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A song for the cause.

KIRKUK — Since the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraqi cities, and in accordance with the Security Agreement, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, has begun adding signs reading “Iraqi partnership provincial approved convoy. Thank you for your patience and support” to the sides of their vehicles. U.S. Forces serving in an advisory and assistance role continue to travel within the city to meet with their Iraqi counterparts or government officials. “These signs show that we are working with our partners and that we’re abiding by the Security Agreement,” explained Maj. Frazier Epperson, an Information Operations officer...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq- Threats to Soldiers come in all shapes and sizes on the streets and roadways of Iraq. Constant training for the unexpected is the norm. For Pennsylvania Army National Guard Soldiers, simulating improvised explosive device attacks April 7 here served as a training objective for their Iraq Army counterparts. The Soldiers, from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 328th Brigade Support Battalion, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, worked with an Iraqi Army commander over the past two weeks to conduct individual Soldier task training for an Iraqi Army logistics platoon. The U.S. trainers capped training with convoy exercises designed to...

KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomber targeted a NATO convoy in Kabul on Tuesday, wounding 10 civilians passing nearby, officials said. The attack comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is scheduled to meet with President Hamid Karzai and other officials for talks Tuesday. The bomber struck a two-vehicle convoy belonging to NATO's International Security Assistance Force near the city's airport, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said. Ten civilians who were riding in a minibus near the blast were wounded, said Ghulam Rasool, a police officer. There were no casualties in NATO convoy, said Lt. Col. Thomas Dillschneider, an...

I-205 Veterans Memorial/Blue Star Memorial Highway Veterans Convoy Click the link above to view photos from this event. The 8th annual Veterans convoy was held on November 4th. 2007. Hundreds gathered at the Clark County fairgrounds in Vancouver, Washington for this annual event. The goal of the convoy is to create a chain of cars that stretch the entire span of the I-205, which is about 30 miles of vehicles The convoy ended at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Wilsonville, Oregon where everybody was treated to a free salmon feed. There was also medal presentations for the Oregon...

CAMP EGGERS, Afghanistan , Aug. 4, 2007 – Every other week, servicemembers from all branches of the military conduct convoys from this base to deliver clothing and supplies to needy Afghans in the surrounding areas. But they're not doing it because they have to. They're doing it because they want to help. Members of the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan unload a truck full of donations from the U.S. at a refugee camp outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “These are military and coalition members who volunteer,” said Air Force...

KABUL, March 19 (Reuters) - A U.S. embassy convoy was hit by a suicide car bomber in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Monday, resulting in the deaths of some people, police said. It was not immediately known if the dead included American nationals, but an embassy spokesman said U.S. Ambassador Ronald Neumann was not in the convoy. Several embassy officials and pedestrians were wounded, spokesman Joe Mellocc said, adding that the injuries of some officials were "serious". ~ snip

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2007 – A coalition servicemember was injured, eight Afghan civilians were killed and 35 civilians were wounded today when militants assaulted a coalition forces convoy as it moved east along Highway 1 in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, military officials reported. Earlier accounts said as many as 16 civilians caught in the crossfire had been killed, but an updated release early this afternoon from Combined Joint Task Force 76 headquarters at Bagram Air Base contained what officials called “the most accurate numbers to date.” The five-vehicle convoy was moving through a crowded market place near Bari Kot, located...

MOGADISHU (AFP) - An Ethiopian military convoy was ambushed in a new round of deadly violence in the Somali capital Mogadishu, hours after the African Union agreed to send peacekeepers to the war-torn country. At least one person was killed in the ambush Saturday, which triggered a major gunbattle in the volatile south of Mogadishu. Coming in the wake of a brazen attack late on Friday on the residence of the interim president, the AU stabilisation force should be under no illusions about the scale of the task that awaits it. The interim administration and peacekeepers not only face having...

A Virginia Army National Guard convoy leader and an American truck driver on Tuesday angrily denied an accusation that the guardsmen abandoned a civilian supply convoy that was ambushed in Iraq. U.S. Army and Guard officials also criticized ABC News for reporting the accusation last week from one civilian contractor driver without getting comment from military commanders, soldiers and other contractor drivers, all of whom said the U.S. troops reacted properly in the firefight on Sept. 20, 2005. The soldiers, including several from Southwest Virginia, were members of the Rocky Mount-based 1173rd Transportation Company. The ABC News report included video...

Spc. Anthony Tonasket (right), a native of Kansas City, Kan., is awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge and Army Commendation Medal with a ‘V’ device for Valor by Col. James Trafton, commander, 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment, 38th Divisional Support Command, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, during an awards ceremony for his actions during an attack on his convoy March 7. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Richard Phelps, 2nd Bn, 137th Inf. Regt. UPAR, 38th DISCOM, MND-B. CAMP SLAYER - It’s inevitable that some days are forever burnt into our memories, vividly etched into the mind like a slow-motion, high-quality...

Some of you have probably already seen this and/or read about it, but it was new to me when I saw it on TV tonight and I'm guessing it will be new to a few other FReepers out there as well.

Exclusive: U.S. Troops Abandoned Me, Says Convoy Driver September 27, 2006 11:16 AM Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz Report: A dramatic home video obtained by ABC News shows U.S. troops apparently abandoned a truck convoy after it came under insurgent attack in Iraq last year. Three unarmed Halliburton truck drivers were executed at point-blank range once the troops left, according to a surviving driver, Preston Wheeler, of Mena, Ark., who taped the scene. "They was murdered. To me, they was murdered," Wheeler told ABC News in an exclusive interview to be broadcast Wednesday on World News and Nightline.

A dramatic home video obtained by ABC News shows U.S. troops apparently abandoned a truck convoy after it came under insurgent attack in Iraq last year. Three unarmed Halliburton truck drivers were executed at point-blank range once the troops left, according to a surviving driver, Preston Wheeler, of Mena, Ark., who taped the scene. "They was murdered. To me, they was murdered," Wheeler told ABC News in an exclusive interview to be broadcast Wednesday on World News and Nightline. The tape shows an armored personnel carrier leading the trucks that Wheeler says was from the Virginia National Guard. Once insurgents...

Convoy of fear driven out by war machine By Tim Butcher, in Tyre, southern Lebanon (Filed: 21/07/2006) It was the terrified faces of the children pressed against the car windows yesterday looking up for Israeli aircraft that showed this was no ordinary seaside drive. Thousands of Lebanese fled in fear up the country's Mediterranean coast road, pathetically waving white towels and pieces of clothing as if that could protect them from the force of the Israeli war machine. A family flee their village in southern Lebanon Bumping past craters ripped deep into the road by Israeli bombs, the stream of...

7/19/2006 - KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Fifty-eight Air Force engineers filling a shortage of Soldiers in Iraq have completed more than a dozen construction projects, often under fire, throughout a 10,000-square-mile zone for the Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team. After six months, the Airmen of the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's Detachment 10 have maintained and repaired six convoy routes and seven forward-operating bases. "It's been very strenuous, and sometimes extremely dangerous. I'm ready to get home, see my family and unwind," said Master Sgt. Ken Dunbar, Det. 10 superintendent of operations and acting first sergeant. "We have...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 31, 2006) -- Standing in the warmth of the Iraqi night, the Marines wait for their brief, in which the details of the night's convoy into the city of Fallujah will be addressed. They complete the required maintenance checks and prepare their machine guns for the convoy that will take place in a few short hours. Radios are handed out and communication is confirmed for all of the vehicles lined up, ready to leave the security of the camp. Staff Sgt. Wesley O. Turner calls his Marines in close to pass critical information each Marine needs...

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2006 – A deadly traffic accident involving a coalition convoy in the Afghan capital of Kabul today sparked civil unrest in its aftermath, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan officials reported. Initial reports indicated one Afghan civilian was killed and at least six others were injured in the accident. There was no report of coalition casualties or of any casualties resulting from the subsequent unrest. Later news reports say eight people were killed and more than 100 were injured, but military officials have yet to release an estimate beyond their initial report. Coalition spokesman U.S. Army Col. Thomas Collins...

Yes, this is video of a few of our guys under attack by KIDS WITH ROCKS. But watch it, and listen... it is both scary and funny. God bless the guy who taped this. Google Video Link

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (March 15, 2006) -- Most businesses have no need for policemen and radio technicians to get the same job done. Nor would one expect to see a gunsmith's work compliment a truck driver's long journey. In the Marine Corps, cooperation among various job fields like these is crucial to keeping Marines on the frontlines supplied. Every day in Iraq, the 1st Marine Logistics Group sends out combat logistics patrols that leave the relative safety of the base to deliver supplies to Marines throughout the Al Anbar Province. From the Marines who order and load the supplies onto...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq (USASOC News Service, Feb. 28, 2006) – It is a battle Iraqis deal with everyday. The uncertainty of surviving in the neighborhoods they grew up in is unsettling. Iraqis want the certainty of knowing that their families are safe. The Soldiers of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces Brigade believe they have the capabilities to defeat the terrorists who are attempting to destabilize Iraq, said an Iraqi ISOF instructor. The ISOF Brigade Soldiers continue to specialize and hone the combat skills that make the brigade a driving force in Iraq’s campaign for freedom. The Iraqis continued their progress...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2006 – An Afghan National Army soldier was injured when an ANA and coalition convoy came under attack in the Shah Wali Kot district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province yesterday, military officials reported today. A single assailant attempted to use his vehicle to ram a coalition vehicle. He also threw a hand grenade and engaged the convoy with small-arms fire. The assailant was killed when forces in the convoy returned fire. ANA and coalition forces also detonated his car on the scene after discovering that it was loaded with explosives. "ANA and coalition forces demonstrated their vigilance and...

2/17/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- The lives of four women and their convoy team changed forever Dec. 5. They were ambushed that night. Insurgents from a village outside of Balad Air Base, Iraq, fired on the convoy, injuring two as they drove back to the base. Airman First Class Nicole O’Hara, a convoy gunner deployed from Langley Air Force Base, Va., said it was “just a normal convoy” when the day started. Coming back to the base was when things got hairy. Airman O’Hara was manning her 50-caliber weapon. “I saw all these tracers and I saw tracers coming...

A 48th Brigade Combat Team convoy waits their turn to leave on another supply convoy traveling south towards Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Britt Smith Georgia Guard Troops Provide Convoy Security After six month of combat operations in southwest Baghdad, soldiers of the 48th Brigade Combat Team were tasked with a new mission: "Convoy Escort Duty." By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Britt Smith 48th Brigade Combat Team CAMP ADDER, AN NASIRIYAH, Iraq, Jan. 23, 2006 — In war, the supply line is the lifeblood of an army; a fighting military can not sustain itself without the...

1/6/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- By dawn, Airmen of the 424th Medium Truck Detachment had finished preparing for their mission -- move Army 4th Infantry Division supplies and material from Kuwait into Iraq. These Airmen do not fly their cargo, and it’s quite possible they may go their entire deployment without even seeing a flightline. Instead, they drive the most dangerous roads in the world in tractor-trailers and gun trucks to deliver their cargo to Iraq. “I want this to be a safe trip,” convoy commander Tech. Sgt. Bill Bellmore said as he reviewed safety procedures, truck assignments and...

Chef gets Bronze Star for convoy rescue Chief Warrant Officer 3 David J. Longstaff, manager of the U.S. Army culinary team, has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for rescuing five Soldiers pinned down in an ambush. Longstaff was serving as Division Support Command food service technician for the 1st Armored Division, when he went on a procurement mission in the Al Rasheed district of Baghdad on Aug. 7, 2003. It was early afternoon with temperatures reaching 113 degrees fahrenheit. During his first five months in Iraq, Longstaff had participated in more than 150 convoys into Baghdad. This...

Last update - 21:29 14/12/2005 Israel agrees to complete preparations for bus convoys By Akiva Eldar and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Staff and News Agencies Succumbing to international pressure, Israel informed the United States on Wednesday that it plans to complete preparations Thursday for operating bus convoys between the Gaza Strip and West Bank, which will start next week. Israel will issue an official statement on the matter on Thursday. Wednesday's government decision reversing a cabinet decision made last week, after the suicide bombing in Netanya, to freeze talks on the convoys until the Palestinian Authority takes significant...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Dec. 6, 2005) -- Marines from Force Protection Platoon, 8th Communications Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (FWD), prove on a daily basis they are not just communication savvy. These 26 men, who are at the tip of the spear behind the armored metal of military vehicles, provide much more than their communication ability; they easily transform into a lethal combat team for convoy operations. On a day where many Marines and sailors enjoyed a warm Thanksgiving dinner aboard Camp Fallujah, Marines from Force Protection Platoon traveled through the streets of Fallujah to an...

Amid a wave of violence in Iraq, U.S. military commanders there are requesting additional armored vehicles, particularly large ones that can transport a dozen or more passengers, The Army has shipped more than 10,000 armored Humvees to Iraq, but these only can fit four passengers. To move larger numbers of troops, commanders have limited options. One is a gun-truck armor kit that is installed on 5-ton vehicles, with machine guns mounted around the cargo box. The gun-truck kit was dubbed “Hunter Box” after Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who earmarked funds for the project. Researchers at California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 26, 2005) – The Army has fielded 125 simulation trainers for the detection of improvised explosive devices and to teach other advanced skills needed for tactical convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan. These training devices include virtual theaters, simulators, and mobile objects devised by the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation. Dr. Jim Blake, Program Executive Officer for STRI said understanding the requirements and capabilities wanted from Soldiers is what will optimize the effectiveness of the training and equipment. “Now with the expeditionary capability, there is going to be a desire to move these...

Friends of Missing in Action/Captured Captain Michael Scott Speicher, who was captured in the First Gulf War, and Family of Missing in Action/Captured Keith "Matt" Maupin, who was captured in Operation Iraqi Freedom, come together to send message of unity in bringing both men home. Keith and Carolyn Maupin, parents of Matt Maupin, will be guest speakers. Other speakers will include POW from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young, Jr. and author of military fiction Robert Gandt. i-Newswire, 2005-01-03 - On January 17th, 2005 Friends Working to Free Scott Speicher will host a prayer/candle vigil at Lake Shore...

Israeli intelligence says that between January 10th and March 10th, the transfer of Iraqi chemical (and possibly biological) weapons to Syria and Lebanon's Bekaa Valley was completed. They were placed in giant tankers and taken to Syria, and then to the Bekaa Valley under the protection of Syrian special forces and air-force intelligence units. Syrian army engineers then took over supervising the tankers at the poppy fields and used special drilling equipment to dig holes approximately 20-26 feet across and 82-115 feet deep. The weapons were buried under the poppy fields grown for heroin and under the rows of cotton...

U.N. to withdraw Iraq inspectors Monday, March 17, 2003 Posted: 1:05 PM EST (1805 GMT) “A senior U.S. military official said that in recent days there has been increased truck convoy traffic between Baghdad and the Syrian border” http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/17/sprj.irq.kuwait.un/ Democratic Underground Forums - Truck, missile movement reported in Iraq ... Democratic Underground Forums. Truck, missile movement reported in Iraq ... Wednesday, sources said, a convoy of trucks moved into ... ringing all over Iraq, leaving behind huge empty boxes ... http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard... April 6, 2003 Two American warplanes mistakenly bomb a convoy of Kurdish and U.S. Special Forces fighters, killing 19...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Army is investigating up to 19 members of a supply platoon in Iraq who refused to go on a convoy mission, the military said Friday. Relatives of the soldiers said the troops considered the mission too dangerous, in part because their vehicles were in such poor shape. Some of the troops' concerns were being addressed, military officials said. But a coalition spokesman in Baghdad noted that "a small number of the soldiers involved chose to express their concerns in an inappropriate manner causing a temporary breakdown in discipline." The reservists are from a fuel platoon that...

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) - More than 150 Airmen completed the final stages of live-fire convoy training here July 16 before deploying north to Mosul as part of the 494th Air Expeditionary Force Truck Company. "You will be on the frontlines. You will be facing the enemy everyday in some of the most dangerous areas in Iraq," said Col. Gary Shick, the 732nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group commander who addressed the group when training began July 14. After completing the three-week Basic Combat Convoy Course at Lackland Air Force Base and Camp Bullis, Texas, the vehicle operators arrived here for three...

RODRIGUEZ RANGE, South Korea — 2nd Infantry Division combat arms units are training to go on the offensive if their convoys are attacked in Iraq, says Col. Gary S. Patton, commander of the division’s Iraq-bound 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Patton and others were at Rodriguez Range Friday to observe platoons doing combat convoy live-fire exercises that train soldiers to use aggressive tactics in response to any challenge from the enemy. “It is all about developing an offensive mind-set. We are treating every mission as a combat operation and every threat along the road as a threat we are going to...

BABYLON, Iraq -- Maj. Roy Davis stuck his head, shoulders and one leg through the tent flap. "Presley, come on, get up. We've got to make a run down to Najaf, and you're going to be in charge of the convoy." "Yeah, sure we are," said 2nd Lt. Marshall Presley, 37, a schoolteacher from Frisco City, Ala. He rolled back over in his bed, where he had been resting in his Army-issue gym clothes after a long, hard 120-degree day spent sweating in uniform. Presley was supposed to play spades with Davis that evening, and he was sure Davis was...

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq — The 20-mile stretch of highway between Abu Ghraib and Fallujah is a prime target for people who want to kill U.S. troops and disrupt convoys by planting bombs and firing rockets. Every day and night, the Marines of Company D, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, go out looking for bombs and bad guys. It’s their job to make Route 1 safe for truckers delivering supplies to U.S. bases. The bad guys are invited to show their faces, but they rarely do. “We can tear some stuff up,” said Cpl. Jermaine Whitley, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla. “We...

LSA ANACONDA, BALAD, Iraq (Army News Service June 22, 2004) -- The front line of the war used to consist of chasing anti-Coalition forces through cities. The front line has since moved to the highways and supply routes and the Soldiers fighting on it are no longer exclusivley infantryman, but also truck drivers. Soldiers from 3rd Platoon, 660th Transportation Company, drive this front line daily as they leave the semi-protected wire of LSA Anaconda and take supply routes to deliver necessary materials, primarily fuel, to various posts throughout Iraq. “After we got here,” Staff Sgt. Joshua Lucas said, “we knew...

MAIN SUPPLY ROUTE TAMPA, Iraq — The radio inside Sgt. Jim Tomlinson’s armored Humvee chatters out details of a firefight along the road up ahead. The infantryman calls to Spc. Stephen Lord, the machine gunner up top, to be alert. “A unit is taking small arms fire, engaging the enemy on both sides,” Tomlinson yells. “51 Alpha.” Lord knows what that means. Tomlinson’s words, 51 Alpha, refer to an overpass along the highway just inside Baghdad’s North End. A roadside bomb that insurgents planted there recently earned Lord a Purple Heart when it exploded above the 19-year-old generator mechanic from...

BAGHDAD — Troops would wake up at “oh-dark-thirty” for a convoy if they were anywhere other than Iraq. But the sun is already climbing the desert sky when soldiers from the 1052nd Transportation Company roll out of their sleeping bags Monday morning. The National Guard unit out of Kingstree, S.C., prepares for the trip from Logistics Support Area Anaconda, near Balad, by arranging in long lines in an empty, dusty lot. Up-armored trucks and Humvees weave throughout lines of KBR civilian semis carrying Army supplies bound for Baghdad International Airport. Before troops head “outside the wire,” the convoy commander, Staff...

1st FSSG Parachute Pros Bypass Iraqi Highway Hazards to Air Drop SuppliesSgt. Matt Epright, Public Affairs Office, 1st Force Service Support Group CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq -- Avoiding the dangerous highways and taking to the open skies, Marines delivered a load of supplies by parachute May 20, 2004 -- their first since returning to Iraq earlier this year. The 1st Force Service Support Group's Air Delivery Platoon made it possible to deliver these supplies without sending a ground convoy through nearby hostile territory, exposing Marines and their cargo to roadside bombs and attacks by anti-coalition forces. The platoon's Marines...

American troops in Iraqi quickly developed procedures and tactics to counter road side bombs and ambushes by hostile Iraqis. This has made attacking American convoys a lot more dangerous to the attackers, and reduced U.S. casualties considerably. First, the convoy should have at least five vehicles and they should have extra armor plate or Kevlar blankets attached to protect the crew. The troops in the convoy should carry lots of ammo for their weapons (this means a dozen or more 30 round magazines for each M-16, and as many 200 round belts of ammo for each light machine-gun and several...

CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq(May 29, 2004) -- Like wagon trains of old rolling along pitted highways and dusty trails, Marine supply convoys face peril and uncertainty on the long roads of western Iraq. Supporting units spread across an area about the size of Wyoming, Marines of Combat Service Support Battalion 7 have logged more than 140,000 miles on the road to deliver more than 6.5 million pounds of repair parts, supplies and equipment to the 1st Marine Division and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which they support. The 1st Force Service Support Group's CSSB-7 closely mirrors CSSB-1, which supports the eastern...

CAMP ANACONDA, Iraq — When Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Summers arrived last fall, the Army knew he’d be able save lives. The 7th Transportation Battalion asked the ship hull technician to attach makeshift steel plates to trucks and Humvees. Poorly protected vehicles had been coming under fire every time they left this central logisitics hub for points all over Iraq. Many of the vehicles did not have the extra protection of “armor-up” kits. And the Army didn’t have enough to go around. “I’m a welder by trade,” said Summers, a 33-year-old Naval reservist from Frisco, Calif. “When I got...

Former hostage talks about capture, escape Tuesday, 10PM ET Hamill talks about the day he was captured by terrorists in Iraq and how he was able to survive three weeks of captivity.

The 150-member 1221st Transportation Company has been reassigned from its hauling duties to providing security for convoys operated by defense contractor Kellogg Brown & Root.

My company is fuel transportation. We are the Army Reserve 724th Transportation Company. But in Iraq we have civilian contractors Kellogg Brown and Root. They do all the fuel hauling. So we basically become force protection for convoys. Friday, April 9th, about 7 a.m., my platoon started getting ready for a fuel convoy from LSA Anaconda in Balad to Baghdad International Airport (BIOP). We were running security for 21 civilian fuel trucks. We had 26 in the whole serial. I was in the 21st truck with a civilian, riding shotgun (passenger). I had never ridden with a civilian on a...

Edward Sanchez Jr., 35, of Silver City, said he wasn't trying to be a hero when he took a job that required him to drive a truck through an Iraqi war zone, but that didn't stop fate and world events from conspiring to earn him a place in history. He said he accepted the truck-driving job with Texas-based Kellogg, Brown and Root - a subsidiary of Halliburton - partly for the money, and partly for the adventure, he said. "I took the job knowing I was going to Iraq," Sanchez told the Daily Press. "The job market here (in Silver...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Gunmen attacked a U.S.-run civilian convoy in Iraq's western desert and some personnel were unaccounted for, U.S. officials said Tuesday. Iraq's oil minister said a weekend bombing at a southern pipeline had cut oil exports by 30 percent. The attack on the convoy came as one Russian worker was confirmed dead and two others abducted in another attack on foreigners working in Iraq. The officials said the convoy was operated by a subsidiary of KBR (search), or Kellogg, Brown & Root, which is in turn a subsidiary of Halliburton (search). An unknown number of vehicles were destroyed...