DOD
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a
Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Geofrey R. Cayer, 20, of Fitchburg, Mass., died July 18 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was
assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The incident is under investigation
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who
was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Staff Sgt Eric Caban, 28, of Fort Worth, Texas, died on July 19 in
southern Afghanistan of injuries sustained when his combat reconnaissance patrol
came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat
operations on July 18. Caban was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces
Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who
was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Derek J. Plowman, 20, of Everton, Ark., died on July 20 in
Baghdad, Iraq, from a gun shot wound. Plowman was assigned to the Army National
Guard's 1st Battalion, 142nd Fires Brigade, Rogers, Ark.
This incident is under investigation.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a
soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Mark R. Vecchione, 25, of Tucson Ariz, died on July 18
in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device
detonated near his M1A1 Abrams tank. Vecchione was assigned to the
1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg,
Germany.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a
soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Robert J. Chiomento, 34, of Fort Dix, N.J., died
on July 17 in Khwaya Ahmad, Afghanistan, when his patrol encountered enemy
forces using rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Chiomento was assigned to
the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th
Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.
National Guard troops are fanning out
across the United States, confronting wildfires in the West and Midwest,
conducting storm-recovery efforts in Missouri, providing security support
in New Orleans, and boosting U.S. Border Patrol capabilities along the
southwest border.
With more than 4,200 Guardsmen supporting Operation Jump Start along
the U.S.-Mexico border -- a number to go as high as 6,000 by Aug. 1,
Guard members also are responding to two other major domestic operations,
National Guard Bureau officials said today.
Almost 150 National Guard members are providing firefighting support,
and another 200 responded after a series of powerful storms knocked out
power to nearly a half-million people in Missouri in the midst of a
heat wave.
More than 40 North Carolina Air National Guardsmen from the 145th
Airlift Wing arrived with two C-130 Hercules aircraft at Kingsley Field, a
National Guard base near Klamath Falls, Oregon. From there, they will
support the U.S. Forest Service and be ready to respond to wildfires in
Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, Air Force
Lt. Col. Rick Gibson said.
The Guardsmen will operate the Forest Service's Modular Airborne
Firefighting System, used to disperse fire retardant ahead of fires, Gibson
explained. This will buy time for firefighters on the ground and create
fire breaks to control the blazes. Meanwhile, Gibson and other National
Guard troops are serving in the National Interagency Fire Center in
Boise, Idaho, to coordinate National Guard support for the firefighting
mission.
In addition, the Nebraska Army National Guard deployed 57 people, a
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to support the
wildfire response in Valentine, Neb. The North Dakota Army National
Guard deployed 24 troops, a UH-60 and UH-1H Huey helicopter and a Heavy
Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck to support firefighting efforts in Sioux
County, N.D.
In Minnesota, 11 Army National Guardsmen were called to duty to provide
wildfire control in the west-central part of the state. They responded
with two UH-60 helicopters and a fuel tanker.
Meanwhile, more than 200 members of the Missouri Army National Guard's
1140th Engineering Battalion are supporting the state Emergency
Management Agency in the eastern portion of the state. Powerful storms in the
region caused power outages that shut down the water plant and 10
cooling stations and left 500,000 people without service. The Guard troops
are distributing water and generators, removing debris and providing
transportation to people who need assistance, officials said.
In New Orleans, 345 Louisiana National Guard troops continue to support
the New Orleans Police Department during Operation Crescent Guard. The
Guard troops, from Camp Beauregard, La., are in New Orleans conducting
roving patrols and manning static checkpoints, officials said. The
troops have committed 99 Humvees, two fuel HEMTTs and a 5-ton wrecker to
the effort.
Air Force C-17 Globemaster III crews
assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron operating in Southwest
Asia have added another mission to their resume, providing humanitarian
civil assistance to the effort to evacuate Americans from Lebanon.
Airlift operations have responded quickly to the urgent needs in the
Middle East, supporting U.S. citizens evacuating from Lebanon to Cyprus,
U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials said.
The 816th EAS is flying water and meals, as well as essential personnel
and equipment, to Royal Air Force Base Akrotiri on the island of
Cyprus. In the first four days of the operation, the squadron has flown 23
sorties, logging almost 70 hours in the sky, transporting nearly 200
passengers and 500 short tons of humanitarian supplies.
"The importance of the mission and use of C-17s is huge," said Maj.
Steve Jacque, aircraft commander on a July 19 mission. "You have thousands
of Americans displaced from their homes, basically. I don't know how
much time they had to get things squared away, but since they need the
basics like food and water, I assume not much time at all."
Marines are taking the Americans to where Navy Seabees are building a
temporary camp for them in Cyprus. To support that, the 816th flew in
the Seabees, pallets of water and meals for the evacuees, said Jacque,
who's also flown humanitarian operations for Hurricane Katrina and the
Pakistani earthquake relief efforts in 2005.
"Having shelter is a huge need, but we are helping them with the food
and water as well," said the major. "I can't imagine being forced to
leave my home for the threat of a war. Hopefully we have made that
displacement just a little easier."
Each member of the augmented crew (three pilots and two loadmasters),
as well as the passengers of the flight said they were glad to be able
to help out fellow Americans.
"It's a huge honor and a unique perk of this job that you can see
something on the TV one day and be directly involved in it the next day,"
said loadmaster Airman 1st Class James Davis. "How many people can say
that? It's a huge privilege for me to be able to go to work and directly
effect world events. Anything I can do to help out fellow Americans in
need, I'll be happy to."
Aside from their willingness to help, they say it is also a testament
to the ability of the squadron and the aircraft as well.
"This is the first time I've done a mission like this," said Capt. Matt
Oberson, one of the pilots. "I don't want to say we're lucky - it'd be
better off if none of us had to - but it's a privilege to get out there
and try to make an impact delivering the supplies the folks in Cyprus
need."
The crew took off from their deployed location to making one stop to
upload the humanitarian supply pallets to take to Cyprus. Upon arrival,
the anxious crew discovered they had beaten the cargo to their
intermittent stop. After several hours of waiting and uploading time, the crew
and their cargo were in the air and en route to Cyprus.
"It wasn't just a load of pallets we had to get from here to there.
There was a definite purpose for what was in the back, and it's good to
know it was going to people who needed it," said 1st Lt. Justin West,
another of the three pilots.
"It's a good illustration to show how quick we had to move," said
Jacque. "We were notified the same time as they started gathering the food
and water and notified the Seabees."
Moving fast and getting the job done is not something new to the C-17
crews, though. United States and coalition air forces are flying every
day in southwest Asia to provide safety, security and supplies
throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, along with helping to provide regional
stability for the Horn of Africa.
The squadron, whose motto is "Anything-Anytime-Anywhere," employs
roughly a dozen C-17s to airlift troops and airdrop supplies throughout the
theater in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
"I also think it is complete validation for what the C-17 was purchased
for," said Oberson. "We've been doing airdrops throughout the theater,
flying re-supply missions and landing on dirt airfields and now add
humanitarian relief. I think the crews have been able to switch gears
pretty quickly with an airdrop one day, dirt landing the next and
humanitarian relief the next. This is a very versatile squadron."
"Everything we airlift helps people in need, whether it's soldiers or
civilians, and it's not always food and water. We also move essential
ground supplies," said Davis. "When it is food and water, it may not seem
as important as some other supplies, but it's very important if you're
the one who needs it. People in trouble are the same regardless of the
country. Whether it's delivering supplies to evacuees or airlifting
supplies to the soldiers in Afghanistan, I'm happy to be able to serve."
The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders came
halfway around the globe to show that the troops mean the world to them.
The cheerleaders performed for hundreds of soldiers July 18 at
Contingency Operating Base Speicher here.
"I think the fact that you have red, white and blue pumping through
your veins is awesome," said Keela Harris, a Broncos cheerleader.
Another Broncos cheerleader, Kelsey Vernon, added that the troops
deserve so much more, but the squad was glad to offer what they could.
The 12 ladies performed for two hours wearing different themed outfits
and performing many energetic dance routines and skits for the
appreciative troops.
"This is wonderful for them to come and perform for us. To let us know
that people care, that's what it's all about," said Colorado native
Army Sgt. William Rodgers, 501st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne
Division.
Vernon said this is the cheerleaders' fourth show of 10 scheduled as
part of the group's Middle East tour. They have already performed twice
in Kuwait and twice in Iraq. The tour in Iraq will continue throughout
July.
A total of 341 Americans successfully
convoyed out of southern Lebanon and are shipping out of Beirut harbor for
Cyprus, State Department officials said today.
Maura Harty, assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, said
the bus convoy got the Americans to the harbor, where they are boarding
the Orient Queen cruise ship. They are among the 2,250 Americans that
left Lebanon today.
"That brings the total of assisted departures to 3,850, and there are
another 400 people our embassy in Damascus has confirmed have made it
out by land to Syria," Harty said during a news conference at the State
Department. Army Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero, the Joint Staff's deputy
for operations, also briefed.
The Hezbollah terrorist group fired more rockets into Israel, and
Israeli air and artillery response continues. United Nations officials said
that more than 300 Lebanese and 29 Israelis have been killed in the
fighting to date.
Cyprus is expecting an influx of 60,000 evacuees, and that number will
quickly overwhelm facilities on the island, Cypriot officials said.
U.S. officials are ramping up operations at Mersin, Turkey, to handle
additional evacuees from Lebanon. Mersin is on the coast of Turkey, about
200 miles north of Cyprus.
"Our mission in Turkey is prepared to use the port of Mercin as an
overflow reception center for American citizens choosing to depart
Lebanon," Harty said. "Travelers will be bused to Incirlik Air Base for onward
travel to the United States. The first passengers in this phase of the
operation will likely arrive there (July 22)."
Naval and air assets will continue to evacuate refugees until the
mission is completed, Harty said. Vessels currently engaged in the
evacuation operation are the USS Nashville and the Orient Queen, Barbero said.
"The passenger ship Ramah and Vittoria, and other Navy ships will join
the flow as they arrive in the area in the next few days," Barbero said.
"The Ramah is a Panamanian-flagged Saudi-owned ship with a capacity of
1,400 passengers; we expect her to start tomorrow," he said. The
high-speed vessel Vittoria, an Italian-flagged ship with a capacity of
approximately 330 passengers, should begin moving passengers July 22.
U.S. military CH-53 helicopters continue flights between Lebanon and
Cyprus. Barbero said the USS Nashville is under way with more than 1,000
evacuees on board.
The destroyers USS Gonzalez and USS Barry continue force protection
patrols, and the USS Mount Whitney, a command and control ship, has begun
operations in the joint operating area off Beirut. "Four more U.S. Navy
ships are expected in the area over the coming days; most will be
arriving within the next 24 hours," Barbero said.
More than 250 military personnel are in Cyrus providing command and
control, security, medical support, and support to helicopter operations
and C-130 aircraft operations. "Over 60 military personnel are at the
U.S. Embassy in Beirut," Barbero said. "They are providing command and
control, logistics planning and a small security detachment."
