Saddam Dies On Gallows

UNEDITED SADDAM HANGING (**Graphic**)

Saddam dies on gallows
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein was hanged just before dawn Saturday, dramatically ending the life of the once-feared Iraqi dictator less than two months after his conviction for crimes against humanity.

Also hanged were Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court.

President Bush's Statement on Execution of Saddam Hussein
In a written statement, President Bush said, "Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial -- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime. ... Saddam Hussein’s execution comes at the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops. Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror."

Military / Veterans Report

Video E-mail Launches for Deployed Soldiers
Soldiers and families can now communicate by video e-mail through the Army Knowledge Online intranet portal. AKO video messaging allows all deployed active-duty, National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers to create video messages on a computer with a Web cam. The message is then stored on a server and sent to the recipient via a link. Upon opening an e-mail, the user clicks on the link to get streaming video and sound. Soldiers must follow the same Defense Department security measures used for standard e-mail and are not allowed to use Web cams in secure areas. Families with an AKO account can send video e-mails from home.

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New Passport Requirements Jan. 2007
Beginning in January 2007, all air travelers, including U.S citizens, will need a valid passport to enter the U.S. You can obtain a passport at more than 9,000 locations in the United States. For more information visit the U.S. Department of State's website.

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National Guard Museum Opens New Exhibit
A new interactive exhibit that showcases the National Guard's participation in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom is on display at the National Guard Museum. The exhibit displays Guard members' equipment, uniforms and photographs from the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The granite and glass National Guard Association of the United States Memorial Building that houses the Museum is located on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Capitol Street in Washington, D.C. Visiting hours are Mondays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment. For more information, call (888)-226-4287, or visit the Museum's webpage.
To locate a military-themed museum, monument or memorial, visit the Military.com Museum and Memorial Guide.

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Military Honors for Veterans' Funerals
The National Guard's Honor Guard Program is available in many states to any person who served in either peace-time or war-time on active duty. It is also eligible to anyone who served in the National Guard or Reserve, completed at least one enlistment and received an Honorable discharge. There is no cost to the family members of the veteran. The family need only to notify their funeral director they desire to have military funeral honors rendered at the interment. To make the arrangements, the funeral director will need the veteran's DD214, Form NGB22, or a Certificate of Honorable Discharge, which can be requested from
Military Records at the National Archives.
There are three different types of the Funeral Honors Programs as described on the Website of the Arlington National Cemetery.
To learn more about memorial benefits,
visit the Burial and Memorial Benefits webpage at Military.com.

Military / Veterans Report

Blue Angels Announce 2007 Show Schedule
The Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, has announced their schedule for the 2007 show season. Following winter training, the team will begin its 61st season at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif., March 10, 2007, and will conclude Nov. 10 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. The Blue Angels are scheduled to perform 66 demonstrations at 35 air show sites throughout the United States, as they celebrate 20 years of flying the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet. For the most updated schedule information, the Blue Angels Website.

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Air Force Launches New Television Program
A long-format, weekly news show, "Today's Air Force," is now available. The new program was recently introduced to help tell Air Force stories in a more in-depth manner. "Today's Air Force" features stories about the Air Force's latest programs, technology, exercises and operations among other subjects. For a list of stations carrying "Today's Air Force," view the "Today's Air Force" PDF

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New Website Records Veterans' Stories
An Atlanta citizen has launched a new website that showcases veterans' first-person accounts of war. The Witness to War website is a collection of war stories collected from veterans by Tom Beaty over the last ten years. Most of the 200 stories currently on the website are from WWII. Beaty hopes to eventually include on the website more combat stories from veterans of Korea, Vietnam, and other wars. For more information contribute your experience, visit the Witness to War website.

National World War I Museum

The National World War I Museum officially opened recently in Kansas City, Mo. The new $26 million museum features a glass floor raised several feet above a field of 9,000 red poppies, representing the 9 million combat deaths of the war. The museum was funded by $20 million in city bonds with the remainder coming from federal and private sources. For more information, including educational materials about the War, visit the National World War I Museum Website.

To locate a military-themed museum, monument or memorial, visit the Military.com Museum and Memorial Guide.

We will Never forget December 7, 1941 and 911

USS Arizona Memorial

On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Continued

Original Rare Pearl Harbor Photos

Military News / Veterans Report

Updating Air Force Selection Records
With the Lieutenant Colonel Selection Board convening in late November and the Selective Early Retirement Board and senior master sergeant board coming up in early 2007, eligible Air Force officers and SNCOs should review their records to ensure their performance reports and decorations are on file with the Selection Board Secretariat. To request a copy of a board secretariat record on file at AFPC, members use the Selection Record Request Worksheet on the board secretariat website. The member must scan and e-mail the completed worksheet to Records.Review@randolph.af.mil, or fax it to DSN 665-2693 or commercial (210) 565-2693.

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Air Force frequency jams garage door openers
Garage-door remote-control devices were recently knocked out of commission for miles around when a secretive Air Force facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., tested the radio frequency it plans to use in the event of a homeland-security threat.

It seems that the Air Force uses the same frequency that controls an estimated 50 million garage-door openers around the country.

And unless a slight adjustment can be made in the frequency, affected homeowners will have to shell out $250 each to have new units installed, according to an official with the Overhead Door Co. Article

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Get a Copy of 'The War Tapes'
Military.com has partnered up with The War Tapes to provide our members with the opportunity to purchase the DVD before it is released. All the profits will be donated to the Armed Forces Relief Trust. Click here to view the website and buy the DVD.

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VA Improves Waiting Times
Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs indicates the agency has dramatically improved its performance in seeing new veterans. In the first part of 2006, nearly 18,000 veterans had to wait thirty days or longer to see a VA doctor for the first time. By October, that number had dropped to less than 4,000. Some of the biggest improvements have come in "VISN 20," an area of the country which includes most Idaho, as well as Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and one county each in Montana and California. There are over 7 million veterans enrolled in VA health care, and VA officials report that 96 percent are able to see a primary care doctor within 30 days. To learn more about veteran's health care, visit
www.military.com/benefits/veterans-health-care.

SEND SILLY STRING AND HANDWARMERS TO TROOPS

Troops need Instant Heat Hand Warmersand Silly String
Silly String can be found in any party favor store.
When sprayed the string just spreads everywhere and when it sets it lays right on the wire. Even in a dark room the string stands out revealing the booby trap trip wires.

Help our troops by sending handwarmers and silly string to:
Marine Mom, Deborah Johns
4120 Douglas Blvd #306-442, Granite Bay, Ca. 95746