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U.S. Faces Tough Urban Battle in Fallujah Tuesday April 6, 2004 10:01 PM By LOURDES NAVARRO and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press Writers FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - In a narrow alley, Marines pinned down by a hail of guerrilla fire sent up red smoke in a cry for help. Tanks pounded shell after shell into houses, while troops on the city's edge crawled forward on their bellies, firing on insurgents. U.S. forces faced a tough urban battle Tuesday in their drive to pacify one of Iraq's most dangerous cities. Block by block, they fought their way into Fallujah, where Iraqi guerrillas...

A-10 Pilot Wows Smithsonian Crowd by Senior Master Sgt. Rick Burnham Air Force News March 30, 2004 WASHINGTON -- The Iraqi republican guard may have had luck on their side that miserable Baghdad day, but they did not know who was flying the A-10 Thunderbolt II they had just hit with a rocket. It was April 7, 2003, and an elite unit of Iraqis had U.S. forces pinned down along the Tigris River, firing rocket-propelled grenades into their position, not far from the North Baghdad Bridge. The word from the forward-air controller on the ground with the U.S. forces indicated...

A -10 pilot takes aim on terrorism BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- First Lt. Michael Stock sits in the cockpit of his A-10 Thunderbolt II before flying a mission supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Lieutenant Stock is a pilot with the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and is deployed from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master. Sgt. Jeff Szczechowski) Download HiRes     by Master Sgt. Jeff Szczechowski455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs3/23/2004 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Talk to almost anyone in the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group, and a recurring theme is the desire to provide the...

Several Marines of the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 prepare an AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter for it’s next mission. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lana D. Waters Marine Reserve 'Red Dogs' Support Ground Troops By U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Lana D. Waters BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Feb. 27, 2004 - For the last three months, the Reserve Marines of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773, Marine Aircraft Group 42, have had a new home in Afghanistan.The “Red Dogs,” who originate from Atlanta and Belle Chasse, La., packed up their bags, six AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters, and three UH-1N helicopters...

Official U.S. Navy file photo of USS Bataan (LHD 5). View Larger Download HiRes   USS Bataan to Deploy in Support of OIF Force RotationStory Number: NNS040113-06Release Date: 1/13/2004 4:16:00 PM   From U.S. 2nd Fleet Public AffairsNORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), will deploy Jan. 19 from Norfolk to the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) in support of the Operation Iraqi Freedom II (OIF II) force rotation. Bataan will provide amphibious lift support for Marines from the Second Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) headquartered at Camp Lejeune, N.C. II...

A little known, but lifesaving, decision made early on in the Afghanistan campaign, was to prohibit American bombers from hitting moving targets on the ground unless ordered to do so by someone on the ground (Special Forces troops, or one of the air force controllers working with the Special Forces). The air force and navy didn't like this, as pilots had long gone after "targets of opportunity." But as the Special Forces pointed out to the brass that, in Afghanistan, everyone (Taliban, Northern Alliance and Special Forces) where wearing the same kind of brownish, loose fitting, clothes. Although the air...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces have arrested three men suspected of heading Iraqi rebel cells in their homes and say they seized a cache of weapons big enough to launch 50 guerrilla attacks. In the front garden of one of the two houses raided in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit in the early hours of Thursday, soldiers dug up a hoard of rifles, grenades and explosives that the commanding officer described as "a Fedayeen candy shop". "This is mission-oriented. This is stuff they dole out," said Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell of the U.S. Fourth Infantry Division. "They are...

Task Force 1st Armored Division’s Third Brigade Combat Team soldiers and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps members wait to move to the next stack of apartments during Operation Bulldog. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stanis More Photos Operation Bulldog Mammoth Strikes Insurgents Where they Live By U.S. Army Sgt. Christopher Stanis, 1AD PAO     ABU GHURAYB, Iraq — Task Force 1st Armored Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team from Fort Riley, Kan. conducted a brigade-sized cordon and search of an Abu Ghurayb apartment complex, northwest of Baghdad Dec. 4, making it one of the largest military operations since President George...

The widespread use of smart bombs in Iraq, and their spectacular success, has the U.S. armed forces scrambling to reorganize to take better advantage of these new capabilities. The difference in bombing effectiveness between the 1991 war, and 2003, was dramatic. In 1991, it took four aircraft sorties to take out one target, while in 2003, one aircraft sortie took out four targets. Not only were more smart bombs used in 2003 (90 percent of all bombs dropped, versus 14 percent in 1991), but the satellite guided JDAM bombs were much more effective than the laser and TV guided smart...

The Source for Navy News   030924-N-9109V-001 Portsmouth, Va. (Sept. 24, 2003) -- Brig. Gen. Richard F. Natonski (right), Commanding General of the Second Marine Expeditionary Brigade, presents an AK-47 rifle to Capt. Chris Hase, the Commanding Officer of USS Saipan (LHA 2), in appreciation for the support the crew gave Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The rifle was confiscated from an Iraqi enemy prisoner of war during the bloodiest day of battle in March of 2003. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Kyle Voight. (RELEASED)   View Larger Download HiRes   Marine General Thanks Sailors for SupportStory...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush, lawmakers and the chief justice of the United States celebrated the rededication Wednesday of the original Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence, which were locked away for two years of preservation work.</p> <p>"Our founding fathers developed a form of representative government that served as a shining example to the rest of world," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., at an unveiling of a new exhibit inside the National Archives.. "And this experiment in self-rule has stood the test of time."</p>

<p>QALAT, Afghanistan &#8212; Afghan and U.S. troops overran three suspected Taliban positions and pinned down fighters in a cave yesterday as fighting raged in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military and an Afghan commander said.</p> <p>American bombing echoed through the mountains as the troops tried to root out hundreds of Taliban holdouts who have offered fierce resistance for the past week.</p>

* US bombing continues * Taliban get 300 reinforcements * Hekmatyar’s aide held in Kabul QALAT: Afghan and US troops overran three suspected Taliban positions in the mountains of southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, while American bombing echoed through the rugged region, officials said. Afghan forces supported by US troops and aircraft have been engaged for the past week in a major operation against suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda bases in the mountains of Dai Chopan district of Zabul province, 300 kilometres southwest of Kabul. General Haji Saifullah Khan, the main Afghan commander in Dai Chopan, said US warplanes and helicopter...

<p>TIKRIT, Iraq — U.S. forces captured a suspected leader of Saddam Hussein’s loyalist militia, nicknamed “The Rock,” after storming a workers’ hostel in a series of raids in Tikrit Thursday that netted four men suspected of plotting attacks, the military said. The man allegedly organized cells, paid guerrilla fighters and armed them with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles for attacks on U.S. forces in Saddam’s hometown of Tikrit and surrounding areas, said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, commander of the 22nd Infantry Regiment’s 1st Battalion, which executed the raids.</p>

US says nets Iraq guerrilla chiefs in Tikrit raids By Alastair Macdonald TIKRIT, Iraq, Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Saddam Hussein's home town said they seized three suspected guerrilla leaders on Thursday in overnight raids that included sealing off a street with tanks and briefly detaining dozens of men. One man arrested after 39 men were turned out of a workers hostel, handcuffed and questioned by soldiers in the street may have been a "national level fedayeen leader", funding and arming resistance to the U.S. occupation beyond Tikrit itself, raid commander Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell said. The man...

TIKRIT, Iraq - U.S. forces captured a suspected leader of Saddam Hussein's loyalist militia and three other suspects during pre-dawn raids early Thursday, the military said. The suspected leader allegedly organized cells and paid and armed guerrilla fighters for attacks on U.S. forces in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, commander of the 22nd Infantry Regiment's 1st Battalion, which carried out the raids. Also among those captured were two former Iraqi generals suspected of organizing guerrilla attacks nationwide. Russell declined to name any of the suspects. Thursday's raids resulted from a series of tips from residents who...

Pilot describes Baghdad crashbyJim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service 7/17/2003 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Maj. Jim Ewald had just finished a close-air support mission over Baghdad when his A-10 Thunderbolt II was hit by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile April 8. It physically moved the plane "like the hand of God," Ewald said during a Pentagon interview July 16. Ewald is a pilot with the 110th Fighter Wing out of Battle Creek, Mich. The missile came up from the southwest, and Ewald said he never saw it. But he had no doubt a missile had hit him. "I could see a reddish glow on my...

The Air Force is planning to give the A-10 Warthog an ignominious homecoming from the Persian Gulf. In early April, Maj. Gen. David Deptula of the Air Combat Command ordered a subordinate to draft a memo justifying the decommissioning of the A-10 fleet. The remaining eight active duty A-10 squadrons (in 1991, the number was 18) could be mothballed as early as 2004. This is a serious mistake. The A-10 was one of the most effective, lethal and feared weapons of the Iraqi war. Its absence will put troops on the battlefield in grave danger. The decision to take this...

Save the Apache, Lose the Gold Plating By David H. HackworthAs our magnificent warriors return from Iraq, they will tell the folks who sweated them out at home what really went down during their bold march to Baghdad and will catch them up on all the inside skinny concerning the war's winners and losers.              At first glance, one of the big equipment losers is the U.S. Army's crown jewel, the Longbow Apache helicopter gunship (AH-64D model). Especially since a Longbow squadron got ventilated March 24 over the city of Karbala when 34 of these $24 million birds –...

Kim Burger JDW Staff Reporter, Nick Cook JDW Aerospace Consultant, Andrew Koch JDW Washington Bureau Chief, Michael Sirak JDW Staff Reporter With the regime of Saddam Hussein soundly defeated by overwhelming military force, coalition leaders are analysing what initial lessons can be drawn from Operation 'Iraqi Freedom'. A high-level Pentagon team is already sifting through the data. The team-members will be aware that their conclusions will be leapt upon by proponents of two quite disparate camps: those who will use the war to bolster the process of the military's transformation from a Cold War-era fighting force to one that is...