Vital Mission Awaits Anti-Bomb Unit

[thedrifter]

Vital Mission Awaits Anti-Bomb Unit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
December 7, 2004

They are planted in the carcasses of dead animals and hidden in the trash that litters the shoulders of the roads in Iraq.

They are detonated by the push of a button on a garage door opener or the ring of a cellphone.

They are makeshift roadside bombs, improvised explosive devices, or IEDs in the parlance of the U.S. military, that create chaos and are the source of many of the deaths and horrific injuries suffered by troops in Iraq.

But for the soldiers of the 184th Ordnance Battalion based at Fort Gillem in Forest Park, what is the bane of others is their mission and their lifeblood. They are bomb disposal experts heading to a country where daily bombings are a part of the fabric of life.

"The biggest threat in Iraq is the IED, and the IED is our bread and butter," Lt. Col. Leo Bradley, the 184th's commander, said Monday as his unit prepared to leave for Baghdad.

After a brief goodbye ceremony at the Fort Gillem chapel and a few last tearful minutes with their families, the 23 soldiers of the 184th boarded a chartered bus for the short trip to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, where a plane was waiting to take them to Iraq.

Once in Iraq, the unit will be based near Baghdad International Airport but will oversee all bomb disposal operations throughout the country.

It is no small task, said Col. Mike Davis, commander of the 52nd Ordnance Group, the 184th's higher headquarters.

"[Explosive Ordnance Disposal] soldiers are needed now more than ever in our history. Your actions will save lives," Davis told the battalion before its departure.

One of the most recent casualties from a roadside bomb was a Fort Gordon soldier on her way out of the country after completing her tour. Sgt. Cari A. Gasiewicz, 28, of Depew, N.Y., died Dec. 4 in Baqubah, Iraq, when two bombs were detonated near her convoy, the Pentagon announced Monday. Gasiewicz was assigned to the 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Gordon.

Soldiers of the 184th and the roughly 200 bomb disposal technicians who will work with them have what may be some of the most dangerous jobs in Iraq. Once unexploded bombs are found, they must defuse them, often in the open where they are easy targets for snipers or a terrorist who has his finger on the device that will detonate the explosives.

"Right now the strongest tool we have is robotics," said Bradley, 41, of Mount Carmel, Pa.

Bradley, who headed the bomb disposal team at the G-8 summit at Sea Island this year, said the use of robots reduces some of the danger to those soldiers. "You never want to endanger the man or woman on the ground any more than necessary," he said.

"It's a lot more remote than it used to be, but it's still dangerous for the guys on the ground," added Sgt. 1st Class Tim Choulat, 35, of Jacksonville.

Choulat, a 13-year veteran of bomb disposal, said the problem in Iraq is not the types of bombs. "It's the sheer volume. The amounts we are seeing over there are beyond anything we've seen before."

Bradley, a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War, said the most common roadside bombs are made of artillery shells or mortar rounds.

Sometimes several shells are used to increase the size of the explosion and sometimes they are daisy-chained together so they can hit multiple targets when a convoy passes.

Some of the bombs have been packed with nails, broken glass or even chunks of gravel to increase the number of deaths and injuries.

In addition to using robots to help disarm bombs, the Army is hoping to eventually field an electronic jamming device that could be used in a convoy to disrupt signals from electronic transmitters.

Earlier this year, the Army awarded a $6.8 million contract to a California company to develop a jamming system that can be used by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.



Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines, Sailors Deploy; One Sailor Refuses To Board

About 6,000 Marines and sailors from Expeditionary Strike Group 5 departed from the 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego Monday aboard six ships bound for the Western Pacific.

One sailor assigned to one of the ships refused to board the vessel to protest the U.S. presence in Iraq (news - web sites).


"I just want people to see how people feel about this. It's not just a few crazy liberals talking to the media to make money. I'm not making any money, I'm going to jail for a year for this. I want to do because I feel that strongly about it and I know a lot of people feel this way," Petty Officer Third Class Pablo Paredes told 10News.


Paredes, 23, wore a T-shirt that read: 'Like a cabinet member, I resign.'


He acknowledged that the action he is planning could result in a court martial and imprisonment.


"I know other people are feeling the same way I am, and I'm hoping more people will stand up," he said. "They can't throw us all in jail."


Meanwhile, the San Diego-based amphibious ships Bonhomme Richard, Duluth and Rushmore, the guided-missile cruiser Bunker Hill, guided-missile destroyer Milius and guided-missile frigate Thach began departing at 8 a.m.


Millions of dollars worth of fighting equipment, including helicopters from Marine Corp Air Station Miramar, were loaded aboard the ships on Thursday in preparation for the deployment.


While on deployment, the ships in the strike group will operate in the Pacific and Indian oceans in support of the global war on terrorism, according to Navy public affairs.


The strike group also includes the attack submarine Pasadena, which is departing from Hawaii, and the Coast Guard cutter Munro, leaving from Alameda, according to U.S. Navy (news - web sites) Third Fleet public affairs.


The USS Bonhomme Richard, named after the ship commanded by John Paul Jones in 1779, returned to San Diego in July 2003 after a six-month deployment in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The Wasp Class amphibious assault ship resembles a small aircraft carrier and carries both crew and aircraft.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

US Marines and sailors head for W.Pacific



San Diego, CA, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- About 6,000 Marines and sailors sailed from San Diego Monday aboard six ships for a routine deployment to the Western Pacific.

The Expeditionary Strike Group 5 deployed aboard three amphibious ships that will be accompanied by the cruise Bunker Hill, the submarine Pasadena and two other escorts.

The San Diego Union-Tribune said the departure of the amphibious transport USS Bonhomme Richard featured a protest by Petty Officer Pablo Peredes, a crewman who refused to go aboard in protest of the war in Iraq.

The task force's mission is open-ended and will take them to Asia and on into the Indian Ocean. It was not clear whether the Marines would actually go ashore in Iraq.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Schools collecting items for injured Marines

By: TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer

CAMP PENDLETON ---- Teachers and students in the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District are collecting items for injured Marines being treated at two San Diego County hospitals.

The effort also targets assistance for families visiting a relative at either Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton or Naval Medical Center San Diego.

Lynne Gilstrap, principal of Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School, said the items being collected range from clothing and personal entertainment gear to fast-food coupons and other things of use to those who come to Southern California to visit an injured family member.


"They end up at hotels where they don't have any cooking facilities, and the air fare is exorbitant to fly in on short notice," Gilstrap said.

According to latest statistics from the United States Department of Defense Web site, 5,320 military personnel have been wounded in action and not returned to duty since the March 19, 2003, beginning of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Marine Corps will not comment on the numbers of injured being treated at the local hospitals.

An additional 4,642 members of the military have been wounded, treated and then returned to duty, according to the Defense Department.

Since the U.S. actions in Afghanistan and Iraq began, 1,423 members of the military have been killed.

While collections for the wounded Marines are taking place at all of the district's schools, the effort is being coordinated at Mary Fay Pendleton, which is one of two public schools at Camp Pendleton that serve military children with fathers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"When these guys or girls are ready to get out, they don't have their personal stuff with them," Gilstrap said in reference to wounded Marines. "They need practical things like pants and shoes. I've already had a donation of six new pairs of shoes today."

Carol Daley, a teacher at Mary Fay Pendleton and the president of the Fallbrook Elementary Teacher's Association, said the response has been overwhelming.

"Everyone was like, 'What can we do, and when do you want it?' " said Daley, who is organizing the collections at Mary Fay Pendleton and the district's other schools in Fallbrook. "We all want to do whatever we can. We send letters to our dads that are over there. They don't have a lot of free time, but when we get responses we are really excited."

Vicki Miller, an administrative assistant in the chaplain's office at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, said hospital workers have started a library of donated DVD's for bedridden Marines, and are now seeking "things to keep the troops occupied while they're hospitalized."

"The guys I've seen in here have tremendously positive attitudes," said Miller. "They're more worried about the guys that are still over in Iraq than they are about themselves. They're just such an unselfish group of people."

Organizers want to complete the ongoing collections by Dec. 17 in order to get the items delivered by Christmas Day, but the collections will continue beyond the holiday season.

"As long as we have the war going on, this will be an ongoing thing."

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 731-5799 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.




Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Embassies Employ Layered Defense

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - American diplomatic facilities like the one in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, employ a layered defense against terrorist attacks, with foreign guards on the outside and American security personnel including U.S. Marines inside.


U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide rely almost exclusively on host-nation soldiers and police or private security guards to guard their outer walls. This keeps armed Americans off overseas streets — their presence would be tantamount to foreign soldiers patrolling Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington.


Inside, physical security is provided by U.S. Marines and federal civilian officers with the Diplomatic Security Service.


Four Marines are believed to have been inside the U.S. consulate in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, when it was attacked Monday, a spokesman for the service said.


Initial reports suggested none were hurt, and it was unknown whether they took part in the fighting, said Maj. Matt Morgan, a Marine Corps spokesman at Camp Lejeune, N.C.


There are six Marines, led by a staff sergeant, assigned to the consulate, but Morgan said his best information is that only four were inside during the attack.


The Marines' main job is to control access to the embassy and protect any classified information inside, Morgan said. Marines would not take part in protecting the perimeter of the consulate, but they would assist if there was a security threat inside.


Protection of diplomats and other consular personnel inside is the primary responsibility of the State Department's civilian Diplomatic Security Service. They and the Marines report to a regional security officer.


Morgan said many consulates — which are smaller than embassies — do not have detachments of Marine guards, and those that do are typically in high-threat areas.


Only in Kabul and Baghdad do Marines patrol an embassy's outer perimeter, Morgan said.


The Marine presence at American diplomatic buildings throughout the Middle East is higher than most, he said.


According to accounts by U.S. and Saudi officials, the attackers in Jiddah were stopped in their vehicle by Saudi National Guardsmen at an outer gate, and the firefight began. Five attackers made it inside the gate on foot.


When the battle was over, three attackers and one contract security guard were among the dead.


During the attack, Marines and diplomatic security officers moved consulate employees to safe rooms, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.


Ereli said the Marines' residence on the consulate sustained heavy damage, but the attackers never got into the main consulate building.


Ereli credited the actions of U.S. and Saudi security personnel, along with physical security improvements made at the consulate, with reducing the attack's severity.


He noted that the U.S. government has spent billions of dollars on security improvements at U.S. diplomatic stations worldwide in recent years.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

12-06-2004

A Squad Leader In Iraq Sounds Off



Sir,

I am a squad leader in an infantry unit in Baghdad. While I can not speak for other units I must say that we have experienced no shortage of ammo what so ever. In fact we have an abundance of ammo for all of our weapons systems including plenty of M-118 special ball for our M-14s. We have however experienced a different type of problem with some of our ammo. Specifically with the 5.56 ball ammo that we use in our M-4s. During numerous engagements I have seen it. When engaging targets we have to hit them multiple times before they go down. Just a couple of weeks ago I watched one of my team leaders shoot an RPG gunner square in the upper chest with his M-4. The RPG gunner flinched, fired the RPG at us then ducked back around the corner which he had stepped out from. I personally shot an insurgent five times and he didn’t even slow down. We captured him about a month later; he had five little holes in his belly and a colostomy bag. Obviously he won’t be doing anymore fighting from Abu Ghraib but it would have been nice to count him among the dead from that engagement. Did you have similar problems in Vietnam? Right now our fix is to just put the damn weapon of burst and hammer em till they go down, if we get that much exposure time. We have gone to 7.62 as much as we possibly can. Which simply means that we make sure that our M-14s go out with us every patrol and that we have a lot of ammo for our 240s and M-203s. That is all I have about the ammo issue. Thanks for your work for the soldier.

A Grunt

[thedrifter]

Some SEALs Photos For Intelligence
Associated Press
December 7, 2004

SAN DIEGO - Preliminary findings of a military inquiry suggest that some of the recently published photographs of Navy Special Forces capturing detainees in Iraq were taken for legitimate intelligence-gathering purposes and showed commandos using approved procedures, a Navy spokesman said Monday.

The photos, which have drawn a strong reaction in Arab media, also appear to show Navy SEALs sitting or lying on top of hooded and handcuffed detainees in the back of a pickup truck.

Citing the ongoing investigation, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado declined comment on the pickup truck pictures, among 40 images of detainees which an Associated Press reporter found on a commercial photo-sharing Web site posted by a woman who said her husband brought them from Iraq.

Senior officers at the SEALs headquarters said other photos are "consistent with the use of tactics, techniques and procedures in the apprehension of detainees," Navy Cmdr. Jeff Bender said.

He cited as an example a photo in which a uniformed man is holding the head of a prisoner to pose him for a picture for "identification purposes." A gun with an attached flashlight is being used to illuminate the detainee's face for the photograph, Bender said.

Taking photos of prisoners for administrative or intelligence purposes is an exception to Navy regulations that generally forbid unofficial photos of prisoners of war.

In another photo, a commando standing with upraised fists next to a detainee is using hand signals to communicate with other troops who do not appear in the image, according to Bender.

The two photos are part of a larger group of mug shots of detainees, whose faces were blacked out in the pictures posted online. Some drip blood, which experts on the law of war said was not by itself a sign of abuse. It was unclear whether the detainees resisted capture by Navy special forces.

"No one knows what's on the other side of the door," Bender said, adding that the inquiry is ongoing.

Some of the people in the photos have been identified as SEALs, Bender said.

Date stamps on some of the photos suggest they were taken in May 2003, which could make them the earliest evidence of possible abuse or questionable handling of prisoners in Iraq. The far more brutal practices photographed inside Abu Ghraib prison occurred months later.

It is unclear who took the pictures, which the Navy began investigating after the AP furnished copies to get comment for a story first published Friday.

The photos were widely published in Arab media, including one on the front page of the daily Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram showed three hooded prisoners pressed against one another on a floor with what appear to be white sheets wrapped around their torsos. The photo caption read: "Signs of a new scandal."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Insurgents Step Up Attacks In Iraq
Associated Press
December 6, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops fought a gunbattle with insurgents along a busy street in Baghdad on Monday, sending passers-by scurrying for cover, witnesses said, while five U.S. troops were reported killed in separate clashes in a volatile western province as insurgents step up attacks ahead of next month's elections.

The violence came a day after gunmen ambushed a bus carrying unarmed Iraqis to work at a U.S. ammo dump near Tikrit, killing 17 and raising the death toll from three days of intensified insurgent attacks to at least 70 Iraqis.

The attacks, focused in Baghdad and several cities to the north, appeared to be aimed at scaring off those who cooperate with the American military - whether police, national guardsmen, or ordinary people just looking for a paycheck.

They also have targeted Kurdish militiamen and Shiite worshippers in a possible bid to foment sectarian and ethnic unrest.

The latest fighting in Baghdad broke out after armed rebels appeared on the busy Haifa Street, saying they were hunting for Iraqis collaborating with U.S.-led forces.

Witnesses said they shot and killed a man they claimed was working for the Americans. Rebels also were seen on a square just three blocks from the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses Iraq's interim government and the U.S. Embassy.




The U.S. military had no immediate comment, but witnesses said U.S. troops supported by armored vehicles attacked the gunmen.

Haifa Street, a thoroughfare running through central Baghdad, has been the scene of frequent clashes between U.S. troops and resistance fighters.

Earlier Monday, three insurgents were killed and four wounded in clashes with U.S. forces in Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad in the volatile Anbar province, according to Dr. Bassem Izaldeen, of Haditha Hospital.

The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force also released a statement saying three soldiers attached to the Marines died in two incidents Sunday in the western province, which includes the battleground cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. Earlier, the military said two Marines had been killed in action in Anbar on Friday.

The killings raised the number of U.S. troops killed since Friday to 11 and brought to at least 1,276 the number of U.S. troops to have died since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The attacks came just weeks after the United States launched major offensives aimed at suppressing guerrillas ahead of crucial elections set for Jan. 30. But the insurgents have struck hard in recent days, showing they are just as capable as ever despite the American-led campaign.

Sunday's bloodshed began when gunmen opened fire at the bus as it dropped off Iraqis employed by coalition forces at a weapons dump in Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, said Capt. Bill Coppernoll, spokesman for the Tikrit-based U.S. 1st Infantry Division. Coppernoll said 17 people died and 13 wounded in the attack.

Survivors said about seven guerrillas were involved, emptying their clips into the bus before fleeing. The bodies of the victims were brought to a morgue too small to hold them all; some were left in the street.

About an hour later, a suicide car bomber drove into an Iraqi National Guard checkpoint in Beiji, 75 miles to the north, detonating his explosives-packed vehicle, Coppernoll said. Gunmen then opened fire on the position. Three guardsmen, including a company commander, were killed and 18 wounded, Coppernoll said.

Also Sunday, guerrillas ambushed a joint Iraqi-coalition patrol in Latifiyah, south of Baghdad, and attacked Iraqi National Guardsmen patrolling near Samarra, north of Baghdad. Two Iraqis were killed and 10 wounded.

The attacks followed assaults Friday and Saturday that saw insurgents hit a police station, killing 16 men, car bomb a Shiite mosque, killing 14, and car bomb a bus carrying Kurdish militiamen, killing at least seven.

The military said Monday that U.S. soldiers have detained 14 Iraqis suspected of making car bombs and leading insurgent cells in northern Iraq.

Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, al-Qaida in Iraq, claimed responsibility for several attacks Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, another militant group, Jaish Mohammed - Arabic for the Mohammed Army - issued a statement saying its fighters were lying low for "a few days" but planned more attacks against U.S. forces.

The group's statement, which could not be immediately verified, also warned Iraqis against aiding coalition forces and said they would be attacked with similar fury as that directed against the U.S. military.

The latest attacks on Iraqis cooperating with the interim government have been particularly brutal in their scale and have taken on a new urgency in light of the approaching vote.

While Iraq's majority Shiites are eagerly awaiting the election, the Sunnis oppose it, partly because the violence has been heavy in their areas west and north of Baghdad and voter registration there has not begun. About 40 small, mostly Sunni political parties met Sunday to demand the elections be postponed by six months, but stopped short of calling for a boycott.

President Bush, Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and Iraq's Sunni president, Ghazi al-Yawer, have insisted the vote will be held as scheduled.

Also Monday, insurgents blew up part of a domestic oil pipeline south of Samarra, in northern Iraq, sending flames and black smoke billowing into the sky, Col. Mahmoud Ahmed said. Insurgents bent on derailing Iraqi reconstruction efforts regularly attack the country's oil infrastructure.



Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. struggles to find troops
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By JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Dec. 7, 2004

WASHINGTON - The Army, which has been hard pressed to find enough soldiers to man the rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan, may soon be faced with an urgent request to find another 5,000 to 7,000 troops to increase the number of boots on the ground in Iraq.

Commanders there have been quietly signaling an immediate need for at least that many more soldiers to add to the 138,000 Americans already there. This, they say, is the minimum number needed to allow them to pursue the offensive against the insurgents in the wake of the taking of Fallujah.

Far from breaking the back of the insurgency, the capture of Fallujah only served as a signal for the enemy to launch its own offensive in cities across the Sunni triangle and in Baghdad itself. The fighters and leaders who fled Fallujah before the Americans launched their attack simply moved to other cities and went straight to work sowing havoc.

The daily number of attacks and incidents in Iraq is now running more than 100 per day, or double what it was before the Fallujah offensive began.

Having taken Fallujah in a violent and bloody campaign that took the lives of more than 50 Americans and uncounted Iraqis and virtually destroyed a city where the insurgents and foreign fighters had had sanctuary and free reign for six months, the Americans now are obliged to rebuild what they destroyed.

The city and the reconstruction efforts both have to be secured against a return of the insurgents, thus tying down thousands of American soldiers and Marines when they are needed elsewhere to fight those who escaped Fallujah.

Commanders in Iraq are under pressure to take the war to the enemy and beat them into less of a threat so that the Jan. 30 first round of elections in that country can take place with minimal violence. Washington would love to see an election in Iraq that was something like the success of the Afghanistan voting last month.

Army planners are looking at a number of temporary stop-gap measures to boost the strength in Iraq during January, including extension of the tours of thousands of soldiers nearing the end of their 12-month combat assignment and speeding up the deployment of the 3rd Mech Infantry Division so more of them arrive before January.

They are also reportedly eyeing the ready brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division - which stands by at Fort Bragg for rapid deployment anywhere in the world in a crisis - as one way to boost temporarily troop strength in Iraq. Those troops, however, are light infantry and do not come equipped with the Bradley fighting vehicles and M1A2 Abrams tanks that are increasingly needed for urban combat in Iraq.

Finding the rest of the troops that commanders want may be difficult. Getting them to Iraq in time and properly equipped to fight in that dangerous environment may be even more difficult; Army and Marine commanders have already used up most of their bag of tricks to find troops for the usual rotations to Iraq.

The Baltimore Sun reports that the Army is hard pressed to find enough officers for staff jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan and will double the length of their tours in those countries from 179 days at present to a full 12 months.

Other extraordinary steps ordered or under consideration include pulling officers out of military schools or delaying entry into such programs. They could also curtail family-oriented programs such as the one that allows soldiers to extend their tours at a stateside base so their children can finish their senior year in high school.

The Army is struggling to fill hundreds of staff jobs for majors and lieutenant colonels in war zone headquarters and in the past month began stripping majors and lieutenant colonels from their Pentagon billets and ordering them to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Although the Pentagon has counted on the rapidly growing Iraqi security forces to begin taking up some of the slack, their hopes may be misplaced in the immediate future. The Iraqi battalions in the field seem to function much better when they come in behind American troops, as in Samara and Fallujah.

Until they have a good deal more experience and develop both leadership and confidence they will remain too weak to go after insurgents and foreign fighters in the Sunni triangle.

---Galloway is the senior military correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers and co-author of the national best-seller "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young." Readers may write to him at jgalloway@krwashington.com


Ellie

[thedrifter]

War puts new focus on reserves
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By Tom Infield
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer

On July 1, a contingent of Army National Guard soldiers based in Johnstown, Pa., was sent to Texas for desert warfare training en route to Iraq.

When the troops got to Fort Bliss, the Army discovered that 207 of them could not be sent to war.

The reason: Their 18-month call-up would have put them over the two-year cap on the Guard and Army Reserve mobilizations set by President Bush after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Most had been mobilized earlier to guard bases in Europe or for peacekeeping in the Balkans. The 207 were asked to sign a legal waiver permitting them to go to Iraq. But 115 said no - and were allowed to go home.

The incident, while described by the Pentagon as highly unusual, points to a potential problem as the U.S. military continues to rely on the Guard and Reserve for 40 percent of its troops in Iraq.

Stephen M. Duncan, a former assistant secretary of defense for Reserve affairs, speaking yesterday at a conference in Philadelphia on the future of the National Guard and Reserves, predicted that, by spring, 55 percent of all troops in Iraq could be from those groups.

If too many personnel use up their two years of active-duty eligibility under the partial mobilization order signed by Bush on Sept. 14, 2001, the military could be forced to look elsewhere for boots on the ground.

Right now, the Pentagon is focused on what it sees as more urgent manpower problems - to start with, the need announced last week to increase the number of troops in Iraq from 138,000 to 150,000. It will do this, in part, by extending the tour of duty for some soldiers and Marines. Congress has authorized the addition of 40,000 to the active-duty Army and Marine forces.

The Pentagon, since 9/11, has activated more than 400,000 of about 800,000 members of the Selected Reserve. That includes both Guard and Reserve troops who train regularly. In addition, the Pentagon has begun to call on members of the Individual Ready Reserve, who for the most part are former armed forces personnel who thought they had left the military behind but can be called up in a national emergency.

With the Pentagon having a total of 1.2 million people in all Guard and Reserve components, the well is far from dry.

But many who remain untapped either haven't trained for a long time or have skills, such as in artillery, that are not needed in the Iraq occupation. The Army is retraining artillerymen to become M.P.s and other sorts of soldiers who are needed much more, but that job is only half-done.

Lt. Col. Bob Stone, spokesman for the Office of Reserve Affairs at the Defense Department, said he did not see a looming problem in eligibility for Guard and Reserve soldiers.

"Are we headed for a train wreck because we don't have enough forces? No."

Frank Gaffney, a former assistant secretary of defense who heads the Center for Security Policy, a Washington think tank, said the Pentagon may have to pay a price for being overly dependent on the Guard and Reserve.

"It seems that at some point, if not now, then in the not-so-distant future, you are going to sort of bankrupt the system in terms of the people who are in the Reserve or the Guard - in their willingness to serve or their obligation to serve, or both," Gaffney said.

The two-year limit was meant to allow Guard and Reserve members to retain a hold on their civilian lives and not become interchangeable with active-duty soldiers.

Under the federal law cited by Bush in his partial mobilization order, Guard and Reserve soldiers cannot be required to serve on active duty for more than 24 consecutive months in a five-year period. The administration went further and said no one would have to serve more than 24 cumulative months.

Michael E. O'Hanlon, a military expert at Brookings Institution, a Washington policy center, said it was "entirely plausible" the Bush administration, at some point, may have to stiffen the requirements. Bush could even issue another mobilization order.

"Assuming the mission will continue to require more than 100,000 people for a while, they are going to have to change the rules," O'Hanlon said. "They are not going to have another recourse."

The strain on the National Guard, in particular, could be difficult if trends continue.

Policy requires that 50 percent of any state's national guard troops be kept at home - available to a governor to handle state emergencies.

Already, 197,541 Army National Guard troops - 56 percent of the total - have been called up since 9/11, though not all at the same time.

Scott Woodham, a civilian spokesman for the National Guard Bureau, said: "I think, overall, we're still able to do our mission... . It's a challenge."

Some states have been hit harder than others.

The 6,100-member New Jersey Army National Guard has had 2,800 of its soldiers mobilized since 9/11. About 470 are in Iraq and about 1,200 are headed there soon, said Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt, the state Guard spokeswoman.

Pennsylvania is about tapped out.

Three days before Thanksgiving, 750 guardsmen from Pennsylvania left for Iraq, raising the number in Iraq to 2,000. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that an additional 2,400 from the state would be mobilized next month for training and would be in Iraq by summer.

Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, a state Guard spokesman, said scarcely more than 1,000 members of the 15,000-member Pennsylvania Army Guard remained available for protracted deployment.

About 8,000 have been deployed for one duty or another, and 3,700 others cannot go to Iraq because they are part of a new Stryker brigade that won't be ready for combat until 2008.

Typically, troops go to Iraq for a year. But Guard deployments are for 18 months, including desert training and transit time.

That means that a soldier who has served an 18-month deployment in Iraq typically cannot be called on again for Iraq.

The soldiers from the Johnstown unit were to have been with the contingent that left before Thanksgiving. Most were members of the headquarters company of the First Battalion of the 103d Armor.

Cleaver said the company should never have been deployed to Texas because so many members could not complete an 18-month call-up.

"You had to go through and count how many days each soldier had already served," he said. "And that goes for the Bosnia peacekeeping mission, the Kosovo peacekeeping mission, Afghanistan and, of course, Iraq... . We didn't look at their records closely enough."

Cleaver said there was no penalty for any soldier who asked to return home. "Whatever decision the soldier made, we respect that," he said.

With the new deployment announced Thursday, soldiers who refused to sign the waiver in July have a chance to change their minds.

Sgt. Shawn Lucas, 21, said it was tough to say no when confronted with the choice this summer.

"It's hard choosing between staying with your fellow soldiers or coming home," he said in an interview last week. "So you're pretty torn."

Lucas said the reason he refused the first time was that the Army had seemed so disorganized in dealing with the Fort Bliss situation. This time, he said, things seem more orderly.

"I've decided to go."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Albania honors emigrant killed in Iraq as U.S. Marine
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania - President Alfred Moisiu on Tuesday awarded a medal of honor to an emigrant who died fighting as a U.S. Marine in Iraq.

Cpl. Gentian Marku, of Warren, Mich., was killed in Fallujah on Nov. 25. He emigrated to the United States at age 14.

Moisiu awarded Marku, 22, with the Golden Medal of Eagle for the "sublime sacrifice in the fight against terrorism, for the protection of the values of democracy, peace and freedom, by glorifying the honor of his nation."

On Friday, Prime Minister Fatos Nano declared Marku an Albanian martyr.

Marku's body was expected to arrive in Albania Tuesday evening for burial at his native village of Piraj, 42 miles north of the capital, Tirana, accompanied by Marines who were to hand him over to the Albanian troops.

A short military ceremony was to be held at Mother Teresa International Airport attended by Albanian Defense Minister Pandeli Majko and the U.S. Ambassador to Tirana Marcie B. Ries.

Marku was the second Albanian emigrant killed fighting with U.S. troops in Iraq. Pfc. Ervin Dervishi, 21, of Fort Worth, Texas, died Jan. 24 after attackers in Baji fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the vehicle in which he was riding.

Albania, a small, predominantly Muslim country, backed the U.S.-led campaign and has sent 71 of its own troops to Iraq. Three Albanian soldiers were wounded in July when their car ran over a mine in Mosul.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Soldiers who refused convoy mission won't face court-martial
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ron Jensen, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, December 7, 2004

LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Iraq - None of the soldiers from the 343rd Quartermaster Company who refused to go on a convoy mission in October will face a court-martial, unless an individual soldier requests one.

Instead, the 23 soldiers from the Rock Hill, S.C., Army Reserve unit will face Article 15 nonjudicial punishments or other administrative actions, said Maj. Richard Spiegel, a spokesman for the 13th Corps Support Command, the parent headquarters of the 343rd.

The final five cases were decided last week after the conclusion of an investigation into the Oct. 13 incident to determine if the soldiers' actions violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The other 18 involved all chose to receive nonjudicial punishment and the military is not required to release what punishments were meted out.

"After consulting with a lawyer, the soldiers can proceed with the Article 15 or demand a court-martial," said Spiegel.

At the time, the soldiers refused to drive fuel and water trucks from Tallil Air Base, their home in southern Iraq, to Taji, a base north of Baghdad. After the incident, an Army statement said the soldiers "raised some valid concerns."

Soldiers refused the orders because not all of the vehicles were armored, some vehicles were in poor condition and the route, known as Main Supply Route Tampa, was rife with ambushes, roadside bombs or both, according to military and news reports in October.

Brig. Gen. James E. Chambers, commander of 13th COSCOM, immediately ordered a stand-down of the unit for a safety and maintenance check. He also asked for two investigations: One to determine if the UCMJ had been violated, and one to determine if there was a systemic problem.

The result of the second investigation, done by 13th COSCOM officials, could not be released until the other legal process had been completed, said Spiegel, citing the Privacy Act for soldiers involved.

The unit's company commander, whose name has not been released, was relieved of duty following the incident "at her request," Spiegel said. None of the soldiers who refused the order have been identified as well.

Under an Article 15, a solder faces a possible combination of penalties, including: A reduction to the lowest rank for specialists and below or reduction by one rank for sergeants and staff sergeants; extra duty for up to 45 days; and forfeiture of a half-month's pay for two months.

Spiegel declined to speculate on why none of the soldiers will face a court-martial.

Refusing an order during war time could have been considered mutiny and is punishable by death or prison, according to the UCMJ.

"There was a full, complete investigation into what happened," he said. "Based on that investigation, the commander of the 300th ASG (Col. Pamela Adams) took the action she felt was appropriate. She has seen all the facts. This is what she felt was appropriate."

The group received an outpouring of support from family in the States and from some stationed in Iraq and Kuwait.

"There are troops who support you and believe you did the right thing," one soldier in Kuwait in had said in Stars and Stripes. "You took a stand, not just for yourselves, but for every member of the military."

Others said they understood why the soldiers refused the order, but, at the time, questioned their methods.

Others who perform the same duty as those in the 343rd thought the punishment should have been harsher.

"I feel that's quite unfortunate," said Sgt. Hans Ressdorf of the 655th Transportation Company, also a reserve unit, when told the soldiers would not face courts-martial. "Mission first. [Their actions] were totally un-military. You're given a mission, you've got to do the mission."

His colleague in the unit based at Camp Cedar in Iraq and from Memphis, Tenn., agreed.

"We have a job to do," said Sgt. Alex Buchschacher. "Saying, 'No, we're not going to do that mission' should be more than an Article 15."

He said his company has driven that same route many times without armored vehicles.

"It's still one mission, one fight," he said.

The process now is in the hands of the soldiers who must decide if they will accept the nonjudicial punishment or take it to a court-martial, Spiegel said.

If they face the Article 15 hearing, Spiegel said, soldiers will be allowed to present witnesses on their behalf and plead their case.

The unit went back to work Nov. 11 and all the soldiers are back on the job, Spiegel said.

"All the soldiers are back to full duty," he said. "Some of them were moved to other units in the battalion. That was done to preserve the integrity of the investigation."

The unit, he said, is back to performing its mission of delivering fuel and water.

"They've been doing an exemplary job, no issues," Spiegel said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Jones wants reporters to stay out of military units
December 07,2004
Andrew DeGrandpre
Freedom ENC

The shot was heard - and, more importantly, seen - around the world.

Marines entered a Fallujah mosque last month. A wounded and allegedly unarmed Iraqi insurgent lay crumpled against the wall. There was screaming. One of the troops lifted his rifle and fired, point-blank, into the enemy's skull.

The footage was captured by a NBC correspondent embedded with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, which is part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. It aired worldwide Nov. 16.

Fallout, both at home and abroad, has been on par with the uproar following last summer's prison-abuse scandal. Now, as then, residents of the Arab world - particularly Iraqis - are horrified, and human rights groups want a comprehensive investigation. The U.S. military has promised one.

But there's a notable difference in how each incident made it from the front lines to the public. The images of U.S. military personnel torturing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners were leaked to the media. The mosque-shooting video was actually the result of the military's policy allowing journalists to embed with troops to document combat in Iraq.

The aftermath has prompted U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., whose 3rd District includes Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, to question the value of allowing embedded journalists to report on military units "engaged in direct combat."

Jones has since asked the Defense Department to restrict media coverage of these situations.

"This (content) goes all over the world - to the people who hate us," Jones said. "And I don't think it does us any good.

"It really hurts me to see that young Marine. Â… Some are saying he's done the wrong thing."

In a letter sent Nov. 29 to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Jones argues that media reports, when condensed to brief TV news segments, are liable to distort the facts.

"It is unfair for our troops to be constantly monitored by cameras and have their every move recorded and subjected to public opinion based on a sound bite or two-minute video segment," Jones wrote.

"I pray that a Marine or soldier in the future will not lose their life because they hesitated due to concerns that their action would be recorded by the media, reported out of context and scrutinized by public opinion before all the facts are presented."

Thorough war reporting can't be done without embeds, said Tony Perry, the Los Angeles Times' San Diego bureau chief. In 2001, Perry went with Pendleton Marines to Afghanistan. Since 2003, he's been to Iraq twice, spending last April with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in Fallujah. He's headed back later this month.

Granted, embeds are only a part of the equation, Perry said, "but they're a crucial part."

"You need people at the Pentagon," Perry said. "You need people badgering the generals. But I don't think you could cover the war without embeds."

Giving journalists a front-row seat to the war is not without risk, said Lt. Col. Dave Lapan, a spokesman for Camp Lejeune's II Marine Expeditionary Force. When assigned to the Pentagon two years ago, Lapan assisted in cultivating the embed program now in place in Iraq.

Part of the deal, Lapan said, requires reporters to stifle some information - namely pre-combat planning - in the name of security.

"These ground rules are built to ensure that sensitive or classified information does not get out inadvertently," Lapan said.

And history suggests the military takes them seriously. If a reporter breaks the rules - as Fox News' Geraldo Rivera did in 2003 when he used a crude sand sketch to illustrate an Army unit's location inside Iraq and its anticipated movement - then they're gone.

Jones' motive is tied to troop safety; in that respect, he's on common ground with the military. His letter to Rumsfeld acknowledges the media's responsibility to inform the public, but he believes that must be weighed against the importance of letting U.S. troops conduct their duties free from the fear that their actions will be portrayed negatively.

"He's right about two things," said Phil Meyer, a Knight Foundation chair in journalism who teaches media analysis at the University of North Carolina. "There has to be a balance, and the safety of the troops has to come first.

"But he's missing one positive side. (Combat coverage) minimizes the efforts of enemy propaganda."

A 10-year Republican representative in a GOP-heavy House, Jones, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, has "clout," Meyer said. And while he's discouraged by the prospect of Jones' request growing legs, Meyer said it's possible Rumsfeld will give it consideration.

Lapan said Marines are fairly supportive of embedded journalists that he says can provide positive news.

It's a way for having our stories told," he said. "It's a way of understanding the challenges of working in a combat environment. "In most instances, the reporters have been able to convey those things to the public."

Controversies like the mosque shooting seem to succeed only at encouraging debate - debate over whether the war is justified or whether such reports are just poisoning troop morale.

For Perry, that footage reinforces the necessity of having reporters close to the action.

"You just cannot shut out the American public when the troops are there in their name," he said.

For Jones, who said he had this concern even before last month's incident, the mosque footage underscores the need to re-evaluate what's at stake: peace, life and freedom.

"We've got kids over there - many of them right out of high school - who've never been faced with a combatant, never been faced with the possibility of dying, never been faced with opening a door and firing a machine gun," Jones said.

"(Does the media) need to be walking with them every step of the way, in every environment? That's my question."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Remarks by the President to Military Personnel and Families at Camp Pendleton this morning
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Camp Pendleton, California
9:34 A.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you for the warm welcome. It was getting a little quiet back at the White House. (Laughter.) So I decided to drop in on the Devil Dogs. (Applause.) Thank you for coming out to say hello. I've been looking forward to this for quite a while it's a pleasure to be with so many squared-away, gung-ho United States Marines. (Applause.)

I'm here to thank you for serving our country in a time when we need you. In a season where Americans stop to count their blessings, I want you to know one of America's greatest blessings is the men and women who wear our nation's uniform. (Applause.) And many of you are blessed by having a husband or wife, or a son and daughter who stand with you during this time of sacrifice. Our nation is blessed because of our military families. (Applause.) Your fellow citizens are proud of you, and so is your Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

I appreciate Secretary of the Navy Gordon England for joining us today. I want to thank Major General Tim Donovan for his leadership. I want to thank Brigadier General James Williams for being here, as well. I want to thank all the state and local officials. I want to thank the military families. But most of all, I want to thank the United States Marine Corps. (Applause.)

Last month, Marines across the world broke out their dress blues to celebrate the 229th birthday of the Corps. But the men and women of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Expeditionary Force marked the occasion a little differently -- by fighting the enemies in Iraq. As one Pendleton Marine near the front lines put it, "This is what we, as Marines, do. It is where the American people expect us to be." The Marines of Camp Pendleton are serving our nation with valor and integrity.

This is the home of the 1st Marine Division, one of America's oldest and most decorated units. (Applause.) In Korea, the Marines of the 1st Division were surrounded at the Chosin Reservoir by 10 divisions of Chinese troops. When Colonel Chesty Puller heard the news, he said, "They've got us right where we want them. We can shoot in every direction now." (Applause.) He wasn't bluffing.

The 1st Marine Division made it out, destroying seven enemy divisions and upholding the great tradition of the Corps. (Applause.) That courage, determination, and devotion to duty have made the United States Marines one of the most feared and respected fighting forces in the world. (Applause.) And in these dangerous times, when terrorists seek to harm our families and murder free citizens, Americans are thankful that the Marines are on the front line, taking the fight to the enemy. (Applause.)

Since I took office almost four years ago, I have visited our troops around the world, and one of my first stops as the Commander-in-Chief was right here in Camp Pendleton. It was in the summer of 2001. I told you that day, because you're Marines you would be asked to perform our nation's most difficult and dangerous missions. Since that day, you have performed every mission with honor and with courage and with commitment.

In the war on terror, you have fought enemies' freedom -- freedom's enemies from the caves and mountains of Afghanistan to the deserts and cities of Iraq. Marines of Camp Pendleton's 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit were the first conventional forces to fight in Operation Enduring Freedom. They deployed hundreds of miles into a landlocked country to help seize the Kandahar Airport, hunted down the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, and helped to liberate more than 28 million people from one of the world's most brutal regimes.

If any of you were in that 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I want you to hear what's happening today. Today, the Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense are in Kabul for the inauguration of Afghanistan's first democratically-elected President. (Applause.) Afghanistan has been transformed from a haven for terrorists to a steadfast ally in the war on terror, and the American people are safer because of your courage. (Applause.)

When America led a coalition to enforce the demands of a free world and to end the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Marines of Camp Pendleton made us proud once again. When the appointed hour came, the 1st Marine Division rolled across the border, pressing more than 500 miles over the Iraqi desert in less than one month. (Applause.) Backed by the 1st Force Service Support Group -- (applause) -- and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing -- (applause) -- you helped liberate the Iraqi capital, pulled down the statues of the dictator, and pushed north to secure the homeland of Tikrit. You drove Saddam Hussein from his palace into a spider hole. (Applause.) And now he sits in an Iraqi prison awaiting justice. Because of your bravery, because of your skill, America and the world are a safer place. (Applause.)

In recent days, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has once again shown America's purpose and resolve, this time in Fallujah. Block by block, building by building, Marines and soldiers and Iraqi security forces took that city back from the terrorists and the insurgents, and when the smoke is cleared, we saw once again the true nature of the enemy. We found blood-stained torture chambers where hostages had been executed. We found videos of beheadings and brutal terrorist attacks. We found travel documents of foreign terrorists and equipment of forging Iraqi passports to make the foreign fighters appear to be Iraqi insurgents. We found more than 600 improvised explosive devices, including an ice cream truck that had been loaded with bombs for a terrorist attack.

In the battle for Fallujah, the terrorists hid weapons in the cemetery. They hid ammunition in private homes. They hid bombs in mosques, but they could not hide from the United States Marines. (Applause.)

We have dealt the enemy a severe blow. The terrorist Zarqawi has lost his main sanctuary in Iraq. The Baathist insurgents have lost one of their main bases of operation. We seized tons of weapons and shut down terrorist bomb-making factories, killed more than 2,000 enemy fighters, and captured thousands more. The enemies of freedom in Iraq have been wounded, but they're not yet defeated. They'll keep on fighting -- and so will the Marine Corps. (Applause.)

Next month, Iraqis will vote in free and democratic elections. As election day approaches, we can expect further violence from the terrorists. You see, the terrorists understand what is at stake. They know they have no future in a free Iraq, because free people never choose their own enslavement. They know democracy will give Iraqis a stake in the future of their country. When Iraqis choose their leaders in free elections, it will destroy the myth that the terrorists are fighting a foreign occupation and make clear that what the terrorists are really fighting is the will of the Iraqi people.

The success of democracy in Iraq will also inspire others across the Middle East to defend their own freedom and to expose the terrorists for what they are: violent extremists on the fringe of society with no agenda for the future except tyranny and death.

So the terrorists will do all they can to delay and disrupt free elections in Iraq, and they will fail. (Applause.) As Iraqi President al Yawer said in the Oval Office yesterday, the Iraqi people are anxious to go and cast their votes and practice, for the first time in 45 years, their right and duty of voting. Free elections will proceed as planned.

The United States has a vital interest in the success of a free Iraq. A free Iraq will be a major victory in the war on terror. Free nations do not export terror. Free nations listen to the hopes and aspirations of their people. Free nations are peaceful nations. And a free Iraq will make America more secure, and the world a peaceful place.

America and our coalition have a strategy in place to aid the rise of a stable democracy in Iraq. To help the Iraqi government provide security during the election period, we will increase U.S. troop strength by about 12,000 personnel for a total of 150,000 troops. As the election approaches, coalition forces will continue hunting the terrorists and the insurgents. We'll help the people of Fallujah and other cities to rebuild and to move forward. We'll continue training Iraqi security forces so the Iraqi people can eventually take responsibility for their own security.

Some Iraqi units have performed better than others, as you know. Some Iraqis have been intimidated enough by the insurgents to leave the service to their country. But a great many are standing firm. In Fallujah, Iraqis fought alongside our soldiers and Marines with valor and determination. One American soldier who saw them up close in combat said they really excelled, kicking in the doors, clearing the houses, running out into9 fire to pick up wounded Marines." The Iraqi security forces made up about 20 percent of the forces in Fallujah. They're killing the terrorists, blocking the escape routes, and saving American lives. These brave Iraqis are fighting for their freedom, and we are proud to stand by their side. (Applause.)

continued........

[thedrifter]

Our coalition is determined to help them succeed. We're working to develop a core of well-trained senior mid-level Iraqi officers. After all, Iraqi soldiers want to be led by Iraqis. NATO trainers are already in Iraq, and the alliance will soon develop a new training center for the Iraqi security forces and a military academy outside of Baghdad. We will help the Iraqi government build a force that no longer needs coalition support so they can defend their own nation. And then American soldiers and Marines can come home with the honor they have earned. (Applause.)

Our success in Iraq will make America safer for us and for future generations. As one Marine sergeant put it, "I never want my children to experience what we saw in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania." He said, "If we can eliminate the threat on foreign soil, I would rather do it there than have it come home to us." That's why we're on the offensive today in Fallujah and Mosul, Ramadi and north Babil. We're getting after the terrorists. We're disrupting their plans. We're holding the state sponsors of terror equally responsible for terrorist acts. We're working to prevent outlaw regimes from gaining weapons of mass murder and providing them to terrorists. We'll stay at these efforts with patience and resolve, and will we prevail. (Applause.)

A time of war is a time for sacrifice, especially for our military families. Being left behind when a loved one goes to war is one of the hardest jobs in the military. It is especially hard during the holidays. Families here at Camp Pendleton endure long separation. Carrying these burdens, you serve our country. America is grateful for your service. (Applause.)

Our nation also honors the men and women who've been injured in the line of duty. I met some of these Americans. This Saturday, I'll be going to Bethesda to meet more. Many face a hard road ahead. They've inspired their comrades with their strength of will. General Sattler recently visited with some of the wounded in the Fallujah campaign. One Marine was pretty beat up, but when he saw the General, he lifted his hand and said, "Sir, I've still got my trigger finger. I can get back out there." That is the spirit of the Corps. And America will show the same sense of duty. We will provide the best possible medical care for every American servicemember wounded in action. (Applause.)

And some of you have lost comrades and family members in the war on terror. Words can only go so far in capturing the grief and sense of loss for the families of those who have died, but you can know this: They gave their lives for a cause that is just. And as in other generations, their sacrifice will have spared millions from the lives of tyranny and sorrow. America prays for the families of the fallen, and we stand with the families of the fallen, and their sacrifice will always be remembered. (Applause.)

In the last four years, I've seen, and the world has seen, the courage and the skill and the decency of the United States military. You are a great force for good in this world. The American people know it and they are behind you. Your service and sacrifice has touched the hearts of our people and inspired millions to show their gratitude.

Last month, I met a 15-year-old from California named Shauna Fleming, who collected a million thank-you letters for our military personnel. In Washington, D.C., veterans -- Vietnam vet Steve Cobb and his wife, Tanya, have been coming out regularly to Andrews Air Force Base to meet wounded servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those two good folks welcome the troops home, and they offer whatever help they can provide. Steve earned four Purple Hearts and the Silver Star in Vietnam, but this is what he said. He said, "When I came home, there was nobody but demonstrators to meet our troops. I never wanted to see another generation of troops come home without being welcomed and appreciated." (Applause.)

In Massachusetts, a contractor named John Gonsalves says --heard about a soldier who had lost both legs in an RPG attack in Iraq. So he started Homes For Our Troops, a non-profit dedicated to building and adapting homes for disabled veterans with special needs. John says, "The war on terror is something the American people should all be a part of, not just the people on the front lines in Afghanistan and in Iraq." He says, "We have a responsibility to do more for our veterans who are out there fighting every day and putting their lives on the line."

Here at Camp Pendleton, a nurse named Karen Gunther saw the financial strain on the families of the injured sailors and Marines. Many spent weeks, even months away from home, standing by their loved ones, recovering at a military hospital. They struggle with the cost of food and lodging and travel and lost income. So she and other Marine spouses started the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, to raise money for those struggling military families. Since its founding here six months ago, it has grown into a national organization that has helped over 300 military families across the United States, with more than $400,000 in grants.

As a wife of a wounded Marine recently put it, "There was no red tape. They just helped. Had it not been for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, I would not have been able to pay my bills for the past three months or stay at my husband's bedside."

These examples represent the true strength of the country, the heart and souls of your fellow citizens, and they make America proud. Across our country, Americans are coming together to surround our deployed forces and wounded warriors with love and support. We should be doing more. So I want to speak to our fellow citizens who might be listening today. I urge every American to find some way to thank our military and to help out the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set up a website: AmericaSupportsYou.mil. If you're interested to find out how you can help, go to AmericaSupportsYou.mil. You can go there to learn about efforts in your own community to say you support our troops. In this season of giving, let us stand with the men and women who stand up for America, our military. (Applause.)

Every man and woman who serves at Camp Pendleton and all who wear the Marine Corps uniform are part of a great history. The General mentioned 63 years ago today, our nation was attacked at Pearl Harbor. And soon, the United States Marines were storming beaches and engaging the enemy in distant lands. In places like Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, our fathers and our grandfathers struggled and sacrificed to defend freedom. And today, in places like Fallujah and North Babil, this generation of Marines is fighting to extend freedom.

Today's war on terror will not end with a ceremony, a surrender ceremony on a deck of a battleship. But it will end with victory. (Applause.) Just as we defeated the threats of fascism and imperial communism in the 20th century, we will defeat the threat of global terrorism. And we will help the people of liberated countries to rebuild and to secure a future of freedom and peace.

I have confidence in our country and I have faith in our cause. There's still important work ahead, yet the outcome is assured. History moves toward freedom because the desire for freedom is written in every human heart. And the cause of freedom is in the best of hands. It's in the hands of people like the United States Marine Corps. (Applause.)

The United States Marines will fight in the words of the Rifleman's Creed: "Until victory is America's and there is no enemy."

May God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

END 10:00 A.M. PST


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Bush praises Marines for Iraq efforts



Camp Pendleton, CA, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. President Bush Tuesday thanked the Marines at Camp Pendleton, Calif., praising their efforts in Iraq and in earlier wars.

"In the war on terror, you have fought ... freedom's enemies from the caves and mountains of Afghanistan to the deserts and cities of Iraq," Bush said. "Marines of Camp Pendleton's 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit ... (helped) seize the Kandahar Airport, hunted down the Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, and helped to liberate more than 28 million people from one of the world's most brutal regimes."

Bush said he made the trip to California because "it was getting a little quiet back at the White House."

Bush said he is looking forward to next month's elections in Iraq but warned violence likely will escalate. And, he said, coalition forces are determined to help the Iraqis succeed.

"Today's war on terror will not end with a ceremony, a surrender ceremony on a deck of a battleship," Bush said, referring to his appearance on the deck of a carrier off the California coast where he declared major action in Iraq over. "But it will end with victory. Just as we defeated the threats of fascism and imperial communism in the 20th century, we will defeat the threat of global terrorism. And we will help the people of liberated countries to rebuild and to secure a future of freedom and peace."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Unit killed Iraqi civilians <br />
From correspondents in Toronto <br />
December 08, 2004 <br />
<br />
A FORMER US Marine said today his unit killed more than 30 innocent Iraqi civilians in just two days, in graphic...

[thedrifter]

They sent in the Marines for toys on Walnut Street
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By Pauline Pinard Bogaert
Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist

The Marines landed on Walnut Street Thursday night.

It was a raid with good intentions. Members of the Third Battalion 14th Marines stationed at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Northeast Philadelphia were there to gather toys and funds for the 57th annual Toys for Tots Program.

Two Marines - Staff Sgts. Michael Beauchemin and Peter Almeida - stood guard in front of a camouflaged, military Humvee parked on Walnut Street as 250 people streamed into Denim.

The event was a Casino Night, and guests could pay $40 to attend, or present a new, unwrapped toy for a reduced entry fee.

The Marines collected 117 toys and more than $7,000 in proceeds. In 2003, 49,000 toys were distributed in the Philadelphia area. More than 15 million toys are given to 6.6 million needy children across the country by the 450 Marine reserve units taking part.

Seven active-duty Marines, who volunteer their time above their regular duties, were there. Besides Beauchemin, who hails from Manchester, N.H., and Almeida of Hyannis, Mass., others there were Staff Sgt. Ray Weigand of Philadelphia, who is Philadelphia's Toys for Tots coordinator; Sgt. Angelo Rue of Detroit; Staff Sgt. Phillip Morford of Virginia Beach, Va.; Cpl. Brian Fox of Charlotte, N.C.; and Pvt. William Dotzel of Bensalem.

People played roulette, blackjack and other games for furs, clothes, and gift certificates. Dealer Tom Battista rolled out the cards for Darlene Steiner, Dale Silver and Alex Bresler. Others there were Dana Spain-Smith, Nicole DeSantis, Patti Stiles, Linda Powers, Danielle Vargas, Susan Selnick, Jill Isherwood and Michael Bauscher.

Philadelphia Eagles player Hank Fraley won the stocked liquor locker from Denim. Loretta Runyan, wife of Eagle Jon Runyan, won a Norwegian pink fur.

Also there were Correll Buckhalter from the Eagles and former Eagle Mike Quick. The Phillies' Jimmy Rollins was there, as were Couzin Ed of WYSP-FM (94.1) and Doug Kammerer of WCAU (Channel 10).


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Navy Boss: Don't Jump to Conclusions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albuquerque Journal
Dec. 7, 2004

Navy Secretary Gordon England, defending the service's elite forces in Iraq, on Monday urged Americans to avoid forming conclusions about new photos possibly showing Iraqi detainee abuse.

"Until I know there's been wrongdoing, my assumption is that we're doing things right until proven otherwise," England said about newly surfaced photos possibly depicting Navy SEALs abusing prisoners in Iraq.

England, in an interview Monday in Albuquerque, also said he believes security in Iraq has improved over the past six months. He hopes for continued progress following the scheduled Jan. 30 elections there.

"It's very important that we get on with these elections," Gordon said, predicting additional violence in Iraq between now and the vote. "The insurgents don't want the elections because, otherwise, they lose. And, of course, we want the elections."

Monday at the White House, President Bush reaffirmed his desire for Iraqi elections at the end of January. Bush has rejected calls from 17 political parties in Iraq that the national election be delayed.

England, in his first public comments since the latest photos of what appear to be abuse of Iraqi detainees emerged last week, said "nobody knows the context of any of these photographs." The military has launched a criminal inquiry into the photos, which The Associated Press recently discovered on a commercial Internet site.

The photos appear to show Navy SEALs sitting on handcuffed detainees. Others depict bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head.

"People say, 'Gosh, this person has blood on them,' '' England said Monday. "Well, I tell you what, a lot of Americans have blood on them."

England also admonished early assumptions about the latest photos. "I don't think it's appropriate for the press to jump to conclusions until we better understand the circumstances."

When asked Monday if he had expected insurgent violence to continue so long after the March 2003 invasion, England noted the U.S. military has remained in Japan and Germany since World War II and South Korea since that conflict stopped 51 years ago.

"Whenever you want stability in the world, you call the U.S., and we provide the stability," England said. "That's what this is about."

November proved to be the deadliest month for U.S. troops serving in Iraq. Following assaults in insurgent strongholds Fallujah and Mosul, 136 service members -- more than 70 of them Marines -- were killed.

In anticipation of heightened bloodshed, the Pentagon has announced it will increase the number of soldiers in Iraq by 12,000 to 150,000 for the election.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine Security Team Heading to Jiddah
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By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military ordered a Marine Corps antiterrorism security team to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday to assist in security at the consulate, defense officials said.

The officials discussed operational matters only on the condition of anonymity. The team is based elsewhere in the Middle East, the official said.

These teams typically have 50 Marines and are experts in providing security and conducting raids in urban areas, said Maj. Matt Morgan, a Marine Corps spokesman at Camp Lejeune, N.C. They are often deployed in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

In Jiddah, they will reinforce defenses at the U.S. consulate that were breached by a group of attackers Monday. Eight people, including three attackers and five non-American embassy employees, were killed in the ensuing gunbattle.

Meanwhile, the State Department said Tuesday that the attack could be followed by more terror attacks in Saudi Arabia, a worried State Department said Tuesday.

New travel warnings to discourage U.S. citizens from going there are expected to be issued soon. But, in the meantime, the U.S. consulate in Jiddah will be reopened soon, and the embassy in Riyadh was preparing to reopen, as well.

A day after Islamic militants shot their way into the compound at Jiddah, the circumstances remained unclear, including whether foreign national had been held hostage, spokesman Adam Ereli said.

"Embassy personnel have interviewed all the foreign service nationals who were involved in the attack, Some have said they were taken hostage and used as human shields," he said.

"Our operating assumption is that there are still terrorist elements active in the kingdom, targeting u.S. citizens and faiclities, as well as other commercial and civilian establishments," Ereli said. "Therefore, maximum alertness and caution and prudence is called for."

In general, American diplomatic facilities like the one in Jiddah employ a layered defense against terrorist attacks, with foreign guards on the outside and American security personnel including U.S. Marines inside.

U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide rely almost exclusively on host-nation soldiers and police or private security guards to guard their outer walls. This keeps armed Americans off overseas streets - their presence would be tantamount to foreign soldiers patrolling Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington.

Inside, physical security is provided by U.S. Marines and federal civilian officers with the Diplomatic Security Service.

Four Marines are believed to have been inside the U.S. consulate in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, when it was attacked Monday, Morgan said.

Initial reports suggested none were hurt, and it was unknown whether they took part in the fighting, he said.

There are six Marines, led by a staff sergeant, assigned to the consulate, but Morgan said his best information is that only four were inside during the attack.

The Marines' main job is to control access to the embassy and protect any classified information inside, Morgan said. Marines would not take part in protecting the perimeter of the consulate, but they would assist if there was a security threat inside.

Protection of diplomats and other consular personnel inside is the primary responsibility of the State Department's civilian Diplomatic Security Service. They and the Marines report to a regional security officer.

Morgan said many consulates - which are smaller than embassies - do not have detachments of Marine guards, and those that do are typically in high-threat areas.

Only in Kabul and Baghdad do Marines patrol an embassy's outer perimeter, Morgan said.

The Marine presence at American diplomatic buildings throughout the Middle East is higher than most, he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

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