Helicopter systems have become significantly more complex since Vietnam, said Chief Warrant Officer William J. Outlaw, a battalion tactical operations officer for the National Guard?s 2nd Aviation Battalion of the 224th Regiment, attached to Marine Air Group 16, 3rd Marine Air Wing (Forward). ?We didn?t have as sophisticated a set of weaponry then as we have now,? said Outlaw. Outlaw went more in depth, explaining how on-base security wasn?t as high in Vietnam, and that they sustained a larger volume of attacks with a lower caliber of weapon. Outlaw mentioned the motive of the North Vietnamese as political, whereas in Iraq the enemy is often religiously driven. One difference between the conflicts stood out the most to Outlaw. ?I was twenty-years-old then, I?m sixty now,? he said. - Helicopter systems have become significantly more complex since Vietnam, said Chief Warrant Officer William J. Outlaw, a battalion tactical operations officer for the National Guard?s 2nd Aviation Battalion of the 224th Regiment, attached to Marine Air Group 16, 3rd Marine Air Wing (Forward). ?We didn?t have as sophisticated a set of weaponry then as we have now,? said Outlaw. Outlaw went more in depth, explaining how on-base security wasn?t as high in Vietnam, and that they sustained a larger volume of attacks with a lower caliber of weapon. Outlaw mentioned the motive of the North Vietnamese as political, whereas in Iraq the enemy is often religiously driven. One difference between the conflicts stood out the most to Outlaw. ?I was twenty-years-old then, I?m sixty now,? he said.

Major Gen. Tariq Abdul Wahab Jasin, Commanding General of the 1st Iraqi Army Division kisses the hand an Iraqi student of Al Madinah School during a civil affairs mission in Al Madinah As Siyahiyah (Tourist Town), Iraq, October 9. Marines with 4th Civil Affairs Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), and soldiers with Able Company, 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 136th Infantry Regiment, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), accompanied Tariq and the Iraqi Army to visit a recently opened school in Tourist Town and distribute supplies to the children. During the visit, the Iraqi Army soldiers handed out school materials and the school principal accepted a $500 donation from the families of soldiers with 2nd Combined Arms Battalion to assist with the moving costs to their new building and any other expenses. The check was presented to the principal by Army Lt. Col. Gregg L. Parks, Battalion Commander of 2nd Combined Arms Battalion accompanied by Tariq. - Major Gen. Tariq Abdul Wahab Jasin, Commanding General of the 1st Iraqi Army Division kisses the hand an Iraqi student of Al Madinah School during a civil affairs mission in Al Madinah As Siyahiyah (Tourist Town), Iraq, October 9. Marines with 4th Civil Affairs Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), and soldiers with Able Company, 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 136th Infantry Regiment, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), accompanied Tariq and the Iraqi Army to visit a recently opened school in Tourist Town and distribute supplies to the children. During the visit, the Iraqi Army soldiers handed out school materials and the school principal accepted a $500 donation from the families of soldiers with 2nd Combined Arms Battalion to assist with the moving costs to their new building and any other expenses. The check was presented to the principal by Army Lt. Col. Gregg L. Parks, Battalion Commander of 2nd Combined Arms Battalion accompanied by Tariq.

Navy Capt. Chuck Blankenship, a 57-year-old general surgeon with Taqaddum Surgical and a native of Texarcana, Tx. passed a piece of cake to Seaman Christopher L. Daniel, a 20-year-old native of Barnesville, Ga. and a corpsman with Military Police Company, CLR-15, 1st MLG. When the oldest sailor passes the youngest sailor a piece of cake, it symbolizes the passing of tradition, said Senior Chief Ed Santa-Maria, Command Master Chief, 1st MLG. It also symbolizes the passing of responsibility and the transference of values, so that the Navy remains the best in the world, said Santa-Maria, a 45-year-old native of Dededo, Guam. - Navy Capt. Chuck Blankenship, a 57-year-old general surgeon with Taqaddum Surgical and a native of Texarcana, Tx. passed a piece of cake to Seaman Christopher L. Daniel, a 20-year-old native of Barnesville, Ga. and a corpsman with Military Police Company, CLR-15, 1st MLG. When the oldest sailor passes the youngest sailor a piece of cake, it symbolizes the passing of tradition, said Senior Chief Ed Santa-Maria, Command Master Chief, 1st MLG. It also symbolizes the passing of responsibility and the transference of values, so that the Navy remains the best in the world, said Santa-Maria, a 45-year-old native of Dededo, Guam.