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A small rural school district in Fort Bend County and a determined mother are tangled in a dispute over hair. Michelle Betenbaugh says her 5-year-old son, Adriel Arocha, wears his hair long because of religious beliefs tied to his Native American heritage. But the leaders of the Needville school district have strict rules about long hair on boys and don't see any reason to make an exception in his case. The dispute illustrates a problem American schools have faced for decades: how to balance individual student rights against rules designed to maintain order and discipline in the classroom. The case...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIxK9HWideQ&feature=user

Native Sweden Volume 61 Number 4, July/August 2008 by Zach Zorich Indigenous Saami are rediscovering their long-lost heritage Smithsonian archaeologist Noel Broadbent and Tim Bayliss-Smith of Cambridge University walk past a line of 1,100-year-old hut foundations at Grundskatan. (Zach Zorich) Smithsonian archaeologist Noel Broadbent offers me a handful of blueberries he has picked from the shrubs that hug the forest floor. I pop them into my mouth. The pulp and seeds are sugary, rough, and slick at the same time. In early September the leaves change color and the berries ripen on Sweden's Hornsland peninsula. Broadbent crouches by the trail...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The village of Aniak says living with Alaska State Troopers in its community is like living with Big Brother. Earlier this month, the Aniak Traditional Council sent a letter to Alaska State Troopers asking that troopers be permanently removed from the Aniak post. The council cites unfair treatment and disregard of tribe members' civil rights as reasons and says it feels the scrutiny is racially motivated. The council complains troopers cite and fine young children for hunting or trapping ptarmigan and rabbits without a license. The say law enforcement officials also place roadblocks and conduct car searches...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Dec. 7, 2007 – Army Staff Sgt. Obinna Awusah’s peers say he goes the extra mile to accomplish a mission and always places the needs of others before his own, all with a smile on his face and large sense of patriotism in his heart. Army Staff Sgt. Obinna Awusah’s peers say he goes the extra mile to accomplish a mission and always places the needs of others before his own. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Awusah, a native of Nigeria, immigrated to the United States in 1981 to enroll...

Native American Skull Found at Malibu Construction Site• State Native American Heritage Commission Initiates Process for Handling Find • BY ANNE SOBLE A human skull unearthed at a construction site in the Paradise Cove mobile home park has been officially declared a prehistoric Native American find, and the wheels have been put in motion for the remains to be handled in accord with state law. Workers preparing the foundation for a new mobile home in the beachside complex discovered the skull during routine digging Monday at about 4 p.m. and contacted the sheriff’s department. Capt. Ed Winter of the Operations...

The Minnesota Supreme Court today overturned a sexual assault conviction of a Somali man, who made incriminating statements in English, but was not given his Miranda rights in his native language. Plymouth police arrested Burhan Mohammed Farrah on Nov. 20, 2003, in the parking lot of an apartment complex. A 14-year-old developmentally disabled girl reported being attacking in the same parking lot. An officer read Farrah his rights in English and had him sign a rights waiver written in English. "Do you understand your rights?" the officer asked. "Okay. Little, yeah," Farrah replied. Police proceeded with the interrogation in English...

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is 33 times more likely to occur in a Native American baby than a Caucasian baby, 37 times more than Hispanics, and 5 times more likely than a Black baby. The cost of care for each individual affected is estimated at $2.4 million over a lifetime. Yet most tribal nations have cut funding for education and prevention. Few have FAS Coordinators any longer. Read more about it and what you can do.

OKLAHOMA TOURISM CENTER, 2007 (honoring the murderer, outraging the memory of the victims) : "From Clinton, continue on to Cheyenne, Oklahoma in the heart of Cheyenne country. Here you’ll find the Black Kettle Museum (580-497-3929) displaying and interpreting the HISTORY OF THE CHEYENNE TRIBE in Oklahoma. (...) Also in Cheyenne, on the road between the BLACK KETTLE MUSEUM and the Historic Site, visit the Clara Blinn House, a tea room, antique store and Native American art gallery Also in Cheyenne, on the road between the Black Kettle Museum and the Historic Site, visit the CLARA BLINN HOUSE, a TEA ROOM,...

In Memoriam: Custer's Last Stand, June 25, 1876 Private William Slaper : «Each man had secreted himself behind a slain horse. » Lieutenant Charles DeRudio: “The horses were laying as if to suggest a barricade.” Lieutenant Luther Hare: “The evidence on the Custer field indicated very hard fighting.” __ Reno court of Inquiry: “In regard to the severity of the fighting on General Custer’s battlefield, did you see any evidences that there was hard fighting there, or the contrary? Lieutenant Godfrey: “I think there must have been a very hard fighting. Reno court of Inquiry: “You think there was a...

Governor Darrell Flyingman of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma put things in realistic perspective when he arose to speak. He talked about the thousands of acres of land either ceded or stolen by hook and crook from the people of his nation over the years (in Oklahoma). He said, "I consider this to be a site of a massacre (Washita battlefield, OH) and not a battlefield as it is named and I will do everything within my power to see that the site is renamed as the Washita Massacre rather than Battlefield. Gov. Flyingman said that he felt...

Native American DNA found in UK By Paul Rincon Science reporter, BBC News Doreen (left) with daughter Rebecca and granddaughter Anais DNA testing has uncovered British descendents of Native Americans brought to the UK centuries ago as slaves, translators or tribal representatives. Genetic analysis turned up two white British women with a DNA signature characteristic of American Indians. An Oxford scientist said it was extremely unusual to find these DNA lineages in Britons with no previous knowledge of Native American ancestry. Indigenous Americans were brought over to the UK as early as the 1500s. Many were brought over as curiosities;...

Native American populations share gene signature 00:01 14 February 2007 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi A distinctive, repeating sequence of DNA found in people living at the eastern edge of Russia is also widespread among Native Americans, according to a new study. The finding lends support to the idea that Native Americans descended from a common founding population that lived near the Bering land bridge for some time. Kari Schroeder at the University of California in Davis, US, and colleagues sampled the genes from various populations around the globe, including two at the eastern edge of Siberia, 53 elsewhere in...

New Insights Into Healthful Compounds In Native American Diets In an advance toward understanding the early California Native American diet, food scientists have identified the full range of phytochemicals in tanoak acorns. Acorns were a staple in the diet of early Native Americans in California, comprising up to 50 percent of total food intake, Alyson E. Mitchell and colleagues note in a report in the current (Oct. 4) issue of the ACS biweekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Acorns are still used by Californian Native Americans -- special processing is needed to make the nuts edible -- to make...

HOPE, Ark. Autrilla Scott readily agreed when Roger Clinton, co-owner of the Buick dealership here in the late 1940s, asked if she would watch his girlfriend's little boy Billy for a time while they went on a date. Scott was born and reared in Hope, the daughter of Mary Ella and Louis Watkins. She was the youngest of seven siblings and grew up across the street from Yerger School. While a teenager, Scott cleaned houses and babysat. "When I was cleaning Roger Clinton's apartment one day, he came by with a little boy about two or three years-old and asked...

CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (June 30, 2006) -- The man responsible for roughly 1,000 Marines’ ammo isn’t a Marine sitting behind a desk, wielding his power and influence from his air conditioned office – it’s a 21-year-old Marine running around in the dry heat of western Iraq. Meet Cpl. David M. Jeske – a gruff Marine from Auburndale, Wis., and the senior ammunition technician for 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion – the U.S. Marine unit assigned to this region of Iraq’s western Al Anbar province. The battalion is charged with maintaining security and stability in their area of operations –...

Did the Ancient Greeks and Native Americans Swap Starcharts? Author Ker Than I had a story on SPACE.com yesterday about a very cool discovery: a one-thousand year old petroglyph, or rock carving, that was found in Arizona and which might depict the supernova of 1006, or SN 1006. The carving is presumed to have been made an ancient group of Native Americans called the Hohokam. The researcher who made the discovery argues that symbols of a scorpion and stars on the petroglyph match the relative positions of SN 1006 to the constellation Scorpius when the star first exploded. Well, after...

Native Americans recorded supernova explosion 16:45 05 June 2006 NewScientist.com news service Zeeya Merali and Kelly Young The Arizonan petroglyph may depict the supernova of 1006 AD - the star symbol is on the right and the constellation Scorpius on the left (Image: John Barentine, Apache Point Observatory) This double-sun petroglyph at Chaco Canyon National Monument in New Mexico may depict the supernova of 4 July 1054 (Image: Mark Lansing) There are numerous examples of rock art in the Chaco Canyon National Monument depicting celestial objects (Image: Mark Lansing) Prehistoric Native Americans may have carved a record of a supernova...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (May 19, 2006) -- After spending more than two years protecting the commandant of the Marine Corps and then the President of the United States, one Marine is now adapting to life with the Marines of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, as they prepare to deploy to Iraq. Cpl. Richard R. Casper, a 21-year-old Washburn, Ill., native, said he never dreamed he would stand in the oval office or have his photograph taken with the president six times. “The whole experience was awesome,” said Casper, who now serves as...

This is the only country on Earth that thinks it's not sporting to consider our own interests in choosing immigrants. Try showing up in any other country on the planet, illiterate and penniless, and announcing: "I've seen pictures of your country and it looks great. I think I'd like to live here! Oh, and by the way, would you mind changing all your government and business phone messages, street signs and ballots into my native language? Thanks!" They would laugh you out of the country. What seems not to have occurred to the "NO HUMAN BEING IS ILLEGAL" crowd is...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (April 7, 2006) -- For Navy corpsmen serving with Marine units, treating casualities in combat and saving lives is what their job is all about. Most of them jump at the chance to deploy with the Marines and serve their country. Petty Officer 1st Class Ronnie L. Mashburn, who recently returned from his second tour in Iraq, is one of those corpsmen. The Iron Station, N.C., native was deployed with 2nd Marine Division in Ar Ramadi, Iraq from February 2005 to February 2006. For the first part of his deployment, he was the battalion...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – (March 31, 2006) -- Cmdr. Alan M. Hansen, Deputy Force Chaplain, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was awarded the Bronze Star, March 30, for his devotion to Marines and sailors in Iraq. “He worked hard, real hard, to make sure every Marine and sailors’ faith was covered,” said Col. John L. Ledoux, Marine Chief of Staff, II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD), in his remarks prior to awarding the medal to Hansen. According to the award citation, the McGill, Nev., native served a year in Iraq. His role as advisor and confidante, to more than...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (March 14, 2006) -- Families, friends and fellow Marines gathered to see a Lake Hopatcong, N.J. native awarded the Bronze Star Medal March 13 for his actions during combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Capt. Frank Diorio, a 1996 Notre Dame graduate, received the award in a ceremony here for his tour of duty as the company commander of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment in Husaybah, Iraq from February to September 2005. The 33-year-old Marine led his company in over 275 engagements at Camp Gannon firm base. On April 11,...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (March 8, 2006) -- “At first it was rough, because they didn’t look at me as a Marine,” said Cpl. Christine DeCaprio, an administrative clerk, of fitting in with an all male military police squad in Iraq. “But, once I got up on the [.50 caliber heavy machinegun] they changed their minds.” This event set the tone for DeCaprio’s next ten months in the desert with Company B, 2nd Military Police Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. Being the only woman in a platoon full of men proved difficult in the early stages of the...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Mar. 2, 2006) -- In late February 2005, a 26-year-old Harrisburg, Penn. native deployed to the western part of the Al Anbar province, Iraq with Regimental Combat Team-2, 2nd Marine Division. One year later, he returned to the U.S. forever changed. Lance Cpl. Shane S. Keller, a combat photographer with RCT-2, recently came home after a year deployed to Iraq, where he had been supporting Marines and Iraqi Forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Keller’s job in Iraq consisted of documenting the security and stabilization operations the RCT conducted for historical, training and intelligence purposes....

AL ANBAR, Iraq (Feb. 14, 2006) -- When asked about the biggest challenge of operating in a foreign country such as Iraq, many service members will say it is the language barrier that causes the most frustration. To combat this challenge, Arabic speakers are hired from across the world to be a vital connection between the people of Iraq and the Coalition Forces. Without them, little could be accomplished. On a rare occasion, contracted interpreters are not necessary – not when you have Marines who can do the job. Such is the case with Lance Cpl. Brian Youssef, a Marine...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 11, 2006) -- There are more than 22,000 Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force units deployed in Iraq. Many of them are serving on the front lines, outside the wire, however, they would not be operating successfully without having proper administrative support backing them. Administrative Marines like Sgt. Jeffery P. Kast, an administration clerk with Combat Logistics Battalion-8, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), routinely ensure Marines within their respective units have continuous administrative support. “For my office, our day-to-day tasks are to make sure that Marines in our battalion are being taken care of administratively,” Kast...

Bob Waggoner, who served as the back judge in the game, is a Pittsburgh native and played linebacker at Juniata College from 1969 through 1972.

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 3, 2006) -- Being able to communicate with the local populous is an important part of every mission the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment conduct in their area of operations. In order to do this, the unit works with local Iraqi interpreters. Sergeant Dustin L. Barrow, an Ironton, Ohio, native, is the enlisted interpreter liaison for the battalion. He ensures the translators are satisfied with what they have, while also ensuring they are doing their jobs to support the operations the companies carry out. “This is the first time I have dealt with interpreters...

CAMP FALLUJA, Iraq (Feb. 3, 2006) -- The Marines in 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment bring in suspected insurgents as detainees from their area of operation in order to keep local Iraqi citizens safe. Having one location for all of the detainees to be processed helps expedite the process. Sergeant William B. Iversen, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the battalion’s detainee facility, is instrumental in making sure these detainees end up where they are supposed to; prison. “I am here so that the companies only have to drop off a few Marines with a detainee and head right back...

ZAIDON, Iraq (Feb. 3, 2006) -- The sun was rising on the second day of Operation Trifecta and it was time for Sgt. Chad T. Johnson, a combat engineer attached to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and his engineers to impair insurgent operations in the Zaidon area. The Rockford, Ill., native was given the task of helping a platoon from Company F search vast areas of farm land looking for weapons and explosives the insurgents are suspected to have hidden there. “This is one of the primary missions for the engineers in this area of operation,” stated Johnson, a 1994...

Every time I bring up the Holocaust, the same thing happens. Some of the people want Hitler's genocide to be the archetype of a people's suffering, denying others their right to bring similar atrocities to light. Some want to deny it (like current Iranian President Ahmadinejad). Some want to straddle the line or apologize: "There would have been no Hitler if not for the reparation payments put upon Germany after World War I." What are we to do, create a chart ranking peoples' suffering: "mine was worse than yours?" These were all horrors. Calling one a genocide while not allowing...

BARWANAH, Iraq (Feb. 1, 2006) -- The Marines of 2nd Platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment constantly search the palm groves and desert valleys here for insurgents and their weapon of choice … roadside bombs. Leading one of the platoon’s fire teams during hunts for weapons caches is Woodland, Calif., native, Lance Cpl. Sam E. Smithson. His fire team, with the help of the squad, is responsible for finding at least eight different caches since arriving in the area. In the last month, Smithson was part of two different operations, leading his Marines in finding many caches. His...

RAMADI, Iraq (Feb. 1, 2006) -- Shortly after completing his basic training and Marine infantry training, Pvt. Ariel Inclan was told he would be deployed to Iraq. Since his arrival here to Al Anbar’s provincial capital in August 2005, Iraq has proven to be everything he expected it to be. From combat to the concrete block and stucco homes lining dirt roads, most of his preconceived notions about Iraq have proven true. “I had a certain feeling about what Iraq would be like,” Inclan said. “And if I had to describe it, this would be it.” For the last four...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Jan. 25, 2006) -- There they were, moving into an area known to be a hot spot for insurgent activity when it happened Oct. 2, 2005. Gunfire, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades began flying around them as they took cover and started their assault on the enemy’s position in Karmah, Iraq. Lance Cpl. Michael A. McGraw, a 20-year-old automatic rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, stood up early on in the attack to begin the movement on the enemy when he was struck in the lower leg by heavy machine gun fire. McGraw was...

FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 24, 2006) -- “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror; I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do,” Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote. For one Marine, past experiences have developed him into a capable team leader. Drawing on what Marines he served under taught him, Lance Cpl. Jeffrey M. Roberts, a 21-year-old Destin, Fla., native, has become a team leader for...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Jan. 20, 2006) -- Major Paul T. Deutsch of Addison, Ill., the disbursing officer for Camp Lejeune, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal during an awards ceremony Jan. 18 for his service while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 04 - 06. Deutsch deployed with Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, and served as the Service Company commander. He oversaw five platoons including disbursers, postal clerks, exchange salesmen, dental technicians and mortuary affairs specialists. Service Company covered the entire Al Anbar province during their seven-month stay, and achieved amazing things, according...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Jan. 17, 2006) -- When Marines deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, they all try to bring a piece of home with them, something that reminds them not only of what they left behind, but also what they’re fighting for. Unfortunately for some Marines, they end up bringing a piece of Iraq home, in the form of pieces of metal from a roadside bomb or battle scars from enemy attacks. Sergeant Matthew P. Dalrymple, 26, of Chillicothe, Ohio was awarded the Purple Heart medal with a gold star in lieu of second award...

HADITHA DAM, Iraq (Jan. 16, 2006) -- The job of lead vehicle gunner for a convoy in Iraq is one of the most dangerous and demanding jobs for a Marine, as insurgents continue to place roadside bombs aimed at injuring Marines, Iraqi soldiers, police and civilians. Norwalk, Calif., native, Cpl. Jason M. Farias, isn’t just the lead gunner on some convoys, he is the first line of defense for 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment’s commander as he travels to visit Marines in the area. With his M-240G machine gun, he sits high above the lead vehicle to provide fire support...

AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq (Jan. 13, 2006) -- Any drill instructor can tell you that making warriors out of young men and women fresh from the civilian world is challenging, but ultimately a rewarding task. The long hours, the high expectations and the cost of failure all weigh heavily before the ultimate day of graduation and the turning over of their charge to the wide world mark their success. Marines from D Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., can perhaps understand a little more clearly exactly what kind of challenge it is to train...

CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq (Jan. 12, 2006) -- The right to wear the eagle, globe and anchor and be considered among the world’s finest is a privilege that is hard earned. Lance Cpl. Josslyn D. Selzer, a 19-year-old Boone, N.C., native with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, is living out that dream. “I have always wanted to be a Marine, since I was about 8,” said Selzer, an ammunition technician for the battalion. “My sister, Deadra, is in the Marines; she joined a year-and-a-half before me, but I knew I wanted to join long before she ever...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Jan. 9, 2006) -- Navy Lt. John G. Meeting of Mansfield, Ohio, the comptroller for the Naval Dental Center was awarded the Bronze Star Medal during an awards ceremony Dec. 16 for his service while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 04 - 06. In January 2005, Meeting deployed as the commander for Surgical Company A, 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. Meeting’s company deployed to Kuwait to relieve a National Guard unit. “There were about 100,000 service members in Kuwait at the time we got there, so it was a little...

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Jan. 10, 2006) -- The commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Lt. Col. Julian D. Alford, has his hands full as the senior commander in the Al Qa’im region. Almost daily, Alford moves from battle position to battle position, meeting to meeting … managing and controlling his forces and the reconstruction efforts in his area of western Al Anbar province. Keeping him safe is his personnel security detachment or Praetorian as they’re called. Lexington, N.C., native, Sgt. Phillip J. Michael, is a member of Praetorian. “We’re tasked to escort (Alford) and provide security for him...

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq (Jan. 10, 2006) -- When Lance Cpl. Paul E. Harden was told he would be leaving for Iraq with Truck Company from the Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, he didn’t know what to think. He was young, enthusiastic and relatively new to the Marine Corps. The only images he could conjure up were those of the resulting damage left behind after the battle for Fallujah in November of 2004. When the 21-year-old, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native and motor-transport mechanic got here in February last year, he was surprised. Instead of demolished buildings and a...

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Dec. 30, 2005) -- There are more than 22,000 Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force units deployed in Iraq. Many of them are serving on the front lines, outside the wire, however, they would not be operating successfully without having proper administrative support backing them. Administrative Marines like Lance Cpl. Lee R. LaValley Jr., an administration clerk with 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), routinely ensure Marines within their respective units have continuous administrative support. “I like working here compared to Camp Lejeune, [N.C.],” LaValley admits. “Although the weather is ridiculous, I know this...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Dec. 21, 2005) -- Marines are known for their ability to adapt and overcome any challenge. A Marine from Reydon, Okla. is living up to that ability while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with Regimental Combat Team 8. Lance Cpl. Steven L. Bentley, a 20-year-old radio operator, is proving he is flexible in his job. He is not working in his primary military occupational specialty. Instead, he is developing critical skills in another MOS -- 0861, fire support man. “As a fire support man, I am part of a team that coordinates all indirect fire...

HUSAYBAH, Iraq (Dec. 8, 2005) -- Western Iraq, along the Syrian border, is a far cry from the mountains of Washington and sunny days and summer afternoons partying on a lake. The physical distance is measured in thousands of miles, but the difference in atmosphere, environment and mentality may as well be a galaxy away. Corporal Jason L. Johnson, a reservist from Auburn, Wash., closed that gap when he volunteered for mobilization and assignment June 2005 to 6th Civil Affairs Group, out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. It brought him to this small, dusty city in Iraq’s Al...

CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (Dec. 21, 2005) -- Marines deployed on a combat tour to Iraq find many different ways to relax and spend their free time. They play video games, watch movies, read books and even take online college courses. One Marine, though, uses his free time to make a direct impact oh the mission to turn Iraq over to a stable government capable of protecting its citizens. Cpl. Russell R. Hall, a wire man assigned to a six-man communications detachment with the 2nd Marine Division Training Center here, spends his free time ‘instructing the instructors’ as members of the...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Dec. 20, 2005) -- When Donald R. Williams, Jr. played basketball for Marion-Abramson High School in his hometown of New Orleans, he had everything all planned out. The young basketball star wanted to attend Louisiana State University on a basketball scholarship and then the sky was the limit. He soon found out that things don’t always go one’s way. After graduating in 1997 and receiving only a partial scholarship for basketball, Williams decided it was time to look at other options. “Because I didn’t get the full scholarship I needed to go to college,...

CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (Dec. 14, 2005) -- Many people traveling to America arrive seeking personal gain and economic opportunity. Three weeks after Lance Cpl. Pascal R. Cisse arrived in the States from Germany, he elbowed his way into Marine Corps recruit training and eventually into the famed Marine Corps infantry. “The recruiter told me I could go to boot camp in two months,” said the native of Dakar, Senegal. “I told him I wanted to join as soon as possible.” The Marine recruiter he contacted in Tukwila, Wash., highlighted some of the job opportunities offered by the Marines, but...