Free Republic

Soldiers wading through a dark, humid swamp of water and bamboo sounds more like Vietnam than Iraq. But these were the conditions soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division's Task Force 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, faced as they submerged themselves up to their necks in water hunting down insurgents in a densely vegetated canal. The soldiers captured eight insurgents and a large weapons cache without firing a shot.

Civilian militia members were scheduled to lay down their arms today in a ceremony in Kandahar, Afghanistan. This morning's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration commencement ceremony was scheduled to include a parade of 1,000 demobilizing soldiers, and weapons collection was set to begin this afternoon, according to a Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan news release. The commander of the Kandahar provincial reconstruction team was scheduled to attend the ceremony. Officials said the ceremony marks another step in a program designed to integrate 100,000 Afghan militia members into the new Afghan army and other government-sponsored security activities, or into civilian life. The...

It had all the makings of a Super Bowl party -- beer, pretzels and rowdy football fans. But when Beyonce Knowles sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before kickoff Sunday night, guests at Bill and Lisa Scott's Bellevue home had one person on their minds -- fallen soldier Justin Scott. "Our boy Justin, God and country," said his uncle, Brian Scott, as a dozen family members and friends toasted after the national anthem. U.S. Army Sgt. Justin Scott, 22, died Thursday afternoon in an explosion in the mountains of Afghanistan. Scott, a member of the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum,...

On a crisp Sunday afternoon 62 years ago, Dan Kennerly played a touch football game at Emory University that he would never forget. Kennerly was having fun with some buddies from Decatur only weeks before his freshman year at the University of Georgia, where coach Wally Butts had offered him a football scholarship. A car drove up and a friend yelled the news: Pearl Harbor had been bombed. The game ended. Four of the 12 boys on that field would be killed in World War II. And Kennerly, who had never seen snow stick to the ground, would survive a...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) - Hundreds of American soldiers launched an air assault in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, part of a new operation the U.S. military is calling its biggest since the fall of the hardline Taliban regime two years ago. Soldiers from the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment stormed into an area east of Khost, a restive town along the border with Pakistan that has seen several recent attacks on coalition personnel, said Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a U.S. military spokesman. "We came in with helicopters," he said of the maneuver, part of the newly launched Operation Avalanche. "We're trying to...

10th Mountain Division Observations (The number is the observation, D--the dilemma, LL--the lesson learned.) 1: Many Soldiers had problems due to altitude. D: Soldiers deployed about 6,000' to 8500' by CH-47. Eventually moved up to about 10,500'. Almost everyone had some problems with the altitude at first. Most felt better after a few days. "Bunch of guys" had Acute Mountain Sickness. No pre-treatment with Diamox because of the fear of side effects. Symptoms included shortness of breath, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, collapsing. Moved worst cases down for evacuation. Some were treated with O2, Diamox, and Dexamethazone. LL: Rapid deployment of Soldiers...

<p>FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) --  After watching Army helicopters drop troops and howitzers from a steel-blue sky, President Bush answered a soldier's shout of "Let's get Saddam!" with a promise Friday to defeat the "mounting danger" of terrorist regimes.</p> <p>"We will use diplomacy when possible and force when necessary," Bush told thousands of flag-waving members of the storied 10th Mountain Division, many of whom served in Afghanistan.</p>

Lima soldier returns from Afghanistan By JOHN FIKE • jfike@limanews.com • 419-993-2098 LIMA - They were pinned down by enemy fire for two weeks without enough food in the mountains of Afghanistan and lived in dirt holes, but the 10th Mountain Division returned home this month. Lima resident Chris "Doc" Couchot got to see his family and friends at home for the first time in eight months last weekend. "It's a big sigh," Couchot said. Still on active duty status, Couchot is spending time with his family until he's called back to training this fall. "It's like it's not real...

Accident at Fort Drum kills one, injures 14 others By WILLIAM KATES The Associated Press 3/20/02 8:21 PM FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) -- One soldier was killed and 14 were injured Wednesday when two artillery rounds fell short during a training exercise, exploding near a mess tent where the soldiers were eating breakfast. Pfc. William Hamm, 34, of Ocala, Fla. died and Staff Sgt. Eric Hall, 34, of Phoenix was in critical condition, Fort Drum officials said. The injuries suffered by the others did not appear life-threatening, according to Maj. Kenneth McDorman. McDorman said the soldiers, part of the 10th...