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Columnist Sends
Tribute to Deploying Troops
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| By Michelle
Malkin / Creators Syndicate Inc. |
| Author
Michelle Malkin penned this column as U.S.
service members deployed to Southwest Asia
earlier this year. Now, as the U.S. military
prepares for its second major rotation, Malkin’s
words continue to ring true. This column is
reprinted by permission of Michelle Malkin
and Creators Syndicate, Inc. |
Dear
American soldier,
You
don't know me, but I know who you are, and
I will not forget.
You are deploying from Fort
Carson and Fort Hood and Fort Bliss and Fort
Stewart. You hail from Middletown and Middleboro
and Greenville and Redding and Thousand Oaks
and Maple Tree. You are white, black, brown
and yellow—but
always Americans first.
You are with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team
and the 10th Combat Support Hospital and
the 571st Air Ambulance Medical Evacuation
Company. You are with the 1st Cavalry Division
and the 3rd Infantry Division and the "Iron
Horse" 4th Infantry Division. You are
Black Knights with the 2nd Battalion, 5th
Cavalry Regiment. You are engineers, drivers
and medics in the 13th Corps Support Command. More |
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At Sea in the
Arabian Gulf
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| An
SH-60S Seahawk from Helicopter Anti-Submarine
Squadron 11 approaches USS Enterprise during
vertical replenishment operations with the USS
Detroit, as the USS Gettysburg steams by in the
distance, Dec. 20, 2003. Enterprise is underway
in the Arabian Gulf in support of Operations
Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by
Seaman Justin McGarry |
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A Soldier's
Perspective On Christmas in Iraq
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| By
U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Woodward / 40th Public
Affairs Det. |
Today
is Christmas. It is a strange time of year
for me, and I think for many soldiers here
in Iraq, because all the decorations, feasting
and holiday music, while wonderful, draw our
attention to what’s missing in our lives.
Our families. Our neighborhoods. Our country.
War in a strange land can make you appreciate home
much more than you ever thought possible. So on the surface I was jubilant. Underneath
I was homesick. To distract myself from what I was missing, I focused instead
on work, which brought me into contact with an Iraqi man, Hamid, who lives in
Mosul. More |
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'Operation Santa Strike'
Swarms Mosul Homeless Shelter
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|
 MOSUL,
Iraq, Dec. 24, 2003 – It started as a simple e-mail
from the commander of the 2nd Battallion, 44th Air Defense
Artillery, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), to
his Army colleagues back in the United States.
“Operation Santa Strike” and “Operation
Overcoat” brought more than 500 pounds of coats, clothes, shoes, and toys
from 35 different homes, churches and other community organizations to an Internally
Displaced Persons home in Mosul Dec. 23, 2003. More |
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| U.S. Troops Leave Pump Station With
Memories & Friendships |
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| Combined Joint Task Force 7 |
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AL JAZEERA,
Iraq, Dec. 24, 2003 — Mohamed Sami sat rigid in his chair.
He appeared restless, as though at any moment he would try to
express all the thoughts in his mind.
So he did.
“I am very sad and very happy right now,” he said. “I
do not want you to leave us. But I want to thank you, really,
for everything you have done for us. What you have done for
us, for our country, it will stay in our hearts forever. I
want you to know that we will never forget you. More |
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| U.S. 101st Airborne Div. Begins Renovating
Mosul Central Bank |
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| By U.S. Army Pfc. Thomas Day / Army News Service |
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MOSUL,
Iraq, Dec. 23, 2003 — The 101st Airborne Division (Air
Assault) and the Central Bank of Iraq began Dec. 22 to rebuild
the Mosul Central Bank, left in ruins by looters after the fall
of Saddam in March.
Currently a burned-out cavern, the renovated
bank is expected to be complete by early 2005.
Iraq's central bank is divided into three branches,
much like the American Federal Reserve. The other two branches will be centered
in Baghdad and Basra, with the northern Iraq branch headquartered in Mosul. More |
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| U.S. & Iraqi Doctors Gather in
Tikrit to Examine Medical Care |
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| By U.S. Army Sgt. Troy Chatwin /
367th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment |
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TIKRIT,
Iraq – With an eye on getting the Iraqi medical community
back on track, Iraqi and American military doctors gathered Dec.
9 to discuss local clinical projects as well as share healthcare
information.
Held at the Tikrit Rehabilitation Hospital,
the First Introductory Conference for the Salah Ad Din Health Directorate
allowed health providers a forum with a focus on rebuilding Iraq’s
healthcare system. More |
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| Employer Support Group Protects Guard & Reserve
Civilian Job Rights |
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| By Donna Miles / American Forces Press Service |
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WASHINGTON,
Dec. 23, 2003 — All many reservists and guardsmen want
for Christmas is assurance that their civilian jobs will be waiting
for them when they redeploy from overseas.
Thanks to a federal law – and hundreds of
volunteer "elves" who ensure that both employees and their Guard and
Reserve employees understand its requirements – Santa is sure to deliver. More |
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| Global War on Terrorism |
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| On Iraq |
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| Military News |
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Send
your 'Best Wishes' to the
troops waging the global war on terror. |
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Employees
Adopt Carrier,
Send Gifts to Sailors' Children |
| NORFOLK,
Va., Dec. 24, 2003 (NNS) — Twenty-five employees
of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management traveled
from their headquarters in Washington to the hangar
bay of USS Theodore Roosevelt recently to deliver
roughly 1,300 toys to children of sailors assigned
to the aircraft carrier. Story |
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| Profile |
U.S.
Army
Maj. John E. Padgett |
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 BAGHDAD,
Iraq — During the last 10 years, physicians
in Iraq have struggled for updated medical information,
said Maj. John E. Padgett, the officer in charge
of the public health team with the 490th Civil Affairs
Battalion, an Army Reserve unit based in Abilene,
Texas, who now edits the “Iraqi Journal of
Medicine.” More |
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| LATE
NIGHT CELEB — David Letterman poses for a
snapshot with U.S. Army Spc. Amy Padilla, Operations
Section (G3), Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
1st AD, during dinner at the Bob Hope Dining Facility
Dec. 24. Letterman visited soldiers in several locations
throughout Baghdad. Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Shauna
McRoberts |
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| U.S. Navy Petty Officer
2nd Class Randy Hamm, a sailor aboard USS Enterprise
in the Arabian Gulf in support of Operations Enduring
Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, sends holiday greetings to
loved ones at home. U.S. Navy Photo by Seaman Justin
N. McGarry |
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Defense
Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld |
“The
holidays are upon us, and that certainly
is a time to give thanks for our country's
many blessings. And there's no greater
blessing than the courage of the young
men and women who wear our country's uniform.
They are all volunteers. They willingly
put their lives at risk so that all Americans
can live in peace and freedom.” |
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Press
Briefing, Dec. 23, 2003 |
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| Honoring
the Fallen |
Maine Students
Honor 9/11
Victims, Iraqi Freedom Pilots |
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| ARLINGTON,
Va., Dec. 18, 2003 — It all started with a 6th-grade
teacher Margaret Chase Smith School in Skowhegan, Maine,
who thought of a way, with his students, to honor victims
of Sept. 11, 2001, an idea that has grown and recently
brought some of his students to the Washington area. Story |
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2003 — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today lauded the accomplishments of those who willingly put their lives at risk so that all Americans can live in peace and freedom.
