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U.S. forces occupying one of Saddam Hussein's palace compounds engaged Iraqi forces on Tuesday who fired artillery and mortars toward coalition positions, while U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the United Nations would play a vital role in any future Iraqi administration. At the Pentagon, officials said Monday's attack on "target of opportunity" in Baghdad was successful, but tried to play down reports Saddam and his top leadership may have been in the building. Officials said it might be some time before that assessment can be made. Also Tuesday, British commanders struck a deal...

This morning's brief e-mail from Ian to family and friends intersected the headline news. Hello, everyone. Since it's in the news, I can write and tell you. One of our planes was shot down over Baghdad. The pilot had to eject. Other A-10's scrambled to perform combat search and rescue. His wingman was shot at and was able to land at the forward operating location where we are also located. I've worked with the pilot for over 2 years and have crewed the jet for weeks during this deployment. Thank God he was rescued in time. This was probably not...

Three US A-10 Warthogs Hit By Iraqi Missiles -CNN NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Three U.S. Air Force A-10 Warthogs were hit Tuesday by Iraqi surface-to-air missiles - two of the pilots landed safely, the third pilot ejected and was rescued, the Cable News Network reported. The ejection and rescue of the pilot who landed in the desert south of Baghdad had been reported earlier. CNN said the pilot of a second Warthog managed to land safely at a base in southern Iraq and the third U.S. plane landed at a base, which under military restrictions, can only be identified as...

<p>CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar  — A coalition A-10 "Warthog" warplane was shot down near Baghdad early Tuesday in what was believed to be the first downing of a coalition aircraft by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile.</p> <p>The pilot ejected safely and was recovered by coalition ground forces near the airport, U.S. Central Command said. The pilot was reported to be in good condition.</p>

AN AIRBASE IN IRAQ - The two soldiers from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division were lost and alone in the Iraqi desert. Seven days had gone by when a pair of Marine helicopters, three miles off course, flew overhead and spotted the two waving their arms wildly. Beside them were the letters "SOS" carved in the sand. "I see them and think, `We gotta help these guys,'" said Marine Capt. Christian "Mac" Ward, a pilot with Marine Aircraft Group 29, which is based at New River Marine Corps Air Station, N.C., and now flies out of a captured Iraqi...

<p>KUWAIT CITY - As U.S. air and ground forces blast into Baghdad, dozens of CIA paramilitaries and thousands of U.S. Special Operations forces are waging a hidden war in Iraq's shadows.</p> <p>Under the cover of darkness, they're hunting and assassinating Baath Party members and Republican Guard leaders, rigging selected bridges with explosives and detonating them when suspected Iraqi leaders drive by, and using viruses to disable computers at military command centers, power plants and telephone networks.</p>

As U.S. air and ground forces blast into Baghdad, dozens of CIA paramilitaries and thousands of U.S. special operations troops are waging a hidden war in Iraq's shadows. Under the cover of darkness, they're hunting and assassinating Baath Party members and Republican Guard leaders, rigging selected bridges to explode when suspected Iraqi leaders drive by in armored vehicles, and using viruses to disable computers at military command centers, power plants and telephone networks. Their efforts, largely off-camera, burst into view with the dramatic rescue last week of Pfc. Jessica Lynch from a hospital in Nasiriyah where she was being held...

Elizabeth Vincelette of Virginia Beach, shown with 4-year-old Annie, says a guardian angel must have been watching over her husband this week.Photo by Genevieve Ross / The Virginian-Pilot.VIRGINIA BEACH -- For her fourth birthday Tuesday, Annie Vincelette got a Rapunzel costume and a copy of the movie "Sleeping Beauty." Her best present, though, was a fairy-tale ending to her father's brush with death that day, 20,000 feet above the Iraqi desert. Lt. Chad Vincelette, 32, a Virginia Beach native and Navy F-14 fighter pilot, was heading back to the carrier Kitty Hawk after a bombing run when a mechanical failure...

Navy Searches for Downed Fighter Pilot By ROHAN SULLIVAN .c The Associated Press ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK (AP) - The U.S. military conducted a helicopter search-and-rescue mission Thursday for the pilot of a Navy F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet shot down by a surface-to-air missile during a bombing run over Iraq. It was the first American fighter jet shot down during the war on Iraq. The Iraqis have downed several pilotless surveillance drones. The single-seat plane from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf went down just before midnight Wednesdsay near Karbala, a city about 50 miles...

<p>Marines were sent to rescue wounded members of the 507th Maintenance Company on March 23, the day the Fort Bliss unit was attacked in Iraq, but nine of the Marines who took part in the rescue effort were killed and eight others are missing, Pentagon officials said Sunday.</p>

WASHINGTON -- In the largest operation in their storied history, elite special operations forces are waging a shadow war in Iraq whose success could determine whether coalition forces can topple the regime of Saddam Hussein quickly or whether the conflict will drag on for months, say military officials and specialists. The military's ''silent warriors,'' as President Bush called them yesterday, were involved in the first operations of the war and are likely to conduct some of the last, including helping spearhead the birth of new civil institutions in a post-Hussein Iraq. Details of their activities in recent weeks -- from...

Dear Freepers: I hope I am posting this in the right spot since I am new at this.... I am a Cadet 1Lt. in the Civil Air Patrol and my squadron is going to be holding a recuitment drive soon... Not many people know about our organization, so this is a quick synopsis:The Civil Air Patrol is an auxillary of the United States Air Force. Founded in December of 1941, one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor, CAP started under to jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces. During WWII, CAP was credited with sinking two enemy subs and rescuing...