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Emergency stockpiles in Israel meant for storing US army equipment in Middle East opened in Israel's favor during last Lebanon war WASHINGTON - The American Congress gave Israel financial and security encouragement when the Senate and the House of Representatives gave their approval to double the emergency equipment the United States stores in Israeli stockpiles. Within the next two years the Americans will fill the military emergency stockpiles in Israel with double the equipment they now hold. In addition, the US will allow Israel to use the remainder of the US's monetary guarantees given to them that have not been...

TOKYO, Aug. 25 — Five executives of the Mitutoyo Corporation, a precision instruments maker, were arrested today on suspicion of illegally exporting equipment to Malaysia that could be used in making nuclear weapons. Japanese television broadcast video images of police raiding the company’s headquarters in the city of Kawasaki. A spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police said the president of the company, Kazusaku Tezuka, 67, and four other executives were taken into custody. The case turns on what the police said were shipments of advanced measuring devices that were sent to an unspecified recipient in Malaysia in late 2001 without...

METULLA, Israel - Israeli soldiers returning from the war in Lebanon say the army was slow to rescue wounded comrades and suffered from a lack of supplies so dire that they had to drink water from the canteens of dead Hezbollah guerrillas. "We fought for nothing. We cleared houses that will be reoccupied in no time," said Ilia Marshak, a 22-year-old infantryman who spent a week in Lebanon. Marshak said his unit was hindered by a lack of information, poor training and untested equipment. In one instance, Israeli troops occupying two houses inadvertently fired at each other because of poor...

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld disputed recent assertions today that the Army is declining in readiness due to equipment shortfalls. “The truth, as anyone in the Army leadership will tell you, is that the Army today is vastly better than it was two, four, six or eight years ago,” Rumsfeld told Pentagon reporters at a news briefing. “It has much more equipment, much better equipment, and it’s better trained and more experienced,” he said. “It is a better Army.” All units deployed to Iraq meet one of the top two readiness levels, “C1” or “C2,”...

Excavating equipment stands ready to be received by Iraqi essential services employees at Forward Operating Base Prosperity Sunday. Story and photo by Pfc. Jason Dangel4th Brigade Combat Team,4th Infantry Division BAGHDAD — The 4th Infantry Division’s Infrastructure Coordination Element, donated about $2 million worth of excavating and clean-up equipment to essential services departments from the Rasheed and Karradah Districts in Baghdad Sunday. The equipment, purchased from funds seized from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, will now be used to help restore quality of life for citizens in these Baghdad districts. Each district received a backhoe/loader, a pickup truck, and a...

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2006 – A group of golf enthusiasts plans to donate golf clubs, balls, tees, mats and other golf equipment to servicemembers at Camp Taji, a military base in Iraq. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Abdul Mercado inside his living quarters at Camp Taji, Iraq. Soon Mercado and others at his base will have golf equipment donated by Golfers 4 Freedom. Courtesy photo    U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Abdul Mercado, 36, of 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery, has been playing for 13 years. For the past eight months he has been deployed to Camp Taji and hasn't been...

/begin my translation"Ten Iranian Missile Engineers Visited N. Korea" (Sankei reports)  U.S. Sec. of State and Japanese Foreign Minister, "N. Korean missile issue should be resolved through dialogues." (Tokyo = Yonhap News) Shin Ji-hong correspondent = Ten Iranian missile engineers recently visited N. Korea, and the purpose of their visit is apparently to join the launch preparation for the long-range Taepodong-2 missile, according to Sankei Shimbun (of N. Korea) quoting U.S. government figures and military sources on N. Korea. According to the sources, the (Iranian) delegation to N. Korea are made up of senior engineers for missile development at Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and they went into N. Korea via Beijing. Their immediate mission could...

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2006 – To successfully prosecute the war against terrorism, the U.S. military needs additional funds to maintain its equipment, the Army chief of staff told Congress yesterday. "To prevail in the long struggle we are now engaged, we must maintain our readiness by resetting those who have deployed through a disciplined, orderly reconstitution of combat power," Army Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker said before the House Armed Services Committee. "Our soldiers' effectiveness depends upon a national commitment to recruit, train, equip and support them properly." Equipment "reset" actions include repair and replacement of worn hardware. "In simplest terms,...

This truck represents the 8,567 new trucks the Afghan National Police recieved recently. The vehicles will be dispersed to Afghan National Police stations throughout Afghanistan. (Insert) Afghan National Police officers pose for a photo with one of the new trucks donated to the Afghan Minister of Interior. Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan photos by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class William Townsend Afghan National Police Receive New Equipment The Afghan National Police also recently received new uniforms, ammunition, and new weapons of all types including rocket propelled grenade launchers to Kalishnikov machine guns. By Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan,...

6/27/2006 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Firefighters here have received nearly $10,000 in donated equipment that will improve the Airmen's comfort and protection, thanks to the help of several nonprofit organizations, families and friends. Firefighters received the ballistic liner suspension system, an upgrade to the Kevlar helmet. "Most of today's Kevlar helmets were designed to protect soldiers from gunfire and flying debris," said Tech. Sgt. Paul Jacques, 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, who served as the point of contact for the donation. "These upgrades make a good helmet significantly better." Additional benefits include making the helmet more comfortable and...

BALAD, Iraq — The U.S. military has begun sending thousands of battered Humvees and other war-torn equipment home as more Iraqi units join the fight against insurgents and American units scheduled for Iraq duty have their orders canceled. In the last four months, the Army has tagged 7,000 Humvees and 17,000 other pieces of equipment to be shipped to the United States to be rebuilt. They then will be distributed among active and reserve units at home, or possibly returned to equip Iraqi security forces. The military said the shipments will result in a reduction in the amount of U.S....

BUHRIZ, Iraq (May 1, 2006) – Capt. John McFarlin owes his life to the Army Combat Helmet. While McFarlin’s unit recently responded to attacks on an Iraqi police station in Buhriz, he was hit in the helmet with a shot from an AK-47. “I was suppressed for a moment and then I got back up" and returned fire, said McFarlin of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers’ Military Transition Team who oversees the 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division. A day after the attack, McFarlin was still sporting the damaged helmet. He...

Iraqi police officers using a forklift to move forensic processing equipment received from the 988th Military Police Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, to help the Iraqi police track down criminals and terrorists involved in crimes. U.S. Army photo by 988th Military Police Company CSI: Iraq Iraqi Police Receive Forensic Equipment By U.S. Army Pfc. Edgar Reyes2nd Brigade Combat Team4th Infantry Division FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, April 13, 2006 — The 988th Military Police Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, delivered new forensic equipment to the Iraqi Criminal Investigative Service crime lab March 25....

U.S. soldiers at Camp Taji, Iraq, move excess vehicles, or stay-behinds, to a commercial transportation company, which will transport them to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. The vehicles will be repaired, refitted and redistributed to Reserve and National Guard units in the United States. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Hunt Raider Brigade Turns In Excess Equipment Because the equipment is no longer used, maintaining the equipment toArmy standards requires valuable resources that could be used in the fight. By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brent Hunt 1st Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division CAMP TAJI, Iraq, April 4, 2006 —...

f you're traveling one of the toughest bus routes on Earth you might want to be in a vehicle tough enough to take everything thrown at it. That bus is called a Rhino Runner and it's a cross between a local metro bus and a tank. One route the Rhino Runner runs is what’s called “Route Irish,” the local name for the highly dangerous road between the secure Green Zone in Baghdad and the Baghdad Airport. There were so many ambushes, Improvised Explosive Devices, and insurgent attacks on this route that only helicopters were used for some time and State...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2006 – The Defense Department announced today the revision of a memorandum on the policy and procedures for the reimbursement of privately purchased protective equipment for Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The new memo, which was signed Feb. 10 by David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, incorporates the original guidance published on Oct. 4, 2005, expands the list of reimbursable equipment, and extends the eligible purchase period for reimbursement. The full reimbursable equipment list now includes: Complete ballistic vests; Most component parts of ballistic vests, including side-plate body armor;...

Iran plant 'has restarted its nuclear bomb-making equipment' By Con Coughlin, Defence and Security Editor, in Washington (Filed: 11/02/2006) Iran's controversial Natanz uranium processing plant has successfully restarted the sophisticated equipment that could enable it to produce material for nuclear warheads, according to reports received by Western intelligence. An aerial view of the Natanz plant In the past few days Iranian nuclear scientists have reportedly restarted four of the centrifuges required to produce weapons-grade uranium, and have begun feeding them with uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas, a key component in the production of nuclear bombs. This crucial development follows Iran's decision...

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Feb. 10, 2006) -- Thousands of pounds of equipment travel from base to base on a daily basis in Iraq. This being home to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), it is often the center of activity, processing gear to forward operating bases. Tracking all this equipment can be an arduous task, but with the help of the portable deployment radio frequency identification tag kit made by Savi Technologies Incorporated and the Marines of Marine Air-Ground Task Force Distribution Center, the of tracking these shipments is made a little easier. First Lieutenant Scott E. Beatty, an operations...

Survivors Praise Body, Vehicle Armor to House Subcommittee By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2006 – Three soldiers just back from Iraq -- including two who credit personal and vehicle armor with saving their lives -- traveled to Capitol Hill today to tell Congress that when it comes to protecting troops, more isn't always better. "We're here to say we're pretty happy with what we have," Brig. Gen. Karl Horst, the 3rd Infantry Division's assistant division commander for maneuver, told the American Forces Press Service before appearing at today's House Armed Services Committee's Tactical Air and...

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of available trucks, boats, planes and federal officers were unused in search and rescue efforts immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit because FEMA failed to give them missions, new documents show. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency called off its search and rescue operations in Louisiana three days after the Aug. 29 storm because of security issues, according to an internal FEMA e-mail given to Senate investigators. The documents, released by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, are further evidence of lapses in FEMA's response to Katrina. They also detail breakdowns in carrying out the National...