Tuesday, May 31, 2005

U.S. Army officers cite lack of troops in key region


Iraqi forces stand their ground in insurgent attack
U.S. says local forces show confidence, ability in four-hour battle

By Teri Weaver , Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, May 31, 2005

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq � A defensive stand by Iraqi army and police during a coordinated attack from insurgents Sunday afternoon in western Baghdad showed growing confidence and ability within the local forces, according to U.S. Army officials here.
At the same time, the insurgents showed an improved � though ultimately unsuccessful � attempt at staging a two-pronged attack, officials said.
The insurgents used homemade bombs, AK-47s and grenade launchers to attack a police station while using cell phones and walkie-talkies to coordinate attacks on the boundaries and supply routes of Camp Liberty with the hope of keeping the U.S. troops at bay, according to Col. Ronnie Johnson, of Baton Rouge, La., an officer with Liberty-based 256th Combat Brigade Team.
Overall, the Iraqi army and police members� success in keeping insurgents from destroying the station in the Amariyah district of Baghdad during a four-hour battle was an example of what the American military hopes to see from their Iraqi partners in the coming months, Johnson said.
The Iraqi police and soldiers defended the police station while U.S. forces established a perimeter, kept routes open and fought against outlying attacks, Johnson said. In the end, the Iraqi forces killed seven, including two using a mosque as a defensive post.
�They stood their ground and fought,� said Johnson, whose soldiers with the 256th, a National Guard brigade made up mostly of Louisiana reservists, are among those training Iraqi army troops in Baghdad. �We provided assistance, but they were the one who bore the brunt of the fighting.�
The Iraqis also bore the brunt of the injuries. No one was killed, but several Iraqi soldiers were injured, including two critically, said Maj. Bruce Ellis, of Mobile, Ala., a member of the Louisiana guard and the officer-in-charge of the 256th�s operations center.
One U.S. soldier was injured from a gunshot; his injuries were not life-threatening, officials said.
Sunday�s attack started about 4:30 p.m., when a car bomb hit one of the main gates to Camp Liberty. The insurgents then began launching grenades and shooting at the police station, less than four kilometers away. They used a mosque near the police station as a weapons storehouse and used the minaret as a vantage point for observation and shooting, Ellis said.
The attackers also used several homemade bombs along supply routes and in a warehouse district near the U.S. base to try and prevent American support from reaching the station. The plan kept the battle going, but didn�t succeed, Johnson said.
The Iraqi army raided the mosque, killed two insurgents and recovered weapons and ammunitions, Ellis said.
Johnson said the battle was an example of what the Americans hope will happen more often.
�They stood their ground and fought for their police station,� he said Monday morning from the brigade�s headquarters. �You�ve heard stories about some IAs (Iraqi army soldiers) dropping their guns and running. That didn�t happen [Sunday].�
�We�re not there yet,� Johnson added, saying more training and time is needed to build a self-sufficient Iraqi force. �But that was a clear sign of progress.�

Iraqi Aircraft Crashes; Operations Continue Throughout Iraq
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2005 � An Iraqi air force aircraft with four U.S. personnel and one Iraqi on board crashed today in the eastern part of Iraq's Diyala province, U.S. military officials in Baghdad reported.
The crash was reported to the Joint Communications Center in Khaniqin at noon, officials said. Coalition forces in the area responded to the crash site and have secured the immediate area. However, on-site officials are withholding the names, status and units of on-board personnel pending further investigation. No further details were available.
In other news from Iraq, soldiers from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) killed several terrorists and captured four people suspected of anti-Iraqi activities in northern Iraq May 29 in combined operations with Iraqi security forces. U.S. soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment were attacked by terrorists while conducting a raid in northern Anbar province.
The U.S. soldiers and others from the Iraqi army "quickly overwhelmed the enemy," according to a coalition news release. Following the attack, the units also discovered a weapons cache inside the building the terrorists had used.
Elsewhere, coalition troops from Regimental Combat Team 2 and Iraqi security forces completed Operation New Market on May 29. The operation was initiated in the early morning hours of May 25 and focused on disrupting insurgent activity in Haditha and the surrounding area.
Approximately 1,000 Iraqi and coalition troops participated in the operation, which was launched in response to increased anti-Iraqi activity. Coalition and ISF troops had discovered a higher-than-normal frequency of roadside bombs and noticed terrorists using outlying areas of Haditha to launch mortar attacks against Iraqi citizens, coalition forces, and utility infrastructure, officials said.
Earlier this month, violence peaked when terrorists detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device next to the Haditha hospital. In the aftermath of the ensuing firefight, coalition forces discovered that terrorists had physically taken over portions of the hospital and constructed bunkered fighting positions. The terrorists caused major structural damage to the hospital, placing significant strain on health care in the Haditha region, according to U.S. officials.
Over the course of Operation New Market, "a significant number" of terrorists were killed, and dozens are being held and questioned, U.S. officials said. Iraqi and coalition forces also seized numerous weapons caches and munitions, including assault rifles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and a buried cache consisting of more than 300 82mm high-explosive mortar projectiles. Coalition casualties were said to be light.
In a separate operation, multinational forces acting on intelligence sources and tips provided by Iraqi citizens conducted simultaneous raids in the Rahwah and Karabilah regions to capture or kill terrorists affiliated with Jordanian terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Multiple sources of intelligence indicated elements of Zarqawi's network, including key lieutenants, suicide bombers, and a contingent of foreign fighters, were operating in the area. Multinational forces engaged and destroyed these targets, U.S. officials said.
Operations against suspected foreign-fighter strongholds resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen terrorists and foreign fighters. Specifically, the bodies of three Saudis and one Moroccan have been identified, and others are being sought within the destroyed buildings.
Coalition forces also destroyed car bombs, bomb-making material, and eight buildings that contained large weapons caches, including explosives, small arms, hand and rocket-propelled grenades, and a large amount of ammunition -- including armor-piercing 7.62 mm rifle rounds.
In yet another operation, Task Force Baghdad soldiers captured 15 terror suspects in three early-morning raids conducted throughout the capital May 28. The biggest operation netted 10 suspected terrorists in the Yusafiyah district of southern Baghdad.
In east Baghdad, a tip from an Iraqi citizen prevented an attack. During a routine patrol, a farmer approached members of Task Force Baghdad's 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, with information on the location of roadside bomb. The farmer told the soldiers he had seen terrorists emplace the bomb. The soldiers expressed their appreciation to the farmer and secured the roadside bomb.
"This event shows that the population continues to turn away from the terrorists. I am grateful that the people care enough to provide us the tips that are helping us to defeat the terrorists," U.S. Army Maj. Paul Reese, executive officer of 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, said. "There is no question in my mind that the farmer who provided the tip today saved the lives of our soldiers."

Soldiers from Company A, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 29th Infantry Division, discover a cave recently occupied by insurgents in the mountains of Musayi, Afghanistan. Photo by Spc. Harold Fields.


Romanian soldiers secure an area in a village near Kandahar City in Afghanistan, May 21, 2005. U.S. soldiers attached to the Combined Joint Task Force 76 participated in a search for weapons in the village that could be used against Coalition forces. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jerry T. Combes

Soldiers from the Afghan National Army search a building in a village near Kandahar City in Afghanistan, May 21, 2005. U.S. Army soldiers and the Afghan National Army participated in the search for weapons that could be used against Coalition forces. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jerry T. Combes

WEAPONS SEARCH IN AFGHANISTAN � U.S. Army Spc. Aaron Ruden of the 13th Psychological Operations Battalion Arden Hills, Minn., an area in a village near Kandahar City in Afghanistan, May 21, 2005. U.S. soldiers attached to the Combined Joint Task Force 76 participated in a search for weapons in the village that could be used against Coalition forces. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jerry T. Combes

A member of the Afghan National Army's Military Police searches a man for contraband at a traffic control point near Kabul. The ANA have become very proficient at setting up TCPs and confiscating weapons and other contraband.

TORA BORA, Afghanistan � Afghan National Army troops and U.S Marines launch from the rear of a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter in the rugged Tora Bora mountains to deliver civic assistance to remote villages. (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Rick Scavetta, Combined Joint Task Force-76 Public Affairs

TORA BORA, Afghanistan � U.S. Navy Corpsman David Stanfield watches a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook descend into a landing zone to drop off aid supplies for Marines to distribute during Operation Celtics. (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Rick Scavetta, Combined Joint Task Force-76 Public Affairs)

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, and a member of the Army Old Guard, right, lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a Memorial Day Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, May 30, 2005. Thousands of people and veterans from all over the nation gathered at Arlington National Cemetery, Va. remember fallen servicemen from all past conflicts during a Memorial Day Ceremony, May 30, 2005. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby, U.S. Air Force.

Aircraft Crashes Kill Eight in Iraq


President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Meyers participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery amphitheatre in Arlington, Va., May 30, 2005. White House photo by Paul Morse

President George. W. Bush stands with U.S. Army Major General Galen Jackman as he lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day May 30, 2005. White House photo by Krisanne Johnson

CPL Kierys, assigned to the 443 Civil Affairs Battalion, Bravo Company, watches Iraqi police officers train on proper vehicle search procedures May 26 2005, Camp Prosperity, Baghdad, Iraq. Bravo Company held a one day refresher course that also included marksmanship and weapons care. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech.Sgt. Russell E. Cooley IV)(released)

Monday, May 30, 2005


American soldiers are dying daily In Iraq. The American people should be asking important questions such as why are we still there, how much longer will this go on. George Bush found a way to get us in this war, does he have a plan to get us out?
Its funny, when I was 16, I was partisipating in sit-ins, driving across the state to be in protest marches against the Vietnam war. Today, my kids won't even express an opinion about Iraq, for or against. Where has the passion gone? Why don't people give a damn? Are we so self absorbed that we can't even formulate and express basic questions about our Goverments actions? Have Americans become Sheeple?

A son, father, husband & hero

Sunday, May 29, 2005


1600+ American soldiers, both men and women died serving their country in the Iraq war. We can never forget the sacrifice they have made!

Foot Patrol or Sitting ducks?

Saturday, May 28, 2005

West infiltrates al-Qa'eda message boards in the war on terror

Injured Zarqawi has fled Iraq, UK newspaper says


night patrol

Letting them know we are here!

The Military has made great strides in getting wounded soldiers rapid medical treatment. The survival rate in this conflict is the best in modern times

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U.S. Marines provide security as fellow Marines exit a CH-46 Chinook helicopter while conducting security and ambush patrols in the Sarkani Valley of Afghanistan on May 7, 2005. The Marines of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment are conducting security and stabilization operations in the valley. DoD photo by Cpl. James L. Yarboro, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)
Operations Disrupt Enemy, Give Iraqi Forces Experience
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, May 26, 2005 – Current operations in Iraq are serving two important purposes, the Joint Staff's deputy director for regional operations said today during a Pentagon press briefing.
Recent and ongoing operations such as Matador, Squeezeplay, Hudson and New Market, Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham pointed out, "have focused on disrupting enemy activities."

"And they've also provided opportunity for the Iraqi security forces to gain valuable experience," he said.

Before coming to the Joint Staff, Ham commanded Task Force Olympia based in Mosul.

He said that the Iraqi defense minister's announcement today about a massive security sweep to begin in Baghdad conveys the growing confidence and capability of Iraqi security forces.

Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita agreed. "We are gaining confidence in the security forces. This operation in Baghdad made people feel pretty good about ... how at least in Baghdad the capability of the Iraqi security force is developing."

Ham said there has been no decision whether U.S. troop levels, currently at about 139,000, will increase or decrease. He added that there will be a temporary small increase because units will overlap as they are rotated in and out of Iraq.

Though the focus is often on Iraq and Afghanistan, it's important not to forget that the war on terrorism is a global war, the general said.

He noted that Pacific exercise SEACAT, currently under way, involves six Southeast Asian nations. "This is training that is designed to enhance the capability to track and board vessels that are suspected of transporting suspicious persons - terrorists - or material that may support those terrorists."

On another issue, Di Rita warned against believing that the Syria-Iraq border was secure just because the Syrian ambassador reported that arrests had been made.

"The fact that there may have been some people picked up on the Syrian side of the boarder may be such as the Syrian ambassador described it," he said. "But it should by no means persuade anybody that that border is a secure border. It is a highly porous border."

Ham said he wished he could be definitive on the reported whereabouts of and injuries to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

"I'd love to be able to confirm or deny that. We do not have independent corroboration of the statements from the Iraqi government officials," he said. "I would also note though that it's important to put this in context. While Zarqawi certainly is an important character, his organization is bigger than just one guy."

Al Qaeda in Iraq will not collapse with Zarqawi's demise, whether he be captured, which would be preferable, or if he's killed or wounded, Ham said. The Zarqawi network has cells throughout Iraq and "I would expect that if he were incapacitated, killed or captured, that there would be some decision-making as to who would step up and take his place. But I don't know who that individual's name is."

But Ham noted that al-Zarqawi "is the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, and clearly his capture or removal from that position will have a significant effect on al Qaeda in Iraq."

Ham mentioned that the upcoming holiday is a time to remember those who sacrificed protecting the country and its freedoms.

"I think it's important as we look forward to Memorial Day ... to remember those who have fallen in the service of their nation and their families who have made such a great sacrifice. We really owe them more of a debt than we can ever repay."




Related Site:

A wounded Marine is carried on to a CH-46E from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364. The HMM-364 'Purple Foxes' are currently flying casualty evacuation missions in support of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) CASEVAC team. The team responds to calls from anywhere throughout the Al Anbar province, flying into the face of danger to extract wounded Marines, soldiers and civilians. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis

US unable to injuries to al Zarqawi
Washington, May 28. (PTI): The United States has no independent corroboration that the Jordanian terrorist in Iraq linked to al-Qaeda, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has been wounded or spirited out of the country.
Efforts are under way to determine the veracity of reports on the Internet and elsewhere about Zarqawi's condition and whereabouts, Army Brigadier General Carter Hamm said on Friday a briefing at the Pentagon.
Hamm is the deputy director for regional operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said it was difficult to determine what is accurate in the reports coming out of the Middle East.
The principal deputy assistant secretary of defence noted that al-Qaeda and its affiliates had used reports about its operatives in the past for purposes of misinformation and disinformation.
Even though Di Rita described Zarqawi as an important and wanted figure in the War on Terrorism, Hamm noted that he was only one individual in a very large organization.
He described Zarqawi's operation as a network of cells spread throughout Iraq. Although Zarqawi's cells are located regionally, the general said, they were reliant, to a degree, on centralised funding.
Efforts to disrupt that financing were under way, he added.
Even if Zarqawi is removed from the power structure, Hamm said his network of followers would remain lethal.
His organisation was resilient and "won't crumble or cease to exist" without him, the military official said.

DOOR TO DOOR � An Iraqi woman speaks to U.S. Army soldiers who are conducting door-to-door searches for insurgents and illegal weapons in Tall Afar, Iraq, May 17, 2005. The soldiers are assigned to the Troop E, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jory C. Randall
Hi-Res Photo

Friday, May 27, 2005


Young Iraqi's out to raise a little hell

I would love to do this, it looks awesome!

Thursday, May 26, 2005


Peace is the worst case scenario for
dictators, terrorists, and crooked capitalists
http://www.peacecoup.us/

Members of the Iraqi Bounty hunter team fan out along the Lake Erie shore line scanning for Terrorist. Its a tough job but someone has to do it!

Mongolean doctors checking X-rays under less than ideal conditions in a smalll iraq village

Photo by Sgt. 1 Class Audie Matheus
During a mortar mission while attached to Regional Command South, Soldiers from 6th Section, F Battery, 7th Field Artillery Regiment send 120mm mortar rounds down-range near Qalat.

Iraq Steps Up Baghdad Security

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The government said Thursday a security cordon of 40,000 Iraqi soldiers and police will ring Baghdad starting next week in what it dubbed Operation Lightning, aimed at halting a spree of insurgent violence that has killed more than 620 people this month.

Iraqi Forces to Hunt Down Insurgents

Harley-mad in Baghdad, the atypical story of 'Mr Muscle'

BAGHDAD (AFP) - When he belches around Baghdad's old quarter on his spotless Harley Davidson, Kadhem Sharif, a powerlifting champion sporting wrap-around sunglasses, makes for an unlikely sight.

And the 53-year-old is fully aware that his passion for one of the most recognizable symbols of the American way of life is not to everybody's liking in post-war Iraq.

But his garage is a carbon copy of any Harley aficionado's den in the United States, complete with posters of naked "babes on bikes".

And his collection of 40-plus motorbikes provides a condensed history of 100 years of national turmoil.

"This Norton was built in 1914 and became part of the escort of King Faisal, Iraq's first monarch," says Kadhem, 53, as he proudly gives a tour of his modest garage.

About half of his motorbikes are Harleys. "I was 12 when I sneaked out on my father's Harley for the first time. I bought my first one eight years later, a 1966 Fatboy," Kadhem recalls.

When Saddam Hussein's feared elder son Uday helped himself to one of his favourite Harleys, "it was almost like losing a child".

"Uday came back after the 1996 assassination attempt against him and ordered me to convert the bike into a three-wheeler because he was handicapped... I started hiding my best Harleys because I was afraid he would take more."

When Saddam's army invaded Kuwait in 1990, it returned to Iraq with the Kuwaiti police's entire fleet of 'King of the Highway' Harleys.

"I bought dozens of them. Throughout the nineties, I made a good business. I would take them apart, smuggle them up north to Kurdistan and reassemble them. I would sell them mainly to Dutch expatriates living in Sulaimaniyah," he says.

"It was a bit dangerous though. I was arrested in 1995 and spent four months in prison."

Kadhem readily admits that several of his bikes were stolen in neighbouring countries and smuggled into Iraq.

But he also discovered some of his collection's most precious pieces by combing the countryside for vintage motorcycles rusting away in the field of an unwitting farmer.

One is a 1947 British-made BSA he spent months repairing. The fin-like plate on the front fender reads "Anbar province", an area of western Iraq notorious for insurgent violence since the 2003 US-led invasion.

"I found it in a tiny village between Fallujah and Ramadi. But I've had to stop going to this part of the country," he explains.

Despite the intimidating size of his chest and forearms, the former Iraqi bench press champion, known to his friends as 'Mr Muscle', now risks an icy reception in insurgent strongholds as his face has become one of the symbols of the overthrow of Saddam's regime.

On April 9, 2003, Kadhem was one of the first to rush to Baghdad's Fardus Square and pictures of the burly Shiite hacking away at the marble plinth of Saddam's giant statue were beamed live around the world in one of the most enduring images of the regime's ouster.

"People in the neighbourhood know me. I get on with everybody. US soldiers used to block the road so they could spend some time in my garage," Kadhem says.

"They sometimes bring me copies of motorcycling magazines and even bought me leather boots. I'm still in touch with one of them who is saving up all his money to buy my Harley chopper."

Another day in Iraq. The Iraqi people are paying a steep price for freedom, something Americans take for granted.

What ever happened to whats his name

You could work in a office or factory all day, deal with a lot of bullshit or you could do this.

SOUTH CHINA SEA � U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Gene A. Carroll fires a MK-38 25mm machine gun off the starboard bow of the USS Fort McHenry, during a live fire demonstration. Fort McHenry is currently underway in support of exercise Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism (SEACAT) 2005, a cooperative response to terrorism and transnational crime at sea. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class David J. Ham


A U.S. Sniper. locked and loaded.

Suicide bomber strikes again

Iraqi special forces wear black masks so they won't be recognized and killed along with there family

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Message Claims al-Zarqawi Fled Iraq

Zarqawi 'injury' attracts prayer

Rumors Mount Over the Fate of Al-Zarqawi


The newest member of the Iraqi Bounty Hunter Team! Meet John Thomas my Grand Son!!!

The U.S. military has confirmed the arrest of an aide to the al-Qaida chief in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, by Iraqi forces near the city of Baquba. The arrest was announced as the U.S. launched an operation in the western city of Haditha intended to round up insurgent suspects.
A statement released by the U.S. military describes Mullah Kamel al-Aswadi as the most wanted terrorist in north-central Iraq.
Officials say Iraqi forces made the arrest of al-Aswadi as he tried to bribe his way through a checkpoint in the town of Balad. His vehicle was found to contain a global positioning system, multiple identification papers, a scope used to launch mortars, and U.S. currency.

Abu Musab Zarqawi (undated State Dept. photo)
Officials say al-Aswadi served as a key aide to Iraq's al-Qaida front man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant. The statement says al-Aswadi was involved in the funding of terror cells, terrorist training, and the making of car and roadside bombs.
On Tuesday, an Islamist website al-Zarqawi reported had been wounded, and asked for his supporters to offer prayers for his recovery. It did not say how he was injured or where he was. U.S. officials could not confirm the authenticity of the statement.
Meanwhile, about 1000 U.S. and Iraqi troops swept through the western town of Haditha in what officials call Operation New Market. The pre-dawn offensive brought together Iraqi and U.S. soldiers who raided houses in search of insurgents, while helicopters circled overhead and Marines patrolled the Euphrates River along which the town is situated.
It is the second offensive this month in parts of western Iraq near the border with Syria where Zarqawi's supporters are believed to be hiding. U.S. officials have accused Syria of supporting insurgents who cross the border to attack U.S. and Iraqi forces.
In the earlier offensive, called Operation Matador, officials say at least 75 insurgents were killed.
But critics of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, such as Baghdad professor Naebil Younis, say the arrests and the offensives will mean little until Washington works out a formula to scale back the U.S. presence.
"What I see, the right thing to do, is to find channels for negotiations with the national resistance, so you may come to such an agreement with them about the withdrawal of American troops, at least in the meantime from the cities. This is a big problem for the people, the whole people," he said.

U.S. Launches Another Major Iraq Offensive


040618-F-6655M-312
Blackhawk helicopters carrying Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz fly to Fallujah, Iraq during a recent trip to visit with the Marines of the 1st MEF. Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is in Iraq at the head of a high-level coalition delegation meeting with leaders of the new interim Iraqi government to discuss security-related issues. DoD photo by U. S. Air Force Tech Sgt Jerry Morrison Jr (released)

Evac the wounded, seconds count!

Hit and run tactics are common

Cordon and search

Another oil pipeline blown up

Convoy ambush

When a I.E.D. goes off. Anybody close by is rounded up for questioning.

The boys kickin ass!

helo drop

Task Force Phoenix Commander Brig. Gen. Richard Moorhead is thanked by Romanian President Traian Basescu during the president�s visit to Camp Phoenix.
(Photo submitted by Romanian Army 1st Lt. Alexandru Oprean)

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Camp Patriot, Kuwait (May 16, 2005) - A Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC), assigned to Assault Craft Unit Four (ACU-4), transports U.S. Marines and equipment attached to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to Kuwait Navy Base as they prepare to conduct training in the Kuwaiti Desert. The 26th MEU is embarked aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48). Ashland and the 26th MEU are currently deployed with the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group to the Arabian Gulf in support of Fifth Fleet. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Paul Cage (RELEASED)