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U.S. Air Force Maj. Alberto Mezarina teaches Iraqi engineers to label circuit breakers during final construction inspection. U.S. Army photo by Suzanne M. Fournier U.S. Air ForceMaj. Alberto Mezarina Air Force Engineer Helps Iraqis Rebuild By Suzanne M. Fournier Gulf Region Southern DistrictU.S. Army Corps of Engineers BASE CAMP ADDER, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2005  — Deploying to Iraq with an Army unit offered a unique opportunity for an Air Force officer to be blue in a green Army world. United States Air Force Academy instructor Maj. Alberto Mezarina said he volunteered because he wanted to do his part to...

(PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Dec. 28, 2005) -- Knowledge support in a coalition environment was among the discussion topics as a multinational team of experts making final preparations for Multinational Experiment 4 (MNE4) met during the event's final planning conference earlier this month. Scheduled for Feb. 20 - March 17, 2006, MNE4 will explore use of the full range of effects based operations (EBO) to influence the behavior of adversaries. While U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) from the United States is the overall lead for MNE4, coalition partners lead the specific concepts and processes being explored. The knowledge support (KS) cell...

A Japanese soldier waves while aboard an armoured vehicle in Samawa, 270 km (160 miles) south of Baghdad December 27, 2005. Hundreds of Japanese troops who are in Iraq for humanitarian missions have just completed a water facilities project in Iraq's southern city. (REUTERS/Mohameed Ameen)

U.S. allies withdraw from Iraq Tuesday, December 27, 2005; Posted: 1:52 p.m. EST (18:52 GMT) KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- The U.S. coalition in Iraq saw its size dwindle Tuesday as Ukraine and Bulgaria said all of their troops had left the country while Poland said it would remain, but reduce its number of troops by 600 next year. The Polish government's decision, which must be approved by President Lech Kaczynski, would be a boost for U.S. President George W. Bush, who has faced withering criticism at home and abroad over his handling of the Iraq war and the growing insurgency...

Bulgarian contingent duty in Multinational Division Central South came to an end Dec. 17. Multi-National Force - Iraq CAMP ECHO, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2005 — Bulgarian contingent duty in Multinational Division Central South (MNDCS) came to an end Dec. 17. During the farewell ceremony, MNDCS Commanding General Maj. Gen. Piotr Czerwinski thanked Bulgarian soldiers for their outstanding duty in MNDCS. "I would like to thank you personally and all Bulgarian soldiers who served so far in Iraq," said Czerwinski. "Your commitment has always been contributing to the success of the Multinational Division." During the ceremony, Bulgarian soldiers were awarded by...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 19, 2005) -- A newly inducted member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is playing a lead role alongside American troops in securing the future of Iraq. Although small in numbers, the infantry soldiers from Estonia’s “Stone” Platoon bring added force to the tank crews of the Fort Riley, Kan., based 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment. The 34-member platoon from Estonia is a highly trained volunteer force that performs an infantry mission with the skill and firepower comparable to U.S. Army Rangers, said Staff Sgt. Nicholas E. Wolf, one of two liaisons to...

Now the inside headline/story Allies Consider Iraq Pullouts, Reductions Ukraine and Bulgaria Will Start to Leave By Mid-December By WILLIAM J. KOLE, AP VIENNA, Austria (Dec. 2) - Two of America's allies in Iraq are withdrawing forces this month and a half-dozen others are debating possible pullouts or reductions, increasing pressure on Washington as calls mount to bring home U.S. troops. Bulgaria and Ukraine will begin withdrawing their combined 1,250 troops by mid-December. If Australia, Britain, Italy, Japan, Poland and South Korea reduce or recall their personnel, more than half of the non-American forces in Iraq could be gone by...

VIENNA, Austria -- Two of America's allies in Iraq are withdrawing forces this month and a half-dozen others are debating possible pullouts or reductions, increasing pressure on Washington as calls mount to bring home U.S. troops. Bulgaria and Ukraine will begin withdrawing their combined 1,250 troops by mid-December. If Australia, Britain, Italy, Japan, Poland and South Korea reduce or recall their personnel, more than half of the non-American forces in Iraq could be gone by next summer. Japan and South Korea help with reconstruction, but Britain and Australia provide substantial support forces and Italy and Poland train Iraqi troops and...

One of four Swedish peacekeepers wounded in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan has died of his injuries, the Swedish military said late on Friday. The four Swedish troops, two of whom were said to be seriously injured in Friday's explosion in Mazar-i-Sharif, were from the NATO-led ISAF, which was set up in 2001, and were part of a British provincial reconstruction team. "Shortly after midnight local time (2100 Stockholm time) ISAF's military hospital in Kabul announced that one of the two seriously injured Swedes had died," the statement said. "The soldier was seriously injured in a bomb attack in Mazar-i-Sharif...

One of four Swedish peacekeepers wounded in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan has died of his injuries, the Swedish military said late on Friday. The four Swedish troops, two of whom were said to be seriously injured in Friday's explosion in Mazar-i-Sharif, were from the NATO-led ISAF, which was set up in 2001, and were part of a British provincial reconstruction team. "Shortly after midnight local time (2100 Stockholm time) ISAF's military hospital in Kabul announced that one of the two seriously injured Swedes had died," the statement said. "The soldier was seriously injured in a bomb attack in...

Task Force 150 is under the direction of the Combined Maritime Forces Component Commander. It operates in the support of the OEF in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, and is responsible for Maritime Security Operations that combats the illegal movement of terrorists, weaponry and support materials in International Waters....

Thursday, November 24, 2005 2:44 PM Few details have been released, but Defence officials confirm a Canadian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. Officials say the soldier died when an armoured vehicle rolled over, and no explosive devices were involved. Four others were injured. The name and hometown of the dead soldier have not been released.

BRYAN WHITMAN (Pentagon spokesman): General Vines, can you hear me? GEN. VINES: Yes, I can hear you very well, thank you. MR. WHITMAN: Well, General, again I want to thank you for joining us. I think it was early September last time that you spoke to us here in the Pentagon and the Pentagon press corps. Welcome this morning. I think you all know Lieutenant General John R. Vines. He's the commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps, but he's been in Iraq since February of 2005, where he's serving as the commander of the Multinational Corps, and as such,...

DESCENDANTS of Genghis Khan, the man who conquered half the world in the 13th century, rolled out the red carpet yesterday for the most powerful man of the 21st century. George Bush stood to attention in the biting cold before an honour guard of Mongolian soldiers in blue and red uniforms and with sabres at the ready as the United States national anthem played to welcome the first serving American President to set foot in Ulan Bator. Mr Bush chose to wrap up a four-nation Asian trip in this young democracy, where fewer than three million people, mostly nomads, live...

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia - In the wake of congressional unrest over his war policies, President Bush thanked Mongolia on Monday for standing with him in Iraq and compared the struggle against Islamic radicalism to this country's battle against communism. Bush said Mongolia has stood with the United States as "brothers in the cause of freedom." Bush's four-hour stop in Mongolia was the first ever by an American president. The brief visit was a reward for Mongolia's pursuit of democracy and support for the U.S. fight against terrorism.

General readies his 'a-team' for harshest test since Korea Southern Afghanistan Chris Wattie National Post November 15, 2005 CREDIT: Jim Farrell Brigadier-General David Fraser: "I am confident we will make a positive impact for Afghans." The general who is to lead more than 2,000 Canadian soldiers into their biggest combat mission since the Korean War has shaken up his command, saying he is taking only his "A Team" into the dangerous region of southern Afghanistan to hunt the Taliban. Brigadier-General David Fraser has fired some of his most senior officers and reassigned several others just before the mission begins in...

UNITED NATIONS - The Iraqi army and multinational forces violated international law during military operations in western Iraq last month by arresting doctors and occupying medical facilities, a U.N. report said Monday. The five-page report, from the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq, said military operations by the two forces had "a negative impact on human rights" and cited figures that more than 10,000 families have been displaced in two restive provinces — Anbar and Nineveh — alone. Covering the period of Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, it said the United Nations has repeatedly sought to draw attention to the issue...

Poland to extend its military presence in Iraq 16:57 2005-11-09 Poland's new government indicated Wednesday it was open to the possibility of extending the nation's military presence in Iraq. Poland committed combat troops to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has had soldiers there since. It has plans to end the rotation of troops after Dec. 31, though outgoing President Aleksander Kwasniewski has several times suggested the mission could be extended on request from Iraqi authorities and on authorization from the U.N. Security Council, conditions that have both been met. As he took his new post as deputy defense minister...

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, Oct. 22, 2005 – A group of almost 200 Mongolian Army soldiers got a personal thank you today from U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for their service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rumsfeld, who made a stop here during an eight-day trip to China, South Korea and Lithuania, praised Mongolia for its support in the war on terror. "You are a sovereign nation and you made a choice," Rumsfeld told the group, assembled in an auditorium in Mongolia's Government House. "It showed political courage and it showed personal courage on the part of your troops." But that decision, he...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2005 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thanked U.S., French and Spanish troops in Kyrgyzstan today for their role in helping to safeguard fledgling democracies and supporting the war on terror. "We have strong allies in this fight. It is not an American fight, but rather, a fight of free peoples," she told the troops at Manas Air Base, according to a 376th Air Expeditionary Wing news release. The base serves as a staging point for operations in Afghanistan and is currently hosting relief and supply efforts for earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan. "I want to thank...