Link to Full Article
By News Blaze
TIKRIT, Iraq - Task Force Freedom relinquished command of northwest Iraq in a ceremony Dec. 30 to the Task Force Band of Brothers.
The ceremony was held at Life Support Area Diamondback in Mosul and marked the transfer of authority from TF Freedom, a headquarters built around the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, to TF Band of Brothers, centered around the newly transformed headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), from Fort Campbell, Ky. [...]
(TFF Press Release)
MOSUL, IRAQ (December 29, 2005)- Iraqi Security Forces along with Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom detained 109 suspected terrorists and seized four weapons caches in northern Iraq, Dec. 17-29.
Iraqi Army Soldiers from 3rd Battalion 4th Brigade 2nd Division detained 13 individuals suspected of terrorist activity during separate raids in Mosul Dec. 20-29. Iraqi Army Soldiers from 2nd Battalion 1st Brigade 2nd Division, detained five individuals suspected of terrorist activities during a raid in Mosul Dec.22. Iraqi Army Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, detained two individuals suspected of terrorist activity during a raid Dec. 28. Iraqi Army Soldiers from 3rd Battalion 4th Brigade 2nd Division detained one individual suspected of terrorist activity during a raid in Tal Afar Dec. 20.
Link to Full Article
By Margaret Friedenauer, News-Miner
While embedded with Fort Wainwright's 172nd Stryker Brigade in Mosul, Iraq, reporter Margaret Friedenauer is sharing some personal observations and smaller stories through her Web log. Two of those entries follow. The full Web log, her news stories and photos can be found at www.newsminer .com/iraq.
(Dec. 28)
While visiting surrounding villages today, I had to check my girl-power at the door.
The area surrounding Forward Operation Base Q-West, where the 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery of the Stryker Brigade is stationed, is rural, dusty and reminds me of scenes from "The Grapes of Wrath."
TAL AFAR, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 29, 2005) – As a career infantryman, 1st Sgt. Matt Splechter has missed four Christmases away from family due to deployment overseas serving his nation.
He figured his current deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom would be no different, but on Christmas Day in a land far away from home, Splechter was proven wrong.
(TFF Pres Release)
TAL AFAR, Iraq (December 28, 2005) — In a ribbon cutting ceremony today, Tal Afar Police Chief Gen. Fawaz Mahmoud Issa officially opened the new Al Salam Police Station in Tal Afar.
The event marked a milestone for Tal Afar’s Police Department as part of efforts to restore the city’s quality of life and security.
Last year terrorists destroyed a police station in Tal Afar, but the opening of the new station represents a resurrection of the police force according to city officials.
Link to Full Article
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
As deputy director for operations on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Carter Ham sees most of what the U.S. military is doing around the world each day. It’s one of those ringside-at-history jobs.
But it’s nothing like the time he spent leading Fort Lewis-based soldiers across northern Iraq – an assignment he once called “the defining period of my life.”
“It’s going from command in the field, where you’re out and about with soldiers all the time, actively engaged in operations, to a staff job,” Ham said last week. “An important staff job, but nonetheless a staff job.”...
TFF Press Release
MOSUL, IRAQ (December 27, 2005) – Over 500 soldiers from the Coalition Forces and the Iraqi Army came together for a battle-space assumption handover ceremony.
For the first time within the Nineveh Province of Iraq, the 3/3/2 Iraqi Army assumed military control of battle-space. The Iraqi Army is fully engaged in the fight, and Iraq’s leadership will bring security and stability back to the nation and ultimately defeat the insurgency.
Link to Full Article
By Margaret Friedenauer, News-Miner
MOSUL--Chaplain Capt. Steve Dunn has received literally hundreds of Christmas trees this year from people wanting to make sure the soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment have a festive holiday. There have been trees of all sizes, artificial and real. And he has passed on every tree to a soldier.
"We don't go to war with Christmas decorations," he said, sorting through boxes of countless donations sent from family, well-wishers and church and community groups in Fairbanks and elsewhere.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
MAKHMUR, IRAQ--About two months ago, Lt. Col. Hogger Salahaddin Abdul wanted to retire after nearly 20 years in the Iraqi army. The Kurdish colonel wanted to focus his energy on his tile factories. But Lt. Col. Scott Wuestner, commander of the U.S Army Task Force 4-11 Field Artillery, said that he recognized a natural-born leader and convinced the colonel that his time in the army was not yet expired.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
FORWARD OPERATING BASE Q-WEST--Watching the wheelings and dealings of local Iraqi leaders in this part of the country is like nothing seen on C-Span.
This style of local government is done with heated discussion, a meal, some tea and a handshake. And rather than policy making, these local leaders are more concerned with having heat in schools, providing electricity, and controlling the price of fuel.
Winds of Change has published its weekly Iraq Report, with links to news and analysis of recent events there.
Link to Blog Entry
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
MOSUL, Iraq—It wasn’t a white Christmas, but there was just enough of a nip in the air to make it feel a little like it was Christmas Eve.
Link to Full Article
By CHRIS TOMLINSON, The Associated Press
MOSUL, Iraq -- Lt. Col. John Norris drives through the southeastern corner of Mosul comfortably standing up in the turret of his Stryker armored vehicle, something he rarely did until a few months ago for fear of being hit by a bomb or a bullet.
Norris, who commands the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment from Fort Richardson, in Anchorage, is proud of how much security has improved in some neighborhoods, and that President Bush has noticed. But he keeps his rifle ready.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
RAWAH, IRAQ--In some ways, Combat Outpost Rawah is a rather appropriate setting for the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. They come from the state dubbed "The Last Frontier," an equally suitable title for this area of Iraq that remains one of the most active regions in the country for enemy activity.
Most of the brigade is located in and around the Mosul area on large bases with adequate amenities. They patrol urban neighborhoods that have seen dramatic decreases in enemy activity and have worked hand-in-hand with up-and-coming Iraqi army and police.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
MOSUL--The soldiers with Task Force 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment were honored Friday for their actions during combat since arriving here in Mosul 15 weeks ago.
Several soldiers also received Purple Heart and commendation medals.
Many of the soldiers were honored for their actions during a Nov. 19 incident in which Christopher Alcozer, 21, died and twelve other soldiers were injured. The group was hit by small arms fire and hand grenades during a cordon-and-search operation.
As our families gather together this Christmas Season, we will keep in our hearts and prayers those who will not be home with their loved ones. We especially remember all of the soldiers of the 172nd SBCT serving their country in Iraq. We also remember the families who have suffered the loss of loved ones. May Christmas renew the love in their hearts and may the New Year bring them the opportunity to rebuild their lives in a fulfilling way.
Todd, Twoums, Aav123, Strykerdad172nd, and Safetypro
The news team for Strykernews.com
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER , News-Miner
MOSUL, Iraq--It wasn't a white Christmas, but there was just enough of a nip in the air to make it feel a little like it was Christmas Eve.
In this part of the world near where Christ was born, soldiers with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team on Forward Operating Base Courage did the best they could to make it feel like Christmas this week.
At Camp Freedom Aid Station, the entire staff received presents from Maj. Julie Kullberg's church group, and her grandmother knitted stockings for everyone. On Friday night, the aid station staff watched "A Christmas Story." In the chow hall there was a life-size animated Santa Claus that belted out carols. Christmas cookies from church groups in Missouri were washed down with Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice.
(TFF Press Release)
MOSUL, IRAQ (December 24, 2005)- Spc. Lucas Crowe a medic with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion, 1st infantry Regiment, was awarded the Bronze Star from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in a special awards presentation today at Forward Operating Base Courage.
On Dec. 15, Crowe saved the life of an Iraqi two-year-old boy who had nearly drowned in the basement of his family home. The child had stopped breathing until Crowe administered first aid saving the boy’s life.
Rumsfeld pinned the Bronze Star on Crowe and congratulated him for a job well done.
The secretary was on a surprise Holiday visit to the troops in Iraq to show his support and appreciation.
(TFF Press Release)
MOSUL, IRAQ (December 24, 2005)- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise Holiday visit to troops today at Forward Operating Base Courage.
During the visit, Rumsfeld served dinner to the Soldiers, awarded a Bronze Star Medal to a Soldier who saved an Iraqi child’s life, and met with top military officials.
“I am here to wish the troops a Merry Christmas and to commend them on what an excellent job they have done preceding the Iraqi elections and since the elections”.
Rumsfeld took the time to meet and take pictures with several hundred troops during the visit. He told the Soldiers that in the future Soldiers will look back and see what a great difference they have made liberating the citizens of Iraq.
This is one of many trips the secretary has made to visit troops in Iraq.
Link to Full Article (photos included)
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 24, 2005 – Withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq now would mean victory for terror and lead to attacks on American interests abroad and at home, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told soldiers here today.
Task Force Freedom Command Sgt. Maj. Ricky Pring passes out phone cards donated by Wal-Mart to soldiers at the dining facility at Forward Operating Base Courage in Mosul, Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld brought the cards during a Christmas Eve visit to the base.
Rumsfeld spoke at a dining facility and served Christmas Eve dinner to troops of Multinational Force Northwest at Forward Operating Base Courage here.
This unit provided medical support to Stryker Brigades
Link to Full Article
By Michael Gilbert, THE NEWS TRIBUNE
More than five dozen soldiers were due home this morning after a yearlong deployment in the Middle East.
The 67 soldiers from the 551st Medical Logistics Company were to arrive at Soldiers Field House about 4:30 a.m. – ahead of their scheduled return.
The company, a unit of the 62nd Medical Brigade, is returning from its second deployment in support of the war in Iraq. It provided medical supplies, repairs and equipment in Kuwait during its last tour.
Link to Full Article (Opinion)
By Robert D. Kaplan, LA Times
IF YOU WANT to meet the future political leaders of the United States, go to Iraq. I am not referring to the generals, or even the colonels. I mean the junior officers and enlistees in their 20s and 30s. In the decades ahead, they will represent something uncommon in U.S. military history: war veterans with practical experience in democratic governance, learned under the most challenging of conditions.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
MOSUL--Gearing up to head out on patrol to the Al Bareed neighborhood of Mosul, Sgt. Adam Smith said there usually is little enemy activity in the area.
"Except for sniper fire on Fridays," he said, only half-joking.
Then he realized what day it was.
But on this Friday, the enemy stayed inside, away from the rain and chill that made for a quiet morning for the 1st Squad of the 4th Platoon.
During the patrol, Smith handed the reins to the Iraqi army during the neighborhood visit. It's regular practice for the Iraqis to accompany U.S. forces in almost all of their activities around the city these days. This is in an effort to gradually pass control on to them. But Smith has already taken it one step further and let the Iraqi lieutenant initiate when troops meet with residents and take the lead in asking residents about enemy activity in their neighborhood.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
MOSUL, Iraq--Maj. Julie Tullberg is a pediatrician who usually can be found on Fort Wainwright Army Post keeping office hours at Bassett Army Community Hospital. Normally, she sees patients under the age of 16 with complaints like the sniffles and broken bones.
These days, however, her office is in a modest aid station in Iraq and her patients are adults with maladies such as gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
"The weird thing for me is I'm treating all the dads of my patients," she said.
Link to Full Article
By Alex Fryer, Seattle Times
For soldiers in Iraq, three letters translate into terror: IED, shorthand for improvised explosive device, the homemade bombs that have taken hundreds of American lives.
During an intense firefight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Staff Sgt. Wesley Holt faced this fear. Touched it. Straddled it, in fact.
In addition to her regular news stories, Margaret Friedenauer of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner is maintaining a weblog while she is embedded with the 172nd SBCT. She is adding entries almost daily. Today's entry is titled: "Mail, Cigars and Serious Coffee Drinkers". Her weblog also has links to her news stories, other Iraq news and opinion, Iraq maps and weather and a number of photos not seen elsewhere.
Here are three photos of 172nd SBCT soldiers that were recently posted on Army Images.
4-14 CAV photo #1, photo #2
2-1 INF photo
Link to Full Article
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Norma Melo will have a special memorial Mass celebrated today for her late husband Julian, as she has each month since losing him in Iraq a year ago.
But otherwise, Fort Lewis will not formally observe the anniversary of a day that shook the post like no other in these past four years of war.
It was a year ago today that a suicide bomber detonated himself inside a busy lunchtime chow hall at Forward Operating Base Marez, in Mosul, Iraq. Twenty-two people died, including six Fort Lewis soldiers, and more than 70 were wounded.
Even before the identities of those killed and wounded were made public, those at Fort Lewis braced for the worst. About half of the 4,000 Stryker troops then in northern Iraq lived at FOB Marez....
Link to Full Article
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Dec. 21, 2005 – Mosul is a microcosm of Iraq.
It's the second-largest city in the country, and contains all kinds of people who make up the ethnic stew that is this nation.
Shiia Arab, Sunni Arab, Kurds, Turkomen, ethnic Iranians, Assyrians and many other ethnicities settled in Mosul, taking advantage of its location astride ancient trading routes, and amid fertile land that turned the region into the wheat belt of the Middle East.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
MOSUL, Iraq--The first thing the members of 4th Platoon, Charlie Co., noticed when they dismounted their Stryker vehicle Tuesday was the 12-foot-tall pale yellow cement wall pock-marked with bullet holes.
It was a sure sign the platoon had found a prime fishing hole for the enemy in a central neighborhood of this northern Iraqi city of 2.5 million.
"Today we're the bait," Staff Sgt. Joshua Clevenger said. "Human bait."
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
MOSUL, Iraq--Pounding the pavement in this northern city of 2.5 million requires some savvy, the kind employed by Sgt. John Boxrucker and his platoon.
Boxrucker and soldiers with 1st platoon, Alpha Co. regularly patrol what the sergeant calls one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. His unit is part of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
Link to Full Article
By Julian E. Barnes, US News & World Report
One vision for the future of the American presence in Iraq is rising in the ruins of an Iraqi agricultural university just south of Mosul.
The campus is being renovated by the American and Iraqi militaries into the new home of a regional training academy for young officers and noncommissioned officers. Agricultural university buildings that were looted to their concrete walls during the 2003 American invasion of Iraq are being carefully rebuilt and renovated into barracks for students, instructor housing, classrooms, and auditoriums. On the school grounds, American military engineers are building rifle ranges and obstacle courses. [...]
Image Gallery 1856 and Image Gallery 1854, on the DVIDS site, contain recent photos of the 172nd SBCT, FOB Courage and Mosul.
This unit provided much of the news that was displayed on these pages.
Link to Full Article
By SARAH CLARK, DesMoines Register
About 70 friends and family members gathered Sunday as 14 Army reservists with the Des Moines-based 366th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment were presented with Welcome Home Warrior Awards during a ceremony at Four Point Sheraton.
The unit, which spent 11 months and four days in Mosul at Forward Operating Base Courage, arrived at Fort Sill, Okla., on Dec. 9 for debriefing and returned to Des Moines on Thursday .
The timing was perfect for Staff Sgt. Michele Uitermarkt.
"Being home is wonderful,'' she said. "I have a lot of Christmas shopping to do.''[...]
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner
TALL KAYF, Iraq--While Mosul commonly smells of rubbish or burning trash, the smell of fresh-baked bread wafts through the air of this small community.
The tactical unit of the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Alpha Troop visits this town several times a week to meet with the police chief. The smell of baking bread isn't the only comfort Capt. Matt Eberhart and his soldiers find in an area that has given them and Iraqi forces little resistance.
Link to Full Article
CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press
HAMMAM AL ALIL, Iraq - Young Iraqi soldiers will soon begin arriving for leadership training in this small northern town, where Iraqi insurgents once operated with impunity and the buildings were stripped bare by looters.
With the parliamentary election over, the focus for U.S. troops will be to provide the new government with an army it can call its own. U.S. and Iraqi instructors will launch a formal military leadership school in Hammam al Alil on Monday, an important step in creating the institutions that will allow the Iraqi army to sustain itself.
Link to Full Article
By Sgt Dennis Gravelle
MOSUL, IRAQ - Spc. Lucas Crowe, a medic with HHC 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment meets the family of the boy he helped save Dec. 17.
On Dec. 15 while patrolling the streets of Mosul for the Iraqi elections, Crowe resuscitated a boy who had drowned in a flooded basement of his home. The family was elated to see Crowe and thanked him for saving the child.
Here's a follow up to a press release we posted last Thursday.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER
MOSUL, Iraq--Spc. Lucas Crowe didn't know what to expect Saturday when he arrived at the home of 2-year-old Muhammad.
Two days earlier, Crowe revived the boy after he nearly drowned in a flooded basement. He hadn't gotten word on whether Muhammad was still alive or suffering lasting effects after he was taken to a hospital by Iraqi paramedics.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, Staff Writer
MOSUL, Iraq--With only a handful of attacks that caused no damage or injuries, Lt. Col. Chuck Webster said the cooperation between U.S. and Iraqi forces to secure Iraq's parliamentary elections Thursday was success.
"The coalition forces were responsible for preparing against a catastrophic event," said Webster, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment of the 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team. "And luckily, nothing happened. Maybe we did something right."
Link to Full Article
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
“Gently used” they’re not.
Some, like the engineer-support models that plied the highways each morning in search of roadside bombs, logged more than 70,000 miles. The average mileage across the fleet of 285 or so vehicles is more than 20,000, officials said.
Stryker-maker General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., has begun work on a $69 million Army contract to restore the battle-tested trucks to “pre-combat, like-new condition.” About 120 company mechanics are doing the work at Fort Lewis and at a company yard in Auburn.
The Strykers arrived home by ship in late October, after a year in Iraq with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, then another year with their successors from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division....
Link to Full Article
By Margaret Friedenauer
HAMMAN AL AIL, Iraq—This area was a hive of terrorist activity a year ago. Now, this community south of Mosul is getting ready to open The Northern Iraq Regional Training Center in an effort to continue strengthening the Iraqi Army for the fight against terrorism.
"Twelve months ago it was the most dangerous area in Iraq and now it's the most safe area in Iraq," Iraqi Army Col. Haje Maher Alzebari said Thursday.
Link to Full Article (subscription)
By Aamer Madhani, Chicago Tribune
MOSUL, Iraq -- Manal Yahia cast her ballot Thursday for a candidate whose name she feared to speak.
In this northern city that has been jaggedly divided along religious and ethnic lines, Yahia, a Sunni, didn't believe it was wise to make it widely known that she was backing a secular Shiite.
"You know, with some of these people, I don't know how they would respond if I were to tell them I am voting for him," said Yahia, who quietly confirmed she was voting for former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. "It has been difficult to be optimistic for Iraq, but today I am hoping that we are celebrating our country's wedding." [...]
Here are some recent photos we found posted on various sites:
4-23 INF Photo #1
4-23 INF Photo #2
172nd Photo
This Defend America Photo Essay shows Iraqi soldiers in Mosul exercising their right to vote.
Link to Full Article with Photo
Cpt. Matthew Arbogast
172nd BSB
MOSUL, Iraq — Since assuming control from the 25th Brigade Support Battalion, the 172nd Brigade Support Battalion has not only assumed its doctrinal support mission of providing maintenance, medical and supply support, but also a wide range of other critical roles.
The 172nd BSB, also known as the “Opaheys,” provides support to more than 3,000 Soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
Link to Full Article with Photo
Sgt. 1st Class Leonard Strickland
A, 4-14th Cavalry
MOSUL, Iraq – The 1st Platoon of A Troop, 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry, conducted a route recon mission one morning in November to confirm or deny enemy activity.
We were clearing and searching for any improvised explosive device emplacements or any anti-Iraqi forces planning an attack on coalition forces on this specific route.
As the platoon moved along we noticed there was no traffic on the route like there usually is.
Link to Full Article
Task Force Freedom
MOSUL, IRAQ — Iraqi Security Forces along with Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom detained suspected terrorists and seized weapons caches in northern Iraq Dec. 5-12.
In Mosul, Iraqi Army soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Division, along with Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, seized a cache of AK-47s with multiple loaded magazines, a sniper rifle with loaded magazines, an anti-aircraft missile launcher with four missiles, more than 100 rounds of ammunition, 500 more linked rounds of ammunition, a semi-automatic pistol, an automatic rifle, hand grenades, rocket propelled grenade launchers with ammunition and high explosives during a raid Dec. 12.
Link to Full Article with Photo
Tracey Murray
Fort Wainwright PAO
“Where do you sleep?”
“Do you eat good food?”
“Do you take breaks?”
Questions like these come from the third graders at Longview Elementary School in Hickory, N.C. They have been writing to 12 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Soldiers since November.
Sminklemeyer has posted an email he received from an officer in Mosul regarding election activity yesterday. Good read.
(TFF Press Release)
MOSUL, IRAQ (December 16, 2005)-Soldiers from Task Force Freedom distributed a truckload of over 40 large boxes of gifts to Iraqi children at St. George’s Church in the Bartella neighborhood Dec. 14.
About 300 kids were seen smiling with hands full of new clothes, toys, soccer balls, basketballs, and numerous other treasures. Children were also excited about receiving keepsake McDonald’s toys. Not one child left the church empty-handed.
Link to Full Article
By Monte Morin, Stars and Stripes
TAL AFAR, Iraq — Crowds of Iraqi voters, many of them women, poured into the streets of this ancient city and lined up to vote Thursday, despite sporadic mortar attacks that killed at least three people and injured eight.
Voting queues stretched around corners and doubled back again as festive election season music blared on boom boxes and colored streamers hung from wires suspended over city streets.
Link to Full Article (Opinion)
By Michelle Cuthrell, News-Miner
Less than a week after my husband deployed to Iraq, I was already spending every spare second browsing discount airfare Web sites, searching for the cheapest fare I could find to be back in the Lower 48 for Christmas.
I realize Mary and Joseph probably didn't have a lot of company or daylight as Mary was popping out a baby in the hay by a manger, but I wasn't a big fan of spending my savior's birthday pregnant and alone in the dark in Alaska. So I bought tickets to my well-lit, people-filled and restaurant-ready hometown of Dayton, Ohio, for the holiday season instead.
Link to Full Article
BY AAMER MADHANI, Chicago Tribune
MOSUL, Iraq - Manal Yahia cast her ballot Thursday for a candidate whose name she feared to speak.
In this northern city that has been jaggedly divided along religious and ethnic lines, Yahia, a Sunni, didn't believe it was wise to make it widely known that she was backing a secular Shiite.
"You know, with some of these people, I don't know how they would respond if I were to tell them I am voting for him," said Yahia, who quietly confirmed she was voting for former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. "It has been difficult to be optimistic for Iraq, but today I am hoping that we are celebrating our country's wedding."
(TFF Press Release)
UPDATE 12/16/05: We've added two photos to the press release below.
MOSUL, IRAQ (December 15, 2005)- Security forces from Task Force Freedom conducted a miraculous act on a young Iraqi boy in Mosul today.
Soldiers were patrolling a neighborhood near a home where an Iraqi man was seen holding a lifeless baby who had drowned in the flooded basement of their home. The child had a blue tone to his body as a medic, SPC Lucas Crowe, from 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment administered aid to the 3-year old boy. The child became responsive, released water from his mouth and screamed a cry that Soldiers were elated to hear. After resuscitating the young boy, the combat medic from 2-1 Infantry turned the child on his side and monitored his breathing until an ambulance arrived.
Multi-National Forces of Task Force Freedom continue efforts to aid Iraqi citizens and assist them in providing security.
Link to Full Article
By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press
MOSUL, Iraq - U.S. troops won't be at the polling stations for Thursday's national elections. But they'll be close by - ready to back up Iraqi security forces if called upon.
Soldiers in Stryker armored personnel carriers, the U.S. Army's most advanced infantry vehicle with satellite-linked computers, have mapped out every polling station and listed the mobile phone numbers for local polling officials and Iraqi officers to make sure they can respond quickly.
Link to Full Article
By Margaret Friedenauer, News-Miner
Stryker soldiers also diplomats
MOSUL, Iraq—The job description for soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team includes an entry not often linked to the military: diplomat.
Patrolling polling places around this Tigris River city in Northern Iraq on Wednesday, Lt. Jeremiah Parker and his platoon looked like quintessential soldiers as they dismounted their Stryker vehicle in haste, moved into formation and entered the building, keeping their heads on swivels and rifles at the ready.
But once inside the soldiers were welcomed by Iraqi security forces, who shook their hands with boisterous greetings. Parker knows many of them already, having patrolled this area for four months and gotten to meet local leaders.
(The following is a letter we recently received from Susan Preston Raybon)
Dear Editor:
There are hundreds of small, personal humanitarian efforts that go on daily, for the most part invisible to the public. These projects are usually tiny and involve one or two special people. The holiday season is a perfect time to tell this story and showcase two really special soldiers, one starting and the other continuing a heartfelt legacy.
Almost everyone has a Heart List even if they have never put a name to it. For the most part, it is an unconscious thing. Usually, it includes our family, our friends and our acquaintances that we admire and emulate. They are the ones whose traits and philosophies either mirror ours or shine above our own mirrors.
Link to Full Article
By GINA B. GOOD, Pahrump Valley Times
Jenny Liakopoulos is a woman with a mission - a military mission from God. She wants the town, through the Pahrump Town Board, to adopt the 600 men and women of the 47th Combat Support Hospital (CSH) Army Medical Troop from Ft. Lewis, Wash., who are currently stationed in Iraq.
The unit operates at two sites - a 164-bed hospital in Mosul and an 84-bed hospital in Tikrit, the home town of Saddam Hussein, who is currently on trial in Baghdad for crimes against his own people.
Cooks, truck drivers and mechanics from the 47th were deployed along with doctors, nurses and medics at the end of October.
Link to Full Article
By CHRIS TOMLINSON, The Associated Press
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — U.S. troops won't be at the polling stations for Thursday's national elections. But they'll be close by — ready to back up Iraqi security forces if called upon.
Soldiers in Stryker armored personnel carriers, the U.S. Army's most advanced infantry vehicle with satellite-linked computers, have mapped out every polling station and listed the mobile phone numbers for local polling officials and Iraqi officers to make sure they can respond quickly.
Link to Blog Entry
By Margaret Friedenauer, News-Miner
Think about everything you’ve heard about the conditions in Iraq, the role of U.S. forces, the multi-layered complexities of the war.
Then think again.
I’m a journalist. I read the news everyday, from several sources. I have the luxury of reading stuff newspapers don’t always have room to print. I read every tidbit I could on Iraq and the war before coming.
Everything I thought I knew was wrong. [...]
You now have the opportunity to vote for Michael Yon's gripping photo from last May as Time Magazine's photo of the year. Visit his site for the details.
Welcome home to the 113th ENG (Indiana National Guard), which spent the past year in Mosul operating as part of Task Force Freedom.
Link to Full Article
By Steve Walsh, Post-Tribune staff writer
INDIANAPOLIS — Birthdays by e-mail and early morning calls from Iraq ended at last for half of the families of the 113th Engineer Battalion.
The first contingent of soldiers from the Indiana National Guard unit from Gary, Hammond, Valparaiso and LaPorte touched down late Tuesday at an armory here after nearly a year in Iraq.
Link to Full Article
By Margaret Friedenauer, News-Miner
MOSUL, Iraq—With parliamentary elections looming Thursday and insurgent attacks doubling this week, Iraqi and U.S. troops are coordinating the role various security forces will take to keep voters safe at the polls.
Col. Michael Shields, commander of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, attended a weekly meeting of local and regional Iraqi security forces Tuesday at the Joint Coordination Center in this northern Tigris River town. The meeting drew several officials, including the general of the provincial police, Mosul police, Iraqi Army officials and the governor of the Nineveh province.
Link to Full Article
By U.S. Army Spc. Stephen L. Proctor
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii, Dec. 12, 2005 – The 5th Stryker Brigade acquired an antitank unit when Company B, 52nd Infantry Regiment, was activated in a ceremony here Dec. 6.
Link to Full Article
By Claude D. McKinney, American Forces Press Service
MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 12, 2005 – Whether the key to a bright future for a country is to educate the children of the present will be tested in northern Iraq over the next generation, based on the work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region North.
Link to Full Article
MARIAM FAM and SINDBAD AHMED, Associated Press
MOSUL, Iraq - Power outages and gunfire are daily fixtures in this northern city. But so are election posters, talk of this week's vote and a new freedom to criticize authorities.
Across Mosul, one of two Iraqi cities President Bush cited last week as improving, residents paint a complex picture of life and violent death, progress and decline, hope and despair.
Link to Full Article
By Julian E. Barnes, U.S. News & World Report
The soldiers in Sgt. 1st Class Michael Steffey's platoon call him the mayor of Tal al Ruman. Armed with a hand-held computer that speaks a set number of Arabic phrases, Steffey walks down the streets of Tal al Ruman, a poor neighborhood on the west side of Mosul, talking to the neighborhood kids. He mainly focuses on the smaller children, chatting up the boys and girls between 5 and 12 years old. He asks their age, if they are in school, if they are married. His command of Arabic is not great. But he uses the few words he knows—and a hand-held translator—to great effect. And after a few minutes, he has them laughing.
(TFF Press Release)
MOSUL, IRAQ (December 12, 2005)- Iraqi Security Forces along with Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom detained 46 suspected terrorists and seized weapons caches in northern Iraq Dec. 5-12.
Winds of Change has published its weekly Iraq Report, with links to news and analysis regarding recent events.
Link to Full Article
By Dermot Cole, News-Miner
FOOTLOOSE: While Iraq is struggling to get on its feet, a young soldier from Fort Wainwright is helping care for the feet of Iraqi children, thanks to donations from Fairbanks.
Over the past couple of months, Fairbanksans and businesses have donated more than 1,000 pairs of kids' shoes to send to Iraq.
That's enough so that Jammie Tinsley, 23, will be able to send a steady supply until next summer to her husband, Cpl. Mason Tinsley. She said she wants to thank everyone who helped make the campaign a success.
Fairbanks News-Miner reporter Margaret Friedenauer is embedded with 172nd Stryker Brigade in Iraq. Her blog can be found at this URL.
Link to Full Article
News-Miner Staff Report
News-Miner military reporter Margaret Friedenauer is in Iraq.
She arrived in Baghdad after 35 sleepless hours awaiting transport from Kuwait City. It came in the form of a Black Hawk helicopter. In Baghdad she is awaiting transport to Mosul, where she will officially embed with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Alaska.
Friedenauer will begin reporting on daily activities of the brigade as soon as possible. In the meantime she has begun sharing thoughts and experiences of her travels en route from Fairbanks to London to Kuwait and posting those items on the News-Miner's Web site in the form of a Web log.
A Joint Tactical Air Controller with the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Lewis was recently selected for the 2005 Lance P. Sijan Air Force Leadership Award.
Senior Airman Grailin Blamer earned this recognition for his quick and cool-headed thinking while providing air cover for Soldiers in Iraq. He will receive the award in Washington, D.C., early next year....
Link to Full Article
PR Newswire
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE:D), delivered its first two low-rate initial production (LRIP) Stryker Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) variants to the U.S. Army yesterday at Anniston (Ala.) Army Depot. General Dynamics will deliver 17 NBCRV variants during low-rate production, through March 2006. The vehicles will be used for various tests and user evaluations through the fourth quarter of 007. The Army is expected to make the decision to begin full-rate production (called "Milestone C") of the NBCRV in the fourth quarter of 2007. [...]
U.S. Army Alaska provides us with these two photos and accompanying narratives:
Honoring Fallen Soldiers - from the Ft. Wainwright memorial service for Pfc. Alcozer
Try This on For Size - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reporter Margaret Friedenauer gears up for Iraq.
Link to Full Article with Photo
Spc. Thomas Evenson
C, 2-1st Infantry
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM — I was sitting in my shack surfing the Net and planning on chilling out after a 12-hour detainee guard shift. Some friends came in and asked if I was going to dinner.
“No, I’m just grabbing some pogy bait and taking it easy.” Pogy bait is a term used to describe snacks and candy sent to the Soldiers by family and friends.
“Do you know it’s Thanksgiving?” they asked.
Link to Full Article with Photo
MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqi security forces and Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom detained suspected terrorists and seized weapons caches during operations in northern Iraq Nov. 27 - Dec. 4.
Iraqi Army soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Division, along with Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, detained three individuals suspected of terrorist activity during a raid in Mosul Dec. 4.
Link to Full Article with Photo
Spc. Dale Sweetnam
Fort Wainwright PAO
FORT WAINWRIGHT — Coalition forces including Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team recently completed an extensive isolation and containment mission in Ramana, Iraq.
Lt. Col. Mark Freitag of the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, said nearly 1,000 individuals from the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and the Iraqi Army worked together to clear 11 towns encompassing close to 230 square kilometers during offensive operations from Nov. 18-22. The offensive maneuvers were apart of the larger Operation Steel Curtain.
Link to Full Article (Opinion)
By Michelle Cuthrell, News-Miner
Whenever I picture soldiers returning home from war, I always think of the classic photograph "Kissing the War Goodbye" of the sailor kissing the woman in Times Square just after the end of World War II.
I have that picture framed and hanging in my stairwell, and every time I see it, I pause just for a moment to imagine what that coming-home-from-war moment must feel like. And how much longer it's going to be until I can have it.
Here are several new images of 172nd soldiers conducting operations in northwestern Iraq.
4-23 INF Photo
4-14 CAV Photo
2-1 INF Photo
Members of the 2-1 INF and 4-14 CAV can be seen conducting operations in this Defend America Photo Essay.
Link to Full Article
By STEFAN MILKOWSKI, News-Miner
Spc. Timothy Stewart has been through a lot in the past three weeks, but you wouldn't know it from hearing him talk about it.
Stewart was one of a handful of soldiers in the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team called in during a raid on a house in Mosul, Iraq, that turned out to be an explosives factory. Stewart was shot in the left arm after going into the building to get others out.
A roommate in his 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry platoon, Pfc. Christopher Alcozer, was shot and killed just outside the building.
I don't know about you, but I've received a fair amount of email spam recently from senders using our domain name (styrkernews.com). I've seen various addresses used, including info, administrator, webmaster, service, support, and mail @strykernews.com. If you receive an email with an attachment from one of these addresses it is NOT from us. DO NOT open the attachment - simply delete the email. The only time we send out emails is through the forum when people register, or if they have automatic notifications turned on in their profile. Those emails all come from admin (at) strykernews (dot) com, but NEVER contain attachments.
Thanks,
Todd
Link to Full Article
Presidential Fact Sheet, The Whitehouse
Among other statements about the war in Iraq, the President had the following comments regarding Mosul:
Iraqi And American Forces Have Cleared And Are Holding The City Of Mosul. Mosul is one of Iraq's largest cities and home to a diverse population of Sunni Arabs, Kurds, and other ethnic groups. It was here that American troops brought justice to Saddam's sons in the summer of 2003. Mosul was relatively quiet in the months after liberation, and American forces began to redeploy elsewhere in the country. Then, the enemy infiltrated the city, and by late last year, they had gained control of much of Mosul. American and Iraqi forces responded with a series of coordinated strikes on the most dangerous parts of the city and killed, captured, and cleared out many of the terrorists and Saddamists. Over time, the Iraqi police and legitimate political leaders regained control. As Iraqis have grown in strength and ability, they have taken more responsibility for the city's security, and Coalition forces have moved into a supporting role.
The following is an informative article profiling an officer with the 139th MPAD, which was deployed to Mosul as part of Task Force Olympia.
Link to Full Article
By Dennis Hines, The MidWeek
Several local students and school officials recently received some important information about cultural diversity.
Captain Angela Bowman of the Illinois Army National Guard gave a presentation during the 16th annual DeKalb County Partnership for a Safe, Active and Family Environment (DCP/SAFE) assembly in which she talked about her experiences in Iraq and about the Iraqi culture.
Link to Blog Entry
By Michael Yon
His latest blog entry contains some references to soldiers of the 1-25 SBCT.
Winds of Change has published its weekly Iraq Report, with links to news and analysis of recent events there.
Here are some links to recently released photos:
562nd Engineers (Photo One, Photo Two)
2-1 INF Photo
MNF-Iraq Photos (scroll down to Dec. 2 and 3 for photos of the 562nd ENG and 4-14 CAV)
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, The News-Miner
There was a slightly smaller crowd at the Alaska Army National Guard annual Family Christmas Dinner on Sunday at the Alaska National Guard Armory in Fairbanks. There were dozens of wives and children and some soldiers gathered for the feast, briefing and visit by Santa. But missing were several soldiers from the Fairbanks area, who make up a total of 70 soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 297 Infantry (Forward) from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Nome, Kotzebue and other villages that deployed to Iraq in November.
Link to Full Article
By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, The News-Miner
When a local soldier stationed at Fort Wainwright recently came home from a yearlong deployment in Iraq, his return to family life wasn't picture perfect.
"The same old issues and problems that existed at home before I deployed were still there in all their dysfunctional glory. In Iraq, I became an expert at not letting anything get to me, but once you are home, you just can't turn it off. For me, the slightest annoyance became intolerable. The activities of daily living made me want to scream and I would give anything just to be alone," wrote the soldier, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Link to Full Article
Amy Frye, San Bernadino Sun
CHINO -- When Pfc. Jeff Baca of Bravo Company, 117th Infantry Regiment, returned home on Dec. 1 after two months in Iraq, he brought back a Purple Heart and a positive message about the war effort.
"A lot of people don't understand there's a lot of good Iraqi people," Baca said from his Chino home on Friday. "We're trying to reach the younger generation, showing them there is a better way to live so the next generation (of Americans) doesn't have to fight a war again." As a member of the ground infantry in Mosul, the 24-year-old said he would often make raids on homes, kicking down doors in search of an insurgent or cache of weapons.
SPC Jason Crews and a fellow soldier from the 4-23 INF can be seen in this Army Images photo.
Photo by SSG James J. Harper Jr.
Here are two recent image galleries featuring the 172nd SBCT:
Iraqi Army NCO Graduation
Shukran Water Facility - 4-11 FA
Cindy McGrew and her Operation Second Chance organization are profiled in the following article. Cindy has also helped a number of Stryker Brigade families, including Michael Oreskovic.
Link to Full Article
by Paul Gordon
War is hell! No one knows that better than those caught in its midst.
This column is not about politics of war. It is about the brave men and women who have returned to this country, physically and mentally shattered, fighting a second battle to pick up the pieces of their lives. [...]
The documentary Kiowa Down, which profiles the efforts of the 3/2 SBCT, is now available on DVD at the Discovery Channel store.
TFF Press Release
MOSUL, IRAQ (December 4, 2005) –Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom detained 64 suspected terrorists and seized weapons caches during operations in northern Iraq Nov. 27 - Dec. 4.
Iraqi Army Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division detained two individuals suspected of attacks on Coalition Forces in Mosul Nov. 27. Iraqi Army Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 2nd Division detained two individuals suspected of terrorist activity and confiscated a weapons cache during operations in Mosul Nov. 30. Iraqi Army Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Division detained four individuals suspected of terrorist activity during operations in Mosul Dec. 1. Iraqi Army Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Division along with Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Battalion detained three individuals suspected of terrorist activity during a raid in Mosul Dec. 4.
Link to Full Article
By Kelly Bostian
The News-Miner is about to send a reporter to Iraq.
Our reporters have traveled long distances to cover local-interest stories over the years. We've written from all corners of Alaska, and most places in-between. [...]
On Tuesday, military reporter Margaret Friedenauer leaves for a six-week stay in Iraq. If all goes well, she will be in Mosul before the Dec. 15 elections, spend the holidays with our troops, and return at the end of January.
She will be embedded with the 172nd Stryker Brigade soldiers from Fort Wainwright and Fort Richardson. The reason for this is simple. It's because those 3,000 soldiers from Fort Wainwright are roughly 10 percent of the Fairbanks population. This is an intensely local story and she will be there to cover the daily activities of our troops, to tell their stories and to help our community understand and share in their daily challenges.
U.S. Army Alaska provides us these photos with captions, titled Honoring Injured Soldiers and Thanks for Your Service.
Photos by SPC Dale Sweetnam, U.S. Army
Link to Full Article with 3 Photos
Chaplain (Capt.) John Grauer
4-23rd Infantry Chaplain
MOSUL, Iraq – A 1,600 year old Christian monastery located eight miles to the northeast of Nimrud or the ancient city of Kalkh, is a gathering place for Christians in a Muslim-dominated area.
The Saint Behnam Monastery was built in the last half of the 4th century and renovated during the 12th and 13th centuries.
It thrives among a Muslim-dominated population and carries on many of the ancient Christian rituals.
In October, I made arrangements for the baptism of two Tomahawk Soldiers at the monastery.
Link to Full Article with Photo
Sgt. 1st Class Jason Arneson
4-11th Field Artillery
FORWARD OPERATING BASE Q-WEST, Iraq — Local leaders from the Tigris River Valley came together Nov. 20 to sign a “Contract Against Terror” to signify their opposition to terrorism.
After traditional greetings were exchanged, the ceremony started with Lt. Col. Scott Wuestner, Task Force Thunder commander, thanking the leaders for coming.
