Kenneth J. Houghton -- 'a Marine Corps legend'

Kenneth J. Houghton, a retired Marine Corps major general who was one of the country's most dedicated military officers, died Monday of natural causes at his home in La Jolla (San Diego County). He was 85.

Gen. Houghton was in charge of MCRD San Deigo when I was in boot camp.

Semper Fi

U.S. tries new approach to keep Iraqis away from convoys

Bags with warning message to be given out near Camp Anaconda

CAMP ANACONDA, IRAQ — Next week, Iraqis around Camp Anaconda are expected to start receiving 3,000 white bags with a message intended to cut down on civilians killed by getting too close to U.S. convoys, said Lt. Col. Albert Zakaib, of 3rd Corps Support Command.

I'm sure this will work?

Since only about 30 percent of the roughly 30,000 Iraqis in the region can read, the hope is that those Iraqis who can read will tell others to keep a safe distance from convoys, said Zakaib, who is heading up the effort.

Semper Fi

Camp Pendleton Honors Two Marines - KFMB

Two U.S. Marines will receive some special awards at Camp Pendleton Friday.

One Marine will receive a silver star and the other will receive a bronze star for their combat valor in Iraq.

It would have been nice to know who the two Marines are.

Semper Fi

Iraqi Gunmen Ambush Minibus, Kill 6 - AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen attacked a minibus carrying Shiites northeast of Baghdad, killing six men and wounding a woman, an official said Saturday. U.S. and Iraqi troops killed three suspected insurgents, and six people were gunned down in the Iraqi capital.

Semper Fi

Five US troops wounded in Afghan blast - Reuters

ASADABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Five U.S. soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan on Saturday while, in a separate incident, a suicide bomber blew himself up in an attack on Canadian troops, military officials said.

Semper Fi

U.S. officials: Iraqi insurgents educating Afghan, Pakistani militants - Veterans For Common Sense

Islamic militants in Iraq are providing military training and other assistance to Taliban and al Qaida fighters from eastern and southern Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal areas, U.S. intelligence officials told Knight Ridder.

Semper Fi

Pfc. Sean D. Tharp

3/31/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pfc. Sean D. Tharp, 21, of Orlando, Fla., died in Baghdad, Iraq on March 28, when his element came under enemy small arms fire while conducting dismounted patrol operations. Tharp was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Semper Fi

Baghdad Burning-River Bend March 28

But it also brings to light other worrisome issues. The situation is so bad on the security front that the top two ministries in charge of protecting Iraqi civilians cannot trust each other. The Ministry of Defense can’t even trust its own personnel, unless they are “accompanied by American coalition forces”.

Go read River Bends latest.

Semper Fi

Afghan Police Chief Accused of Killing 16 - AP

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghan authorities have detained a border police commander accused in the killings of 16 Pakistanis, a provincial governor said Friday.

Semper Fi

Wis. communities will vote on whether to get out of Iraq - USA Today

Cheryl Hurst doesn't hesitate when asked whether U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq. "Bring them home," the 47-year-old restaurant manager says. "They've been there long enough."

Matthew Persons, 30, is just as emphatic. "Leave them there until the job is done," says the Air Force veteran, who works for an aviation company. "Pulling out won't solve anything and will let the terrorists know that what they do works."

On Tuesday, they can express their disparate opinions in a voting booth. People in 32 communities across Wisconsin, including Evansville, will vote on referendums calling for the "orderly and rapid" withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. This town of 4,000 is the only place where residents also will vote on a separate referendum stating that U.S. forces should remain until "unquestioned victory is clearly won."

Semper Fi

Parents maintain vigil for lone soldier missing in Iraq - USA Today

Carolyn Maupin speaks to her son only in her prayers. She implores him to stay strong. She begs him to keep faith.

And four times during the past two years, she says, she has heard him answer.

"He'll say, 'I'm OK, Mom. I'm OK,' " Maupin says of her son, Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin, who disappeared almost two years ago when his convoy was attacked in
Iraq. "One time he said, 'I'll be home, mom. I'll be home.' "

Semper Fi

Army Bans Use of Privately Bought Armor

WASHINGTON - Soldiers will no longer be allowed to wear body armor other than the protective gear issued by the military, Army officials said Thursday, the latest twist in a running battle over the equipment the Pentagon gives its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army officials told The Associated Press that the order was prompted by concerns that soldiers or their families were buying inadequate or untested commercial armor from private companies — including the popular Dragon Skin gear made by California-based Pinnacle Armor.

So, what the Army is saying, is wear what we issue you. Even though there is better stuff available in the private sector. Because, we haven't tested the brand you bought. Because if you don't wear our brand it won't wear out. So our defense contractor can't make money replacing it.

Murray Neal, chief executive officer of Pinnacle, said he hadn't seen the directive and wants to review it.

"We know of no reason the Army may have to justify this action," Neal said. "On the surface this looks to be another of many attempts by the Army to cover up the billions of dollars spent on ineffective body armor systems which they continue to try quick fixes on to no avail."

Semper Fi

Tech. Sgt. Walter M. Moss Jr.

3/31/06 - DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Tech. Sgt. Walter M. Moss Jr., 37, of Houston, Texas, was killed in the explosion of an improvised explosive device while conducting safing operations in the vicinity of Baghdad, Iraq on March 29.

Moss was assigned to the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

Semper Fi

Sgt. 1st Class John T. Stone

3/30/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. 1st Class John T. Stone, 52, of Norwich, Vt., died March 28 in Lashkagar, Afghanistan as a result of enemy mortar and small arms attacks during combat operations. Stone was assigned to the Army National Guard's 15th Civil Support Team, South Burlington, Vt.

Semper Fi

Death Is Unavoidable in Marine Families' Lives - LAT

CAMP PENDLETON — The last time he spoke to his wife from Iraq, Maj. Ray Mendoza urged her to visit the injured Marines from his company at the base hospital and be sure to call their wives.

"He prayed every night to bring his boys home safe," Karen Mendoza said. "And that's what happened. I thank God for that."

Four days later, on Nov. 14, 2005, her husband was killed as he prepared to lead his men into battle along the Syrian border. He was the only fatality among the Marines of Echo Company.

Semper Fi

Minnesota Marine gets big thank you - KSTP

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Kyle Anderson, a Marine who was injured in Iraq in 2004, received a $10,000 grant from a citizens group designed to show appreciation for military members and their families.

[...]

Anderson, a former state high school wrestling champion, was injured in October 2004 while on duty in Iraq. Shrapnel from an explosive device penetrated his helmet, crushing the back of his skull and injuring the left side of his brain.

Now, the 20-year-old lives with his father, Tim, and his older brother, Matt, in a one-bedroom apartment in South St. Paul. Kyle Anderson has full use of his left arm and can make facial expressions. He can't speak, but expresses his thoughts by drawing and can write a few words. A normal 20-minute communication can take an hour or more, Tim Anderson said.

Semper Fi

Surrounded in Saqlawiyah: One Marine tells his story - Marine Corps News

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (March 28, 2006) -- The planned, insurgent attack against a small police station in Saqlawiyah, Iraq, on the afternoon of Oct. 26, 2005, began with a barrage of machine gun fire followed by rocket propelled grenades slamming against the compound. By the time a Marine Quick Reaction Force from a nearby forward operating base arrived, an estimated 6 insurgents were dead and several more were wounded.

Still standing, were a small band of Marines, Iraqi soldiers and an interpreter who succeeded in holding off the insurgent onslaught. It was a scene which could have ended very badly, instead ending without any loss to coalition troops.

“I stepped outside to check on a Marine in a guard post,” said Sgt. Ronald E. Myers, 41, an instructor training Iraqi police and the senior Marine at the station at a police station that day, recounting the moments before the attack. “Then all hell broke lose.”

Semper Fi

Kidnapped reporter Carroll freed in Iraq - Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - American journalist Jill Carroll was freed in Iraq on Thursday, nearly three months after being kidnapped in Baghdad.

This is my good news from Iraq, for today. All other news will be like this:

Iraq Gunmen Kill Police Commando, Lawyer - AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Assailants in speeding cars gunned down a police commando as he was leaving his house in south Baghdad Thursday, and drive-by shooters killed a lawyer as she got out of a taxi in the southern city of Basra, police said.

Semper Fi

Taliban Continue Attacks in Afghanistan - AP

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Suspected Taliban militants killed a district chief and three of his staff in an ambush in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, while in the south rebels killed a police commander and his brother, officials said.

Separately, a suicide car bomber killed himself and wounded six Afghans in a botched attack on a U.S.-led coalition convoy in Kandahar city, the former Taliban stronghold in the country's south, police said.

Thursday's violence followed a rare attack a day earlier on a coalition military base in Helmand's Sangin district, which killed an American and a Canadian soldier and sparked fierce U.S.-led retaliation that left 32 insurgents dead in the bloodiest fighting in months.

Looks like the spring offensive is here.

Semper Fi

Sgt. Michael D. Rowe

3/29/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Michael D. Rowe, 23, New Port Richey, Fla., died in Rutbah, Iraq on March 28, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Rowe was assigned to the 46th Engineer Battalion, Warrior Brigade, Fort Polk, La.

Semper Fi

Police Station Attacked South of Baghdad - AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb exploded Tuesday as police exchanged fire with two attackers outside a police station south of Baghdad, wounding at least a dozen people. The attack follows two days of violence in Iraq that left at least 151 dead.

Semper Fi

Top White House aide Card resigns

WASHINGTON (AP) -- White House chief of staff Andy Card has resigned and will be replaced by budget director Josh Bolten, an administration official said Tuesday.

I wonder if Card has been shopping at Target?

Semper Fi

Spc. Frederick A. Carlson

3/27/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Frederick A. Carlson, 25, Bethlehem, Pa., died in Taqqadum, Iraq on March 25, from a non-combat related cause. Carlson was assigned to the Army National Guard's 228th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Division, Bethlehem, Pa.

Semper Fi

Staff Sgt. Christopher L. Robinson

3/27/06 - DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Christopher L. Robinson, 36, Brandon, Miss., died in Sangain District, Afghanistan on March 25, when his HMMWV came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations. Robinson was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, Jackson, Miss.

Semper Fi