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WASHINGTON, April 13, 2009 – As the planting season gets under way in Iraq, U.S. forces there are adding agriculture supplies to regular humanitarian outreach efforts they conduct with Iraqi forces. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Jones Jr. hands a meal to a girl in Samarra, Iraq, March 31, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Ian M. Terry  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Task Force Bucca civil affairs team presented agricultural equipment April 11 to members of the Umm Qasr and Safwan farmers associations and town councils at Camp Bucca. The forces presented six water trucks and eight...

A girl at the Michal al-Hurria School in Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib district is elated when she receives her backpack full of school supplies from Coalition forces, April 5. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Ford. BAGHDAD — School officials and students took part in a ceremony at Michal al-Hurria, a small school in the Abu Ghraib district here, to honor the hard work of Coalition Soldiers who were instrumental in renovating the school. “The building was constructed in 1970 and has not received any repairs or upgrades since its opening,” a spokesman for the school principal said.The pipes were...

D/FW AIRPORT — Alan Burks invited himself on this flight, the one that took off in the early afternoon Wednesday bound for the Middle East. On board the American Airlines 767 were 2 tons of supplies from the nonprofit he started in memory of his son Pete, an Army platoon leader from Dallas killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007. No way would Burks miss the chance to go and mingle with the troops. He took Pete’s younger brother, Zac, with him to share in the experience. "He’s more than ready," Zac Burks said. "This has been his...

Spc. Neal Cooper cleans a wound on the face of a young Iraqi child. Photo by Sgt. Ryan Nolan, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. TAJI — A Pennsylvania Army National Guard medic is making a big difference for children here by providing a little medical care.Spc. Neal Cooper, from Myerstown, Pa., is a medic assigned to the 104th Cavalry Regiment, currently working in Shaykh Amir Village here, just north of Baghdad.Cooper completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas in August 2008, only one month before he was to deploy to Iraq. However, Cooper was well...

Col. Margaret W. Burcham, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hands donated toys to kindergarten students during a recent visit to the House of Angels School in Dahuk, Iraq. USACE photo. DAHUK — Children at the House of Angels School here were showered with toys during a recent visit from members of the Gulf Region Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Col. Margaret W. Burcham, commander of the USACE’s Gulf Region North district, and members of her team delighted more than 70 kindergarten students at this northern Iraqi school.The toy drive is the brainchild of Michael Fellenz, a project...

FOB WARRIOR — A recent ribbon cutting ceremony at the Athabiah Primary School in Riyadh celebrated the completion of a much-needed makeover project for the school. Built in 1972, the school had fallen into disrepair and, at the request of the Athabiah city council, the Riyadh Civil Service Corps (CSC) took on the project. Responsible for the refurbishment, CSC employed approximately 70 Iraqi student workers who recently acquired skills in painting, concrete work and carpentry to help facilitate the three-month-long renovation project. The repairs to the school included new electrical wiring, new cement to refurbish flooring and fresh paint for...

Robert Gannon, a Vietnam veteran who served on a medical evacuation helicopter, landed his Cessna 182 at Basrah International Airport with a $10,000 check and nine boxes of toys for the Basrah Children’s Hospital, March 18. USACE photo. BASRAH — A private pilot in his Cessna 182 landed at Basrah International Airport with a $10,000 check and nine boxes of toys for the Basrah Children’s Hospital, March 18. Robert Gannon, a Vietnam veteran who served on a medical evacuation helicopter, has visited 110 countries on humanitarian missions over the past eight years. He says that flying into Iraq and seeing...

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 20, 2009 – Special operations troops here delivered gifts from Americans to Afghans that some say are as important as their combat missions. A young Afghan girl proudly stands with her new bag of school supplies, clothing and toys given to her by troops of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan. The troops stopped by a Bagram elementary school to deliver the gifts March 15, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jamey Trigg   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “We are in Afghanistan to rebuild the country and, in my opinion, we need...

BELADIYAT, Iraq, March 17, 2009 – A month after a Colorado boy collected his toys and sent them to Iraq, a group of U.S. Army paratroopers distributed the items to children in an eastern Baghdad neighborhood yesterday. Army Spc. Greg Moreland hands a stuffed animal to an Iraqi girl at the Abuthare and Rufayda Elementary School in eastern Baghdad, March 16, 2009. Moreland gave the toys to the children on behalf of his pen pal, Jacob Poehls, 8, of Summit Cove, Colo. Jacob donated his toys to the children of Iraq. His hometown also donated Girl Scout cookies and...

To improve the learning environment and overall welfare of about 35 elementary school students in Kani Mayor Village, Kurdish Regional Government leaders and U.S. forces opened the doors to a new schoolhouse complete with instructor-living quarters, Feb. 12. Photo by Seaman Zachary Hernandez, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Arabian Peninsula. KURDISTAN — Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) leaders and Coalition forces inaugurated the first, permanent educational facility here in the mountainous region of Kani Mayor Village, Feb. 12. The new school supports the growing educational needs and serves as a platform for the future economic stability of this village...

SADR CITY — As rockets crashed down in central Baghdad nine months ago, Special Groups criminals controlled the areas here intended for play and athletics. But today, the children were back at play in northeast Baghdad as local government leaders opened the Faoo Family Park and the Regular 6 Sports Complex. The facilities, which were once used by Special Groups to launch deadly attacks against the fortified Green Zone, were celebrated, Jan. 17, for being returned to the citizens as well as the military accomplishment of seizing the land back from the criminals. “This park is for all the people...

Children smile for the camera in the village of Atshiyana, Iraq, Jan. 12, 2009. The children of the community were invited to a school opening in Kirkuk province. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian L. Short, 11th Public Affairs Detachment. FOB WARRIOR — As the security situation in Iraq continues to improve, the number of infrastructure projects around Kirkuk province are on the rise. Local village leaders, Sons of Iraq members, the school head master, teachers and future students, along with U.S. forces, celebrated one of them - the grand opening of a new elementary school in Atshiyana village,...

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A boy masquerading as a flower seller blew himself up last September before the house of Sheikh Imad Jassem, the joint-leader of the Sons of Iraq in Tarmiya, 25 km north of Baghdad. The boy, as young as 10 years old, had been stalking Jassem for three days before tripping on his flip-flops several meters away from his target. The bomb exploded prematurely, seriously wounding the leader. The innocent and immature young have been recruited and trained to be suicide bombers of the al-Qaida network in Iraq to attack Iraqi high-profile officials as well as...

Taken during Operation Iraqi Children where "Lt. Dan" and Ms. Hilldenbrand, author of, "Seabiscuit" created outfit to send school supplies to the children.

Reporting from Baghdad -- As Iraqi schoolchildren sang their country's praises and a band played, the United States formally handed over military control of the heavily fortified Green Zone to Iraqi troops today, a first major step in the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. For Iraqis, the Green Zone, a walled-off 4-square mile community in Baghdad's core, has come to symbolize the U.S. occupation of their country. Home to about 30,000 residents -- including 14,000 U.S. and coalition forces -- it also encompasses Saddam Hussein's opulent Republican Palace, which was captured by American troops in April 2003 and was,...

Staff Sgt. Michael Murphy plays "Papa Noel" and delivers treats and toys to Iraqi children in Baghdad, Dec. 19, 2008. Photo by Master Sgt. Brian Davidson, 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — Iraqi children living at the Victory Base Complex in Baghdad recently received a surprise visit from “Papa Noel” thanks to U.S. Airmen from Sather Air Base. The event was sponsored by the 447th Air Expeditionary Group Rising Six Council, a group of men and women in the ranks of Airmen through technical sergeant.A fire truck arrived bringing Papa Noel, played by Staff Sgt. Michael Murphy complete...

Thirteen-year-old Saja Abdulla waves goodbye to her U.S. friends after a recent visit to her home. Photo by Maj. Deanna Bague, Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office. BAGHDAD — Ten-year-old Ali Abdulla sat on the edge of his bed with rods and pins holding his leg bones in place, but still managed to smile when he spoke affectionately of two Soldiers he said touched his life. “I love them a lot because they have a big heart,” said Ali through an interpreter. “They are very special people in my life.”Ali was referring to Lt. Col. Rhonda McGuire, a public affairs officer...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2008 – A little piece of Christmas has started to arrive in Iraq and Afghanistan for troops away from home during the holidays. Deployed troops share their Christmas stockings with children. Operation Give, a troop-support group, sent more than 20,000 stockings to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of its annual Operation Christmas Stocking collection. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Operation Give’s annual Operation Christmas Stocking collection has sent more than 20,000 Christmas stockings to troops -- with more on the way. “Even in hard times, if we can find a way...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The scouting movement in Iraq was revitalized in 2004 by the Green Zone Council, a group of Coalition forces in Baghdad who saw value in having Iraqi children involved with their communities. Today, service members continue to work with the youth of Iraq on Saturday afternoons at a small community just outside the Victory Base Complex. “You can look around and, if nothing else, you are doing something good here because you are creating a positive impact for Iraqi families and the children,” said Lt. Cmdr. Eric Fretz, who is helping bring the scouting program back...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Nov. 28, 2008 – Local Iraqi Security Forces distributed school supplies in Maysan Province Nov. 23 with assistance from the Maysan Provincial Reconstruction Team. Iraqi and Coalition Forces handed out crayons, rulers, pencils and backpacks to elementary school children. While some of the troops issued school supplies, others provided security at the scene. Soldiers assigned to the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division worked with the 10th Iraqi Army Division's troops to make the event a success. "This was a great opportunity to make the children here happy," said...