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Across the nation, 11,000 Blue Star Mothers make sure our military men and women are taken care of in the way only a mother can.

article-34537 :: AmericanWay

SGT Mark Adams Cofield US Army Obituary: View Mark Cofield's Obituary by The Gazette

Son, grandson, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, friend, soldier, patriot and American Hero..... SGT Mark Adams Cofield died in service to his country, while assigned to 18th Airborne Corps HQ, Ft. Bragg, NC. He was deployed to Iraq since Oct 2010. Mark was born on March 16, 1986 in Springfield, IL, to parents John Adams Cofield, MAJ, US Army, originally of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Tariena (Tari) Dragoo Cofield, originally from Cammack, Indiana. Mark grew up in many different locations in the world due to his Dad's military service, and lived in Colorado Springs from 1994 until 2009 when he joined the US Army.

SGT Mark Adams Cofield US Army Obituary: View Mark Cofield's Obituary by The Gazette

Invisible war wounds: There’s an app for that? - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Using new-age technology to cope with age-old wounds of war, they tap into mobile phone applications, or “apps,” designed to help with post-traumatic stress and brain injuries.

Invisible war wounds: There’s an app for that? - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Medal of Honor Speaks Out

The Troops Come Home: To war and back

The late Philip Graham, once one of the owners of The Washington Post, famously said that "journalism is the first draft of history."

On this the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that launched the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we find it fitting to look at that draft of history as it has appeared in The Fayetteville Observer.

In sum, they capture the story of war that isn't over on a day when we pause to be grateful that so many of the men and women who serve are home safe, at least for a time.

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FayObserver.com - <div>The Troops Come Home: To war and back</div>

Under the rainbows...

Under the rainbows...
Originally uploaded by The U.S. Army

U.S, may slow pace of troop withdrawal from Iraq

BAGHDAD - American commanders, worried about increased violence in the wake of Iraq's inconclusive elections, are reconsidering the pace of a major troop pullout this summer, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The withdrawal of the first major wave of troops is expected to be delayed by about a month, the officials said. Waiting much longer could endanger President Obama's goal of reducing the force level from 92,000 to 50,000 troops by Aug. 31.

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FayObserver.com - U.S, may slow pace of troop withdrawal from Iraq

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)

"Washington, US (KRG.org) – Mr Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government's Representative to the United States, on April 9th addressed a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery commemorating Iraq Liberation Day. Members of American and Iraqi forces, including members of the Peshmerga, attended the event, alongside veterans and family of those soldiers who have fallen in support of Iraq’s freedom.

“On this day, it is appropriate and right for us to commemorate the sacrifices made to liberate Iraq from decades of brutal tyranny under Saddam Hussein,” said Mr. Talabani. “So to be absolutely clear: Iraq thanks you. I thank you. And the people of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, most of all, thank you.”"

...

Other speakers included General Nasier Arkan Abadi, Vice Chief of Staff, Iraqi Joint Forces of the Republic of Iraq; U.S. Brigadier General Judd Lyons, Adjutant General of Nebraska; and Ms. Wendy Hoffman, National President of Blue Star Mothers of America. “Today, we must thank those who have helped us get to where we are,” Mr. Talabani said. “Because although we face complicated political problems, the majority of the political forces and people who guide Iraqi society want to live in peace. They want to live up to the promise that American forces have given us.”

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG):

FRG Newsletter

Mourners honour death of last Canadian First World War veteran

First World War veteran John 'Jack' Babcock, seen here in February 2008, has died, the Prime Minister's Office announced Thursday, Feb. 18. He was 109. Babcock, who enlisted at 15, was the last remaining First World War veteran for Canada.

Photograph by: Brian J Gavriloff, Edmonton Journal

SPOKANE, Wash — When Jack Babcock joined the Canadian Army at the age of 15, it’s likely he never imagined that he’d be the last soldier standing more than 94 years later.
But that’s exactly what Babcock was when he died Feb. 18, at the age of 109.
Babcock was remembered Saturday afternoon at a memorial service at Messiah Lutheran Church in his hometown of Spokane, Wash.
The service was attended by a list of Canada’s top dignitaries.
Babcock was the last Canadian veteran of the First World War, and the last link to what many Canadians consider the country’s coming-of-age.


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Advise and Assist Paratroopers jump in Iraq

U.S. Department of Defense - Photo Essay

Dirt flies off a U.S. paratrooper's boots as he finishes a parachute landing fall with other paratroopers stationed on Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Feb. 5, 2010. The paratroopers are participating in a basic airborne refresher course taught by instructors visiting from Advanced Airborne School on Fort Bragg, N.C., to prepare for upcoming airborne exercises. The paratroopers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade, an Advise and Assist Brigade.
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod

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U.S. Army paratroopers land on a drop zone near Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, Feb. 12, 2010, as part of a training exercise they hope will lead to combined U.S. – Iraqi training jumps. The jumper rolling on his back is performing a “parachute landing fall,” a maneuver that dissipates the energy of impact, avoiding injury to the paratrooper.
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod
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Ten Devils become US Citizens today at Victory Base Complex, Iraq

Paratroopers with 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), stand with their new flags after participating in a naturalization ceremony to gain U.S. citizenship Feb. 15, 2010, in Al Faw Palace, Victory Base Complex, Iraq. From left to right are Spc. Victor Martin-Hurtado, Spc. Hector Tobar-Castaneda, Spc. Georgios Theocharis, Sgt. James Hayes, Spc. Ojumiri Mammah, Pfc. Yaroslav Prikhodko, Spc. Casper Alsoft and Spc. Arturo Maint-Martinez. Also with 1/82 AAB and earning citizenship, but not pictured here, are Spc. Said Bahmad and Spc. Isa Jubran. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod, 1/82 AAB, USD-C)

Facebook | 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division's Photos - Ten Devils become US Citizens today at Victory Base Complex, Iraq

Portable ultrasound empowers Special Forces medics

Dr. (Maj.) Andrew Morgan (right), battalion surgeon, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), explains some of the functions of a portable ultrasound machine to Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Burkett, medic, 1st Bn., while Sgt. 1st Class Steven Radloff, medic, 1st Bn., looks on during the Special Operations Medical Association's annual conference Dec. 15 in Tampa, Fla. Morgan and his office have been pushing to get more portable ultrasound machines, as well as practical training, in the hands of Special Forces medics in order to help empower them on the battlefield. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Crisp/ 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne)).



Portable ultrasound empowers Special Forces medics

U.S. Military Begins Air Drops in Haiti

With ground transportation in Haiti severely limited following last week's massive earthquake, the U.S. military begun a series of air drops Monday afternoon to deliver aid supplies to the Haitian people.

CBS News has learned that the Air Force is flying C-17 transport planes out of Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, N.C. Each plane will deliver 40 aid bundles per trip and the military is planning to deliver 600 bundles over three days. The military has secured three drop zones where the aircraft can unload from an altitude of about 1,000 feet.

U.S. Military Begins Air Drops in Haiti - CBS Evening News - CBS News


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Deployed Paratrooper first to Re-enlist

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq – Zero hundred hours into the new decade Baghdad time, which is to say, at the commencement of the New Year in Iraq, Spc. Michael Lindsay may have become the Army's first 2010 reenlistment in Iraq.

A geospatial engineer and paratrooper with 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), Lindsay reenlisted under a full moon Jan. 1 at Camp Ramadi, Iraq, where his unit is deployed.


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Laptops for Wounded Warriors Project Expands | Marinka Peschmann

"Upon learning that this journalist is Canadian, the young, handsome warrior’s eyes brightly lit up and he told me how Canadians saved his life, then described how during the critical life and death hour, called the “golden hour,” after the deadly IED blast, he was aided by Canadian forces in Afghanistan, “I want to thank the Canadians who saved my life,” he said. Canada has been one of the few allies who have fought with Americans to defeat the terrorists and extremists in Afghanistan."


Laptops for Wounded Warriors Project Expands Marinka Peschmann:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Officer blinded in Iraq graduates MCCC

By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 24, 2009 13:15:38 EST

Capt. Ivan Castro lost his eyesight in Iraq to a spray of hot shrapnel from an 82mm mortar round that landed five feet from his position on a rooftop.
It’s been a long three years since that Sept. 2, 2006 attack, which killed two of his soldiers, and Castro never thought he’d survive his wounds.
But on Dec. 15, Castro, a 21-year veteran of the Army, graduated from the Maneuver Captains Career Course at Fort Benning, Ga., and will soon report to his new assignment as operations officer in Special Forces Recruiting Battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C., according to an Army news release.
When Castro was an enlisted soldier, he was assigned to 7th Special Forces Group.
At the time of the mortar attack southwest of Baghdad, Castro, a first lieutenant at the time, was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and was a sniper reconnaissance platoon leader.

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U.S.-Iraqi partnership halts smuggling across Syrian border

"CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE UBAYDI, Iraq (Dec. 14, 2009) -- Since U.S. advise and assist forces began partnering with Iraqi border patrols along the Syrian border in mid-November, instances of smugglers circumventing port-of-entry stations have all but ceased, according to several sources within the Department of Border Enforcement.

To prevent arms smuggling prior to the 2010 Iraqi national elections, Soldiers with Company D, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), began partnered operations and training with border security forces of the 15th Iraqi Brigade, DBE.

Attempts to smuggle contraband across the border berms have been greatly reduced since the Americans showed up, according to Staff Brig. Gen. Dhamin, commander of 15th Brigade."

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Troops in Anbar Prepare for Iraqi Election

"As U.S. troops in western Iraq help to prepare for national elections in January, an American commander in the former insurgent hotbed of Anbar province said any potential uptick in violence is unlikely to derail the balloting.

For the past two weeks, some of the 5,000 troops of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade, under the command of Army Col. Mark Stammer, have been working alongside Iraqi counterparts in Anbar to secure positions and checkpoints for the election."

“Iraqi security forces are well under way for their preparations,” Stammer told Pentagon reporters. “We don't anticipate any real spikes in violence that could derail the elections in Anbar province at this time.”Referring to a recent spate of terrorist attacks in the province, including the slaying this week of a Sunni politician and 12 other men in what appears to be a strike by al-Qaida in Iraq, Stammer attributed the violence to separate groups sharing a desire to disrupt the election process.“These [are] disparate groups coming together for short-term common interests to achieve some measure of success in derailing the elections,” he said. “They have not been able to accomplish this to date, nor do I anticipate them being able to accomplish that.”

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