???And away we go???

US Navy – The US commences hostilities against Iraq with a decapitation attack against Saddam Hussein in the early morning hours in Iraq. No sign yet of the “shock and awe” though???

• CNN: Bush gives order to attack Iraq

Kuwaiti Navy – Have the first shots at sea been fired?

• The Times: First shots fired at sea as allied battle plan unfolds

Iraqi Navy – Is Iraq seeding the upper Gulf with mines?

• Wall Street Journal: US Naval Forces See No Disruption To Gulf Shipping Lanes

Canadian Navy – Canada will maintain its naval forces in the Gulf, but will not take part in the war on Iraq.

• The Globe and Mail: Naval role vital now, McCallum declares

US Navy – Aboard the submarine USS Providence in the Gulf.

• The Day: Submarine Crew On Station For War

US Marines – Training with the Marines in the desert.

• Washington Post: Training ‘Strategic Corporals’
• Virginian Pilot: Marines at the ready, hope deadline is for real

US Navy – Aboard the USS Harry S. Truman.

• Virginian Pilot: Aboard Truman, battle planning won’t occur in ship’s “War Room”

US Navy – Aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

• Virginian Pilot: Roosevelt crew sleeps to shift to night operations

US Navy – Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

• Washington Post: Commander Prepares Troops for Battle

US Marines – The importance of the digital battlefield to the Marines

• Marine Corps Gazette: Digital Combat Operations Centers

Background – Europe – Al Nofi on what the new Europe may look like.

• StrategyPage: European Resistance to the Return of the Carolingian Empire

Background – Poor Bloody Infantry – John Keegan on how soldiers mentally get through war.

• Daily Telegraph: Soldiers don’t like war, but when it comes, they want to be there