4th Infantry Division

Weeks after coalition forces toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in April, the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division was still camped in Kuwait, waiting to go to war. The graffiti in a desert outhouse summed up the sentiments of many glum soldiers. "Here we are Still in Kuwait The No-War Four Has earned its name. Again."

For much of his life, Army Staff Sgt. Casey James Grochowiak chose the most adventurous path. As a high school student in north San Diego County, he liked surfing and snowboarding. As an infantryman, he jumped out of airplanes. And as an instructor at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, he showed soldiers how to catch a rattlesnake — with their bare hands if necessary. "He just loved to take chances," said his father, Edward Grochowiak, an attorney and architect who lives in Bonsall, near Oceanside.

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel who died in Afghanistan and Iraq or at a military hospital of their injuries: Paul E. Andersen, 49, of Dowagiac, Mich.; specialist, Army Reserve. Andersen was killed Oct. 1 when his camp in Baghdad was attacked with indirect fire -- a military term that usually refers to a mortar or rocket attack. He was assigned to the 855th Quartermaster Company in South Bend, Ind. Justin T. Gallegos, 27, of Tucson; sergeant, Army.

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel who died in Afghanistan and Iraq or at a military hospital of their injuries: Paul E. Andersen, 49, of Dowagiac, Mich.; specialist, Army Reserve. Andersen was killed Oct. 1 when his camp in Baghdad was attacked with indirect fire -- a military term that usually refers to a mortar or rocket attack. He was assigned to the 855th Quartermaster Company in South Bend, Ind. Justin T. Gallegos, 27, of Tucson; sergeant, Army.

The Pentagon's decision to enter combat with far fewer tanks, artillery and heavy infantry than in the 1991 Persian Gulf War is coming under fire -- not only from Saddam Hussein's forces in the desert but also from former U.S. commanders at home. In addition to starting out with fewer forces, critics say, the coalition is hampered by the absence of the 4th Infantry Division -- a massive armored force that was sidelined last month when Turkey refused to allow U.S.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday that he regretted that the United States had not been able to invade Iraq through Turkey, because Iraqi military and intelligence forces in the north of the country melted away to form the insurgency now battling U.S. and Iraqi troops. Rumsfeld also urged the new government in Iraq to be "darned careful" to avoid staffing the country's security services with patronage appointments that could undermine their effectiveness.

The pace of the guerrilla war in Iraq slowed enough for more than 100,000 American troops to pause briefly with tens of thousands of civilian workers for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday before returning to their dangerous jobs. On a day largely free of insurgent attacks, about 3,500 soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade in Tikrit created a festive atmosphere, tinged with homesickness, for a few, fleeting hours. Their commander, Col.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday which ground units it would be sending to Iraq and Afghanistan starting in mid-2005. The units, which will deploy between mid-2005 and mid-2006, will maintain the current level of U.S. forces in each country, excluding the extra troops being sent to provide security during Iraqi elections scheduled for January, military officials said. About 138,000 troops are in Iraq and 18,000 in Afghanistan.

The family of Army Sgt. Eliu A. Mier remembers him as a young man devoted to his family, especially his wife and son. "As soon as I touch American soil, I want to see all my family," the 27-year-old soldier recently told his sister, Ruth Vallejo, as they talked about his return home from Iraq within a few weeks. But Mier was killed Jan. 31 when an improvised explosive device hit his convoy in the northern city of Kirkuk.

The Defense Department last week also identified the following American military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan: Phillip R. Albert, 41, of Terryville, Conn.; sergeant major, Army. Albert was aboard an MH-53 helicopter conducting combat operations when it crashed Nov. 23 in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, based at Ft. Drum, N.Y. * Damian S. Bushart, 22, of Waterford, Mich.; private first class, Army.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday that he regretted that the United States had not been able to invade Iraq through Turkey, because Iraqi military and intelligence forces in the north of the country melted away to form the insurgency now battling U.S. and Iraqi troops. Rumsfeld also urged the new government in Iraq to be "darned careful" to avoid staffing the country's security services with patronage appointments that could undermine their effectiveness.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday which ground units it would be sending to Iraq and Afghanistan starting in mid-2005. The units, which will deploy between mid-2005 and mid-2006, will maintain the current level of U.S. forces in each country, excluding the extra troops being sent to provide security during Iraqi elections scheduled for January, military officials said. About 138,000 troops are in Iraq and 18,000 in Afghanistan.

The family of Army Sgt. Eliu A. Mier remembers him as a young man devoted to his family, especially his wife and son. "As soon as I touch American soil, I want to see all my family," the 27-year-old soldier recently told his sister, Ruth Vallejo, as they talked about his return home from Iraq within a few weeks. But Mier was killed Jan. 31 when an improvised explosive device hit his convoy in the northern city of Kirkuk.

A bomb-laden car barreled into a barricade and exploded at police headquarters Saturday in this northern city, killing nine Iraqis, including officers lined up for paychecks with a bonus for dangerous duty. Three U.S. soldiers were also killed in Iraq's north, and five civilians died in a Baghdad rocket attack, bringing to 17 the toll on the eve of a sacred Muslim feast. The latest carnage comes amid warnings that insurgents are increasingly targeting Iraqis who work or associate with U.S.

Weeks after coalition forces toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in April, the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division was still camped in Kuwait, waiting to go to war. The graffiti in a desert outhouse summed up the sentiments of many glum soldiers. "Here we are Still in Kuwait The No-War Four Has earned its name. Again."

The Defense Department last week also identified the following American military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan: Phillip R. Albert, 41, of Terryville, Conn.; sergeant major, Army. Albert was aboard an MH-53 helicopter conducting combat operations when it crashed Nov. 23 in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, based at Ft. Drum, N.Y. * Damian S. Bushart, 22, of Waterford, Mich.; private first class, Army.

The U.S. military's top civilian and uniformed leaders and the commander of the war against Iraq, Army Gen. Tommy Franks, joined ranks Sunday in a robust defense of their war plan and the way it is being carried out. Franks also disputed a published report that he had wanted to delay the ground war in Iraq until the Army's 4th Infantry Division arrived in Kuwait next month. The decision and the timing were his, Franks said at command headquarters in Qatar.

Turkey's government indicated Monday that it might now be willing to open its territory to U.S. troops or warplanes, and the Pentagon scrambled to put its final pieces of combat power in place for an invasion of Iraq. War plans call for simultaneous, lightning-quick operations by air, land and sea to overwhelm Iraq's shaky military forces. Heavy mechanized forces would speed toward Baghdad, bypassing Iraqi regular army units in a drive to reach the seat of President Saddam Hussein's power.