Headlines: Can the Military Ban Smoking?

From Air Force Times

Health officials to military: Ban smoking

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 30, 2009 16:53:16 EDT

Medical experts say they have a solution for the military’s increasing smoking rates:

Ban it.

And not just in basic training — stop selling cigarettes and chewing tobacco on post, stop with the discounts at the PX, don’t allow it in hospitals, and come up with a deadline when everyone should be smoke-free.

Why? It cost the Veterans Affairs Department $5 billion to treat smoking-related emphysema in 2008, and in 2006, the Military Health System spent about $564 million on tobacco-related costs.

That’s almost as much as the $611 million worth of tobacco military stores sold in 2005.

According to the Committee on Smoking Cessation in Military and Veteran Populations, in a report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the math just doesn’t add up for an organization that depends on physical fitness from its employees.

It’s not just money. Smokers are more likely to drop out of the military before they fulfill their enlistment commitments; they have worse vision and night-vision; they don’t perform as well on fitness tests; and they miss more work.

On the battlefield, they bleed harder after surgery, heal slower after injury and are at higher risk for infection.

After deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan, smokers return home only to face a startling statistic: About half of them will eventually die from a smoking-related illness, according to the Institute of Medicine report. They face cancer, stroke, heart disease, emphysema and diabetes.

“These troops are essentially putting their lives at risk twice: once in service to their country and once in service to tobacco,” wrote Stuart Bondurant, chair of the committee. “Tobacco is a long-term engagement — it kills slowly and insidiously.”

Even the good news was mixed with bad: In 1980, 51 percent of the military smoked. That had dropped to 32 percent in 2005, but it has been going back up. In the VA health system, 22 percent of patients smoke.

Though the committee determined both the Defense Department and VA are doing some things right — such as anti-smoking campaigns and, for the VA, smoking-cessation programs — they’re far behind on other measures.

“DoD and each of the armed services have a stated goal of a tobacco-free military, but tobacco-control efforts have not been given high priority by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs or the individual services’ Office of the Surgeon General,” the report states. And, “The committee believes that DoD should not subsidize an activity that adversely affects military health and readiness.”

In other words, why are cigarettes cheaper on-post?

The committee acknowledged that the military and VA face special challenges: Troops tend to take up smoking when they deploy, and cigarettes are highly addictive. That means they’re less likely to stop when they get home. In fact, 50 percent of smokers attempt to stop every year, but only between 4 and 7 percent succeed.

And, people with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to smoke.

“That is of concern, given the increased numbers of veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD and the number of Vietnam veterans who have PTSD,” the report states.

The committee recommended:

* Making sure troops and veterans know that smoking-cessation programs exist.

* Making sure those programs are consistent and evidence-based.

* Making VA and military health-care facilities smoke-free.

* Banning smoking in military academies, officer candidate schools and Reserve Officer Training Corps programs.

* Eliminating the sale of tobacco at all military installations

* Setting a specific, mandatory date by which the military will be tobacco-free.


From Stars & Stripes

Panel suggests eliminating tobacco from military within 20 years
By Travis J. Tritten, Stars and Stripes
Online edition, Tuesday, July 1, 2009

A complete ban on tobacco in the military is needed but would likely take about 20 years, according to a new Institute of Medicine study commissioned by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

The ban is possible if the DOD begins to "close the pipeline of new tobacco users entering the military" and slowly cuts off supplies of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, the Committee on Smoking Cessation in Military and Veteran Populations found in its study, which was released Friday.

The DOD and VA asked the institute for recommendations on how to deal with smoking among servicemembers.

The study gives a bleak account of the health and financial toll tobacco takes on the military, which has nearly twice the smoking rate of the civilian population.

More than 30 percent of servicemembers smoke or use tobacco, though smokeless tobacco use is less certain. Those people are more likely to drop out of basic training, have poor vision, leave the service within the first year, get sick and miss work, according to the study findings.

The 15-member committee of doctors and health care professionals said the best way to reduce the problem is to eliminate it through a phased-in tobacco ban across the services.

First, officer academies and basic training should go smoke-free and enforce the rule through urine screening. Those who test positive for nicotine could be required to take smoking cessation therapy.

All services could be free of tobacco in 20 years — if the recruit screening begins within one year, the committee said.

The study also recommended that all military installations should move toward a ban on tobacco sales by barring Army and Air Force grocery stores from selling tobacco products and increasing prices at exchange stores. The Navy and Marine Corps already have stopped selling tobacco in their commissaries.

“At the same time that tobacco results in high health care costs and productivity losses for DOD, the department earns substantial net revenues from the sale of tobacco products in military commissaries and exchanges,” the committee wrote.

The conflict of interest has made changing tobacco sales policies difficult.

In 2005, the military sold $611 million worth of tobacco and $88 million was pumped back into community programs at military installations.

But those proceeds are dwarfed by the health care costs of treating sick smokers.

The military health system spent $564 million on smoking-related illnesses in 2006. The VA spent over $5 billion in 2005 to treat a common respiratory ailment that is caused by smoking, the study said.

Meanwhile, the military needs additional focus on smoking cessation programs, which are made available to servicemembers hoping to quit.

The NIH researchers said many in the DOD have avoided pressuring smokers deployed to war zones to enter smoking cessation programs, and they had trouble finding DOD documentation on whether those smoking cessation programs were helping people quit.

“This does not inspire confidence that the programs are meeting the needs of military personnel and it prevents contributions from outside personnel on how the programs might be improved,” researchers wrote.

The cessation programs should be improved and even deployed servicemembers must be encouraged to quit tobacco by commanders, the committee recommended.

Headlines: Landed at Joint Base Balad

New Air Force surveillance aircraft makes combat debut
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, June 14, 2009


Tiffany Trojca / US Air Force
The MC-12 Liberty completes its first combat mission and lands at Balad Air Base.


A new Air Force surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft has successfully completed its debut combat mission, military officials said last week.

The MC-12 Liberty is a turboprop aircraft with a specialized four-person crew that provides full-motion video and signals intelligence. Essentially, it is a manned, souped-up version of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that roam the skies above Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Liberty is "the first of its kind," Air Force Lt. Gen. Gary North, commander of 9th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central, said in an Air Force news release. "What our Air Force teams at our various headquarters staffs have done with the program has been nothing short of miraculous. They’ve satisfied very ambitious objectives and done it alongside our industry partners to achieve combat-urgent requests in a superb fashion, from initial contracts to combat sorties inside eight months."

The first Liberty aircraft arrived in Iraq on June 8, making its debut combat mission later that day, officials said. The aircraft will be assigned to the 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron while in Iraq.

"The MC-12 is an embodiment of the Air Force’s commitment to Coalition ground forces," Lt. Col. Phillip Stewart, 362nd ERS commander, said in the statement. "Our focus is to provide dedicated, responsive [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] operations, and we’re ready to go."

The Liberty is one result of an effort ordered in April 2008 by Defense Secretary Robert Gates for the Air Force to better support troops on the ground.

Headlines: Balad Burn Pit

Lawmakers ask GAO to review burn pit data

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 27, 2009 10:33:31 EDT

After learning the Defense Department’s safety testing of a burn pit at Joint Base Balad in Iraq may have “significant methodological problems,” several lawmakers have requested a review by the Government Accountability Office.

“The [military] study found that exposures to burn-pit operations were at levels that constitute an ‘acceptable’ health risk for both cancer and non-cancer long-term health effects,” states the letter, dated May 22. “Based on our conversations with independent scientists, we are concerned that long-term adverse health effects cannot be ruled out on the basis of this study, and we would like the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the study’s methodology and findings.”

The letter comes after a series of Military Times articles showed troops have burned everything from petroleum products to dioxin-producing plastic bottles at bases throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the first reports were published in October, more than 200 service members have come forward with complaints of asthma, sleep apnea, chronic coughs, rashes, leukemia and lymphomas.



Class-action lawsuits also have been filed in nine states against KBR, the Defense Department contractor that operated many of the burn pits, and Disabled American Veterans has begun collecting names for a database of people potentially exposed to the burn pits.

Legislation also was recently introduced to more tightly regulate the military’s use of burn pits in the war zone and more closely track the potential health effects of troops exposed to smoke from the pits.

Military officials have said there are no “known long-term” health effects of exposure to the burn pits.

The military’s testing of the burn pit at Balad — the largest in Iraq, with disposal operations at one point reaching 240 tons of garbage a day — showed troops were not being exposed to chemicals beyond the military’s exposure guidelines.

Problems with methodology
“We have been informed that the joint study may have significant methodological problems and that this study cannot rule out the possibility of adverse health effects,” the letter states, referring to the testing the military conducted at Balad. “In particular, we are concerned that many service members were deployed for more than one year to Iraq or may be more susceptible for genetic or other health reasons.”

Whether the service members’ ailments are connected to the burn pits will determine whether they receive health and disability benefits from the government for service-connected injuries and illnesses.

The letter is signed by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Reps. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y.; Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Bob Filner, D-Calif.; Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D.; Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y.; Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H.; Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa.; and David Wu, D-Ore.

“A significant number of the roughly two million service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been exposed to military burn pits,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is important that we fully understand the potential ramifications of this exposure to their health.”

Headlines: 3 US soldiers killed by bomb in Baghdad

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer – Thu May 21, 9:24 am ET

BAGHDAD – Three American soldiers were killed Thursday in a bombing in Baghdad, the U.S. military said, part of a burst of violence only weeks before American combat troops are due to leave Iraqi cities.

The attack was one of a series of bombings to hit Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least 66 people and wounding dozens more in two days.

The deadliest blast Thursday occurred in Baghdad's southern Dora district, where a bomb exploded near an American foot patrol, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

The U.S. military initially reported nine U.S. personnel were wounded in the attack. Later, the military said it could not confirm that number because the injured were still being evaluated and treated.

The attack occurred about 10:38 a.m. as the soldiers patrolled near an outdoor market, said Army Maj. David Shoupe.

Iraqi police said a suicide bomber was responsible, but Shoupe said the U.S. could not confirm that. He said four civilians died in the blast, but Iraqi police and hospital officials put the civilian toll at 12 killed and 25 wounded.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Earlier Thursday, another suicide bomber killed seven U.S.-backed Sunni paramilitaries as they waited in a line to receive salaries at an Iraqi military base in the northern city of Kirkuk.

Police Maj. Salam Zankana said the victims in the Kirkuk attack were members of the local paramilitary Awakening Council — Sunnis who turned against the insurgents and help provide security. Eight others were wounded, he said.

Awakening Council members, also known as Sons of Iraq, have been frequently targeted by al-Qaida and other Sunni groups still fighting U.S. troops and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government.

Sami Ghayashi, 37, who was among the injured, said the local council members had been waiting three months to receive their salaries.

"While we were waiting at gate talking to one another a big explosion took place," he said from his hospital bed. "I saw several colleagues dead, among them my cousin. I have no idea how this suicide bomber got among us."

Also Thursday, a bomb exploded inside a police station in western Baghdad, killing three policemen and wounding 19 others, an Iraqi police official said. The bomb was hidden inside a trash can and carried into the station, he added.

The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Despite a dramatic drop in violence in Iraq, attacks still occur, although with less frequency. Bursts of attacks tend to be followed by periods of calm, only to have the violence spring up again.

The attacks came a day after a car bomb exploded near a group of restaurants in a Shiite neighborhood of northwest Baghdad, leaving 41 people dead and more than 70 others injured.

That incident was the capital's first major car-bombing since May 6, when 15 people were killed at a produce market in south Baghdad.It was also the deadliest in the city since twin car blasts killed 51 people in another Shiite neighborhood, Sadr City, on April 29.

The failure to stop the bombings adds pressure on the Iraqi government to demonstrate that it can meet security challenges ahead of a June 30 deadline for the U.S. to remove all combat forces from Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.

A day after the Shula bombing, dozens were still being treated at an area hospital for shrapnel wounds and burns. The blast blew out the front of a building housing shops and restaurants.

Coffins draped with flags were carried through the streets near the bombing as funerals began for the dead.

U.S. troops are due to leave Iraqi cities under terms of the U.S.-Iraq security agreement that took effect Jan. 1. President Barack Obama plans to remove combat troops from the country by September 2010, with all U.S. forces out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

Under the agreement, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki could ask the U.S. to delay the pullout from the cities. However, the issue is politically sensitive in a country worn out by six years of war, and the government has insisted there will be no delay in the withdrawal schedule.

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There is still a US Military Combat Surgical Hospital (CSH) in Baghdad. But it is possible we will see these soldiers at Joint Base Balad.

Headlines: 33 dead in suicide attack on Iraq tribal leaders

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber struck Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders and high-ranking security officials touring a market after a reconciliation meeting west of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 33 people. The attack raised concerns about a spike in violence as the U.S. military begins to drawn down its forces.

Despite the ongoing violence, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said he does not believe the Iraqi government will ask Americans to remain in the country past a 2011 deadline set by a security agreement between the two countries.

The bombing — which left clusters of bodies near the shabby market stalls lining a road — was the third large-scale attack in less than a week.

It was the latest in a wave that has marred an announcement Sunday by the U.S. military that 12,000 American troops and 4,000 Britons will be withdrawn from the country by September — the first step in fulfilling President Barack Obama's pledge to end America's part in the war by the end of 2011.

U.S. troops are to leave the cities by the end of June, but the attacks raise questions about whether Iraqi security forces will be able to cope with persistent violence.

Baghdad and surrounding areas face bombings on a daily basis despite security gains, but the latest attacks were the deadliest in nearly a month — indicating that insurgents retain the ability to mount increasingly effective suicide bombings despite heavy security precautions.

Nobody claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blast, but the spate of bombings echoed previous al-Qaida style attacks, evoking the possibility of a new insurgent campaign to provoke sectarian violence although it was too early to tell.

Tuesday's bomber detonated an explosives belt as the tribal leaders were walking through the market in the town of Abu Ghraib, accompanied by security officials and journalists, according to the Iraqi military.

Two Iraqi television journalists from the privately owned Baghdadiya station were among those killed in the attack. Four staffers of the state television network were also wounded, one seriously, their station said.

The owner of a nearby auto repair shop said he heard somebody shout "God is Great" before the blast and it was followed by heavy shooting by the security forces.

"I hid for a while, but then I raised my head to see scattered bodies, including women and children, and some surviving women and children were screaming out of fear," Ahmed Ali, 33, said.

Shakir Fizaa, the mayor of Abu Ghraib, blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, saying the militants "seized on today's big meeting to carry out the attack."

Most of the tribal leaders had just left his office along with security officials, including a deputy Interior Minister, after the meeting and were chatting with people in the market when the blast occurred, he said.

He also said some of the casualties were caused by the ensuing gunfire from security forces.

"This terrorist attack was aimed at stopping reconciliation and the improvement in the security situation," he told The Associated Press. "But we will not be deterred by the acts of the vicious group."

Last Sunday, a suicide attacker killed 30 people near the police academy in east Baghdad. A car bomb also tore through a livestock market in the Shiite city of Hillah on March 5, killing 13 people.

Abu Ghraib is a mainly Sunni district that also is the site of the prison where U.S. soldiers were photographed abusing inmates, igniting a scandal that was one of the biggest setbacks to American efforts to win the peace in Iraq.

The area was once one of the most dangerous in Iraq but has seen a sharp decline in violence after a decision by local Sunni tribal leaders to turn against al-Qaida in Iraq.

The 2011 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw was set in a security agreement that took effect on Jan. 1. There has been speculation the Iraqis may ask the U.S. for an extension.

But Gen. Ray Odierno told the AP in an interview that he has received no indication that Iraqi leaders want that to happen.

Odierno left the door open to the possibility, however, saying "never say never."

The reconciliation meeting the Sunni and Shiite sheiks were holding Tuesday before they were attacked was one of many the Iraqi government has been encouraging to heal the rifts between the Muslim sects after years of sectarian violence that pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, last week went so far as to call on Iraqis to reconcile with former supporters of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime who have been shunned by the Shiite government that rose to power after the U.S. invasion.

Iraqi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information, said 33 people were killed and 46 wounded in Tuesday's attack.

But the Iraqi military spokesman's office put the toll slightly lower, at 28 people killed and 28 wounded.

Conflicting casualty tolls are common in the chaotic aftermath of bombings.

A car bomb parked near the heavily barricaded municipality building in the mainly Christian town of Hamdaniya, near the northern city of Mosul, also exploded on Tuesday, killing two civilians and wounding eight others, according to police.

Headlines: US says 12,000 US troops to leave Iraq by Sept.

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer 3-8-09

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military announced Sunday that 12,000 American and 4,000 British troops will leave Iraq by September — hours after a suicide bomber struck police and recruits lined up at the entrance of Baghdad's main academy, killing 32 people.

The blast — the second major attack to hit Iraqis in three days and the deadliest to strike Baghdad in nearly a month — was a bloody reminder of the ability of insurgents to defy security improvements and stage dramatic attacks as the U.S. begins to draw down its forces.

Maj. Gen. David Perkins said the troop withdrawals will reduce U.S. combat power from 14 brigades to 12 along with some supporting units. The U.S. also plans to turn over 74 facilities and areas under its control to the Iraqis by the end of March as part of the drawdown.

President Barack Obama has decided to remove all combat troops by the end of August 2010 with the remaining forces leaving by the end of 2011. The 4,000 British troops due to leave are the last British soldiers in Iraq.

The U.S. withdrawal will be gradual at first, leaving most troops in place for parliamentary elections at the end of this year. There are currently about 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Remaining American forces will be repositioned in coordination with Iraqi authorities to ensure the most dangerous areas of the country are protected, Perkins said.

Perkins insisted violence has dropped more than 90 percent and was at its lowest level since the summer of 2003, claiming a recent spate of high-profile attacks, including Sunday's bombing, was evidence of an increasingly desperate al-Qaida in Iraq.

"Al-Qaida and other terrorists are still active," he said, adding insurgents appear to be stepping up attacks to derail recent progress by the Iraqi government in holding provincial elections and in reaching a new security agreement with the United States.

"It's indicative that al-Qaida feels threatened. They're feeling desperate. They want very much to maintain relevance," he said.

The bomber on Sunday detonated his explosives as he drove his motorcycle into a group of people waiting near a side entrance of the academy, which is in a mainly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad.

Iraqi and U.S. forces sealed off the scene, allowing only ambulances and fire engines to enter. Nervous Iraqi troops fired in the air to prevent onlookers and reporters from getting too close. They accidentally shot at a fire engine but no casualties were reported, according to witnesses.

Extremists increasingly have targeted Iraqi forces as they take over the country's security so the American troops can go home.

Baghdad's main police academy has been hit by several bombings. Another suicide bombing there killed at least 33 people and wounded dozens on Dec. 1.

Haitham Fadhel said he was standing in one of three lines of recruits arriving for their first day of special guard training courses at the academy.

"We were feeling secure as we were waiting in a well-guarded area," he said. "Before the explosion occurred I heard a loud shout saying 'Stop, stop, where are you going?' Seconds later, a huge explosion shook the area."

The 24-year-old recruit from the mainly Shiite neighborhood of New Baghdad was knocked unconscious and was wounded by shrapnel. He said he was lucky because the bomber struck a different line, but two of his friends were killed.

"I am just wondering how a big security breach can occur in such a secured area," Fadhel said. "I came here to get a job after four years of staying at home even though I graduated from Oil Institute ... but it seems that I have no luck."

Iraqi officials provided conflicting casualty tolls, as is common in the chaotic aftermath of bombings.

Three medical officials and one police officer in the area where the bombing occurred said 32 people were killed, including 19 recruits, nine policemen and four traffic police, and some 60 others were wounded.

Another police officer said 28 were killed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said 24 people were killed and more than 60 wounded.

Headlines: Iraqi police: Female suicide bomber kills 40

By Hamid Ahmed, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – A female suicide bomber attacked a tent filled with women and children resting from a pilgrimage to a Shiite holy city south of Baghdad on Friday, killing 40 people and injuring 60 others, said officials. It was the deadliest attack in Iraq this year and the third straight day of bombings against Shiite pilgrims.

The tent where the bomber detonated her explosives was located on a route to Karbala, where hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims will converge for an important religious ceremony on Monday, said a police official. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Separate tents for men and women are set up along the road to Karbala to offer pilgrims food, drinks and a place to rest.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf confirmed the attack and said security officials were rushing to the scene, located between the cities of Mussayib and Iskandariyah about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

Mohammed Abbas, a medical official in Mussayib, said most of the dead and wounded from the attack were women and children.

Mussa al-Kadhem, a procession leader, said he was standing with other men serving tea to passing pilgrims when he spotted the suicide bomber walking in the opposite direction of the pilgrims.

Al-Kadhem said a "suspicious-looking woman" wearing a black abaya robe "and with her face covered came into the tent and sat down."

"As soon as some people asked who she was ... there was a huge explosion," he said.

In the aftermath of the explosion, witnesses said the pilgrims ran over each other trying to escape.

A man carrying his injured child wrapped in a red and yellow blanket, screamed at onlookers: "What is my son's fault? What did he do? What kind of belief system do these people have? Are they monsters?"

Hussein Faris, a 39-year-old from Baghdad who lost his wife in the attack and was wounded in the stomach, said people at the scene panicked.

"I was so terrified," said Faris. "People nearby stampeded, and many were hurt by that."

Sadiya Kadom, a 40-year-old woman from Baghdad, said she was walking near the tent at the time of the explosion and suffered injuries to her legs and hands.

"It was a horrific scene with dead and screaming injured people on the ground," said Kadom.

The attacks against the pilgrims appear to be part a Sunni extremist campaign to rekindle the sectarian conflict that nearly plunged the country into full-scale civil war two years ago.

On Thursday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt packed with nails among Shiite worshippers in Karbala near the revered Imam Hussein shrine, killing eight pilgrims and wounding more than 50.

A day earlier, at least 12 people were killed and more than 40 wounded in bombings in Baghdad that targeted Shiite pilgrims traveling to Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the south.

Iraqi officials have mounted an extensive security operation to protect the pilgrims, who will be celebrating Monday's end of 40 days of mourning that follow Ashoura, the anniversary of the seventh-century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein.

He was killed in a battle near Karbala for the leadership of the nascent Muslim nation following Muhammad's death in 632. His death contributed to the split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

About 40,000 Iraqi troops have been deployed along major routes to Karbala, and officials say security cameras have been installed near the Imam Hussein shrine to keep a lookout for possible threats.

Despite strict security, al-Qaida and other extremist groups have frequently targeted Shiite pilgrims during religious commemorations, which were severely curtailed under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.

Last March, a female suicide bomber attacked Shiite worshippers in Karbala, killing at least 49. At least 85 people died in a suicide bombing in Karbala in March 2004.

The chief U.N. official in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, has said the attacks against pilgrims were "clearly designed to provoke sectarian tensions" that many Iraqis hope are in the past.

The number of female suicide bombers in Iraq has been growing. Last year, they attempted or successfully carried out 32 attacks, compared with eight in 2007, according to U.S. military figures.

Also Friday, an old mortar round killed two young boys — ages 10 and 15 — who were playing in the backyard of a farm house in Musayyib, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Baghdad, said a police official. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
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It's such a shame that countrymen kill their own. And we all know that these holy pilgrimages are a huge target for insurgents. More and more women are being used because no one will search them, and they wear loose fitting garmets.

Headlines: More servicemembers fighting battle of bulge

By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The percentage of active-duty troops who are overweight or obese has more than doubled since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, according to a recently released Pentagon study, with stress and return from deployments as the top reasons for weight gain.

For the study, military health officials reviewed servicemembers’ outpatient records from 1998 to 2008, using the Body Mass Index scale to determine which troops were overweight or obese.

For the first four years of the study, the number and percentage of overweight troops remained relatively stable, even dipping slightly in 2001. Since that time, however, the number of overweight troops has ballooned from about 25,000 in 2001 to nearly 70,000 in 2008, according to the review, contained in the January edition of the Defense Department’s Medical Surveillance Monthly Report.

"In the past decade among active military members in general, the percent of military members who experience medical encounters for overweight/obesity has steadily increased," according to the report’s editorial comment section. "Since 2003, rates of increase have generally accelerated."

In 2003, the number of troops who were overweight/obese was about 1.75 percent of the active-duty population. Now, that number is 4.4 percent, or 68,786 troops. The biggest rate increase occurred between 2005 and 2007, when the percentage climbed from 2.9 percent to 4 percent.

Women made up the highest percentage of overweight active-duty personnel, with a rate of 7.2 percent of all servicemembers.

Other findings included:

Troops working in health care were the most likely to be overweight/obese, at 6.9 percent of the active-duty population of the field.
Air Force members had the highest percentage of troops who were overweight at 6.7 percent. Marines were the lowest with 1.2 percent.
The age group with the highest percentage of overweight troops were those above 40 at 6.6 percent. Not surprisingly, troops younger than 20 had the lowest percentage diagnosed as overweight/obese at 1.6 percent.
Medical personnel at the U.S. Navy hospital in Naples, Italy, say the report gives them an idea of where to focus their efforts in regard to the health of the military community, said Navy Lt. Kathleen Brennan, of the hospital’s Health Promotions program.

"[Overweight/obesity] issues are found throughout the military active duty and dependent population of [Naval Support Activity] Naples just by visually examining the community," she wrote in an e-mail. "However, we do not see as high of numbers of overweight and obesity as the non-military community."

Generally, the issue of overweight soldiers is a concern for the Army. But for troops and families in Europe, additional help is on the way.

In the coming weeks, "we are beginning a campaign to increase patient awareness of our wellness centers," said Phil Tegtmeier, a spokesman for European Regional Medical Command.

The Air Force in Europe was unable to reply to queries by deadline.

The DOD report concluded that the percentage of troops who are overweight/obese "is a significant military medical concern because it is associated with decreased military operational effectiveness, and both acute and chronic adverse health effects."

The result of the analysis suggests the military is significantly affected by weight problems similar to those facing young Americans, the report stated.

"‘Nutritional fitness’ should be a priority of military medical and line leaders at every level," it said.

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Somethings I've noticed around here (at Joint Base Balad, Iraq).
1. There is very poor portion control at the DFAC; they want to serve you big pieces, you can get double or more of anything, desserts are available every meal (and ice cream),and there is plenty of soda & Gatorade.
2. Everyone seems to get boxes of candy or can easily find some from various places around the base that get those "any service member" boxes and they put out the candy jar (the Command hallway at the hospital is a minefield of candy boxes).
3. Plenty of junk food is available at the BX and the Shoppette, and there are fast food joints (Burger King, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Cinnabon, Subway) in various places around the base. So far I've only been to the Subway.
4. Not as many Army guys are hoofing it on patrols in full gear anymore. Many of them sit around for a day or two between "missions" (which is ultimately safer for them). While some workout at the gym (and there are a large number of folks who have made working out a type of religion for themselves), there are probably an equal number who sit around the rec centers watching movies, playing video games, or just socializing.
5. The conflict in the Middle East really showed how much the Air Force needed to improve physical fitness to keep up with the other services and this helped change our PT testing policies a few years ago. Previously in the Air Force, you worked out on your own and did a bike VO2 max test once a year. Now we have upgraded to testing our fitness with a 1 1/2 mile run, pushups & situps, and waist circumference. But the Reserves do not typically participate in the squadron physical training sessions three or more times a week that the active duty folks have. And there are many non-active jobs in the Air Force. Many that require skill sets so important, there are probably more 'waivers' for decreased fitness or increased weight than in the other services (but some base commanders are really cutting down on these).

On the flight over here, when folks found out I was the dietitian, I can't tell you how many said they planned to lose weight during their deployment. Both the hospital and the H6 Gym are offering weight loss/wellness competitions. I can't run outside (the air sucks and I can't use my headphones outside) but I am using the elliptical at the gym and have improved my pushups/situps this past month. I think I've lost a few pounds since I got here (my goal will be 10#, but I wouldn't be upset if I came home 15# lighter).

Headlines: USAFE luring personnel to phishing exercise

By Matt Millham, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, February 7, 2009

U.S. Air Forces in Europe has launched an information awareness campaign that will include at least one faux hoax.

Spurred by the widespread misuse of removable flash media devices, those in charge of securing USAFE’s computer networks plan to lure servicemembers and Air Force civilians into giving up personal information in a theaterwide con sometime between now and May.

"We hope that people know about it when it does happen," said Master Sgt. Dustin Ruland, USAFE cyber surety program manager.

USAFE’s computer gurus have redoubled their efforts to educate Air Force personnel in Europe about proper use of government systems through a series of computer pop-ups and a print and online media campaign.

They want personnel to know what to do before they launch the next phase of the campaign, which will include administrator-generated "glitches" and a "phishing" scam that could net them such information as Social Security numbers, bank data or computer passwords.

"Our goal is to not catch anybody," Ruland said. "If we do the phishing exercise and we get zero hits, we did our job properly."

So far, the pop-up campaign, which began Wednesday, has drawn little notice from airmen, who are used to clicking through a sea of computer pop-ups as they go through their daily routines.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Pearson, a member of the 1st Communications Maintenance Squadron at Kapaun Air Station, said he didn’t know about the stepped-up efforts, "but I don’t read all the little pop-ups that pop up," he said.

"There’s a new one every day," and he just doesn’t pay attention to them.

Still, he and others in his unit knew what to do in case of a glitch or scam e-mail.
"We go through a lot of training," said Staff Sgt. Charles Franklin.

Nevertheless, not everybody is following the rules, according to officials.

"The goal of this campaign is education and awareness," said Master Sgt. Chad Pope, USAFE communications security program manager.

"We’re not trying to be tricky. We just want to make sure people understand the rules and follow them."

HEADLINES: Pakistan: Trucks torched along US supply line

By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Assailants torched 10 trucks stranded in Pakistan by the bombing of a key bridge on the main supply route for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday.

Increasing attacks on transport depots and truck convoys heading to bases across the border have raised doubts about Pakistan's ability to protect the vital road as the U.S. prepares to send as many as 30,000 more American forces into Afghanistan this year.

Attackers set fire to at least 10 trucks parked overnight near Landi Kotal, a town close to the famed Khyber Pass that connects Pakistan with Afghanistan, local government official Fazl Rabi said.

The trucks were returning from Afghanistan and it was unclear if they had carried goods for foreign troops, Rabi said.

U.S. officials have played down any concern about running out of food or fuel, despite pressure on their supply lines. American forces stockpile enough supplies to last 60-90 days in the event that their supply chain is severed, U.S. officials say.

The Khyber route was cut Tuesday when suspected militants set off a bomb that wrecked a bridge across a rocky gorge near the pass. The red metal bridge was twisted and partially collapsed at one end.

Bakhtiar Khan, another local government official, said Pakistan army engineers were working on the bridge with the aim of reopening it by Thursday.

Khan said cars and other small vehicles were able to cross the gorge by picking their way along a rough track that crossed the dry river bed near the bridge but that no trucks were moving.

Some 75 percent of U.S. supplies to Afghanistan currently travel through Pakistan, and securing efficient and safe supply routes into Afghanistan has become a top priority for U.S. officials.

With Taliban militants gaining strength on both sides of the border, American and NATO officials have been seeking alternative routes through Central Asia.

But Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday raised a new obstacle for the U.S. by threatening to close American access to a Kyrgyz air base. The U.S. Embassy in the Central Asian country said Wednesday that both sides were still in talks on maintaining a base there.

Meanwhile, militants released 30 police and paramilitary officers they kidnapped late Tuesday after surrounding a police station in the Swat Valley, a police officer said. The valley, in Pakistan's northwest, was once a popular tourist destination but the growing influence of insurgents and a related surge in violence have made it too dangerous for travelers.

Swat police cheif Dilawar Khan Bangash said the men were released after pressure from tribal elders.

On Monday, John Solecki, an American U.N. worker was kidnapped as he traveled to work in Quetta city in Baluchistan. Police said it was not clear whether Islamist militants, criminals seeking a ransom payment or members of a regional separatist group were responsible. Authorities are questioning more than a dozen people in connection with the abduction.

HEADLINES: Kyrgyzstan to close U.S. base used to supply Afghanistan

By Tom Lasseter, McClatchy Newspapers

MOSCOW — In a setback to the escalating U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan , the president of Kyrgyzstan said Tuesday that his government will shut down the American air base in his country.

U.S. officials say that the Manas Air Base is vital to plans to send an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan , a linchpin of President Barack Obama's efforts to pacify the country.

The announcement by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev came in Moscow , not in his own capital, and shortly after the Russian government reportedly agreed to lend Kyrgyzstan $2 billion , write off $180 million in debt and add another $150 million in aid. Although the Russian government didn't release a statement about the decision, the timing and place of the announcement indicated that the Kremlin had been involved.

The Russian government has been pushing to restore its clout in the former Soviet sphere of influence — despite deep economic problems at home — a trend that most analysts say will make Obama's dealings with Russia delicate at best.

"It's a direct challenge to the new American administration. Russia is going out of its way to close an American base," said Pavel Felgenhauer , a Moscow -based military analyst.

Two weeks ago, Gen. David Petraeus , the head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East and south Asia , said that senior Kyrgyz officials had assured him that there were no discussions between the country and Russia about closing the base in exchange for aid.

The Manas installation is viewed as "the premier air-mobility hub" for U.S. and allied operations in Afghanistan , with about 1,000 military personnel from America, Spain and France stationed there, according to a U.S. Air Force Web site.

Bakiyev explained in Moscow that the decision had been made because "we have repeatedly raised with the United States the matter of economic compensation for the existence of the base in Kyrgyzstan , but we have not been understood," Russian news wires reported.

Bakiyev said that after the base opened in 2001 the understanding was that "it was one or two years that were being talked about. Eight years have passed."

Last month, the Kremlin said it would open transportation lines through Russia to Afghanistan to help U.S. forces circumvent the violence-plagued route across the Pakistani border.

Analyst Felgenhauer said the message from the two actions was clear: The Kremlin is willing to help the American military in Afghanistan , but only on the condition that the United States recognizes its authority in central Asia .

Or, more simply put, "we will not allow their bases in our sphere of influence," said Felgenhauer, a critic of Kremlin policy.

Although he didn't cite the base closing, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a point of saying in Moscow that Kyrgyzstan and Russia "are open to coordinated action" with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan .

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My husband, konashark, was in Afghanistan last year, stationed at Kabul Airport for six months. He flew in and out by way of Manas. I wonder what time frame they expect for this closure. And someone else suggested that maybe the Russian government is poking Obama - is this a test?

Headlines: Obama asks Pentagon for responsible Iraq drawdown

By ANNE GEARAN and LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writers Anne Gearan And Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writers – Wed Jan 21, 9:38 pm ET

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, in a meeting with his top national security advisers Wednesday, asked the Pentagon to do whatever additional planning is necessary to "execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq."

Obama's statement, issued by the White House after the gathering, opened his much-anticipated effort to withdraw troops more swiftly than the previous administration had proposed. It made no reference to any timeline or his campaign vow to get combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months.

"The meeting was productive and I very much appreciated receiving assessments from these experienced and dedicated individuals," Obama said. "During the discussion, I asked the military leadership to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq."

He added that he would soon travel to the Pentagon and meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the schedule is not confirmed, said that meeting with the Joint Chiefs — the president's senior uniformed military advisers — would come within a week.

"We will undertake a full review of the situation in Afghanistan in order to develop a comprehensive policy for the entire region," Obama said.

Wednesday's strategy session included Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, both critics of the management of the war. Officials familiar with the meeting declined to disclose details of what was discussed.

"This is a logical first step for a new president that wants to learn about or to speak to the people that are most directly involved," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

The White House meeting was part of a symbolic framing of a new president's agenda on his first full day in office, but it did not completely fulfill Obama's oft-repeated pledge to bring in the Joint Chiefs of Staff on his first day in office and order a close to a war he opposed.

Shutting down the war will be more complicated than that, and the Joint Chiefs are not the only players.

The agenda as announced by the White House included the U.S. ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Crocker; another State Department representative and Gen. David Petraeus, who is responsible for managing both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Mike Mullen, attended along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Both are holdovers from the Bush administration, now getting new instructions.

The top general in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, was participating by video hookup. He has already drawn up one set of withdrawal plans but would have to get things moving faster if he is to meet Obama's timetable.

The agenda for Obama's White House meeting changed several times. At one point it was to include a broader look at the war in Afghanistan, which Obama has said was hobbled by a misguided focus on Iraq.

The Pentagon first said that the top commander in Afghanistan would participate, and then said he would not.

Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, told Associated Press Television News on Tuesday that Iraq is willing to have the U.S. withdraw its troops and assume security for the country "before the end of 2011," the departure date agreed to by former President George W. Bush in November.

Senior military leaders had been wary of any timeline, saying that withdrawal plans should be keyed to continued security improvements, but have said that they could meet either the deadline set with Iraq or the shorter one Obama wants.

There are currently about 143,000 U.S. forces in Iraq, as many as 8,000 more than were there before the troop buildup, which began in early 2007 and contributed in part to the decline in violence. There are about 34,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, including 17,000 in the NATO-led coalition and another 17,000 fighting insurgents and training Afghan forces.

___

Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

Headlines: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl

Fri Jan 9, 7:13 am ET
BAGHDAD – American troops in Iraq will be allowed to drink beer without fear of court-martial for this year's Super Bowl — an exception to a strict military ban on drinking alcohol in combat zones.

In what is sure to be a major morale boost, the top U.S. commander in Iraq Gen. Raymond Odierno issued a waiver Wednesday paving the way for troops to participate in the popular American football tradition.

Super Bowl XLIII will kick off on Feb. 1 in Tampa, Florida, but it will be 2 a.m. in Baghdad when the live broadcast starts in Iraq. Troops will gather in dining halls on military bases nationwide to watch the game.

A copy of the waiver said the consumption of alcoholic beverages will be limited to Feb. 1-2 and service members can only have two, 12-ounce beers each.

Odierno also appeared to acknowledge the sensitivity of drinking alcohol in an Islamic country, particularly considering the game falls during a holy period for Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims.

The waiver orders commanders to "keep in mind all host nation laws and customs regarding alcohol consumption" and "to exercise discretion and good judgment in enforcing these guidelines and restrictions."

U.S. troops have been banned from drinking, possessing or selling alcoholic beverages under a general order that also bans them from possessing pornography and other activities. They can face a reduction in pay or rank or even a court-martial if they violate the rule.

The Washington Post reported that several service members said the only other time the ban was lifted was in 2005, for troops operating under the Baghdad command.

Drinking alcohol isn't illegal in Iraq but is banned under Islam, and extremists have frequently targeted liquor stores.

The exemption comes as the U.S. military faces stricter Iraqi oversight under a new security agreement that took effect on Jan. 1.

Violence has declined dramatically over the past year, and the Americans are involved in less combat, focusing more on their training and advisory roles.

Headlines: Iraq takes control of Green Zone from US

Just posted by AP

BAGHDAD (AP)– The United States handed over control of the Green Zone and Saddam Hussein's presidential palace to Iraqi authorities on Thursday in a ceremonial move described by the country's prime minister as a restoration of Iraq's sovereignty.

Full story as posted by AP.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. forces in Iraq came under an Iraqi mandate on Thursday, an event the country's leader said had finally restored Iraq's sovereignty nearly six years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Here is the Reuter's version.