Posted on 03/07/2005 9:05:51 PM PST by TexKat
Members of Alpha Task Force, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Unit, hand out candy while providing security for the 155th Brigade Combat Team Psychological Operations team after conducting raids of multiple targets located in the city of Hashwah, Iraq, on March 5, 2005. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Brien Aho
Iraqi Brig. Gen. Jaleel Khalaf Shwail, 40th Iraqi Army Brigade Commander, unfurls the Brigade colors during a Transfer of Authority Ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, on Feb. 21, 2005. The 40th IA BDE assumed responsibility for a section of Baghdad from the U.S. Army's 1st Calvary Division.
DoD photo by Senior Airman Lapedra P. Tolson, U.S. Air Force.
Associated Press
March 7, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq - In a small but potentially momentous shift, the U.S. military has handed control of some of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods to the Iraqi army, a first step toward taking U.S. soldiers off the streets.
The transfer has taken place gradually over the weeks since the Iraqi election and is now complete, leaving about 4,000 Iraqi soldiers with full authority over 10 Baghdad neighborhoods, U.S. and Iraqi officials say.
They include notorious hot spots such as insurgent-infested Haifa Street, which has long been a no-go area for ordinary Iraqis, and the hard-line Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya, another insurgent stronghold.
"This means we do not have to be in place in those areas," said Lt. Col. Clifford Kent, spokesman for the 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad. "They are some tough areas, but the (Iraqi) brigade is well-trained and they're mission-capable."
U.S. advisers are embedded with the Iraqi units, and U.S. forces are on call to help out should they be needed, but the four battalions of the 40th Brigade that have been granted autonomy have full control over their operations, Iraqi and U.S. officials say.
"These operations now are being planned and conducted 100 percent by the Iraqi forces," said Gen. Mudhir Mawla, the commander of Iraqi forces in Baghdad.
Officials had intended for Iraqi security forces to begin taking over from the Americans this year. The transfer was accelerated after the success of January's election, when U.S. soldiers deliberately hung back and left the job of securing polling sites to the Iraqis in order to avoid any impression of interference in the political process.
It is widely acknowledged that the Iraqi security forces performed well above expectations, encouraging U.S. commanders to press ahead with the transfer of authority.
"During several missions and after the elections, a series of decisions were made that they've proven themselves," said Col. Billy Buckner, a U.S. military spokesman. "Now they're at the level of capability where they can be given a piece of terrain to manage and to conduct operations in. We expect as they gain in confidence, more transfers will occur."
It is going to be a closely watched experiment.
"The plan depends on the success of the 40th Brigade in Baghdad," said Mawla, 57, an Iraqi army veteran who came out of retirement to help get the decimated army up and running again. "If we succeed in controlling Baghdad, then there will be no need for the presence of U.S. forces. They will have bases outside Baghdad."
Another brigade, the 41st, was activated last week, and it aims to start taking control of parts of Baghdad by August. If all goes well, the Iraqi army will be in full control of the city by December, Mawla said.
Maj. Gen. William Webster, who commands the 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad, would not put a timeline on the transfer.
"We hope so," he said of the December deadline. "The beginning is very strong, the 40th Brigade is doing very well. They have captured and killed a number of terrorists. But it's going to be dependent on events and on their readiness to fight this counterinsurgency for themselves."
Past attempts to put Iraqi security forces out in front of American soldiers have faltered in the face of insurgent intimidation and infiltration. The infamous Fallujah Brigade, given control of the embattled city of Fallujah after U.S. Marines pulled out during fierce fighting last April, joined the ranks of the insurgents. The police force in Mosul collapsed in the face of a mass campaign of targeted killings of policemen.
In Baghdad's Sadr City area last summer, 800 soldiers out of an 880-strong battalion that was drafted to fight alongside U.S. soldiers deserted after they were asked to turn their guns on their own neighborhood.
But the battalions taking over in the streets of Baghdad today are in far better shape than those earlier formations. Setting out from their headquarters at a former airport in Baghdad last week, the Iraqi soldiers of the 302nd Battalion appeared painfully vulnerable in their open-topped, unarmored pickups. Many of them wear ski masks to hide their identities from residents who might threaten them later.
But they do have flak jackets, helmets, guns and bullets, a marked improvement on the past, and their lack of heavy armor may not be a disadvantage considering the kind of missions they undertake.
"Our operations need to be done quickly, secretly, calmly," Mawla said. "We do not need the tanks with a big noise that alert the terrorists. And the Bradleys are an easy target."
U.S. and Iraqi army officials say they have cracked some of the problems plaguing the recruitment and organization of the Iraqi army and the former Iraqi National Guard, which has been merged into the army. The 40th Brigade was placed in charge of its own recruitment late last year, and Iraqi army commanders say they are better than the U.S. military at keeping out insurgent infiltrators because of their familiarity with local tribal and neighborhood networks.
Units no longer are being drawn from a single neighborhood, a move to avoid the mass defections that would occur when soldiers were asked to fight in their own neighborhoods.
Intimidation remains the biggest problem, said Lt. Col. Alaa Talib Mohsin, the deputy commander of the 302nd Battalion. He has had to move twice in the past year because of threats to his life from insurgents, and 100 members of the 975-strong battalion have quit because of threats.
"Sometimes a soldier tells us insurgents threatened his family, and he's not afraid but he's afraid for his family, so he quits. This is how these cowards work, they threaten children and women," said Mohsin, a former Iraqi army commander who fought in Kuwait 14 years ago.
The election also has given the force a huge boost, both in morale and public image. By braving the bombs and the bullets to protect Iraqis going to vote, the army is being viewed in a new light by many ordinary citizens, helping overcome the force's long-standing image as an army that flees in the face of danger.
In other respects, Iraqi forces may be better equipped to deal with the kind of counterinsurgency operations that are required in Baghdad now, U.S. commanders say.
"The real things that are so absolutely critical in the fight that we're in today on the streets of Baghdad is an understanding of the city, an understanding of the culture and the ability to speak the language, and Iraqi forces bring that to the street," said Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, which handed over to the 3rd Infantry last month after a year in Baghdad.
Mohsin said there has been a marked increase in the number of Iraqis coming forward with tips in the weeks since the Iraqi army began adopting a more visible profile in Baghdad.
"It's easier for people to cooperate with the Iraqi army. In a tough neighborhood they can just take you aside and whisper," Mohsin said. "They can't do that with the American army."
Staff Sgt. Bruce Boardman, improvised explosive device tactics, techniques and procedures noncommissioned officer, electronic warfare coordination cell, Multi-National Corp-Iraq, teaches Soldiers from the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Ga., operating procedures of a counter-IED device March 2, at Camp Taji, Iraq. Sgt. Michael Carden
IED class improves Soldiers safety
By Sgt. Michael J. Carden
March 7, 2005
CAMP TAJI, Iraq (Army News Service, March 7, 2005) — A special Army unit in Iraq now has the mission to teach Soldiers about improvised explosive devices.
Until recently, there was no unit or section committed solely to learning and teaching Soldiers about IEDs, officials said. A unit’s knowledge and steps in reacting to IEDs were only based on past experiences in their area.
Now, because of research, data and information gathered from throughout the country, Multi-National Corps - Iraq’s Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell is able to teach these findings to Soldiers, to give them a better understanding of the IED threat. The Soldiers learn recognition, characteristics and placement of IEDs, as well as how to use counter-IED systems, said Staff Sgt. Bruce Boardman, tactics, techniques and procedures noncommissioned officer, EWCC, MNC-I.
“We’ll give an (IED awareness class) to just one person if that’s what it takes to save a Soldier’s life,” Boardman said.
Boardman and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Baskervill, another noncom in the cell, traveled to Camp Taji on March 2 to give the Soldiers of the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, an IED awareness and counter IED systems class.
“IEDs are obviously a big threat. They account for a lot of the casualties in Iraq,” said. Capt. Ken Lizotte, operations officer-in-charge, 603rd ASB, 3rd ID. “I like the fact that we have two subject matter experts here who understand what IEDs are all about and who can emphasize the importance of awareness.”
During the two hour class, Baskervill and Boardman spoke about the general characteristics of IEDS, and described several different types.
The primary types of IED encountered by troops in Iraq are command-wire, remote, and vehicle born IEDs, or VBIEDs. Command-wire IEDs have a detonation switch, such as a garage door opener or washing machine timer, at one end of the wire and the explosives at the other end. Remote detonated IEDs are ignited by a transmitter, such as a cordless phone or hand-held radio. VBIEDs are vehicles turned bomb. They may have an extra antenna and can be detonated by using either the command-wire or remote detonation methods, according to Baskervill.
Baskervill and Boardman also talked about how and where insurgents may place an IED.
“(Insurgents) will put IEDs almost anywhere,” Boardman said. “Placed on power poles or guard rails, buried in the median or low shoulder of the road, or hidden in barrels, tires and trash are all possibilities. A lot of times, they will make sure there is a wall or canal between them and the IED. That way they think they have a better chance to escape or go unnoticed.”
“The enemy is very smart,” Boardman said. “They’re not just farmers with pitchforks.”
“(Insurgents) shouldn’t be underestimated,” Baskervill added. “Many of them have engineering and electronic backgrounds. They’re building (IEDs) from scratch.”
Along with teaching the awareness class, Boardman also joins several different convoys and dismounted patrols each week to assess how Soldiers react to IED attacks or IEDs that have been planted but not detonated, he said.
He stressed to the class that Soldiers should stay focused on their mission, and pay attention to the surrounding environment, when they are in convoy or on patrol. “The local people know if there’s something going on,” Boardman said. “After you’ve patrolled the same areas a few times, you begin to make mental notes about the amount of locals or traffic out and about. If, on a certain day, there’s no traffic or no people walking the streets, that could be a tell-tale sign of an IED or a planned attack. You have to look for things out of the ordinary like that.”
Baskervill and Boardman also talked about the importance of properly operating and executing tactics, techniques and procedures when using their unit’s counter-IED system during a convoy.
“Before the counter-IED systems were put out, the kill ratio of a detonated IED was 70 percent,” Boardman said. “Now that we have the systems, the kill ratio of a detonated IED is 30 percent. That‘s why it‘s so important for units to be aware of our class and the EWCC.”
“Because of this class, I’m more knowledgeable and I’ll be more observant,“ said Staff Sgt. Richard Samuels, motor pool, NCOIC, 603rd ASB, 3rd ID. “I learned a lot about how to react to and identify IEDs, which will better my chances of survival during convoys and patrols.”
“The IED situation will get better,” Baskervill said. “But hopefully (the EWCC) can help people become more educated to have a better understanding of their (counter-IED) systems’ capabilities and overall IED awareness.”
(Editor's note: Sgt. Michael Carden serves with MNC-I Public Affairs.)
Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr. listens as Maj. Gen. Mudhir Al Mawlla discusses the significance of the 41st Brigade during a ceremony honoring the activation of the unit March 3. Sgt. Andrew Miller
Iraqi Army 41st Brigade activates
By Sgt. Andrew Miller
BAGHDAD (Army News Service, March 7, 2005) – The 41st Brigade of the Iraqi Army was activated March 3 during a ceremony at an Iraqi Army training facility here.
More than 200 Iraqi Soldiers, who make up the headquarters element of the brigade, participated in the ceremony. Members of the brigade – who one U.S. officer called “the bravest Soldiers on the planet” -- have trained since November with U.S. Soldiers from the 98th, 1st Cavalry and 3rd Infantry divisions.
This month, the headquarters of the 41st Brigade will conduct a command post exercise, an evaluation that leaders from both forces will use to determine the overall readiness of the unit. If the unit is successful, it could be assigned to a sector of Baghdad in as few as six months, said the 98th Div.’s Lt. Col. Ed Tennent, the senior trainer of the headquarters element.
When ready, the 41st Brigade will assume responsibility of an area east of the Tigris River that includes Sadr City. The responsibility of that sector currently belongs to the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
The brigades stand-alone readiness is being evaluated, but Soldiers who have worked with the unit say its members are courageous.
“These are some of the bravest Soldiers on the planet,” said Tennent.
“They have been threatened, run off the road, and ambushed while commuting to the training facility, he said, but they continue to show up.”
“A lot of them want to do something with their country and they have a lot of passion for that,” said Capt. Victor Ingram, an embed trainer from the 98th.
Soldiers of the brigade have set aside long-held differences to become a team, said Tennent. Many were a part of the former Iraqi Army and are now working with the U.S. Army they once fought against.
Command Sgt. Maj. Abad al-Razaq, the 41st Brigade command sergeant major, fought against U.S. forces during Desert Storm.
“I must change my country for the best,” said al-Razaq, “I give it a better future. Not just me, I need help. Whose help? My friend: the American Army."
Up to this point, trainers have focused on administration, logistics and noncommissioned officer and officer leadership, according to Ingram. Future training will include combat-oriented exercises.
Currently, only the headquarters element is assigned to the newly activated brigade. Tennent said no less than five battalions, however, will be assigned between June and July. Some of those Soldiers are already operating alongside coalition forces in combat operations.
Great news...
Orange County Register (NY Times sourced ) had a hit piece on the Army procurement problems on getting armor and these counter-IED systems . Titled "Pentagon missteps put troops at risk".
Sgt. Marcus Miller, far right, a flight medic with the 50th Medical Evacuation Company of the 101st Airborne Division, deployed from Fort Campbell, Ky., and medics from the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, drive an improvised–explosive-device patient from the landing zone to the hospital entrance March 2. Miller and his medevac crew flew the patient, a civilian contractor, from Baghdad International Airport. Photo by Sgt. Michael J. Carden, USA
Fort Campbell Troops Work to Save Lives in Iraq
By Sgt. Michael J. Carden, USA American Forces Press Service
CAMP TAJI, Iraq, March 7, 2005 – “Never lose a soldier. No one dies on your bird.” This is the motto of the 50th Medical Evacuation Company of the 101st Airborne Division, deployed from Fort Campbell, Ky.
Sgt. Marcus Miller, far right, a flight medic with the 50th Medical Evacuation Company of the 101st Airborne Division, deployed from Fort Campbell, Ky., and medics from the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, drive an improvised–explosive-device patient from the landing zone to the hospital entrance March 2. Miller and his medevac crew flew the patient, a civilian contractor, from Baghdad International Airport. Photo by Sgt. Michael J. Carden, USA (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.
Almost every day since its arrival here in November 2004, the company has been challenged to live by that motto.
“When we get the medevac call, things are pretty chaotic,” said Sam Simons, a crew chief. “Dealing with casualties is never easy. You just do what you’ve got to do to help the medic save lives.” The company spent a year in Mosul, Iraq, during its first deployment to Iraqi. The company’s members were home for only nine months before deploying again. They have flown more than 1,100 combat hours in 12 Black Hawk helicopters.
The flight crews have executed more than 600 medical evacuation missions, transporting more than 800 casualties to combat support hospitals. Fifty percent of their missions have dealt with roadside landings on hasty landing zones, according to the company commander, Maj. William Howard.
Unit members agree no two missions are ever the same for the two pilots, crew chief and flight medic that make up a medical evacuation crew. Every time they receive a call, the possibilities and scenarios of what is in store are endless. They can’t afford to be unprepared or not proficient, said Staff Sgt. Thomas Harris, a flight medic.
“Every mission is different,” Harris said. “The call could be a mass (casualty) because of an insurgent attack or simply to pick up an appendicitis or hernia patient from his base camp’s troop medical clinic. We could take fire when we land. We might have to make a roadside landing in a city or land in an open field. You’ve got to learn to adapt pretty quickly.”
Adapting to different battlefield environments is something the crews do daily. Sometimes they’re called for a second mission before they’ve finished a current mission. They often have to react to several different situations in a single day.
“Some days we can sit around all day and not get called,” Harris said. “Other days (improvised explosive devices) and (rocket-propelled grenades) could be going off all day long. Some days we’ll get three missions in a row and end up flying for three hours straight evacuating troops.”
Simons said that he‘s been flying with a medevac crew for only about a month and a half. During that time, he’s flown more than 50 hours evacuating casualties and patients.
Once the crew is on the ground, the medic’s sole concern is the patients. The crew chief’s responsibility is to make sure the medic can stay focused without worrying about incoming fire. The crew chief is the medic’s security effort. “He’s my bodyguard. He’s my eyes on the perimeter,” Harris said of his crew chief, Simons.
“The medic can’t worry about things like security,” Simons said. “He has the health of the patient to worry about.”
After casualties are loaded onto the helicopter, the medic begins treating patients for secondary injuries, such as minor shrapnel or small-arms-fire wounds.
But sometimes the injuries are far too severe for the medic to treat in the air. Sometimes the casualties don’t make it at all, Harris said.
“Saving a life is the greatest feeling in the world,” Harris said. “But a lot of guys aren’t going to make it. You have to be able to deal with that. I go home with a lot of bad memories of the faces of guys who died and didn’t make it.”
The pressures and stress of being on a medevac crew may be more than most people can handle But the medics, crew chiefs and pilots of the 50th Medevac Company are well-trained, experienced and always prepared to save the life of a fellow soldier, Simons said.
“This job isn’t for everyone,” Harris said. “You’re dealing with casualties and blood. You’ve got to be able to work through that. If you let it get to you, you’re not going to be any good to yourself or the patient.”
(Army Sgt. Michael J. Carden is assigned to Multinational Corps Iraq.)
U.S. Army soldiers, assigned to the 155th Brigade Combat Team, meet during a convoy briefing in front of a humvee at Camp Kalsu, Iraq, Feb. 26, 2005. The team has been escorting members from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who are repairing and constructing Iraqi police stations and schools throughout the Babil Province. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brien Aho
An Iraqi contractor paints the side of a police station in Babil, Iraq, Feb. 26, 2005. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is supervising projects to repair and construct Iraqi police stations and schools throughout the Babil Province. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brien Aho
U.S. Army soldiers, assigned to the 155th Brigade Combat Team, escort members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as they pass a destroyed police vehicle while inspecting a Babil Police Station in Babil, Iraq, Feb. 26, 2005. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is repairing and constructing various Iraqi police stations and schools throughout the Babil Province. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brien Aho
Marine father, son serve together in Al Asad
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Story Identification #: 20053773447 Story by Sgt. Juan Vara
AL ASAD, Iraq (March 7, 2005) -- Maj. Peter D. Charboneau is a busy man.
The communications and electronics officer for Marine Air Control Group 28 (Reinforced) isn’t just in charge of overseeing the upgrade of fiber optic lines, telephone switches and data servers around this former Iraqi air base. He’s also responsible, to the best of his abilities, for keeping an eye on one Marine who’s not even part of his unit–his youngest son, Joe.
After graduating from high school in Quantico, Va., in 2002, Joe and his older brother Pete joined the Corps following their father’s footsteps. They enlisted under the ‘buddy program’ and reported to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., together, graduating in January 2003.
Elder by a year, Pete is a lance corporal serving with Headquarters and Support Battalion’s Brig Company aboard Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Joe, also a lance corporal, serves as a helicopter mechanic with Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron 269 from Marine Corps Air Station, New River, N.C., and is here on his first deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“I’m closer to him here than I am back in North Carolina,” said Charboneau. “The beauty of it is that he works nights. We meet in the morning and have breakfast.”
According to Charboneau, he was preparing to leave Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C., and transfer to Marine Corps Base, Quantico, when he heard Joe was deploying to Iraq. He immediately asked for a modification to his reporting date to be able to come here and be near his son. Pete, trying to be near his father and brother, volunteered to transfer temporarily to 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, the unit in charge of protecting this air base.
“I pushed for Pete to come out here too,” said Charboneau. “My wife put a stop to it.”
Charboneau’s wife, the former Dinah E. Gomez, of El Paso, Texas, didn’t want her husband and her two sons to be in Iraq at the same time. She’s now ordered Charboneau to take care of Joe, and ordered both to wear their fragmentation protection armored vests and helmets at all times while they’re here.
“My wife is on an emotional rollercoaster,” said Charboneau. “She put up a sign that says ‘Having Marine son go to Iraq: Heartbreaking. Having Marine husband go with him: Awesome. Having another Marine son stay back with me: Priceless.’”
In his more than 23 years as a Marine, Charboneau, who began his career as a private, has left his family behind several times while he answers the call of duty. His most recent deployment was two years ago, when he served in Kuwait and Iraq during the beginning of the war.
“I’m not as homesick as I’ve been any other time I’ve deployed,” he said. “I could stay here for a year and I won’t miss my family because I have Joe here. I don’t think there’s a better feeling in the world than being in war with your son.”
Joe, getting his feet wet when it comes to deployments, said he misses his family, his girlfriend and some of the comforts of life back home. “You never know how good you have it until you’re shaving out of a water bottle.”
Father and son can often be spotted riding their bikes around Al Asad. They celebrated Charboneau’s birthday last month and are making plans to celebrate Joe’s birthday in July.
Not many are privileged to have breakfast with their father every day while in a combat zone. Not many can smoke a cigar with their son after a hard day of work half the world away from home. Charboneau, proud of his Marine sons, said there’s a small disadvantage of serving with one of them here.
“It’s the same thing as back at home,” he said jokingly. “I have to tell him to do his laundry, clean his room and brush his teeth.”
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division Story Identification #: 20053711126 Story by Cpl. Matthew R. Jones
HUSAYBAH, Iraq (Feb. 28, 2005) -- Marines from Company C, 2nd Combat Engineers Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 7, improved the international border between Iraq and Syria near the town of Husaybah by building a massive dirt barricade.
The Marines assisted the new Iraq government in their desire to stop the smuggling of arms, insurgents and goods across the border in this volatile region. The coalition forces are using the assets they have to provide a safer Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government.
Strains of concertina wire were run along the berm in order to provide another deterrent for the illegal border crossers. The Iraqi government also ordered the formal closing of the Husaybah point of entry into the country. The border has been closed due to the high level of insurgent activity using the crossing.
The insurgency has used the crossing and the neighboring border city as a safe haven to smuggle both fighters and weapons into and out of the country. Many of the foreign fighters that fought in Fallujah had crossed into the country at Husaybah.
The Marines of Headquarters and Support Platoon Company C, which is based out of Camp Lejuene, will build approximately 5 miles of berm between the two countries, said Staff Sgt. Ronald S. Gillaspie, heavy equipment operation chief.
The new border includes three phases, a trench, a berm and concertina wire.
A D-9 bulldozer dug the trench, which is roughly six feet deep. The dirt removed to dig the trench was then used to build the berm. Another bulldozer piles the dirt to a height of approximately 10 feet.
“A two-bulldozer team can build one quarter of a mile of the new border in a day,” said Gillaspie, 29, a native of Crown Point, Ind.
Marines play reindeer games at Norwegian feast
Submitted by: Marine Forces Reserve Story by: Computed Name: Cpl. Enrique Saenz Story Identification #: 200536113919
NAMDALSEID, Norway – (Mar. 05, 2005) -- Every Christmas Santa straps eight tiny reindeer onto his sleigh and goes for the ultimate joyride passing out toys to the good little girls and boys throughout the world. The old boy might have one less this year, thanks to a group of Norwegian soldiers and six U.S. Marines.
Soldiers from the Norwegian Home Guard hosted a reindeer dinner as a gift to six Marines from Marine Air Ground Task Force 25.
The first taste of reindeer was a giant leap into Norwegian culture.
“I had no idea what to expect,” said Pfc. Andrew D. McCoy, a radioman with MAGTF 25. “I’d worked with Norwegians before, but this was my first time doing anything Norwegians do.”
Norwegian Home Guard soldiers, led by Home Guard Capt. Bjorn Deras invited the Marines to one of their homes for a feast featuring the Norwegian delicacy, and even though Marines are not known as having discriminating taste buds, the feast was resounding success.
“It was awesome,” said McCoy, a Southwindsor, Mass., native. “I can honestly say it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. It tasted kind of like beef stroganoff.”
The second course was a surprise for the Marines, who were presented a dish and only were only told what it was after they had eaten it.
“It turned out to be smoked reindeer’s heart,” said Cpl. Andy S. Puga, a Leominster, Mass. native. “It sounds kind of gross, but it tasted good. It was kind of like bacon.”
The cultural exchange was only a small part of exercise Battle Griffin 2005, a Norwegian invitational exercise that tests the interoperability of North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Partnership for Peace nations tactics and systems.
050305-N-9013W-004 Norfolk, Va. (Mar. 5, 2005) – Sailors board the U.S. Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) as they “bring her to life,” during the ship’s commissioning ceremony held on board Naval Station Norfolk, Va. Nitze is the 44th ship in the Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers and honors former Secretary of the Navy Paul H. Nitze. This highly capable multi-mission ship can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, in support of the National Military Strategy. Nitze is capable of fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles simultaneously. U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 2nd Class Laurie L. Wood (RELEASED)
Navy Commissions Latest High-tech Destroyer
050304-N-8770A-061 Everett, Wash. (Mar. 4, 2005) - Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) hold their newborn babies for the first time after returning from a deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean. The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and embarked Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) supported Operation Unified Assistance, the humanitarian relief effort to aid the victims of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Elizabeth Acosta (RELEASED)
050305-N-0577F-010 Fallujah, Iraq (Mar. 5, 2005) - Steelworker Constructionman Michael Gilcrest and Chief Builder Andrew Sprague, the youngest and oldest Seabees in Fallujah, Iraq, cut a birthday cake alongside Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler. The Seabees and I MEF celebrated the 63rd birthday of U.S. Navy Seabees. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Donny M. Forbes (RELEASED)
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. -- Second Lt. Wendell Morgan wears protective Kevlar shorts being tested by the Air Force. The shorts minimize fragment damage from the waistline to the knees. Lieutenant Morgan is a flight officer with the 1st Security Forces Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Dawn M. Bolen)
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The F-117A Nighthawk is the world's first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. This precision-strike aircraft penetrates high-threat airspace and uses laser-guided weapons against critical targets. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)
Airmen track terrorists offbase BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- Airman 1st Class Rebecca Weston turns in her weapon to Staff Sgt. Sean Morris after a patrol off base. She and other Airmen of Task Force 1041 defend the installation by conducting patrols, searches and other missions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Mike Buytas)
The Department of Defense announced today that it transferred three detainees from Guantanamo Bay (GTMO), Cuba, to France for prosecution. This transfer increases the number to 211 detainees who have departed GTMO.
The decision to transfer or release a detainee is based on many factors, including whether the detainee is of further intelligence value to the United States and whether the detainee is believed to pose a continuing threat to the United States if released.
There are ongoing processes to review the status of detainees. A determination about the continued detention or transfer of a detainee is based on the best information and evidence available at the time. The circumstances in which detainees are apprehended can be ambiguous, and many of the detainees are highly skilled in concealing the truth.
During the course of the war on terrorism, the department expects that there will be other transfers or releases of detainees.
Because of operational and security considerations, no further details can be provided.
Prior to this transfer, 208 detainees had departed GTMO - 146 for release, and 62 transferred to the control of other governments (29 to Pakistan, five to Morocco, four to France, seven to Russia, four to Saudi Arabia, one to Spain, one to Sweden, one to Kuwait, one to Australia and nine to Great Britain). Two hundred and eleven detainees have now departed Guantanamo. There are approximately 540 detainees currently at Guantanamo.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Terry Nelson fits a new pair of shoes on a young Bedouin girl in a village near Tallil Air Base, Iraq, on March 5, 2005. Nelson, from the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is deployed with the 407th Air Expeditionary Group as the Chief of Group Public Affairs. DoD photo by Master Sgt. Mark Bucher, U.S. Air Force. (Released) 050305-F-3408B-029
Members of the Iraqi Police Commandos head out on a mission as part of an operation to rid Samarra of insurgents and weapons. More than 1,500 members of the Iraqi security forces are involved in the operation. Photo by Sgt. Matt Murphy, USA
Afghan boys lay tiles at the Blue Mosque Preservation Center to earn money for their families. The Herat Provincial Reconstruction Team recently funded a project to train 40 former combatants during a six-month period in cooperation with the Afghan New Beginnings Program. Photo by Sgt. Jeremy Clawson, USA
By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2005 – Violent contacts between coalition forces and enemy fighters in Afghanistan are declining in number, a senior commander of forces there said today. “Over the past year, the number of areas where the Afghan central government and international organizations classify or describe the environment as insecure has gone down dramatically,” said Army Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 76, at a news conference in Kabul. Combined Joint Task Force 76 is a subordinate unit to Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. It is the operational military headquarters in the country.
“The number of contacts we have had, combat operations that we have had, and the number of casualties, both on the side of the coalition and the side that opposes the coalition, has gone down.”
Olson said the security situation in Afghanistan has reached the point at which violent contact or troops in contact situations are rare. Afghan security forces are now operating “much more freely in some of these areas that used to be very violent,” he added.
“We are starting to experience nongovernmental organizations and international organizations and aid groups much more willing to go into many areas in Afghanistan than they were willing to before,” he noted.
Olson said the more secure environment has enabled reconstruction projects to move forward. He said the coalition has spent millions of dollars over the last year on new schools and government buildings, and on other construction projects throughout the country.
Nineteen provincial reconstruction teams are spread throughout Afghanistan and are “specifically dedicated to economic development and helping Afghanistan to reconstruct,” he emphasized. “The PRTs are accepted very readily by the Afghan people and work very closely with Afghan governmental officials.”
Such acceptance of the coalition by the Afghan people is perhaps the greatest accomplishment by the coalition over the past year, Olson said. A recent poll revealed the popular support for the coalition now is at an “all-time high,” he reported.
“I would say that personally speaking, as I reflect back on the year that I’ve spent as the commanding general of CJTF-76, that my own proudest accomplishment is the close connection we have established with the Afghan people and the bonds of friendship that have been formed, plus the cooperation with the institutions and organizations of the Afghan central government.”
Mon Mar 7,10:57 PM ET Middle East - AP
AMMAN, Jordan - Fifteen alleged militants refused to speak Monday when a military court asked them to plead to numerous terror charges, including plotting to attack the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Amman.
The court interpreted their silence as a plea of not guilty and adjourned the trial to March 14. A 16th person accused is being tried in absentia on the same charges.
The charge sheet identified the chief defendant as Abed al-Tahawi, 50, and said he pursued the ideology of "takfiri" — a policy of killing anybody considered to be an infidel. The charge sheet said al-Tahawi recruited his accomplices while preaching in mosques in Irbid, 50 miles north of the capital.
The defendants planned to attack the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Amman, and a hotel favored by Israeli tourists in Irbid, the charge sheet said. They also planned to attack the home of the director of an annual cultural festival and American performers at the festival, according to the charges.
Details released Monday did not say how or when they planned the attacks.
The alleged militants were detained in August and September before they could carry out their plans. It was not disclosed how they were arrested.
In a separate trial in the same military court, a defendant pleaded not guilty Monday to planting a bomb that killed two passers-by in 2002.
Mustafa Siyam was convicted in absentia in 2003 and condemned to death for setting a bomb under the car of the wife of a senior Jordanian intelligence officer outside his home in Amman in February 2002. The intelligence officer left his house minutes before the explosion, which killed two workers on the pavement.
Siyam was later captured in Iraq and extradited to Jordan. Under Jordanian law, people convicted in absentia are granted a retrial if they are later arrested.
Siyam said Monday that the confession he made while in detention was extracted under duress.
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