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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....

/10/2008 - FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (AFPN) -- More than 40 targets were hit after precision air strikes destroyed reported al-Qaida safe havens Jan. 10 in Arab Jabour, Iraq. The precision air strikes supported Operation Phantom Phoenix, the overarching operation that includes Operation Marne Thunderbolt. Thirty-eight bombs were dropped within the first 10 minutes, with a total tonnage of 40,000 pounds. A joint operation between the Air Force and Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division required extensive planning to prevent collateral damage and to deny the use of the area for attacks into Baghdad and...

Third Brigade Combat Team Soldiers waved Chemlights while singing Christmas carols during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Dec. 8, at Forward Operating Base Hammer. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT) attended a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Dec. 8, at Forward Operating Base Hammer to welcome a Christmas season spent with their Army family. “I enjoyed the ceremony. It was very motivating and very uplifting,” said Staff. Sgt. Derrick Mears, from Richmond, Va., a communications non-commissioned officer in Headquarters...

RAMADI, Iraq -- Spc. Gerald Bradner, 21, from Brookneal, Va., is an intelligence annalist with 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division stationed at Camp Blue Diamond. He graduated William Campbell High School in 2004 and will attend the U.S. Military Academy, better known as West Point, in August 2008. Bradner is the first person from William Campbell High School to go to West Point in more than 40 years. RAMADI, Iraq -- Spc. Gerald Bradner, 21, from Brookneal, Va., is an intelligence annalist with 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division stationed at Camp Blue Diamond....

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2007 – About 1,000 members of 10th Mountain Division will deploy to Iraq this spring as replacements for troops due to rotate home, Defense Department officials announced today. The division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., has been alerted of the upcoming deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed today. “It was not a surprise. It was more of a confirmation,” Benjamin Abel, the division’s media relations officer, told American Forces Press Service. Since returning from its last deployment in February and March, the unit has received new troops and conducted collective training,...

A Top U.S. General in Iraq Blames Public's Antiwar Views on the Media By E&P Staff Published: September 21, 2007 3:10 PM ET NEW YORK Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, said Thursday, back in the U.S. on leave at Fort Stewart, that the war in Iraq is "a winnable mission" if the the media would only cooperate. "If the American people are informed properly," Lynch told reporters after he arrived home on leave, "I believe they will be supportive of the mission. But they're not getting the right story. As a result, they're anti...

Baghdad, Iraq - On this, my latest trip to Iraq, I have been embedded with the US military on the front lines for the last month, spending about three weeks in Salman Pak (just south of Baghdad) with the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, from Ft. Benning, GA, and spending another several days near the Turkish and Syrian borders with a US Special Forces team and an Iraqi Police SWAT unit. As one of the very few journalists (out of the hundreds who come here) who actually spends time out on the real front lines, seeing with my...

Falluja, IraqOn August 15, several hours after night fell over Baghdad, an air assault squadron of the 3rd Infantry Division launched the first attack of Operation Marne Husky. A dozen darkened transport and attack helicopters took off and headed south along the Tigris River, carrying a full company of infantry--about 120 young riflemen with night goggles and weapons loaded. Their objective was a hamlet several dozen miles away. At about 11 P.M., the force landed and rapidly surrounded several small structures. The occupants were taken by surprise. Five suspected insurgents were captured. By 4 A.M., the entire team was airborne...

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, Aug. 3, 2007 – Stabilizing Iraqi communities is the way forward in combating the insurgency in Iraq, the commander of coalition efforts in Ramadi said today. (Video) Speaking to Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, Army Col. John Charlton, commander of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, said counterinsurgencies are fought and won “neighborhood by neighborhood, with the focus on protecting the population and improving conditions in the community.” Charlton commands a true joint and combined force in central Anbar province. His brigade combat team consists of about 6,000 Army, Marine,...

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2007 – As the troop surge in Baghdad approaches full force, the aviation unit that controls the skies over Iraq’s capital is changing tactics daily to keep a leg up on the enemy, the unit’s commander said today. Army Col. Daniel Ball, commander of 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, told Pentagon reporters via a satellite broadcast that his unit is providing air support for ground troops, ferrying soldiers and equipment around the battlefield, and helping stem the flow of “accelerants” into Baghdad. The unit, part of 3rd Infantry Division, is the first combat aviation brigade to deploy to...

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2006 — Vice President Richard B. Cheney reiterated America’s commitment to winning the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere during a rally at Fort Stewart, Georgia, yesterday. Cheney paid special tribute to the 3rd Infantry Division and the 48th Brigade Combat Team of the Georgia National Guard, both of which recently returned from deployments in Iraq. “The 3rd ID’s performance in the field – not just the progress you’ve made, but also your character as men and women – has left a lasting impression on people up and down the chain of command,” Cheney said....

3rd Infantry soldier gets 20 years in colleague's slaying COLUMBUS, Ga. A Fort Benning soldier was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for his role in the slaying of a fellow infantryman. The murder took place just days after they returned from Iraq following the 2003 assault on Baghdad. Jacob Burgoyne pleaded guilty January 20th to voluntary manslaughter and robbery in the July 2003 stabbing of Specialist Richard Davis of Missouri. The 26-year-old member of the 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade testified for the state last week against fellow Private First Class Mario Navarrete and Alberto Martinez. Both were...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Jan. 9, 2006) – As Iraqi Army and coalition partners looked on, the 3rd Infantry Division transferred authority of Multi-National Division-Baghdad to the 4th Infantry Division in a ceremony Jan. 7. Maj. Gen. J.D. Thurman, the commanding general of 4th Inf. Div., along with Command Sgt. Maj. Ronald Riling, uncased the “Ironhorse” Division’s colors, signifying the division assuming the mantle of responsibility as Multi-National Division-Baghdad. The division cased its colors before deploying from Fort Hood, Texas, during a ceremony Oct. 28. Lt. Gen. John Vines, the commanding general of Multi-National Corps-Iraq, served as the reviewing officer...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2006 – Two Army divisions are preparing for a transfer of responsibility in Baghdad tomorrow, and the search for an unmanned aerial vehicle near Mosul has been suspended, military officials said. The 3rd Infantry Division will turn over authority for Multinational Division Baghdad to the 4th Infantry Division. Army Maj. Gen. William Webster Jr., 3rd ID commander, will case the "Marne" Division's colors during the transfer ceremony, and Maj. Gen. J.D. Thurman, 4th ID commander, will uncase the "Ironhorse" Division's colors. In other news, the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team has suspended its search for a Raven...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2005 – Task Force Band of Brothers soldiers disrupted two terrorist bombing operations yesterday in Baqubah, a city about 20 miles north of Baghdad, killing two terrorists and detaining another at a new checkpoint, U.S. military officials in Baghdad reported. Just before noon, soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team stopped a suspicious car and detained the driver after discovering the vehicle was being prepared as a car bomb. An explosives ordnance disposal team found no explosives, but the car was laced with wiring used to detonate explosives. Later, soldiers fired at a second...

BAGHDAD -- The padded walls and bulletproof glass kept the sound of the world out as the crew of the Buffalo ambled down the highway at a grazing pace, examining litter. Boxes. Rags. Bags. Dead dogs. The American soldiers riding in the military's newest weapon against roadside bombs scrutinized everything they saw beneath their windows. "Hey, he says he sees a rag," Staff Sgt. Matthew Dzuricky, 28, of Erie, Pa., called out to his men in the Buffalo, a lumbering South African armored personnel carrier designed to withstand land mines. Against all conventional Baghdad traffic wisdom, the Buffalo headed straight...

Newsletter #26 Families and Friends of the Vanguard Brigade The day is coming when the temperature will drop below 100 degrees during the day – it is amazing how much cooler it feels compared to the summer. We have had some mornings in the 70s – can almost feel a slight chill in the air. It has been a very tough week. First, on 14 September, Al Queda declared war on the Shia population and we had 12 car bombs explode in Baghdad, but only one was in our area which slightly wounded a US Soldier (not from our brigade)...

Subject: Newsletter #24 Families and Friends of the Vanguard Brigade Another 110 degree daily average for the week but we had a few nights where it was quite comfortable – low 80s by morning. Like we said in our last letter, nothing happens like expected, or forecasted, or announced. The proposed Constitution was finally presented to the Assembly and has been distributed for comment. Some would say it was late, but it was presented and it was written by Iraqis who had several very tough issues to resolve as the result of 30 plus years of dictatorship. It is really...

Newsletter #22 Families and Friends of the Vanguard Brigade Weather is holding steady at about 114 degrees in the day and high 80s at night. For our troops on the streets, it feels much hotter because of the asphalt. We have seen a few thermometers that are pegged out at 130 degrees, but official temperatures never seem to rise above 120 degrees. Had some Soldiers tell me the other day they are going to Alaska after this experience. We were waiting the release of the proposed Constitution, but as most of you know, it has been delayed. While it may...