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Kirkuk's Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Diplomacy Officer, Stacy Barrios (seated left), speaks with teachers and students during the opening of the new Chemin Primary School in Kirkuk province, Nov. 3. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Douglas, 1st Cavalry Division. KIRKUK — Replacing the traditional mud-hut schools here with safe, modern, well-equipped buildings is a high priority for the Iraqi government and U.S. forces. The village of Chemin commemorated the opening of a new primary school, the 28th project completed out of a planned 48, with a ribbon cutting ceremony here, Nov. 3.Attending the ceremony was Deputy Director General of Education,...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2009 – Afghan and international forces detained a group of suspected insurgents, including a Taliban leader, in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province yesterday, military officials reported. The Taliban leader is believed to be responsible for financing suicide bombings and planting roadside bombs in the area. He also is linked to Taliban leadership outside of Afghanistan, officials said. The combined force targeted a compound near the village of Spin Kalacheh, southwest of Kandahar City, after intelligence indicated militant activity there. The force searched the compound without incident and detained the five suspects, including the wanted man who identified himself as...

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Nov. 6, 2009 – Civil affairs members of the provincial reconstruction team hosted an Afghan-led agricultural training event in the Bermel district here. Afghan farmers gather around a garden while working a practical exercise during an agricultural training class in Bermel, Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2009. Civil affairs members of the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Paktika province hosted efforts in an Afghan-led agricultural training event. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. David Ferris  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The training offered instruction and discussion on agricultural topics for seven Bermel area farmers. “Most of the people in...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 6, 2009 – Iraqi security forces arrested five suspected terrorists today in two security operations. In northeastern Baghdad, the Iraqi soldiers, with U.S. advisors, searched two buildings looking for a Promise Day Brigade terrorist group leader who allegedly coordinates attacks against security forces in Iraq. The Iraqi soldiers questioned and then arrested three people suspected of being Promise Day Brigade associates without incident. Near Sharqat, about 50 miles northwest of Kirkuk, Iraqi police and U.S. advisors searched two buildings for a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq member who has ties to senior leaders of the terrorist group. Based on...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE GARRYOWEN, Iraq, Nov. 6, 2009 – Iraqi army engineers put their training to good use Oct. 18 on a reconnaissance mission to evaluate a local bridge. Army Sgt. Ryan Loseby, an Iraqi soldier and their interpreter review measurements as Army Pfc. Garrett Childress, far left, looks on during a reconnaissance mission to evaluate a bridge near Contingency Operating Base Garryowen, Iraq, Oct. 18, 2009. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Benjamin Hann  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Engineers from the 10th Iraqi Army Field Engineer Regiment Detachment joined their trainers from Company E, 4th Battalion, 6th...

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 6, 2009 – When he joined the Navy 15 years ago, Cmdr. Trent Kalp probably expected to serve six-month deployments to the middle of the ocean during his career. But at the time, it might have come as a surprise to learn he also would one day be packing his bags at his home in Midlothian, Va., for six months in Afghanistan. Navy Cmdr. Trent Kalp served six months as commander of Defense Logistics Agency’s support team in Afghanistan. His team worked to develop an aviation hub to provide food for U.S. forces in Regional Command South....

FOB WARRIOR — Driving from one end of Bidawa village in Kirkuk province to the other used to be a challenge, but thanks to the addition of two new road culverts, the trip is now much easier. After nearly 70 days of construction, these new road culverts are ready for use. The concrete culverts span over a 50-meter waterbed, linking one side of the road to another. Water flows easier now underneath the culverts between irrigation canals that have increased water flow to local farmers’ crops. "Building these two road culverts will greatly increase the transportation infrastructure of the village,"...

Col. Larry Phelps, the 15th Sustainment Brigade commander, gives a coin to pump foreman Abdullah Ahmed from the Qayyarah pump house during a luncheon in the pump house workers' honor in the dining facility of COL Q-West, Nov. 3. Photo by Sgt. Matthew Cooley, 15th Sustainment Brigade. COL Q-WEST — A group of Iraqis working at the Qayyarah water pump house were thanked while attending a luncheon in their honor at the dining facility here, Nov. 2. Col. Larry Phelps, the 15th Sustainment Brigade commander and Greenville, Ala., native, presented a plaque to the workers and said that it was...

MOSUL — U.S. and Iraqi Security Forces delivered 400 new desks and chairs to the Qosh High School in northern Ninewah province, Oct. 31. The furniture delivery was the culmination of the school's opening and the final project for Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division "The ministry of education built them a new high school, but was unable to furnish it with desks and chairs so we were able to fill in that gap," said Capt. Joseph Himpelmann, the commander of Btry. B and a native of Waukegan, Ill. After...

An Iraqi school teacher helps distribute school supplies to Iraqi children at the Jadeeda Primary School near Hawijah in the Kirkuk province of Iraq, Oct. 28. The supplies were provided by families of Soldiers from 1/8th Cav., 2BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Douglas, 1st Cavalry Division. KIRKUK — The 46th Iraqi Army Brigade delivered U.S.-donated school supplies to the children here at the Jadeeda Primary School near Hawijah, Oct. 28. The supplies were donated by families of Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.According to 1st Lt. Sean...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2009 – Combined Afghan and international forces killed or detained suspected militants in Afghanistan’s Wardak and Khowst provinces yesterday, and officials are investigating whether an International Security Assistance Force rocket attack caused civilian casualties, military officials reported. A combined force targeted a compound near the village of Babur Kheyl in Wardak’s Sayed Abad district after intelligence indicated militant activity there. After entering the compound, the force received hostile fire and returned fire, killing the militants. The patrol searched the compound and detained a group of suspected militants. No civilians were harmed during the operation, officials said. In...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 5, 2009 – Iraqi security forces arrested six suspects during two security operations today targeting members of al-Qaida in Iraq-sponsored bombing networks. In Bayji, Iraqi police and U.S. advisors with court-issued warrants searched several buildings in pursuit of vehicle-bomb network members operating across Iraq’s Salahuddin province. Based on information gathered at the scene, police arrested three people for allegedly aiding and abetting criminal activity. The suspect wanted on the warrant was not apprehended. In Tall Zalat, southwest of Mosul, Iraqi forces acting on a warrant searched several buildings for an alleged roadside-bomb suspect. Based on incriminating evidence found...

AL MUTHANA, Iraq, Nov. 5, 2009 – The Iraqi army graduated 42 women here as the first all-female class to complete its enlisted basic combat training course. Iraqi Staff Brig. Gen. Mohammed Abdul Razq, deputy director of the tactical training directorate, and Iraqi Staff Col. Mohammed Abdul Rahman Essa, deputy commander of the Regional Training Center, delivered congratulatory remarks to the pioneering women at an Oct. 29 graduation. Iraqi army recruit Junde Lubab Ibrahim Kaleel said she was very excited about graduation. "It is important for me, for Iraqi women and for Iraq because we have a chance for a...

A handful of Minnesota veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will join other vets in Washington, D.C., Thursday to call for more support for troops in Afghanistan. Some veterans from Minneapolis and St. Paul plan to meet with elected officials and White House officials to urge support for Gen. Stanley McChrystal's troop recommendations for the war in Afghanistan. McChrystal recommends up to 80,000 more troops in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama is considering several options, including McChrystal's preference of about 40,000 additional U.S. forces next year.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 4, 2009 – The game is dominoes on this autumnal night on Camp Savage. Army Maj. Joan Carrick shuffles the small spotted tiles, then sends them skidding around the card table. Across the table sits Carrick’s dominoes partner, Army Staff Sgt. Larry Saunders. To her left and right sit her opponents for the night, Army Capt. Timothy Vandewalle and an Iraqi interpreter known as Denzel. Army Maj. Joan Carrick, Army Capt. Timothy Vandewalle, Army Staff Sgt. Larry Saunders, and an Iraqi interpreter known only as Denzel play dominoes on Camp Savage, Iraq, Oct. 14,...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 4, 2009 – Iraqi security forces arrested 21 suspects today during operations targeting vehicle-borne bomb network members in Baghdad and Bayji, Iraq, military officials reported. Iraqi security forces in western Baghdad arrested 17 suspects while serving a warrant for a man charged with being involved in vehicle-borne bomb attacks. The security team searched several buildings and sequestered several people for questioning. Based on information gathered, 17 were determined to be suspected associates of the warranted man, who was not apprehended in the operation. In Bayji, southwest of Kirkuk, Iraqi police and U.S. advisors searched with a warrant for...

KABUL, Nov. 4, 2009 – Combined Afghan and international security forces killed or detained several militants and recovered multiple weapons and explosives in operations in Afghanistan yesterday, military officials reported. A combined security force detained a group of suspects in Khowst province, including a Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin militant group commander believed to be responsible for managing a homemade-bomb network and working with Haqqani terrorist network elements in the area. Recent media reports profile the Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin as one of the three main militant groups in Afghanistan, officials said. The group keeps a low profile by cooperating with Taliban and Haqqani elements...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2009 – Many U.S. servicemembers working and living alongside Afghan soldiers here find they have much in common with their Afghan counterparts. Army Capt. Jacob White discusses planning with Afghan soldiers Maj. Mohammed Ahmen and Capt. Zalmay at Forward Operating Base Bullard in Afghanistan’s Zabul province, Sept. 29, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Stephen Decatur  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team live on the same bases with their Afghan counterparts and work side by side with them during combat operations. The U.S. soldiers advise and...

CAMP TAJI — One U.S. Airman deployed here advises four Iraqi life support Airmen, making sure they maintain survival vests, body armor, crash helmets and night vision goggles for more than 200 helicopter air crew members. In addition to advising, Tech. Sgt. Kyle Richardson, 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron air crew flight equipment advisor, maintains the crucial equipment for Coalition forces. Previously, both life support offices were co-located on the Iraqi side of Camp Taji. Forty-five days into his deployment, the sergeant recognized the Iraqi's skills and decided they needed independence. "I'm here for anything they need," he said. "Their...

A local Iraqi man discusses security in the area with Iraqi Army Capt. Nomas Mohammed Hussein (left), and Lt. Mike Slapik (middle), an infantry platoon leader from Worcester, Mass., during a routine patrol in northwestern Baghdad, Nov. 3. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell, MND-B. BAGHDAD — As Sgt. Kegan Cline observes a group of girls walking near Iraqi Army Soldiers on patrol here, Nov. 3, he knows his and the IA Soldiers' presence allows the girls to walk around safely. "It feels great that we're here serving a purpose," said Cline, a Worcester, Mass. native, assigned to Company A,...

BAGHDAD — A chicken processing plant here recently received aid from U.S. Soldiers who lent their agriculture and engineering expertise to help open the doors. North Carolina Guardsmen with 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, who have agribusiness and engineering backgrounds, visited the al-Kien plant near Mahmudiyah to offer advice and seek ways to help the plant begin operations. Capt. Bobby Lumsden, the battalion's operations officer, walked through the plant with owner Rafea Abass Ali to inspect the plant's machinery and the massive coolers that will help keep poultry fresh. Getting the plant up and running...

U.S. Marines load an oversized floodlight onto a flatbed truck at Camp Taqaddum, Oct. 21. Marines and Sailors with CLR-27 (Fwd) are participating in the responsible drawdown by removing equipment and gear from Iraq. Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Katesha Washington, 2nd Marine Logistic Group Public Affairs. CAMP TAQADDUM — Marine Corps participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom is drawing to a close, and Marines and Sailors are preparing equipment for shipment back home or to other parts of the world. As part of the departure, one of the Marine Corps' largest bases in the country is on its way to being...

11/3/2009 - QALAT, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Airmen and Soldiers from the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team delivered school supplies to an Afghanistan National Army compound here Oct. 27. The delivery of supplies is part of an ongoing project to help educate the young soldiers, many of whom have nothing more than an elementary school level education. The program grew from a request from senior ANA officials to help raise the literacy levels of the soldiers, said Major J.D. Loftis, the PRT's information operations officer. "This program is basically just like your average elementary school program," he said. But, unlike that average...

11/3/2009 - ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- "Roads bring people. People bring business and business improves life for everyone." These words, spoken in 2006 by Canadian Brig. Gen. Daniel Pepin, then the deputy general for reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, have proven prophetic, as, three years later, the ability to move vehicles and goods along roads here has been greatly enhanced, improving the lives of Afghans across the country. In response, Taliban insurgents routinely target the newly-built infrastructure. Air Force engineers assigned to the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team have countered, along with Army security forces, by conducting missions along Highway One,...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 3, 2009 – Soldiers here are getting a trial run at the nerve-wracking experience of going before promotion boards. A mock promotion board at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, helps soldiers gain valuable experience, Oct. 17, 2009. U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Chris Dunphy  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Soldiers that take the initiative are exactly what we’re looking for in our future leaders,” said Army 1st Sgt. Gary. R. Dillard, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 17th Fires Brigade. “In cases where the candidates are very evenly matched, it normally comes down to...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov. 3, 2009 – Afghan soldiers in armored Humvees led a combined convoy of Afghans and Americans down Highway 1. As dawn broke, they passed an Afghan National Police checkpoint and dismounted by an Afghan army combat outpost. Their objective was Shah Hasan Kheyl, a village about a half mile off the road. Army 1st Lt. Sean Snook emerges from an orchard with his fellow paratroopers Oct. 3, 2009, in Afghanistan’s Zabul province. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Stephen Decatur  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Starting in August, small, embedded training teams dispersed throughout Afghanistan started getting...

FORT IRWIN, Calif., Nov. 3, 2009 – As the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade prepares for its fourth deployment to Iraq, its soldiers are getting lessons in the art of leading from behind as they help to set the stage for the eventual drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq. Army Pfc. Adam Britt prepares to leave the mock Iraqi town of Medina Wasl during 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Divison's training rotation at the National Training Center. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jared S. Eastman  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The "Raider Brigade" was part of the initial U.S. invasion...

KABUL, Nov. 3, 2009 – A combined Afghan and international security force detained several suspected militants today and yesterday in Afghanistan’s Helmand and Kandahar provinces, military officials reported. A combined force detained several suspects in Helmand province today after searching a compound known to be used by a Taliban leader in charge of coordinating attacks and supplying homemade bombs to other militants in the region. The force targeted the compound near Koshtay village in Garmsir district after intelligence indicated militant activity there. The force searched the compound without incident; no shots were fired and no one was injured. Elsewhere, a...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Nov. 3, 2009 – When a deployed unit approaches its end-of-tour date, the focus begins to shift from the deployment at hand to redeployment stateside. Army Sgt. Nic Light and Army Spc. Andrew Carpenter inspect a truck on Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, Oct. 17, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Andy Mehler  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But not so for those who support the mission until its final moment, such as the mechanics with the 628th Aviation Support Battalion, who face the pressures of repairing vehicles quickly while also taking steps to...

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala., Nov. 3, 2009 – Experimental test pilot Army Chief Warrant Officer Cary Nadeau views his job as being the consumer advocate for Army aviators. And like any good consumer advocate, he reaches out to his customers – in his case, in combat zones. Army Chief Warrant Officer Cary Nadeau, one of only 30 experimental test pilots in the Army, has left Redstone Arsenal, Ala., for a six-month deployment in Iraq, where he will provide technical and liaison support to a combat aviation brigade for the Chinook helicopter's new laser-based countermeasure system and for the brigade's entire fleet...

Spc. Eric Marquez, an infantryman from El Paso, Texas, digs for hidden weapons as an Iraqi Army Soldier looks on during a combined weapons sweep in northwestern Baghdad, Nov. 1. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. BAGHDAD — A concerned local citizen recently contacted U.S. Soldiers about a site insurgents used to store weapons here, just northwest of Abu Ghraib. With the help of local Iraqi Army Soldiers, the Fort Lewis-based troops assigned to Company A, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, quickly sprang into action and dug up...

11/2/2009 - QALAT, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Air Force security forces members along with Army Soldiers from the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team met with prison officials as part of an on-going mentoring project at a nearby prison here Oct. 28. The prison, located close to the PRT compound, has become an important project for the team due to activity this summer. "We had seen the prison have some real troubles this summer," said Lt. Col. Andy Veres, the PRT commander. "Some of the trouble had been from the inside and some from the outside, so we thought it was important to...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2009 – Iraqi security forces arrested 13 people today during three operations in connection with car-bomb networks between Baghdad and Kirkuk, military officials reported. Working with U.S. advisors, an Iraqi unit arrested a suspected member of a vehicle-bomb network in southern Kirkuk. A warrant accuses the suspect of being linked to network members associated with June 20 bombings in Taza that killed more than 90 people. During the operation, the Iraqi unit arrested a second man based on information found at the scene. In a separate operation about 55 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police arrested two...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2009 – Combined Afghan and NATO forces detained several insurgents in operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan in recent days, military officials reported. A combined Afghan-International Security Assistance Force operation detained an insurgent in Kandahar province yesterday while in pursuit of a Taliban district leader and senior commander of a sizable militant element in the area. The force targeted a location outside of the village of Daylanur, north of Kandahar City, after intelligence indicated militant activity. The force used “escalation of force” procedures to stop two motorcycles traveling south toward the city, detained a suspect and seized...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 2, 2009 – Soldiers here visited students in a unique learning environment last month to drop off school supplies, treats and even guitars. Children attending St. Efram Elementary School welcome soldiers to their classroom before being surprised with care packages Oct. 22, 2009, in Basra, Iraq. These children receive a culturally diverse education by attending one of the only two schools in Iraq to combine children of different religious denominations into one learning environment. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Stephanie Cassinos  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The students of St. Efram Elementary School,...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov. 2, 2009 – More than 250 Afghan National Police graduated from basic training Oct. 29 at the police headquarters in Herat, Afghanistan. Afghan National Police prepare to graduate from a police academy in Herat, Afghanistan, Oct. 29, 2009. The hundreds of graduates are part of an initiative to double the size of the Afghan National Police to 160,000 by 2013. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Stephen Decatur  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The graduates were some of the first to be trained in an effort to boost the national police’s current strength of 81,000 to 161,000...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov. 2, 2009 – Air Force Maj. John Loftis has a Pashto name, Esan, and people frequently ask him what it means. The public information officer is deployed to Forward Operating Base Smart, a small military compound located in the heart of Qalat, a southern Afghan city. He leaves quite an impression with the Afghan community where he lives and works as a provincial reconstruction team member, even if that community happens to be in the middle of a war zone. While on foot patrol, Loftis is bombarded by swarms of Afghan children. Laughing and smiling, they follow...

Representatives from eight Iraqi women's associations meet to discuss possible business training with members of the Ninawa Provincial Reconstruction Team in the town of Qare Qosh in Ninawa province, Oct 27. Photo by 2nd Lt. Jeff Orban, 1st Cavalry Division. Iraqi business women here are taking advantage of a program instituted by the Ninawa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to train them on business administration practices. Tony Daza, an economics advisor for the Ninawa PRT, and representatives from eight women's associations held an open dialogue here about the details of the training program, Oct. 27."After we meet with these women’s associations,...

KIRKUK — The Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) significantly enhanced its air defense capabilities recently with the arrival of a digital air surveillance radar system. The DASR system, which includes the radar and the radar control facility, allows Iraqi air traffic controllers to monitor aircraft up to 120 nautical miles away, permitting them to detect aircraft along their borders with Syria, Turkey and Iran. Brig. Gen. Ahmed Ghani, IqAF communications director, called the arrival of the system "another historical day" for the service. "Through that system, we will identify more ... aircraft entering our sovereignty," he said at an Oct. 26...

Hospital corpsmen with Combat Logistics Battalion 46 instruct the medical staff from the 7th Iraqi Army Division during a class at Camp Mejid, an Iraqi Army camp aboard Al Asad Air Base, Oct. 6. Photo by Cpl. Triah Pendracki, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Fwd). AL ASAD AIR BASE — U.S. Navy corpsmen continue to train Iraqi Army medics at Camp Mejid, the IA camp here, on combat lifesaving steps to include needle thoracentesis and emergency tracheotomies. Earlier this month, Navy corpsmen instructed the Iraqi medics "We're taking a look at the more clinical aspect of medical care," explained Petty Officer...

Villagers step up and unload bags of dry goods to be distributed among them while Troop B, 6th Bn., 9th Cav. Regt. provides security during a recent humanitarian distribution in northern Iraq. Photo courtesy of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. MOSUL — Iraqi villagers in Rabi'ah and its surrounding areas have come to welcome and enjoy the U.S. Soldiers that visit them regularly. Troop B, 6th Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd "Greywolf" Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division has spent the last three months building relationships with citizens in northern Iraqi through humanitarian assistance missions."These operations...

Army Sgt. 1st Class Donna Sendelbech receives a hug from a student at the Shalaw Elementary School after receiving a backpack during a recent delivery of gifts donated by service groups back in the U.S. (GRD Photo by Mike Scheck). SULAYAMANIAH — U.S. Soldiers and Army Corps of Engineers employees recently delivered supplies to elementary students of the Shalaw School here. However, the students are in for a bigger surprise after the first of the year when they move into their new school thanks to the efforts of the USACE Gulf Region District.The school supply giveaway was orchestrated by Army...

10/26/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- An Airman here helped develop the Balad Wounded Warrior Program, a program created to ease the transition of wounded servicemembers through the medical evacuation process. Senior Airman Raymond Jones, a plans and programming projects manager with the 332nd Expeditionary Communications Squadron, started the program Oct. 3 after he experienced the medavac process firsthand. "I received an injury where I dislocated my knee, requiring me to be evacuated to Germany," he said. "It was a confusing time for me, but I told myself that if I was given the chance to redeploy, there...

10/26/2009 - SHAJOY, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Members of the Air Force-led Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team along with senior Afghan government officials and community leaders, celebrated the ground-breaking of a new high school for girls during a ceremony here Oct. 22. The school will be the first of its kind in the town of Shajoy, which has a population of nearly 40,000 people. "We (the Zabul PRT) have a unique capability when it comes to projects such as this one. This 90-person team has engineers, civil affairs and security personnel all working together with the local population to help determine what...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2009 – Iraqi forces, with U.S. advisors, conducted a series of operations today resulting in the arrest of 11 suspects in vehicle-bomb networks operating between Baghdad and Mosul. Iraqi forces searched several buildings in western Baghdad for a suspect believed to be responsible for a truck bomb that struck government buildings in Baghdad and killed at least 150 people. The cell leader also is suspected of staging the deadly Aug. 19 attacks in the Iraqi capital. Based on evidence found in the buildings, Iraqi forces arrested eight people suspected of being linked to a bomb network in...

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 26, 2009 – The road to economic success here is paved and has bridges linking both sides of the Kunar River. Left to right, Sarkani Subgovernor Hamish Gulab, Marawara Subgovernor Mer Azam Gujoorwall and Kunar Subgovernor Fazullah Wahidi cut a ribbon marking the completion of the Nawabad to Marawara road in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, Oct. 26, 2009. The road represents a $2.7 million investment that paves the way for increased security and commerce in Kunar’s Marawara district. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Brian Boisvert   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The provincial government,...

BAGHDAD, Oct. 26, 2009 – Baghdad’s Sadr City district, home to more than 2 million Iraqis, was built by Saddam Hussein as a massive urban community to house the thousands of rural Iraqis migrating to the capital in search of jobs. But after decades of neglect, Sadr City’s residents lacked even the most basic needs, such as adequate potable water. A $65 million water treatment plant is designed to treat and purify water from the nearby Tigris River and provide more than 500,000 residents of Baghdad’s Sadr City district with potable water. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2009 – Afghan and NATO forces have removed dozens of insurgents from fighting in Afghanistan in recent days, including a long-sought-after Taliban commander, military officials reported. Combined Afghan and International Security Assistance Force units killed at least two dozen insurgents during fighting in southern and eastern Afghanistan and detained numerous others. In operations yesterday: -- A combined force killed a dozen enemy militants in Kandahar province in an operation to interdict a Taliban commander and his unit believed to be responsible for attacks in the Arghandab district west of Kandahar City. The force coordinated an air strike...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2009 – Terrorist bombings that struck Baghdad yesterday demonstrate the security challenges that exist there, a senior Defense Department official said here today. News reports say more than 150 Iraqis died and hundreds more were injured yesterday as a result of two massive blasts that targeted the Iraqi justice and municipalities and public works ministries and a provincial headquarters building in downtown Baghdad. “I think what it says is that security remains a challenge, particularly when you have folks that are willing to … create that type of carnage with a large explosion in an indiscriminate kind...

KABUL, Oct. 26, 2009 – Separate helicopter incidents today claimed the lives of 11 U.S. servicemembers and three U.S. civilians in Afghanistan, military officials reported. Officials of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said four U.S. servicemembers died when two ISAF helicopters apparently collided over southern Afghanistan, and seven U.S. servicemembers and three U.S. civilians were killed when their helicopter went down “due to unconfirmed reasons” in western Afghanistan. In addition to the four servicemembers killed in the apparent collision incident, two more were injured, officials said, adding that hostile fire is not believed to be a factor. In the...