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Dec 26, 2002

Videos of Holiday Greetings From U.S. soldiers and airmen

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Military

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Transcripts

(250K requires
Windows Media Player)

OFF WE GO —An F-14D Tomcat from Fighter Squadron 31 launches off the bow of the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln and Carrier Air Wing 14 are deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Southern Watch. U. S. Navy photo by Ens. Charles M. Abell

No Holiday Break in Action
For Busy CENTCOM Troops

By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2002 — Troops deployed within the U.S. Central Command area couldn't let their guard down just because it was Christmas. Military action in Iraq and Afghanistan kept the forces on their toes.
      Coalition aircrews monitoring the no-fly zone in southern Iraq this morning struck Iraqi military command and control communications facilities near Tallil, about 175 miles southeast of Baghdad.
     These strikes were in response to Iraqi military aircraft violating Southern No-Fly Zone restrictions, according to a U.S. Central Command news release. The last such strike in Iraq by coalition forces was Dec. 20. More

U.S. Says Afghan Recovery
Much Faster Than Expected

Washington File, U.S. State Department

     WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2002 — One year after the inauguration of Afghanistan's transitional government, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Andrew Natsios reports that relief and reconstruction efforts in the country are proceeding much more rapidly than expected.
     Speaking Dec. 23 at the State Department, Natsios presented statistics and details concerning the ongoing U.S. and international effort to help the country return to normalcy and self-sufficiency.
     Afghanistan's recovery is taking place more rapidly than recoveries he has observed in the Balkans and in Africa, Natsios said, referring to previous international aid efforts. "But people are very impatient. They want work done immediately, and I understand that. After what they've been through, they deserve it. But the president [Bush] and the secretary [Powell] have instructed us to move to an accelerated level, and we are doing that." More

U.S. Military Readies Forces,
Works With Iraqi Opposition

By Kathleen T. Rhem / American Forces Press Service

     WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2002 — Defense Department leaders are working hard to make sure Saddam Hussein understands the United States means business, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Monday.
     The United States has continued work on a humanitarian relief and reconstruction plan for a post-Saddam Iraq, while U.S. forces are working with "friends and allies to keep the military pressure on Iraq," Rumsfeld told reporters in the Pentagon today.
      An undisclosed number of active and reserve forces have been warned to prepare for possible military action. Rumsfeld said this doesn't mean President Bush is prepared to order military action, only that U.S. forces need to be prepared to make the threat of such force credible. More

On Homeland Security

• Transportation Dept. Issues Luggage Security Guidelines

On Terrorism

• "A Report from the Front Lines," by George Tenet

On Iraq

• Iraqi Plane Shoots Down U.S. Unmanned Aircraft

• U.S. Makes Arrangements with U.N. on Interviewing Iraqis

• State Department on U.N. Oil-for-Food Program for Iraq

On Afghanistan

• Defense Officials Report Increased Enemy Activity

Military News

• Latest CENTCOM News

• National Guard, Reserve Update

• Defense Officials Eye Targeted Pay for Civilian Workers, Abell Says

• Military Deploys Digitized Patient Record System

• Military Operations Ongoing In U.S. Central Command

Landa Khel (7 photos)

U.S. soldier provides medical aid in Landa Khel, Afghanistan.

• Home for the Holidays (7)	• That's Entertainment (9)
• Interception at Sea (6)	• Edged Mallet #2 (4)
• Jump Masters (9)	• Ready, Set, Dive (4)
More photos

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Holiday Message

Secretary of Defense Holiday Message

Air Force Radio News

Defense Leaders: Afghanistan Increasingly Stable

Service Members to Get Pay Raise in 2003

Air Force Television News

More than 2.6 million people have signed Defend America's online Thank You Note to men and women of the U.S. military.
See how many have signed.

Add your thanks by signing our
Online thank you note.

Americans are asking what they can do to show their support for servicemembers during the holidays. Here's a list of Web sites sponsoring programs for service members overseas. More

Holiday Messages

President George W. Bush

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers

Christmas Drop

OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN (AFPN) — Retired Col. Gail Halvorsen and his wife, Lorraine, inspect a stuffed bear before it was dropped Dec. 21 during the 50th anniversary flights of Christmas Drop. Halvorsen is the famed "Candy Bomber" who dropped candy to the children of Berlin during the Berlin Airlift.
For 50 years people at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, have gathered Christmas gifts and supplies to be airdropped to Pacific islanders. A C-130 Hercules and crew from Yokota Air Base Japan, did the duty this year, delivering the goods to the islands of Anatahan, Agrihan, and Alamgan, which are north of Guam. Among the cargo dropped was rice, fishing gear, and machetes. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua Strang

Hope Springs Eternal

WASHINGTON – American entertainment icon Bob Hope may be getting along in years – he's 99 now – but he continues his patriotic support of U.S. troops assigned stateside and deployed around the world. This year, "Give Thanks America," a national initiative co- sponsored by DoD, Hewlett-Packard, and Sorenson Media, salutes Hope, showing historical video clips from his trips on its website at http://givethnksusa-ecdc-250-239.digisle.net/hope/. More

Profile

U.S. Air Force
2nd Lt. Chris Sverkounov

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFPN) — When stories about job changes come up in conversation, it is hard to top 2nd Lt. Chris Sverkounov. The recent Air and Space Basic Course student here went from being a lieutenant in the Soviet army to a commission in the U.S. Air Force. More

More Profiles

'Enduring Freedom’
Set for National Release

ABOARD USS BONHOMME RICHARD, At Sea (NNS) — A short film about Navy and Marine Corps activities during Operation Enduring Freedom will be released to theaters nationwide in January. The five-minute film features interviews with sailors and Marines who participated in Enduring Freedom.
“The purpose of the film is to powerfully communicate to the American public what the Navy and Marine Corps team is and who we are,” said Lt. Col. James Kuhn, producer of the film. “It’s about the people wearing the uniform - from the 18-year-old rifleman in the middle of a hostile desert to the captain of a ship - their spirit, their sacrifice and their contribution to the defense of the United States.” More

Enduring Freedom Video
(Requires Windows Media Player)

Rumsfeld Report:
2002 Year in Review

WASHINGTON — Over the course of the last year, U.S. troops and coalition forces made progress in the war against terror, and U.S. defense officials continued to transform the military for the challenges of the 21s century. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfield hightlights the year's accompolishments in his annual report.
2002 Year in Review (PDF)
Rumsfeld: 2002 a Busy Year