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Interesting fun fact of the day: The G5 that Scott Rothstein flew to Morocco and back was apparently arranged for Rothstein by Blue Star Jets. Blue Star Jets is owned by Todd Rome. Todd Rome is the ex-husband of Carol Rome. Carol Rome is the current wife of Florida governor and U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Crist. Charlie Crist is a guy who counted Rothstein as a friend and huge political donor.

The community remembers the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit of 1983 as brave troops who suffered great losses in Beirut in one of the most devastating non-nuclear bombings of all time. Retired Marine Col. Timothy Geraghty remembers them as “my men.” Geraghty will be in Jacksonville today to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed nearly 300 peacekeeping troops, 241 of whom were Marines and sailors under his command. Twenty-six years after the event, he has told the story of Beirut in his own words.

CORONADO — The USS Ronald Reagan and three warships in its strike group returned to San Diego today following a five-month deployment that included air strikes in support of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and operations against pirates off Somalia. Thousands of family members lined the docks at Naval Air Station North Island to greet the arrival of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and at Naval Base San Diego to welcome home the crews of the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the guided-missile destroyers USS Gridley and USS Howard. There are more than 5,000 sailors and aviators on the four ships, which...

AP) A group of Navy ships is under quarantine after several dozen sailors and Marines on board tested positive for swine flu. Health officials say at least 69 people had been confirmed with the virus, and all of them have since recovered. Navy officials say they are now quarantining an undetermined number of crew members with flulike symptoms on four ships that are part of the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, which arrived in Hawaii on Friday. The ships are docked at or near Pearl Harbor. Thousands of sailors and Marines from the ships are currently on leave in Hawaii,...

Female sailors can broaden their role in the Navy by serving on submarines, an activity currently prohibited by the Armed Service, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has advised the Senate Armed Services Committee. According to Defensetech.org, a site run by Military.com, a group boasting a membership of 10 million veterans and active duty forces, Adm. Michael Mullen told senators in a recent survey that he's long been an advocate for improving diversity in the Armed Forces. "I believe we should continue to broaden opportunities for women. One policy I would like to see changed is the one...

A Marines Disquisition ~5 minutes into the Conversation Sailors Dying from the Flu Vaccinations!

Three men convicted in the rape and slaying of a fellow sailor's wife more than a decade ago will walk free to the outrage of the victim's family—who blamed the decision on political pressure from novelist John Grisham—and the men's supporters, who say it's not enough and want them declared innnocent. Gov. Tim Kaine on Thursday granted conditional pardons to ex-sailors Derek Tice, Danial Williams and Joseph Dick Jr. They along another ex-sailor Eric Wilson were known as "The Norfolk Four" and convicted in the 1997 slaying of 18-year-old Michelle Moore-Bosko. Tice, Williams and Dick were sentenced to life in...

MANAMA, Bahrain, July 27, 2009 – The head of U.S. Central Command visited the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge while in port here today to thank sailors for their work while deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet, as well as for their role in the rescue of Richard Phillips, the Maersk Alabama cargo ship captain held captive by Somali pirates. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, addresses sailors aboard USS Bainbridge while the ship was in port in Manama, Bahrain, July 27, 2009. Petraeus thanked sailors for their hard work while deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet as well...

Enlisted sailors with more than 20 years of service may find themselves out of a job by June, according to a Navy message Monday. Performance-based continuation boards, the Navy’s latest end-strength shaping effort, are scheduled to kick off this September and will determine if a sailor is going to be recommended for continuation in service or forced to retire. The program is focusing on sailors in the ranks of E-7 to E-9 with more than 20 years of active service. According to the Navy Personnel Command Web site, high-year tenure is currently 24 years for chief petty officers (E-7), 26...

TWO people have been charged over an assault on a group of US sailors in which one was allegedly stabbed and slashed in the face with a pair of scissors. West Australian police allege a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old woman approached the group, who were on shore leave, outside the Perth train station at about 1am on July 5. A fight erupted and a female sailor was left with facial injuries, while a male sailor required surgery for the wounds he received when he was attacked with the scissors. Police said a 17-year-old boy from the Perth suburb of...

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Petty Officer 3rd Class Chad Kahl never suffered from a lack of open space while growing up in North Dakota. When he told friends and family there that he had volunteered to live aboard a 350-foot-long metal tube underneath hundreds of feet of water, they thought he was crazy. Kahl had done his homework on the submarine lifestyle. But as he prepared to get under way for the first time, he wondered if his friends may have had a point. "I think everyone that goes doesn’t really know what they’re getting into," said Kahl of...

FOUR US sailors have been assaulted while on shore leave in Perth - with one slashed across the face with scissors. WA police said a group of sailors were walking through Perth train station about 1am (WST) this morning when they were confronted by six people. ` "Three males and three females have yelled abuse at the sailors and as they tried to walk past them, one sailor was punched in the face,'' said police spokeswoman Ros Weatherall ``An altercation occurred and four sailors were assaulted, with one male struck in the face with a pair of scissors.''

PERTH brothels are increasing staff to contend with the arrival of two US warships carrying more than 5400 sailors. Nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens docked off Fremantle yesterday. Prevalent in groups of five or six on the streets of Perth today, some sailors were asking locals: "Where do you go to party?". Business groups estimate the sailors' arrival will boost the local economy to the tune of $5 million during the ships' five-day stay. The owner of Perth brothel Langtrees, Beverly Clarke, said today she had put on five extra staff for...

PERTH brothels are increasing staff to contend with the arrival of two US warships carrying more than 5400 sailors. Nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens docked off Fremantle yesterday. Prevalent in groups of five or six on the streets of Perth today, some sailors were asking locals: "Where do you go to party?". Business groups estimate the sailors' arrival will boost the local economy to the tune of $5 million during the ships' five-day stay. The owner of Perth brothel Langtrees, Beverly Clarke, said today she had put on five extra staff for...

TOWNSVILLE has been forced to turn away a US warship and its 3600-strong crew, which would have brought more than $1 million a day to the port city. The USS Essex, a 258m-long amphibious assault vessel, has been diverted to Cairns for an eight-day shore leave, including the popular Fourth of July celebrations. Outraged Townsville tour operators are facing millions in losses, empty hotel rooms, cancelled tours and more than 400 seats booked for the North Queensland Cowboys home game as a result of the embarrassing backdown. Cairns officials yesterday welcomed the big-spending US seamen and the predicted $10 million...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, June 18, 2009 – For five brothers from a small town in Kentucky, serving in the military is a family tradition. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Roberts holds a photo of him, his four brothers and his son, a Marine, while taking a break from his duties in the battalion's steel shop at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, June 3, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Katesha Washington   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Chief Petty Officer Chad Roberts, Petty Officers 1st Class Jody and Dwayne Roberts, and Petty Officer...

More than most nations, America has been, from its start, a hero-loving place. Maybe part of the reason is that at our founding we were a Protestant nation and not a Catholic one, and so we made "saints" of civil and political figures. George Washington was our first national hero, known everywhere, famous to children. When he died, we had our first true national mourning, with cities and states re-enacting his funeral. There was the genius cluster that surrounded him, and invented us—Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton. Through much of the 20th century our famous heroes were in sports (Jack Dempsey,...

Navy Decommissions USS Kitty Hawk Story Number: NNS090512-08 Release Date: 5/12/2009 5:37:00 PM From Kitty Hawk Public Affairs BREMERTON, Wash. (NNS) -- The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) was decommissioned May 12 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., after more than 48 years of service. Members of the final crew lowered the ship's commissioning pennant from the main mast and the U.S. Flag and First Navy Jack from their staffs after Kitty Hawk Commanding Officer Capt. Todd Zecchin closed out the ship's deck log. "It's hard to capture the feeling in words,"...

5/4/2009 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Air Force and Navy servicemembers teamed up in April to support and train the newly formed Iraqi navy with maritime mission along the northern area of the Arabian Gulf where a large percentage of Iraq's oil is exported. The first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight took place April 12 as pilots from the Navy teamed up with ISR operators from the Air Force to provide Iraq's navy with a watchful eye over the waters of the Arabian Gulf. "We flew our first ISR mission in support of Combined Task Force-Iraqi Maritime, which we feel...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) returned to its homeport of Norfolk, Va., April 18 after a successful seven-month deployment supporting Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and maritime security and coalition operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR). TR and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 flew 3,105 sorties in support of OEF, with more than 61,000 pounds of ordnance dropped on target in support of coalition forces. "The dedication of the ship's crew and naval aviators enabled TR to successfully complete its mission supporting Sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines on the ground in Afghanistan,"...

A survivor and a rescuer in one of the deadliest episodes in U.S. Navy history — the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in World War II — will be reunited Thursday at Lakeland Regional High School. The cruiser, which carried parts for the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, was sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945, four days after it delivered the parts to Tinian Island. After it was sunk, 900 crew members spent days in shark-infested waters; only 316 survived. One of the survivors, Don Blum of Scarsdale, N.Y., will attend the program Thursday, called...

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Two U.S. sailors have been charged with the murder of a prostitute and the attempted murder of another in this northern border city, Mexican state prosecutors said. Witnesses and a hotel camera place the two men at the same hotel where a 19-year-old prostitute was smothered to death on Jan. 17, the prosecutors said Tuesday. On Feb. 4, police found the men in a bloodstained hotel room with a prostitute and a hotel employee, both of whom had suffered stab wounds, prosecutors said. The sailors were taken into custody and charged with attempted murder. They later found...

Here is video of a mother of one of the sailors killed in the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2000 speaking out today against President Obama for his decision to drop the charges against the mastermind of the attack. She refused to meet with Obama today at the White House, and says he is letting down America's guard against Terrorists. Very powerful statements. . . . (Watch Video)

Glen Beck has taken Obama to task and slammed him for his behavior and stated Obama is going soft on terrorism. He is about to have the former Cole Commander on and the family of one of the murdered sailors about their meeting at the Whitehouse with Obama and his decision to drop all charges against the terrorist that murdered 17 U.S. Sailors.

President Obama will gather tomorrow with victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and U.S.S. Cole bombing for a face-to-face meeting as his administration struggles to decide how to handle detainees at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, several of those invited said. The previously undisclosed meeting at the White House tomorrow afternoon will give the new president a chance to explain his decision to close the controversial prison facility where the U.S. has placed many suspected terrorists since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Obama has been assailed by conservative critics who say the decision to close the facility within a year...

ROYAL Australian Navy petty officer Benjamin Sime showed no hesitation when he jumped from his helicopter into the sea to assist a group of US sailors wounded by suicide bombers targeting Iraqi oil installations in the Persian Gulf in April 2004. Petty Officer Sime, a sensor operator, remained in the water assisting four survivors until a rescue boat arrived - actions acknowledged yesterday with the award of a Medal for Gallantry. The rescue occurred in the Gulf's northern waters and followed the attempted boarding of a suspect dhow by seven sailors from the USS Firebolt. As the boarding party approached...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://baltimore.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/ba011209.htm MS-13 MEMBER SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS FOR RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY Participated in the Murders of Rival Gang Members Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Eris Marchante-Rivas, also known as Strayboy, age 24, of Hyattsville, Maryland, today to 30 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to conduct and participate in racketeering enterprise activities of MS-13, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Department of Justice Criminal Division. “We are working...

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- Sailors stationed aboard the Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) visited The Sullivans Elementary school Jan. 7, during a port visit to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. Sailors from the school's namesake ship took part in classroom activities with students and helped clean up the school grounds. The crew spent most of the day reading, interacting and playing with the children. "I think its going to be a very positive experience for everyone," said Ens. Carl Comasco, of Harrisburg, Penn., The Sullivans community relations officer. "The cool thing about this project is that...

Newport News, Va. (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Sailors rescued and provided first aid to victims of an apartment complex fire in Hampton, Va., Dec. 4. Lt. Vidal Lozado; Lt. Justin Quinn; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (handler) 3rd Class (AW/SW) Andre Ford; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (equipment) 3rd Class (AW) David Ifill; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (handler) 2nd Class (AW/SW) Rory Love and Aviation Boatswain's Mate (equipment) 2nd Class (AW/SW) Christopher Gaston assisted several fire victims at the Colonial Village Apartments. Lozado says when he arrived home that evening he heard loud voices, figuring it was just the beginning of weekend festivities...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2008 – The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are fought in deserts and mountains far removed from the oceans’ blue waters. But U.S. Navy sailors are increasingly seeing desert and mountain combat as they augment the units of traditional foot soldiers and medics. Navy Senior Chief Jim Pitts, a non-clinical case manager for wounded warriors, talks with Veterans Affairs social work supervisor Scott Skiles and Army Sgt. 1st Class Lee Smith, a wounded warrior military liaison. All are stationed at the Palo Alto Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center in Palo Alto, Calif. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker...

A sailor who died Saturday after he was injured aboard the ballistic-missile submarine Nebraska had become “entangled and pinned” in the rudder ram during a cleaning evolution, according to the Naval Safety Center’s Web site. The Navy was notifying the sailor’s next-of-kin and, as of Tuesday afternoon, had not yet released the victim’s name. The safety center Web site identified him as a third-class machinist’s mate. Navy officials have not provided any details about the “apparent accident” as the boomer was operating off Oahu on Saturday. “There was no damage to the submarine,” Lt. Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for...

When Ralph McClintock boarded the USS Pueblo in January 1968, he was planning for a three-week mission. Instead, the 24-year-old communications technician became a prisoner of war, a pawn in the Cold War sideshow that began with North Korea's capture of the Navy spy ship and imprisonment of its 82 crew members. Forty years later, as McClintock and the other survivors of the Pueblo prepare for a reunion, he's proud of his service and the bonds he made with his crew mates during 11 months in captivity. But the pride is tinged with bitterness. "We were treated as heroes when...

40 Years After Capture, USS Pueblo Crew Reunites JERICHO, Vt. — Ralph McClintock expected only a three-week mission when he boarded the USS Pueblo in January 1968. Instead, he and his shipmates became pawns in a Cold War sideshow when North Korea captured the Navy spy ship and imprisoned its 82 crew members. Some still suffer the physical effects of torture or malnutrition they suffered in 11 months of captivity. McClintock is proud of his service as a 24-year-old communications technician and the bonds he made with his crew mates, but that pride is tinged with bitterness. "We were treated...

SIERRA VISTA — Fon B. Huffman, the last survivor from the international Panay Incident of 1937, died Thursday, his family announced. Huffman, born in 1913, celebrated his 95th birthday on Aug. 19. He died peacefully in his sleep at noon in Hacienda Rehabilitation and Care Center. His daughter, Nancy Ferguson, was by his side. The Iowa farm boy who joined the Navy at age 16 was a 24-year-old sailor aboard the USS Panay when it was attacked near Nanking, China, on Dec. 12, 1937, by Imperial Japanese warplanes. In those days, the American gunboat, part of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet,...

The Pentagon says the remains of a Portland man and two other sailors who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor have been identified and will be returned to their families.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of three U.S. servicemen, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are Ensign Irvin A.R. Thompson, of Hudson County, N.J.; Ensign Eldon P. Wyman, of Portland, Ore.; and Fireman 2nd Class Lawrence A. Boxrucker, of Dorchester, Wis.; all U.S. Navy. Boxrucker will be buried on Sept. 6 in Dorchester, and the funerals for Thompson and Wyman are being set by their families. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, the...

080828-N-2420K-001 SAN DIEGO (Aug. 28, 2008) The conventional-powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) departs San Diego Harbor as she makes the voyage to her new homeport of Bremerton, Wash. At 47 years old, Kitty Hawk is the Navy's second oldest active-duty warship and was replaced this summer by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) as the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier. Kitty Hawk is expected to arrive at Bremerton's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Sept. 2 for decommissioning in early 2009. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jonathan Kulp /Released) 080828-N-2757S-005...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 29, 2008 – In a perfect world, military personnel on deployment always would be assigned to jobs within their specialties. But it’s not a perfect world, and some sailors assigned to provincial reconstruction teams are serving in general service positions, meaning prior military training is not required. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Shawn Simmons, a ship’s serviceman from Sherman, Texas, stationed onboard the USS Kauffman in Norfolk, Va., installs a new cable on a satellite dish at Camp Wright, Afghanistan, Aug. 26, 2008. Courtesy photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. With the robust...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 4, 2008 – Landlocked sailors of the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Konar province keep the wheels of coalition forces’ vehicles rolling to accomplish the mission of security, reconstruction and development in the country’s easternmost province. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Edward Jimenez, a reserve construction mechanic from San Diego, tightens a bolt under the hood of a Humvee in the motor pool where Jimenez and two other sailors keep the engines running for coalition forces in Afghanistan’s Konar province. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The task of keeping the engines running...

Chief Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed to Politico that Department of Defense officials cautioned Barack Obama's campaign that his planned visit to wounded American troops in Germany could not be political in nature and that he would be barred from bringing along campaign staff and reporters. He also said that Cindy McCain recently requested to visit sailors aboard the U.S.N.S. Comfort and was denied. "Sen. Obama is welcome to visit Landstuhl or any military hospital in his official capacity as a United States senator," Morrell said in a brief interview. "But there is a DoD policy which governs campaigning and...

For some sailors on the USS North Carolina, Wilmington's red-carpet treatment stopped at the doors of downtown's bars. In April, crew members from the Navy's newest nuclear attack submarine visited Wilmington on a goodwill trip ahead of the vessel's historic commissioning at the state port. But when Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo talked with them about their stay, he winced at what he heard. Sailors told him they'd been turned away from downtown bars for being in the military. "It was upsetting to me," Saffo said. "I never knew we had that type of issue with military personnel." But a broader...

The Messiah of Nations (1914) jpstmon.midIn the need that bows us thus, America! Shape a mighty song for us, America! Song to whelm a hundred years' Roar of wars and rain of tears 'Neath a world's triumphant cheers, America! America! Lift the trumpet to thy mouth, America! East and West and North and South, America! Call us round the dazzling shrine Of the starry old ensign, Holier yet through blood of thine, America! America! High o'er looking sea and land, America! Trustfully with outheld hand, America! Thou dost welcome all in quest Of thy freedom, peace and rest, Ev'ry...

This blood libel of Israel, Jews, and John McCain’s father is sanctioned by Barack Obama’s official campaign It has been established [http://husaria.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/obama-campaign-sanctioned-anti-semitic-and-other-hate-speech/] that Barack Obama’s official campaign site exercises editorial control over the content of my.barackobama.com, and is capable of finding and removing “offensive” and “disrespectful” material within two days. The following has been online for almost three weeks. It accuses Israel of deliberatly murdering the crew of the U.S.S. Liberty, American Jews with divided loyalties of complicity, and John McCain’s father of complicity in a cover up. The following entry is sanctioned (tolerated) by Barack Obama’s official campaign... Now,...

NEW YORK (NNS) -- Two leaders who embodied the spirit of USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) and the five fallen brothers the U.S. Navy warship honors were memorialized at a Fleet Week New York 2008 ceremony May 24, aboard the vessel. The gathering celebrated the lives of Capt. Stephen F. Davis Jr., a former executive officer of the ship who died of cancer at age 47, in February; and Maurice "Mo" Shaw, a Navy advocate who founded USS The Sullivans Foundation and died at age 68, in October. The U.S. Coast Guard veteran was key in bringing the vessel's commissioning...

Here are the enlistment records of Charles W. Payne, brother of Madelyn Payne, great uncle of Obama: Charles W. Payne, born 1924, enlisted 10 Nov '42, Navy, 6293977 REgistered, order #12019, Kansas City, Wyandotte Co., Board #4 So, Obama's great uncle liberated Buchenwald from his ship somewhere in the Pacific?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One sailor was treated for first-degree burns and 23 others for heat stress after a fire on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier burned for hours, the Navy said Friday. The U.S. Navy described a fire as "serious" aboard the USS George Washington. There were no fatalities on the ship.

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2008 – The U.S. Navy is using NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s star appeal to attract future sailors. In August, the Navy and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will form the “Dale Jr.” Division, an 88-person boot camp division at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Ill. Earnhardt drives the 88 car for Hendrick Motorsports on the NASCAR circuit. Navy Capt. Jack Hanzlik, spokesman for the chief of naval personnel, told online journalists and “bloggers” in a teleconference yesterday that during a national advertising and marketing campaign, Navy officials will assess the impact that NASCAR and Earnhardt have on young...

KABUL (AFP) — More than 2,000 US marines recently deployed in Afghanistan to support a NATO-led military campaign against Islamic rebels have began operations in the country's restive south, the unit said Thursday. The 2,300-strong US Marine Expeditionary Unit was part of Washington's recent contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) efforts to quell a resurgent Taliban insurgency. "The last of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Marines and Sailors are arriving and the unit is beginning operations after weeks of flowing personnel and equipment here," the unit said in a statement. "The Marines have begun their operations in...

HAQLANIYAH, Iraq, March 27, 2008 – Marines and sailors delivered the first batch of personal protection equipment, valued at $118,000, to employees of the Northern Petroleum Co. at the K3 Oil refinery here March 25. Navy Lt. j.g. Eric Palmer, team leader of Civil Affairs Group Detachment 1, Team 6 of the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Regimental Combat Team 5, delivers the first batch of personal protection gear to Iraqi employees of the Northern Petroleum Oil Company at the K3 Oil Refinery in Haqlaniyah, Iraq, March 25, 2008. Included were hearing protection, facial shields, goggles, gloves, coveralls, and steel-toed boots....

They called themselves "sand sailors," and they did their job well by reducing IED fatalities at their bases. Monthly U.S. troop deaths from IEDs have dropped since reaching a high of 90 in May to 17 last month, in part because of their efforts, the military said in awarding Bronze Stars to Dye and others.