Iraq is a country that has been subjected to an ongoing battle for dominance for over 4500 years. Nestled between the Tigiris and Euphrates Rivers, Mesoptamia or modern day Iraq lies in the heart of the fabled “Fertile Crescent.” From the earliest times, the struggles for the region have often been dictated by the need for natural resources.
Currently the United States and its “coalition of the willing” occupies the country, however the Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, and British - not to mention the indigenous peoples - have all buried their dead in this land.

Here are 10 key battles from the violent history of Iraq

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This newly redesigned Russian military uniform was unveiled last months at Russia’s Defense Ministry. The new uniform was designed by a famous Russian designer Valentin Yudashkin and although the picture doesn’t seem to focus too much on the uniform, it does say a thousand words about the good looking chick wearing it!

SLEEP LAST NIGHT?

Bed a little lumpy…

Toss and turn any…

Wish the heat was higher…

Maybe the a/c wasn’t on…

Had to go to the john…

Need a drink of water…

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Yes.. It is like that!

Count your blessings, pray for them,

Talk to your Creator

And the next time when …

The other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes, or you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be, or you’re served slightly warm food at the restaurant, or you’re sitting and cursing the traffic in front of you, or the shower runs out of hot water,

Think of them…
Protecting your freedom!

The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute to our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is by taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel. It would be awesome if you could find a way to share this with our fellow countrymen.

I was wondering if there was any way to get this into your papers to let the world know that “WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN” and are proud to serve our country.”

Semper Fi

1stSgt Dave Jobe

The attached photo was forwarded from one of the last U.S. Marine companies in Iraq They would like to have it passed to as many people as possible, to let the folks back home know that they remember why they’re there and that they remember those who’ve been lost.

It has always been a goal to improve our military strength and skill over our soldiers. DARPA has been at the fore-front of technology that is taking this to a new level. A robotic exoskeleton that would let GIs run faster, leap further and carry more is starting to materialize and become reality. A very practical and ambitious idea that is allowing many more options for our military.

According to DARPA, the exoskeletons will be delivered for Army testing in 2008. After 14 companies and universities initially (circa 2001) came up with different designs, they have selected the firm that will build the beast: Sarcos of Salt Lake City in Utah, US.

Sarcos has come up with a system that uses just one engine instead of lots of them. The engine, and a tank containing a 24-hour supply of fuel, will be slung ‘beneath your rear end’ says Main. The engine (a turbine, two-stroke or four stroke - they haven’t decided yet) will then drive hydraulic fluid via high pressure lines to servo valves on each joint, amplifying the force used to move each limb when the wearer’s motion is sensed.

“It makes you feel really, really strong. You get the sensation that you have a lot of strength. I sort of felt like The Hulk and I’m a skinny guy. I wore a 100-pound weight on my back and it felt I was carrying nothing like that amount,”

In 2006, Engineers in Japan were perfecting a wearable power suit that amplifies human strength to help lift hospital patients or heavy objects. It was driven by portable batteries, micro air pumps and small body sensors that pick up even the slightest muscle twitch. Lead by project researcher Hirokazu Noborisaka, the Stand-Alone Wearable Power Assist Suit was designed to help nursing home workers lift patients of up to 180 pounds while cutting the amount of strength required in half.

However, that suit needed to be more flexible for easier movement and protective cover that shrouds the suit’s sensitive or sharp areas.

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Sent to my Email that has by now I am sure cycle the globe of Email inboxes of many military members already, but if not I wanted to include them here.

During the WW I years, Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas made some incredible human pictures
by using thousands of sailors or soldiers in uniform to create the following images.

Click the photo to view the images:

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Spc. Channing Moss is lucky to be alive, after a fierce ambush and bloody firefight his buddies, a helicopter crew and a medical team would risk their own lives to save his.

On March the 16th, 2007 Alpha Company platoon had set out from Forward Operating Base Tillman around 8 a.m. for a meeting with tribal leaders in the village of Srah Kandah in Paktika province near the Pakistan border. Moss, then a private first class, was manning a Mark 19 machine gun in the turret of his up-armored Humvee when his unit, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was attacked by Afghan Forces.

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British defense researchers have invented a means to cloak tanks and make them invisible tank. London’s Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Sun all report on tests conducted by the Ministry of Defence last week in which a tank rolled across a field, completely invisible to observers standing at a certain point.

“This technology is incredible,” an unnamed soldier was quoted by the Daily Mail and Sun. “If I hadn’t been present I wouldn’t have believed it. I looked across the fields and just saw grass and trees but in reality I was staring down the barrel of a tank gun.”

Although as you first heard this topic, it is not as mystical as it might seem. The technology relies on heavy use of camera and projectors. Basically, a camera films the background, which is then projected upon a special surface applied to something in the foreground in this case, a tank.

You can see the similar technology in the following video that has gained a lot of popularity on the internet

Sir John Pendry of Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading experts on surface reflectivity and lead author of a widely reported paper last year that said:

“Cloak of invisibility is theoretically possible. The drawback at the moment is the dependence upon cameras and projectors,” the Sun quoted Pendry, who did not confirm an implied connection with the defense project. “The next stage is to make the tank invisible without them which is intricate and complicated, but possible.”

Ever since I was a little kid, I knew this type of technology would eventually surface if it hadn’t already. Below in the video by General Dynamics you can see Trophy Active Defense System in action. It offers an invisible force field for military vehicles that disables incoming RPG rounds.

The system can simultaneously engage several threats, arriving from different directions, is effective on stationary or moving platforms, and is effective against short and long range threats (such as RPGs and ATGM). Trophy was designed to be effective in open or closed terrain, including urban area and can be operated under all weather conditions

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are always pushing the boundaries; continuing to develop Defensive Technology, and their latest invention is no exception.

At some point in the not too distant future, a moth implanted with a computer chip will take flight into enemy territories in hope to spy and transmit a video feed as well as other information back to base. The computer chip implanted whilst the creature is still a pupa, in the cocoon, enables the moth’s entire nervous system to be controlled remotely. The moth will thus be capable of landing in the camp without arousing suspicion, all the while transmitting information back to its masters via what its developers refer to as a “reliable tissue-machine interface.” More importantly however, this Cyborg Moth will help bring down terrorist and thwart future terrorism plots.

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Israeli women play a vital role in the Israeli Armed Forces. All citizens are drafted at the age of 18, the guys are required to complete of 3 years service and the women 2 years. With a whole country of 18-20 year old ladies attending the Armed Forces perhaps the guys would not have to be automatically drafted if some these pictures were used in recruitment campaigns.

Here is a Collection of Israel’s Military Armed Forces Finest!

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Range, speed and flexibility. Hard rules once defined by the limitations of previous medium-lift helicopters. The V-22 is the world’s first production tilt-rotor combines the vertical performance of a helicopter with the high speed and range of a fixed wing aircraft which offers twice the speed, three times the payload, five times the range, and can fly more than twice as high as older rotor craft it is destined to replace. The Osprey is about to revolutionize military air transport in a way that has not been seen since the introduction of helicopters more than 50 years ago.

The Osprey is a tilt rotor vertical/short take off and landing (VSTOL) multi-mission aircraft with capabilities like no other. Combining the vertical flight capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of a turbo prop airplane it permits air to aerial refueling and worldwide self deployment.

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Iraq war veteran Sgt. Juan Arredondo can now grasp tennis balls and door knobs with his left hand again, now that he’s been outfitted with a bionic hand that has flexible fingers. This brings new meaning and current implementation to once futuristic themes such as Terminator, Robo Cop and Star Wars.

The 27-year-old former Army soldier, who lost his left hand in 2005 during a patrol in Iraq when a IED exploded through the left side of his vehicle, is one of the first recipients of the i-LIMB. Arredondo was on patrol in Iraq on Feb. 28, 2005, when an explosive device blasted through the left side of his vehicle. As he jumped from the driver’s seat, he noticed that his left hand was still clutching the steering wheel. At San Antonio’s Brooke Army Medical Center, he was stabilized enough to have his amputated arm closed up and readied for a prosthesis. He went through two artificial arms until finally receiving the i-Limb.

“To have this movement, it’s — it’s amazing! My son tells me I’m half robot, half man,”

Arredondo said Monday as he showed off the limb made by Scotland-based Touch Bionics.

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The Transformers was an American cartoon series depicting a war between giant robots who could transform into vehicles, animals, and other objects.In Japan, the series was called Fight! Super Robot Life Form Transformers (??! ?????????????????, Tatakae! Cho Robotto Seimeitai Toransuf?m?). The Transformers toy-line and cartoon series owed their existence to the Japanese toyline, Microman (an Eastern descendant of the 12 inch G.I. Joe action figure series). For many, like myself, Transformers were a huge part of their childhood and this movie was long awaited. The technology and computer graphics in the 80s or even 90s were not advance enough to accurately portray the concept behind Transformers. Today’s CGI technology has finally caught up and Steven Spielberg’s and Dream Works team went all out!

Transformers quickly grossed astronomical amounts attributing to Steven Spielberg’s and Dream Works continued success. Anyone who has seen Transformers knows why this movie is in the Top 20 at theaters and already grossed over $70-Million USD! The most realistic computer graphics in movie productions yet, with an action packed video that featured a bunch of military high tech equipment and military men and women (both active duty and former) as extras and speaking roles.

More than 300 Airmen and numerous aircraft were featured in the July 4th released film to help make this movie possible. Backed by the Defense Department, the movie was more factual and realistic than most movies that portray the military are. Many 80s movies were notoriously incorrect with their cast, ranks, equipment, and protocol.

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