Written by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq (August 28, 2006) –During a combat patch ceremony held at Forward Operating Base Marez, Mosul, Iraq, Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment received the 3rd Infantry Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Inf. Division combat patch.
The value of the patch is recognized as a means of building morale, camaraderie, and solidarity. Soldiers received the patch for their participation in combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
by 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs
BAGHDAD, Aug. 30, 2006 — Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, along with U.S. Army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad (MND-B), provided medical treatment to residents of Ghazaliya during Operation Ghazaliya Aid.
The medical operation in the Baghdad neighborhood attracted nearly 200 residents, who were treated for a variety of medical conditions.
Link to Full Article
by Anita Powell, Stars and Stripes
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — Spc. Kenneth Cross was a tall, lanky 21-year-old soldier who dreamed of getting out of the Army and starting a family with his young bride.
Pfc. Daniel Dolan, 19, loved apple-flavored chewing tobacco and talked incessantly of his snowboarding exploits and what he described as “the only girlfriend I need”: his Subaru STi sports car.
On Sunday, both were killed in a complex, coordinated attack in northwestern Baghdad.
Link to Full Article
The Herald News
Sgt. Joseph J. Antole of Lockport wanted to teach his son about the importance of life and its choices.
That's one of the reasons he joined the U.S. Army, to make something out of his life and lead by example, doing something positive with his life.
Antole enlisted in 2002. He is assigned to Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade.
Link to Full Article
By Patrick J. McDonnell and Louise Roug
Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq - As they patrol the streets of the troubled Ash-Shulah neighborhood, the troops of Charlie Company seek out tormentors and guardians: Sunni Arab insurgents who come to kill in this largely Shiite enclave, and Shiite militiamen who protect residents while doing their killing in adjoining Sunni districts.
This is the sinister grid of today's Baghdad, a capital divided along sectarian lines and bearing little relation to the relatively tolerant metropolis it used to be.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
SPC Kenneth M. Cross, 21, of Superior, Wisconsin died during combat operations August 27, in Baghdad, Iraq, when his Stryker Vehicle came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. Cross was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his loved ones. Articles will be added to this entry as we find them.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
PFC Daniel G. Dolan, 19, of Roy, Utah died during combat operations August 27, in Baghdad, Iraq, when his Stryker Vehicle came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. Dolan was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and fellow soldiers he leaves behind. We will add any subsequent articles we find to this entry.
Here is a new video of the 2-1 INF patrolling Baghdad and a photo gallery of the 4-23 INF, also in Baghdad.
DVIDS has a new gallery of photos showing many soldiers from the 5-20 INF being awarded the Brigade Combat Patch.
By Jason Kaye
Fort Lewis Northwest Guardian
FORT LEWIS, Wash. (Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2006) – A long wait is over for Stryker Mobile Gun System (MSG) crews of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
The 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, received its complement of MGS vehicles last month after more than a year of waiting. They are the first vehicles to be fielded in the Army.
The following article primarily describes the role of U.S. Special Forces in Iraq, but the 172nd's work with them in Mosul is mentioned as well.
Link to Full Article
By Linda Robinson, U.S. News & World Report
BALAD, IRAQ-One little-known aspect of the U.S. military operation in Iraq is that it involves the largest ongoing deployment of special operations forces since Vietnam. A total of 3,768 Special Forces,Navy SEALs, and Air Force combat controllers are scattered across the critical Euphrates and Tigris river valleys, from the Syrian border to Hilla and Kut in the south. They are partnered with one third of the Iraqi Army battalions and 13 SWAT-type police units. Speaking to U.S. News at his headquarters in Balad, Kenneth Tovo, the colonel in charge of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula, said his troops are using their specialized skills to complement the U.S. conventional forces' training in two ways. "One, they are working with battalion staffs to integrate intelligence and operations and teach them how to target," he said. "Two, they are training scout platoons to find and fix the enemy." Once the platoons are trained, the Americans advise them in combat. Navy SEAL teams who are partnered with Iraqi forces in Anbar province have seen intensive combat, as have the Americans advising the Baghdad-based Iraqi special ops forces.
The Ft. Lewis Ranger newspaper has published Hardt's latest column online - he is serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Baghdad. They also have a number of short updates from embedded reporter J.M. Simpson, who is now in Mosul.
Link to Full Article
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
It was harder for Army Sgt. Gabriel G. DeRoo to go to Iraq this time. He had a wife now, and a new son.
But he went. He had a profound sense of duty, and an abiding Christian faith that no matter what happened, God would take care of him, his wife and parents said.
This is another article by the same author that discusses the anticipated transition from the 4-14 CAV (172nd) to the 1-14 CAV (3/2). The transition did not go as planned due to events in Baghdad. Thanks to yellowtruck for the link.
Link to Full Article
By Sean D. Naylor, Army Times
AWAH and BAGHDAD, Iraq — The call to reinforce Baghdad with U.S. forces originally destined for Anbar province may be essential to restore order in the Iraqi capital, but it risks sacrificing gains paid for with American blood in the western province.
With sectarian violence spiraling out of control in Baghdad, Multi-National Forces-Iraq announced July 29 it was moving 3,700 troops from other locations in Iraq to reinforce units already in the capital.
The following is a portion of a very in-depth article regarding the efforts of 4-14 CAV, 172nd SBCT in Anah, Iraq. Click through for the entire piece. Thanks to Belinda for the link.
Link to Full Article
By Sean D. Naylor, Army Times
ANAH, Iraq — insurgents had freely waged a two-year reign of terror on this sleepy, affluent Sunni city of 30,000. They blew up the police station and chased out the nascent police force. They murdered the chairman of the city council and cowed the local populace.
Members of Jama’at Al Tawid Al Jihad, known as the JTJ or Group of Monotheism and Jihad — a branch of al-Qaida in Iraq — settled in. This city in central Anbar province came to serve as a convenient sanctuary and way station for fighters going southeast to the real action in Ramadi, Fallujah and Baghdad.
Winds of Change has published its weekly Iraq Report, with links to news and analysis of recent events.
Link to Full Article
SEAN COCKERHAM; The News Tribune
U.S. soldiers in Iraq have to operate in a culture where it’s legal and routine to own an AK-47, family honor is restored through revenge, and showing a boot sole could start a riot.
“Showing the bottom of your feet is the equivalent of giving someone the middle finger,” Yvonne Pawelek, a Fort Lewis culture specialist, told a group of soldiers last week.
Link to Full Article
By ROBERT BURNS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - In a lively but polite give-and-take, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fielded questions Saturday from wives and other family members of Alaska-based soldiers whose combat tours in Iraq were abruptly extended just as they prepared to return home this month.
"It is something we don't want to do," Rumsfeld told several hundred family members who gathered in a gymnasium at nearby Fort Wainwright, home of the 172nd Stryker Brigade. The unit's deployment to Iraq was extended by up to four months to bolster U.S. firepower in the Baghdad area.
Written by Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel, 363rd MPAD
BAGHDAD – As part of Operation Together Forward, Iraqi army soldiers and Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s Company C, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, mounted a combined operation and conducted a cordon and search mission Sunday in the Baghdad neighborhood of Ghazaliyah in an effort to decrease terrorist activity and protect law-abiding residents.
Starting before dawn and continuing through the early afternoon, the Soldiers systematically searched houses along neighborhood blocks, taking care to respect Iraqi customs and property along the way.
Link to Full Article
By Anita Powell, Stars and Stripes
CAMP STRIKER, Iraq — For some of the American troops whose Iraq tour has been extended in a new attempt to secure Baghdad, saying goodbye a second time was the hardest part.
Earlier this week, about 200 soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team — many of them pulled back three weeks to two months after redeploying to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, and others who stayed in Iraq throughout — gathered under the boiling Iraqi sun to hear brigade commander Col. Michael Shields talk about their extended tour.
BAGHDAD — During a press conference Aug. 23, Iraqi and Coalition leaders discussed a recent combined operation in Baghdad’s Shulla, Nur and Ghazaliyah neighborhoods that resulted in a sharp decrease in levels of violence in the area and paved the way for improved essential services.
Brig. Gen. Jaleel, commander, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and Col. Michael Shields, commander, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, highlighted the joint nature of the 10-day operation - in support of Operation Together Forward - as well as the relationship between Iraqi and Coalition forces and the people of Ghazaliyah.
The Ft. Lewis Ranger newspaper website, Blog-Ah!, has a number of new items from J.M. Simpson featuring the 3/2 SBCT (Cleaning up Iraq, Photos from Baghdad, More 'shout outs' from Baghdad). Simpson has been embedded with elements of the brigade in Baghdad, but will be traveling to Mosul soon to join the main force there. If you haven't already, bookmark the site and check in regularly for his articles while he is there.
Multi-National Force-Iraq
Iraqi Police and Task Force Band of Brothers' Soldiers thwarted a terrorist attack against a Mosul police station Wednesday.
The attack began with a terrorist, dressed as a police officer, approached the gate to the police station and detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and wounding six police officers.
Immediately following the explosion, two other masked terrorists attempted to attack the station with small arms fire. Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division quickly identified and engaged the gunmen, killing both.
The wounded police officers were transported to a nearby coalition medical facility.
Written by Sgt. 1st Class Steven Petibone, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq (18 August, 2006) -Less than a month after the 101st Airborne Division assisted with the turn-over of Forward Operating Base Courage to the newly elected government of Iraq, the 101st authorized removal of cement barriers that closed off a portion of access roadway to the former coalition forces operating base.
Under cover of darkness, the 18th Engineer Battalion removed nearly 65 barriers along a two-lane highway that will now give citizens of the Mosul area direct access to the newly acquired property.
Written by Spc. L.C. Campbell, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq (August 18, 2006) – The Downed Aircraft Recovery Team rehearsed and synchronized procedures to recover critically damaged aircrafts at Forward Operating Base Diamondback, Mosul, Iraq.
The DART consists of the Company B, 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 1-10th Aviation, 352nd Corps Support Battalion, 706th Explosive Ordinance Disposal, and security elements from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
The DVIDS site contains two recent photo galleries with images of the 172nd.
Gallery 4569 - 172nd SBCT Leaders Discuss Operations
Gallery 4557 - IA and 172nd SBCT Conduct Joint Operations (4-23 IN)
UPDATE: The MNF-Iraq site also has three recent 172nd photos (one, two, three).
By Staff Sgt. Carmen L. Burgess
FAIRBANKS, Ala. (Army News Service, Aug. 24, 2006) – Though the hardships of being deployed to a combat zone are difficult for Soldiers, the families left behind may experience even greater challenges. Add uncertainty and unpredictability to the equation and things can get that much tougher – just ask families of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
The unit’s tour in Iraq was unexpectedly extended last month, just two weeks before their scheduled redeployment date.
“We aren’t thrilled about our husbands remaining over there, but we’re going to deal with it,” said Bridget Babbitt, whose husband is in Fort Richardson’s 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. “We are proud of all the things they’re doing and we understand why they are over there.”
Link to Full Article
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Stryker soldiers from Fort Lewis are patrolling new territory in some of Baghdad's toughest neighborhoods, but they're also running down Iraqi insurgents in some old familiar places in Mosul.
The 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division has two battalions' worth of troops – about 1,400 in all – in the capital as part of the big security sweep under way there.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who
was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Gabriel G. DeRoo, 25, of Paw Paw, Mich., died on Aug. 20 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries suffered when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. DeRoo was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the loved ones he leaves behind. We will add any articles we find to this entry.
This entry will remain in top today - please scroll down for other news.
Link to Full Article
By Ross Colvin
BAGHDAD, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Militias blamed for much of the sectarian violence that has pitched Iraq towards civil war may have melted back into the population to escape a major security crackdown, a U.S. military commander acknowledged on Wednesday.
"The militias are within the people. They blend in with the people. It is very difficult to identify them when they lay down their arms," Colonel Michael Shields told reporters in Baghdad.
J.M. Simpson of The Ft. Lewis Ranger newspaper shares numerous greetings from 3/2 SBCT soliders to their loved ones back home. Stop by and see if your soldier is among them. He also has a new photo up.
Blog-Ah! has published its weekly column from David Hardt, a solider serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Baghdad.
By Sgt. 1st Class Reginald Rogers
CAB PAO, 4th Inf. Div.
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – A team of pilots from 1st and 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, conducted multiple air integration training sessions with the Soldiers of two Stryker Battalions now stationed at Camp Taji.
An HH-60 Medical Evacuation helicopter crew chief assigned to Company C, 2nd Bn., 4th Avn. Regt., and one of the unit’s pilots, demonstrated the proper way to load a patient onto the aircraft for Soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
by Spc Yolanda Moreno Leon
138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq –Military Transition Teams at Forward Operating Base Spear, Mosul, Iraq, are continuing their training of Iraqi Army officers and mentoring them in how to run daily operations of a Brigade.
The MITT is there to assist the IA so that when Coalition Forces leave Iraq the IA will be able to function on their own.
by Sgt. 1st Class Steven Petibone
138th MPAD
QARA QOSH, Iraq -- The women’s center in Qara Qosh is a positive sign-post along the road of Iraq’s emerging democratic government.
The center’s goal is to teach domestic and community skills to the women of Qara Qosh and the surrounding areas.
by Spc. L.C. Campbell
138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, lead the way during a medical screening that took place in the Asad neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq Aug. 15.
U.S. Forces have been preparing for a solid transition an area of responsibility to the IA. Part of the transition is getting the IA to interact with the local populace, and one good way of doing this is to conduct a medical screening.
by Spc Yolanda Moreno Leon
138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers with the assistance of 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, conducted a joint raid in Hamam Al Alil, Iraq looking for known insurgents, hoping to catch them when they are tucked into their beds, fast asleep.
Most insurgent activity happens during daylight hours, so the IA wanted to use the element of surprise, and catch them off guard.
(MNF-I Press Release)
BAGHDAD — Iraqi and Coalition forces this week began witnessing the positive results of their efforts to secure Baghdad and improve quality of life here.
Since Amaliya Ma’an ila Al-Amam or Operation Together Forward began July 9, combined forces have killed 97 and detained 501 terrorists associated with death squads, and seized more than 59 weapons and munitions caches in the process.
Link to Full Article
By MELANTHIA MITCHELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- Thousands of miles from the roadside bombs of Iraq, small groups of soldiers hunker down in cream-colored cubicles as instructors guide them through nuances of Arabic and the dos and don'ts of Iraqi culture.
The classroom education has become just as important as weapons training for all levels of U.S. military personnel - from intelligence officers to medics - who are expected to interact daily with citizens of the war-ravaged country.
Kirk H. Sowell at Threats Watch has an in depth analysis of recent operations in Baghdad. Excerpt:
Once U.S. and Iraqi forces have swept an area, it will be up to Iraqi national police to maintain order. According to MNF-I, Iraqi Interior Ministry forces, considered the national police, have reached 92 percent of the intended strength of 188,000, and are 90 percent trained and 83 percent equipped. Of those areas of Baghdad outside the control of the government, some are controlled by Sunni jihadists, some by Shi’a militia cells, and some are subject to total chaos. It will now be up to U.S. and Iraqi troops to lock down these neighborhoods one by one, and Iraqi police will then have to hold them. Their mettle will be verified soon.
Blog-Ah! published a new article describing recent operations of the 1-23 INF, 3/2 SBCT in Baghdad.
By Spc. Dale Sweetnam
Fort Wainwright PAO
FT WAINWRIGHT (Army News Service, Aug. 18, 2006) -- When the extension of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team to Iraq was announced, the Department of the Army responded by deploying a Tiger Team to Fort Wainwright to begin working Soldier and family issues.
The Tiger team got down to business Aug. 4 and worked long hours before leaving last weekend. While at Fort Wainwright, the Tiger Team confronted a variety of issues affecting deployed Soldiers and their families.
(MNF-Iraq Press Release)
BAGHDAD – Soldiers from 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, detained two suspected terrorists and seized a large weapons cache in a warehouse during a search of Nur and Ghazalyia today in support of Operation Together Forward.
The weapons and munitions seized included 272 120mm mortar rounds, 212 82mm mortar rounds, 99 60mm mortar rounds, 33,800 14.5mm rounds, 5,000 7.62 rounds, 90 5.56 rounds, 165 19mm rounds, 104 rocket-propelled grenades, 240 23mm rockets, 200 60mm primers, 22 107mm rockets, nine 069B rockets, 11 RPG rounds, two landmines, a .30caliber shape charge, a crater charge, 11 fragmentation grenades, a machine gun, two AK-47s, a PKC machine gun, an RPK machine gun, two 14mm machine guns, 20 full AK-47 magazines, ammunition drums, various loose ammunition, 5,000 feet of detonation cord, three bayonets, five 82mm tubes, four 60mm tubes, three 60mm mortar bipods, four 81mm mortar bipods, two 60mm mortar bases, an 81mm base, two land mines, an 81mm mortar base, an aiming circle, two aiming poles, 54 rocket motors and various bomb-making materials.
Link to Full Article
Tom Philpott, Military.com
By July 26, Jennifer Flower had resigned from her civilian job at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. With her husband, Army SSgt. Brian Flower, expected home within days after a tough year in Mosul, Iraq, Jennifer planned to welcome him home and then to pack for reassignment to Fort Knox, Ky.
That morning, however, Jennifer heard a news report that shocked her. The 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Brian’s unit, might see its year-long combat tour extended for up to 120 days.
Link to Full Article
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – The most important thing military leaders can offer their people is an up-front assessment of what they're facing, as exemplified by the way the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team's leaders informed the troops about their extension in Iraq, DoD's top enlisted adviser told American Forces Press Service.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared his thoughts after returning from Alaska, home of the "Arctic Wolves."
The Defense Department announced July 27 that the brigade, which was in the midst of wrapping up its 12-month deployment in Iraq, would remain up to four additional months. The announcement came two days after President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed to send more U.S. and Iraqi troops to Baghdad to curb sectarian violence.
Link to Full Article
Daily News-Miner
Members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Iraq will return to Fort Wainwright by mid-December, according to a letter from Army Secretary Francis Harvey.
“The extension is for up to 120 days with the main body elements of the BCT now scheduled to return by mid-December 2006,” Harvey said in an Aug. 11 letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
Murkowski released the letter Wednesday.
Link to Full Article
By Louise Roug, LA Times
BAGHDAD — Sweating through their uniforms, Capt. Ed Matthaidess and his men hunted through the heart of this Shiite neighborhood. In 120-degree heat, they spent six hours searching drawers and sewers alike. By the end of the day, their afternoon search had yielded slim pickings: four AK-47s and a tiny green water pistol.
While Matthaidess and his Charlie Company were searching Shula in northwest Baghdad this week, other troops built concrete walls around a Sunni neighborhood to the south. Both actions were part of a stepped-up effort by 12,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops to stem sectarian bloodshed in the capital.
Link to Full Article
By Ross Colvin
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops are patrolling the streets in some Baghdad neighbourhoods on foot in a new bid to win the trust of Iraqis, an unusual sight for many residents more used to seeing them travel in armoured vehicle convoys.
Taking a more personal approach to Iraqis long critical of heavy handed tactics is part of the strategy aimed at reclaiming Baghdad's most dangerous neighbourhoods from insurgents and easing communal strife.
Thousands of U.S. reinforcements have arrived in Baghdad in recent weeks to join a crackdown by U.S. and Iraqi forces on worsening sectarian violence between once-dominant minority Sunnis and majority Shi'ites in the city.
The DVIDS site has several new photo galleries of the 3/2 SBCT operating in both the Mosul and Baghdad areas.
Gallery 4404 - Stryker Moves Through Abu Dasheer (1-14 CAV)
Gallery 4414 - 3/2 SBCT Assumes Command from 172nd SBCT
Gallery 4443 - Operation Together Forward Continues (1-14 CAV)
Gallery 4453 - Checking Wheat Bins and Bridges
Gallery 4454 - 5-20th Raids Hamim Al Alil in Search of Insurgents
The DVIDS site contains two recent image galleries with photos of the 172nd SBCT while they were still in Mosul.
Gallery 4332 - Soldiers Practice Fire on Range (2-1 INF)
Gallery 4414 - 3/2 SBCT Assumes Command from 172nd SBCT
Link to Full Article
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
About 550 Fort Lewis soldiers set out by bus Monday to join crews fighting the nation’s largest active wildfire.
The Tripod Complex fire near Winthrop has burned more than 83,400 acres in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, officials said Monday.
That’s about the size of Fort Lewis, where the soldiers of “Task Force Blaze” spent Sunday learning firefighting basics before leaving Monday for Winthrop in north-central Washington.
Written by Sgt. 1st Class Steven Petibone, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq - Rising seven-stories over Forward Operating Base Diamondback, Mosul, Iraq, is a newly constructed, state-of-the-art Mosul Airfield airport control tower.
The new control tower replaces the out of date World War II-era, four-story control tower constructed by the British.
Written by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, 138 MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq - Military personnel stationed at Forward Operating Base Diamondback, Mosul, Iraq had a rare opportunity to meet with the sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Aug. 13.
Gen. Peter Pace thanked the service members present for their service and sacrifices and for what they have accomplished in Iraq.
Written by Sgt. 1st Class Steven Petibone, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq - The 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team continues where 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team left off by driving in Mosul on a community engagement patrol.
During their patrol, they inspected a grain processing plant and an adjoining graveled-ravine for suspected weapons caches and handed out information flyers of suspected insurgents to the grain plant employees and Mosul citizens.
Written by by Spc. L.C. Campbell, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq - Leadership from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division met to discuss the areas of operations with the commander of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army (IA) Division, Aug. 11, in Mosul, Iraq.
Brig. Gen. Noor Aldeen, commander, 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division and Col. Steve Townsend, commander, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team 2nd Infantry Division, talked about two important things that Aldeen expressed concern about. They were IA Soldier retention in 2nd Battalion, and maintenance for the humvees that were donated to the IA by U.S. Forces.
Finally some news from the 3/2 SBCT.
Link to Full Article
By Ross Colvin
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - "Take cover!" yelled Captain Ryan Nystrom as gunshots rang out.
The leader of the 14th U.S. Cavalry "Crazy Horse" platoon and his men crouched behind a low wall, trying to figure out where the two "pop pop" sounds had come from. A minute later, they heard the low boom of an explosion somewhere nearby.
Link to Full Article
By LISA DEMER, Anchorage Daily News
More than 300 soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade who returned to Alaska earlier this summer after a year of war duty are being shipped back to Iraq, this time to the dangerous capital of Baghdad.
They'll rejoin thousands of troops from their Alaska-based brigade who learned last month that their tour was being extended just as they were preparing to come home.
Link to Full Article
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
A beefed-up American and Iraqi force continued to press into western Baghdad neighborhoods on Monday, pushing ahead in the effort dubbed “Operation Together Forward.”
Coordinated operations targeting the Shula and Ameriyah neighborhoods of the capital included searches of thousands of homes and sweeps through business districts. “Security in Baghdad is the top priority for everyone working in Operation Together Forward. We continue to work very closely with Iraqi security forces in a major effort to clear this area of terrorists and death squads,” Col. Robert Scurlock, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, was quoted in an Army news release.
Iraqi and U.S. forces “are working side by side every day to increase security in Baghdad and help the Iraqi people return to a more normal domestic life.”
The operations include troops from the 1st AD; the U.S. Army’s 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team; the Iraqi army’s 1st and 5th Brigades, 6th Army Division; and the 5th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi National Police Division.
The Ft. Lewis Ranger has published its weekly article from soldier David Hardt, who is currently serving in Baghdad with the 3/2 SBCT.
Link to Full Article
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- About 300 Alaska-based soldiers sent home from Iraq just before their unit's deployment was extended last month must now go back, the Army said Monday, setting up a wrenching departure for troops and families who thought their service there was finished.
The soldiers - all from the 172nd Stryker Brigade - are among the 380 troops who had gotten home to Fort Wainwright when Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ordered the unit to serve four more months. The remaining 80 will not have to return to Iraq.
Link to Full Article
Kamryn Jaroszewski, Fort Richardson Public Affairs Office.
I wrote a commentary recently about my husband’s upcoming third deployment. In that article, I referred to him as a hero.
When he read it, he zeroed in on that word and said I was wrong, that he wasn’t a hero – just another Soldier doing what he was told to do.
I explained to him my reasons for describing him a hero: because he was able to leave his family and step foot on a plane when he knew he may not come back. Because he was one of the people who volunteered to do that. Because he saw a cause bigger than him, and wanted to do his part of it. But above all, because he wanted to continue the line of military service started in his family four generations ago.[...]
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD – The Coalition commander responsible for operations in the Iraqi capital is optimistic about what he has seen since operations to quell sectarian violence here started.
Army Maj. Gen. James Thurman, commander of Multi-National Division-Baghdad, said forces have been concentrating on four major hot spots.
Link to Full Article
By ROBINSON DUFFY, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Welcome home signs still line the main road on Fort Wainwright, though certainly not as many as crowded the fences the last few weeks, before it was announced the Stryker Brigade would not be coming home as early as planned.
The families on base have been coming to terms with the news and gradually taking the signs down.
Link to Full Article
By ROBERT BURNS AP Military Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The new push by U.S. and Iraqi forces to reverse a rising tide of violence in Baghdad will target four violent "hotspots" in the city, the American general in charge of the plan said Saturday.
Those parts of the city have experienced frequent kidnappings, suicide bombings and revenge killings by Shiites and Sunnis.
Tracey Murray, Fort Wainwright PAO
When Capt. James Mitchell missed his daughter’s first birthday on Oct. 29, 2005, it was expected because the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team left a few months earlier for Iraq.
But missing their daughter’s second birthday has come as a complete surprise to the family, especially his wife Kellie.
Families of forts Wainwright and Richardson are going through similar situations.
The US Army Alaska has published new resources for families regarding the extension. Included in the documents is a copy of a letter from COL Ball than can be used in your efforts to get refunds for travel expenses.
The DVIDS Image Gallery 4320 contains 30 new photos of the 3/2 SBCT in Mosul, Iraq.
Image Gallery 4330 contains 16 more photos.
Link to Full Article
ABC News
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 8, 2006 — Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the commanding general of the multinational forces in Iraq, had the difficult duty today of telling 3,700 soldiers who had expected to be heading home that they were going to have to stay in Iraq a while longer.
ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz, continuing her reports from Baghdad, was with the general when he broke the news to the troops.
Stop by Blog-Ah, the website for Ft. Lewis Ranger newspaper, and meet J.M. Simpson, the photojournalist who will be embedding with the 3/2 SBCT very shortly.
Link to Full Article
SEAN COCKERHAM; The News Tribune
The Stryker brigade from Fort Lewis assumed responsibility for military operations in Mosul on Saturday, just hours after joining in fierce fighting in the northern Iraqi city.
Troops from 3rd Brigade, 2nd infantry Division took over from an Alaska-based Stryker unit that had been set to go home but has since moved south to help stabilize Baghdad.
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By Rawya Rageh, Associated Press
BAGHDAD — U.S. soldiers sent to reinforce security in Baghdad were seen for the first time on the streets of the capital as Iraqi police used loudspeakers to reassure people that the Americans were there to protect them. [...]
With Sunni-Shiite killings on the rise, about 3,700 soldiers of the Army’s 172nd Stryker Brigade were sent from northern Iraq to bolster U.S. and Iraqi security forces that were struggling to contain the violence in Baghdad.
Please follow the link below for photos and contact information.
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WCPO News
Eight months after returning from Iraq, a Hamilton, Ohio, Army sergeant has gone missing.
Garry Jones, 24, was last seen leaving his apartment last Saturday morning, driving a late 1980's maroon Chevrolet Cavalier.
Winds of Change has published its weekly Iraq Report, with links to news and analysis of recent events.
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By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — The 2nd Cavalry Regiment’s newly arrived Stryker armored personnel carriers are the stars of the show at the 49th German-American Volksfest expected to draw 70,000 people here this weekend.
Several variants of the Stryker are on display alongside a range of German military hardware at the festival, which started Friday and ends Sunday at Grafenwöhr’s Camp Kasserine.
MOSUL, Iraq -- Mosul police officers and Iraqi soldiers defeated a complex attack by terrorists in eastern Mosul Friday morning. The attack included a suicide bomber using a vehicle-borne improvided explosive device, several IEDs and small arms fire.
The Iraqi Security Forces were led by the Iraqi police officers and supported by Iraqi Army soldiers from 1st Battalion, 4thnd Iraqi Army Division. Additionally, Coalition Forces Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 2nd Infantry Division (Arrowhead Brigade) responded to the attack in support of the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army.
MOSUL, Iraq – The 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team handed over operations in Mosul and other surrounding areas in the Ninewa Province to the 3rd SBCT, 2nd Infantry Division in a transfer of authority ceremony held at Forward Operating Base Marez today.
The Soldiers of the 172nd SBCT were deployed here last August and have since conducted more than 15,000 missions collectively including cordon and searches, combat patrols, counter mortar and rocket missions, raids, escort missions and humanitarian aid throughout Dohuk and Ninewa and Irbil provinces.
Yahoo! News has a handful of photos of Stryker vehicles operating in Baghdad (one, two, three, four, five). It is unclear whether these are vehicles from the 172nd or the 3/2 SBCT. The common caption is as follows:
U.S. military Stryker vehicles move in a convoy down a main highway in a Sunni populated area in Baghdad August 5, 2006. Several Stryker vehicles were seen Saturday in Baghdad's mostly Sunni neighborhood of Ghazaliyah, where Iraqi police used loudspeakers to encourage residents to go about their business and reopen shops because the additional troops were there to protect them. As part of a campaign to curb sectarian violence in Baghdad, the U.S. Army transferred 3,700 soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade from northern Iraq to the capital to reinforce U.S. and Iraqi security forces. REUTERS/Asaad Mouhsin/pool (IRAQ)
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By SINAN SALAHEDDIN Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. reinforcements sent to Baghdad to help quell sectarian violence and clamp down on other attacks took up positions in a restive neighborhood Saturday, while two bombs at a market northeast of the city wounded eight people.
The 3,700 soldiers of the Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade moved in from the northern city of Mosul to bolster U.S. and Iraqi security forces already in the city.
Several Stryker armored fighting vehicles were seen Saturday in Baghdad's mostly Sunni neighborhood of Ghazaliyah in the western part. Iraqi police used loudspeakers to encourage residents to go about their business and reopen shops because the troops were there to protect them.[...]
Michael Yon has published a very moving tribute to 1SG Michael J. Bordelon on his Frontline Forum. Bordelon was a member of the 1-24 INF, 1/25 SBCT who died in May 2005 from wounds received in Iraq. The tribute was written by Michael Cutrone, a lifelong friend of Bordelon.
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by Sgt. Sara Wood, American Forces Press Service
The Army is taking significant steps to ensure Soldiers and families of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team are taken care of now that the unit's deployment to Iraq has been extended four months.
U.S. Army, Alaska leaders are working with higher headquarters to ensure support programs, including financial compensation and personnel support, are available to the Soldiers, Army and Defense Department officials said.
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Joe Wolfcale
Charlotte Blumenberg stared blankly at the oblong table in the family's San Anselmo home graced with mementos of her 22-year-old son, John, a U.S. Army specialist in Iraq.
There were precisely painted Army figurines, a stack of photographs from the war-torn region, a closeup of the cherub face of John's newborn daughter Lillian, and a handwritten letter professing his love of flyfishing.
We wanted to share the following note from Lisa, one of our regular visitors.
I just wanted to let you know about a connection between the USA Basketball Team and the US Army ...
If you go to www.nba.com/usabasketball you will notice a few articles addressing the US Army's involvement with the USA Basketball team. There are several videos (Military Hero Stops By and US Army Visits Practice) as well as a story (A Meaningful Message) that highlights Col Robert Brown, and several 1/25th soldiers injured in Iraq - Captin Scott Smiley, Captain DJ Skelton and SGT Christain Steele.
Also, I wanted to let you know another connection ... each of the basketball players wears a US Flag on the back of their warmups ... Thru a connection with Col. Brown and the Head Coach Krzyzewski, families of fallen Soldiers with the 1/25 & 1/24th were contacted and asked if they would be willing to allow a team member to wear a flag (the actual flag from a uniform worn by the fallen Soldier) on their uniform ~ as a way to honour their sacrifice and to show pride and respect for all those who serve our country. Each family shared a personal message and photos of their Soldier, which were then handed out to each of the players. The players now carry a personal connection to the Fallen Hero that their flag represents.
I personally know that my nephew, SGT Adam J. Plumondore is represented by one of the players, as well as SGT Benjamin "Rat" Morton and SPC Clinton R. Gertson. I don't know if this information is on the web page, but I would be happy to find out more information about which Hero is connected to which player if that would be helpful.
In light of all the heartbreaking news of late, I just though it might be something "positive" to share the Teams connection with our Soldiers.
Lisa
by Spc. Rich Vogt, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq -- On a bright and clear morning in July, members of the Police Transition Team in Mosul, Iraq sized up the aspiring Iraqi policemen to determine who would be the chosen ones.
“The first group of guys we train, we’re going to teach to be the trainers,” said Mark Allain, Iraqi Police Liaison Officer from Fort Worth, Texas. “So we’re going to work extra hard with them.”
by Spc. L.C. Campbell, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq – The tranquil atmosphere of the 47th Combat Support Hospital at Forward Operating Base Diamondback, Mosul, Iraq, was shaken to life by the blast of an improvised explosive device that detonated just outside Tikrit, Iraq, in the early hours of morning Aug. 1.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. in Salah Ad Din Province, an Iraqi Army convoy was heading from Al Kisik to Taji when a bus full of IA Soldiers was hit by an IED. There were 17 deaths from the blast and 27 Soldiers were injured. Ten of those Soldiers were air lifted to the 47th CSH.
by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, 138th MPAD
DABASHA, Iraq – With the assistance of the 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion stationed on Forward Operating Base Marez, Mosul, Iraq, the residents of Dabasha, Iraq, now have a new water well to drink clean water out of.
Restoring essential services and insuring the basic needs of Iraqis are met is one of the goals of Coalition Forces. Clean, accessible water is another step towards sanitary and stable living for the Iraqi people. It will assist in increasing the confidence the Iraqis have in their government.
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By Sean D. Naylor
BAGHDAD — The extension to the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team’s Iraq deployment has sown chaos in the personal lives of many soldiers in the brigade’s cavalry squadron and imposed tremendous logistical burdens on the unit, problems that could have been avoided, soldiers say, if only the Defense Department had given them a little more warning.
The 172nd deployed to Iraq in August 2005 and the bulk of the unit was due to return to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, early this month. But the Pentagon announced July 27 that it was extending the 172nd’s deployment for up to 120 days and moving the unit to Baghdad to counter the worsening violence in the Iraqi capital.
Here are several recent photos of the 172nd SBCT conducting operations in northern Iraq that were posted on Army Images.(one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven)
The Ft. Lewis Ranger newspaper blog will feature a weekly dispatch from a soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Iraq. This week's entry is titled Operation Fly a Kite.
As a reminder, the newspaper will be sending a reporter to Iraq later this month to cover the 3/2 SBCT.
Here are two photo essays from July, 2006 of the 172nd SBCT in Mosul. Some photos also include members of the 3/2 SBCT.
Early Morning Raid
Monitoring the Streets in Mosul
by Spc. Yolanda Moreno Leon
138th MPAD
SYKES, Iraq – Company B, 403rd Civil Affairs out of Mattydale, NY, in conjunction with Takhil Qaffem Hassum, Mayor of Sinjar, have remodeled a maternity ward in the Tal-Banat community.
“The CA Team requested bids from multiple Iraqi contractors for the construction that needs to be completed,” said Captain Steven Zimmerle, Civil Affairs Team Chief, Co B, 403rd CA, and native of Eau Claire, MI. “We found this contractor by word of mouth.”
by Sgt. 1st Class Steven B. Petibone
138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq – Stryker brigade combat teams and civil affairs teams are conducting medical screenings in Mosul, Iraq.
Members of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Lewis, Wash., are ‘learning the ropes’ from their departing comrades, the 172nd SBCT from Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
This article is likely a couple weeks old, but was released by public affairs just yesterday.
by Spc. L.C. Campbell, 138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq – Soldiers from 3rd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team visited an orphanage in Mosul, Iraq July 10, bringing gifts for the children.
During a regular patrol through the city, 3rd Plt. stopped at a local orphanage to drop off soccer balls and other gifts that were donated. Some of the donations came from Forward Operating Base Marez and other donations were made by individuals back in the states.
by Brian Speach
Mosul, Iraq - Coalition Forces have a new weapon in their arsenal to fight insurgents, the Motorola.
Motorola and Lucent Technologies have designed an emergency response system called Advanced First Responder Network, to aid coalition forces in the fight against insurgents, as well as giving the citizens a way to call for police, fire and ambulance emergencies.
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By Matthew Cox, Army Times
Commanders in Iraq recently ordered about 1,400 Stryker soldiers to deploy from their base in Mosul to Baghdad as part of an effort to quell violence in the Iraqi capital.
Fort Lewis, Wash., spokesman Joe Hitt confirmed today that the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment and the 1st Squadron, 14 Cavalry Regiment are currently in the Baghdad area.
The units are part of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (SBCT). The Fort Lewis based unit recently deployed to Iraq to replace its sister Stryker outfit, the 172nd Brigade (SBCT).
Congratulations to those of you who persisted and hopefully contributed to this decision. Perhaps other airlines will follow suit.
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Anchorage Daily News
Alaska Airlines will refund tickets to travelers whose plans are postponed because of the 172nd Stryker Brigade's extended deployment, officials with the airline said Monday.
Officials said the company would refund tickets for family members and friends who had planned to travel to Alaska to greet returning troops. Troops and families who planned vacations that now must be delayed also can get refunds, said Linda Douglass, spokeswoman for Fort Wainwright. [...]
To arrange airfare refunds, customers are encouraged to call the Stryker Family Assistance Center at 1-800-352-9013 or 1-907-353-4458.
