Today's Headlines from Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes, the U.S. Military's Independent News Source: Friday, December 18, 2009
Top headlines from Stars and Stripes. See the rest of today's news at www.stripes.com Analysis: U.S. troops must watch and wait as Iraqi violence spikes Continued bombings in central Baghdad this week, following massive blasts last week, appeared to lend troubling credence to U.S. warnings of increased violence during the run-up to March 7 national elections. Some retailers inflating costs to ship to APO addresses Overseas military customers ordering gifts online from certain retailers might get an unpleasant surprise when shipping and handling fees are tacked on at the end of the purchase. First of 30,000 new troops arriving in Afghanistan Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters that a Marine battalion ordered to deploy earlier this month already has "some boots on the ground," with the rest of them to be flown in before Christmas. Command sergeant major pleads guilty after sexual contact with subordinate A brief moment of sexual contact between a senior noncommissioned officer and a subordinate sent both soldiers down different roads of guilt and despair. Ahead of surge, Marines struggle to cover vast expanse of desert Only a few hundred American troops are policing the southern border of one of Afghanistan's major smuggling areas, leaving open a vast expanse of desert that the Taliban use to shuttle in weapons and fighters from Pakistan. Military update: Stateside housing rates to stay flat for many Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) paid to nearly a million servicemembers living off base in stateside areas will increase an average of 2.5 percent in January to keep up with rising rental costs. Military study shows increase in suicide attempts, PTSD symptoms A wide-ranging Department of Defense survey revealed the rate of servicemembers attempting suicide has doubled in recent years, coinciding with an increase in those reporting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and those abusing prescription drugs. Iraq to Afghanistan: A radical adjustment Sometimes in Iraq, it almost felt like a normal job for the soldiers of the 4th Engineer Battalion: Fieldwork for six to eight hours with little action and then back home, where high-speed Internet, reliably hot showers and real beds with a roof overhead awaited them. South Korea delivers swine flu medicine to North Korea A convoy of South Korean trucks crossed the border into North Korea on Friday to deliver swine flu medicine, a day after Pyongyang threatened retaliation over naval drills around their disputed sea border. Ex-master chief petty officer gets four years in Iraq fuel thefts Robert Jeffery, 56, was sentenced Dec. 11 to four years in prison for stealing nearly $40 million in fuel from the U.S. Army in Iraq, according to the Department of Justice. Jeffery was one of multiple conspirators who sold the fuel on the black market in Iraq from 2006 to 2008.
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