Army deaths:
Spc. Joshua L. Plocica, 20, of Clarksville, Tenn., was killed Wednesday in Baghdad by an explosive. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Three soldiers died Wednesday from wounds sustained from an explosive Tuesday in Mosul. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas. They were:
Sgt. Alejandro A. Dominguez, 24, San Diego
Spc. Joel A. Taylor, 20, Pinetown, N.C.
Pfc. James M. Yohn, 25, Highspire, Pa.
Two soldiers were killed Tuesday by an explosive in Baghdad. Killed were:
Chief Warrant Officer Robert C. Hammett, 39, of Tucson. He was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Maj. Dwayne M. Kelley, 48, of Willingboro, N.J. He was assigned to the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Green Bay, Wis.
Pfc. Bryan M. Thomas, 22, Lake Charles, La., died Monday in Baghdad of wounds sustained from small-arms fire in Salman Pak. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
Progress touted:
Appearing together in solidarity, Republican John McCain and Iraq's president said yesterday in Washington that the war-ravaged country is making significant but fragile progress.
The GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting expressed confidence about prospects for the two countries completing a complex agreement that would keep U.S. troops in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year-end. And, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said a U.S. military presence still was needed.
“I, of, course am encouraged. We both agree that the progress has been significant but the progress is also fragile. And there's a lot of work that needs to be done,” McCain said after a private 45-minute meeting with Talabani. Sitting next to the Arizona senator at a Washington hotel, Talabani nodded in agreement and said it was a pleasure and an honor to update an “old friend” about “this stage of success” in Iraq.
Visiting the wounded:
Barack Obama stopped by Walter Reed Army Medical Center yesterday to visit wounded war veterans, a group that he has said endures substandard care under the Bush administration.
The presumed Democratic nominee, who was in Washington to speak to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, spent about two hours inside the facility. On his way in and out, he did not speak to reporters, and the visit wasn't on his public schedule.
Obama has criticized the Bush administration for its treatment of veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and has suggested GOP rival John McCain would continue Bush policies if elected.
The administration was roundly criticized last year after it was revealed that veterans at Walter Reed were housed in rundown accommodations and suffered neglectful care.
Obama has said the country has failed its veterans by allowing such “second-rate conditions.”
