The New York Military Forces Honor Guard rendered military honors at the funerals of more than 10,400 former Army members, mostly from the World War II generation, in 2009. However, there are still Soldiers being buried out there who don't get the honors they are entitled to because they or their families don't realize what they are owed by their country, said Donald E. Roy, the director of Honor Guard. The Honor Guard is comprised of New York Army National Guard Soldiers who perform these duties in addition to their military and civilians jobs.

Thailand Moves to Send Hmong Back to Laos

ABC News - 12/28/09

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9431563

Italy says it will not negotiate with an al-Qaida group that has claimed responsibility for kidnapping two Italians in Mauritania. The North African al-Qaida branch known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb said on Sunday that it was behind the recent kidnapping of an Italian couple in Mauritania. In an audio message broadcast on al-Arabiya television on Monday, a spokesman for al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb said the group is behind this month's kidnapping of an Italian couple in Mauritania.

Authorities in Yemen say the Nigerian man accused of trying to destroy a U.S. jetliner last week lived in Yemen for months, and was in the country as recently as this month. The Yemeni Foreign Ministry says 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was in Yemen from early August to early December.  The ministry says he was granted a visa to study Arabic at an institute in the capital, Sanaa, where he had previously studied.

The British government has confirmed that the young Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight on Christmas Day was refused entry into Britain earlier this year and his name was added to a so-called watch list.  Somehow, somewhere, security officials did not pick up on the information at their disposal that allowed an individual on a security watch list onto a plane bound for the U.S.

Afghan-international security forces captured Taliban commanders and several militants in Kandahar and Khowst last night. A Taliban commander responsible for several IED attacks was captured during a series of raids in Kandahar.

All Soldiers are trained on various convoy operations before they deploy, even if they never step into an armored vehicle during their deployment. Here at Camp Adder though, some Soldiers continue to hone their skills because it can save their lives. "We're doing convoy lanes training," said Sgt 1st Class Robert Moore with the 121st Brigade Support Battalion.

The newest aircraft to the Air Force's inventory arrived Dec. 27, 2009, to Bagram Airfield. The MC-12 aircraft, tail number 090623, was the first of an undisclosed number of aircraft for the new 4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron here. Following the MC-12's arrival, the 4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron was activated to carry out MC-12 operations in the Afghan theater of operations. Col.

Sailors from Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Hawaii, NIOC San Diego, and NIOC Whidbey Island are playing a crucial role in the daily operations of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility. The capacity to acquire, analyze, and apply pertinent information enables the ready group's Sailors and Marines to execute the maritime security mission and respond to disasters around the globe. "Our job is to make sure we don't get surprised," says Chief Cryptologic Technician Collection (SW/EXP) Naomi Richards, a leading member of the team.