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There is a new surge making ripples across Iraq, say 3rd Infantry Division commanders with a close view of life on the ground in cities stretching from Mosul to Baghdad. And it is a movement that's anything but sinister. "My hat goes off to them," said Col. Charles Sexton, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID, based in northern Iraq. "Because the Iraqi Security Forces are in the streets every day, fighting the terrorists with less equipment than the Army has, doing the same job. "It takes a heck of a brave person to do this. ... They...

I spoke with Robert Stokely on the phone today. He's doing well. "Memorial Day is less a celebration and more a time of reflection for us." He told me. But after further conversation it was clear he was keeping very busy, too - and that's a good thing - with parades and fireworks and all the things that make small town America great. The Mike Stokely Foundation is going strong. There will be another ride this Fall to raise money for scholarships, and after that another collection of school supplies for Yousifiyah. "I want to go there some day. To...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — After just six days of operations out of Patrol Base Meade, Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division began to see results of their cooperation with community leaders in Sayafiyah, south of Baghdad, Jan 27. During the operations, Troops B and C, 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Inf. Div., established security in villages near the patrol base leaving one troop, Troop A, to handle security further south. Troop A, accompanied by Lt. Col. Clifford Wheeler, 5-7 Cav. Regt. commander, was to establish a foothold in Sayafiyah,...

BAGHDAD – Air strikes dropped 10,000 pounds of munitions Jan. 16 on bunkers in Arab Jabour used by al-Qaeda as training sites for new recruits.Intelligence led the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. to the location of the AQI bunkers. Air Force B-1 Bombers dropped 19 GBU-31s on the site.“This operation maintains the momentum of Operation Thunderbolt by denying enemy sanctuaries and enemy caches, ultimately downgrading their capabilities,” said Maj. James Wilburn, daytime chief of operations, 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div.South of Zambraniyah, Soldiers from the 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regt., 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div....

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — As the midday sun warmed the ground at Forward Operating Base Kalsu Jan. 15, 56 Iraqi Soldiers stood beside 18 U.S. non-commissioned officers, in front of two countries’ flags, with one common purpose and made history. The Iraqi Soldiers comprised the first group to begin training at the new Task Force Marne NCO Academy, and the first-ever group of Iraqi security forces (ISF) to attend a leaders’ course. Multi-National Division – Center Command Sgt. Maj. Jesse L. Andrews, Jr., welcomed the Soldiers with a short ceremony. “The two-week course that we have designed will teach...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Jan. 4, 2008 – “No one is more professional than I,” states the U.S. Army’s NCO Creed, and noncommissioned officers here are gearing up to instill the same pride and professionalism in their Iraq counterparts. Army Master Sgt. Michael Howle, right, commandant of the new Task Force Marne NCO Academy, discusses plans for the academy with Multinational Division Center Command Sgt. Maj. Jesse L. Andrews Jr., left, and Master Sgt. Stanley Hood, deputy commandant, Jan. 1, 2008, on Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Emily J. Wilsoncroft  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

CAMP VICTORY — Everybody has one. It may be a family member, a teacher, or a coach – an extraordinary person who makes such an impact that one’s life is forever changed. For Staff Sgt. Steven A. Holloway that one person was a friend, mentor and leader. The story of Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith is known to the nation. His actions in combat on April 4, 2003, above and beyond the call of duty, led to him being posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. On Aug. 10, Holloway, on his third combat tour to Iraq, raised his right...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2007 – The 3rd Infantry Division Headquarters, based in Fort Stewart, Ga., will deploy to Iraq sooner than originally scheduled, DoD officials announced today. The unit was scheduled to begin its deployment in June, but will now begin its deployment in March. The headquarters was identified for deployment on Nov. 17. The headquarters will provide command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in support of Baghdad security operations, Army Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros, a DoD spokesman, said. This three-month acceleration affects about 1,000 servicemembers. “Force levels in Iraq continue to be conditions-based and are determined...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 14, 2005) -- A full ensemble of cooks, infantrymen, supply clerks and other Soldiers from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division were put into a special unit known as the Iraqi Security Force Government Team, also known as ISFGT, at the beginning of their deployment to provide aid to the Iraqi government in Sal Ad Din Province. Six days a week, they have provided security for Iraqi government conferences and elections, operating out of the Provincial Joint Coordinating Center in downtown Tikrit. Security, information drives the train “The ISFGT’s main mission is to get the...

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Ray Gilstrap wiped away tears as he stood beside the tree planted in his nephew's honor, the latest in a living memorial to soldiers killed in Iraq that has more than doubled since the Army's 3rd Infantry Division began its second tour this year. "The numbers, compared to Vietnam, they're so small. You don't expect it," said Gilstrap, whose nephew, Sgt. Arthur R. McGill, was killed last month by an insurgent bomb while patrolling Baghdad. "Of course, we look at it differently now." Seven months after the Fort Stewart-based 3rd Infantry deployed, the death toll during...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 16, 2005) -- During this time in the history of our Army when recruiting is facing an unprecedented challenge, the need for great Americans to join or remain in the ranks of this team (the Army) is paramount. However, the call to duty brings with it responsibility, commitment, dedication, and personal courage. What does it take to be a Solder in today’s Army? I would tell you that it takes saying “Yes” regarding those things that are good, true, and team supporting. We all said “Yes” when our journey began in uniform, regardless of...

Iraqi and U.S. troops respond to two separate attacks; ordnance disposal teams detonated unexploded ordnance discovered at the scene. MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq, July 26, 2005 — Iraqi Army and U.S. soldiers assigned to Task Force Baghdad helped treat victims of two separate terrorist attacks in Mahmudiyah and Al-Dora, July 21. Prior to the explosions, U.S. troops assigned to 3rd Platoon, E Troop, 108th Cavalry Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and the Iraqi Army’s 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Division operations and intelligence leaders met to plan future combined missions near Siad Abdullah and the surrounding areas which are known...

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2005 – U.S. and Iraqi soldiers conducted a cordon-and-search mission in the early-morning hours of July 6 to search for terrorist cells in western Baghdad. Iraqi soldiers from 2nd and 3rd platoons, D Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Iraqi Army Brigade, and a U.S. scout platoon from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 156th Armor Regiment, 256th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, participated in the operation. The result was the capture of seven detainees, five AK-47 assault rifles, two pistols, up to 20 fully loaded magazines, and assorted weaponry and documents, including material for making identification badges...

Army Spc. Anthony Dowden of the 3rd Infantry Division presents a plaque made from a piece of armor that saved him from a sniper's bullet to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 12, 2005. Rumsfeld awarded two Bronze Star medals and 10 Purple Heart medals and reenlisted more than 100 troops at a town hall meeting with U.S. and coalition troops. Rumsfeld is in Iraq to visit with U.S. and coalition forces and to meet with the newly elected members of the Iraqi government. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby, U.S. Air Force....

<p>WACO, Texas — Not far from the ranch where President Bush is spending the holidays, the impact of the war in Iraq is being driven home in this city of 113,000.</p> <p>In the biggest single call-up of the Texas National Guard since World War II, 3,300 citizen-soldiers are preparing to ship out for a year of combat duty in Iraq, the largest contingent to date that the state has sent there.</p>

FORT BENNING, Ga. - The Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which led the blitz to Baghdad during the Iraqi war, announced Friday that it has received deployment orders to return for at least a year to combat the nagging insurgency and to help the Iraqis establish their own government. "The deployment is part of a planned rotation of forces," said Maj. Gen. William Webster, the division's commander, in a release issued from 3rd ID headquarters at Fort Stewart, near Savannah. "We expect to be deployed for approximately one year. However, there are no guarantees. The situation on the ground and the...

3ID artillery NCO wins Gruber Award January 13, 2004 Sgt. 1st Class Glen R. Washington Sgt. 1st Class Glen R. Washington, the fire control NCO for the 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized) Artillery, Fort Stewart, Ga., is the winner of the Gruber Award as the outstanding field artillery professional for 2003. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Washington developed critical tactics, techniques and procedures for the advanced field artillery tactical data systems known as AFATDS. While visiting Kuwait prior to the war, Washington planned for the 1-3 Attack Helicopter Battalion’s fire support element to fire digitally for the first time using AFATDS...

<p>HABBANIYAH, Iraq -- They seized Saddam Hussein's palaces in April, became reluctant Baghdad peacekeepers in May, and shifted to the hostile villages of the Sunni Triangle in June.</p> <p>But yesterday, after a crushing series of aborted plans to relieve the Army division that won the war, the word raced among the 5,000 soldiers of the Second Brigade, Third Infantry Division: They're going home.</p>

Ralph Hammond Chief, Collective Trng and ABCA/International Programs Doctrine and Collective Training Division Combined Arms and Tactics Directorate/Infantry School [EDITED email/phone #s] CHAPTER 1 DEPLOYMENT UNCERTAINITY Responding to terrorist attacks against the United Statesin the fall of 2001 the US Military initiated Operation Enduring Freedom, with the ultimate objective of toppling what President George W. Bush referred to as the "axis of evil." Task Force 2-7 Infantry (Mechanized) deployed advance party personnel early in January 03 in support of the ongoing operation. Main body flights consumed the entire third week of January and by February 1st CampPennsylvaniaserved as home for...

In case you missed this thread earlier: Fox News.... just conducted a live interview of Col Perkins, 3rd ID. He explained that the M1A1 tank was the lead tank in a column penetrating an ambush allet. The tank took two RPG's and caught fire. The Commander took a bullet in the shoulder; the tank kept rolling and then unloaded all its fury on the enemy position. Enemy dead. The tank will be repaired and fight again according to Col Perkins. This is why the United States Military is the best in the World, Their tank was on fire, .50cal screaming...