07/31/2009
First Lady Welcomes Sailors Home, Thanks Families
NORFOLK, Va. - First lady Michelle Obama welcomed home the crews of two Navy ships and expressed her support for their families while speaking to more than 500 servicemembers at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
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07/31/2009
GI Bill Transferability Set to Begin
WASHINGTON - More than 25,000 servicemembers have pre-applied for the Post-9/11 GI Bill's option to transfer unused educational benefits to eligible family members.
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07/31/2009
Navy Task Force Assesses Changing Climate
WASHINGTON - As the scientific community works to understand the changing climate, the chief of naval operations has created a task force to better understand and evaluate the implications for maritime security.
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07/31/2009
Basra Continues Provincial Cleanup Campaign
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq - Local Iraqi leaders met with U.S. forces at the trash dump in Basra, Iraq, to assess the progress of a project to facilitate the mass cleanup of trash.
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07/30/2009
Turnover Pays Unforeseen Benefits, General Says
WASHINGTON - An unanticipated result of the U.S.-Iraq security agreement is that relationships between Iraqi and U.S. commanders have improved, the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq said.
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07/30/2009
Iraq Social Media Experience Sparks Training for Leaders
WASHINGTON - Army Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV discovered the power of social networking in 2007 when he was the U.S. military’s top spokesman in Iraq. Now he’s working to share that recognition throughout the military as he helps develop a new generation of social-media savvy military leaders.
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07/30/2009
Colonel Discusses Multinational Airlift Operations
WASHINGTON - For the first time, 12 nations have come together, independently of NATO, to fly in support of their national requirements under the provisions of the Strategic Airlift Capability program.
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07/30/2009
Taliban Actions Speak Louder Than Words, General Says
WASHINGTON - Although the Taliban recently issued a “code of conduct” booklet aimed at projecting a more positive image to the Afghan people, their actions directly contradict this goal, the spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said.
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07/30/2009
Interagency Experiment Prepares for Crises
SUFFOLK, Va. - U.S. Joint Forces Command and its partners have completed an experiment designed to enhance national security by providing joint force commanders with a better capability to share information with agencies during crisis operations.
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07/30/2009
Iraqi Soldiers Sharpen Skills at ‘Cold Steel Academy’
COMBAT OUTPOST CARVER, Iraq - After five long days of intense training and battling a pair of fierce sandstorms, more than 20 Iraqi soldiers graduated from the “Cold Steel Training Academy” on Combat Outpost Carver, Iraq.
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07/30/2009
Team Works With Afghans to Address Timber Issues
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Members of the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Kunar province are working with Afghans to address Kunar’s timber situation with the aim of building a better Afghanistan.
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07/29/2009
Moscow Summit Produces Successes, ‘To-Do’ List
WASHINGTON - The United States had high goals for the recent Moscow Summit, and while significant progress was made, distinct challenges were identified as well, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasian policy said.
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07/29/2009
Training Takes Center Stage in Iraq
WASHINGTON - The new U.S. advisory role in Iraq includes educating both Iraqis and Americans on everything from cultural awareness to flight skills.
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07/29/2009
Gates Encouraged by Iraqi Accomplishments, Goals
ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he is heartened by his visit to Iraq, and that he urged Arab and Kurd Iraqis to use the good offices of the United States to help solve their problems.
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07/28/2009
Odierno Says Iraqi Response Paves Way for More Progress
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - The commander of Multinational Forces Iraq said he’s extremely pleased with the way Iraqi security forces have stepped to the plate following the June 30 withdrawal of American forces from the cities and towns of the country.
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07/28/2009
Air Force to Assess Iraqi Air Defense Needs
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - The Air Force is sending an assessment team to Iraq to look at how the Iraqi military can field an air defense once American forces leave in 2011.
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07/28/2009
Officials Testify on Capabilities to Defend Against Mass Weapons
WASHINGTON - Three new federal response units are being created to assist civil authorities in the event of a chemical, biological or other form of attack, the latest effort in maintaining a full arsenal of response capabilities, a top Pentagon official told House members.
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07/28/2009
Military Prepares for Varied Threats, Official Says
WASHINGTON - The 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review now under development envisions a U.S. military with the ability to confront current threats such as al-Qaida as well as having the capacity to meet future security challenges.
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07/28/2009
Soldiers, Skylink Arabia Cooperate in Air Operations
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq - Servicemembers of 3rd Air Operations Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment, and civilian employees of Skylink Arabia work together to ensure successful air operations at Basra International Airport in Iraq.
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07/28/2009
U.S. Development Team Assesses Afghan Cement Plant
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Members of a U.S. development team got a first-hand look at how Afghan businesses have been affected by 30 years of war when they toured a cement-making plant.
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07/27/2009
Artillery Unit Becomes Civil Affairs in New Iraq
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq - As part of the Army’s first Advise and Assist Brigade, Task Force Pathfinder provides military support to developing civil capacity across three provinces in southern Iraq.
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07/27/2009
U.S., China Can Cooperate on Security Issues, Obama Says
WASHINGTON - The United States and the People’s Republic of China can cooperate on a number of security issues of mutual interest, such as preventing the spread of nuclear arms and combating global extremism, President Barack Obama said.
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07/27/2009
Petraeus Visits Sailors, Awards Maersk Rescuers
MANAMA, Bahrain - The head of U.S. Central Command visited the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge to thank sailors for their work while deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet, as well as for their role in the rescue of the cargo ship captain held captive by Somali pirates.
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07/24/2009
Crew Leaves USNS Comfort Changed by Mission
CHINANDEGA, Nicaragua - After four months of treating thousands of people in seven countries during Continuing Promise 2009, members of the hospital ship USNS Comfort's crew say the experience affected them.
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07/24/2009
Defense Agency Simulates Biological Attack on Pentagon
WASHINGTON - The risk of attack against senior government leaders always has been high, making protection of the Pentagon and other buildings in the national capital area a top priority, a senior official involved with a recent bio-attack drill said.
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07/24/2009
Biden Vows Support for Georgia’s NATO Hopes
WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden emphasized U.S. support for Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO and said a new bilateral charter will focus on modernizing the country’s military.
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07/24/2009
Forces Kill Militants, Detain Suspects in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON - Afghan and international forces killed several enemy fighters, detained nine suspects and destroyed a weapons stockpile in operations in Afghanistan’s Ghazni, Khost and Kandahar provinces.
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07/24/2009
National Guard Trains Iraqi Police to Become Self-Sufficient
FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq - National police in Iraq’s Wasit province now are capable of sustaining their own training needs after coalition forces leave, thanks to the efforts of a Massachusetts National Guard police company.
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07/23/2009
Gates, Maliki Discuss U.S.-Iraqi Security Partnership
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki discussed Iraq security issues and the need to get equipment to Iraqi military and police more quickly during a Pentagon meeting.
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07/23/2009
Unmanned Aircraft Take on Increased Importance
WASHINGTON - The U.S. military’s expanded overseas use of unmanned aircraft will serve as a template for the Air Force in 2047, just in time for the service's 100th birthday.
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07/23/2009
Preventive Medicine Soldiers Keep Troops Safe
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq - A small preventive medicine team on Forward Operating Base Kalsu does big things to protect troops from disease-borne foods, water, bugs and animals.
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07/23/2009
Face of Defense: Vietnam Veteran Re-enlists in Iraq
CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ EAST, Iraq - Army Sgt. 1st Class Hershel L. Mayfield, a Vietnam veteran with 39 years of service, has re-enlisted, focusing now on the future and the young people he serves with in Iraq.
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07/22/2009
‘Empire Challenge’ Focuses on Interopability
WASHINGTON - Using emerging technologies to collect and analyze intelligence -- and then testing better ways to get it to warfighters is the focus of a project called Empire Challenge.
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07/22/2009
Comfort Care Shapes Lives, Course for International Aid
ABOARD THE USNS COMFORT OFF THE COAST OF CORINTO, NICARAGUA - When surgeons aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort separated the webbed fingers of a Nicaraguan teenager, they opened the door for him to realize his dream.
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07/22/2009
‘Flying Tigers’ Take Mission to Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - American volunteers flying P-40 Tomahawks protected China during World War II, and their legacy has become a fixture in Afghanistan.
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07/22/2009
Obama Praises Senate Vote on F-22 Funding
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama praised a Senate vote that struck down $1.75 billion in additional funding in the fiscal 2010 defense budget for more F-22 Raptor fighter jets.
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07/21/2009
Afghan Girl Translates for Chairman at School Opening
PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - A 12th-grader at a Kabul high school translated for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during an opening ceremony for a new school in Afghanistan's Panjshir province.
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07/20/2009
Wisconsin Guard Helps Iraqis Train Corrections Officers
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FUTURE, Iraq - At the Iraqi National Training Academy on Victory Base Complex near Baghdad, Iraqi instructors are training four platoons of recruits to become the foundation of the Iraqi correctional system with help from Wisconsin National Guard soldiers.
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07/20/2009
Convoys Roll Through Danger to Deliver Goods
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - As combat missions increase in Afghanistan, a Maine National Guard battalion is getting increasingly busy delivering supplies to forward operating bases under dangerous conditions.
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07/20/2009
General Mourns Airmen Killed in F-15E Crash
WASHINGTON - The commander of U.S. Air Forces Central expressed condolences to the families and friends of two Air Force officers killed in the crash of an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet in eastern Afghanistan.
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07/17/2009
Defense Leaders Bid Farewell to Army Secretary
FORT MYER, Va. - Defense leaders bestowed honors on Army Secretary Pete Geren at his farewell ceremony and Geren turned the event into a paean of praise for soldiers and their families.
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07/17/2009
Mullen Reflects on Latest Trip to Afghanistan
KHANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he is returning home from Afghanistan with a sense that the overall situation there will improve as the Afghan people's trust and support grows.
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07/17/2009
Gates Addresses Nation’s Challenges in Chicago
CHICAGO - The nation is facing multiple, complex challenges, but none so pressing as the situation in Iran, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said following his speech at the Economic Club of Chicago.
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07/16/2009
Celebrities Entertain Troops in Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, NFL Hall of Famer Don Shula and other celebrities in the USO's summer tour visited troops assigned to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
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07/15/2009
F-22 Debate Reflects Broader Acquisition Challenges
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, set for a budget talk in Chicago, will be pressing his point with Congress that the Defense Department doesn’t need more than 187 F-22 aircraft.
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07/15/2009
Division Commander Blogs for Troop Feedback
WASHINGTON - When Army Maj. Gen. Michael L. Oates poses a question to his 10th Mountain Division soldiers on his blog, the floodgates open in a dialogue once considered unimaginable between junior troops and their commander.
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07/15/2009
Mullen Helps Celebrate New Opportunity for Afghans
PANJSHIR VALLEY, Afghanistan - Afghanistan’s future depends on its ability to educate youth, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said at the opening of Afghanistan’s newest elementary school.
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07/15/2009
Program Bonds Iraqi Women, Strengthens Economy
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq - Advisors to a military "Women's Iniatiatives" program witness the tolls of Iraqi women living in poverty and provide hope for the future.
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07/15/2009
New Courthouses Promote Rule of Law in Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The Army’s top judge gathered with other U.S. and Afghan leaders in Bagram district to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first in a series of new courthouses.
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07/14/2009
Mullen Thanks Servicemembers in Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff offered some guidance and his gratitude to about 300 military members during an all-hands call at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
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07/14/2009
Microgrants Assist Growing Economy in Iraq
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARRIOR, Iraq - U.S. forces issue microgrants of up to $5,000 to help Iraqi small-business owners build or revitalize their businesses.
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07/13/2009
Kirkuk Progress is ‘Impressive,’ Mullen Says
KIRKUK, Iraq - Despite historical differences that challenge progress in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a visit there that he’s struck by the governance and security milestones achieved.
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07/13/2009
Guardsmen Battle Wildfires in Two States
ARLINGTON, Va. - Guardsmen from Texas and Oklahoma assisted local firefighters over the weekend as they worked to extinguish wildfires about 20 miles east of Austin, Texas, and in Major County, Okla.
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07/13/2009
Army Lab Tests Effects of Altitude Change on Soldiers
WASHINGTON - Army researchers are simulating environmental extremes, such as the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro or the high desert of Afghanistan, to better understand and protect troops from the challenges of operating in such conditions.
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07/13/2009
Air Force Squadron Improves Base in Iraq
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq - The landscape of Contingency Operating Base Basra is changing rapidly as numerous new buildings go up thanks to the efforts of Air Force engineers.
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07/13/2009
Military Health System Embraces Social Media
WASHINGTON - The Military Health System is one of the many Defense Department organizations embracing social networking in order to provide information to and receive feedback from servicemembers.
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07/13/2009
North Dakota Guard Assists Tornado-hit Town
DICKINSON, N.D. - Almost 100 North Dakota Army National Guardsmen were called to duty last week to respond after a tornado struck a town south of the Heart River.
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07/13/2009
Reporter’s Notebook: Boy Forgoes Party for Surgery
ABOARD THE USNS COMFORT OFF THE COAST OF CORINTO, NICARAGUA - American Forces Press Service reporter Fred W. Baker III has embarked on the USNS Comfort off the coast of Corinto, Nicaragua, the last stop of a four-month humanitarian mission. In his first blog from the trip, Baker recounts a family's "blessing from God" to save a boy's vision.
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07/13/2009
Cooperation Key to Success Along Afghan Border
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Surrounded by rugged rock faces, U.S., Afghan and Pakistani troops sat in lawn chairs on the Afghan side for discussions ranging from border security to family updates.
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07/10/2009
Stavridis at Forward Edge as Military Embraces Social Media
WASHINGTON - The day he assumed his post as NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe, Navy Adm. James Stavridis reached out in a way none of the previous 15 NATO commanders since Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower had: he posted a blog.
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07/10/2009
Official Cites Need for Technology Acquisition Reform
WASHINGTON - The Defense Department’s information technology acquisition process is too slow to be cost-effective, a senior Pentagon official told Congress, citing the need for acquisition reform within the department.
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07/10/2009
Soldiers Scan Skies for Mortars, Rockets
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq - Soldiers in Iraq are keeping an eye to the sky to protect their fellow soldiers against mortar and rocket attacks.
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07/09/2009
More Mine-resistant Vehicles Flow to Afghanistan
WASHINGTON - The military is sending thousands of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles to Afghanistan to protect troops against their biggest threat: improvised explosive devices.
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07/08/2009
Protecting Civilians Leads New Afghanistan Strategy
WASHINGTON - Combat operations with some 4,000 Marines have begun in southern Afghanistan and an influx of additional forces represents a big step toward carrying out a more comprehensive U.S. strategy there.
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07/07/2009
Chairman Cites Dialogue as Key to Middle East Strategy
WASHINGTON - The strategy in the greater Middle East “is not about how many enemy we kill, but about how many civilians we protect,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a Washington think tank.
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07/07/2009
Patriot Walks for Deployed Troops
WASHINGTON - A 54-year-old Georgia man spent more than four weeks walking to draw attention to the needs of deployed troops.
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07/06/2009
U.S., Russia Resume Military Relations
WASHINGTON - The United States and Russia agreed to resume bilateral military cooperation, which has been on hold since the conflict between Russia and Georgia erupted in August.
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07/06/2009
Biden, Odierno Preside Over Naturalization Ceremony in Iraq
WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden and Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, presided over a July 4 naturalization ceremony in which 237 U.S. troops deployed to Iraq became American citizens.
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07/05/2009
Chairman Addresses Iraq, North Korea, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff addressed the situation in Iraq, relations with North Korea, China and Russia and possible changes to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy during an appearance on a television news show.
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07/02/2009
Soldiers Say Goodbye to Iraqi Orphans With Party, Gifts
FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq - Members of the 20th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade, 2nd Battalion, couldn’t leave Iraq in the troop drawdown without taking time to say a special goodbye to local orphans they had helped.
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07/02/2009
Tiger Woods Honors U.S. Troops at Golf Tournament
BETHESDA, Md. - Tiger Woods took time to honor America's servicemembers at the beginning of the Pro-am golf tournament named for his father, who served as an Army officer during the Vietnam era.
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07/02/2009
U.S. Limits Contact with Honduran Military
WASHINGTON - The American military contingent in Honduras has limited its contact with Honduran forces as the U.S. government evaluates the situation in the Central American country.
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07/01/2009
Pentagon Official Explains Force Structure in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON - It would be easy to confuse Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan with the NATO International Security Assistance Force there because they share the same commander. But the two have distinctly different missions.
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07/01/2009
Troops Reach Out to Afghan Villagers
LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Coalition forces in Logar province have learned that outreach to residents can make a big difference in their ability to accomplish military operations.
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