Operation Phantom Fury--Day 495 - Now Operations River Blitz; Matador--Day 390

From AP: U.S. forces launch largest air assault since Iraq invasion

Thursday, March 16, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — U.S. forces joined by Iraqi troops on Thursday launched the largest air assault since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, targeting insurgent strongholds north of the capital, the military said.

The U.S. military said the air- and ground-offensive dubbed Operation Swarmer was aimed at clearing "a suspected insurgent operating area" northeast of Samarra and was expected to continue over several days.

Residents in the targeted area said there was a heavy U.S. and Iraqi troop presence in the area and large explosions could be heard in the distance. It was unclear if the blasts were due to fighting.

The military termed the operation the largest air assault since the invasion nearly three years ago, but it was not clear if any U.S. aircraft opened fire during the operation or if there had been any insurgent resistance.

"More than 1,500 Iraqi and Coalition troops, over 200 tactical vehicles, and more than 50 aircraft participated in the operation," the military statement said.

The U.S. command in Baghdad said it was the largest number of aircraft used to insert troops and the largest number of troops inserted by air, although larger numbers of troops overall have been involved in previous operations.

There was no immediate word on whether any fighter jets or other fixed-wing warplanes had dropped bombs or fired missiles as part of the assault. Also left unsaid was how many of the 1,500 total troops involved were Iraqis.

Afghan National Security Forces focus on poppy eradication

Afghan National Security Forces oversee poppy destruction in the provinces as part of a nationwide poppy eradication program. (Courtesy photo)

March 15, 2006

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The efforts of senior leaders from the Ministries of Defense, Interior and Counter Narcotics are producing more results for the people of Afghanistan . The planning and coordination among the ministries has produced an Afghan National Security Force that is capable of conducting independent operations with minimal support.

Two significant events tested the force’s capabilities this month, and they passed. Now they face a third, ongoing challenge that has plagued Afghanistan for decades – the cultivation of poppy crops to produce opium.

The first test was a Taliban and al-Qaida uprising at the Pol-e-Charkhi prison March 2. The security forces quickly and decisively responded, displaying confidence and skill by restoring prison control with no escapes and minimal casualties to prisoners or the security forces.

This potentially-volatile situation, including the command and control function, was carried out solely by the ANSF. Its ability to quickly marshal the required forces, and then employ them, is a great step forward on the road to realizing a force that is capable of providing for the safety and security of all Afghans.

The second example of increased ANSF synergy was the successful cordon and search in Khost on March 5. More than 400 Afghan security forces teamed with Coalition forces to simultaneously provide cordon security, reconnaissance patrols and multiple vehicle checkpoints. The aggressive vehicle and property searches disrupted insurgents’ efforts and provided additional security in the region.

While keeping its citizens safe from immediate threat, the ANSF is also focusing on another significant challenge threatening the Afghan people – opium.

Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of poppies, and 90 percent of the world’s total opium supply comes from these plants. Money generated from the poppy cultivation fuels terrorists, criminals and corruption, which prevents vital social and economic reconstruction efforts needed to provide more critically-needed jobs, schools, hospitals and basic services to the Afghan people.

Sap is extracted from a poppy plant by slitting the pod vertically in parallel strokes with a special knife. (U.S. federal government photo)

The poppy eradication campaign has already started in the Helmand Province , where the governor and provincial officials developed an eradication plan and are now closely supervising its implementation. The Afghan Eradication Forces who are carrying out this task are committed to serving the Afghan people.

This year the governor has the necessary resources to eradicate poppy in the provinces – money, equipment, security forces and, where necessary, the central government’s Ministry of Interior forces will also be available for further eradication.

This plan is not limited to Helmand, rather it is a nationwide program designed to end the illegal business that causes addiction and destroys families and communities of Afghanistan .

So far, thousands of hectares of poppy fields have already been destroyed.

"The governor-led poppy eradication campaign is successfully ongoing in different provinces of the country, and hopefully the eradication will start in Badakhshan Province soon. This shows the government of Afghanistan is committed to eradicating poppies all over the country," said Lt. Gen. Mohammad Duad, deputy minister for counternarcotics.

The National Internal Security Strategy vision developed recently at the strategies seminar provides the foundation for the ANSF to increase its operational capabilities. Successes at the Pol-e-Charkhi prison, the Khost cordon and search, and now the poppy eradication program, have proven that the ANSF is poised and capable of providing a safe and secure environment for all Afghans.

By: COMBINED FORCES COMMAND - AFGHANISTAN COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER - KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Tankers Bridge Troubled Waters

Marines deployed their M-60A1 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge to help the infantry reach an observation post.

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Bryan P. Kippes drives his M-60A1 Armored Vehicle over the bridge he launched near Gharmah, Iraq, recently. Marines from Company D, 2nd Tank Battalion serving with Regimental Combat Team 5 in Fallujah, laid the bridge to help infantrymen with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment after a bridge was deemed unsafe. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ryan C. Opick)

By Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, March 16, 2006 — Grunts with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment walk without fear thanks to a helping hand from tankers and a seldom used tool in their inventory.

Marines with D Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, recently deployed their M-60A1 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge to help the infantry living north of Gharmah. It was the first time the tankers could recall the bridge being used since the initial thrust toward Baghdad in 2003.

The need for a reliable bridge arose after an existing bridge leading to an observation post began to degrade. Marines trying to cross the bridge experienced a couple hair-raising crossings when the bridge began to give way and the humvees almost went into a canal.

“It was just a crappy old bridge,” said 2nd Lt. Steven E. Alsop, a 24-year-old platoon commander assigned to 1st Battalion’s A Company. “It started eroding and we almost lost the humvee in the water."

“It was kind of shaky,” said Alsop, from Elk Grove, Calif. “We had the doors open, ready to hop out, when it started sliding.”

Alsop knew he needed something better and tankers had the answer in their bridge launcher. The 56-ton behemoth of a vehicle, carrying a 63-foot-long bridge, motored out to the observation post and in just minutes, the problem was solved.

“They were worried about the safety of the bridge,” said Capt. Matthew D. Fehmel, the tank company’s commander. “If that bridge was destroyed we wouldn’t be able to access the observation post, which is critical in Gharmah. I was all for it.”

Lance Cpl. Bryan P. Kippes, a 21-year-old from Suffield, Ohio, and Cpl. Ryan C. Opick, a 27-year-old from Granger, Ind., sparked up the old tracked hulk and set off for the mission. They had their reservations. The two tank mechanics practiced using the bridge at Camp Lejeune, N.C. and here at the camp in Iraq, but never laid a bridge that had to be used. They knew they were using equipment that was introduced into the Corps’ inventory in 1987, when they were just kids.

“It was kind of scary because it’s so old,” Kippes said. “It very rarely runs for such a long time because it requires so much maintenance. She gave us one good last run.”

Still, Kippes and Opick didn’t take any chances. They packed a toolbox with every imaginable tool they thought they might need, just in case.

But the machine performed as advertised.

“It kept up with the tanks,” Opick said.

Once they got on site, they went to work immediately. They crept up to the old bridge, took a look and began moving it into position.

“When you first launch it, it’s over your head,” Kippes explained. “You see this massive piece of steel. It’s hard to believe it moves it, as old as it is.”

The bridge was pushed out in less than ten minutes, the whole operation lasting under an hour.

“The only adjustment we made was when they wanted it pushed forward,” Opick said.

“It’s what we wanted,” Alsop explained. “We asked for it and in a day turnover, they came right out and threw it down.”

Still, Kippes and Opick had to check to make sure the bridge would hold. That meant driving the 56-ton bridge launcher over. If it was going to fail, it would be under the enormous weight of their lumbering vehicle based on an old tank’s chassis. Kippes mashed the accelerator and climbed over his bridge, praying for the best and preparing for the worst. If the bridge failed, it would be about a 15-foot drop into the water below.

“I wanted to close my eyes,” he admitted. “I looked down and that was my biggest mistake.”

But it held.

“I was pretty impressed,” he said. “I went back and went over it again.”

Fehmel, a 31-year-old from Newport, R.I., explained the bridge is designed to hold even the heaviest of vehicles Marines use, the nearly 70-ton M-1A1 Main Battle Tank.

“It’s very durable,” he said. “It’s a fire-and-forget weapon. You put it on the deck and pick it up when you’re done.”

Alsop said his Marines couldn’t be happier about the new bridge. They no longer go over with white-knuckles, waiting to bail out from a falling humvee.

“They’re not scare to go over the bridge now,” he said. “If that bridge wasn’t there, a vehicle would go into the canal. It works. It does its job. There’s no more pucker-factor.”

Kippes said it made him proud to know that a couple hours of his time is keeping Marines safe out on the field.

“It makes me feel like we accomplished a mission above the mission we’re here for,” he said. “It feels good.”

Bastogne Soldiers Catch Terrorists Red-Handed

Bastogne Soldiers discovered rifles, explosives, and other materials used to build improvised explosive devices (IED) hidden inside the furniture of the home. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division)

March 15, 2006

KIRKUK, Iraq -- In the past two days, Bastogne Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 101st Airborne Division, have detained several insurgents and confiscated a large cache filled with materials used in the construction of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) as result of combined efforts with Iraqi Security Forces.

After receiving information on a possible fake identification workstation, Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, conducted a cordon and search with members of the Iraqi Police. Once inside the target residence, the combined force discovered more than 300 false identification cards, including Iraqi Police IDs.

During the search, an Iraqi man came to the house to see the owner. After a few minutes of questioning, the man admitted to previously purchasing a false ID card from the owner of the residence. The owner of the house and the second man were both taken into custody.

In a similar incident, Bastogne Soldiers on a combined patrol with Iraqi Police discovered a weapons cache at a home in Kirkuk. Iraqi Emergency Services Unit had detained the owner of the residence the day prior after receiving information linking the man to a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack in the Raheem Awa neighborhood of the city.

A search of the man’s house yielded several bags of ammunition as well as a large cache of materials used to make IED’s including four rocket propelled grenade rounds, three blocks of C-4 explosive, 13 Motorola radios with batteries, and four rolls of electrical wire.

The 1st Brigade Combat Team has been working with and training Iraqi Security Forces in the Province of Kirkuk since taking over responsibility for operations in Northern Iraq last November. The combined efforts of Bastogne Soldiers and their Iraqi counterparts continue to improve stability to the region as missions like these diminish the ability of insurgents to harm innocent civilians.

List of Items Found in Cache;

4 Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) rounds

1 AK-47

13 Motorola Radios with 23 Batteries

6 155mm mortar rounds

2 Anti Personnel Mines

3 bags of ammunition

2 AK-47 Drums

3 Blocks of C-4 Explosive

1 M6 (approximately 25mm round)

4 Rolls of Wire

1 Mortar Bipod

By Spc Barbara Ospina - 1st BCT PAO

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

More than 300 fake documents, including police identification cards, were discovered in the home of a suspected terrorist. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division)

Three bags, full of ammunition, were discovered during a cordon and search mission conducted by Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division and Iraqi Police in Kirkuk, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division)

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Possible Iran-US talks reveal Iraq Shi'ite rivalry

3/16/2006 - 9 minutes ago

By Mariam Karouny

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The prospect of Iranian-U.S. talks on Iraq, which look more likely after statements in Washington and Tehran on Thursday, partly reflects intense struggles within Iraq's dominant Shi'ite Alliance, Iraqi political sources say.

Deadlock on forming the national unity government that U.S. officials say can avert civil war is not only the result of Sunni and Kurdish opposition to Shi'ite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, but also of Shi'ite factional rivalry for the post.

A call on Wednesday from Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the biggest party in the Alliance, SCIRI, for Iran to take part in negotiations is part of a SCIRI strategy to overturn the bloc's nomination of Jaafari to a second term, the sources said.

Hakim's broader goal may be to re-establish his authority in the bloc in the face of challenges from other leaders.

Dawa party leader Jaafari has Iranian backing for the job, and this has cost him Washington's support, sources familiar with the internal workings of the Alliance said.

"Washington knows Iran favors Jaafari and as a result it has said a big 'No' to him," said one senior Iraqi politician.

Hakim hopes to exploit this to reverse an internal ballot that handed the nomination to Jaafari over SCIRI's Adel Abdul Mahdi by a single vote.

"We used to say SCIRI was Iran's favorite but not any more," the politician said. "The good relations they have with Washington have affected that."

Formed in Shi'ite Iran in the 1980s to fight Saddam Hussein, SCIRI has lost favor in Tehran, with Iranian backing going more to the young cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. His militia followers twice rose up against U.S. forces in 2004 at a time when SCIRI was working closely with the U.S. invaders to take power in Baghdad.

SADR'S INFLUENCE

It was Sadr, the third force in the Alliance, whose backing was crucial to securing the premiership nomination for Jaafari.

"Iran is against the American occupation of Iraq. SCIRI now is working closely with the Americans in the political process. This is annoying Iran; that is why it is shifting more toward Sadr," one senior Iraqi political official said.

"Iran would now support whoever Sadr supports."

Hakim's strategy looks like an attempt to restore SCIRI's position in Iranian affections while lessening Sadr's influence in Tehran.

Sadr aides came out strongly on Thursday against the proposed discussions.

Hakim may also hope that talks between Iran and the United States, which have not had diplomatic relations for 26 years, might reshuffle the political deck to such an extent that the Iranians would give up on Jaafari in favor of a SCIRI candidate for prime minister.

It is far from certain events will follow this course.

Washington accuses Tehran of "meddling" in Iraq, and Iranian influence over the majority Shi'ite bloc is a source of deep discontent among Sunnis in Iraq and in the wider Arab world, reflecting historic religious and ethnic divides.

However, the political sources said there was a sense of urgency in Baghdad about solving the dispute over Jaafari.

Alliance officials acknowledge that their internal divisions over the nomination are blocking the entire process of forming a grand coalition, leaving Iraq's leaders paralyzed in the face of mounting sectarian tension that many fear can lead to civil war.

U.S. officials in Baghdad declined to comment on the issue.

The U.S. ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, key facilitator of the government negotiations, has said he is willing to hold discussions with Iranian representatives.

One of the Iraqi political officials said: "These talks will provide a basis for starting to solve the problem."

"Iran obviously is a key," Iraq's ambassador to Britain, Saleh al-Shaikhly, told CNN. "Why else would the United States want to talk to Iran?"

From Fort Lewis to Germany, here they come

Paperwork awaits 4,000 soldiers and their families

By MIKE BARBER - P-I REPORTER

FORT LEWIS -- For two days this week, Stryker armored infantry carriers were abandoned for strollers, diaper bags replaced combat rucksacks, and military intelligence homed in on housing and schools.

An entire population of 6,000 to 7,000 people, roughly the size of Duvall or Gig Harbor, is packing up and moving permanently -- jobs, equipment, spouses, kids, cars, even pets -- to Germany this summer.

Mike Thompson helps the Garrett family with forms they need to complete. The Garretts are: Spencer, 30, left; Dade, 6; Ayden, 18 months in stroller; Mikayla, 5; Zander, 3; and Mitchelle, 29. (March 16, 2006) (Credit: Grant M. Haller/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Fort Lewis' 4,000-member 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat, nicknamed the Lancers, will become the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in June and will be transferred to Vilseck, Germany. The unit was in Mosul in northern Iraq from 2004 to 2005.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, an advance guard of 300 soldiers in camouflage and their families took the first steps to leave the United States. They will depart for Germany soon. The rest of the Stryker brigade will go through the same process that took place this week -- which soldiers call the "Lancer family rodeo" -- next month and will leave in June.

This week, soldiers reconnoitered their way with spouses and children through the post's big Battle Command Training Center, bivouacking occasionally to fill out paperwork.

"You must be very patient -- very patient," said Mitchelle Garrett, 29, an Army wife, artfully bracing her 18-month old son, Ayden, on her hip while stressing the words.

Her husband, Pfc. Spencer Garrett, 30, helped convoy the couple's other three kids among specialized desks dealing with paperwork and information for medical, schooling, travel, veterinary, housing and other issues. Mitchelle Garrett, who is Jamaican, was immediately concerned about answers to passport and immigration questions.

"It's tough. I never imagined that I would be able to take care of all our kids by myself when he left" last year for training, she said. "But I still have hair, and it's not all white.

"What you learn is that 'Army family' doesn't just include us -- there is an extended Army 'family' of support to help."

For the couple, the move is the third transfer in the Army since last year, when Garrett left a good job with a microchip firm in Boise, Idaho to join the Army. It means yet another school for their oldest son, Dade, 6, who is in kindergarten, but it also means they're apt to finally settle down for a three-year tour of duty.

"When we learned we were moving to Germany it felt like a wall we had to climb again," she said. The rodeo, however, takes the mystery out of the unknown that haunts military families and makes the transfer as seamless as possible, she said. They already faced one reality of the lives of traveling soldiers.

"We got rid of our fish tank today," she said, finding a home for it with a relative.

The family rodeo is a far cry from the old Army, in which some veterans recall surly sergeants saying, "If the Army had wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you one."

The Army, especially one that now relies entirely upon voluntary enlistments, realizes it must re-enlist families as well as soldiers, said Lt. Col. Tim Gauthier, the Stryker brigade's deputy commander.

Army statistics show that 53 percent of all soldiers are married, with an average 2.5 kids per family. So "picking up and moving an entire neighborhood of 4,000 people in six months and all their families and places of work" requires some deft coordination and timing for departures and arrivals, he said.

The 42 moving companies able to serve Fort Lewis, for example, will be hard pressed to meet the demand, Gauthier said, while timelines for airplane flights must be coordinated to meet up with household goods or shipped vehicles -- each soldier can ship one car to Germany.

The training center was set up to be a bridge between Fort Lewis and Vilseck, with one half dealing with the business of leaving the United States and the other, staffed by Lt. Col. Gail Murphy and 12 others, including 10 from Vilseck, dealing with the business of moving to Germany.

"Over there on the American side (the families) are clearing their quarters; over here we are processing them into housing," Murphy said.

Housing, along with medical care and naturalization information, seemed especially important in part because the brigade, which returned from Iraq late last summer, is about to experience a baby boom, she said.

By the time soldiers and families complete their rodeo, they have an address or post office box set up for their new home. And when a family lands in Germany, it doesn't have to go to a hotel or temporary quarters, as military families used to. The family heads straight to its home, furnished with loaned furniture until belongings arrive, she said.

Murphy said this week's processing for the vanguard of 300 soldiers and their dependents is a dress rehearsal for the bulk of the Stryker unit next month, and indicates the housing area will have to be enlarged, she said.

Lt. Col. Tim Gauthier talks about the challenges of moving the 4,000-member Stryker brigade from Fort Lewis to Germany. (March 16, 2006) (Credit: Grant M. Haller/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Roaming the U.S. and German sectors of the building, a legal desk behind a screen for obvious privacy might address the disposition of open court cases -- a drunken-driving citation, for example -- or update custody agreements and help with wills. Experts at another desk help with passports and immigration documents, while those at still another deal with airplane tickets. The personal property desk says what can and can't be moved.

A medical desk gets the ball rolling to transfer records and update immunizations, while another handles driver's licenses to get around in Germany. Student records from Fort Lewis' public schools are studied and mailed to mesh with the Defense Department schools in Germany.

Soldiers whose families have medical or special-needs challenges are screened to ensure that support exists in Vilseck, Gauthier said. "Otherwise, we can't let them go there. They would stay at Fort Lewis" and be allowed to pursue other duties he said.

Eyeing the veterinary table, Gauthier said, "pets are kicking our butt."

Northern Bavaria has severe restrictions on the types of pets that can be brought in. American pit bulls are a no-no, for example, while Rottweilers must pass a temperament test. Arriving with either means they could be put to sleep in Germany or sent back to the United States at considerable cost to the soldier. A temperament test alone can run $500 to $700, Gauthier said, and "there's no negotiation."

This week's rodeo didn't seem much of a bother to Kali Vickery, at 19 a battle-tested Army spouse after serving at home while her husband, Spc. Cameron Vickery, was deployed as a medic in Iraq last year. While her husband negotiated the lines this week, she attended to their infant daughter, Katelynn.

"It's still kind of a mystery to me -- I wonder how our daughter will adapt" to spending her early years traveling overseas, Vickery said.

"As an Army spouse, you have to be really strong and willing to go with it because tomorrow you could move again. You and your kids have to be really strong and flexible," she said.

"But I like it. I like the life," said Vickery, a Kansan who never traveled much before. "We're going places and meeting people and finding opportunities that we never could have if it wasn't for the Army."

Radio Personalities Visit Iraq

G. Gordon Liddy chats with MAJ John Hudson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Central as Erich Langer and Joe McClammy of the Gulf Region Division/Project and Contracting Office Public Affairs Office enjoy the exchange.

March 14, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- National Talk Show host, G. Gordon Liddy and five other regionally well known, stateside, radio talk show hosts are presently in Iraq visiting with Soldiers and Civilians in Iraq.

One of the sites visited by this group was the Alwaiya Children’s Hospital in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region South (USACE-GRC) Karada District. When completed, this 155 bed facility will provide full spectrum medical care for newborn to six year old children from a population of more than a million Iraqis. Additionally, the hospital will provide limited adult emergency support as well as being used by three medical schools for medical internships.

The resident officer-in-charge for this project has been MAJ John Hudson from Colorado Springs, CO, with Jana Tanner, from Jacksonville, FL, serving as the resident engineer. The project engineering and quality assurance has been effectively handled by Iraqi engineers - a superlative example of Capacity Development teamsmanship in the turning over of such work to Iraqis themselves.

In addition, the group visited the recently completed Hay Al Amel Youth Center comprised of various recreational support functions, wrestling/gymnastics mats, basketball court and soccer facilities, where they talked with numerous young Iraqis enjoying the facility - and clearly appreciative of the faiclity.

While in the area, each of the journalists received one-on-one interview time with several of the USACE-Gulf Region Division leadership. Among those visited with were the Commanding General, BG(P) William McCoy, retired Marine colonel and now Director of Logistic Jack Holly, and David Leach, Director of Capacity Development.

In addition to Liddy, the visiting broadcast journalists included: Jon Grayson of KMOX in St. Louis who is listened to by not only those in his home community but in audience markets in 44 other states; Steffan Tubbs - co-host of Colorado’s Morning News" - of KOA in Denver CO; Jack Rice from WCCO in Minneapolis/St. Paul MN; Bill LuMaye of WPTF in Raleigh, NC; and Monica Delta who hosts "Speaking Seriously" for the Washington, D.C. Maryland and Virginia markets.

Following the visit with USACE-GRD personnel, the journalists traveled further around the country visiting Multi-National Forces- Iraq activities.

Tom Clarkson is a member of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division/Project and Contracting Office public affairs team in Iraq.

By Tom Clarkson - Gulf Region Division - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Aviators Team Up; Rain Security From Above

March 15, 2006

HAWIJAH, Iraq -- Pilots from the 2nd Squadron (Reconnaissance), 17th Cavalry, currently attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in Kirkuk, Iraq, killed two men and injured a third after they emplaced an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along a road in Northern Iraq.

Coalition Forces aviators were patrolling the road when they spotted the three individuals working next to a blue truck parked on the side of the road. After radioing the find to 1st Brigade commanders on the ground, who quickly dispatched a ground assault team to inspect the IED location, the aviators followed the men who had now jumped into the truck and started moving.

The men drove for just over two miles before turning off onto a side road where they stopped the truck and started changing clothes. While stopped, a black Opel pulled up and the driver of that vehicle started talking to them.

A second team of aviators was given permission to engage the men, killing two and wounding one. The fourth man escaped, running into a nearby village where he disappeared among the buildings

As the ground assault team neared the location the men had been digging, the IED detonated; no one was injured. An analysis of the crater indicated that the men had used a 155mm round buried just below the surface of the ground. An inspection of the truck yielded a long-range Motorola phone and a variety of wires used to make IEDs.

Coalition Forces evacuated the injured terrorist to a nearby U.S. military compound where he was treated for his injuries and is being detained for questioning.

By: Sgt. 1st Class Paul Schultz

Sniffing out trouble in Iraq

Atsugi dog handler earns battlefield promotion for uncovering arms, insurgents during '05 tour

Then-Petty Officer 2nd Class — now Petty Officer 1st Class — Anthony Gonzales and his military working dog, Ben, during their 2005 deployment in Iraq. (Courtesy of Anthony Gonzales)

By Juliana Gittler - Stars and Stripes Pacific edition

Friday, March 17, 2006

ATSUGI NAVAL AIR FACILITY, Japan — Dog handler and master-at-arms Anthony Gonzales left Naval Air Facility Atsugi in 2005 as a petty officer second class.

For his actions during seven months supporting combat units in Iraq, Gonzales — aided by his working dog, Ben — was promoted to E-6 under a special Navy advancement program that advances sailors for “uncommon valor” while serving in combat.

“He is truly deserving of this promotion and the U.S. Navy will benefit greatly from his service,” reads the promotion citation, followed by a handwritten note from the colonel who signed off on it: “Well deserved.”

Petty Officer 1st Class Anthony Gonzales with Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. military leader in Iraq. (Courtesy of Anthony Gonzales)

Gonzales was an aircraft mechanic on a Marine base in Hawaii on Sept 11, 2001. When all the Marines left for war, Gonzales was left behind with a bunch of engines, he recalled.

“I realized I didn’t join the Navy to do this. [I thought] ‘I’ve got to get over there.’”

He switched rates, became a dog handler and eventually arrived in Atsugi. When the kennel master asked for volunteers to augment Army dog handlers in the Middle East, he was the first to raise his hand.

“I thought, ‘If I can go out there and find one IED (improvised explosive device) that’s maybe 20 lives to save.’”

He worked downrange for long hours, a sailor in a soldier’s world with a weapon, rounds and body armor. But Gonzales had to carry Ben’s gear, too: special sunscreen, “doggles” and booties, 18-pound canine body armor and ample water.

Ben proved worth it. He found 14 insurgents, 17 rifles, more than 1,000 rounds, a rocket-propelled grenade and a bomb-making kit during the deployment. But over two days in October, the two faced their most difficult challenges, which helped lead to Gonzales’ battlefield promotion.

On Oct. 2, amid rising pre-election violence in Iraq, Gonzales and Ben were squeezed into a Stryker in Mosul when an explosion shook them: An IED had hit their vehicle.

“It was so loud. You think you’re in an earthquake,” Gonzales said. As dust and debris covered them, the gunfire started. Ben was upset. “He was shaking pretty bad,” Gonzales said. Both lost part of their hearing for days. “I couldn’t eat for a few days I was shaking so bad.”

Their damaged vehicle chased and caught three suspect vehicles and Ben was called to investigate, according to the promotion certificate Gonzales later received. The dog found an improvised explosive-making kit and helped capture several insurgents.

The next day a suicide vehicle slammed into a Stryker in another convoy and gutted it. A gunbattle ensued.

Gonzales’ vehicle was rerouted to help. Ben and Gonzales spent nine hours on a rooftop until nearby snipers were stopped.

After the ordeal, Gonzales took Ben out to relax. He removed the leash and Ben ran through a field. A rocket-propelled grenade flew over his head, exploding a short distance away. Under gunfire, Gonzales raced out, called the dog and they ran behind a wall vibrating from the barrage of bullets hitting its other side.

Gonzales said he didn’t hesitate from saving the dog.

“Once you work with a dog so long … he’s part of me,” he said.

Throughout, the sailor watched for signs of stress from his 4-year-old partner. Small-arms fire barely bothered Ben, but he hated the deafening sounds of mortars. In the little trailer they shared at their forward operating base in Mosul, Ben would hop into Gonzales’ bed at night and burrow under him during explosions. “He’s just like a little kid,” Gonzales said.

Weeks later, with the elections behind them, Gonzales’ unit put him in for the combat meritorious advancement program.

When an admiral from the Multi-National Force-Iraq headquarters visited, Gonzales asked about the promotion. Weeks later, the admiral called and addressed him as “MA1,” petty officer first class, his new elevated rank. He said the chief of naval operations himself selected the sailor for promotion.

The admiral said someone else would be there the next day to congratulate him. He turned out to be Gen. George Casey, the top military official in Iraq.

“He said, ‘I appreciate you Navy guys coming out to help the Army,’” Gonzales said.

The sailor also walked away from Iraq with an Army Commendation Medal on its way, a Combat Action ribbon from the Navy and a special medal he wears hidden on his Navy uniform: the Army’s new Combat Action Badge.

Gonzales and Ben since have returned to Atsugi. Both are pretty well-recovered, Gonzales said, adding that it was harrowing but he’s ready to go back.

“Soldiers say no one will ever understand unless they’ve been there,” the sailor said, recalling that each night. “I just wanted to go to sleep and not think about it.

“But you can’t. You go to sleep to gunfire and wake up to mortars.”

Anthony Gonzales and his military working dog, Ben, stand on the roof of a building, providing security after a suicide vehicle exploded a Stryker. Shortly after this photo was taken, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near Ben while he was running in a field. The two were trapped in a firefight behind a small wall in Mosul, Iraq. (Courtesy of Anthony Gonzales)

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