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By Leila Fujimori, Honolulu Star Bulletin
A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Army can resume Stryker training at Schofield Barracks and at Kahuku Training Area, citing a need to prepare soldiers for their deployment to Iraq next year.
"The public interest lies on both sides of this dispute," U.S. District Judge David Ezra said in his ruling. "This court has profound respect for the cultural history of Hawaii and its unique environmental resources," he said. "However in this Court's view, there are few things that are more important than the lives of those men and women who serve in the armed forces."
By JOSEPH ROBERTIA, Peninsula Clarion
KENAI, Alaska (AP) - They say it takes more than just strength, courage and determination to be a soldier. It also takes an indelible resolve in the face of adversity, which a soldier from Nikiski proved he had this past year.
Chris Bauer, 23, of Nikiski, was seriously injured in April when a suicide bomber detonated himself near Bauer while he was on foot out of his Stryker vehicle as part of a dismounted patrol in Rawah, Iraq.
By: Arnie Harris, Bradford County Telegraph
While driving down S.R. 21 in Keystone, you may have noticed welcome home signs for Army Sergeant Christopher Glasgow at such locations as Mallard's, Johnny's Bar-B-Q, Ace Hardware, AMVETS and others.
A reluctant hero if there ever were one, Glasgow, who arrived home from Iraq on Christmas morning, had this as just another factor to add to his embarrassment over being made such a fuss over.
Arthur McQueen, Army News Service
Grafenwoehr, Germany -- Mud, rain and cold challenge every Soldier who trains here. But as troops from the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment from Vilseck challenged themselves, moving from individual to platoon-level live fire training, they proved that U.S. Army, Europe's newest has what it takes to overcome anything "the Box" at the Joint Multinational Training Command can bring.
Following several months of staff planning, individual and squad training, the Stryker Soldiers, many of whom are new to the Army, spent several weeks practicing for the Dec. 13 day and night platoon-level defensive maneuvers, followed up with a counterattack, all supported by mortar fire integral to the unit.
By Maj. Sean J. Ryan 2nd BCT, 2nd Inf. Div. PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – It’s not unusual for Soldiers
of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division to receive daily mortar fire or hear
the explosions of detonating devices outside the walls of this small compound located
within Sadr City, but receiving three distinguished visitors in one week is out of the
ordinary.
The distinguished guests included Gen. George W. Casey, the commanding
general of Multi-National Force-Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commanding
general of Multi-National Corps-Iraq and Brig. Gen. John F. Campbell, the deputy
commanding general-maneuver for Multi-National Division – Baghdad. Casey visited on
Christmas morning, with Campbell coming in later that night. Odierno visited the FOB
six days prior.
2nd BCT, 2nd Inf. Div. Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team and the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division wrapped up an operation in the eastern Baghdad district of New Baghdad Dec. 28.
The four-day operation, meant to disrupt insurgent activity in the area, resulted in the capture of 13 suspected insurgents and killing one more. The detained suspects are in U.S. military custody for questioning.
WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Many of the American soldiers trying to quell sectarian killings in Baghdad don't appear to be looking for reinforcements. They say the temporary surge in troop levels some people are calling for is a bad idea.
President Bush is considering increasing the number of troops in Iraq and embedding more U.S. advisers in Iraqi units. White House advisers have indicated Bush will announce his new plan for the war before his State of the Union address Jan. 23.
In dozens of interviews with soldiers of the Army's 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment as they patrolled the streets of eastern Baghdad, many said the Iraqi capital is embroiled in civil warfare between majority Shiite Muslims and Sunni Arabs that no number of American troops can stop.
By STEVE MARRONI, Daily Record
Dec 27, 2006 — Mary Bankert could not have asked for a better gift.
Her son is home for the holidays, and he's safe. On a stage in front of a gym full of singing and cheering elementary school students, her son, Sgt. Will Worthington, smiled ear-to-ear, pumped an American flag proudly in the air and wrapped an arm around her as she willed away the tears of joy.
And Worthington, 22, could not have asked for a better homecoming. He was just happy to see green grass.
By 2nd BCT, 2nd Inf. Div. PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team joined with the 3rd Brigade Stryker Team, both from the 2nd Infantry Division, in launching a joint operation on the east side of the Iraqi capital Dec. 24.
The operation, aimed at disrupting insurgent activity, marks the first time since the 1960s that the two of the 2nd Infantry Division have worked together.
By Spc. Nathan Hoskins, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI — It’s hard to believe that such a small aircraft could make such an awfully loud racket. But with all the noise of the unmanned aerial vehicle, comes help in the battle against the insurgency and sectarian violence that has been plaguing Iraq.
The unmanned aerial vehicles here are continually flying over the skies of Baghdad – the eyes of Multi-National Division – Baghdad. These UAVs stay airborne thanks to the “War Eagles,” Company E (provisional), 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq -- The sun was just beginning to rise, bringing a dim glow on a cold and clear Christmas morning in Baghdad, but the U.S. Army mission was late.
The Stryker armored vehicles were supposed to have rolled from Forward Operating Base Loyalty 11 minutes ago, at 6:30 a.m., yet soldiers were still milling about outside the green machines, shivering in bulletproof jackets and Kevlar helmets.
"Load up!" bellowed Jeffrey Huggins, battalion sergeant major for the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment.
Today will be a special Christmas for Army Spc. Julia Thompson of Whittier.
She started feeling it even as the jet bringing her home safely from 16 months in Iraq descended through the fog at LAX. As other passengers on the commercial flight stared at her, Thompson began weeping.
"Nobody knew what I was feeling," she said. The 21-year-old Whittier resident returned Dec. 15 after serving as the only woman in a military intelligence combat unit, first in Mozul and then in Baghdad. She served with the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Richardson in Fairbanks, Alaska.
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Pfc. John Alonzo knew Christmas would be his toughest time in Iraq . "Ever since I volunteered, I haven‘t been looking forward to it," said the 27-year-old, from Lubbock, Texas. "My son wants to know why I can‘t be home for the holidays. He doesn‘t understand that I can‘t just quit."
Although they did not know it, a roadside bomb in the same neighborhood had killed three U.S. soldiers the day before; a fourth died in an explosion in Diyala province east of the Iraqi capital.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Fort Lewis Stryker soldiers have a new mission to go with their new home-away-from-home in Baghdad.
Unlike the six other Army combat brigades in the city, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division won’t be tied to a neighborhood or district.
Instead the Strykers will be on call for emergencies across the country, and will be a “strike force” to respond to hot spots as they flare up around the Iraqi capital, the brigade commander said in a phone interview late last week.
Tim Doulin , THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Army 1 st Sgt. Juan Cornett was happy to be home after almost a year and a half in Iraq. It was a nice early Christmas gift, too, for his mother, Kathryn.
But both felt a bit of emptiness as they hugged at Port Columbus last night. Two of his brothers — her sons — are still in harm’s way.
By Jim Carney, Beacon Journal staff writer
A 21-year-old Cuyahoga Falls soldier wounded in a roadside bombing in Iraq on Dec. 3 expects that President Bush will visit him this week at his hospital room in Washington, D.C.
Adam P. Poppenhouse, who became a father while in Iraq, lost his right leg above the knee in the explosion. Doctors are working to save his left leg below the knee, said his mother, Kim Poppenhouse of Cuyahoga Falls.
(PressZoom) - JESSUP, MD
An enterprising U.S. Army Platoon Leader in Iraq sought out Dormia, the leading premium visco and latex bedding manufacturer, to help his troops by providing memory foam for their armored vehicles in Mosul, Iraq. Soon after receiving the unique request, Dormia contacted several of its key suppliers to donate specially cut memory foam for 12 of units operating in the same theatre. They are in the process of shipping the material now.
Platoon Leader and Second Lt. Steve Smith from Charlie Company, the 23rd Infantry based in Fort Lewis, Washington, became familiar with Dormia’s innovative visco-elastic memory foam as a potential solution to his troops’ sleep discomfort with the padding in their armored vehicles. Since Dormia’s visco-elastic memory foam is one of the most innovative temperature and pressure-sensitive products on the market, Lt. Smith hopes to enhance the effectiveness of his troops who cited ailments by the troops including frequent back pain, sciatic nerve problems and leg cramping.
By Cpl. Robert Yde 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
BAGHDAD – Soldiers from Troop C, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, uncovered a weapon cache at an abandoned home during a joint operation with members of the 1st Battalion, 6th Iraqi National Police Division in Abu Dishir Dec. 20.
“One of the NPs (Iraqi national police) was searching a room and found the weapons cache hidden in rice bags in a room,” said troop commander, Capt. Adam Grim.
The Soldiers and police officers found several rifles, a large amount of ammunition and explosives.
“It’s satisfying to find something,” Grim said. “It gets weapons off of the street and is a step in the right direction for the progress and transition to the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces).
By Eric Schwartzberg and Denise Wilson, Middletown Journal
LIBERTY TWP. — When Army Spc. Patrick Heitfeld arrived at his Squaw Valley Drive home on Wednesday evening after an 18-month tour — 16 of which were spent in Iraq — he was looking forward to a good night's sleep on his own waterbed.
"It's a lot better than the old, rusty spring bed," Heitfeld said of his sleeping arrangements in the Army.
Hours after the 2001 Lakota West High School graduate flew in from Alaska, he was relaxing on the living room couch surrounded by family and his grandmother's 12-year-old, long-haired Dachshund, Rudy.
Blog-Ah! has published the its latest column from David Hardt, a soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Baghdad.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Henry K. Kahalewai, 43, of Hilo, Hawaii, died Dec. 15 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, of wounds suffered Nov. 21 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Stryker vehicle. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends SSG Kahalewai leaves behind. Please check this entry for any additional articles we find.
Update 12/21/06: A memorial for SSG Kahalewai will be held Thursday, December 21, 2006 at 1:30 PM PST at the Main Post Chapel, Ft. Lewis.
By ERIC LIDJI, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska (AP) - Of the many handwritten signs lining the lattice fences of Fort Wainwright, one, written from a wife to her husband abroad, read, "If you can read this, I can finally breathe again."
With the last flight of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team - now known as the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team - arriving Tuesday morning, the friends and family members who had waited the longest could finally release their breath.
By Sgt. Thomas L. Day, 40th Public Affairs Detachment
SOUTHWEST ASIA— The finish line was just days away for the 172nd Stryker Brigade. Then, after twelve months in Iraq, they were told their tour would be extended.
Pfc. Kyle Exzabe was stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, with the 172nd rear-detachment, and he thought the deployed troops needed some help. Many of the Soldiers assigned to the brigade had already been redeployed and needed to return to Iraq. Exzabe wanted to go with them.
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD, Iraq – In the south-central portion of the capital city is the Al Doura neighborhood
where several elements of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division operate. Task
Force 1-14 is one of those elements. They’ve been working with the National Police force to
help calm rising tension between a divided populous.
The 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division has been working side-by-side with companies from the 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd
National Police Division since August.
Multi-National Corps – Iraq, Public Affairs Office
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Soldiers with the 5-20 Stryker
Battalion found success in another cordon and search against insurgents Dec. 17 in
eastern Baghdad.
The operation found six AK-47s with 13 magazines, two homemade zip guns,
one rocket-propelled grenade launcher with a bag of grenades, three improvised
explosive devices, one 9mm submachine gun with three magazines, one saber, one
brass knuckle/knife combination and one .22-caliber single shot rifle.
The raid also uncovered a computer and two gas masks with filters.
HONOLULU — The three Hawaiian groups whose lawsuit stopped Army Styker brigade training say they now feel significant portions of that training can continue.
While the groups have fought to halt training, they filed court documents to conclude that some Stryker activities won’t have an adverse environmental impact or diminish the possibility of moving the unit elsewhere.
But a previous court ruling still requires the Army to look at the merits of locating the $1.5 billion Stryker brigade somewhere other than Hawaii. A hearing before U.S. District Judge David Ezra is scheduled for Monday morning. [...]
Related Article:
Army argues for more Stryker training - Honolulu Advertiser
Indianapolis - The greatest of Christmas wishes came true for one Hoosier family Sunday. Corporal Derek Sutton of Greenwood reunited with his family after serving 16 months in war-torn Iraq.
There's no place like home for the Holidays, especially when it's been so long.
"He left Christmas Eve last year and that's the last time I saw him. So I am ready to give him a big hug and welcome him home," said Laura Sutton.
BAGHDAD, Iraq – A patrol from 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment detained one man and seized several weapons caches during a routine patrol here Dec 15.
An afternoon patrol of the Hadar neighborhood in southeast Baghdad observed a man throwing an AK-47 rifle behind a tree as they approached. The man was detained, and the patrol began to search the surrounding area for other weapons.
A total of two assault rifles, three 60mm mortar rounds and a mortar system were recovered during the two-hour search.
The suspect has been detained for further questioning.
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service
FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Dec. 15, 2006 – Army leaders praised military families here during ceremonies this week for standing solidly behind the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team during its 16-month deployment to Iraq.
Army Secretary Francis Harvey told families of brigade members during the “Arctic Wolves’” redeployment ceremony here Dec. 12 that the Army recognizes their sacrifices and will continue its efforts to support them.
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service (Photos included)
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Dec. 15, 2006 – Christmas came early this year for the Skeen family as they celebrated what Joanna Skeen called the best gift she could ever ask for: the safe return of her husband.
Army Staff Sgt. Michael Skeen and his fellow 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team soldiers returned to Alaska this month after 16 months in Iraq.
“It’s already Christmas,” said Joanna, whose husband was among the first “Arctic Wolves” delivered to their families and loved ones during the past weeks -- not in sleighs, but in chartered commercial planes. “It’s felt like Christmas morning every day since he’s been home,” she said. “It’s just overwhelming.”
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service
FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Dec. 15, 2006 – The 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team was officially redesignated the 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team during a ‘reflagging’ ceremony here yesterday.
During the ceremony, the brigade commander who led the unit for 16 months in Iraq and six battalion commanders handed their commands to their successors.
Did any of you participate in this program? If so, was it helpful?
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska (Army News Service, Dec. 11, 2006) - Family members and friends of the recently returned 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team spent a few weeks in a new type of reintegration training before their Soldiers returned home.
"Back in July and August we completed a round of reintegration classes prior to the brigade's extension. The feedback we received from those classes let us know that something more was needed," said Lt. Col. Greg Parrish, deputy commander, 172nd SBCT.
BY U.S. Army Operational Test Command (Photos included)
DUGWAY PROVING GROUNDS, Utah (Army News Service, Dec. 14, 2006) - Initial operating tests were completed on the Stryker Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle at Dugway Proving Grounds last month.
The Stryker NBCRV will detect and identify biological, chemical, radiological and toxic industrial chemical/material hazards on the battlefield, according to Maj. Joseph Giese, test officer for the Engineer and Combat Support Test Directorate.
Here is a follow up to the article we posted yesterday regarding SSG Martinez.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Dan McKown joked Wednesday that his friend Moises Martinez used devious means to keep him alive after he’d been shot five times at the Tacoma Mall.
“He lied to me!” McKown recalled of that day back in November 2005, when he was struck down by the gunman who wandered the mall.
“He said … ‘Gut wounds hurt like hell but you’ll be fine, man. I was in Iraq and I’ve seen far worse than this and those guys pulled through. You’re going to be perfectly fine.’
By Chris Rosenblum, Centre Daily Times
Barb Hoover, of Pine Glen, can breathe easier now.
Her son, Staff Sgt. Scott Hoover, is back in Tacoma, Wash., wounded but safe.
During a Dec. 4 patrol in Baghdad, a roadside bomb destroyed Hoover's Stryker combat vehicle, breaking his left shoulder blade, damaging his rotator cuff and sending shrapnel through his left thigh.
Here's another article from AFPS regarding yesterday's ceremony. Additional photos are included.
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Dec. 13, 2006 – The Arctic Wolves bid an emotional farewell to 36 of their own yesterday as they gathered here to dedicate the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Memorial Wall.
Leaders from the unit joined about 25 family members of the fallen in the atrium of the high-tech Battle Command Training Center here to remember 26 Stryker Brigade troops and 10 soldiers from units attached the brigade during its deployment. Another 150 brigade soldiers just back from a 16-month deployment to Iraq watched the ceremony in an overflow room on a large-screen TV.
The AFPS published the following article, along with a photo essay, of yesterday's redeployment ceremony. The photos are excellent.
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service
FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Dec. 13, 2006 – Some 4,000 members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team gathered here yesterday to celebrate their accomplishments during 16 months in Iraq and mourn their losses as they uncased the unit’s colors during a stirring redeployment ceremony.
The soldiers assembled at the Carlson Community Center, just down the road from Fort Wainwright here, to reflect on their deployment and receive a rousing welcome home and thank you from Army and brigade leaders.
Congratulations to SSG Martinez.
Staff Sgt. Moises Martinez, with 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, will receive the Soldier’s Medal from Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey during a ceremony Wednesday at Fort Lewis, Wash., according to an Army press release.
The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Battle Command Training Center on post.
According to Army Regulation 600-8-22, the Soldier’s Medal is awarded for acts of heroism that don’t involve conflict with an enemy. The same degree of heroism required to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross is required for the Soldier’s Medal, and the recipient must have been in personal danger, according to the regulation.
The medal will honor Martinez -- who received an honorable mention in the 2006 Army Times Soldier of the Year program -- for his actions during a November 2005 shooting at the Tacoma Mall in Washington.
Fairbanks newspaper Daily News-Miner, which has provided the most in-depth coverage of the 172nd, has created a new archive of information regarding the brigade's recent deployment. This is a great resource if you'd like to browse articles from the entire deployment in one spot.
By Margaret Friedenauer, Daily News-Miner
With pomp and ceremony, the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team unfurled its colors Tuesday at the Carlson Center, the Army tradition that signifies troops are home from battle.
The battle was a 16-month tour in Iraq that encompassed nearly 50,000 square miles of battle space for the brigade in northern and western Iraq and throughout Baghdad.
By Margaret Friedenauer, Daily News-Miner
Nearly 3,800 soldiers with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team returned home to Alaska from Iraq during the last two weeks.
Twenty-six did not.
Those 26 died while serving with the brigade — 19 of them during the brigade’s first 12 months in northern and western Iraq, and seven in Baghdad after the brigade’s tour was extended 120 days and moved to the capital to help combat sectarian violence. An additional 10 service members died while attached to the 172nd or assisting the brigade with combat operations.
About 70 soldiers with the trail team of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team are expected to arrive in Fairbanks today as the brigade nears its complete return to Fort Wainwright.
All but nearly 200 of the 3,800 soldiers with the brigade returned to Alaska between Nov. 25 and Dec. 5 after their 16-month deployment to northern and western Iraq and Baghdad. All soldiers are out of Iraq, but the trail team remains in Kuwait to facilitate the return of the soldiers, Stryker vehicles and other equipment. The final group of soldiers are scheduled to return to Alaska by Friday.
BAGHDAD – Members of the 1st Battalion, 6th Iraqi National Police Brigade and 1st Battalion, 14th Cavalry Regiment seized two weapons caches and detained six men suspected of committing sectarian murders and emplacing roadside bombs in the al-Hadar neighborhood here Dec 10.
The early morning operation began with the establishment of an outer security perimeter by coalition forces while national police entered several homes and the Al Sahaby Mosque in search of the men and possible weapons caches.
The national police seized two weapons caches containing assault rifles, a roadside bomb, a bullet-proof vest, assorted small arms ammunition and bomb-making materials. One of the weapons seized was a rifle fitted with a sniper scope, laser sight and modified to accept a sound suppressor.
The six suspects are being held for further questioning.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – In an effort to reduce sectarian violence and insurgency activities, the Iraqi security forces and Iraqi police are teaming with Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment (Stryker) to secure Adhamiyah today.
In a coordinated effort dubbed ‘Operation Cougar,’ Iraqi security forces and coalition forces are conducting a cordon-and-clear operation in Adhamiyah early this morning with Iraqi police forces providing perimeter checkpoint security.
This operation is part of a larger on-going effort from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense to establish security for the local residents in eastern Baghdad through the lead efforts of Iraqi security forces with over-watch support from coalition troops.
By Mackenzie M. Eaglen, Record Online
Imagine your employer assigned you to a critical and difficult new assignment. But before you could start, the company took away your computer, your Blackberry and your cell phone. You'd probably wonder if you were being set up for failure.
Well, something similar is happening with our National Guard. According to Lt. Col. Thomas Plunkett III of the Louisiana Army National Guard, his battalion was being called up for deployment to Iraq in 2004 just one month after he had been ordered to give up his machine guns and other equipment to an Arkansas unit that was deploying sooner. This story is all too typical for Army National Guard units being called up for combat missions.
Written by SPC Debrah Robertson
Kuwait – After an extended time in theater, the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team rolls out of Iraq and into Kuwait for the final leg of their tour – the resetting of their Stryker vehicles.
A job this big requires the hard work and dedication of several different groups.
Written by SPC Debrah Robertson
Kuwait – When the Soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team were told they could not go home after 12 months, despite all their hard work and dedication in Mosul, Iraq, they were disappointed.
“It’s disheartening at first. Everyone was looking forward to going home, especially [our] families,” said 2nd Lt. Jason Blair, ordnance officer with Forward Maintenance Co., 172nd SBCT.
Winds of Change has published its weekly Iraq Report, with links to news and analysis of recent events.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cpl. Billy B. Farris, 20, of Bapchule, Ariz., died Dec. 3 in Taji, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while conducting escort operations. Farris was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow soldiers. We will add any articles we find to this entry.
BlogAh! has published the latest column from David Hardt, a soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Baghdad.
By Don Kramer, Northwest Guardian
It’s not your father’s chaplain’s corps any more. Chaplains from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division who deployed from Fort Lewis last June are serving shoulder to shoulder with infantry Soldiers, even participating in combat patrols. Their primary mode of transportation in-theater has become the Stryker vehicle.
In response to the reports from Operation Iraqi Freedom, training for chaplains and their assistants in the 4th Brigade, 2nd Inf. Div. has taken a sharply tactical turn. The brigade received deployment orders to OIF a week ago from the Department of Defense.
By Jason Kaye, Northwest Guardian
YAKIMA TRAINING CENTER – Under the watchful eyes of everyone from TRADOC to General Dynamics Land Systems, Mobile Gun System crews from the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry had the opportunity Sunday to put the latest variant of the Stryker to the test on Yakima’s Range 10.
A cluster of CONEXs served as a makeshift range tower on a hilltop overlooking the seldom-used range. Infrared cameras and audio equipment recorded the engagements of each of the battalion’s nine crews. “This is the first MGS gunnery in the Army, period,” said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Pratt, the brigade master gunner.
By Keith Eldridge, KOMO News (video included)
FORT LEWIS - While President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair continue to talk strategy in Iraq, the troops here at home continue to train for deployment. The newest Stryker brigade realizes it has to be ready to take on whatever role the president wants them to play.
A huge training exercise is now under way, both on base at Fort Lewis and off the base as this unit gets ready to head to Iraq. But will they go in a combat role? Or as trainers of Iraqi security forces? Bush is still deciding.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
A lot has to happen far up the chain of command before the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group reach Fort Lewis.
But the group’s advice to President Bush, released Wednesday, has the potential to alter the course of training and combat operations for thousands of local troops deployed to Iraq or getting ready to go.
The straightest line into Fort Lewis is likely the recommendation that U.S. commanders dramatically increase the number of troops assigned as advisers to Iraqi units.
Fort Lewis soldiers have trained Iraqi recruits since the first year of the war, and some soldiers in the Stryker brigade now in Iraq live and work every day with their Iraqi counterparts.
The title of the article is a bit misleading since the main body of the 172nd has already returned to AK.
By Megan McCloskey, Stars and Stripes
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — After 16 months in the scorching heat of the desert, a couple of hundred Stryker vehicles are now winterized for the deep freeze of Alaska.
The 172nd Stryker Brigade is finally going home.
The unit out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, was in Iraq for four months longer than expected after a controversial extension of its one-year deployment. A victim of its own success in the northern part of the country, the brigade was tapped in late July to help quell the virulent sectarian fighting in Baghdad.
Infantry soldiers serving in Stryker units are now eligible for the prestigious Combat Infantryman Badge, according to a recently approved policy change.
Another policy change allows brigadier general commanders the authority to award combat badges.
By PAT MUIR, YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Breezing through the Yakima Training Center's snowy sagebrush at about 40 mph Tuesday morning, the new Stryker Mobile Gun System drew rave reviews from soldiers.
It's not that the 20-ton machine is the fastest armored vehicle ever, nor the most powerful. It's not even the combination of the two. After all, an Abrams tank has similar firepower and can come pretty close to the Stryker's 60 mph top speed.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Fort Lewis soldiers went on a 90-minute Stryker ride Monday up to Interstate 405 and back. By the time they returned, they were treated to:
• Hundreds of smiles, waves and thumbs up.
• Dozens of V-for-victory salutes, or peace signs, take your pick.
• A half-dozen honked truck horns.
A field exercise that begins Monday at Fort Lewis, Wash., will, for the first time in more than 10 years, cover almost the entire post, according to a post press release.
The 3,800 soldiers of 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, will conduct the exercise, dubbed “Cascadian Commitment.” It will end Dec. 12. Cascadian Commitment is designed to prepare the soldiers for a monthlong exercise scheduled for March at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. The brigade is slated to deploy to Iraq in the summer...
This is a tale of two brothers.
And one mother.
Eric Nielsen, who turned 25 this month, is a Blue Jays minor leaguer spending October and November in paradise -- he just finished playing for the Honolulu Sharks in the Hawaiian League.
His younger brother, Ryan, 21, is as close to hell on Earth as anyone can get. Ryan is a specialist, a step above private, in the U.S. Army stationed in Iraq.
by Capt. Jeffrey Scott, 299th FSB, 2nd BCT, 1st Inf. Div.
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq—The Company A “Assassins” live their unit motto – always “On Call to Serve.”
The Assassins, Co. A, 299th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, devised a new method to recover disabled Stryker Armored Vehicles.
And they can do it in ten minutes.
By BETH REESE CRAVEY, Clay County Line
In assembly line fashion, the Clay High students assembled shoe boxes full of gifts, from CDs and playing cards to cookies and stress balls.
Then they moved to another table to add phone cards and greeting cards and grab pieces of wrapping paper.
At a third table, they put everything together to create holiday gift packages, all destined for a U.S. Army unit in Iraq.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Puget Sound-area highways will give Army drivers a feel for motoring in Iraq – minus the roadside bombs – in a major exercise that starts Monday.
Long military convoys will ply the local highways from Tukwila to Centralia and perhaps beyond in what Fort Lewis officials say is the post’s biggest training event in recent memory.
Officials at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are seeking donations for wounded troops who are forced to leave behind personal belongings when medically evacuated from war zones.
Many of the troops “arrive with nothing,” said officials from the hospital’s Family Assistance Center. Because of the speed with which the most serious wounded are evacuated from Iraq or Afghanistan, their belongings are often left behind and don’t catch up.