Iraqi special police commandos attend target practice in Baghdad August 29, 2006. The training is aimed at providing tighter security to high Iraqi government officials and other VIPs. (REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud) (IRAQ)
Posted on 08/29/2006 3:52:40 PM PDT by Gucho
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld addresses a crowd of sailors and civilian government employees during a town hall meeting at Fallon Naval Air Station, Nev., Aug. 28, 2006. Rumsfeld answered questions that ranged from health care to the global war on terrorism. (Dept. of Defense photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen)
Tuesday, 29 August 2006
By Pfc. Paul David Ondik - 4th BCT, 101st Airborne Division
FOB LOYALTY — Two Iraqi kidnap victims were freed Wednesday by U.S. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in the Adhamiyah district of eastern Baghdad. U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces are in the area as part of the expansion of Operation Forward Together.
Describing the scene, Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, said they observed an Iraqi man running from a house nearby their position. When they caught up to him, he said he and a friend were being held there against their will.
The victim said he escaped when his kidnappers, hearing the sound of Coalition Humvees nearby, fled to the roof of the building in which he was being held.
“The guy was running away, and we actually had to catch up to him,” said Spc. Kenneth Correa. “He said that his friend was still in the house.”
Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers surrounded the home. Inside they found the second victim, whose hands and feet were bound.
The kidnappers managed to flee the scene before the troops were able to cordon off the area.
The victims, a Shiite and a Sunni Muslim, told the Soldiers they had been riding motorcycles and had just crossed the A’ Iamma bridge going into Adhamiyah when they were surrounded by four armed men, also on motorcycles. The assailants forced them to an area south of the Abu Hanifa Mosque, at which point the victims were transfered into the back of a vehicle and taken to the home where U.S. forces eventually found them.
The escape and rescue mark just the most recent case of liberation involving troops from the unit. Ten kidnap victims have been freed in just the past two weeks.
“Over the last couple of months, (kidnapping) has been one of the focuses,” said Lt. Col. Brian Winski, commander, 1st Sqdn., 61st Cav. Regt.
Although many kidnappings in the area are motivated by sectarian tensions, it is unlikely this particular incident falls into that category, Winski said.
An investigation is underway, with U.S. Soldiers questioning nearby residents.
The victims were released to Iraqi Police near their home in Baghdad’s Khadamiyah neighborhood.
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2006 – Pentagon officials unveiled a reorganization of the Defense Department’s policy office that will increase interagency cooperation.
Eric Edelman, undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters yesterday that the reorganization will allow DoD to better partner with colleagues in other agencies and to help DoD focus on developing the capabilities needed for the war on terror.
The reorganized office changes the geographic responsibility for policy, and it places cross-cutting functions under one chief.
The geographic policy responsibility has shifted. Europe and NATO, the Middle East and Africa will come under the assistant defense secretary for international security affairs. Asia Pacific, South Asia and Central Asia will come under the assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs. Western hemisphere policy decisions will come under the ASD for Homeland Defense and Americas’ security affairs.
The assistant secretary for special operations/low intensity conflict is just that, but also picks up responsibility for strategic capabilities and forces transformation.
The reorganization calls for appointing an assistant secretary for global security affairs. This cross-cutting office will oversee policy guidance for building partners capabilities, security cooperation, technical security policy, detainee affairs and POW/MIA affairs.
This is the first reorganization of the policy office since the fiscal 2002 National Defense Authorization Act that established the assistant secretary for Homeland Defense.
Edelman has been in the position for about a year. Before that he served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey. He is a career foreign service officer and has worked at State and Defense since the early 1970s.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Edelman to examine ways to reorganize the office in light of new realities. He said he approached the reorganization very deliberately. “The guidance (Rumsfeld) gave us was to develop a set of balanced portfolios that would enable the organization to interact more effectively with the combatant commanders and … to work more effectively with outsiders,” he said.
The reorganization brings the DoD way of looking at the world more in line with the way the State Department and the National Security Council.
Edelman said the reorganization will be phased in beginning Oct. 1, and running through March 2007.
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Afghanistan's top phone network in 65-mln-dollar expansion
Stars and Stripes - Mideast edition
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
ARLINGTON, Va. — Active-duty sailors at or below E-6 looking to join the Navy Reserve can find strong opportunities for advancement as masters-at-arms, Navy officials said.
The Navy has published the Enlisted Career Management Objectives, which lists rates that are undermanned and thus offer promotion opportunities, said Lt. Cmdr. Tom Simpson, Selected Reserve enlisted community manager.
As of mid–August, the Navy Reserve has only about 1,800 of the more than 3,000 masters-at-arms it needs for this fiscal year, Simpson said.
The need for masters-at-arms has spiked in recent years and there simply weren’t enough sailors out there initially to meet the Navy’s requirements, Simpson said.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the number of masters-at-arms has rocketed from 1,869 to 9,981, and the Navy hopes to have 11,109 masters-at-arms by fiscal 2009, said Lt. Gary Smith, Security Forces community manager, Navy Personnel Command.
Masters-at-arms typically are active-duty sailors, but Reserve masters-at-arms are filling voids as their active-duty counterparts are sent downrange as individual augmentees, Smith said.
Simpson said that other rates with strong promotion opportunities include Seabees and corpsmen.
By Sandra Jontz - Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Joint Task Force Lebanon leaders set up sub-task forces that will be ready to help in humanitarian relief if the call comes, according to a Navy news release.
Vice Adm. John Stufflebeem, commander of JTF Lebanon and of the U.S. 6th Fleet based out of Gaeta, Italy, appointed Air Force Col. Brad Webb to command Task Force Alpha, the air and land components, while Navy Capt. John Nowell was tapped to lead Bravo, the maritime side of things.
“These task force commanders have responsibility for the air, land and sea support to the American Embassy in Beirut, and will execute the daily operations necessary to carry out our mission to assist Department of State-led efforts in the region,” Stufflebeem stated in a release.
U.S. European Command assumed control of missions and requirements from Central Command on Aug. 23.
Webb, as commander of the 352nd Special Operations Group out of RAF Mildenhall, England, has been in the region since July 19.
In all, Webb has about 450 people working the air and land side of missions, including a group of MH-53M Pave Low heavy-lift helicopters to be used as an “air bridge” for taking people in and out of the American Embassy in Beirut; a U.S. Marine Corps Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team from Naval Station Rota, Spain, brought in to provide added security to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut; Army CH-47 helicopters based out of Ingolstadt, Germany, and MC-130P Combat Shadow refuelers, the release states.
Nowell’s maritime force consists of nearly 1,800 sailors, Marines, Air Force medical personnel and civilian mariners aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry, amphibious transport dock USS Trenton, High Speed Vessel Swift and the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha.
The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp left its homeport in Virginia on Friday on its way to the eastern Mediterranean.
By Jason Kaye - Fort Lewis Northwest Guardian
FORT LEWIS, Wash. (Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2006) – A long wait is over for Stryker Mobile Gun System (MSG) crews of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
The 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, received its complement of MGS vehicles last month after more than a year of waiting. They are the first vehicles to be fielded in the Army.
“I think its going to give the infantry a whole new dimension of what they can do. Armor and infantry have kept each other at arm’s length for years and years," said Sgt. 1st Class David Cooper, an MGS platoon sergeant with B Company, 2-23 Inf. "We’ve got some growing pains, but once we get out there and they see what we can do, we’re going to be everybody’s friend.”
Each infantry company is slated to receive three vehicles, though crews don't expect to operate together except on rare occasions.
The vehicles carry crews of three, and are equipped with a 105 mm main gun and a state-of-the-art fire control system. The MGS also has an onboard coaxial machine gun that’s fire controlled.
“You can literally shoot smiley faces with it at 900 meters,” said Cooper. “Even minus the big gun we can give the infantry a lot of support.”
The 105 mm is capable of firing four types of rounds: SABOT, a depleted-uranium armor-piercing round; HEAT, high-explosive anti-tank; HEP, high-explosive plastic; and a canister round. The rounds are loaded using a hydraulic auto-loader in the rear of the vehicle.
The HEP and canister rounds give Stryker units new capabilities, especially in urban areas. The HEP can blow holes in reinforced concrete walls, but unlike the rounds from an Abrams, won’t continue through the target and into surrounding buildings. The canister provides as effective anti-personnel capability.
“The vehicle’s basic role is to support the infantry. It’s not there to take on tanks or go toe-to-toe in the wide-open desert like we did with the Abrams,” said Sgt. 1st Class William Ozmet, an MGS instructor from Fort Knox, Ky. “Its primary function is blowing a hole in the wall or blowing up bunkers.”
Over the past year, the crews have been training with TOW-ITAS Humvees or other Stryker variants. Finally having the vehicles gives the crews a chance to delve into training.
“I can actually start focusing on our training, both on our mission tasks and working with the infantry,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Lilley, the MGS platoon leader in B Co.
The MGS also comes equipped with training software that allows Soldiers to train on various engagements in their own vehicles, instead of going to a simulator somewhere else.
Once the 4th Bde. completes training, instructors from General Dynamics Land Systems will move on to equip and train Soldiers in Hawaii and Pennsylvania. Training for those units may change according to lessons learned here, but the vehicle itself is expected to remain mostly unchanged.
“I’m confident that this will turn out to be a successful piece of equipment for us, the infantry and the Army,” said Lilley.
By Gerry J. Gilmore - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2006 – Florida National Guard and reserve forces, as well as other state and federal emergency responders, are ready and waiting for now-tropical storm “Ernesto’s” arrival tonight or early tomorrow, a state military official said today.
“Our forces are mobilized and ready,” Florida Air National Guard Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, spokesman for the state’s joint forces headquarters in Tallahassee, said during a telephone interview with American Forces Press Service.
Florida has activated more than 1,000 military and civilian emergency responders in preparation for Ernesto, Tittle said, while state officials also coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Northern Command, and other organizations.
“It’s really encouraging,” Tittle added, “when you see how the state agencies work together and with our federal partners.”
Tourists have already been evacuated from the Florida Keys, Tittle said. Ernesto is now packing 45 mph winds and forecasters predict it will probably near Florida’s southern tip sometime tonight. After landfall the storm is expected to take a northerly route up Florida’s middle, Tittle said, exiting somewhere midway along the state’s Atlantic Ocean coast.
Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Douglas Burnett, an Air Guard officer, is working closely with Governor Jeb Bush, Tittle said, in coordinating emergency response preparations as Ernesto moves closer to Florida. Ernesto has weakened from hurricane to tropical storm status, but it still dumped seven inches of rain on Cuba last night.
Tittle acknowledged that state and federal emergency responders have alternate plans to address changing conditions if Ernesto would gain strength or move in another direction.
For example, up to 9,500 Guard and reserve members, Tittle said, are ready if Ernesto regains hurricane status, with accompanying 74 mph wind velocity, or more.
UPDATE BY:Jim Williams.....Tropical Storm Ernesto is approaching the Florida keys as Ernesto is now forecast to hit South Florida early on Wednesday morning. Our current feature is now Miami,Florida,use the navigation bar to the left for the latest from South Florida. As Ernesto moves into South Florida you can track weather obesrvations right here . There will be no live in house coverage on Ernesto unless it becomes a hurricane, but we will stream live radio and TV from south florida right here.
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA - American Forces Press Service
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 29, 2006 – With the war on terror being fought largely in the media on a global stage, Americans cannot allow negative perceptions about the country and the military to be repeated without challenge, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.
“Those who know the truth need to speak out against these kinds of myths and distortions that are being told about our troops and our country,” Rumsfeld said while addressing the American Legion National Convention. “The struggle we are in –- the consequences are too severe, the struggle too important, to have the luxury of returning to the old mentality of ‘Blame America first.’”
As in past conflicts, the media today focus mainly on setbacks suffered by the United States in the war, and often paint a negative picture of American troops and the work they do, Rumsfeld said. Speaking to the veterans at the convention, he appealed for their help in dispelling the negative perceptions and standing up for the truth about the military.
“One of the most important things the Legion has done is not only to serve, and assist, and advocate as you’ve done so superbly for much of the past century – but also to educate and to speak the truth about our country and about the men and women in the military,” he said.
Every war involves mistakes, setbacks and casualties, Rumsfeld acknowledged, and every army has members who do not live up to high standards. However, those negative factors cannot overshadow the hundreds of thousands of honorable men and women who serve with humanity and decency in the face of constant provocation, he said.
“That is important in any long struggle or any kind of long war, where any kind of moral and intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can severely weaken the ability of free societies to persevere,” he said.
The enemy in the war on terror is smart and takes every opportunity e to manipulate the media and demoralize public opinion, Rumsfeld said. But he stressed he is confident that the American people, though understandably influenced by the media, have good centers of gravity and will see the truth.
“I am confident that over time they will evaluate and reflect on what is happening in this struggle and come to wise conclusions about it,” he said.
Rumsfeld pointed to the true picture in Iraq, where a country once brutalized by a dictatorship is moving toward a new future with a representative government that will be at peace with its neighbors. The conflict in Iraq has changed over the years, he said, but the U.S. strategy remains the same: to empower the Iraqi people to defend, govern and rebuild their own country.
The question in the war on terror is not whether America can win, Rumsfeld said, but whether Americans have the will to persevere. Thanks to the sacrifices of veterans like those in the American Legion, Rumsfeld said he believes Americans have learned that quitting is not an option.
“I believe that Americans do have that determination,” he said. “And that we have learned the lessons of history – the folly of turning a blind eye to danger. These are lessons you know well – lessons that your heroism has helped to teach to generations of Americans.”
United States helps reconstruct Iraq's judicial, law enforcement infrastructure
By Lea Terhune - Washington File Staff Writer
29 August 2006
Washington - The high-profile trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a top international news item, but building Iraq’s capacity to hold such a trial is a story in itself. U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales traveled to Iraq August 29 to meet and commend those whose hard work has helped rebuild and maintain Iraq’s justice system.
After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, 24 Department of Justice officials were deployed to assess and assist in reconstituting the Iraqi legal system. Now more than 200 American law professionals support Iraq’s justice and law enforcement institutions through training and advising jurists and police.
"Freedom is best sustained by the establishment of a fair and just legal system that prioritizes the rights and liberties of its citizens," the attorney general said after his arrival in Baghdad August 29.
Key U.S. law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort, including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Marshal’s Service (USMS). Officers from each of these agencies make up the Major Crimes Task Force, which investigates assassinations of government officials, prisoner abuse, civil rights violations and violent crimes. They also contribute managerial expertise and technical assistance to highly trained Iraqi investigators.
The FBI has a counterterrorism unit in Iraq and brings in specialists to train the Iraqi police in counterterrorism techniques. The FBI legal attaché also facilitates law enforcement liaisons and international assistance. The Iraqi police receive training in the handling of explosives from the ATF. The USMS advises on security programs for Iraqi courts and provides court and witness security services.
U.S. agencies assist the Iraqi High Tribunal in its investigations of genocide, war crimes and other offenses, including investigations of Saddam Hussein and other officials of the deposed Iraqi government. As needed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and contractors with special expertise assist in evidence gathering and preservation, forensic testing and exhumation of mass graves. Anthropologists, archaeologists, pathologists and forensic scientists are among those consultants employed in investigations.
Enhancement of Iraq’s legal institutions is the chief goal of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development. Advisers assess and give counsel on judicial reforms. They develop training programs tailored to Iraq’s justice system. About 500 Iraqi jurists and prosecutors have been trained in areas such as human rights, forensic evidence and prosecuting criminal, insurgency and terrorism cases. Department of Justice agencies provide resources for the anti-corruption efforts of the Iraq Commission for Public Integrity.
Iraqi law enforcement also is bolstered by training and assistance given to various levels of the police force. According to the Department of Justice, the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) is “the largest international police training program ever undertaken.” To date, more than 130,000 Iraqi police have been trained in courses developed by ICITAP and Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT) agents. Specialized and advanced training has been given to more than 15,000 Iraqi police on techniques of handling basic crime investigation, interrogation, critical incidents, civil disorder, violent crimes and kidnapping. ICITAP/CPATT advised on the comprehensive security mounted during Iraqi elections. The teams founded Baghdad Police College, the Arbil Police College and six regional basic training facilities, and continue to serve as their consultants.
"The Department of Justice is proud to help the Iraqi people establish the rule of law in their country, and I applaud the Department of Justice employees who are so dedicated to assisting in this historic effort," Gonzales
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA - American Forces Press Service
RENO, Nev., Aug. 29, 2006 – As the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, approaches, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last night stressed the need for determination in the war on terror.
"Today we are engaged in conflicts that are again testing whether or not our country believes that the defense of liberty is worth the cost," Rumsfeld said while addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention here.
The enemy in the war on terror is ruthless and will lie constantly to advance its cause, Rumsfeld said, but history has proven the American people have resolve and determination. He cited American perseverance following the attack on Pearl Harbor, in the battle of Iwo Jima and in the Korean War.
"History has shown time and again that if Americans have the patience and perseverance to see an effort through -- that we prevail," he said. "And the result of that perseverance is a safer and more secure world."
There is much debate in the country about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Rumsfeld called for people to use historical perspective when assessing the situation, and not to focus on setbacks. He said the veterans he was addressing are uniquely qualified to remind the American people that there have been setbacks and difficulties throughout every war in American history.
"You not only have lived history, you have made history," he told the audience. "You not only understand the nature of warfare, but many of you helped to transform the way wars are fought. And you know the price of freedom, because you risked your lives, shed blood, and lost friends in freedom's defense."
Iraq is still the epicenter of the war on terror, and although the insurgents want the world to believe otherwise, great progress is being made there, Rumsfeld said. A country that was once brutalized by a cruel dictatorship is working to secure a future under a representative government at peace with its neighbors.
Those who focus on setbacks in Iraq are fostering a "blame America first" mentality that threatens to undermine U.S. efforts in the war on terror, he said.
There will be setbacks in the war on terror, Rumsfeld acknowledged, but that does not mean the United States is losing ground. Americans have not quit in difficult times in the past, but have seen things through to victory, and will continue to do so.
"Today we will not tell 50 million Afghans and Iraqis that because the going is tough -- and it is tough, let there be no doubt -- that we will abandon them to the beheaders, the terrorists, the assassins, and 21st century fascists who seek to attack us abroad and here at home," he said.
At the convention, Rumsfeld received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Distinguished Service Award for his many years of service to the nation.
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Military Capable of Meeting All Its Challenges, Rumsfeld Says
Rumsfeld to Stress to VFW Need for Resolve in Terror War
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Rummy lit into the lefties on this one today.
Kill the killers.
Awesome to see business taking off there.
Bump!
Back at you. thank you for doing this day in and day out.
You're welcome, pissant.
An American troop aids a wounded Iraqi child during a food and water distribution to Iraqi families in the Iraqi Family Village in Baghdad, Aug. 4, 2006. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. James P. Hunter)
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jeff Globis
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jeff Globis’ split-second decision to verbally warn near-by Marines and Iraqi soldiers of an approaching suicide bomber while he was standing post at a military outpost in Iraq’s Al Anbar Province allowed others to avoid a potentially life-threatening explosion. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Roe F. Seigle)
By Sgt. Roe F. Seigle - 1st Marine Division
BAGHDADI, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2006 — A Marine’s quick thinking, coupled with a series of well-aimed shots, saved lives July 27, according to Marines and Iraqi soldiers serving here.
Cpl. Jeff Globis’ split-second decision to verbally warn near-by Marines and Iraqi soldiers of an approaching suicide bomber while he was standing post at a military outpost here allowed others to avoid a potentially life-threatening explosion.
Manning an observation point at the combat outpost, the 23-year-old infantryman saw the speeding truck break through the base’s protective barriers. Globis opened fire on the vehicle, which was loaded with hundreds of pounds of explosives, and warned others to take cover – acts which many here said saved their lives.
Globis, a team leader assigned to the Hawaii-based Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, said he knew the truck was a suicide bomber as soon as it turned a corner and attempted to drive through the outpost’s protective barriers.
“I only had a few seconds to act, so I fired four shots through the windshield as soon as he crashed through the first protective barrier,” said Globis, a native of Winthrop Harbor, Ill. “When the truck stopped, I warned all the Marines and soldiers to move as far away from the front of the building as possible.”
Globis’ determinations were soon confirmed – the truck detonated and part of the roof of the outpost collapsed. No Marines or soldiers were killed because they had time to move away, avoiding the brunt of the blast, thanks to Globis’ warning.
However, Globis, a 2002 graduate of Zion Benton High School, refuses to take credit for saving the Marines and soldiers that day because he “was just doing what any Marine would have done in that situation.”
Staff Sgt. Richard Charley, 29, disagreed and said that many Marines and soldiers are still alive because of his quick thinking.
“Globis saved several peoples’ lives that day,” said Charley, a platoon sergeant. “He eliminated the driver of that vehicle before he could penetrate further into the compound and completely destroy the building.”
Globis will be awarded for his actions that day, but it is undetermined which award he will receive, said Charley, a native of Bishop, Calif.
This is not the first time Globis has potentially saved other Marines’ or soldiers’ lives since he deployed to Iraq in March.
A few weeks prior to the suicide bombing, Globis was riding in a Humvee during a patrol through the city. Moments before the Humvee drove over a pressure-detonated improvised explosive device, Globis said he noticed it from the corner of his eye and had the driver stop.
Upon inspection, Globis and the other Marines noticed the front tire of the vehicle was literally inches away from the roadside bomb.
“Globis has been exposed to a lot of danger since he arrived in Iraq, but he has remained dependable and mature,” said Charley. “Because of this, his subordinates and I have the utmost confidence in him.”
Recently, Globis was selected to be an infantry advisor for the Military Transition Team here. Now he spends his days training Iraqi soldiers – who are making notable progress as they continue to move towards operating independent of his unit’s support, he said.
“The soldiers are stepping up and taking charge when we are on patrol,” said Globis. “They want to succeed.”
“Ahmed,” a soldier who was slightly injured in the blast from the suicide bomber said Globis is a great leader and motivates the soldiers to fight the insurgency. He also said that he is alive today because Globis saved his life that day.
“I would have been killed if Globis did not give that warning,” said Ahmed. “Marines like Globis have earned our loyalty and respect and we feel privileged to fight alongside them.”
Globis said he enjoys working with the soldiers and has learned good leadership skills, like patience and mentoring, because there is a language barrier between them and sometimes he has to teach the soldiers the same task more than once.
“The reason we selected Globis to work with the soldiers is because he is one of the most dependable and mature Marines in the company and accomplishes difficult missions, like leading soldiers on patrols, with little or no supervision,” said Charley.
Globis, and the rest of the Marines in 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, also known as “America’s Battalion,” are scheduled to return to Hawaii this fall and be replaced by another Hawaii-based unit.
GIs in Ramadi working to root out behind-the-scenes operators
A soldier attached to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division examines an Iraqi family’s computer disks during a series of searches in eastern Ramadi recently. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Capt. Jeffrey Kersey, 30, of West Palm Beach, Fla., scans neighborhood rooftops for possible gunmen while preparing to wrap up a series of searches in eastern Ramadi recently. (Monte Morin / S&S)
By Monte Morin - Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
RAMADI, Iraq — For Capt. Jeffrey Kersey and the rest of Company C, it was one of those minor victories that U.S. troops are often left with when waging a counterinsurgency war.
On paper, the plan called for the capture of no fewer than four high-value insurgents in eastern Ramadi’s notorious Ma’laab district — an area that saw some of Ramadi’s heaviest fighting after it was inherited by the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, almost nine months ago.
In a series of simultaneous raids, U.S. troops, Iraqi army soldiers and Navy SEALS were to capture the leader of an intimidation-and-beheading cell, a deadly sniper and two other undesirables as they slept in their safe houses several hours before dawn.
In the end, though, the Iraqi army soldiers took a pass on the operation and the SEALS struck out.
Kersey’s men nabbed the suspected sniper — although they failed to find a weapon that would give them an airtight legal case.
“This happens,” said Kersey, 30, of West Palm Beach, Fla. “The operation looks good on paper, but it’s only as good as the information we get from people. Sometimes that information is kind of, well, not the best.”
As U.S. and Iraqi army troops wage a renewed campaign to neutralize insurgents in this restive, Sunni Arab city, soldiers such as Kersey have found themselves in a sometimes exasperating cat-and-mouse contest to root out top-tier insurgents.
While troops under the command of Lt. Col. Ronald P. Clark have killed many insurgents in heavy fighting throughout eastern Ramadi over the last nine months, identifying and capturing those enemy figures who work behind the scenes is a little more difficult, particularly when insurgent threats and intimidation have scared much of the general population into silence.
Such was the case recently when the Baumholder, Germany-based “Commando” Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division set off in search of a sniper who had killed or wounded a number of Iraqi army soldiers at east Ramadi outposts.
As Kersey’s troops worked their way down a city block, searching homes and questioning residents, they eventually picked up the trail of a short, stocky sniper suspect known as Majid. When they finally tracked him down to a living room in his family’s home, the target — not surprisingly — told Kersey they had the wrong man.
“I’ve spent the whole year running away from the insurgents,” the suspect said through an interpreter. “Look at my back. I have marks where the mujahedeen hit me for swearing.”
As the suspect was blindfolded and told that he was being taken into custody, he began coughing and spitting on the floor. Then he lay down on the ground.
“They do this,” Kersey said as a medic examined him. “When they realize you’re taking them into custody they start acting like they’re sick.”
When the medic failed to find anything wrong, the man was helped to his feet by soldiers and walked to a Bradley fighting vehicle.
“I wish we could find a weapon,” Kersey said. “That would just complete this day.”
None was found. Still, Kersey said the suspect might be able to offer interrogators useful information that might lead to subsequent and more successful raids.
“We’ve been looking for this guy for three months,” Kersey said. “Just knowing that he’s a player is something. Hopefully, he’ll be able to lead us to somebody else.”
Kersey’s company is one of the more recent arrivals to Ramadi, and is part of that element of the 1st Armored Division that spent six months in Kuwait before deploying to Iraq.
What they found waiting for them at Combat Outpost Corregidor was an isolated outpost mired in deep, flourlike dust. When tanks and Humvees roll through, the resulting milky-colored mist blocks out the sun like a partial eclipse.
What they also found was Clark’s Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 1-506th — a collection of infantry, armor and Navy SEAL units that had been battling insurgent attacks since the beginning of the year. Attacks have dropped significantly from the time of their arrival, when insurgents would step out into the street and launch rocket-propelled grenades into the camp or lob mortars from just a kilometer away.
“That doesn’t happen anymore,” Clark said.
For the units, success has meant the establishment of a series of combat outposts and traffic checkpoints that spread their reach deeper into the eastern part of the city, just as troops with the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division are working to establish similar outposts in the western part of the city.
“We used to have to fight our way into the Ma’laab any time we went there. Now we’ve got an observation post there,” Clark said.
Another key outpost stands beside a notorious soccer stadium that served as a place for insurgents to hide their weapons and launch mortar attacks.
“Today, we own the stadium,” said Maj. David Womack, operations officer for the 1-506th. “There are people playing soccer in the stadium now.”
Now, with just a few months remaining before the 1-506th returns home, commanders say they can identify with what 1-1 AD units like the 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment are going through as they battle insurgents in the south central part of Ramadi.
“They’re going through a lot of the same stuff we went through six months ago,” Clark said.
An Iraqi interpreter working with the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division questions a resident of east Ramadi while searching for a suspected sniper recently. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Soldiers with “Commando” Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division scale a wall during a series of house searches in east Ramadi recently. They are currently attached to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. (Monte Morin / S&S)
‘Blue Spaders’ test rapid deployment process
By Mark St.Clair - Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The first portion of Dagger Brigade to deploy in the present rotation in Iraq has made it to Baghdad.
The “Blue Spaders,” or 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, left Schweinfurt, Germany, as the lead unit from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, and arrived in Kuwait in early August.
In Kuwait, the Spaders were given up-armored vehicles and crew-served weapons, along with logistical and medical equipment. According to a press release from Multi-National Force-Iraq, it marked the first time a unit drew prepositioned equipment since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“They … were able to leave for Iraq before their equipment from Germany even arrived,” said Capt. Jacob E. White, the rear detachment commander. White did not know whether the 1-26 will continue to use the prepositioned equipment for the remainder of the deployment.
After the more than 800 soldiers went through mandatory gunnery skills training, they began moving into Iraq in mid-August to support Iraqi Security Forces operations.
The decision to send the 1-26 before the rest of the Dagger Brigade was made partly to ensure that the Army has the capability to rapidly deploy units from their home stations to Iraq on short notice, the release said. Another first for the Spaders, it was the first test of the rapid deployment process in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the release.
“They’re kicking butt out there,” White said of his unit. “So far, they’ve met and surpassed all their expectations. … We’re not a quick reaction force like the 101st or 82nd (airborne divisions). We’re a heavy brigade … not designed to move quickly, but we’ve been able to.”
Army maintenance company last deployed in 2003
596th Maintenance Company soldiers practice evacuating casualties at Grafenwohr, Germany, on Thursday in preparation for deployment to Iraq next month. (Seth Robson / S&S)
By Seth Robson - Stars and Stripes European edition
Monday, August 28, 2006
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — Fathers often have plenty of useful advice for sons heading off to war.
But the advice Iraq-bound 2nd Lt. John Curran got from his father, Charles Curran, 51, was more up-to-date than might be expected.
John Curran, who is preparing to leave for Al Asad with the 596th Maintenance Company next month, said he is getting pre-deployment tips from a father who just got back from six months working there as a program manager with defense contractor Northrop Grumman.
“Anyone who is not nervous about going to Iraq is kidding themselves, but we are prepared,” said Curran, who will be on his first mission to the desert.
The 24-year-old Pleasanton, Calif., native said he’d heard positive things about Iraq from his father, who is fluent in Arabic and spent a lot of time talking to Iraqis.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the things that you don’t see on the news. My dad said: ‘Be safe and aware of anything different, but most of the people are really happy to see you and appreciate what you are doing,’” he said.
This week Curran and the rest of the 596th have been at Grafenwöhr completing the Iron Warrior training mandated for all Iraq-bound units serving under the 1st Armored Division.
Capt. Douglas Sweet, commander of the 596th, said the final part of the training involved live-fire convoys in which 20 soldiers at a time drove five Humvees and a 5-ton gun-truck down a range and reacted to a series of attacks.
The convoys had five tasks, including evacuating wounded soldiers and reacting to near and far ambushes, an improvised explosive device and a rocket-propelled grenade, he said.
During a convoy run on Thursday one of the 596th soldiers, Spc. Anthony Barefoot, 23, of North Manchester, Ind., stood up in the cab of the 5-ton gun-truck firing blank .50-caliber bullets at pop-up targets.
Barefoot also is preparing for his first Iraq mission and he said he felt ready.
“This was the sixth or seventh time I’ve done a convoy training. There is always more to learn but you feel prepared,” he said.
Between 60 and 70 percent of 596th soldiers have been to Iraq already and the unit itself deployed there in 2003, Sweet said.
The 26-year-old Albany, N.Y., native said he served in Iraq in 2003 with 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.
His unit set up a cordon during the operation in which former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured, he said.
“I’m interested to see how it has changed. We have got a lot of feedback from our sister companies that have recently returned from Iraq. There is a higher prevalence of IED attacks. In OIF I (Operation Iraqi Freedom I in 2003) IEDs were still becoming the main weapons. They were using a lot of small-arms fire then,” he said.
The 596th is much better equipped than Sweet was his first time in Iraq, he added.
“The vehicles we are taking to the FOB (Forward Operating Base) are all up armored. All the soldiers will travel downrange with all their body armor. I was in a Bradley unit (in 2003) and we didn’t have body armor the first time,” he said.
596th Maintenance Company soldier Spc. Anthony Barefoot, 23, of North Manchester, Ind., fires a .50 caliber machine gun at Grafenwohr on Thursday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
596th Maintenance Company soldiers train at Grafenwohr on Thursday in preparation for deployment to Iraq next month. (Seth Robson / S&S)
Iraq strikes peace deal with militia as 155 killed
29 August 2006
Diwaniyah, Iraq -- Hard-pressed Iraqi government forces were forced to strike a truce with Shi'ite militia fighters on Tuesday, as fierce fighting followed by a pipeline explosion left 155 people dead.
Officials said that 81 people died in Diwaniyah in Monday's clashes between security forces and militiamen and that on Tuesday, a few hours after a peace deal was reached, a fire at a fuel pipeline outside the town killed 74 more.
Hamid Jaathi, the head of Diwaniyah's health department, said that another 94 people were injured in the blast, which a defence official said was caused by looters sabotaging a disused fuel pipe to hunt for petrol.
Meanwhile -- as Iraq reeled from a three-day bout of bloodshed -- sectarian and rebel attacks left at least 14 people dead, including four members of one family who were killed when mortar bombs hit their house in south Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite neighbourhood of al-Amel.
Since Saturday, when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hosted a peace conference for tribal leaders, Iraq has been battered by fire fights, murders and bombings, in one of the most violent periods of recent months.
Scores of Iraqi troops and civilians have been killed along with 12 United States soldiers, and government forces had to battle to retain control of the mainly Shi'ite city of Diwaniyah, 180km south of the capital.
"We reached a settlement with Mahdi Army forces to end the confrontation," town councillor Sheikh Ghanim Abid said, as shops in Diwaniyah reopened and water and electricity supplies were turned back on.
"We killed 50 gunmen in the clashes and this incident resulted in the deaths of 23 of our soldiers and injuries to 30 of them," Maliki said.
Jaathi said eight civilians were also killed in Monday's 12-hour gun battle, and that 61 wounded bystanders had been treated.
The army has agreed not to enter residential areas for three days, while the Mahdi Army will withdraw its fighters and a militia commander who was arrested at the weekend will be brought to court within 24 hours, Abid said.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=282398
-- AFP
You're welcome, Lnda, and thank you, for supporting our troops.
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