Chairman's Enlisted Advisor Visits Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command

By Tech. Sgt. Sean P. Houlihan, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii, Dec. 16, 2005 - The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met with Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command enlisted members, thanking and encouraging them to continue their work for the nation, during a visit here Dec. 14.

"I am proud to be a member of your team," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. William "Joe" Gainey. "Anyone who is dedicated to the cause of bringing home our fallen comrades is a true American hero, with all capital letters."

He told the group their work of identifying the recovered remains of missing servicemembers is admirable and not forgotten by those in uniform and family members who still wait for the news their family member has been identified.

A mission briefing during the sergeant major's visit explained the command's five emphasis areas of data analysis, technical negotiations with other countries, investigations of possible recovery sites, recovery of remains and identification of those remains. The briefing also noted the number of servicemembers missing in action from World War I to the only current MIA from the Gulf War, Navy Cmdr. Scott Speicher.

Upon hearing that only one servicemember is considered MIA, Gainey pulled a photo from his wallet of Army Sgt. Matt Mauphin, a reservist whose whereabouts have not been known since 2004. Gainey received the photo from a junior soldier a couple of months after Mauphin went missing in Iraq.

"I carry the photo as part of my military bearing and to remind me that there is one soldier that hasn't came home with his unit," said Gainey, who was the Multinational Corps Iraq command sergeant major when Mauphin went missing. "It is very clear it is my obligation to continue to carry it until he is found."

The sergeant major then asked why Mauphin isn't categorized as MIA.

The briefer, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Raile, replied that command and Defense Department guidelines consider servicemembers MIA when only after military operations have been declared concluded, as is the case for all operations except Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Once military operations have concluded, Mauphin will be considered MIA unless found before that time, Raile explained.

Gainey expressed surprise and vowed to find out how to change the DoD guidelines to allow Mauphin to be classified as MIA.

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sean P. Houlihan is assigned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs Office.)

Biography:

Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, USA [http://www.jcs.mil/bios/bio_gainey.html]

Related Site:

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command [http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3687.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

Rumsfeld: New Iraq Government Will Have Say in Troop Levels

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 - The new year is likely to include troop reductions in Iraq, but exactly how quickly those reductions will occur will be based on recommendations of U.S. commanders there in conjunction with wishes of the new Iraqi government, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.

One day after Iraq's parliamentary elections, Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon Channel interview it's too soon to know exactly what role that new government will want the United States to play.

Just as in the United States after an election, Iraq's new government is likely to take a few months to form, he said.

"They have to certify the vote, then seat the assembly," Rumsfeld said. Once the assembly organizes, it will select a president, deputy president and prime minister, who will select cabinet members to run the ministries.

"So it could take a couple of months," the secretary said. "That's not a long time, but in an environment that hostile, it is a long time."

The United States is anxious to see the process move forward as quickly as possible, and takes particular interest in decisions regarding the ministries of defense and interior, he said.

Yet to be seen, Rumsfeld said, is what role the new Iraqi government will want the United States military to play in its future.

He cited Afghanistan as a possible model, noting that the Afghan government has requested U.S. support in several areas. A strategic agreement between the two countries provides for U.S. operating sites in Bagram and Kandahar, U.S. help in training the Afghan National Army and counterterrorism support along the Pakistan border, where al Qaeda remains a threat, the secretary said.

"We'll see what happens in Iraq, to what extent they want some quick-reaction force assistance or some deterrent with respect to their neighbors or training of their troops, and then we would decide what is in our interest and what is in their interest," Rumsfeld said.

One thing's certain: the United States won't keep its forces where they're not wanted, he said. "I don't want our forces where they are not wanted. It is just that simple, I want them where they are wanted."

While those decisions are being made, the United States anticipates drawing down its forces in Iraq fairly quickly to pre-election levels, the secretary said.

"We anticipate coming down from a high of 160,000 (in support of the elections) to 137,000 sometime in January, and as the seating of the new government takes place, Gen. (George) Casey, (multinational force commander in Iraq), and Gen. (John) Abizaid, (U.S. Central Command commander), will make recommendations about how we might be able to further reduce coalition forces," he said.

"And I expect that to happen during 2006," Rumsfeld said. "We will see a drawdown as conditions permit."

Biography:

Donald H. Rumsfeld [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld_bio.html]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3690.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

Afghanistan Prepares to Install New National Assembly

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 - Just as election activities wrap up in Iraq, the people of Afghanistan are looking toward a historic event in their own country, as its National Assembly convenes Dec. 19 for the first time in more than three decades.

Formation of the parliament marks the latest step in Afghanistan' path to democracy and follows the country's Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, a State Department official told the American Forces Press Service on the condition that he not be identified or quoted.

Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and international military forces ensured a relatively safe and secure environment so more than 12.5 million registered voters could vote for a 249-member lower house of parliament, as well as provincial councils. These council members, in turn, elected 68 members of the upper chamber.

President Hamid Karzai appointed the remaining 34 upper-house members, more than half of them women, the official explained.

The seating of the national assembly represents fulfillment of the 2001 Bonn Agreement intended to establish a new Afghan government, he said.

Members of Afghanistan's first parliament in more than 30 years gathered in Kabul late last week to start a week-long orientation sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development before the legislature's inauguration, the official said.

The parliament's first order of business will be to approve the cabinet Karzai named last January and the decrees he has made since his December 2004 swearing-in.

Afghanistan has had no elected legislature since the 1970s, when the country endured coups and the Soviet invasion, followed by a civil war in the early 1990s and the Taliban takeover.

The last elected legislature, the first in Afghanistan's history, proved to be ineffective, the State Department official noted, but the Afghan people appear to expect far more from their new parliament.

An ABC News poll released Dec. 7, the fourth anniversary of the fall of Kandahar from Taliban control, notes that 77 percent of the Afghans polled expressed confidence that the new parliament will work for the benefit of the people. This confidence comes despite fairly widespread suspicion of cheating during the elections, the poll revealed.

Forty-one percent of those polled cited the Taliban as the biggest danger Afghanistan faces.

U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan are working with Afghan forces to counter this threat and ensure a stable environment where the new Afghan government can thrive, said Air Force Maj. Todd Vician, a Pentagon spokesman.

"This is a very dynamic campaign, and the conditions changed with the successful parliamentary and provisional elections," Vician said. "Our primary responsibility is counter-terrorism, but we continually reassess our strategy in close partnership with the government of Afghanistan."

Coalition and Afghan forces continue to take the fight to the enemy and defeat terrorist organizations and their infrastructure, he said.

"Our strategic goals for Afghanistan remain unchanged: to help the Afghan government develop the capacity to defend itself from external aggression and to ensure that its territory is not used as a safe haven by international terrorists," Vician said.

A two-day conference slated to convene in London Jan. 31 will look to the next five years and establish further benchmarks for Afghanistan's political progress, and the United States and other participants are expected to pledge financial support toward that effort, the State Department official said.

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3686.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

Polling Center Incident Shows Iraqis' Spirit, Casey Says

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 - The top U.S. military officer in Iraq said today he knew Iraqi officials and security forces had matters well in hand in the days prior to the Dec. 15 election.

"Everywhere that I went, I left with the feeling that we were dealing with confident and competent Iraqi leaders who had this election under control," Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said from his headquarters in Iraq during a satellite news conference with Pentagon reporters.

The Dec. 15 election boasted the highest participation - estimated at 65 to 70 percent of registered Iraqi voters - compared to the previous two Iraqi elections held Jan. 30 and Oct. 15, Casey said.

"And the levels of violence were below both January and October," Casey said. "The Iraqi security forces also performed superbly across Iraq as they maintained security on the polling sites."

The four-star general, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, related a story about terrorists who were trying to destroy a polling site at a school in Karmah, Iraq, on the night before the election. He said the terrorists knocked down a wall with a homemade bomb. Yet, the facility, located between Baghdad and Fallujah, was quickly repaired, Casey said.

"The Iraqis fixed it and were open for business and polling at 7 o'clock in the morning," Casey said. "That was the spirit that led the day," he said.

Casey cited the accomplishments made across Iraq in less than three years as "unprecedented."

"If you think about it, Saddam Hussein was still ruling Iraq three years ago and tyrannizing the Iraqi people," the general pointed out. Today, the Iraqis are liberated from Hussein's brutal regime, Casey said, and are rebuilding their nation according to democratic principles contained in their new constitution.

"Yesterday, they elected an assembly that will form a government to lead them for the next four years," Casey said, despite the efforts of a stubborn insurgency.

Casey said American servicemembers who've served in Iraq should also take credit for Iraq's latest successful election. "And particularly the loved ones of our fallen comrades," the general said.

The new Iraqi government will soon take the reins and begin work in confronting the country's challenges, Casey said. The general predicted Iraqi political debate whether or not to amend the country's new constitution and over federalism. But the terrorists won't be silent, Casey said, while Iraqi legislators debate and discuss their country's future. "I expect that these debates will be done against a background of violence," the general said. But he added that as the political process continues, the insurgency will lose much of its steam.

"We should not expect the insurgency to just go away because of yesterday's great success," Casey said, "but we should expect it to be gradually weakened and reduced as more and more Iraqis adopt the political process, and the root causes of the insurgency are addressed by the new Iraqi government and by the coalition."

Biography:

Gen. George W. Casey Jr., USA [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/cg.htm]

Related Site:

Multinational Force Iraq [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3689.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

National Elections Set Milestone for Iraqi Security Forces

By Spc. Dan Balda, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Dec. 16, 2005 - The day seemed downright festive: children marched in impromptu parades, men wore suits -- on their day off, no less -- and entire families took long walks from their homes to polling sites.

The Iraqi parliamentary elections Dec. 15 gave Iraqis a chance to showcase the pride they have in their country and the hope they have for the future, officials here said.

"Nationalism is defined by the actions of the people," said Maj. Ross Coffman, 4th Brigade Combat Team executive officer. "It only takes a moment to see their faces as they vote, to see their pride, not only because they are voting, but because they are part of something bigger. That is promising. Not only for the efforts we've made, but also for the future of the country."

The future seems to be the center of Coffman's focus, and for good reason.

"Today, they chose their leaders for the next four years," Coffman said. "If someone chooses to vote as many did, they chose to vote because they believe in the future of their country. It's another step for democracy for this country, but it also shows that Iraqis believe in their future."

Hundreds of thousands of Baghdad residents were able to vote mainly because of the security at polling stations provided by Iraqi security forces.

Coffman said violence stayed at or below normal levels. There were a few terrorist attacks with improvised explosive devices and isolated indirect fire incidents, but otherwise election day was very safe, he said. This can be directly attributed to the ISF, who took the lead on all matters electoral.

"The ISF took the front, just as they have for the last two elections," Coffman said. "Basically this was run by Iraqis -- the polls and the security -- and the Americans were there in case something happened and they needed our assistance. (Dec. 15) was another milestone in the ISF's capabilities. They were able to secure numerous sites across the country and prevent anti-Iraqi forces from influencing those sites."

Staff Sgt. James Bryant, a team leader with B Company, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, was especially heartened by the performance of the ISF. He has been part of a military transition team training ISF members since August. He ran into a number of his former trainees during a foot patrol through Karradah during the election.

"It's great seeing these men out here, because they are like my own soldiers," he said. "When you train up the new guys in your unit, and you see them excel, it's a good feeling to see them out there and see that they are using all the skills they've learned and (are) doing their job. It's going to make a big difference for this country's future."

Coffman was heartened by the actions of the troops on this monumental occasion.

"The job the Iraqis and our forces have done is nothing short of amazing," he said. "The Military Transition Teams and Special Police Training Teams that have stood beside the Iraqi forces during training and mission execution over the last year will carry Iraqi security in the future for the next five to 10 years.

"It's an honor being part of America's team here in Iraq," he continued, "standing side by side with Iraq's team making sure that this is a safe place for the Iraqi people."

(Army Spc. Dan Balda is assigned to 4th Brigade Combat Team public affairs.)

Related Site:

4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division [http://www.stewart.army.mil/ima/sites/division/4BCT/default.asp]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3688.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

Chairman's Enlisted Advisor Visits Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command

By Tech. Sgt. Sean P. Houlihan, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii, Dec. 16, 2005 - The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met with Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command enlisted members, thanking and encouraging them to continue their work for the nation, during a visit here Dec. 14.

"I am proud to be a member of your team," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. William "Joe" Gainey. "Anyone who is dedicated to the cause of bringing home our fallen comrades is a true American hero, with all capital letters."

He told the group their work of identifying the recovered remains of missing servicemembers is admirable and not forgotten by those in uniform and family members who still wait for the news their family member has been identified.

A mission briefing during the sergeant major's visit explained the command's five emphasis areas of data analysis, technical negotiations with other countries, investigations of possible recovery sites, recovery of remains and identification of those remains. The briefing also noted the number of servicemembers missing in action from World War I to the only current MIA from the Gulf War, Navy Cmdr. Scott Speicher.

Upon hearing that only one servicemember is considered MIA, Gainey pulled a photo from his wallet of Army Sgt. Matt Mauphin, a reservist whose whereabouts have not been known since 2004. Gainey received the photo from a junior soldier a couple of months after Mauphin went missing in Iraq.

"I carry the photo as part of my military bearing and to remind me that there is one soldier that hasn't came home with his unit," said Gainey, who was the Multinational Corps Iraq command sergeant major when Mauphin went missing. "It is very clear it is my obligation to continue to carry it until he is found."

The sergeant major then asked why Mauphin isn't categorized as MIA.

The briefer, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Raile, replied that command and Defense Department guidelines consider servicemembers MIA when only after military operations have been declared concluded, as is the case for all operations except Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Once military operations have concluded, Mauphin will be considered MIA unless found before that time, Raile explained.

Gainey expressed surprise and vowed to find out how to change the DoD guidelines to allow Mauphin to be classified as MIA.

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sean P. Houlihan is assigned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs Office.)

Biography:

Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, USA [http://www.jcs.mil/bios/bio_gainey.html]

Related Site:

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command [http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3687.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

Iraq Info Ops Review Yields No Wrongdoing, Casey Says

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 - A preliminary investigation of alleged improprieties conducted by U.S. military information operations activities in Iraq hasn't found any wrongdoing, the top U.S. officer in Iraq said today.

"We concluded that we were operating within our authorities and the appropriate legal procedures," Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said from his headquarters in Iraq during a satellite news conference with Pentagon reporters.

Casey, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, was responding to a reporter's question on the status of the two-week-old review Navy Rear Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk is conducting into U.S. information operations practices in Iraq.

The issue had been raised in a recent Los Angeles Times story alleging that articles written by U.S. forces highlighting anti-terrorist and reconstruction successes and mounting anti-insurgent sentiment in Iraq had been improperly planted in Iraqi media outlets.

The Times article also alleged that a U.S. contractor translated the articles into Arabic and paid Iraqi media outlets to run the articles.

Casey said he hasn't suspended any of the information operation processes in question, because Buskirk's review has so far provided them with a clean bill of health.

However, Casey said, the investigation isn't over and it will take another week or so to complete. Van Buskirk is a member of Casey's command.

"Scott has the direction that if at any time through the course of his investigation he comes across something that we're doing that makes him feel uncomfortable, that he should bring it directly to me and we'll evaluate it and take appropriate action," Casey said.

Biographies:

Gen. George W. Casey Jr., USA [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/cg.htm]

Rear Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk, USN [http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio.asp?bioID=324]

Related Site:

Multinational Force Iraq [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3685.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

2005 Holiday Message From the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

- Throughout our history, the men and women of the Armed Forces have spent many holidays far from loved ones, serving to defend the ideals of freedom and liberty that Americans hold so dear.

Today, you continue to display that same uncompromising devotion to duty. From full combat operations to critical relief missions, your efforts across the globe bring peace to troubled lands and hope to those in need.

Although it is never easy to be away from home, especially during the holidays, your sacrifices come during a vital time in our Nation's history. You may be justifiably proud of your steadfast service in promoting freedom and defending our way of life.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff join me, and the rest of America, in sending you and your families our very warmest wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Peter Pace

General, U.S. Marine Corps

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3684.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

America Supports You: Operation Gratitude Hits Milestone

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 - Operation Gratitude hits a significant milestone Dec. 17 when the organization assembles its 100,000th care package to ship to a lucky servicemember as part of its holiday drive.

Operation Gratitude has lifted the morale of tens of thousands of deployed troops since Carolyn Blashek founded the organization in March 2003.

The recipient of the milestone package will receive NASCAR tickets courtesy of Checkers/Rally's restaurants, which also is providing free food for a year, Blashek said. Stays at the San Francisco Hilton, the choice of a package from Harrah's or Harveys at Lake Tahoe, Nev., as well as a digital camera also will be in the milestone package.

"We'll also include some of the regular items that would go into any package," Blashek said, referring to goodies that range from DVDs and phone cards to snacks.

Volunteers will gather at the California National Guard Armory in Van Nuys on Dec. 17 and 18 to assemble 10,000 to 12,000 holiday care packages, she said. At the end of Dec. 18, volunteers will have assembled 38,000 packages during the 2005 holiday drive that began Oct. 15.

Blashek is anticipating a lot of excitement surrounding the expected assembly of the 100,000th package, as the 50 corporate sponsors who provide some of the care package items in bulk have been invited to attend.

"We're using the occasion not just to highlight what we do overall, but really to also thank the very many volunteers, supporters and, particularly, corporate sponsors that have enabled us to reach this milestone," she said. "Really, we could not have accomplished this without (them)."

But all the hoopla aside, it's all about the troops, Blashek emphasized.

"(Servicemembers) expect to receive support from their families. It's a total surprise to receive it from complete strangers," she said. "It reaffirms for them why they do what they do. We hope when they open up that package (they find) the energy and love that's gone into it."

Blashek anticipates assembling the 150,000th package during Operation Gratitude's "patriotic drive" in 2006, which begins Memorial Day weekend and continues into the summer.

To date, Operation Gratitude has delivered more than 98,000 packages to American troops serving in some of the world's harshest conditions, Blashek said. It is funded entirely by private donations and staffed exclusively by volunteers.

Related Sites:

Operation Gratitude [http://www.operationgratitude.com/]

America Supports You [http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3683.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

'Head Fobbit' Works for Quality of Life at Forward Operating Base

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Dec. 16, 2005 - Life on the FOB is a little bit different from life in your typical neighborhood.

A FOB is a forward operating base. These are interspersed throughout Iraq, and are the bases that coalition soldiers use as home during their year-long deployments to the country.

The "mayor" of FOB Loyalty is Army Capt. Melissa Ringhisen. "Anything that has to do with feeding, bunking or caring for the troops comes under my office," she said. "We try very hard to make it a good place to work out of."

Servicemembers on the base patrol areas of East Baghdad, including Sadr City. Going off the FOB can be uncertain. Improvised explosive devices, car bombs, suicide bombers and mortar and rocket attacks are the main threats.

Those who don't leave the base are called "fobbits." Going "back to the FOB" means going back to safety. And being "the head fobbit" means being the mayor - a term Ringhisen enjoys.

FOB Loyalty is located in what was Saddam Hussein's directorate of internal security. There are a couple of monuments to U.S. Air Force accuracy on the grounds of the FOB. The main building took three or four precision-guided bombs, and another precision bomb wiped out the house Saddam used when he visited the base.

Contractor Kellogg Brown & Root runs the dining facility, or DFAC. The chow is excellent, with a wide variety of choices and even ice cream. Each week features a steak and seafood night. It's tough having to eat crab legs in Iraq.

All that good food means that there needs to be a way to work it off. The gym on the FOB has weight machines and free weights. There are treadmills for those who don't care to run in 120-degree heat in the summer. There is even a roofed pool started by Saddam's men and completed by KBR for the soldiers, Marines and airmen to use.

At the POB laundry, "if you drop off your clothes before 9 a.m., you can get them back that afternoon," Ringhisen said. A dayroom open around the clock has a large-screen television, two pool tables, pingpong and a library of books donated by Americans from all over the United States.

The FOB is not large enough for Army and Air Force Exchange Service store, but the mayor has a store stocked with sundry things servicemembers need on a daily basis. "We make a bulk order with AAFES weekly," the captain said. "There is always the AAFES catalogue, and we can pick up special orders if needed."

It's not home, but Ringhisen and her "head fobbit" counterparts throughout Iraq do everything they can to make life on the FOB as comfortable as possible for servicemembers.

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3682.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

Rumsfeld: Military Always Has Banned Detainee Abuse

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 - President Bush's decision to support a congressional measure that bans "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" of terror suspects in U.S. custody or under U.S. control won't change military operations, because the military always has upheld those principles, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a Dec. 15 television interview.

Bush announced his endorsement Dec. 15 of the so-called "McCain Amendment," championed by Arizona Sen. John McCain, who underwent torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

"Senator McCain has been a leader to make sure that the United States of America upholds the values of America as we fight and win this war on terror," Bush said following a Dec. 15 meeting with McCain and Virginia Sen. John Warner in the White House.

The amendment makes it "clear to the world that this government does not torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad," the president said. It also provides protections for U.S. troops fighting on the front lines against terrorists, he said.

McCain said the agreement puts specific procedures for interrogations into the Army Field Manual and prohibits cruel treatment of detainees, including torture.

During an interview on the Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor," Rumsfeld said the arrangement has no implications for DoD because the military always has maintained the amendment's standards. The military has had rules requiring humane treatment of detainees "from the beginning," he said.

In the few, but highly publicized, incidents in which those rules have been broken, the offenders have faced courts-martial and been punished, he said.

"We have had requirements for humane treatment from the beginning," Rumsfeld said. "Any time there has been something other than humane treatment, there has been prosecution."

The Defense Department always has taken allegations of detainee abuse seriously, and has responded to credible allegations with thorough and comprehensive investigations, said Army Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros, a Pentagon spokesman.

DoD has conducted 12 major reviews, reports and investigations, multiple internal reviews and more than 600 investigations in response to detainee abuse allegations, he said. As a result, more than 200 soldiers, sailors and Marines have been punished.

Congress has provided oversight, with more than 31 hearings and staff briefings, Ballesteros said.

Throughout these reviews of detainee procedures, he said, no link -- direct or indirect -- has been found between interrogation policy and detainee abuse.

McCain said the policy underscores the fact that the United States does not endorse or tolerate detainee abuse.

"We're sent a message to the world that the United States is not like the terrorists," McCain said, but rather is "a nation that upholds the values and standards of behavior and treatment of all people, no matter how evil or bad they are."

Biography:

Donald H. Rumsfeld [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld_bio.html]

Related Site:

President Bush's Remarks [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051215-3.html]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3679.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

Iraqi Police Restore Order at Poll Site Protest

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 - Iraqi police responded to a Dec. 15 protest that temporarily closed a polling site northeast of Dwar, Iraq, military officials reported today.

The demonstrators were upset about non-local workers being hired to work at the polling site, officials said. The police were able to resolve the protest peacefully and help reopen the polling site about an hour after the morning call came in. No injuries or damages were reported.

Coalition aircraft flew 68 close-air-support missions Dec. 15 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. In a planned operation, U.S. Air Force F-16s struck an access road near Baghdad used by insurgents. U.S. Air Force F-15s and Navy F/A-18s provided close-air support to coalition troops near Miqdadiyah, Balad and Tikrit.

In addition, 14 U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and Royal Australian Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. Also, Royal Air Force fighter aircraft performed in a nontraditional ISR role with their electro-optical and infrared sensors.

(Compiled from Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward news releases.)

Related Sites:

Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq [http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil]

U.S. Central Command Air Forces [http://www.centaf.af.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3680.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

New Rules to Reinforce Guard, Reserve Reemployment Protections

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2005 - The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is lauding today's Labor Department announcement that it is issuing rules clarifying re-employment rights for citizen-soldiers as a major step forward for Guardsmen, Reservists and their civilian employers.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao announced final rules interpreting the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act that helps ensure job security for reserve-component members returning to civilian life from military duty. The rules will be published Dec. 19 in the Federal Register.

Speaking at the National Press Club here, Chao noted that this is the first time since the law's passage in 1994 that regulations have been developed to enforce it.

The rules are particularly critical now, she said, when the United States has the largest group of mobilized National Guard and Reserve members since World War II. Since Sept. 11, 2001, almost 530,000 reserve-component members have been mobilized, many for more than a year of duty.

The new rules, drafted in an easy-to-read question-and-answer format, explain how the USERRA law protects against discrimination and retaliation because of military service and prevents servicemembers from job setbacks due to performing their military obligations. The law also ensures that Guard and Reserve members have ample time to report back to their civilian jobs after completing their military duty.

"Our citizen-soldiers put themselves in harm's way to defend our freedoms, and now it's our turn to be there for them," Chao said. "These regulations will ensure that the seniority, promotion, health care, pensions and other benefits of our citizen-soldiers are protected when they return home to the jobs they left to serve our country."

Air Force Maj. Rob Palmer, a public affairs officer for the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, said putting teeth behind the USERRA law benefits citizen soldiers as well as their employers. "Anything that makes it easier for Guard and Reserve members to work with their employers and understand their rights and responsibilities under the law is a benefit to everyone," he said.

With more than 50 percent of the military's manpower in the reserve components, employer support is critical to U.S. national security, Palmer said.

But making the relationship work "is not a one-way street," he said, noting that Guardsmen and Reservists also have responsibilities under USERRA.

Among those responsibilities is keeping their employers informed about their military commitments. "We encourage Guard and Reserve members to communicate early and often with their employers about upcoming military obligations," Palmer said.

Thanks largely to efforts by the Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve and solid support from employers, work-related complaints from returning Guard and Reserve members are down 30 percent since their last major deployment, in the early 1990s.

During Operation Desert Storm, one in 54 demobilized troops filed work-related complaints with the Labor Department, officials said. During the war on terror, the rate has dropped to one in 81.

Officials hope this trend will continue and see the new USERRA rules as a big step toward that end.

Other Labor Department initiatives also are expected to help. These include providing briefings to more than 270,000 servicemembers and others about the law, responding to more than 36,000 requests for technical assistance and publishing information about the final notice on the department's Web site.

Biography:

Elaine Chao [http://www.dol.gov/_sec/aboutosec/chao.htm]

Related Sites:

USERRA Notice in Poster Format [http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/poster.pdf]

USERRA Final Rule [http://www.dol.gov/vets/regs/fedreg/final/USERRA_Final_Rule.pdf]

Department of Labor [http://www.dol/gov/]

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve [http://www.esgr.mil/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3681.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================

Infrastructure Projects Changing Minds in East Baghdad

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Dec. 16, 2005 - Nothing makes Army Lt. Col. Jamie Gayton more angry than someone saying coalition projects in East Baghdad have no effect.

"We are making a difference every day in the lives of average Iraqis," said Gayton, the commander of 2-3 Brigade Troops Battalion and responsible for coalition projects in East Baghdad.

Sadr City is a part of the area of operations for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, a unit of the 3rd Infantry Division. Hundreds of projects in the area of 2.6 million people have changed life in the neighborhoods.

When Americans first rolled into Baghdad, Sadr City was called Saddam City. The area was a Shiia Arab stronghold, and not an area full of Saddam supporters. Raw sewage ran down the middle of the streets. The sewage contaminated the water coming into the homes. Residents, if they were lucky, got four hours a day of electricity and they hooked into the grid on their own; one block in eastern Sadr City was hooked to the grid by barbed wire.

Driving through Sadr City was an experience. Humvees were hub deep in raw sewage, and the smell was indescribable, Gayton said. The sewer system was fuill of breaks and clogs. Many houses drained into trenches that led to another trench in the middle of the street.

The 1st Cavalry Division put in place projects to remedy the situation, and then Muqtada al Sadr launched his rebellion in April 2004. Sadr City became a battleground as the so-called Mahdi Militia took arms against the coalition. The projects had to wait. Again in October 2004, fighting in Sadr City forced postponements in the projects.

In November 2004, the projects moved forward. The 3rd Infantry Division began moving into Baghdad in January and February 2005, and Gayton took over execution of the contracts.

For sewage, 15 pumping stations were totally rebuilt, and dedicated power lines went to them. "They can now run 24 hours a day," Gayton said. The lines themselves were blasted clean with high-pressure water, contractors repaired lines that had collapsed, and another project built three two-kilometer-long "force" lines. The forces lines push sewage to the main sewage disposal line.

Now there is no sewage in the streets of Sadr City. "This is a project that benefits everyone," Gayton said. "Now, if it rains, it may still back up, but the infrastructure is in place to handle the load. The completed sewer projects ran $61.4 million.

Water is another area of improvement. The coalition has completed almost $20 million worth of water projects. The projects have upgraded the main networks in the city, and local contractors are now hooking up homes to the system. "This is new, because in the past, water didn't go into the houses," Gayton said. "You walked to a community spigot."

The project places taps in each house. The homeowner can then hook up the water to an internal plumbing system.

Another project is building a large water treatment plant on the northern edge of the city and upgrading the water network to the rest of the city. Further, to tide the city over until the large water treatment plant goes online, the coalition has emplaced 27 compact water purification units. These units produce 15,000 liters of pure water a day, and the units are interspersed throughout the areas with no clean drinking water.

Electrical work continues in the city as well. The coalition has funded efforts to upgrade the network and tie homes into the electrical grid. In the past, homeowners tapped into the grid where they could. Gayton said these hook-ups resemble spaghetti, and he said he watched as one of the lines melted under a load of electricity. The coalition is providing the material for these upgrades, and the Baghdad electrical company is handling the installation. Electric projects are pegged at $139 million.

The improvements include rebuilding hospitals, building and equipping clinics, rehabilitating schools, building a fire station and building a community center for the city. "All of these have an immediate impact on the community," Gayton said. "And we can see a drop in the number of incidents since the projects have come on line." Division officials said there has not been an improvised explosive device attack in Sadr City for months.

The process also has strengthened grassroots community groups. Gayton said he works all projects in conjunction with district advisory councils. "We sit with them and go over what they really need," he said. "There is only one rule: everyone has to benefit from the project."

The neighborhoods have learned to horse-trade among themselves for projects.

But there is more to East Baghdad and Gayton's area of responsibility than Sadr City. He has projects moving forward in Rustamiyah and in Salman Pak. The coalition is funding rehabilitation or emplacement of neighborhood sewer networks.

Over the next month, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team is turning over responsibility to the 506th Brigade Combat Team. The 506th will inherit the projects and continue driving forward with them, Gayton said.

Related Site:

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division [http://www.stewart.army.mil/ima/sites/division/2BCT/default.asp]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051216_3678.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================