Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Fort Leavenworth(AP) SOLDIER WHO ABUSED ABU GHRAIB PRISONERS PAROLED: The highest-ranking U.S. soldier convicted of abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was paroled Monday from military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., the Army said. Former Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ivan “Chip” Frederick Jr. served about three years of an eight-year sentence for actions that included placing wires in a detainee’s hands and telling him he would be electrocuted if he fell off a box. Frederick is among 12 U.S. soldiers convicted in the scandal that erupted in April 2004 with the release of pictures of grinning U.S. soldiers posing with detainees, some naked, being held on leashes or in painful and sexually humiliating positions. Gary Myers, Frederick’s attorney, said that his client’s cooperation with prosecutors, including his testimony at the trial in August of final Abu Ghraib defendant Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, aided in his early release. “Chip Frederick was never a ‘bad apple’ as the Army tried to portray him,” Myers said. “Frederick recognized that he had done wrong and, like the decent man that he is, pleaded guilty to some of the charges against him.”(TurkishPress.com) Pakistan’s Musharraf appoints successor as army chief: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday appointed a former intelligence chief to succeed him as head of the army in a move apparently aimed at ensuring his security if he becomes a civilian leader. The military said the appointment of Lieutenant General Ashfaq Kiyani, a Musharraf loyalist, would be effective from Monday, two days after his current boss is due to seek re-election as president. Musharraf, a key US ally in the “war on terror,” has said he will step down as head of the powerful army by November 15, provided that he wins another five-year term on Saturday. … A military statement said he joined the army in 1971 and commanded several infantry units. He is a graduate of Fort Leavenworth military college in the United States, among others.Fort Riley ¢ 1st Infantry Division(49abcnews.com) Fort Riley soldier killed in war: Sgt. 1st Class James D. Doster, 37, died in Baghdad, Iraq Sept. 29 when insurgents attacked his unit using an Improvised Explosive Devise and small arms fire. Doster was an infantryman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. His home of record is Pine Bluff, Ark. He entered the Army in May 1990 and began serving with the 1st Inf. Div. in February 2006. This was his first deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.(U.S. Army press release) ‘Dragon’ Offensives Destroy al Qaeda Outposts in Dora with Iraqi Assistance: Coalition offensives in southern Baghdad, spurred by Iraqi intelligence, have dramatically reduced al Qaeda-inspired violence, a military commander said. “We’ve had about a 60-percent reduction in murders since we arrived and took over in March,” Col. Ricky Gibbs told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Iraq Sept. 28. “That’s huge.” Col. Gibbs commands the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team “Dragons” of 1st Infantry Division, part of Multinational Division Baghdad, deployed from Fort Riley, Kan. His Soldiers patrol the Rashid district in southern Baghdad, where al Qaeda insurgents have sought to establish a base, Col. Gibbs explained. “We’ve had great success,” the colonel said of operations Dragon Hammer, Dragon Fire, and now Dragon Talon II.