In Case You Missed It

december 2, 2009
McChrystal Sends Message to Troops
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2009 - Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has posted a message to the troops on the way ahead.
The full text follows:

We have been presented a great opportunity to take the tremendous work of our Coalition force to the next level. The clarity, capability, and commitment outlined in President Obama's address are critical steps toward eliminating an insurgency in Afghanistan and terrorist safe havens that threaten regional and global security.

december 1, 2009
Marines to be first wave in Afghanistan plan
The Associated Press

By Anne Gearan

WASHINGTON — New infusions of Marines will begin moving into Afghanistan almost as soon as President Barack Obama announces a redrawn battle strategy, a plan widely expected to include more than 30,000 additional U.S. forces.

november 24, 2009
Agency Delivers 'Taste of Home' to Deployed Troops
American Forces Press Service

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 24, 2009 - How do you plan Thanksgiving dinner for 180,000 people more than 6,000 miles away? If you're a food buyer at the Defense Logistics Agency, you start by making a shopping list in April for meals to be served to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Providing superb meals to our U.S. troops is a critical mission of the Defense Logistics Agency, and one we put a great deal of effort into," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Chambers commander of the DLA Philadelphia field activity, which provides all the food for U.S. military personnel worldwide, 365 days a year.

november 23, 2009
CHAIRMAN'S CORNER: Mullen Offers Thanks to Military Families
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2009 - President Barack Obama has proclaimed the week of Nov. 22-28 as National Family Week, and the nation's top military officer has issued a message to all military families in honor of their contributions to the nation.

Here is the text of the message from Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to military families worldwide:

As we count our blessings this month, America's soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Coast Guardsmen serve day and night around the globe to defend our Nation. We are all very proud of them, and yet we should never forget that none of them do it alone. The extraordinary families who support them sacrifice every bit as much to make their service possible. In the spirit of giving thanks, we devote this week to honor and appreciate our military families.

november 20, 2009
Karzai Sworn In for Second Term as President
By ALISSA J. RUBIN and MARK LANDLER

New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — Tainted by a flawed election and allegations of festering corruption in his government, President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated Thursday for a second term, promising to remedy the country’s problems and to have the Afghan Army assume full control of security within five years.

October 22, 2009
Congress passes 3.4 percent pay boost for military
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Military personnel will get an above-inflation pay raise of 3.4 percent under a Pentagon policy bill the Senate passed Thursday and sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The pay increase was a half-percentage point more than Obama sought earlier this year and beats the average pay boost in the private sector.

October 19, 2009
Obama Gets Afghanistan Advice From Mothers of Fallen Soldiers
By Hans Nichols
Bloomberg News

The commander-in-chief hugged a grieving mother, telling her to be proud of her fallen son, a Marine killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

Lisa Xiarhos also had a message for President Barack Obama: “Be strong and get the job done,” she recalls telling him. “Don’t back down. Send more troops. Support the ones that are there and do whatever you can.”

October 9, 2009
Top Troop Request Exceeds 60,000
By Peter Spiegel and Yochi Dreazen
Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- The request for troops sent to President Barack Obama by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan includes three different options, with the largest alternative including a request for more than 60,000 troops, according to a U.S. official familiar with the document.

September 28, 2009
For those whose loved ones gave all, a solemn remembrance

By Rachel Streitfeld
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- John Ellsworth remembers when his 20-year-old son called home from Iraq to proudly announce he was now a demolitions expert.

"I said, 'Son, you're 20 years old,'" Ellsworth ribbed his son gently. "'You are not an expert at anything.'"

September 1, 2009
CNN: Leaders Mark 70th Anniversary of World War II
Leaders Mark 70th Anniversary of World War II
CNN
September 1, 2009

GDANSK, Poland (CNN) -- At least 20 world leaders gathered Tuesday in Poland to commemorate the start of World War II 70 years ago -- a conflict in which 6 million Poles died.

Germany's pre-dawn invasion began when the battleship Schleswig-Holstein fired on the Westerplatte military base in Gdansk harbor on September 1, 1939.

August 31, 2009
AP: U.S. military packing up to leave Iraq
U.S. military packing up to leave Iraq
Officials need to ship out more than 1.5 million pieces of equipment
Associated Press
August 30, 2009

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military is packing up to leave Iraq in what has been deemed the largest movement of manpower and equipment in modern military history — shipping out more than 1.5 million pieces of equipment from tanks to antennas along with a force the size of a small city.

August 3, 2009
NYT: U.S. Pilot's Remains Found in Iraq After 18 Years
U.S. Pilot’s Remains Found in Iraq After 18 Years
By Thom Shanker
New York Times
August 2, 2009

WASHINGTON — Navy officials announced early Sunday that Marines in the western Iraqi province of Anbar had found remains that have been positively identified as those of an American fighter pilot shot down in the opening hours of the first Persian Gulf war in 1991.

July 23, 2009
MSNBC.com: Funerals Begin for MN Military Killed in 2 wars
Funerals Begin for MN Military Killed in 2 Wars
KARE11.com
July 23, 2009

ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota prairie winds whipped across the even rows of grave stones at Fort Snelling on Monday afternoon. The winds of far-away war had brought more than 100 mourners to the National Cemetery grounds.

july 6, 2009
Soldiers Say Goodbye to Iraqi Orphans with Party, Gifts

American Forces Press Service
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson

FOB DELTA – The 20th FAR, 41st Fires Bde, 2nd Bn, couldn’t leave without a special goodbye to some local children they likely will never forget.

The bn is winding down its time here in Wasit province, and as one of its last services to the community, the soldiers treated the children from the Kut orphanage to an evening of games, gifts and entertainment.

june 30, 2009
U.S. Completes Pullout of Combat Forces From Iraq Cities

MyFox Dallas
The Associated Press, Reuters and Time contributed to this report.

Iraq officially took control of its fate Tuesday as the U.S. pulled its combat troops out of Baghdad and other cities and towns, handing over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces.

The withdrawal completed the Status of Forces agreement signed last November, and touched off celebrations in Baghdad and other cities.

june 15, 2009
Q+A: New US commander takes charge in Afghanistan

By Peter Graff
Reuters

KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, a veteran commander of top-secret special operations, takes charge of the nearly 90,000 U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan Monday. Here are some facts about the new commander.

june 5, 2009
Viewpoint: Remember the Heroes of D-Day
John Kline

Woodbury Bulletin

On May 26, 1943, Red Wing high school senior Richard Ekholm celebrated his 18th birthday and days later walked across the Sheldon Auditorium stage in cap and gown. Just two months later, he boarded a Greyhound Bus destined for Fort Snelling where he joined the U.S. Army.

April 30, 2009
DoD issues new GI Bill family transfer rules
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Army Times

Defense and service officials have settled on final rules that will allow career service members to share Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits with their immediate families beginning Aug. 1.

In general, service members — officer, warrant officer or enlisted personnel — must be on active duty Aug. 1 and must have completed a minimum of six years of service, with a commitment to serve four more, in order to share their new Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

december 18, 2008
Gates Criticizes Congress on War Funding
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in fits and starts undermines military planning and risks gains made by U.S. troops over the past year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.Congress this week approved $70 billion for combat operations, but that is only half of what the President Bush requested.''We will again face the risk of running out of money,'' Gates said at a Pentagon news conference. He said the uncertainly of funding requires the Defense Department to make ''short-term plans and short-term decisions.''

november 19, 2008
Military Family Appreciation Week

American Forces Press Service
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson

Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has issued the following message noting the observance:

“This month, as we celebrate our blessings, and give thanks for our freedom to enjoy them, we take great pride in honoring November 21-28, 2008 as Military Family Appreciation Week.