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A number of veteran events are coming up in the Sierra Vista area. “The one-year clock is ticking and the name of the game is fundraising,” said Joe Larson, administrator of the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery. He was speaking about next May’s reburial of remains of soldiers from the late 1800s from a Tucson cemetery to the Sierra Vista site. Larson spoke at the monthly meeting of the Grater Sierra Vista Area United Veterans Council meeting on Saturday. The Historic Soldiers Relocation Project will involve the reburial of 70 sets of remains, of which 53 are known, in an...

An epochal shift in the immemorial cycle of war is under way, writes retired major general Robert H. Scales, the former commandant of the Army War College. The infantry is back. America’s enemies have learned that they can’t win blitzkrieg- age wars, so they no longer fight them. They have moved the battlefields to cities, jungles, and mountains, where the U.S. military’s techno log­ically superior ma chines are ineffective. “The enemy chooses to fight as infantry because he can win the infantry fight,” Scales says, and America’s experience in Iraq and Afghanistan shows that the nation has no choice but...

KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq — When a Navy hospital corpsman becomes “green,” he is placed on the front lines with the trust of the Marine Corps infantryman. He runs through the trenches, engaging the enemy, all while putting his own life on the line providing medical care for the wounded. After four tours in two separate conflicts, Chief Petty Officer Truman A. Gartman, chief petty officer of the Battalion Aid Station, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, has been a part of that trust for 14 years and counting. “What I love most about being with the Marines...

BAGHDAD, April 2, 2008 – Two U.S. soldiers from Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq were inducted into the Order of Saint Maurice and received the infantry medallion in Baghdad. U.S. Army Sgts. 1st Class Tim Leckie and Fidel Cisneros, both convoy security platoon sergeants in 1st Provisional Motorized Infantry Company, received the prestigious medallion of the Centurion level, awarded by the National Infantry Association and the Chief of Infantry of the United States Army for outstanding contributions to the infantry. "The infantryman displays courage, candor and commitment," U. S. Army Col. Alfred Dochnal, Coalition Army Advisory Training Team's chief of...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Feb. 8, 2008 – A long way from his family, friends and hunting, Army Pvt. Benjamin Raulerson, a native of Jacksonville, Ala., is here helping his unit rid northwestern Baghdad of terrorism and criminal activity. Army Pvt. Benjamin Raulerson, a native of Jacksonville, Ala., who is assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Baghdad, walks on patrol in the northwestern Baghdad area. Photo by Sgt. Brad Willeford, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In his first month in Iraq, the 22-year-old infantryman has...

RAMADI, Iraq (Jan. 9, 2008) -- It’s not their normal everyday mission. It’s not even what the Marine Corps infantry has historically trained to do. But the job Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, is doing in the Anbar province is important nonetheless. Their job is to prepare the Iraqi Police to become the sole protectors of what was once Iraq’s most vicious city, all while making sure the absence of insurgency remains. Instead of conducting normal combat missions, the Marines of Echo Company spend their days training and patrolling with the Iraqi police, looking forward to the day...

COMBAT OUTPOST CLEARY — Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, attended an Iraqi holiday feast at the home of the head sheik of the Mada’in Qada, Sheik Nouri, Dec. 27, in Al Ja’ara. Before the feast, leaders of the Concerned Local Citizens program, Iraqi security forces, 1-15 Infantry Regiment, and village leaders held a meeting to discuss future operations and progress Ja’ara and the surrounding areas. “We specifically talked about recent incidents in the Al Bawi and Wardyah areas,” said Capt. Stephen Hemmann, Des Peres, La. Native and executive officer of Company B, 1-15 Inf. Regt. While the...

Local children of Al Arafia stand in line, Dec. 8, as Soldiers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment and Concerned Local Citizens hand out bags full of school supplies. Photo by Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers of Company D, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment completed two humanitarian missions in Al Arafia including a food and schoolbag drop, Dec. 8, and a medical assistance visit, Dec. 14. Company D Soldiers together with Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) of Arafia, handed food and bags of school supplies to...

Sgt. Jaimi Diaz, a dog handler with Task Force Military Police, poses for a photograph with her dog, Darrah. Diaz is currently the kennel master in Al Qaim, Iraq, and is running patrols with 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. CAMP GANNON, Iraq (Nov. 05, 2007) -- CAMP GANNON, Iraq — Operation Iraqi Freedom has called on Marines from different military occupational specialties to serve on the frontlines with infantry units. One Long Island, N.Y., native is guiding them on patrols with her dog, Darrah. Sgt. Jaimi Diaz, the Al Qaim kennel master, Task Force Military Police, is currently working...

July 31, 2007: Two years ago, field testing of the XM-312, the replacement for the eighty year old, .50 caliber (12.7mm) M-2 ("Ma Deuce") machine-gun, began, in the United States and overseas. Then, nothing. That's because the test results were not encouraging, the biggest shortcoming being the low rate of fire (about 260 rounds per minute). This is about half the rate of the M2, and was believed adequate for the 25mm smart shells the XM312 was originally designed for (as the XM307). But for 12.7mm bullets, it didn't impress the troops. There were some reliability problems, which could be...

Israel unveils portable hunter-killer robot Thu Mar 8, 10:26 AM ET An Israeli defense firm on Thursday unveiled a portable robot billed as being capable of entering most combat zones alone and engaging enemies with an onboard armory that includes a machine-pistol and grenades. The VIPeR, roughly the size of a small television, was invented as part of Israel's efforts to develop weaponry that could reduce the risks to its forces from hand-to-hand fighting against Palestinian or Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. The manufacturer, Elbit Systems Ltd., said that the VIPeR's small size and dual treads enable it to move "undeterred by...

ike the other campaigns initiated by the US occupation of Iraq, this new strategy will make things measurably worse, says Michael Schwart. First Results from the President's Offensive In his Iraq policy address on January 10, President Bush promised three new initiatives: a "surge" of American troops accompanied by a new "clear, hold, and build" strategy in Sunni insurgent strongholds; an offensive against Shia militias, particularly the Sadrist Mahdi Army which "U.S. military officials now identify as the greatest security threat in Iraq"; and forceful action to prevent Iran from further increasing its influence in Iraq and the Middle East....

Infantry Company’s Efforts Breathe Life into Small Town Farmer’s crops thrive thanks to guidance, equipment from U.S. troops. By Cpl. Michael Molinaro 2nd Brigade Combat Team PAO, 4th Infantry Division FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Oct. 16, 2006 -- Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers delivered an assortment of equipment and goods to the Muehla Agricultural Union, Oct. 9. Refurbished tractors, seed spreaders and water pumps were among the items donated to the union as it begins to move from underneath the guidance of the soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry...

Experimental testing has demonstrated that the system 100 is effective to defeat an AP bullet fired from a rifle at point-blank range (e.g. at impact V.sub.p.apprxeq.850 meters/second). Applications include, but are not limited to, body armor for infantry soldiers and law enforcement agencies, integral armor or armor appliques for vehicles such as aircraft, helicopters, and cars. Other uses include military applications, such as used in conjunction with ground vehicles or amphibious assault vehicles. Thus, the system 100 for protection against a projectile 105 having a speed, or velocity V.sub.p, comprises an accelerating layer 110, a plug layer 120, and (optionally)...

Hi All. I have a question about my son, who's graduating OSUT at Ft. Benning in December. The ITB website says that I can pick him up after graduation, but what about his travel to his first station? Does the Army pay for his travel from Benning to his first station? Can I fly him home from Benning? How the heck does all this work? I'd like to pick him up after graduation, fly him home (western US), then get him to his duty station. What does the Army expect, do, and pay for?

The idea of digging-in disgusted Patton. A victorious army, in his mind, was always on offense, never on defense. It was one of the myriad reasons Patton was such a successful combat commander. It didn’t always make him popular with his subordinates and peers, and he frequently caught hell from the media, but the man knew how to fight and win wars. He was neither a ticket puncher nor a politician. He would have scoffed at modern political correctness. And his only objective was always the combination of a decisive defeat of the enemy and the utter annihilation of his...

FORT LEWIS, Wash. (Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2006) – A long wait is over for Stryker Mobile Gun System (MSG) crews of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. The 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, received its complement of MGS vehicles last month after more than a year of waiting. They are the first vehicles to be fielded in the Army. “I think its going to give the infantry a whole new dimension of what they can do. Armor and infantry have kept each other at arm’s length for years and years," said Sgt. 1st Class David Cooper, an MGS platoon...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Aug. 10, 2006 -- Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted Operation River Falcon July 25-27 in and around the town of Sayifiyah. “The goal was to set conditions in the area in support of future projects and more kinetic operations,” said Capt. Colin Brooks, commander, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment. Sayifiyah had once been a “French Riviera”-type region for Sunnis, who were given preferential treatment under the Sadam regime, Brooks said.  Located southeast of Baghdad on the Tigris River, the small area, which...

WUERZBURG, Germany, July 6, 2006 – The U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, known as the "Big Red One," bid farewell to its host country of Germany at Victory Park on Leighton Barracks here today. The colors of Big Red One are scheduled to be unfurled at Fort Riley, Kan., Aug. 1, and the division will assume command and control of its units now there. Among other duties, the division is slated to take on the mission of training foreign security forces training teams in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Despite numerous deployments to distant countries within the...

(AP) — EDITOR'S NOTE: An AP reporting team has been embedded with U.S. soldiers for nearly two weeks in Kandahar and Helmand provinces as part of Operation Mount Thrust. The troops are now positioned on an isolated hilltop. BAGHRAN VALLEY, Afghanistan (AP) — By night, the troops brace for Taliban mortar attacks. By day, they carry heavy gear and weapons over rocky ledges in scorching heat, stopping only to rehydrate, sometimes with the help of intravenous drips. Life with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment in southern Afghanistan is a battle not only against a stealthy and stubborn enemy but...

FORT HUACHUCA — America’s history has been defined and shaped by what happened in the Old West. Part of that record was due to the achievement of black soldiers who help protect settlements in places such as Southern Arizona, Tom Stoney said Wednesday during the monthly luncheon hosted by the Greater Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee. And part of the story of the Buffalo Soldiers legacy needs to be saved, Stoney said to nearly 90 people. That can be done by ensuring the World War II black officers club on the post remains, he told nearly...

"There are other effects when a leader in an organization like this goes down. The lesser tiers of the terrorist leadership have to start talking. They will use any number of sophisticated and unsophisticated means to do that talking. Some of them will do what is easy — get on the phones and cell phones. They’ll have to move to meet and determine their next steps. All that talk and all that movement generates what’s called ‘actionable intelligence.’ It puts more and more of them in our crosshairs."

HIT, Iraq, June 4, 2006 – The infantry isn't going to move far without help from a bunch of oil-stained soldiers. Just 11 soldiers are responsible for keeping the vehicles of Task Force 1-36 here running. Army Pfc. Guillermo Armendariz and Pfc. James Vail work to change an engine in a Bradley fighting vehicle in Hit, Iraq, June 3. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In this environment, it's a particularly tough job. Sand and dust clog intakes and contaminate oil. The infantrymen are driving the vehicles as much in a month as they used...

The vehicle, if close enough to the blast, flips into the air, snapping necks and spinal cords. Heads and limbs are torn from bodies. Gasoline ignites and ammunition cooks off, burning any survivors to a crisp. Those soldiers and Marines (many of whom are still teenagers) who witness the action are instantly shocked, physically sickened, grief-stricken, and enraged over the horror of having watched buddies—who have become closer than any sibling might ever hope to be—torn to pieces. Badly wounded buddies are screaming in agony. Yet the ones uninjured or with minor injuries have to respond as trained. They are...

 ONE STATION UNIT TRAINING GRADUATION A CO 2-58 and C CO 2-19 INFANTRY 21 APR 2006 FORT BENNING , GA GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THAT WAS PRETTY WEAK LET'S TRY IT AGAIN..... GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! ~ MUCH BETTER! THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING THE GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR ALPHA COMPANY, 2 ND BATTALION 58 TH INFANTRY REGIMENT; AND CHARLIE COMPANY, 2 ND BATTALION 19 TH INFANTRY ON BEHALF OF MG WALTER WATCH-A-COW-SKI, COMMANDER OF FT BENNING, COL SCOTT HENRY, THE COMMANDER OF THE INFANTRY TRAINING BRIGADE, AND LTC RICK MITCHELL, COMMANDER OF 2-19 INFANTRY; I'D LIKE TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY...

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. (NNS) -- About 200 active and Reserve Sailors undergoing predeployment training at Camp Shelby, Miss., reached the midway point of 60 days of Army combat survival training April 14. They received orders directing them to the Navy Mobilization Processing Site in Norfolk with follow-on training at Camp Shelby, near Hattiesburg, Miss. Their mission is to work with joint U.S. forces in small teams called Embedded Training Teams, or ETTs, teaching military doctrine to the Afghanistan National Army (ANA). “Our training here and subsequent mission in Afghanistan is a prime example of how the role of the military...

Sorry it has been five months since my last update, but then, we have been busy. Let me give you the bottom-line up front (BLUF), and then catch you up on things. Feel free to forward this to whomever, since we still can’t seem to get the press to tell folks what is going on. This is how the fight is going from my foxhole, and it is much more than the bombings, US casualties, and rumors of civil war the press seems to be focused on.

And as far as the U.S. effort is concerned, it seems there is almost nothing the White House, the Pentagon, or for that matter any American rifleman on the ground can do that is good enough to garner so much as a one-line "attaboy" from many of our country’s largest newspapers and television news networks. Let’s look at last Thursday, March 16, the day the Iraqi National Assembly opened in Baghdad and a high-profile "air assault" northeast of Samarra, as an example:

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 17, 2006) -- In the middle of a relaxed game of soccer, the frantic call for counter-fire brings the fun to an abrupt end. While the ball continues to roll, Marines of the 81mm mortar platoon race to their guns and scramble into Kevlar helmets and dusty flak jackets. “We [the 81mm mortar platoon] can do all types of missions,” said Lance Cpl. Jesse L. Evans, of Clifton Springs, N.Y., a mortarman with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines. “We fire counter-fire missions against insurgent mortar teams, fire illumination missions, or even mark...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Jan. 13, 2006) — While conducting an air-insertion mission into the village of Shakaria, Iraq, Task Force Ironhorse Soldiers killed several insurgents, detained one and discovered a significant weapons cache Jan. 11. As part of Operation Falcon Sweep, Black Hawk helicopters landed near Shakaria Wednesday morning and Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment swept the village to identify terrorists. The 2-502nd Soldiers received small arms and indirect fire from insurgent forces at approximately 10:45 a.m. The Soldiers returned fire, killing six terrorists and wounding one other. Following the firefight, Soldiers discovered two dead insurgents...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Jan. 9, 2006 – Fighting the war in Iraq has transformed artillerymen into light infantrymen, a job filled with cordon-and-search operations, motorized convoys and dismounted patrols. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, have accepted and excelled in their nontraditional role. The field artillery soldiers have dominated a large area throughout the city and rich farmland of Taji, performing in the role of the light infantryman and securing peace for the people of the region. "We've captured 109 insurgents; 41 have gone to Abu Ghraib," said Lt. Col. Rafael Torres, the battalion's commander. "We've discovered 15...

U.S. Army soldiers from B Company 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, make their way down a steep mountainside while on a patrol during Operation Pizmah in Dey Chopan District, Zabul Province, Afghanistan, Dec. 11, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Vincent Fusco U.S. Paratroopers Complete Operation Pizmah U.S. paratroopers in Afghanistan hunted for Taliban, as well as worked to reestablish a coalition presence in the districts of Dey Chopan, Argandab and Khaki-Afghan. By U.S. Army Pfc. Vincent Fusco 20th Public Affairs Detachment DEY CHOPAN, Afghanistan, Jan. 5, 2006 — As Operation Pizmah drew to a close Dec. 15,...

AR Freepers: I know this is late notice (I just got my drill letter..sigh) and am back from Operation Katrina duties (yes thats right, AR 39th BCT guys are still in Nuevo Orleans). We are having our annual "Family Day" event at 39th BCT HHC (HQ) at Rick's Armory. The Armory is located at 4700 West 8th Street in Little Rock, AR. (Large Dome building just east of Travellers Baseball field and 50 meters north of I-630).Anyways, its a great time to stop by for a little BBQ and say hello (or thank you) to your AR National Guard members....

WACO, Texas (Army News Service, Nov. 28, 2005) — A day after Thanksgiving, more than 1,500 Soldiers bound for a 14-month deployment to Kosovo and Bosnia were honored in a ceremony Nov. 25 at Baylor University’s Ferrell Center. A circular sea of green seats was filled by excited and emotional family members and friends at Baylor’s indoor arena in Waco, Texas. They were there to say goodbye to their Soldiers one last time before they departed for the Balkans. It was the first time 36th Infantry Division Soldiers were deploying to Europe since World War II. During the ceremony, guest...

Insurgencies are not put down in a fortnight. But considering the successes in the recent counter-insurgency sweep in Iraq's Al Anbar Province, one fact becomes obvious to anyone with so much as a sliver of an understanding of ground combat operations: Eliminating the insurgency in Iraq is best left to those who best know how to do it.

The older I get, the more I realize what an emotional and powerful experience it is to have served my country. And how incredibly strong the bond becomes between other men and women who have served.

TIKRIT, Iraq, Nov. 2, 2005 – Task Force Band of Brothers and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) officially took command of military operations in north-central Iraq in a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Danger here Nov. 1. The ceremony marked the transfer of authority from Task Force Liberty and the 42nd Infantry Division, a National Guard unit from New York that has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for a year, to TF Band of Brothers. TF Band of Brothers is composed of two brigade combat teams and a combat aviation brigade of the 101st Airborne Division,...

TAJI, Iraq – Task Force Baghdad Soldiers found bomb-making materials and mortar aiming stakes in a house they searched northwest of Baghdad on Sept. 8. The Soldiers from the Rhode Island National Guard’s D Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment, detained three male suspects at the house and confiscated terrorist propaganda, two expended rocket casings, two timers and the aiming stakes. "We did a three-patrol raid on a suspected Anti-Iraqi Forces meeting location and it was a complete success," said Capt. William H. Tuttle IV, D Company commander from Warwick, R.I. "Speed and surprise were our best attributes." Tuttle said...

On August 23, 2005, the Secretary of Defense approved a request by the commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) to deploy two additional infantry battalions to Iraq. Two battalions from the 82nd Airborne Division will deploy to Iraq for an anticipated duration of approximately 120 days to support security efforts during the election period. Adjustments to troop levels in Iraq occurred prior to the transfer to Iraqi sovereignty in June 2004 and during the January Iraqi elections. These troops will join 180,000 Iraqi security forces and 138,000 coalition forces in helping set the security conditions for successful elections. Gen. Casey’s request...

AN NUMANIYAH, Iraq (Aug. 12, 2005) -- On June 9, 2005, the forward deployed 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing sent an 11-man Military Transition Team (MiTT), to An Numaniyah, Iraq, a training base in southeastern Iraq. The team’s mission is to stand up the 2nd Brigade of the 7th Iraqi Army Division and serve as advisory staff in the training of the 1st Battalion. The MiTT concept is modeled after the combined arms platoons that were employed in Vietnam from 1967 to 1974. Using this model, Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq formed three specialized teams to embed with the New Iraqi Army...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (July, 21, 2005) -- “Don’t you dare touch that remote control, ‘cause you’re watching ‘Mail Call,’” barked Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey, actor and former Marine. The History Channel’s No. 1-rated show visited Camp Pendleton early this week to shoot for an upcoming episode featuring the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and the MK-19 grenade launcher. The production crew first made its way to the School of Infantry’s green belt instructor course to drop in on training. They videotaped students sparring and grappling while instructors supervised. Then, the crew turned its cameras on advanced...

Army Reservists assigned to the 101st Cavalry, 42nd Infantry Division were tasked with clean-up and security details at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001; they now serve in Iraq. FORWARD OPERATING BASE BERNSTEIN, Iraq, July 5, 2005 — He bounced out of the gunner’s hatch of his armored humvee, removed his helmet to assess the desert landscape of Forward Operating Base Bernstein, Iraq, and made his observation. “Man, I would love to plant some tomatoes out here,” said U.S. Army Spc. James Letohic, scout, 42nd Infantry Division command group personal security detail. “They’d get as big as basketballs!”...

“Memory n. 1. The mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience; the ability to remember. 2. An act or instance of remembrance; a recollection… see smer in Appendix.” “smer – to remember. In Germanic murnon, to remember sorrowfully, in Old English murnan, to mourn.” I remember Chuck Meerholz and the day I was supposed to drive. After four months with B Company, 1st Battalion, 69th Armor; four months of on-the-job-training for a guy trained as an infantrymen, I was being taught to drive our tank. B Company was to participate in a big operation centered on the village of...

"The Army has to understand the regulation that says women can't be placed in direct-fire situations is archaic and not attainable," said Lt. Col. Cheri Provancha, commander of a Stryker Brigade support battalion in Mosul, who decided to bend Army rules and allow Guay to serve as a medic for an infantry company of the 82nd Airborne. [. . .] "This war has proven that we need to revisit the policy, because they are out there doing it," said Provancha, a 21-year Army veteran from San Diego. Dozens of soldiers interviewed across Iraq — male and female, from lower enlisted...

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- For three weeks, my FOX News team has been immersed in little more than what's been happening around us. Memorial Day isn't, as they say over here, on our radar screens. The soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines we've been covering and living with in Al Anbar Province have been focused on chasing terrorists, avoiding IEDs and staying alive. They call it situational awareness -- being alert to only the friendly and enemy situation in the immediate vicinity is an absolute necessity for these young Americans in harm's way in this hot, dusty and dangerous place. And because...

*note Please to not get upset with me. I posted this thread in "Smoky Backroom", but that is not where I wanted to place it. I'm reposting it here, I am not trying to flood. Like Pat Tillman's decision to leave the NFL to join the US armed forces after the terroist attack on Sept. 11, a Professionl PRCA National Bull Fighter & Cowboy Protection Expert, Chris Mason, has also become a member of the US Army assigned to the 82nd Airborne Infantry Division. Many of our young men are enlisting into today's military because as Chris said: "I'm tired...

Story and photo by Tawny Archibald Campbell/The Bayonet FORT BENNING, Ga. (TRADOC News Service, Feb. 25, 2005) - There was a time when 29-year-old Windrell Hayes thought he had it all. He had a beautiful wife, a college education and a career with the National Football League. After being released from the New York Jets in October 2001 and spending the following spring with the Green Bay Packers, Hayes realized he wasn’t all that happy with his life. He didn’t enjoy playing professional football, and he wasn’t having fun. “I got into football because my brother played, and I was...

GHAZNI, Afghanistan - The Army is rich in history and tradition, and the soldiers of the unit known as the "Bedford Boys" know they have much to live up to. Company C, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, is made up mostly of soldiers from Bedford, Va. During the invasion of Europe on D-Day, June 6, 1944, this National Guard unit was among the first to hit Omaha Beach. In the first moments of the bloody battle, 19 soldiers from Bedford gave their lives for their country. The town lost more servicemembers per capita than any city in the United States....

April 4, 2005: American infantry are beginning to fear that the U.S. Air Force will take away their UAVs. And therein lies a very curious situation. After half a century of losing out to the U.S. Air Force in the competition for budget dollars, the American Army is making a major comeback. Ironically, it’s all about technology. The air force has always touted its mastery of high tech as a reason to get more money than the army. But the cheap and abundant tech has created new devices, namely smart bombs, UAVs and “smart binoculars,” that are putting a lot...

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2005 – A 3-ton cache of TNT and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition are off the streets of Iraq following an Iraqi army raid near Jurf al-Sakher on March 25, Iraqi military officials reported. A press statement from Iraq’s Defense Ministry said 121 suspects were detained in the raid, conducted by the Iraqi army’s 8th Division, based in Karbala. Besides the TNT, Iraqi soldiers seized 624 rifles, 250,000 light ammunition rounds, 22,000 medium rounds, 193 rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, 300 RPG rockets, 27 82 mm mortar tubes, and 155 82 mm mortar rounds. Today, Task Force Liberty...