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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.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
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.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
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."
Interesting conclusion to the case involving a Ft. Lewis Chaplain.
[Link to Full Article]
By SAM SKOLNIK
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The U.S. Army dropped all charges against Capt. James Yee yesterday, ending a six-month ordeal in which the former Fort Lewis chaplain had been branded a possible traitor and was charged with a range of accusations including mishandling documents and viewing pornography on his computer.
There are five new photos of Stryker troops in action at the Yahoo! News site. Three were taken after the attack on a Humvee on Friday (one, two, three). Contrary to earlier news reports, the caption for one photo said that no one was injured. The other two photos were taken after SBCT soldiers responded to a mortar attack on a political office in Mosul on Saturday (four, five).
[Link to Full Article]
Christopher Torchia
Associated Press
Baghdad, Iraq - The first anniversary of the start of the war that ousted Saddam Hussein was a day like many others in Iraq: a mortar attack in a northern city, an attempt to kill a politician and news of a U.S. Marine cut down by rebel fire. [...]
Insurgents fired four mortar rounds at the offices of a Kurdish political party in the northern city of Mosul but missed and killed a driver on a nearby street, Iraqi police said. Guards fired at the rebels; three party members and a passer-by were wounded in the shootout.
[Link to Full Article]
Greg LaMotte, Cairo
21 Mar 2004
American soldiers and Iraqi civilians were barraged by rockets on Sunday that killed at least two Iraqis and wounded a U.S. soldier. [...]
Also Sunday, a bomb exploded at an Iraqi police station north of Baghdad. At least one policeman was killed and two others were wounded. And a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. convoy in the northern city of Mosul, injuring a municipal worker.
A Colorado soldier with the Stryker Brigade enjoys R&R.
[Link to Full Article]
By SARA REED
Michelle Malone misses the simple things in life -- her family, running water, hot showers, trips to the store.
A member of a Stryker brigade attached to the 3rd Brigade out of Fort Lewis in Washington, the 23-year-old sergeant has lacked such amenities for the past four months while stationed in Iraq. Now home in Windsor for a two-week leave, she's reveling in such conveniences.
[Link to Full Article]
LISA PEMBERTON, THE OLYMPIAN
When 10-year-old Kelsi Nelson needed to design and build a cardboard house recently for a class project, she asked her dad for help -- even though he was halfway around the world.
Since there has been some discussion of sand fleas on the bulletin board, here's an article worth reading. On the right-hand side of the article are some prevention tips.
[Link to Full Article]
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, March 20, 2004
ARLINGTON, Va. — About 500 soldiers who have served in Iraq have been diagnosed with a skin disease caused by sand flies in the largest outbreak of leishmaniasis faced by the U.S. military since World War II, according to Defense Department doctors.
[Link to Full Article]
by Lorne Cook
Baghdad - Attacks on civilians and US-led coalition troops continued in Iraq amid warnings of "some really bad days to come," as the country marked the first anniversary of the war to oust Saddam Hussein.
The Wall Street Journal has a front-page article today examining the the lack of armored Humvees in the Army today. The Stryker vehicle is briefly mentioned. The link below will expire in seven days, so if you want to read the article, do it soon.
[Link to Full Article]
"Cold-War Thinking Prevented Vital Vehicle From Reaching Iraq"
By GREG JAFFE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON -- A decade ago, the Army began producing an armored Humvee capable of providing protection from many roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades.
[Link to Full Article]
Elise Labott, CNN Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein seems to think he is smarter than his captors, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Thursday.
[Link to Full Article] (Photos included)
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, March 19, 2004
MOSUL, Iraq — Armed police burst into a house, subdue a gang of bandits and rescue the hostages.
The scene could be straight out of the U.S. television reality show “Cops,” but instead of American police officers, the lawmen getting their 15 minutes of fame are Iraqi police.
For the first anniversary of the Iraq war Defend America has put together a photo slide show.
This week, just days before the one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Williamson corresponded by e-mail with the Republic to help people back home understand a little about what America's troops are doing in Iraq.
"My unit is 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (aka Stryker Brigade Combat Team)," he wrote. "Our unit's specialty is the use of a combined arms fight, including elements from the armor, field artillery, cavalry, and intelligence branches as well as our infantry, to bring a new fight to the enemy. While we are known mainly for our Stryker, the Army's new toy, it is the soldiers within the unit that set us apart. We deployed in November for a 12-month tour.
[Link to Full Article]
By ROD DANIEL Staff Reporter
For the mother of a Hamilton man who is currently serving his country in Iraq, a simple prayer ritual was one of the few ways she felt she could make a difference in her son's world. But an article written by a reporter embedded in her son's brigade has changed all that. [...]
[Link to Full Article]
MATT MISTEREK; The News Tribune
Fred and Nelda Clark aren't married anymore, but for at least 12 months they are a team again, caring for their three young grandchildren whose mom and dad are off fighting a war as part of Fort Lewis' Stryker brigade.
Although it doesn't mention his unit specifically, this article recounts the R&R of a soldier serving in Mosul.
[Link to Full Article]
BY JOLENE HART, Staff Writer
SOUTH RIVER — When Pvt. Scott Forster joined the U.S. Army at age 17, he saw military service as a means to finance college and move toward his dream of becoming a police officer.
One more small step...
[Link to Full Article]
Laurie Kassman
Amman, 18 Mar 2004
The first class of Iraqi military trainees graduated Thursday from a two-and-a-half-month course for platoon and company commanders in Jordan.
Military history fans will want to read a new article from AFIS that recounts the two "Thunder Runs" by the 3rd Infantry Division into the heart of Baghdad. The LA Times ran an article a while back that described the operation in greater detail, but you have to pay to get the piece from its archives now (Murdoc found a link to the full article. Thanks!)
[Link to Full Article]
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 18, 2004 – The "Thunder Runs" of the war in Iraq seemed to come from nowhere. One day the fighting was far to the south, and seemingly the next, soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division were liberating Baghdad.
Interesting press release from CENTCOM that highlights some of the coalition's achievements in Iraq over the past year.
UPDATE: Defend America has published a similar list that includes more detail.
Winds of Change has posted its latest Winds of War briefing, with an in depth section on recent events in Iraq.
[Link to Full Article]
By MICHAEL BARBER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The bulk of Washington state's 81st Armored Brigade is either en route or in Kuwait preparing to enter Iraq, the National Guard said yesterday.
The 3,600-member 81st, one of the nation's 15 National Guard "enhanced readiness" or E-brigades, was federalized last November to enter the rotation for service in Iraq. Most of its troops, about 2,000, have been training at and will be sent from the U.S. Army National Training Center in the Mojave Desert at Fort Irwin, Calif.
Lorraine sent this article about some of the television reporters embedded with troops during the beginning of the war. Will there be embedded reporters in future conflicts?
[Link to Full Article]
BY VERNE GAY, STAFF WRITER
March 18, 2004
A year ago today, ABC News "embed" Mike Cerre was poised on the Iraqi border with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Division - or "Fox 2/5" in military shorthand - and about to become one of the few and the proud to change television history.
DefendAmerica has a new photo essay of the distribution of school supplies in Iraq by an Air Force unit. There is a soldier with the Stryker Brigade that is conducting a similar effort in Mosul.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By J. Michael Kennedy, Times Staff Writer
MOSUL, Iraq — The police officers piled out of their van, machine guns at the ready, as they scanned the busy street for any sign of the assassins who had killed three of their own less than an hour before.
Included below is an excerpt from an article outlining a recent press briefing by Coalition officials. There has been a great deal of activity in Mosul recently.
[Link to Full Article]
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
Earlier today, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for Combined Joint Task Force 7, briefed reporters in Baghdad on recent events and military operations. [...]
Robert Prather has a great photo on his site of a native Iraqi eagle posed in front of U.S. and Iraqi flags. The picture was sent to him by a friend serving over there.
The Seattle Times has a comprehensive section on its website examining the U.S presence in Iraq one year later, including articles, photos and local events marking the anniversary.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By Karl Vick
Washington Post Foreign Service
MOSUL, Iraq, March 16 -- A few hours before being cut down in a city they had come to help, five American aid workers paid a call on the U.S. military base at the edge of Mosul.
[Link to Full Article]
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., March 17, 2004 — One year ago today, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) was at Camp New Jersey, the division's holding area in Kuwait, awaiting orders to move north and cross into Iraq at the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
UPDATE: I'm posting this article again because I found a version that includes three photos. Follow the link below to view them.
[Link to Article]
By U.S. Army Sgt. Fred Minnick / Task Force Olympia
MOSUL, Iraq -- Lurking in the shadows of infantry patrols, security perimeters and raids, Army snipers are becoming the worst enemy for terrorists in northern Iraq.
These highly skilled Soldiers are stealthy, disciplined and precise.
Here's an additional article about the recent civilian attacks in Iraq.
[Link to Full Article]
By Carol Rosenberg
Knight Ridder Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces on Tuesday airlifted to Germany the sole survivor of an attack on an American humanitarian mission that killed her four fellow Christian missionaries Monday evening. The team was in northern Iraq to plan a water-purification project and "share God's love with the Iraqi people." [...]
An Iraqi woman translator working for the United States military was shot dead and her father badly wounded in an attack in the northern city of Mosul.
They said the woman had been on her way to work at the main US military base in Mosul when her car came under small arms fire in the city's northern suburb of al-Muthanna.
[Link to Full Article] (Photos included)
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, March 16, 2004
HAMAM AL ALIL, Iraq — Two weeks after Pvt. Seth Tribble was wounded by a grenade in the northern Iraqi town of Gab Adr, his buddies went back to send a message to his attackers.
[Link to Full Article]
By CHANTAL ESCOTO
The Leaf-Chronicle
Not only did the 101st Airborne Division leave northern Iraq a better place by helping to rebuild the Ninevah province, but the division has a lasting legacy with a street named after the Screaming Eagles.
In an unprecedented show of public support, the Provincial Governor and Council announced last week a main thoroughfare in Mosul will be renamed the 101st Airborne Division Street.
MOSUL, Iraq - A cavalryman completes the five-count sequence and issues the command "launch, launch, launch."
The tactical unmanned aerial vehicle is suddenly airborne moving at 70 knots.
The crewmembers exchange grins, knowing the mission has started off on the right. They also know that when it ends, the information gathered on this mission might save lives.
MOSUL, Iraq - All across northern Iraq, Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) stepped forward to be recognized for their service to Operation Iraqi Freedom in ceremonies held over the past two weeks. The men and women of the Arrowhead Brigade received their combat patches, and infantrymen and medics in the unit were awarded with Combat Infantrymen Badges and Combat Medic Badges. Everyone who served in the brigade or attached to the brigade since they entered Iraq is eligible for the patch, according Maj. Keith Markham, the brigade adjutant. "This ceremony is to recognize the Soldiers' accomplishments here in Iraq," said Command Sgt. Major Jeffrey Du, the brigade command sergeant major.
Here's more information on the attack in Mosul yesterday.
[Link to Full Article]
By EMERY P. DALESIO
Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)--Four Southern Baptist missionaries killed in Iraq were remembered as ``people who just had a great heart for helping people out.''
Unidentified assailants attacked a car with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades Monday, killing the missionaries who were trying to find a way to provide clean water in the northern city of Mosul.
By Denise Barnes; THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Undaunted by blustery March winds, a small-but-determined group rallied on the Mall yesterday to cheer and show support for American troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and trouble spots around the world.
The two-hour "Support Our Troops Rally" began at noon and drew about 50 people. The group waved American flags and listened to a series of short speeches by representatives of groups such as the Blue Star Mothers of America Inc., the sponsor of the rally, Rolling Thunder, Free Iraq, the Congress of Racial Equality, the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic and Operation Free Spike Inc.
[Link to Full Article] Alaskan Stryker Brigade news
By Tim Bradner; Alaska Journal of Commerce
Deployment of the new U.S. Army Stryker brigade, the new national missile defense system, new C-17 heavy-lift aircraft and upgraded Army and Air Force training facilities in Alaska are all proceeding on schedule, Alaska's top military commanders told state legislators in a briefing.
[Link to Full Article]
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, March 16, 2004
FIREBASE AGGIE, Iraq — Battle-hardened soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division’s Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment received their combat infantryman and combat medical badges on Sunday.
The soldiers, from 2nd ID’s 3rd Stryker Brigade, are the first from the Indianhead Division to qualify for the badges since the Korean War, more than 50 years ago.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 15, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-38
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) conducted weapons collection operations in northern Iraq Sunday.
In Qarrayah, concerned citizens came to 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment headquarters and turned in three 57 mm rockets, five fuses and four rocket-propelled-grenade warheads. Concerned citizens also came to 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment headquarters in Tall Afar and turned in 77 RPG rockets, 14 complete 60 mm mortar sets, one complete 54 mm mortar and seven 60 mm mortar tubes.
[Link to Full Article]
By Maher al-Thanoon
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying U.S. civilians in the northern city of Mosul on Monday, killing three and wounding two in the latest deadly attack targeting foreigners in Iraq.
This Stars & Stripes article takes a look at border patrols and includes a few photos of 1-14 CAV.
[Link to Full Article]
By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, March 15, 2004
Recent suicide bombings in Baghdad and Karbala — believed to be the work of foreign nationals — once again have heightened concerns that Iraq’s borders are not as secure as they need to be.
Another feature from Stars & Stripes.
[Link to Full Article]
By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, March 15, 2004
RABIAH, Iraq — Terrain and high-tech equipment are two of the major differences separating U.S. military border operations in the northeast with those in the west of Iraq.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 15, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-36
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) detained 23 people suspected of anticoalition activities and collected weapons during operations in northern Iraq.
[Link to Full Article]
"Depends on whom you ask"
By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, March 14, 2004
The exhausted 1st Armored Division soldier leaned against a concrete barrier. The bomb scare was over, and he was collecting himself. Iraq has forever changed him, he lamented. [...]
[Link to Full Article]
Associated Press, Baghdad
In another northern city, Mosul, assailants fired several mortar shells at a police station early Monday. The shells failed to hit any buildings, but lightly injured a civilian and damaged some cars outside the station.
Time magazine has a lengthy section in its upcoming issue examining Iraq one year later. Mosul is mentioned in the beginning of this particluar article.
[Link to Full Article]
By TERRY MCCARTHY/MOSUL
Talal al-Jalili's life these days is somewhere between a dream and a nightmare. The newly appointed dean of political science at Mosul University says he "lives like a prince," taking home more than $1,000 a month, about five times what he made last year. But he has the dean's job only because his predecessor, Abdul Jabbar Mustafa, was taken at gunpoint from his house on New Year's Eve and shot twice in the head in one of a series of political assassinations in the northern Iraqi city that police have been unable to solve.
MOSUL, Iraq -- Task Force Olympia soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and Iraqi police detained a combined total of five personnel suspected of anticoalition activities and conducted ongoing weapons collection operations in northern Iraq Friday and Saturday.
[Link to Full Article]
Associated Press
March 13, 2004
WASHINGTON - The Army is spread so thin around the globe that when it needs fresh combat troops for Iraq this fall it will have little choice but to call on the same soldiers who led the charge into Baghdad last spring.
[Link to Full Article]
Barry Ginter, The Olympian
LACEY -- Lessons in empathy don't normally include soldiers in combat gear.
But at Komachin Middle School on Friday morning, the two came together in the culmination of a two-week project in which students and teachers donated 10 boxes of letters and supplies to be sent to soldiers of Task Force Olympia in Mosul, Iraq.
Here's another, which includes a number of photos.
[Link to Full Article]
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, March 13, 2004
HAMAM AL ALIL, Iraq — One town is home to terrorists, the other is full of criminals.
In the middle are the Strykers and soldiers from 2nd Infantry Division’s Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment. It’s their job to keep the peace in one of northern Iraq’s most volatile battlegrounds.
Another feature from Stars & Stripes.
[Link to Full Article]
By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, March 13, 2004
TALL ’AFAR, Iraq — As if the stakes in Iraq weren’t high enough, along comes a brigade given the task of breaking in a new armored personnel carrier: a vehicle that in many ways symbolizes the transformation of the Army toward a lighter, quicker force.
From the Anchorage Press a story By Kyle Hopkins about the new Stryker Brigade's living quarters in Alaska.
Who: Fort Richardson soldiers
Where: A 52-year-old building that houses about 10 soldiers - medical personnel - on post at Fort Richardson. Maj. Dan Hunter, U.S. Army Garrison-Alaska Public Affairs Officer, Sgt. Frank Clements and Staff Sergeant Duane Smith served as tour guides.
[Link to Full Article] A great soldier's story by local reporter.
By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
KIHEI - It's not that there isn't any sun or sand in Iraq, but Army Sgt. Cory Lee Kalani Kapahulehua enjoyed the climate and environment a lot more when he was home on Maui for a 10-day leave.
A nice feature story from Stars & Stripes. Many photos included.
[Link to Full Article]
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, March 13, 2004
HAMMAM AL ALI, Iraq — The women in northern Iraq call them ghost soldiers.
The members of 2nd Infantry Division’s Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment moved quickly and silently in their Stryker armored personnel carriers on a moonlit Tuesday night.
MOSUL, Iraq – In an effort to advance and improve the educational infrastructure here, members of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) officially opened the newly refurbished Ikraa School Wednesday, making it the second school they reopened within a week.
MOSUL, Iraq - An Iraqi flag waves freely in the breeze over the battalion of Iraqi Armed Forces standing at attention. With crisp precision, the battalion renders the proper salute as the Iraqi national anthem plays. A ribbon is cut symbolizing the opening of Tall Afar Castle, where soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, Iraqi Armed Forces will live, train and provide security in the northwestern region of the country. The ceremony Monday marked the official opening of Tall Afar Castle.
MOSUL, Iraq - The children enrolled at the Al Fayha School in eastern Mosul smiled, danced and clapped as they celebrated the completion of their school's much needed renovation with visitors from Task Force Olympia who played a role in organizing the renovations.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 12, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-33
MOSUL, Iraq - For the first time in history, women in Mosul, Iraq, were able to join the rest of the world in celebrating International Women's Day Monday. International Women's Day, commemorated by the United Nations in 1911, serves as a day to recognize coordinated efforts of women everywhere for equal rights and political and economic equality.
Katy sent me an email about a new book that might be of interest to many of you called "I'm Already Home", written by Elaine Gray Dumler. According to her website:
March 12, 2004: The U.S. Army's Stryker LAV (wheeled Light Armored Vehicle) was sent to Iraq last Fall as part of the first "Stryker Brigade." The Stryker has proven durable (not wearing out it's tires, as the M-2 Bradley does its tracks, after 1300 kilometers on the road) and able to protect itself. The two times an RPG rocket has hit a Stryker, the damage was minor because of the additional "slat armor." Two Strykers were hit by roadside bombs, but only one soldier was wounded. Moreover, Iraqi attackers have learned to be wary when Strykers are about, because they accelerate faster than armored vehicles, and come at the source of the hostile fire with guns blazing. The army brass are pleased, so far, with Stryker's performance so far and are planning to continue buying them and forming Stryker brigades. The Stryker has had a 90 percent readiness rate (which is higher than tracked vehicles.) The height of the vehicle has caused some stability problems and there have been at least two roll overs. But the height also gives the crews a better view of their surroundings.
[Link to Full Article]
By ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News
SEATTLE – A Fort Lewis Stryker Brigade soldier broke her silence. Sgt. Audra Wood talked to Dateline NBC about her alleged rape by another soldier and how the Army responded to the attack.
The entire story is posted below.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 11, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-32
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) and local Iraqi police detained personnel suspected of anticoalition activities and conducted ongoing weapons-collection operations in northern Iraq.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 11, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-31
MOSUL, Iraq - Iraqi policemen from the Mosul area met with soldiers from the U.S. Army's 503rd Military Police Battalion Wednesday to thank them for their assistance in providing security and stability in northern Iraq over the past year.
Some good news.
[Link to Full Article]
March 11, 2004
By Leslie Knopp
PIERCE COUNTY - We first met Amber Pilkington Friday as she watched for her husband to get home from Iraq... just in time.
[Link to Full Article] (Photo included)
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, March 11, 2004
MOSUL, Iraq — The coalition is relying on massive truck convoys in northern Iraq to move crude and refined oil back and forth across the Turkish border.
The coalition’s goal is to pump 2.8 million and 3 million barrels of crude a day from northern Iraqi oil fields, said Maj. Chuck Svelan of the Mosul-based Task Force Olympia, which is overseeing the oil transport. [...]
[Link to Full Article]
By Larry Neumeister
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — An American citizen was arrested today on charges she acted as an Iraqi spy before and after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, accepting $10,000 for her work, prosecutors said today.
I wanted to link to this article because it mentions Samarra.
[Link to Full Article]
By Jim Krane
Associated Press
TIKRIT, Iraq — Fresh U.S. troops arriving in northern Iraq will find themselves fighting a different sort of war, with fewer Iraqi-led assaults on U.S. personnel and more foreign-led attacks on Iraqi civilians, a top U.S. commander said Wednesday.
Winds of Change has published its latest Winds of War briefing with links to, and analysis of, the war on terror. There's a section devoted to the latest developments in Iraq.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 11, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-29
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) detained personnel suspected of anticoalition activities and conducted ongoing weapons-collection operations in northern Iraq Tuesday and Wednesday. Coalition soldiers also foiled the sabotage of power lines in Mosul.
Excerpt from press briefing in Baghdad.
[Link to Full Transcript]
Presenter: Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt and Dan Senor
Wednesday, March 10, 2004 10:03 a.m. EST
In the northern zone of operations, last night coalition forces conducted five offensive operations in northeastern Mosul to disrupt a terrorist cell with possible connections to Ansar al-Sunna. Three of the five primary targets were detained, as were nine of their associates.
Barabra sent us an email she received about an upcoming PBS Nova documentary featuring the Stryker Brigades (3-2 & 1-25). Provided below is an excerpt of the message. I'll try and remind everyone as the broadcast date approaches.
Here's a profile of a SBCT soldier home on leave. There is a brief registration required to view the article. It's worth it.
[Link to Full Article]
By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News
U.S. Army Spc. Ryan Badeaux stands at ease in front about 120 eighth-graders at Highland Park Middle School.
The 22-year-old is no stranger to the classically styled auditorium.
The Highland Park High School alumnus was in the first eighth-grade class that graduated from the school in 1996. He visited the home of the Raiders last week to meet the students who had adopted the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
Betty wanted everyone to know that there is another webiste that has an extensive gallery of photos featuring 5-20. Additionally, Stuart has steadily added to his great gallery. Check them out.
[Link to Full Article]
'spectacular attacks' in northern Iraq
By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes; European edition, Wednesday, March 10, 2004
U.S. soldiers of Task Force Olympia in northern Iraq are bracing themselves for “spectacular attacks” as the desperation of enemy forces continues to grow, Army Brig Gen. Carter Ham said Tuesday.
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from Task Force Olympia detained one suspect and conducted ongoing weapons collection operations in northern Iraq Sunday and Monday. Coalition forces from Task Force Olympia conducted a cordon and search operation and detained two people suspected of anti-Coalition activities, including one suspected of having five surface-to-air missiles and providing arms to anticoalition forces. A patrol from 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment detained one suspect after a soldier recognized the suspect. In addition to apprehending the suspect, the patrol collected one AK-47 rifle, 96 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, one rocket-propelled-grenade sight and one artillery sight. The unit is part of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), which is under the operational control of Task Force Olympia.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 10, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-28
MOSUL, IRAQ - A mortar round from elements of Task Force Olympia struck a building in the southeast side of Ejba, killing one citizen and injuring another Monday.
Task Force Olympia offers its condolences to the family of those affected by this incident.
Katy sent this link to me and I thought it might interest those of you with children. Close to Heart sells dolls that are designed to keep your loved ones close during deployment. According to the website:
[The dolls] are available through Close to Heart to help military families (especially children) cope with their separation from loved ones. The Huggee Miss You dolls allow you to give a hug to the one you miss until you can do it for real. Just insert a favorite photo of your loved one in the clear plastic sleeve on the face, and the doll can represent that individual. The books describe the military lifestyle from a child's perspective and include topics such as deployment, PCS, and training exercises.
Here's an article featuring the dolls.
Here is an excerpt from the transcript of the press briefing with Army Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, Commander, Task Force Olympia. Click on the link below for the full text.
HAM: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and good morning to those in Washington, D.C. It’s, indeed, a pleasure for me to be here with you today, as this is my first opportunity to share with you my observation of coalition forces operations in North Iraq. I welcome this opportunity and extend to each of you an invitation to come visit us in Mosul.
[Link to Article]
By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 9, 2004 -- Insurgents operating against the coalition and Iraqi security forces have become "desperate and isolated" in their attempts to stop progress, the commander of the latest task force to arrive in Iraq said today.
During a briefing from Baghdad, Army Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of Task Force Olympia, told reporters that insurgent activity continues in the north, where his unit took over military operations in early February.
Editor's note: This is an excerpt of a column by Executive Editor David Zeeck, welcoming our military reporter Mike Gilbert back from Iraq. We thought it might be of interest to our Stryker brigade readers.
[Link to Full Article]
StrategyPage
March 9, 2004: There's a war going on in Iraq. Who's winning? Hardly anyone noticed, but U.S. troops aren't losing. American casualties have been steadily declining since they peaked last November (414, including 82 dead). The casualties went down to 306 in December, 234 in January and 167 last month. In February there were twenty American soldiers killed in action, or .79 per day. This was the first month, since the war began, that the troops killed fell to less than one a day.
This could be interesting.
(Kuwait City, Kuwait -AP, Feb. 28, 2004 11:30 AM) _ The U.S. military will launch its own news service in Iraq and Afghanistan to send military video, text and photos directly to the Internet or news outlets.
Washington Post reporter Rick Atkinson traveled with Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne, during the war in Iraq. He recently published a book titled, "In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat," describing the experience. WaPo has printed excerpts from the book in a three-part series that is very much worth reading (registration required).
Part One - "The Long, Blinding Road to War"
Part Two - "Shifting Sands and Shifting Plans"
Part Three - "After Chaos in the Capital, Losses Climbed"
[Link to Full Article]
Associated Press
Mar. 9, 2004 07:00 AM
MOSUL, Iraq - Seven people were injured Tuesday after a grenade was tossed in a building housing a local governing council, police said.
Police said the attack may have been aimed at several U.S. soldiers who had been in the building earlier, but left before the grenade was thrown. Seven people, including three policeman and four Iraqis were hurt in the blast in the Bab al-Toub local council building. No attackers were caught.
[Link to Full Article]
"When you leave Iraq, don't leave Army, too"
Jeannie Piper, Web Producer
BALAD, Iraq (AP) - Talking to soldiers leaving Iraq after a year of tough duty, Gen. John Abizaid made a plea: Please don't leave the Army, too. It needs you and your combat experience in the global war on terror.
Although women cannot serve in the infantry and certain other military units, many are still seeing combat in Iraq...and holding their own.
[Link to Full Article]
Chuck Yarborough
Plain Dealer Reporter
Tikrit, Iraq - It was hot, and his unit had just finished its lunchtime weave through the concrete maze into the Iraqi police station in Samarra, a town where dump, slums and suburbs are all the same place.
Attackers opened fire on a car carrying two local council members in the Iraqi city of Mosul today, killing one and wounding the other, police said...
In the northern city of Mosul, gunmen fled after firing on the car. Akram Mahmoud Nijim, a member of a local council, was killed and another councillor was wounded.
[Link to Article]
The Associated Press
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - Insurgents in a car fired rocket-propelled grenades at a police station in northern Iraq on Sunday, and two Iraqi civilians were killed, police and witnesses said.
GlobalSecurity.org has a very useful list of all U.S. ground forces currently deployed to Iraq and the surrounding region (Kuwait & Qatar). The list also details all of the units attached to Task Force Olympia, which the SBCT is a part of. You'll need to scroll down the page to find TFO.
They also have a separate list of ground forces currently deploying to Iraq, including the 81st Armor Brigade (WA National Guard).
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 7, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-21
MOSUL, IRAQ (March 6, 2004) - Soldiers from Task Force Olympia and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps foiled a robbery attempt Saturday, and collected weapons and other explosives as part of ongoing Coalition efforts to make Iraq safer.
Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment and ICDC prevented the robbery of a dump truck in Qarrayah early Saturday morning. The robbers stole the truck from the Qarrayah refinery. As they fled the refinery with the stolen vehicle, an ICDC checkpoint was set up forcing the robbers to turn back. A second ICDC checkpoint was established and cut-off their escape.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 7, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-19
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) under the operational control of Task Force Olympia detained personnel suspected of anticoalition activities and conducted ongoing weapons collection operations in northern Iraq Sunday.
One major step forward for democracy in Iraq.
[Link to Full Article]
By MATT MOORE
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)--Shiite politicians who delayed the signing of Iraq's interim constitution said Sunday they will sign the document without any changes on Monday, despite concerns of the country's top Shiite cleric.
[Link to Full Article]
By MIKE BARBER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
FORT IRWIN, Calif. -- Protecting a remote communications transmitter in the Mojave Desert, Iraq-bound Washington National Guard Spc. Derian Anderson, 27, had one plea for the people she serves and will soon leave behind.
"Don't forget us. Oh, please, don't forget us," Anderson said.
No Styker pics in FrontLine Photos today, but I thought this picture was pretty neat. It's nice to know people are still making the effort to visit the troops.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 5, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-13
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) under the operational control of Task Force Olympia detained personnel suspected of anti-Coalition activities and conducted ongoing weapons collection operations in northern Iraq Thursday.
Welcome back Michael Gilbert! Thank you for your excellent reporting - it will be sorely missed.
News Tribune staff reporter Michael Gilbert has returned home to Tacoma after four months in Iraq with the Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade.
[Link to Full Article]
By Juliana Gittler
Stars and Stripes March 4, 2004
TOKYO — Talks are under way about possibly relocating part of the Army’s I Corps headquarters from Fort Lewis, Wash., to Camp Zama, Japan, U.S. officials confirmed Tuesday.
[Link to Full Article]
By K.L. Vantran
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2004 – Every Thursday, and some Saturdays, volunteers at Fort Lewis, Wash., lug sewing machines to the Army Community Service building so they can create quilts for children of those deployed in the war on terrorism.
MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) under the operational control of Task Force Olympia detained personnel suspected of anticoalition activities and conducted ongoing weapons-collection operations in northern Iraq. A series of operations in and around Mosul by 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) led to the capture of 34 people suspected of anticoalition activities, including eight suspected of planning attacks on coalition forces.
How would you like to drive down the road in this rig? Visit the America's Truck website to view more of these creations.
(Thanks to the Alstons for the links)
Mel found some new photos of Stryker soldiers at Yahoo! News. See if this link works. If not, go to the Yahoo! News Photo page and search for "Mosul".
It is unclear whether bases outside of Baghdad will be affected.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By John Hendren, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — Seeking to lower the American profile in Iraq, a top U.S. military commander said Wednesday that he would remove U.S. forces from the palaces of toppled leader Saddam Hussein and had ordered the military to hand over Baghdad's international airport within a year.
[Link to Full Article] (Registration required)
By REUTERS
Published: March 4, 2004
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Guerrillas attacked Iraqi police with mortars and rifles in the northern city of Mosul on Thursday, wounding at least two policemen and two civilians, police and witnesses said.
MOSUL, Iraq - Security concerns remained high as local Iraqi police officers and Coalition officials attended a ribbon cutting ceremony March 3 at the Althaqafa Police Station, celebrating its reconstruction after a suicide bombing nearly five weeks ago. The Jan. 31 explosion occurred when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated outside the station. The blast killed 10 Iraqi police officers, some of whom were waiting in line to receive their paychecks. Following the attack on the police station, the 503rd Military Police Battalion took responsibility to complete the statement of work, bid the contract for the construction and provide oversight during building. The 503rd MP Battalion. is under the operational control of Task Force Olympia in northern Iraq. "Our work here shows a continued commitment of the Coalition to help rebuild Iraq so they may become more self-sufficient," said Lt. Col. Jerry Stevenson, commander 503rd MP Battalion.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 4, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-07
MOSUL, IRAQ - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, under the operational control of Task Force Olympia, continued ongoing weapons collection operations in northern Iraq with two turn-ins Tuesday.
We are lucky enough to have permission to reprint the following poem, which was written by a soldier serving with the Stryker Brigade in Mosul, Iraq. Thank you for sharing Alex.
Here's a program worth exploring.
[Link to Full Article]
By Sgt. 1st Class Marcia Triggs
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 3, 2004) -- A Department of Defense program helps deployed troops tuck up to $10,000 of their income away and earn a guaranteed 10 percent interest on their savings annually.
Via Blackfive I found an article about Spc. David McCorkle, an Army reservist attached to the 101st in Mosul. McCorkle started a non-profit charity to help Iraqi children called American Aid for Children of Ninevah, Iraq (AA-CNI). Even though McCorkle is returning to the U.S. soon he is working hard to ensure that donations are distributed in Iraq.
[Link to Full Article]
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, February 28, 2004
ARLINGTON, Va. — Why do American soldiers wear the U.S. flag insignia "backwards" on the right shoulder of their utility uniforms, with the canton (the rectangle with the stars) on an observer's right?
Cheryl sent a reminder that PBS has another Frontline documentary about the war called The Invasion of Iraq. In Seattle it aired last week, but supposedly it is being broadcast in other markets tonight. Check your local PBS listings to see when it airs in your area. If you missed it (sorry!), go the website and explore the information they have there. Many of the key interviews, including a particularly chilling one with a general from the Republican Guard, are available online.
[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
March 2, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-04
MOSUL, Iraq - Task Force Olympia and Iraqi security forces assisted local citizens struck by an improvised explosive device Monday and continued the effort to remove weapons, explosives and other unexploded ordnance from northern Iraq. Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment assisted Iraqi citizens whose vehicle was damaged by an explosion near Tall Afar. The explosion came from what was later determined to be a land mine or unexploded ordnance. There were no injuries.
Not much news so far this week, so here are a few links worth exploring:
Winds of War - From Winds of Change. Summary and analysis of recent events in the war on terror.
The Warrior & Who is Defending You? - Both from Sgt. Hook, who is deploying to Afghanistan soon.
Freedom Rock - A tribute to soldiers past and present painted on a rock in rural Iowa. (Thanks to John for the link)
Since we removed the brigade newsletters from the site last week we've been trying to determine the official policy regarding publication of the documents on public websites. We learned that the content of each newsletter is reviewed for operational security (OPSEC). Because there may be sensitive information included, it is my understanding that a decision was made to distribute the newletter via email to those individuals included on the family readiness group (FRG) lists.
This policy may change in the future, but if you have a loved one with the brigade we recommend contacting the FRG for your soldier's unit in order to ensure that you receive future issues - if you haven't done so already. Not sure how to do that? We suggest visiting our bulletin board as a first step; there are many helpful people associated with the FRGs that check in regularly there.
Having said all this, we have received explicit approval from the brigade and the brigade's rear detachment to post the most recent newsletter, which was OPSEC approved. Again, if you would like to save a copy for future reference, right-click the link below and select "Save Target As..." Thanks to all of you that helped straighten this out.
February 22, 2004 3rd BDE Newsletter
There's one picture of the Stryker Brigade in today's Frontline Photos. I'm pretty sure the caption is wrong.
[Link to Full Article]
THE OLYMPIAN - Environment section
"I wanted to send you a photo of a couple of us enjoying the snow that fell (Feb. 24) in Mosul, Iraq," said Cpt. Michael J. McCurty of Stryker Brigade Combat Team. "According to the locals, it was the first snow to fall in Mosul in over 10 years."
The soldiers in the photo are members of the I Corps "Task Force Olympia" from Fort Lewis.
"We are contracting officers working at the Mosul Airfield Contracting Center," McCurty said.
The contracting center provides support to over 10,000 soldiers operating in northern Iraq.
Here's an article about the Stryker Brigade planned for Ft. Polk that also mentions the Ft. Lewis SBCTs.
[Link to Full Article]
Gannett News Service
Posted on March 1, 2004
The U.S. Army is transforming itself from an industrial-age Goliath built to fight on large battlefields into a nimbler, high-tech fighting force able to engage enemies with lightning speed.
Maj. General David Petraeus, the commander of the 101st Airborne, will be on The Charlie Rose Show tonight. It might be interesting to hear what he has to say about Mosul, and Iraq in general. Follow the link to find the showtimes in your area.
UPDATE: Did anyone else watch this? He really had some interesting things to say.
[Link to Full Article]
By MIKE BARBER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
FORT LEWIS -- Army Sgt. Michael M. Merila of Sierra Vista, Ariz., died Feb. 16, a day before his 24th birthday on a helicopter spiriting his wounded body from Tall Afar, Iraq, to a combat hospital in Mosul.