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KABUL, Afghanistan, June 14, 2010 – A new regional command took charge of international forces in southwestern Afghanistan today, military officials said. The new Regional Command Southwest provides improved oversight of International Security Assistance Force troops operating in Helmand and Nimroz provinces. With the majority of ISAF forces based in southern Afghanistan, officials said, the new headquarters permits commanders in the south to focus on geographically smaller areas, ensure greater partnering between the Afghan forces and ISAF, and deliver the levels of security required for governance and development to continue to spread in the region. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard...

MONROVIA, Liberia, May 7, 2010 – Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Gary Morris' time in Liberia, which originally began as a voluntary six-month assignment, will end in August, 20 months after it started. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Gary Morris talks to students at the American International School in Monrovia, Liberia, where he has been voluntarily teaching a physical education class since February 2010. U.S. Africa Command photo by Nicole Dalrymple  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The U.S. military has been providing mentors and advisors to Liberia's security sector reform initiative since 2006 through a U.S. State Department-led initiative. Morris, a...

Beneath a lavish palace used by the North Korean supreme leader, the interior of Mount Baekdusan has been excavated and can store helicopters and fighter jets that can take off from a nearby airfield, according to the military analysis experts of the Kanwa Information Centre's Hong Kong bureau. "This whole region is historically significant to the entire regime because this is where Kim Il-Song, Kim's father, staged his guerrilla campaign against the Japanese during the occupation in the early decades of the last century," said Andrei Chang, author of the report. "We believe this would be the last place that...

Gulf Region Division commander, Maj. Gen. Michael Eyre (left), passes the flag to Gulf Region South District commander, Air Force Col. Jeffry Knippel, during the historic July 9 change-of-command ceremony while outgoing commander, Col. John Drolet looks on. Knippel is the first Air Force officer to command a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ district. (GRD photo) TALLIL — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Gulf Region Division (GRD) in Iraq made history July 9, when Col. Jack Drolet relinquished command of the USACE's Gulf Region South (GRS) district to Col. Jeffry D. Knippel, the first U.S. Air Force officer...

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2009 – Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal assumed command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan today, vowing that the coalition will prevail despite a struggle he conceded will be “long and hard.” “2009 will be a critical year for Afghanistan, and a critical year for our coalition,” McChrystal said at a morning assumption-of-command ceremony at the ISAF headquarters in Kabul. “Although we face many challenges, with your steadfast commitment, professionalism and dedication and with the help and support of our Afghan friends and the international community, we will prevail.” McChrystal acknowledged the legacy and...

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Ministry of Defense (MoD), in partnership with the Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I), opened the Iraqi Logistics Operation Command (ILOC) with a ribbon cutting ceremony, April 15. The ILOC facility will provide the Iraqi military with a new level of sophistication in planning and tracking logistical support functions for the armed services. Iraqi Staff Brig. Gen. Nabeel said, “This is the first time we are using a logistics system and it will be the focal point for the Iraqi Army, Navy, and Air Force. The ILOC is a database for logistics; it enhances our...

Cell Motors Play Together Feb 27, 2009— If one molecular machine by itself is a wonder, what would you think of groups of them playing in concert?  Recent papers and news articles are claiming that’s what happens in living cells: molecular motors coordinate their efforts...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2008 – For only the second time since 9/11, a U.S. Army National Guard division headquarters will deploy to command active-duty forces in combat. The Defense Department and Minnesota National Guard today announced that more than 1,000 soldiers from the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division will mobilize for training in February for a yearlong deployment to Iraq that will begin in April. “Minnesotans have grown accustomed to our National Guard forces leaving their families, employers, farms and communities in order to carry out vital missions in harm’s way,” Army Maj. Gen. Larry W. Shellito, the state’s adjutant...

The Air Force on Monday suspended all efforts related to development of a program to become the dominant service in cyberspace, according to knowledgeable sources. Top Air Force officials put a halt to all activities related to the establishment of the Cyber Command, a provisional unit that is currently part of the 8th Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, sources told Nextgov. An internal Air Force e-mail obtained by Nextgov said, “Transfers of manpower and resources, including activation and reassignment of units, shall be halted.” Establishment of the Cyber Command will be delayed until new senior Air...

BAGHDAD, June 11, 2008 – U.S. airmen are teaching command-and-control techniques to their counterparts at the Iraqi air operations center at Camp Victory here. U.S. Air Force Capt. Mark Lawson, left, advises an Iraqi Air Operations Center lieutenant about operations center logistics at the Iraqi Air Operations Center at Camp Victory, Iraq, May 28, 2008. Lawson is a military transition team member advising Iraqi logistics officers concerning the center’s day-to-day operations. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Christina M. Styer  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The operations center is the hub that controls all Iraqi air force...

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, Dec. 20, 2007 – Control of Multinational Division Baghdad changed hands during a ceremony here yesterday. Maj. Gen. Jeffery W. Hammond (left), incoming Multinational Division Baghdad commanding general, and Command Sgt. Maj. John Gioia, incoming MND-B command sergeant major, uncase the “Ironhorse” colors during the MND-B transfer-of-authority ceremony Dec. 19, 2007, at Camp Liberty, Iraq. Photo by Staff Sgt. Luis Orengo, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The 1st Cavalry Division will redeploy to Fort Hood, Texas, while 4th Infantry Division takes over operations in the Iraqi capital. Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2007 – Retired Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy will become the second woman to command a NASA space shuttle flight when Discovery lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., tomorrow. Retired Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy is the second woman to command a space shuttle mission. NASA photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The STS-120 flight is the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, according NASA’s Web site. The mission will launch an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module for the station. The “Harmony” device will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2007 – President Bush has nominated Marine Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis to receive his fourth star and to lead U.S. Joint Forces Command, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced yesterday. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and President Bush’s nominee to lead U.S. Joint Forces Command, escorts Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her May 23, 2007, visit to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. Photo by Lance Cpl. Jerry Murphy, USMC  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Mattis, currently “dual-hatted” as commander of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force...

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, June 14, 2007 – The intelligence community reached a milestone earlier this month as leaders broke ground for the first joint detention training facility in the Defense Department. Maj. Gen. John DeFreitas, commander of U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command; Col. Dan Meyer, U.S. Army South chief of staff; Col. Richard Saddler, former commander of 470th Military Intelligence Brigade; Col. Wendy Martinson, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Sam Houston; and Staff Sgt. Martin Martinez of the 470th Military Intelligence Brigade, break ground June 5 at Camp Bullis, Texas, for the Defense Department’s first joint...

Joseph J. Lhota, who was a deputy mayor and top aide during Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani’s two terms, said this afternoon that it was preposterous for Jerome M. Hauer to deny responsibility for the recommendation to place the city’s emergency operations center in 7 World Trade Center, which was destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.The controversy has exposed the bitter rift between Mr. Hauer and Mr. Giuliani, who hired Mr. Hauer to be the first director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, from 1996 to 2000. The two men eventually had a public falling-out, and in 2001, Mr. Hauer endorsed...

New U.S. Command Prompts Fear in Africa Tuesday April 24, 2007 12:01 AM By PAULINE JELINEK Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - A U.S. delegation to Africa apparently had to calm a whole list of fears - and dash a hope or two - when it explained its plan for establishing a new military command there. ``With every group we met with, there were a number of misconceptions, and I think the discussion changed quite a bit as we were able to correct some of those misconceptions,'' Ryan Henry, the Defense Department's deputy undersecretary for policy, said Monday. Questions included...

Major General J D Shaw CBE, General Officer Commanding Headquarters Multi National Division (South East) (right) meets the Iraqi Ground Forces Commander Lieutenant General Ali Ghaydan (center) and the 10 Iraqi Army Division, General Abdul Lateef Thu'ban (left) at the Headquarters building in Basrah. Ministry of Defence photo by Cpl Ian Forsyth. RLC. BASRAH -- The Iraqi Army division based in Basra has transferred from Coalition command, and is now - for the first time – taking its orders direct from an Iraqi headquarters in Baghdad. The transfer is a significant step toward Iraqi forces taking responsibility for security in...

Desert Hawk Takes Command of Aviation Ops By Sgt. 1st Class Krishna M. Gamble Task Force Pegasus Public Affairs Office FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, Feb. 21, 2007 -- Soldiers from the active, Reserve and National Guard components of the Army formed one of the largest attack aviation task forces to operate in Afghanistan, Feb. 17. Task Force Talon passed its mission of providing air-assault, attack, convoy, troop and supply and movement along with a myriad of other aviation operations to Task Force Desert Hawk, headed by the 1st Battalion, 285th Aviation Regiment of the Arizona National Guard, in...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain put Iraqis in command of the main Iraqi army unit in Basra on Tuesday, a move billed as paving the way for Washington's main ally to formally announce major cutbacks in troops. "The Iraqi Army division based in Basra has transferred from under coalition command, and is now — for the first time — taking its orders direct from an Iraqi headquarters in Baghdad," the British military said in a statement.

Gen. David H. Petraeus assumes command of Multi-National Force - Iraq during a ceremony Saturday at Camp Victory. BAGHDAD — General David H. Petraeus assumed command of Multi-National Force-Iraq from Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., in a change of command ceremony held at Camp Victory Saturday.Casey was the commanding general of MNF-I for two and a half years. He will go on to replace the current Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.The reviewing officer for the ceremony was Gen. John P. Abizaid, commander, U. S. Central Command. He thanked Casey for his...