spc. Ronnie Wheat wears a Combat Action Badge, proof he survived a life-threatening encounter while deployed in Iraq. Now he wears a Soldier's Medal, proof the 70th Engineer Battalion Soldier helped save two civilians from a life-threatening accident on a highway between Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Col. Norbert Jocz, 3rd Brigade commander, presented the medal Nov. 17 in front of a battalion formation on the Kodiak Parade Field on Custer Hill. “It's pretty neat,” the Oklahoma native said about getting the medal. “I never expected to get anything like this.” The...

President Wants More NATO Help in Afghanistan WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) -- President Bush plans to urge NATO members to send more troops to contain increasing violence in Afghanistan and remove restrictions on soldiers already there, U.S. officials said Tuesday. Bush travels next week to the NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, where the rising Taliban insurgency was expected to be a top issue. NATO has about 31,000 soldiers in Afghanistan but some member nations have placed restrictions on what they may do, upsetting the United States, Britain and Canada, who complain their soldiers are doing most of the fighting in places...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With a top Democrat calling for a "phased redeployment" of U.S. troops in Iraq, President Bush met Monday with a commission studying the war and said conditions in Iraq, not politics, would dictate troop levels there. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, who is expected to chair the Armed Service Committee in January when Democrats take control of Congress, said redeploying troops would prompt the Iraqis to take more expeditious steps to ending the war. "We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves," Levin said. "We've been told repeatedly by our top uniformed military leaders that there is no...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2006 – San Diego will honor its military heritage with a Freedom Walk planned to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. “The walk begins and ends at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center,” said Beth Steinke, president of Operation Homefront-San Diego, the nonprofit group organizing the walk. “It’s a leisurely two-mile stroll through the park.” The walk, presented by DefenseWeb, a software company, will begin with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. in Balboa Park, she said. A color guard and a chaplain are scheduled to participate in the opening ceremonies. “We’re hoping...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2006 -- A trio of organizations with a long history of military support recognized 12 volunteer groups today for their programs that contribute to servicemembers’ quality of life. Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife Lynne, congratulate Clare Lanigan, 15, Kids Serve Too youth co-chair, for winning a $7,500 grant during the 2006 Newman's Own Award ceremony at the Pentagon Aug. 11. Kids Serve Too, in partnership with Warner Brothers, spearheaded "A Thousand Thanks to Military Children," sending letters of thanks signed by a wide range of children's...

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2006 – The National Guard has exceeded its troop requirement along the southwestern U.S. border by almost 200 servicemembers and is assisting U.S. Border Patrol activities there, a senior Defense Department official said here today. “We were obligated, by Aug. 1, to have 6,000 National Guardsmen deployed to the four-state southwest border region. And, in fact, as of close of business yesterday, we had 6,199 soldiers,” Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, said in an interview. “We kept our commitment to the secretary of defense, Lieutenant General (H Steven) Blum (chief of the National...

WUERZBURG, Germany, July 6, 2006 – The U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, known as the "Big Red One," bid farewell to its host country of Germany at Victory Park on Leighton Barracks here today. The colors of Big Red One are scheduled to be unfurled at Fort Riley, Kan., Aug. 1, and the division will assume command and control of its units now there. Among other duties, the division is slated to take on the mission of training foreign security forces training teams in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Despite numerous deployments to distant countries within the...

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2006 – President Bush yesterday urged Americans to find ways to support the nation's servicemembers through the Defense Department's "America Supports You" program. In his weekly radio address, the president noted sacrifices made for freedom throughout the nation's history, and suggested that during this Independence Day weekend, Americans turn to America Supports You to find a way to thank the men and women - and their families - who are making those sacrifices now. "Today, a new generation of American patriots is defending our freedom against determined and ruthless enemies," Bush said. "At this hour, the men...

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2006 – President Bush kept his promise to a wounded soldier yesterday, jogging around the White House running track alongside Army Staff Sgt. Christian Bagge, who ran with his new prosthetic running legs. Army Staff Sgt. Christian Bagge, who lost both legs in Iraq last year when an improvised explosive device hit his Humvee, runs with President Bush on the South Lawn of the White House, June 27. Photo by William D. Moss  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The president and Bagge, who sported his PT uniform with "Army" emblazoned across his chest, hit the...

WASHINGTON - The Senate rejected a call for the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq by year's end on Thursday as Congress erupted in impassioned, election-year debate over a conflict that now has claimed the lives of 2,500 American troops. The vote was 93-6 to shelve the proposal, which would have allowed "only forces that are critical to completing the mission of standing up Iraqi security forces" to remain in 2007. The vote came alongside a daylong debate in the House, where Republicans defended the war as key to winning the global struggle against terrorism while Democrats excoriated President...

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2006 – The morale of U.S. soldiers in Baghdad is "absolutely tremendous," a U.S. Army commander there said today. "When I talk to my soldiers on the ground, they're absolutely committed to what we're doing here," Army Col. Michael Beech, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, told Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Forward Operating Base Prosperity in central Baghdad. He said this high morale is reflected in his unit's re-enlistment rate -- 116 percent of goal for first-term soldiers. "They volunteered knowing they were coming to Iraq," he said. "A hundred and sixteen percent...

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2006 – One day after Iraq's unity government was sworn in, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it's too soon to try to project when major U.S. troop withdrawals might occur. Speaking today on NBC's "Meet the Press," Rice said conditions on the ground and consultations with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government would play the question out over time. "We are going to sit with the new Iraqi prime minister and his team and look at the security situation both in terms of what remains to be done and who should do it," Rice said. The secretary...

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2006 – Spouses of the military's senior enlisted leaders gathered here today to learn about each service's program for wounded troops and to share ideas for the future. Marine Gunnery Sgt. J.A. Burks, a representative for the Marine for Life program, speaks to the spouses of senior enlisted leaders during a conference at the Pentagon, May 9. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The wives of the senior enlisted leaders from the combatant commands and the service senior enlisted advisors met at the Pentagon in conjunction with their husbands' conference,...

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2006 – Professional Golf Association troop supporters had a memorable day touring the Pentagon today, as both a reward for their work raising money to support the troops and as a catalyst for more work in the coming year. America Supports You members from the PGA Tour, an America Supports You corporate member, toured the Pentagon on April 12 to celebrate their work raising money for America's troops and to set up plans for this year's charity work. Army Spc. Donald Balsavich, a Pentagon tour guide, explains the symbolism in a painting print hanging in one...

WASHINGTON - The Russian government had sources inside the American military command as it planned and executed the invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to Iraqi documents released as part of a Pentagon report. The Russians passed information to Saddam Hussein on U.S. troop movements and plans during the opening days of the war, according to the report Friday. The unclassified report does not assess the value of the information or provide details beyond citing two captured Iraqi documents that say the Russians collected information from sources "inside the American Central Command" and that battlefield intelligence was provided to Saddam...

3/7/2006 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- The Spanish detachment here safely moved about a dozen U.S. Air Force officers to Kabul, Afghanistan, March 3. Manas is known as the “Gateway to Operation Enduring Freedom” because all troops moving in and out of Afghanistan stop here first to transfer to civilian or military aircraft. The Spanish detachment’s support helped expedite the effort to move an unusually large influx of troops to this base, said Lt. Suzan Whiting, personnel terminal chief here. It also saved the officers the risk and time of riding in a convoy from Bagram to Kabul...

Friends: We are working very hard to put together a wonderful, patriotic, pro-American rally to honor our troops and support their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Please, help us ensure that we have a GIANT pro-troop crowd this Friday, March 3rd in Balboa Park in San Diego from 4:00 - 6:30 PM.We'll be gathering at the corner of Presidents Way and Park Boulevard across from the Veterans Memorial Center Museum. Tell your friends about this. Bring family members with you. We need a strong contingent of people from Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to make the trip!...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2006 – The level of U.S. forces in Iraq must be balanced so as not to create an occupying force, but to still be effective and able to maintain a secure environment, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a House of Representatives committee here yesterday. "No country wants foreign forces permanently in their country; we have no desire to have our forces permanently in that country," Rumsfeld said at a hearing of the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. "The goal is to have sufficient forces." Having too many U.S. forces in Iraq could create a...

Blair brushes off Iran's call for troop withdrawal By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 18/02/2006) Tony Blair dismissed Iran's call for Britain to withdraw its troops from Iraq yesterday as a tactic designed to divert attention from the international campaign to curb Teheran's nuclear programme. The Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, demanded the pull-out of British forces around Basra, saying their presence was causing turmoil both in Iraq and southern Iran. The Prime Minister meets Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin "Iran demands the immediate withdrawal of British forces from Basra," Mr Mottaki said during a visit to Lebanon. "We...