Free Republic

When soldiers are badly wounded or seriously ill they are sent to combat support hospitals. When vehicles are seriously damaged or require extensive repairs, they go to “the third shop.” Soldiers with B Company, 501st Forward Support Battalion (FSB), 1st Armored Division, operate one of these shops at Provider Forward Operating Base in Baghdad. “Our mission is to bring ‘deadlined’ vehicles up to speed,” said Staff Sgt. William Brown, shop foreman, B Company, 501st FSB. Any vehicle belonging to a 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) unit, from a High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) to an Abrams tank, that is...

With each step the soldiers took, their fawn-colored boots bore deeper into spongy, wet mud. They trekked slowly up a steep hill, eyes to the ground six feet ahead. All around them were dozens of pieces of unexploded ordnance, and one soldier, sidestepping a mortar round, chirped, “BOOM! Four soldiers were wounded in Iraq today….” His premonitory news telecast, though comically inclined, had also its share of relevance. The soldier, Maj. Collin Fortier, operations officer, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) knows the dangers that face his 3rd Battalion “Iron Rakkasans” during their current mission in...

Insurgents targeting Iraqis are relying on the terrorist adage "Kill one, terrorize a thousand," but won't succeed in their efforts to derail freedom and stability, the deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7 said in a Baghdad news conference today. Army Brig. Gen. Mark T. Kimmitt explained the increased number of attacks are meant to show the Iraqi people that former regime elements still can "reach out and touch" them. "The purpose is quite simple," he said. "They are trying to convince the people of Iraq that they can't trust the coalition, that they can't depend on the...

U.S.-Coalition Offensive Efforts in Iraq Bearing Fruit, Sanchez Says By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2003 – Recent U.S.-coalition operations against insurgents in Iraq are succeeding, a senior U.S. military commander said today during a briefing from Baghdad. "The only way you win in combat is to stay on the offensive," Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 7, told reporters, noting that insurgent actions against American and coalition forces have dropped off in recent weeks. In order not to aggravate Iraqi citizens during U.S.- coalition military operations against insurgents,...

Soldiers Foil Illegal Border Crossing, Kill Attackers American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2003 – U.S. soldiers prevented an illegal border crossing and killed or captured attackers in three weekend incidents, officials at Combined Joint Task Force 7 in Iraq reported today. Soldiers from the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment detained six suspected foreign fighters who were trying to flee from Iraq into Syria the night of Nov. 16. One suspect attacked a soldier with a knife, and was shot and killed. Officials confiscated passports, airline tickets and a large sum of money from the captured men, and...

* Iraq’s former air chief captured * US military compound near Baghdad attacked * Troops begin hunt for arms after deadline ends BAGHDAD: US troops unleashed overnight a new operation codenamed Desert Scorpion against forces loyal to ousted president Saddam Hussein in northern Iraq, a coalition spokesman said on Sunday. “It started last night, it is still ongoing,” said Sergeant 1st Class Brian Thomas from coalition Joint Task Force 7. “We are targeting anyone who is striking against US soldiers. Some of them are Baath Party members and some of them are against our peace efforts. We have detained people,...