An Iraqi soldier patrols a street in Basra, Iraq's second largest city August 17, 2006. (REUTERS/Atef Hassan) (IRAQ)
Posted on 08/17/2006 4:07:10 PM PDT by Gucho
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – Iraqi forces captured two wanted men in separate operations in and near Baghdad yesterday. Both operations were part of Operation Together Forward, the recent security crackdown in the Baghdad area.
One early morning operation led to the capture of a known terrorist cell leader in southern Baghdad. Iraqi security forces, assisted by coalition advisers, conducted a precision raid in the Rasheed district, capturing an individual known to be a former Baath Party member who now leads a terrorist cell in Baghdad’s Dora area. One other individual, a subordinate cell leader, also was detained during the raid.
In a separate early morning raid, Iraqi forces captured the leader of a terrorist cell that specialized in making improvised explosive devices.
Iraqi army forces conducted the raid as coalition force advisers looked on in the Abu Ghraib area of Baghdad and captured their primary target. Officials believe this cell leader has been active for the past several months. Four other individuals also were detained during the raid.
No Iraqi or coalition forces or civilians were injured in either operation, officials said.
In other news from Iraq, Iraqi army and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered a large munitions cache during a cache sweep south of Baghdad around 8 p.m. Aug. 14.
Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and U.S. soldiers from Company B, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered three 155 mm artillery rounds, 35 105 mm mortar rounds, two 60 mm mortar rounds, two rockets, and three small explosives.
In a separate event that day, Iraqi soldiers foiled a kidnapping attempt by terrorists in central Baghdad around 9:10 p.m.
Soldiers from 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, stationed at a traffic control point observed a woman being forced into a car. The soldiers fired warning shots at the terrorists, who returned fire at the traffic control point, injuring one Iraqi citizen. The woman fled the scene during the exchange of fire. The injured Iraqi citizen was taken to a nearby hospital, and Iraqi soldiers escorted the woman back to her home.
(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
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By Sgt. Roe F. Seigle - 1st Marine Division
BAGHDADI, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2006) -- After 30 recent graduates from the Iraqi police academy came to Baghdadi, Iraq, residents in this Saddam-era military housing complex are expressing interest in joining the police force because they are noticing a decrease in insurgent activity.
Marines with the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, or “America’s Battalion”, are combating the insurgency with local police officers – who recently received “much needed” new gear to get the job done – pistols, protective vests, rifles and batons to use while patrolling the city’s streets.
Soon they will receive radios and police cars, said Maj. Eric Kelly, 36, the commanding officer of Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment – the U.S. military unit which provides security here and mentors the city’s local police and soldiers.
Now that soldiers are manning traffic control points in and out of the city and more police are patrolling the streets with Marines, insurgents do not have the same mobility they had months ago to plan and carry out attacks in this city of 30,000 nestled on the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad, said Kelly.
Recently the police, along with Iraqi soldiers, captured 15 suspected insurgents for attacks against Coalition Forces. They also seized a cache of small-arms weapons in the city.
“We need police here because they will be the ones providing security and stability when Coalition Forces withdraw from Iraq,” said Kelly, a native of Jacksonville, Fla. “We are making continuous progress.”
Kelly said he believes with the progress being made, the turnover of security operations to Iraqi Security Forces will be possible within the next year.
A recent screening for police officers in Baghdadi resulted in more than 30 qualified recruits who will soon be sent to the police academy in Jordan. In recent recruiting attempts, it was hard to get even thirty people to show up, said Kelly.
“The residents are seeing the police officers get paid and supported by the government. This has given them confidence in the Marines and the Iraqi Security Forces because they see we are building their government and protecting them,” said Kelly.
When the Marines arrived in this region of Iraq in March, locals had no confidence in the Marines nor did they support them, said Kelly. Often, residents would walk away from Marines and avoid eye contact with them.
Now, Iraqi soldiers and police, some of whom grew up in this city, are interacting with locals and assuring them they will protect them from insurgents.
But it’s more than just talk – Iraqi police and soldiers are proving their word is true by patrolling the streets night and day and suppressing insurgent activity, said Kelly.
The Marines say the presence of local police has earned the Iraqis’ trust – a complete “one-eighty” from four months ago.
Children eagerly approach and greet the Marines, sometimes hugging their legs in enthusiasm. Adults are no longer afraid to speak with or interact with U.S. and Iraqi military forces. It’s not uncommon to see locals participating in a friendly game of volleyball under the street lights, as opposed to the city’s silent, empty streets during past visits by Marines, said Cpl. Anthony Moran, a 22-year-old Marine from Kaplan, La.
“As long we keep showing people here we care about them, they will support us,” said Moran, a team leader with 3rd Battalion’s Weapons Company. “We often hand out toys and soccer balls to the children who do not have toys. They shake our hands and talk to us every time we go on a patrol.”
Along with the police officers, more than a dozen Iraqi soldiers were assigned to the city of Baghdadi after they completed basic training, said Moran.
The soldiers and police officers are now conducting joint operations throughout the city and are encouraging local leadership, such as tribal leaders and sheikhs, to promote future police recruitments, said Kelly.
“The police and soldiers are working well together,” he said. “They compliment one another on their achievements during missions.”
The joint security operations between Iraqi soldiers, police, and U.S. Marines are keeping the insurgency out of the city, according to 1st Lt. Peter Ankney, Weapons Company’s executive officer.
“The insurgents’ ability to move throughout the battle space has been severely hampered because the Marines, (Iraqi) soldiers and policemen are constantly patrolling the area,” said Ankney, a 26-year-old from Colstrip, Mont. “They are out there 24-7 looking for insurgents and protecting the citizens.”
But the Marines, soldiers and policemen are not developing a false sense of security when they patrol this city of 30,000, Kelly added. The security here is genuine, not just an occasional presence of Iraqi Security Forces through the town’s various neighborhoods.
“They (police officers) are all staying constantly vigilant and responding to any reports of planned attacks before they can be carried out,” said Kelly. “We have Marines training the soldiers and police – it all adds up to Iraqis taking care of Iraqis.”
As 3rd Battalion’s deployment to Iraq’s western Al Anbar Province comes to an end, Kelly said the Marines’ focus will remain the same – “training Iraqi Security Forces to take over their battle space.”
“This has been a humanitarian deployment just as much as it has been a combat deployment,” said Moran. “We are protecting the Iraqi people and helping them develop a new and fair government.”
The Marines from Weapons Company will remain in Iraq until later this year and will be replaced by another Hawaii-based unit.
An Iraqi police officer searches a man before entering a police compound in Baghdadi, Iraq, Aug. 12, 2006. New uniforms and equipment, such as pistols, handcuffs, batons and police cars were recently issued to the Iraqi Police in Baghdadi, Iraq. After 30 recent graduates from the Iraqi police academy came to Baghdadi, residents in this Saddam-era military housing complex there are expressing interest in joining the police force because they are noticing a decrease in insurgent activity. Marines with the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, are combating insurgency with the local police officers – who recently received “much needed” new gear to get the job done – pistols, protective vests, rifles and batons to use while patrolling the streets. Soon they will receive radios and police cars, said Maj. Eric Kelly, 36, the commanding officer of Weapons Company. Recently the police, along with Iraqi soldiers, captured 15 suspected insurgents for attacks against Coalition Forces. They also seized a cache of small-arms weapons in the city. (Photo by: Sgt. Roe F. Seigle)
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By Maj. Jose Garcia, USA - Special to American Forces Press Service
FORWARD OPERATING BASE MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq, Aug. 17, 2006 – The 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, officially assumed responsibility for security in parts of Mahmudiyah, Yusufiyah and Lutufiyah, Iraq, earlier this week.
Iraqi army soldiers from 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, stand with the colors of their country held high during a transfer of authority ceremony in Mahmudiyah on Aug. 14. (Photo by Spc. George Welcome, USA)
During the Aug. 14 transfer of authority ceremony at the Iraqi army compound in Mahmudiyah, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, transferred to the Iraqi brigade known as the “Desert Lion” absolute responsibility for security of a region that includes roughly 322 square kilometers in southern Iraq. Many refer to the area as the “triangle of death.”
Local sheiks, community leaders and senior military leaders who worked closely with the Iraqi unit throughout the past 11 months were also in attendance during the hour-long ceremony, which included a pass in review and a demonstration of combat tactics by Iraqi soldiers.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eric Conrad, commander of 2nd Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd BCT, and military transition team chief for the Iraqi brigade, worked closely with the unit and said he was proud to see the progress they have made.
“I am very proud of the soldiers of this unit,” he said. “They have demonstrated that they are ready to move forward to the next level and take responsibility for security of this area.”
In addition to security, Iraqi forces in the region also assist with humanitarian and civic actions. The unit has provided security for many essential service construction projects, helped repair local schools and improved local area appearance and pride in the community.
“In addition to fighting well and ensuring the security of Iraqis in key areas of south Baghdad, the 4th Brigade, 6th IAD, has done a great job in working to improve essential services and quality of life in the area,” U.S. Army Col. Todd Ebel, 2nd BCT commander, said. “The brigade’s soldiers have helped repair several local schools and other facilities long neglected. Many have simply selflessly served their people and are committed to making their communities better.”
Ebel expressed confidence in the soldiers and leaders of the Iraqi unit. “Colonel Ali is a true patriot,” he said of the Iraqi unit’s commander. “I have watched him and his brave soldiers continue to excel and keep up the fight against terrorists and other insurgents.
“I do not make this statement lightly,” he continued, calling the area “arguably the most complex and most lethal area in all of Iraq.”
“To operate here and to be effective in balancing lethal and non-lethal counterinsurgency tasks takes raw courage, patience and a strong will to persevere under the harshest conditions,” Ebel said. “Daily, Colonel Ali and his men do just that, and they have been phenomenal. I am very proud of them.”
Ebel pointed out that the security of the area does not reside only with the Iraqi army and other coalition security forces. “It is the people that must choose peace, freedom and prosperity and cooperate to achieve it,” he said. “It is only by working together can Iraqis move forward in their desire for a peaceful and prosperous future.”
The 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, assumed responsibility for the Lutufiyah area, the southern part of the triangle, from the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, on June 15. A month later, 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, assumed responsibility for the city of Mahmudiyah and the surrounding countryside from 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment.
The Iraqi brigade has demonstrated they are well prepared for their task of security in southern Baghdad and have moved together forward to meet this challenge, U.S. leaders said.
“I am proud to have served and trained with such a great group of soldiers,” Conrad said. “They are a superb unit and ready to assume this important task of security for south Baghdad.”
(Army Maj. Jose Garcia is assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.)
Iraqi army soldiers from 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, perform a demonstration of their battlefield tactics during a transfer of authority ceremony in Mahmudiyah on Aug. 14. (Photo by Spc. George Welcome, USA)
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U.S. Army soldiers from the 6th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st Armored Division, conduct a cordon search of a glass factory during a patrol in Tameem, Ramadi, Iraq, Aug. 10, 2006. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock)
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Coalition bomb kills 10 Afghan police
Aug 17, 2006
Thu Aug 17, 3:59 PM ET - A US fighter plane passes the sun at dawn following a strike mission in Afghanistan. At least 10 policemen were killed when a US-led coalition plane mistakenly dropped a bomb on a patrol, President Hamid Karzai said, but the coalition insisted it had only struck "extremists". (AFP/Pool/File/Dave Martin)
By Staff Sgt. Jim Goodwin - 1st Marine Division
AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 16, 2006) -- Leaning on an American tank in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, Cpl. Manuel Morangomez says he doesn’t need any medals or “atta boys” to help him get through a seven month deployment.
The satisfaction of helping Marine infantrymen stay alive in arguably Iraq’s most dangerous region is all the reward the 26-year-old Marine needs while serving in this combat zone.
“This tank is saving lives,” said Morangomez, a tank mechanic with the Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based Company C, 1st Tank Battalion. “This keeps grunts from getting killed. When we send these back into the fight, that’s the reward.”
The Dallas, Texas, native, along with the half-dozen or so other mechanics on this sprawling U.S. military air base, spend 12-plus hours a day, usually six or more days a week, repairing and maintaining the company’s fleet of M1A1 Main Battle Tanks.
C Company is currently attached to Regimental Combat Team 7, the U.S. military unit responsible for providing security and mentoring Iraqi Security Forces in western Anbar – an area more than 30,000-square miles in size, or about the size of South Carolina, according to the Marines here.
Working in blistering heat, the mechanics have spent nearly two days now tearing apart one of the company’s 68-ton, tan-colored tanks to find a damaged component, hidden well within the tank’s underside.
The task seems tedious, but the mechanics seem used to spending countless hours tinkering and handling thousands of metallic parts to reach one broken component.
“If the mechs don’t do their job well, these tanks don’t roll – period,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jeffrey W. Hyrne, a 32-year-old from Louisville, Ky., and Company C’s maintenance chief. “It could cost someone, or a crew, their lives.”
In addition to supporting the regiment ’s infantrymen with massive amounts of firepower on the battlefield, C Company's tanks and their crews are considered an invaluable asset to Marines “on the ground” – they add an extra layer of protection for patrols and convoys traveling Iraq’s bomb-laden roads.
They also provide added protection for U.S. and Iraqi military posts and patrols throughout the region, not to mention the “intimidation factor” a 68-ton tank rolling down a road can instill in insurgents.
But Iraq’s blistering summer temperatures and rough terrain can take their toll on military vehicles, even tanks. C Company is also charged with conducting resupply missions, adding more wear and tear on the tanks.
The mechanics collectively stated that for every hour a tank is operated, about six hours of regular maintenance is required to keep the tank operable, “give or take.”
“There will always be something to fix, and when there are problems with it, troubleshooting can be extremely difficult,” said Cpl. Travis P. Bellamy, one of C Company’s tank mechanics who works with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
“For example: a wire harness with 200 wires in it. If one of those wires is faulty, you have to figure out one by one which wire it is that’s bad,” continued Bellamy, a 22-year-old from Heppner, Ore.
As tank crews roll their tanks back onto the Company’s wide-open lot, commonly referred to as “the ramp” by the Marines who work here, it’s the mechanics’ responsibility to perform both routine maintenance and assess and repair damage.
But working on a tank is not like cracking open the hood of a car and going to work, according to the mechanics.
An M1A1 has thousands upon thousands of various components and systems, which mean the mechanics are constantly learning as they work.
“The manual’s not always going to tell you what’s broke and how to fix it,” said Lance Cpl. Robert S. Collins, who says he “learns something new every day” as a mechanic. “These tanks are logging in some time, and you are constantly working.”
At 25, Collins is the group’s junior Marine, and mechanic. He joined the Corps in October 2004, after returning to high school to earn his diploma – “The day I had all my credits in my transcript, I went to the recruiter’s office,” said Collins, a native of Atlanta, Ga.
Aside from “the Gunny,” Morangomez is the crew’s senior man – he serves as the “ramp chief” noncommissioned officer – a billet normally filled by a sergeant or staff sergeant. As such, he’s responsible for the facilities and equipment used on the large, open lot where C Company houses and maintains their tanks and other vehicles.
Serving his third deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Morangomez says he’s worked on about 60 tanks in his four-plus years in the Corps. Like the rest of the mechanics, he said he couldn’t imagine doing anything else in the Marines.
“Where else can you go and work long hours?” he said. “Yeah, we’re work-aholics, (but) I love it. There’s no other way to describe it.”
By the end of their third day tearing apart this particular tank, the mechanics have discovered that the root of the problem – a dented fuel cell – is repairable, which saves the company from losing the tank entirely.
Tanks which can’t be repaired by the mechanics have to be shipped elsewhere for repairs, or replaced all together. That means one less tank on Iraq’s roads, which is unacceptable to the mechanics.
“These boys did a good job assessing it,” said Hyrne, a 14-year Marine veteran and the mechanics’ immediate supervisor. “We have to be able to get her up and running. You don’t want a tank out there and it breaks down.”
“The maintenance is required and cannot be put off like you can put off maintenance on a car,” adds Bellamy. “If the work is not kept up daily the tank will not run.”
Hyrne gave a bit more blunt example – “If they (mechanics) made even little mistakes, the engine could blow-up, and the tank would not operate at all.”
In addition to maintaining the Company’s tanks and various other military vehicles, they’re also responsible for recovering tanks, trucks, and other vehicles which break down “outside the wire” – Marine-speak for pretty much any location outside the protection of a base or outpost.
Utilizing a large, treaded, tank-like vehicle fitted with a large tow crane and cable, the mechanics can tow a broken-down tank or other vehicle back to their base so they can asses any damage and immediately begin repairs.
Peering over his shoulder and breaking just long enough from his work on the tank to get a few words in, Cpl. Stephen R. Uniszkiewicz, of Center Reach, N.Y., recalled the time the crew had to recover a tank which hit a mine and lodged itself into the side of a hill.
“It was brutal – 10 hours to get that tank moving,” said Uniszkiewicz, a 21-year-old who is slated to marry his girlfriend in New York next year. A first-time deployer to Iraq, he tries not to worry his family with too many details of what he’s seen while serving in Iraq, he said.
“I’m not worried…but it’s harder for the family,” he said. “I’ve seen IEDs go off, and you get nervous, but your training kicks in. It’s hard to explain that to the family, though.”
About five months into a seven-month deployment, C Company's mechanics all have family and friends back in the States eagerly awaiting their return – girlfriends, wives, mothers, children, parents.
But these Marines, whose once-tan coveralls and combat boots now carry grease stains and worn spots, try not to think about home too much or what they’re missing back in the U.S. Instead, they stay focused on the task at hand – keeping the Company’s tanks up and running, so the Marines “on the ground” who daily combat a seemingly ever-present insurgency in western Anbar have a bit more firepower and protection.
After all, tanks, and lives, are at stake.
“I don’t keep track of time out here,” said Morangomez. “I keep track of how many tanks we fix.”
Marine tankers and mechanics from the Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based Company C, 1st Tank Battalion, rest aboard their M1A1 Main Battle Tank following a 12-hour work day in 110-degeree weather at Al Qa’im, Iraq, Aug. 5, 2006. Company C is currently attached to Regimental Combat Team 7, the U.S. military unit responsible for providing security and mentoring Iraqi Security Forces in western Anbar – an area more than 30,000 square- miles in size, or about the size of South Carolina, according to the Marines here. In addition to supporting the regiment ’s infantrymen with massive amounts of firepower on the battlefield, Company C’s tanks and their crews are considered an invaluable asset to Marines “on the ground” – they add an extra layer of protection for patrols and convoys traveling Iraq’s bomb-laden roads. The unit’s mechanics log in 12-plus hour days, usually six or more days a week, turning wrenches and repairing parts to keep the 68-ton behemoths operational. The mechanics say that for every hour a tank is operated, about six hours of regular maintenance is required to keep the tank operable, “give or take.” (Photo by: Cpl. Antonio Rosas)
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By Donna Miles - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – The most important thing military leaders can offer their people is an up-front assessment of what they’re facing, as exemplified by the way the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team’s leaders informed the troops about their extension in Iraq, DoD’s top enlisted adviser told American Forces Press Service.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared his thoughts after returning from Alaska, home of the “Arctic Wolves.”
The Defense Department announced July 27 that the brigade, which was in the midst of wrapping up its 12-month deployment in Iraq, would remain up to four additional months. The announcement came two days after President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed to send more U.S. and Iraqi troops to Baghdad to curb sectarian violence.
Earlier this week, Army officials announced that 301 of the 378 brigade soldiers who had already returned to Alaska in June and July would return to Iraq this week.
The affected soldiers knew what was ahead for them before the official announcement thanks to the open communication from their leaders, Gainey said. “They already knew the announcement was coming that they would go back,” he said of troops he met with during his visit to Fort Wainwright.
Gainey said that’s a sea change from the military he joined 31 years ago, when leaders kept information to themselves. “I remember when you didn’t get news,” he said. “News wasn’t for you to have.”
But, Gainey said, sharing information -- the bad as well as the good -- is critical and enables troops to build trust in their leaders.
Gainey said he was amazed at how well the Stryker Brigade troops digested the news their leaders delivered.
He said he told the soldiers that their unit would be hard to replace because their training level was so high after a year in Iraq “I told them, ‘I’m sorry you got extended, but it’s bad being the best,” he said. “It’s really bad being the top dog.’”
“And I was shocked when they said, ‘Sergeant Major, we will go back tomorrow. We are ready to go back because our buddies are over there,’” Gainey said. “And that really set well in my heart that they were ready to go. If we had a bus and a plane that day, they would have flown that day.”
Gainey emphasized that despite their commitment, it was evident that the soldiers felt torn between their families at home and their comrades in Iraq. “That’s human nature,” he said, recalling similar personal conflicts during his own career. “I experienced the same thing when I left my family, but I also experienced (knowing that) my buddy is over there,” he said. “And where our buddies are, we need to be.”
As Gainey prepared to leave Alaska, he got the opportunity to meet two of the soldiers’ wives, along with their children, to explain why their husbands were needed in Iraq. “And again, I was very pleased when they said, ‘Sergeant Major, we understand. We don’t like it, but we understand. We are Army wives,’” Gainey said.
He praised the “outstanding” work of the Army “tiger team” helping the families and redeployed soldiers cope with the extension and the myriad other issues it created, from housing and finance problems to emotional distress. A tiger team is put together to deal with specific issues. In this case, a team from Army headquarters immediately went to Alaska to help local leaders deal with issues outside their purview.
Local support staffs have been augmented with child psychologists, adolescent counselors and specially trained chaplains with advanced degrees in family counseling. “What they do is bring answers to (families’) questions,” Gainey said. “It’s really good.”
Maj. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., commander of U.S. Army Alaska, requested the support shortly after getting word of the brigade’s extension in Iraq.
Gainey said this level of support and the straightforward way the command dealt with the extension led him to report to his boss, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, that “it’s okay” within the 172nd Stryker Brigade. “They really get it,” Gainey said he told the chairman.
The way the brigade’s extension played out offers important lessons to all military leaders, he said. Gainey urged them to be up front with their people, get news out as quickly as they can and avoid making promises they might not be able to keep.
“It’s about getting the information out as quickly as we get it,” he said. “Bad news does not get better with time.”
Gainey offered an analogy about a car tire that’s losing air. “If I know that your tire is going to go flat, I don’t not tell you because I think you’re going to be upset,” he said. “I tell you your tire is kind of low and that you’ve got to get it checked.”
As they keep their troops in the loop, leaders should never make promises they might have to retract down the road, Gainey warned. “What I tell young leaders is, ‘You should promise very little,’” he said. “‘You should give a lot.’”
And much of that giving has to do with information, he said. Gainey urged commanders in a position like Army Col. Michael Shields, who heads the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, to follow his example and keep their people informed about what potentially lies ahead for them.
Shields personally delivered news of the extension to family members through a 90-minute videoconference from Iraq before the official announcement. During the session, he told them he understands their disappointment and acknowledges the hardship the extension will cause. “He committed to them whatever resources he could to help with any hardships they face,” said Maj. Kirk Gohlke, public affairs officer for U.S. Army, Alaska.
Similarly, Shields ensured that his troops on the ground, as well as those who had already redeployed, knew of changing plans as quickly as decisions were made, officials said.
That’s all servicemembers really want from their leaders, Gainey said. “In my 12 years as a command sergeant major, 30 years as (a noncommissioned officer), that’s all they’ve ever asked and that I asked when I was a young soldier,” he said. “Tell me up front what’s going on, … and I think leaders are doing that more and more readily now.”
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Stryker Brigade Soldiers Sent Home to Alaska to Return to Iraq
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Bar Code Device Helps the Blind Find Household Items
By ERIN HAYES
KATY, Texas, Aug. 17, 2006 — For veterans blinded by bullets and bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new technology allows them to reclaim at least some of their everyday lives.
Kenny Adams was in Afghanistan for just six months when a fellow soldier was cleaning his gun and set it off. The bullet tore through Adams' skull and destroyed his eyes.
His wife, Katie Adams, said doctors gave him only "a couple of hours to live." But he's still alive, two years later.
"Nothing's going to stop him," she said.
With her help, Adams has learned to navigate an unfamiliar world, but he doesn't want his blindness to change how she views him.
"I married her to be my wife," he said, "not to be my mother."
Scanning for Clothes
Adams is one of thousands of blind veterans benefiting from progressive programs run by the Veterans Administration. The VA has given Adams a bar code scanner that allows him to search for items through voice technology.
Adams has a prescription reader and will soon have bar code labels sewn into his clothes so he can find shirts and pants in his closet.
Bill Johnson of the VA said this is one way of giving veterans the "ability to function more independently."
Adams expressed relief that with this gadget he won't have to ask his wife for as much help, which is important because they plan to have children.
Adams' wife said she is impressed by his progress
"I married a man who was very strong, and I've only seen him grow stronger since this injury," Katie Adams said. "He's a new person. Don't get me wrong. His injuries have changed him, so I'm learning to love this Kenny."
She joked that she now loves him "so much more," she "wouldn't take him with eyes now."
In her eyes, he's all there.
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – U.S. European Command will assume command of U.S. military forces operating off the coast of Lebanon and in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the organization’s commander said here today.
Marine Gen. James L. Jones, speaking at a Pentagon news conference, said European Command elements will assume command of the operations in that area from U.S. Central Command Aug. 23.
European Command has supported U.S. Central Command in the effort. Central Command originally received the mission because Lebanon is in that organization’s assigned area of operations. But Central Command also is responsible for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. This change will allow Central Command assets to go to other duties.
Israel is in European Command’s area of operations, and the command will need to work closely with European nations as events unfurl. “We will be working with the U.S. Central Command and, by the end of the month, we will effect the handover of responsibility,” Jones said.
Military forces in the region are assuring the evacuation of American citizens and, if need be, the U.S. embassy. They also are assisting in humanitarian activities. “Beyond that, we have no additional instructions,” Jones said.
Jones also announced today that Navy Vice Adm. John Stufflebeem, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, has been named as the joint task force commander. He replaces Vice Adm. Pat Walsh, 5th Fleet commander.
To date, 14,876 Americans have evacuated Lebanon. “All things are proceeding normally, and we await further developments and further mission taskings as they might come down,” Jones said.
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NATO Chief: National Will, Not Military Might, Needed to Succeed in Afghanistan
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – Military might will not win the battle for Afghanistan, NATO’s top military officer said here today.
Building a government that guards the liberties of its citizens, provides economic opportunities and treats all fairly before the law will do more than simple military pressure, U.S. Marine Gen. James L. Jones said during a Pentagon interview.
NATO has assumed the security mission in southern Afghanistan. The alliance now has responsibility for about 80 percent of the nation and is scheduled to assume command for the rest of the country by the end of this year.
Jones said this is a strategic moment for Afghanistan and for the North Atlantic alliance. “It’s a test of wills,” he said. “I believe NATO will be successful.”
Jones said the people of Afghanistan will only benefit, if the world community shows Afghans the benefits of security and freedom under a national government.
Afghanistan’s problem is not a military problem, Jones said. “The future of Afghanistan is tied to the international aid and development problem,” he said. “If I were to prioritize what needs to be done in Afghanistan, I would put the current military operations somewhat lower than the urgency needed for police reform, of (forming) a judicial system that works, of eliminating corruption at the senior levels in the districts and provinces, and of effectively attacking the narcotics problem.”
NATO and the coalition must provide tangible results quickly. Such needed results include: new hospitals, bridges, roads, water systems, electricity and schools, Jones said. “That’s the battle of Afghanistan,” he said. “That is the battle for the future.”
Jones said he learned two rules of counterinsurgency from former Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Al Gray: “Don’t do anything that’s not good for the people; don’t make any more enemies than you’ve already got,” he said. “That’s pretty simple stuff.”
NATO assumed control of southern Afghanistan July 31. The alliance’s forces have suffered casualties at the hands of the Taliban, narcoterrorists, criminal elements and tribal warlords. Eleven NATO soldiers have lost their lives, and another 50 have been wounded in combat. NATO forces also have suffered two non-battle deaths and 35 non-battle injuries.
Jones called NATO’s new area of responsibility “the wild south” and said security concerns there were fairly predictable. Coalition forces could not be everywhere at once, and the Taliban and narcoterrorists have used the mountains of Helmand and Oruzgan provinces as safe havens. The area has seen few coalition soldiers until now. Now, 6,000 NATO soldiers from five different countries are arriving in the south.
Jones said he expects the region to calm in the next few months. “We have the troop strength to do that,” he said. “It’s a test of wills right now, but I have no doubt we will prevail in relatively short order.”
NATO’s assumption of territory in the east will put U.S. troops there under NATO command. Forces in Afghanistan will have unity of command, purpose and mission, Jones said. “Bringing everything under one operational commander certainly will be more effective than the system we have,” he said.
Ultimately, NATO will have 40,000 soldiers, including Americans, in the country from 37 different countries -- 26 NATO members and 11 other coalition countries.
The alliance has done well so far in commanding the International Security Assistance Force, around Kabul. NATO assumed command of the northern area around Mazar-e Sharif in July 2004. The alliance assumed responsibility for the west, around the city of Herat, in mid-2005. The alliance now has moved into the south, based around Kandahar.
“I think the alliance deserves a lot of credit,” Jones said. “It’s a very important and ambitious mission (in Afghanistan), and it is important that it not fail. And we will not fail.”
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=488
U.S. Officials Tell ABC News That Evidence Points to an Underground Test
By JONATHAN KARL
Aug. 17, 2006 — There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing for an underground test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials told ABC News.
"It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility," said a senior State Department official.
A senior military official told ABC News that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site.
The activity includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside P'unggye-yok, an underground facility in northeast North Korea. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. The intelligence was brought to the attention of the White House last week.
Even before this most recent intelligence, there has been growing concern within the U.S. government that North Korea has been moving toward a nuclear test. North Korea is believed to have enough nuclear material to build as many as a dozen nuclear bombs, but it has never tested one. A successful test would remove any doubt that North Korea is a nuclear power.
"What does he have to lose?" asked one senior military official, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
On July 4, North Korea conducted seven ballistic missile tests, which provoked international condemnation, including a unanimous United States Security Council resolution condemning its actions. A nuclear test, however, would be seen as a much greater provocation than the missile tests. Only seven other nations in the world have ever conducted nuclear tests.
U.S. officials fear a nuclear test could provoke a nuclear arms race in East Asia, forcing Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons.
"A nuclear test is going to be alarming and troubling for everyone and would cause a very strong reaction I think from all of North Korea's neighbors," said former National Security Council official Michael Green, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
U.S. officials caution that the intelligence is not conclusive. Last year U.S. spy satellites picked up suspicious activity at suspected test sites in North Korea, leading some to predict an imminent nuclear test, but nothing happened.
Underground nuclear tests are notoriously difficult to detect ahead of time. U.S. intelligence agencies, for example, failed to predict nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998.
Officials say it is possible that North Korea may either be putting on a show for American spy satellites to get attention, or may conduct a nuclear test in an entirely different location.
Some analysts believe Kim Jong Il may feel the only way to be taken seriously is to prove that North Korea is a nuclear power. Officials acknowledge that nobody really knows Kim Jong Il's intentions, but there is a belief among analysts that he is upset about the recent U.N. resolution condemning his missile tests and upset with the Chinese for supporting that resolution.
"It is the view of most in the community that there is a 50-50 chance North Korea will conduct a nuclear test by the end of the year," said one analyst.
Asked what the United States would do in response to a nuclear test, a senior U.S. official told ABC News, "We would try to hermetically seal the hermit kingdom."
The official said the United States would immediately push for sanctions to cut North Korea's ties to the outside world. Another possible option would be a naval blockade of North Korea.
But it is unclear how effective such efforts would be. North Korea is already the most isolated country in the world.
South Lebanon welcomes country's army
By LAUREN FRAYER - Associated Press Writer
Aug 17, 2006
QLEIA, Lebanon - Villagers throwing rice and Hezbollah supporters holding banners welcomed the country's army to south Lebanon on Thursday after a nearly 40-year absence, and the first airliner landed at Beirut airport since fighting began more than a month ago.
Four days into a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, there was still no firm date for a deployment of an enhanced international force that is supposed to expand to 15,000 troops and join an equal number of Lebanese soldiers.
The United Nations got pledges Thursday of 3,500 troops for the force, with Bangladesh making the largest offer of up to 2,000 troops. But France offered just 400, and Germany — uneasy given its Nazi past of any possible military confrontation with Israeli soldiers — said it wouldn't send any.
France was expected to lead the U.N. force, and its announcement of such a small number focused attention on its demands for a more explicit mandate, including when to use firepower, and could affect contributions by other countries.
Even though the Israel withdrawal and handover to U.N. forces has gone well thus far, some potential contributors are believed to be concerned about avoiding confrontation with Hezbollah or being caught in the middle of a future conflict.
The U.N. cease-fire resolution called for the force to keep the peace and disarm Hezbollah fighters south of the Litani River. However, the Lebanese government adopted a mandate Wednesday that requires confiscation of Hezbollah arms only if carried in public. It said nothing about the network of Hezbollah rocket bunkers across the 18-mile stretch between the river and the Israeli border.
The deep political divisions in Lebanon resurfaced with the head of the largest parliamentary bloc blasting both Israel and Syria in a fiery nationalistic speech to hundreds of supporters.
Saad Hariri, the leader of an independent, secular bloc that has opposed Syrian domination of Lebanon and is seen as an opponent of Hezbollah, accused Israel of "living off the blood" of Arabs and said Syrian President Bashar Assad was trying to sow strife in Lebanon. Syria and Iran are the main international backers of Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim guerrilla group opposed to Israel.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, when asked about Hariri's speech, said: "Too often in the Arab world, people think that political legitimacy is attained by bashing Israel."
At least 845 Lebanese were killed in the 34-day war: 743 civilians, 34 soldiers and 68 Hezbollah. Israel says it killed about 530 guerrillas. On the Israeli side, 157 were killed — 118 soldiers and 39 civilians, many from the 3,970 Hezbollah rocket strikes. The figures were compiled by The Associated Press, mostly from government officials on both sides.
In Beirut, the international airport reopened to commercial traffic for the first time since July 13 when it was attacked by Israeli warplanes and gunboats. A Middle East Airlines passenger jet touched down from Amman, Jordan, ending a 36-day Israeli blockade, and a Royal Jordanian flight followed soon after.
The Israeli military said it was coordinating the arrivals, and that the air blockade had not been lifted. But Middle East Airlines Chairman Mohammed Hout said the blockade was partially lifted to allow flights between Amman and Beirut. Airport officials said full commercial traffic could resume next week.
In southern Lebanon, about 2,500 Lebanese soldiers from the 10th Brigade set up camps within a half-mile of the Israeli border — a key step toward taking control of the whole country for the first time since 1968 and a major demand of the U.N. resolution that so far has halted the fighting.
The deployment marks the first time the Lebanese army has moved in force to a region that was held by Palestinian guerrillas in the 1970s and by Hezbollah since Israeli troops withdrew from the area in 2000.
As the Lebanese troops began spreading out along the frontier at the north end of Israel's Galilee panhandle, a convoy of eight U.N. peacekeeping trucks rumbled into Kfar Kila, just south of here, to take up positions that were held by Israelis before they began withdrawing. Those posts were to be transferred to Lebanese forces, mostly likely by early Friday.
Abu Hussein Awad, a 58-year-old Shiite, claims the distinction of being the Lebanese civilian who lives closest to Israel. His house backs up against the Fatima Gate where Israeli troops withdrew in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation of south Lebanon.
"The army is good, I'm glad they're here," said Awad, who has lived here for 50 years — most of the time Israel has been in existence.
He was asked if he supported Hezbollah.
"I'm Lebanese. I don't like Hezbollah ... . I love Lebanon only — not America, not Iran and not Syria — just Lebanon," he said, listing the key backers of the combatants in the war.
The area of Lebanon's border with Israel was in ruins. In the towns of Adaisse and Taibeh, south and west of Kfar Kila respectively, it was difficult to find a building that was not blackened, pockmarked by artillery or flattened altogether.
Wreckage was strewn through the streets, but new Hezbollah flags flapped in the wind over piles of rubble. In Kfar Kila, young men hung giant yellow banners above intersections. They read: "Rice, they will not see your new Mideast" and "The Great Lebanon has defeated the murderers." Both were signed, Hezbollah.
The only traffic in the towns was young bearded men zipping around piles of wreckage on motorcycles. They spoke quietly into two-way radios, occasionally dismounted to kiss one another on both cheeks, then zipped away. One had a handgun tucked into his belt. Another threw an AK-47 rifle into the back of a pickup truck when a reporter approached.
"I am a Hezbollah fighter, and this is my town," proclaimed 35-year-old Ahmed, who declined to give his full name because he feared retribution from Israel. His voice echoed off the shells of vacant, gnarled buildings in Adaisse's main square.
Ahmed pointed to one charred building after another. "That is where 18 of them (Israeli soldiers) died, and five more there," he said, pointing to buildings off the town square. "That over there is my business, a bookshop."
"Why did they (the Israelis) come? Why did they do this?" Ahmed screamed, his cement block house in shambles. "Next time the Israelis come, we'll fight again for sure." He broke open a 6-pack of mineral water he said he snatched from next to the bodies of Israeli soldiers killed days ago here.
Among the soldiers who will be taking up positions in villages like Adaisse and Taibeh was Cpl. Muhammed Abdul Rahim. The 42-year-old Lebanese army ranger from Tripoli, in the far north of the country, said he felt "like a new man today."
"It's a difficult mission, and the times now are still dangerous. I think we have one more week of danger in this country," he said.
The arrival of Adbul Rahim and his comrades was welcomed.
"We've been waiting for 30 years for this army to come," said George Najm, a 23-year-old wedding singer from Qleia. "Today is a new beginning."
"Lebanon is a beautiful country," Najm said as he looked over the valley toward Israel. "But it's been a pretty difficult place to live for the past month."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060818/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel_1179
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