BAGHDAD ” Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, strode through the great dome of Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad palace ” now the temporary United States Embassy ” with an air about him like he does it every day, and that he’s not all that impressed by it. With a staunchly conservative reputation, legendary for demanding cuts in […]
Ben Fenwick
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45th infantry faces menace in Baghdad missions
BAGHDAD ” A recent explosion did not kill or injure any of Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Brigade, the Thunderbirds, but instead underscored the nature of the menace that lies outside the U.S. Embassy Annex compound where many of them reside. Oklahoma’s Thunderbirds will preside over a complex of forward operating bases, or FOBs, in the sprawling […]
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Oklahoma’s female soldiers face restrictive world in Iraq
CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT ” When University of Oklahoma architecture student Jennifer Arends hits the ground imminently in Iraq, her 5-foot-4-inch frame will bear the uniform of a U.S. Army solider, trussed with a 40-pound bulletproof vest. Her sandy blond hair will be covered with a Kevlar helmet, she will view the world through darkened ballistic-lens […]
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Thunderbirds cautiously optimistic of cease-fire in Iraq
CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT ” As many as half or more of the members of Oklahoma’s National Guard ” the 45th Infantry Brigade, or Thunderbirds ” have deployed overseas. Detainee operations, “Green Zone” security and convoy protection are among the tasks that the Thunderbirds will undertake during their estimated year in Iraq. Most of these things […]
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Jan. 26, 2008
The Great Meal-Ready-To-Eat; En route to Kuwait I’m not completely alone in this, but MREs — Meals Ready to Eat –are really not that bad. There are a variety of entrees available, giving the options of choosing one’s own poison, so-to-speak. Here at Camp McGregor, MREs are the required lunch. Well, that is, if one […]
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Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Brigade heads to Baghdad
As advance elements of the Oklahoma National Guard land in Kuwait this week, their mission will be to hand off Baghdad’s International Zone to full Iraqi control, said Brig. Gen. Myles Deering, commander of the unit. Deering said the 45th, known as the “Thunderbirds” after the American Indian symbol that represents it, will have to […]
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Jan. 22, 2008
Without a shot; Camp McGregor, NM The “cha-chink!” of a pistol bolt being drawn and released is distinctive. It’s often used with menace in many a scene of a movie thriller. The bad guy is about to plug the hero, or a helpless victim. He has that thousand-yard stare, and draws back the slide […]
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Jan. 19, 2008
Camp MacGregor, near El Paso, Texas, 12:30 p.m. This training camp is associated with Fort Bliss, but not part of it. It is the barest of places, windswept, dusty and cold. Humvees patrol the perimeter, guards are posted in front of a mock Iraqi palace made of spray-painted fabric mounted on wooden frames. The soldiers […]
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Supreme Court scrutinizing constitutionality of Oklahoma’s execution method
In October 2007, Oklahoma’s execution schedule ground to a halt. Attorney General Drew Edmondson said a case in Kentucky before the U.S. Supreme Court suggested that Oklahoma’s method of execution risks pain. “The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment,” Edmondson said. “The issue before the Supreme Court is what standard defines cruel and unusual. […]
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Revenge Diet’ not so simple, says local doctor
“The Revenge Diet” ” heralded by a book of the same name by author Monica Grenfell ” promises its adherents will lose 15 pounds in a month on a daily intake of 1,200 calories. Maybe, said Dr. Brendon McCollom with St. Anthony Hospital. But a loss of 15 pounds in a month is stretching it, […]