Farmland - Specialist, Jacob William Sexton, 21, of Farmland, IN passed away suddenly Monday, October 12, 2009, while on leave from active deployment in Afghanistan.

He was born December 12, 1987 in Muncie, Indiana the son of Jeffery L. and Barbara E. (Dull) Sexton. He was a graduate of Monroe Central High School. Following graduation he joined the Indiana National Guard through the Winchester Unit. He was deployed in Iraq for a year, serving as a driver of Humvees. When he came home from Iraq, he worked at Camp Atterbury to train other Humvee drivers and kept charge of weapons and ammunition.

Far East -- Far East: The best experience I remember where the battlefield?
Luong Xuan Vi et: B Iraq, I remember especially the sacrifices of the brave strong boys in my unit; they have to pay very high prices there, and I think the experience he will bring his life.

Photo: Colonel Luong, next to a Brigadier General John Townsend, a former soldier with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam after the ceremony to hand over positions Brigade Commander

Far East: There never stroked his eyes for a soldier of his?

Luong Xuan Vietnamese: Although never stroked a soldier's eye, but has repeatedly choking uất the soldiers who sacrificed.

Multi-National Corps – Iraq (May 20, 2007) -- TIKRIT, Iraq – “Coalition Forces continue to provide help with the security of Samarra.  The Iraqi Security Forces, in coordination with the provincial government of Salah ad Din and the city government of Samarra, have recovered from the terrorist attack,” said Lt. Col. Viet Luong, commander of 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.  “They are working to return the lives of Samarra’s citizens back to normalcy.”

The standard nighttime curfew in Samarra remains in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for all vehicles and from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for pedestrian traffic; this is the same curfew that has been in place since May 10. 

Vietamericanvets.com -- Disaster brings out the good and the evil side of human beings.  This is so true and so apparent in the momentous tragedy in New Orleans, LA.  In this article, I will not mingle with the efficiency or the incompetence of the local, state and federal emergency response.  Similarly, I do not want to waste any comment on those inhuman, heartless thugs and hoodlums who took advantage of the situation to loot and steal from abandoned stores.  But I respect many thousands victims, old and young, men and women, sick or handicapped, who stoically endured the unbearable hardships with admirable manner. I am also drawn to the exemplary conduct our military officers demonstrated during this disastrous event.   

Common sense tells me people have a tendency to loose confidence when certain prediction or promise fails to materialize.  Living in the Gulf Coast, people must have experienced too many inaccurate warnings and some futile evacuations.  They must have also seen a great number of supposedly dangerous natural disasters either downgraded or dissipated prior to reaching the coastline. As a result, people have become immune to disaster warnings. 

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. Fresh off a 14-month deployment to Iraq, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division is preparing for a new Afghanistan mission with a new commander who brings a unique perspective to the ongoing wars.

Col. Viet Luong came to America in 1975 with his family as refugees from Vietnam. He said he is considered the first Vietnamese-American to command an Army combat brigade, having taken up his post in February.

From growing up amid a war to preparing a battle-hardened brigade for its fifth deployment, he describes his rise to the post as a deeply satisfying journey.

Pacific News Service -- She's afraid of blood. Otherwise she would have been a doctor. But she almost passed out in high school zoology when forced to dissect, she says, "some small animal." To preserve her perfect GPA, she dropped the course.

She was good in math and chemistry, and got a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland and another degree in computer science just for kicks. After that she asked herself: "What should I be doing with my life?" The answer was unexpected: Nguyet-Anh Duong, now mother of four and a former Vietnamese boat person, became arguably the best bomb maker in the world.

Union-Tribune -- Army Spcs. Khoi Pham and Damian Ellsworth watched each other's back during an Iraq war tour with the California National Guard.

Photo: Damian Ellsworth (left) of the California National Guard pointed out the irony of a slogan on a bus to fellow soldiers Khoi Pham (center) and Michael Martinez as they left yesterday.

Now, a year after their safe return, they're headed for Afghanistan.

“I joined this unit looking for a home,” said Ellsworth, 24, as he milled around Friday with other members of the 670th Military Police Company at the armory in National City. “I called my battle buddy up and said: 'Hey, I'm deploying. You want to come, too?' ”

Best Warrior.com -- A Virginia Beach, Va., Soldier is competing in the Army Reserve’s prestigious “Best Warrior Competition” at Fort McCoy, Wis., 13-17 July.  Staff Sergeant Long Q. Tran is a licensed practical nurse with 48th Combat Support Hospital located at Fort Story, Va.  He is one of only 28 Soldiers in the 206,000-strong Army Reserve selected to compete

Tran served in Afghanistan as a medic and nurse in a combat support hospital; he was awarded the Combat Action Badge.  He has qualified in both Combat Lifesaver and Advance Cardiac Lifesaver

ANDREWS AFB, Md. -- The number of Airmen who take on roles once held by the Marines and Soldiers increases as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue. Airman 1st Class Joe Nguyen, 744th Communications Squadron infrastructure technician, is one Airman who took on such a role in a recent deployment to Afghanistan.

When deployed as an infrastructure tech, a position which Airman Nguyen describes as a "jack-of-all-trades for communication," he served as the only certified Air Force MK-19 gunner for the Marine 201st 3rd Brigade on his first deployment, from December 2008 to June 2009. Because he showed leadership skills and unyielding courage, he soon became the personal driver for the Marine brigade's leadership. Airman Nguyen said that he was surprised by the level of responsibility his brigade gave him during this deployment.

MoD -- A father and son have both been awarded commendations in the latest operational honours list for their actions on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.