MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) and Iraqi police detained 10 people suspected of anti-Coalition activities during several operations in northern Iraq March 30.
In one incident, soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment responded to a rocket attack near Hammam Al Alil, detaining five suspects who were attempting to flee the scene.
For those of you following developments in the upcoming transfer of power in June, this NYT article provides interesting information about a possible replacement for Paul Bremer.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
WASHINGTON, March 30 — It is described as the most challenging diplomatic assignment in the world, and the toughest to fill. Three months before sovereignty is restored in Iraq, the Bush administration is still looking for an ambassador to replace L. Paul Bremer III as the chief American political presence in Baghdad.
We just did a major reorganization in our Photo Gallery. All of the albums are now grouped according to unit. Take a look if you haven't visited recently - we have almost 1,000 images there now. Thanks again to all of our photo contributors.
[Link to Full Article]
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 30, 2004 — Iraqis training for leadership positions within the new Iraqi Ministry of Defense told reporters here today they look forward to building a military that transcends ethnic and political differences to protect Iraq's people and its constitution.
About 25 Iraqi civilian and military officials are in Washington attending a three-week workshop to help prepare them for yet-to-be-determined positions within the new defense ministry.
Possible R&R destination?
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (NNS) -- Vail Resorts in Colorado is offering 1,000 free nights to service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as part of “Operation Freedom Lodging."
Members from any branch of service who served for 30 or more days in these countries are eligible for up to three consecutive nights of lodging at Vail Resorts-owned and -operated hotels in Breckenridge and Keystone.
There is one photo of TFO soldiers in Mosul at Yahoo! News today.
(Thanks to Mel for the link)
Excerpts from the most recent CPA briefing:
GEN. KIMMITT: In the northern zone of operations, coalition and Iraqi security forces conducted 115 patrols, four offensive operations and detained three anti-coalition suspects.
Yesterday Iraqi police were attacked with small-arms fire from a house in Mosul; two Iraqis were wounded and one apprehended. Inside a vehicle nearby, police found and confiscated two rocket-propelled grenades and three hand grenades.
296th in the news again with this interesting article.
[Link to Full Article]
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, March 31, 2004
BAGHDAD — The gunner manning the .50-caliber machine gun mounted on the back of the last truck in the convoy was waving civilian vehicles through.
There was heavy traffic on the dark, four-lane freeway south of Baghdad and the Iraqi motorists were getting impatient. When the gunner waved, two vans sped through to the right of the convoy followed by a small, blue Suzuki Escudo. [...]
[Link to Full Article]
SEWELL CHAN; The Washington Post
[...] In the northern city of Mosul, the governor of Nineveh province, Ghanem Basso, resigned Monday after officials with the U.S.-led occupation authority questioned him about possible corruption, a senior U.S. official said in Baghdad. "It is our understanding that the governor resigned rather than contest the charges," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said no charges were brought and did not provide details of the allegations.
[Link to Full Article]
Christian Science Monitor
BAGHDAD - A month ago, suicide car bombings appeared to be Iraq's greatest security problem. In recent weeks, there's been a sharp spike in targeted assassinations of both foreigners and locals - including a failed attempt Sunday on Iraq's minister of public works - working with the coalition. And in recent days, firefights and roadside bombs have been on the rise again.
[Link to Full Article]
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, March 30, 2004
BAGHDAD — Army and Air Force Exchange Service concessionaires and “haji shops” are selling counterfeit products on U.S. bases in Iraq, even though AAFES says the selling of “knockoff” merchandise is not authorized.
Counterfeit products — ranging from fake watches to bootleg DVDs — are on sale at U.S. military bases all over Iraq. [...]
The two soldiers injured in the firefight on Sunday have been identified. Let's hope for speedy recoveries.
[Link to Full Article]
By Nancy Cicco
CONCORD - Two soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery, a New Hampshire Army National Guard unit stationed in Iraq, were injured on Sunday, March 28, during a firefight with insurgents in Mosul.
Buried in this LA Times article is some news regarding military operations in Mosul.
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By Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writer
[...] Meanwhile, a spate of violence in the city of Mosul is leading military strategists to consider beefing up operations in northern Iraq, just three months after they said the region's relative quiet justified a 50 percent reduction in the number of troops there.
We mentioned last week that The History Channel will air the mini-series "Band of Brothers" in April. The following article indicates that the broadcast will incorporate interviews with recent veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Nice touch.
[Link to Full Article]
By Willis Witter
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
BAGHDAD — Contributions of clothes and toys from Americans to poor Iraqi children have swamped flights of military mail into Baghdad, forcing officials to scramble for ways to handle an influx of generosity that no one had anticipated.
Here is the official Army press release regarding the RPG attack on Sunday.
MOSUL, Iraq - A Task Force Olympia Stryker vehicle was attacked by rocket-propelled grenade fire in west Mosul this afternoon.
An RPG hit the external armor on the left rear of the Stryker. The armor caused the RPG to detonate before it hit the vehicle's hull; however, shrapnel ignited an external fuel can, causing the vehicle to catch fire.
[Link to Full Article]
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 29, 2004 -- Military police killed four anti-coalition suspects in Mosul, Iraq, March 28 after stopping a car matching the description of a vehicle used in a drive-by shooting earlier in the day, Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials said in a news release.
Early in the day, anti-coalition forces engaged a Task Force Olympia military police patrol in Mosul with small-arms fire. The military police pursued but were not able to apprehend the suspects. Late in the afternoon, a second patrol noticed a vehicle similar to the one that engaged the soldiers earlier. Four suspects opened fire when the MPs approached the vehicle. The MPs returned fire, killing all four suspects, the news release said. ...
[Link to Full Article]
by JENNIFER JACKSON
PORT TOWNSEND -- Children in Iraq are sleeping warmer now that much-needed blankets and clothing collected in a community drive have arrived in the war-racked country.
"I received all 112 or so boxes from you and have delivered all but a few,'' Chris Loverro told Carrie Pierce in an e-mail.
[Link to Full Article]
Here is an article that includes some updates to some of the stories posted today.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen opened fire Sunday on a convoy carrying Iraq's minister of public works, killing a driver and a bodyguard and injuring two others, the U.S.-led coalition said. The minister, Nisreen Berwari, was unharmed.
In another attack in the same city, Mosul, gunmen killed a Briton and a Canadian who were working as security guards for foreign electrical engineers at a power station. The ambush appeared to be part of a campaign to undermine U.S.-led reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
WaPo carries an article that mentions an additional attack on an Iraqi minister in Mosul on Sunday.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By Karl Vick
Washington Post Foreign Service
BAGHDAD -- Ambushes in the northern city of Mosul on Sunday killed two foreign civilians and two bodyguards assigned to an Iraqi minister who survived an attack on her convoy later in the day. [...]
This Associated Press story has additional information regarding Sunday's events in Mosul.
[Link to Full Article]
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)--In an apparent effort to undermine U.S.-led reconstruction efforts in Iraq, gunmen on Sunday killed a Briton and a Canadian working as security guards for foreign electrical engineers at a northern power station. [...]
The Washington Post ran a front-page article today that is worth sharing with everyone. Summary:
The extended, or repeated, deployments that have characterized the Army since then have intensified the burdens traditionally borne by military families. And most of the spouses who have remained behind are wondering how long the Army can keep it up.This change is reflected in a recent poll conducted by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University, and in dozens of supplemental interviews. The poll, the first nongovernmental survey of military spouses conducted since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, included more than 1,000 spouses living on or near the 10 heaviest-deploying Army bases.
While most of them said they have coped well, three-quarters said they believe the Army is likely to encounter personnel problems as soldiers and their families tire of the pace and leave for civilian lives.
Yahoo! News has a few photos of the Stryker on fire (here, here and here). An updated news story indicated that the driver and commander both escaped without injury - the other soldiers from the vehicle were patrolling on foot.
(Thanks to Mel for the links)
[Link to Full Article]
By Maher al-Thanoon
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Two foreigners, one of them British, were shot dead and a U.S. armored vehicle destroyed in a rash of attacks in the increasingly lawless Iraqi city of Mosul Sunday. [...]
Yahoo! News has one photo of SBCT soldiers responsing to the rocket attack on the Iraqi government building.
[Link to Full Article]
By Andrew Marshall
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Guerrillas fired rockets at the city hall building in Mosul on Saturday, killing two people and wounding 13, in another deadly attack on Iraqis working with U.S.-led occupation forces.
It's kind of a long story, but Donald Sensing and Phil Carter are asking for help in identifying companies that have gone out of their way to support the troops. Whether they donated goods, offered a discount, or supported a reservist employee, let us know about your experiences in the comments section. Leave the bad guys out for now - maybe we'll cover them another time.
[Link to Full Article]
By Sgt. 1st Class Donald Sparks
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 25, 2004) -- When I was asked to write an editorial reflecting on the one-year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, initially I thought it would be too easy to transfer my thoughts to my fingers -- yet this piece was a struggle.
Those of you that have a particular interest in the technological capabilities of the Stryker Brigade should take a moment to read Trent Telenko's "The Networked Force" over at Winds of Change. Make sure you read through the comment section as well, lots of interesting analysis added. Still interested? Move on to his follow up, "The Networked Force II".
On Wednesday, April 7th Boeing will sponsor a "Salute to Armed Forces Night" at the Mariners' second game of the season. From the Seattle Mariners website:
The Mariners and Boeing are proud to salute the men and women defending the freedom of our country all over the world. The first 20,000 fans will receive a commemorative Mariners military coin. Tickets for military personnel are available for $10.
For more information follow the link above.
UPDATE: Seattle radio station KVI 570 AM is running a content to coincide with the game. "Tell John Carlson about the special service member in your life and why you would like to take him or her to the Seattle Mariners Salute to Armed Forces Night." If your story is selected you will win tickets to the game. I asked and spouses and families of deployed soldiers are eligible for the contest. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, March 31st.
Yahoo! News has two photos (here and here) from Mosul; the second shows a soldier riding in a Stryker. As the captions explain, a roadside bomb detonated near a passing Stryker vehicle, but no injuries were reported.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By JOHN F. BURNS and THOM SHANKER
BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 25 — With fewer than 100 days to go before Iraq resumes its sovereignty, American officials say they believe they have found a legal basis for American troops to continue their military control over the security situation in Iraq.
[Link to Full Article]
BY RUDY LARINI
Star-Ledger Staff
A 23-year-old soldier from Orange has been killed in Iraq from a noncombat gunshot wound, but the military is not disclosing any details of his death while it is under investigation.
Pfc. Bruce Miller Jr. died Monday in Mosul, a city in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq about 220 miles from Baghdad.
All I can say is, "interesting."
[Link to Full Article]
By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods sometimes adds green to his wardrobe in April, but that usually means a jacket from Augusta National — not fatigues from Fort Bragg. The day after the Masters, the world’s No. 1 golfer will swap his spikes for Army boots.
[Link to Full Article]
By K.L. Vantran
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2004 – Although the complete Land Warrior System -- a modular, integrated fighting system that includes everything an infantry soldier wears or carries on the battlefield -- is not due to be fielded until 2007, troops in the field already benefit from several of its components.
If you don't subscribe to HBO you may have missed the mini-series "Band of Brothers", which is based on the book of the same name by Stephen Ambrose. Consequently, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that The History Channel will broadcast the entire series - twice - beginning Sunday, April 11th. The station will run all 10 episodes, each approximately an hour long, on consecutive nights. To learn more about the story you can go to this entry that I wrote a while back on my old site. The story, and the series, are truly epic.
Winds of Change has published its latest Winds of War briefing highlighting recent developments in the war on terror, including Iraq.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Pentagon has drafted plans to withdraw as many as half of the 71,000 troops based in Germany as part of an extensive realignment of American military forces that moves away from large concentrations in Europe and Asia, according to U.S. officials. [...]
Patti Patton-Bader, a frequent visitor to the site and supporter of the SBCT, has been profiled in an article that appears on the DOD's Defend America website. Patti started the Soldiers' Angels organization that provides letters and care packages to deployed and injured soldiers. Keep up the great work Patti!
[Link to Full Article]
Adam Lynn; The News Tribune
The Stryker brigade soldier killed in Mosul, Iraq, on Monday was Pfc. Bruce Miller Jr. of Orange, N.J., the military reported Wednesday. [...]
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. [...]
Pfc. Bruce Miller, Jr., 23, of Orange, N.J., died March 22, in Mosul, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries. He was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash.
The incident is under investigation.
Judy asked if we would let people know about a couple projects related to the SBCT that she's involved with. The first is a project called For the Troops that supplies deployed soldiers with care packages. If you would like to help, or know of a soldier that needs a package, you can email Judy for more information (judithannlambert at yahoo.com).
She has also set up a tribute page for 2-3 Infantry. Head on over to add your name and message and let the troops know how you feel.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Bruce Miller, Jr., 23, of Orange, N.J., died March 22, in Mosul, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries. He was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family, friends, and fellow soldiers he leaves behind.
Mel wanted me to pass along some information for Stryker families located in the Shreveport and Bossier City areas of Louisiana. Apparently soldiers can call Barksdale Air Force base and they will be connected to a local phone number for free. Two fifteen-minute calls are allowed each week. More information is provided below.
UPDATED: Added one step to the instructions.
Another great article for military history buffs.
[Link to Full Article]
Story by Spc. Adrian Schulte, SETAF Public Affairs
VICENZA, Italy -- It has almost been a year since about one thousand paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachuted into war, opening up the northern front in the effort to liberate Iraq. The March 26, 2003 jump was recently classified as a combat jump and the paratroopers who participated in it will now be able to stick their chests out with pride showing off the gold star, or “mustard stain,” that crowns their parachutist wings.
[Link to Full Article]
VOA News
A roadside bomb blast and a brief gunfight in the Iraqi town Fallujah have left at least two civilians dead and four people wounded, including two U.S. soldiers. [...]
Hours later, in northern Iraq, two bombs exploded in the town of Mosul. Iraqi police said at least three policemen were wounded in one of the roadside blasts. They said the second explosion damaged a U.S. military vehicle and wounded its Iraqi driver.
[Link to Full Article]
(Registration required, or use "laexaminer" for both username and password)
By Esther Schrader, Times Staff Writer
Flushed and sweating, Leonard Bentley is shaken.
The 21-year-old Army specialist has just watched six fellow soldiers fall to bullets from an unseen gun. He is being taunted in Arabic by an angry mob. Helicopters hum overhead, mortar fire is exploding around him, a turbanned kid has brazenly stolen his stores of food and water and his commander is nowhere to be seen.
[Link to Full Article]
Adam Lynn; The News Tribune
A member of the Stryker brigade died Monday in Mosul, Iraq, in a noncombat shooting, U.S. Central Command reported Tuesday.
The soldier's name and rank were withheld until his relatives could be notified.
Details were sparse.
[Link to Full Article]
By Spc. Lorie Jewell
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 24, 2004) – Senior Army leaders gave emphatic assurances that efforts to transform the Army and properly equip the current force fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are at top speed during their recent testimony to the Senate Armed Services’ Subcommittee on Airland. [...]
I thought this might be an appropriate time to share a tribute to the flag that was forwarded to me by Charlotte and Dave. I don't know who wrote this - let me know if you do.
UPDATE: I've replaced the text I received with the original poem written by Howard Schnauber. Consequently, a couple lines added to the original have been removed.
Buried deep in an Associated Press article is the following news:
[Link to Full Article]
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press Writer
[...] In the northern city of Mosul, a U.S. soldier from the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division died in a ``non-combat-related shooting'' on Monday, the military said. An investigation was under way.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the soldier and his/her family. I'm sure more information will be forthcoming.
416th CAB in the news, photos included.
[Link to Full Article]
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, March 23, 2004
DIYANA, Iraq — U.S. soldiers are using SUVs and snowplows to keep open the political inroads they’ve made in this northern Iraq region.
Reservists from Task Force Olympia’s 416th Civil Affairs Battalion, out of Norristown, Pa., arrived in Irbil last month to find their Kurdish counterparts as new to the job as they were.
[Link to Full Article]
By Ali Jasim
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Insurgents shot and killed 11 Iraqi police and police trainees in two daylight attacks Tuesday, the latest deadly strikes against Iraqis working with the U.S.-led occupation. [...]
And in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city in the far north of the country, a mortar attack on an Iraqi military base killed two Iraqi civilians and wounded six, local officials said.
DARPA recently showcased its new high-tech tools designed to assist soldiers in combat.
[Link to Full Article]
Associated Press
March 23, 2004
ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Pentagon is rushing into service in Iraq a pair of technologies developed under its advanced research arm: a Humvee-mounted sensor for pinpointing hostile gunfire and a "command post of the future" designed to cut down on combat leaders' travel and streamline decision-making.
Donald Sensing has an entry discussing how basic training in the Army will get tougher based on lessons learned in Iraq. StrategyPage takes a look at the issue in the following article:
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By Christine Spolar
Tribune foreign correspondent
BAGHDAD -- From the ashes of abandoned Iraqi army bases, U.S. military engineers are overseeing the building of an enhanced system of American bases designed to last for years.
Last year, as troops poured over the Kuwait border to invade Iraq, the U.S. military set up at least 120 forward operating bases. Then came hundreds of expeditionary and temporary bases that were to last between six months and a year for tactical operations while providing soldiers with such comforts as e-mail and Internet access.
[Link to Full Article]
By Michele Chabin, Special for USA TODAY
JERUSALEM — More than 200,000 Palestinians crowded the streets of Gaza City on Monday for the funeral of Sheik Ahmed Yassin and vowed revenge against Israel for killing the founder of the terrorist group Hamas. [...]
In Mosul, the third-largest city of U.S.-occupied Iraq, about 500 students protested the killing, burning Israeli and U.S. flags.
Photos of the demonstration here, here, here, and here.
PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2004--DRS Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:DRS) announced today that it was awarded a $24.3 million subcontract to provide major subsystems for the U.S. Army's Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3). LRAS3 provides the U.S. Army Brigade Reconnaissance Troops, Armor and Infantry Battalion Scout Platoons, and the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCT) with a long-range detection, recognition, identification and far-target location capability.
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By Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Robin Wright
Washington Post Foreign Service
IRBIL, Iraq -- Leaders of Iraq's two largest militias have provisionally agreed to dissolve their forces, according to senior U.S. and Iraqi officials. The move is a major boost to a U.S. campaign to prevent civil war by eliminating armed groups before sovereignty is handed over to an interim Iraqi government on June 30, the officials said.
Winds of Change has published its latest Winds of War briefing highlighting recent developments in the war on terror, including Iraq.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 21, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-43
MOSUL, IRAQ - As an example of the Mosul region moving forward with the democratic process, residents of the Makhmur District in Ninevah Province will soon be allowed to nominate their own city officials. The Makhmur District is located 90 kilometers southeast of the city of Mosul.
[Link to Full Article]
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric has urged the United Nations not to endorse the country's interim constitution, his office says, raising a potentially grave obstacle to U.S. plans to hand power to Iraqis on July 1. [...]
An Iraqi security guard was shot dead and three were wounded in the northern city of Mosul as they walked to work, Iraqi security officials said. A civilian was also wounded.
44th CSB in the news.
[Link to Full Article]
By Roslyn Anderson
Behind the scenes of Operation Iraqi Freedom, men and women are at work to make sure that those on the front lines get the support they need to accomplish the mission.
We introduce you to one of them, a National Guardsman from Forest.
An editorial that briefly mentions the Stryker Brigade.
[Link to Full Article]
By Andrew Apostolou
One year after Coalition forces began the liberation of Iraq, there is a rush to judge how the U.S.-led project of creating a democratic society is faring. Too many commentators set unfair standards, refusing to acknowledge that Iraq is a failed state with little record of successful government, located in the intolerant and repressive Islamic Middle East, not democratic Scandinavia. Viewed in context, Iraq is a success, although not an unqualified one. Above all, nobody who has seen the torture chambers and the destroyed Kurdish villages, can call the war a "catastrophic mistake."
