Chambersburg Military Division Has New 'Stryker' Vehicle
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA- Charlie Troop C, 2nd 104th Calvary Division from Chambersburg has a new military machine.
First, the soldiers were on the firing range learning about new weaponry, and then later, they took to the classroom to bone up on the high tech aspect of their new equipment. They have taken that experience and are applying it out in the field and are actually mounting up and going places they have never gone before.
The eight wheel drive vehicle is allowing them to traverse anything from waist deep mud to sandy deserts, which is crucial to their missions.
“We're recon, so it gives us flexibility, and it's a quieter vehicle, can go through a lot more terrain than other vehicles can go,” said Lieutenant Ian Preece of Charlie Troop C.
Video: Operation Arrowhead Strike 6
The following is a new video from Army Public Affairs featuring the 1-23 INF, 3/2 SBCT.
Video: Operation Arrowhead Strike 6
Package of Coalition Forces in Baghdad conducting knock and search operations as part of the New Baghdad Security Plan in the Shaab and Ur neighborhoods of Baghdad. Produced by Sgt. Roach.
Gearing Up: JRTC Trains 4/2 SBCT
FORT LEWIS, Wash. (Army News Service, Feb. 27, 2007) - There might never have been a brigade training event on the scale of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (SBCT), rehearsal for Iraq that ended Feb. 14. Certainly, one so big never came together so fast.
The keystone of the effort was the Joint Readiness Training Center, the Army's premier combat training facility for light infantry and special forces units.
Women Soldiers Play Vital Role for Infantry
I think these soldiers are actually attached to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment - not the other way around as listed below.
By Spc. Derron Dickinson, 28th Public Affairs Detachment
BAGHDAD - While Army infantry Soldiers are trained for conducting aggressive operations against hostile targets, they aren’t exactly known for their sensitive side. But with a small addition, this is starting to change.
In a culture where contact with women is forbidden unless you are closely related, searching civilians can be a challenge. Women Soldiers, attached to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, have played a vital role in recent operations for securing Baghdad by performing a task their male counterparts can’t - searching women.
Pace Travels: A Little ‘Moosenip,’ A Lot of Thanks
Here's another story regarding the Chairman's recent visit to Alaska.
By Linda D. Kozaryn, American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2007 – You’ve heard of catnip, right? Well, somebody must have sprinkled “moosenip” around the VIP quarters where Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace and his wife Lynne stayed at Alaska’s Elmendorf Air Force Base last week.
Three full-grown, female moose spent several hours, morning and evening, right outside the quarters, nibbling at low-hanging branches and nestling in the snow catching some rays. The 800- to 900-pound, lanky-legged animals ignored the ever-present security specialists and the comings and goings of SUVs and military vans.
As for the chairman and his wife, the moose maneuvers were a first. But for the couple who spend much of their time traveling the nation and the world, it was just part of their latest adventure. On their last trip, they saw koalas in Australia.
War Story: Sgt. Ross Shores
If you follow the link to the article there are a number of video clips available as well.
Ross Shores enjoyed his football days at Chandler's Hamilton High School. In fact he planned to continue his athletic career at Montana State.
But, he says too much football and parties and not enough school, led him to transfer to the University of Arizona. When he still couldn't seem to focus on education, he decided to join the Army.
INSIDE THE ARMY'S COMBAT TRAINING CENTERS TRACKING THE STRYKER BRIGADES
This morning The News Tribune posted a short article that listed each Stryker Brigade and where each is or has been located.
A look at advanced new fighting gear Meet the commander
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
The 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will be the first of the Army’s five Stryker brigades to go to Iraq with all 10 variants of its namesake armored vehicle, as well as with other advanced weapons systems.
Strykers made their combat debut in November 2003 after more than three years in development. The Army created the brigades as a middle alternative to its heavy armored formations and its light infantry units.
Previous brigades deployed with versions of the eight-wheeled Stryker designed for eight specialized functions: infantry carrier, reconnaissance, command, medical, fire support, mortars, anti-tank guided missiles, and engineer.
No home advantage
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
At Fort Irwin, Calif., and Fort Polk, La., they stand in as Iraqi insurgents and al-Qaida and Taliban fighters, and they dish out lumps to units coming through for exercises.
The opposing force – “opfor,” in Army-speak – is pretty tough on the road, too. Soldiers at Fort Lewis learned that this month while preparing for an early deployment to Iraq on a shortened training schedule.
With roadside and suicide bombs, snipers and other tactics straight from the streets of Baghdad, the visiting team made itself known to Fort Lewis Stryker troops.
Fort Polk soldiers “killed” more than two dozen infantrymen and “wounded” another 30 in one fight.
Troops, locals celebrate reopening of market in Al Haider
The following article mentions the 1-14 CAV, which apparently is attached to the 1st Cavalry Division for the time being.
By Spc. Alexis Harrison, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A few months ago the Al Doura District was considered by many to be one of the most dangerous places in all of Iraq. Sectarian violence had taken over the streets, and the people of the community fled to find safety anywhere they could.
One of the markets in the Al Hadher neighborhood had been virtually destroyed by the violence that swept through the area. That was until Multi-National Division - Baghdad and Iraqi security forces began to focus efforts in the district to stop the bloodshed.
Recently, a new life has been brought back into the area and the marketplace. The troops from 1st Battalion, 14th Cavalry Regiment, also known as Task Force 1-14th Cavalry, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, a civil affairs company and community leaders came together to celebrate the grand reopening of the marketplace Feb. 18.
Guest Opinion: U.S. soldiers serve honorably, courageously in Iraq
When you step back and disregard the political motivations and public opinion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, you will find some of the best men and women America has to offer. Typically when I read the paper or watch the news I see fleeting reports of soldiers being injured or killed. In the next breath reporters go on to update the public of the latest gossip and goings on amongst the rich and infamous. What you don't hear of are the good things that are happening and the kinds of things our soldiers go through on a daily basis.
My platoon goes outside the "wire" virtually every day with maybe one day off every two weeks or so. Missions can last 12-plus hours with no break for chow, coffee, cigarettes or a quick game of solitaire while we check our e-mail.
We have lost soldiers that are our friends and family. As I look back on our time here, I can't recall when they complained about working 70-plus weeks under constant life-threatening conditions. Not one time have they said they were afraid to go on a mission. Most of them are young men that are in their early 20s and yet they have had to endure what most people can never even imagine. Despite that, they are men who wear the uniform proudly and walk tall with courage, honor, and integrity. They are men who are still humbled on those occasions when a civilian thanks them for what they do. They are men who look at this, not as a job, but as a way to honor America's proud history.
Stryker team key to Iraq security plan
By Tina Susman, Times Staff Writer
BAGHDAD — In any other city, the sight of an old man standing next to a can on the side of a crowded street would go unnoticed. In Baghdad, it was enough to make U.S. Army Spc. Aurelio Cazares slow down his armored Stryker for a closer look and alert his gunner.
The vehicle's gunner fixed his viewfinder on the man and the object and zoomed in, just as a sedan stopped in front of them, blocking the view and adding further suspense to the moment. Then, the car pulled away, the old man crossed the road, and the Stryker's high-tech remote weapons system, which can detect heat in an object and determine the presence of explosives, confirmed that the can was harmless.
The Stryker moved on, and Cazares relaxed.
There aren't many things that worry him as he steers the 22-ton troop carrier, which resembles an oversized and massively overloaded camper van, through Baghdad's streets. Its steel-and-ceramic armor is far stronger than a Humvee's, making it the safest troop transporter by far on roads littered with explosives and snipers.
Injured Falls soldier takes first steps
By Jim Carney, Beacon Journal staff writer
Friday, for the first time since he lost his right leg above the knee and badly injured his left foot in Iraq, Cuyahoga Falls native Adam Poppenhouse walked on two legs.
First, using a walker, and later, using canes, Poppenhouse employed his computerized right prosthetic leg and his braced and fused left foot that he feared he might lose after a Dec. 3 roadside bombing in Iraq.
On Friday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Poppenhouse walked 30 feet.
Chairman Visits Brigade Using New ‘Reset’ Process
By Linda D. Kozaryn, American Forces Press Service
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Feb. 23, 2007 – The 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team here is the first unit to employ the Army’s new “reset” process to rapidly refurbish everything from M-16 rifles to state-of-the-art Stryker combat vehicles.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came here yesterday to check out the new process. Accompanied by Maj. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., commander of U.S. Army Alaska, Pace toured a huge maintenance facility where work is under way.
The 3,000 troops and 200 contractors employed in the effort “are dedicated to getting these machines cleaned up and turned faster than normal -- in this case, probably in four months instead of six,” Pace said.
Chairman Presents Awards for Heroism in Iraq
The following article from the Armed Forces Press Service describes the ceremony also covered by the Daily News-Miner. Follow the link to see additional photos from the event as well. Congratulations to the three soldiers honored.
By Linda D. Kozaryn, American Forces Press Service
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Feb. 23, 2007 – Marine Gen. Peter Pace presented a Distinguished Service Cross and two Silver Stars here yesterday to three soldiers for heroism displayed in Iraq on Nov. 19, 2005.
Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it was an emotional moment for him to properly recognize the soldiers’ heroism, and “to say thank you for their incredible valor in the face of a very, very dangerous enemy.”
Pace awarded the Distinguished Service Cross to Army Pvt. Stephen C. Sanford of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, for displaying extraordinary courage during the evacuation of casualties from a home in Mosul while under intense enemy fire, according to Army officials.
Strykers in Hawaii likely won’t move to Fort Lewis
It’s looking doubtful that Fort Lewis will become the new home of a Stryker brigade that is training in Hawaii.
An independent military analyst said the Army wants to keep the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, and an Army official acknowledged that stationing a fourth Stryker brigade at Fort Lewis is problematic.
The Army is looking at brigade locations outside Hawaii as the result of a court decision in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups. The Army is required to examine other sites and prove that Hawaii is the best-suited, in terms of the environment, for the site. The examination is aimed at backing up claims the Army made in an environmental impact statement that it conducted before choosing the Hawaii site.
Army pins high honors on soldiers
By Robinson Duffy, Daily News-Miner
The Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest honor the army gives to soldiers, is small. The prestigious award is a 2-inch by 2-inch bronze cross suspended by a red, white and blue ribbon. It doesn’t weigh much, physically, but emotionally it’s a heavy burden to bear, Pfc. Steven Sanford said.
Sanford, who is now retired from the military and who served with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry in the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team stationed at Fort Wainwright, received the Distinguished Service Cross on Thursday for heroic deeds performed during a combat operation in Mosul, Iraq, in November 2005. The award was presented to Sanford by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace.
Michael Reagan Speech
Artist Michael Reagan has been featured here many times before. He is the founder of the Fallen Heroes Project, which is dedicated to providing custom portraits free of charge of all fallen service men and women. A number of Stryker families have received these portraits. Michael recently gave a very moving speech to the Seattle Rotary Club - a streaming video of his speech available if you are interested.
Infantryman Sees Improvement, Perseverance Key to Success
By Pfc. William Hatton
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Undesirable experiences happen throughout Iraq, but for Spc. Jason Minter, an infantryman with Company A, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, not every day is horrible.
“Life here has definitely been a different experience,” Minter said, a native of Lake Bay, Wash. “Life is actually all right, for the most part. Yeah, bad things have happened around me, but for the most part, life is okay here.”
Upon arriving in Baghdad, Minter’s unit hit the ground running, but had help with their first essential steps, Minter said.
Johnson refuses to accept Purple Heart for head, eye injuries
By Vila Schwindt, Cortez Journal Online
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Chess Johnson, raised in Dove Creek, is continuing to recover from severe head and eye injuries he sustained in Iraq in early December 2006.
Johnson returned to work as a soldier on Monday, Feb. 5, at Fort Lewis Army base, which is located in the Pacific Northwest on Puget Sound, adjacent to McChord Air Force Base. Soldiers at Fort Lewis receive first-rate medical care through Madigan Army Medical Center.
“Yes, I am back to work,” Johnson said via e-mail from Fort Lewis. “Other brigades are trying to get me to go over to them to train their men, (but) I don’t want to. I love where I am at.”
Fort Wainwright soldier to receive Distinguished Service Cross
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska (AP) - A Fort Wainwright soldier will be presented the Distinguished Service Cross on Thursday for his actions in Iraq.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, will present the award to Private First Class Steven C. Sanford, Army officials said Tuesday.
Sanford distinguished himself in November 2005 during an assault on a house occupied by suspected terrorists in Mosul, officials said.
Former Stryker Soldier in Need
Update 2/22/07: Rachel has an update on her site. Okon apparently is awake and improving.
Former 1/25 SBCT soldier Jason Okon is in critical condition recovering from stab wounds he received in Arizona. His family is asking for assistance. A fellow milblogger has all the details surrounding the incident, and offers information on how you can help.
Hawaiian warrior spirit lives at Army's Nainoa Hoe Center
The following artcle was sent by Allen Hoe, Nainoa's father, and describes the ceremonies surrounding the opening.
By Dan Nakaso, Honolulu Advertiser
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Allen Hoe wore his son's oversized desert combat boots, his own Vietnam War medals and carried an ancient Hawaiian battle weapon made of wood and shark teeth.
In a mix of modern military ceremony and ancient Hawaiian warrior rituals, Hoe yesterday offered a chant in honor of his son, Army 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, who was killed in Iraq in 2005.
Video: Arrowhead Strike 6
DVIDS has another new video of the 1-23 INF conducting operations in Baghdad. Description:
B-roll of Soldiers interacting with local Iraqis in the Shaab neighborhood of eastern Baghdad. Scenes include Soldiers interacting with Iraqi children, searching houses and various shots of Stryker vehicles. Videographer: Sgt. Stephen Roach, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
Strykers Soldiers Work to Make Baghdad Streets Safer
By Pfc. William Hatton, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Soldiers walked the streets of a northern Baghdad neighborhood in an effort to provide enhanced safety and security and strengthen the relationship with local residents Feb. 15.
“We’re basically out here doing a courtesy search,” said Staff Sgt. Trevor Warrior, a squad leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “We’re searching to see if each resident has the appropriate amounts of weapons in the house, but at the same time just let them know we are here in the neighborhood trying to protect them.”
Soldier Fights Off Cancer to Fight in Iraq
By Pfc. William Hatton, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Service members have different reasons for joining the military. Whether it’s a love of country or wanting to secure their future, there is always a reason to serve.
For Pfc. Matthew Moody, an infantryman with Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team., 2nd Infantry Division, joining the Army was more than just providing security for his future. Joining the military was a way to honor his fallen friends.
Soldier ready to to chase a dream
By GEORGE WERNETH, Press-Register
On Jan. 23, an insurgent tossed a hand grenade into the armored vehicle that Army Spc. Paul O'Neal -- a 2000 graduate of Satsuma High School -- was riding in on the streets of Baghdad.
The explosion riddled O'Neal's body with shrapnel and ended his combat service in Iraq with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Stryker Brigade as part of the 2nd Infantry Division.
The 25-year-old soldier wanted to make a contribution to his country when he joined the Army some two years ago. Now, after seven surgeries, he's planning his future from a hospital bed at Fort Lewis, Wash. -- once again chasing a dream he had put on hold.
Iraqi Security Forces work with U.S. troops at traffic control point
Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
HUSAYNIYAH — Iraqi security forces along with coalition forces set up a traffic control point, Feb. 14, to improve the security of the city by hindering insurgents from being able to transport weapons and improvised explosive device-making materials into the area via a major highway.
The control point was set up by Iraqis with the 5th Special Troops Company, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) with the help of Soldiers from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery.
During the joint operation, Iraqi security forces and the U.S. troops directed traffic and searched vehicles.
According to 2nd Lt. Rico Vargas, a platoon leader for Battery B, 1st Bn., 37th FA Regt., the traffic control point will improve the quality of life for the citizens of Husayniyah by helping to protect them.
Clearing operations continue in Adhamiyah
Multi-National Division - Baghdad
CAMP LIBERTY — The Iraqi Security Force and Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers began clearing operations in the Shaab and Ur neighborhoods of the Adhamiyah security district Wednesday.
“We’re conducting detailed searches in areas that are known, or suspected to harbor terrorists,” said Col. Steve Townsend, commander of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “All areas will get thorough assessments – patrol down every street, talk to every shop owner and engage the populations at every opportunity to get atmospherics of the area.”
For These Kids, War Hits Close To Home
Half of the 300 students at the Chloe Clark elementary school come from Army families. This means, young as they are, these kids have a stake in the war, CBS News correspondent Jerry Bowen reports.
"My mom might be going to Iraq in April," says Giovanni. "My dad went the second of this month," adds Emily Hughes.
Counselor Coley Fannin's job is to help them learn how to cope. He holds weekly group sessions.
"It's nice knowing that some other people's dads are over there, so you're not like the only one," says Emily.
Raids focus on clearing buildings
American and Iraqi forces have continued the new security push in Baghdad by conducting hundreds of raids over the past several days in the Adhamiyah district of the capital, officials said Friday.
According to officials with Multi-National Division-Baghdad, the troops began “clearing operations” in the Shaab and Ur neighborhoods on Tuesday. By Friday, those troops had searched more than 3,000 buildings, arrested five suspected insurgents and seized several weapons.
The American units leading the push are assigned to the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
Video: New Baghdad Security Plan
Here is another video segment courtesy of DVIDS, this one featuring the 1-23 INF, 3/2 SBCT. Streaming and downloadable versions available. Description:
B-Roll of Coalition Forces in Baghdad conducting knock and search operations, from dawn until after dark, as part of the new Baghdad Security Plan. Scenes include Soldiers who cordon off village streets, entering and searching homes and interacting with the people of the area.
Video: Arrowhead Strike VI
Here is new video footage provided courtesy of DVIDS. Follow the link to view the streaming version, or download the file to your computer. Description:
B-roll of Soldiers of the 5-20th Strykers patrolling Eastern Baghdad as part of Operation Arrowhead Strike VI while they discover a small munitions cache.
4th Brigade training in damp Northwest before leaving for Iraq
FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- The Army's newest Stryker brigade has been preparing to go to Iraq by training in the rainy, forested terrain of the Pacific Northwest.
The 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division has been called up to deploy in April, a month early as part of President Bush's order to send another 21,500 troops to the Middle East.
The change has moved the brigade's combat-readiness exercises planned for the California desert to this Army post in the cool, damp Northwest.
Training center could become base for Stryker brigade
YAKIMA -- The Army will hold a public meeting Friday to discuss the possibility of basing a Stryker brigade at the Yakima Training Center.
The meeting, which will discuss the scope of the potential change and impacts the military should consider, does not mean that the new brigade would necessarily come to the training center, where the other Stryker brigades sometimes practice manuevers.
The Army must hold the meeting as part of the environmental planning process for its preferred site in Hawaii, where the light infantry brigade targeted for the Stryker switch is already located.
U.S. Troops Raid Shiite Areas of Baghdad
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By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and DAMIEN CAVE
Thousands of American troops in armored Stryker vehicles swarmed through three mostly Shiite neighborhoods of northeastern Baghdad today.
The operation met with little resistance, but considerable skepticism from some Iraqis, who worried that the American presence would soon melt away again, leaving ruthless violence in its place.
Military commanders described the push into the neighborhoods of Shaab, Bayda and Ur, on the northern edge of Sadr City, as the first major sweep of the new security plan for Baghdad. Coming one day after the top Iraqi general claimed broad powers to search homes, detain residents and evict them from their homes, the operation was the largest of several that signaled an escalation of American and Iraqi efforts to pacify the capital.
Wounded Ft. Lewis soldier comes home to a financial battle
By Eric Schudiske, KOMO 4 News (Video Available)
THURSTON COUNTY - A Fort Lewis soldier injured during a firefight in Iraq is reaching out for support as he tries to heal from the wounds of war.
Sgt. Chess Johnson is one of tens of thousands facing a future scarred by war.
Johnson still vividly remembers the gunfire when his Fort Lewis Stryker unit came under attack in Mosul on December 3rd.
Red Lion Soldiers Provide Medical Care to Iraqi Toddler
By Sgt. Cheryl Cox, 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Many times the missions conducted by the Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment include patrols, searches and interaction with local leaders within their area of operation.
But every once in a while, a mission will hit a little closer to home for the Red Lion Soldiers.
One such mission began Feb. 7 around 9 p.m. in the city of Rashadiyah, Iraq, when friends and neighbors of an Iraqi family flagged down a convoy of Red Lion Soldiers during a patrol through the city.
Photojournalist to share his images of Iraq war
An award-winning photojournalist who has been embedded with three military units during Operation Iraqi Freedom will present his images of war and the life of a modern soldier on Monday, March 19 at 7 p.m. in the Catherine Evans McGowan Room of the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library. The event is open free to the public.
Co-sponsored by the Communications and History Departments at College Misericordia, the one-hour slide-show presentation will feature the images of Peter Haley of The Tacoma News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash. He was embedded in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Those scenes will be presented and explained by the photojournalist, who has garnered national and state recognition for his work. After his presentation, Haley will field questions from the audience.
Bomb-making Sites Raided; 10 Suspects Nabbed in Separate Operation
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2007 – American and Iraqi soldiers raided suspected bomb-making sites in eastern Baghdad yesterday, military officials reported, while U.S. and Iraqi troops yesterday nabbed 10 suspected insurgents following a firefight near the village of Ubaydah, Iraq.
Iraqi and American soldiers targeted eastern Baghdad’s Rusafa section during raids focused on disrupting vehicle-borne improvised explosive device networks, officials said.
Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army, the 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army, and U.S. soldiers with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, participated in the operation.
"Our mission is to clear areas in Rusafa specifically focusing on the VBIED networks," Army Lt. Col. Joseph Davidson, a Congers, N.Y., native and executive officer for the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, said.
One suspect with a fake identification card was detained.
The 10 insurgents were seized after Iraqi troops and U.S. soldiers with Multinational Division Baghdad were fired on during a joint operation conducted northeast of Haswah, Iraq.[...]
Baghdad Security Plan
The Fourth Rail has an in depth analysis of what it thinks will be the order of battle for the new security plan in Baghdad.
U.S. Troops Lock Down Much of East Baghdad
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr., The New York Times
BAGHDAD, Feb. 11 — American troops locked down a large industrialized area of eastern Baghdad all day today, while Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq, without indicating how he would do it, vowed to speed the deployment of Iraqi forces throughout the war-ravaged capital.
American commanders described the operation today as an early taste of large-scale weeklong sweeps through eastern Baghdad intended to take back some measure of control from militias. Troops from the Third Stryker Brigade Combat Team took automatic rifle fire from insurgents as they searched for a car-bomb manufacturing site on a violent sectarian fault line between a Shiite enclave and the bleak and insurgent-ridden Sunni Arab neighborhood of Fadhil.
Taking Weapons Off the Streets
By Capt. Dawn Williams
Multi-National Division – Baghdad Public Affairs
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - Iraqi security forces and American Soldiers patrol the streets of Baghdad together. Their mission: provide security so the citizens of Iraq can live in a safer environment.
Since the beginning of February, these force's operations have resulted in the discovery of 60 weapons caches. Combined, these caches contained more than 2,000 mortar rounds, rockets, dynamite, homemade explosives, anti-tank landmines and numerous pistol and rifle munitions.
Soldier tells tales of service, pride
By ROB STROUD, Journal Gazette
CHARLESTON — Army Pvt. Israel Maldonado tries to keep in regular contact with his parents while serving in Iraq, but his reconnaissance work often leaves little time for calls home.
“They are always worried when I don’t call for a couple weeks at a time because we are busy,” said Maldonado, a 21-year-old Charleston resident.
Petreaus addresses Coalition, Iraqi partners
General Petreaus assumed command of all US forces in Iraq today. The following is a transcript of his speech from Baghdad.
To the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Civilians of Multi-National Force-Iraq:
We serve in Iraq at a critical time. The war here will soon enter its fifth year. A decisive moment approaches. Shoulder-to-shoulder with our Iraqi comrades, we will conduct a pivotal campaign to improve security for the Iraqi people. The stakes could not be higher.
Our task is crucial. Security is essential for Iraq to build its future. Only with security can the Iraqi government come to grips with the tough issues it confronts and develop the capacity to serve its citizens. The hopes of the Iraqi people and the coalition countries are with us.
Despite budget cuts, Land Warrior not dead yet
Despite the Army’s plans to pull the plug on Land Warrior, program officials say the high-tech digital ensemble isn’t dead yet.
Army budget officials announced the service’s intention to cut $300 million in funding for the program as part of the Army’s proposed fiscal 2008 budget.
“We have pretty much removed most of the funding for the Land Warrior program,” said Lt. Gen. David Melcher, military deputy for budget for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller, at a Pentagon budget briefing Monday.
Fallen Hawai'i soldier Nainoa Hoe to be honored
By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser
The Army tomorrow will dedicate the Battle Command Training Center at Schofield Barracks in honor of Army 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, a 1995 Kamehameha Schools graduate who was killed in 2005 in Iraq.
The $33 million, 90,000-square-foot training center opened in November 2005 and serves as a Pacific-area training center with communications, mission planning and simulators.
Soldiers Work to Make Adhamiyah District Safer
By Sgt. Michael Garrett, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAGHDAD – The dead of night covered their movements. Out of their Strykers, down the street and into a courtyard, the Soldiers moved with a purpose. Kicking in the door at 3 a.m. was just enough to catch their targets off guard. Elements of the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team had taken two more suspected insurgents off the streets.
Troops from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment were a part of an operation aimed at disrupting insurgent activity in the Shaab and Ur areas of Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district Feb. 6, said Newberry S.C. native, 2nd Lt. Harry Cromer, platoon leader for Company B.
Operations in Adhamiyah
Army public affairs has a new photo gallery (5 images) featuring the 5-20 INF, 3/2 SBCT as it sets up a new combat outpost in the neighborhood.
Army Is Going Wrinkle-Free
By WILLIAM YARDLEY, The New York Times
FORT LEWIS, Wash., Feb. 5 — Besides the hidden slots for knee and elbow pads, the extra room in the shoulders and the mod mandarin collar, the new Army uniform has a revolutionary feature critical to a nimbler military.
“You can just throw it in the dryer,” said Sgt. Donald Fisher, an instructor at this base for 30,000 soldiers about an hour south of Seattle. “You save money on dry cleaning.”
2nd Cavalry soldiers go for blood-donor record
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — Officials are expecting some 800 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment soldiers to give blood this week in an effort to break the U.S. Army Europe record for a blood drive.
The soldiers’ efforts come at just the right time for comrades downrange, according to Maj. Matthew Rice, 36, the 2nd Cav medical officer, who is overseeing his unit’s participation in the drive.
Partnered Clearing Operations
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Iraqi security forces and their Multi-National Division - Baghdad partners teamed up Feb. 6 to clear neighborhoods in northeast Baghdad of insurgent activity.
The raids conducted by Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 1st Brigade 9th Iraqi Army Division and three battalions from 2nd Inf. Div. resulted in detaining 20 suspected terrorists, several side arms and anti-Iraqi propaganda documents.
“Today’s clearing operations were precision strikes aimed at known or suspected terrorist hideouts and weapons cache sites,” said Col. Steve Townsend, commander of 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
The detainees are in coalition custody for further questioning.
Baghdad Push Begins, U.S. Military Says
The following article contains a quote by a 3/2 SBCT spokesman.
By MARC SANTORA and JON ELSEN, The New York Times
BAGHDAD, Feb. 7 — The long-awaited Baghdad security operation has begun, the top United States military spokesman in Iraq said today, also confirming that a transport helicopter had come down near Baghdad. He declined to comment on any casualties.
The Iraqi general who is leading the security drive took over the operation headquarters on Monday, but there had been no announcement until today that the sweep, the third attempt to crush violence in nine months, was under way.
Land Warrior funds cut
After more than 10 years of testing, the Army is pulling the plug on Land Warrior, a high-tech, digital ensemble designed to be worn by soldiers to help them see through the fog of war.
Army budget officials announced the service’s intention to cut funding to the program Monday as part of the Army’s fiscal 2008 budget request.
Troops trek through 'jungles' of Baghdad in search of insurgents
By Spc. Alexis Harrison, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
Blackanthem Military News, BAGHDAD, Iraq - Just east of the dense and urbanized Al Doura district lays the rural Al Boetha villages, surrounded by date palms and thick underbrush. Recently, the area was believed to be a staging area for anti-Iraqi forces and insurgent activity.
Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, dismounted their Stryker combat vehicles and trekked through the lush palm groves of the capital city in search of insurgent hideouts Jan. 11-12.
Although it was within the boundaries of the city, the flora and fauna was a stark contrast to urbanized terrains the Soldiers from "Charlie Rock" were used to. Nonetheless, the troopers marched on and combed the entire area.
America Supports You: Blind War Veteran Enjoys View from the Top
John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press Service
STERLING, Va., Feb. 5, 2007 – At the Sport Rock Indoor Climbing Center here, a sign warns that climbing can cause serious injury. If Army Capt. Scott Smiley could see the cautionary sign, he would probably disregard it.
“I know I’ve done more dangerous things than this,” Smiley said Feb. 2 from the base of the 50-feet-tall rock he prepared to climb.
In April 2005, Smiley’s 25th Infantry Division platoon was patrolling Mosul, Iraq, for suicide car bombs when the soldiers saw a suspicious vehicle on the road.
“He was facing west, and I was headed north when I saw him. I stopped in my Stryker vehicle and yelled at him to get out of his car to interrogate him,” Smiley recalled.
Army priest accepts his cross
The following article provides an update on the continuing recovery of Father Tim Vakoc, an Army chaplain who was seriously wounded in Mosul in 2004.
BY JEREMY OLSON, Pioneer Press
A friend lowered a microphone so the Rev. Tim Vakoc could address attendees of the award banquet at Benilde-St. Margaret's, his old high school, from his wheelchair.
For 20 seconds, only the gymnasium lights hummed in the quiet.
"Thank you," Vakoc said.
Silence returned as he labored for breath.
"And," he whispered, "God … love … you."
Soldiers Tear Down Past to Build the Future
By Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
HUSAYNIYAH, Iraq – Iraqi Army troops from the 5th Special Troops Company, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized), Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment and Army engineers from the 92nd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division tore down remnants of this city’s past Jan. 30 to pave way for its future during a joint operation here.
During the operation, Iraqi Army troops and U.S. Soldiers conducted a cordon and search and then tore down several abandoned buildings from which terrorists conducted operations, hid weapons caches and executed improvised explosive device attacks. The buildings were destroyed to prevent their further use by insurgent forces.
1-25 Stryker Brigade Begins Reset Period
BY John Pennell, Fort Richardson PAO
Before the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team - now the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division - left Iraq, the Army was already busy planning for its return to the Army's "Ready Force Pool" and future missions.
Before the unit could be considered ready, a major reset - or complete overhaul of equipment and re-stationing and training of personnel - had to be accomplished fast enough to allow incoming personnel to train on the necessary equipment and in the proper training strategies.
Joint Operation nets two caches
By Multi-National Division - Baghdad PAO
Blackanthem Military News, BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi national police and Multi-National Division - Baghdad troops discovered two caches in a joint operation in Al-Doura, a southern neighborhood in the Iraqi capital Feb. 1.
The operation was to disrupt insurgent activity by the national police searching houses in the area, with the support of troops out of 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
The munitions caches, discovered at approximately 4:30 p.m., included multiple side-arms, an AK-47 with 3,000 rounds, a complete improvised explosive device, 15 pounds of homemade explosives, two pounds of plastic explosives, a 125mm projectile with detonation cord and fuse, 239 57mm projectiles, as well as various protective gear.
An explosive ordnance team destroyed the confiscated materials at the site.
(via BLACKANTHEM)
Hardt Column
Blog-Ah! has published the latest column from David Hardt, a soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Baghdad.
Overhaul window short
By Margaret Friedenauer, Daily News-Miner
Scrubbed clean but showing a few scuffs and scratches, the Stryker vehicles being offloaded from rail cars at Fort Wainwright on Thursday looked much different than they did roaming the streets and countryside of Iraq just a few months ago with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
There were no 50-caliber machine guns mounted to the tops, no reams of barbed wire, no slat armor or ballistic shields. There was no rubber duckie mounted to the front of the vehicle once commanded by Lt. Col. Al Kelly to illustrate his penchant for encountering improvised explosive devices, a trait earning him the moniker “sitting duck.” Replacing the white, wooden signs with red Arabic writing that warned motorists and potential vehicular suicide bombers to “Stay Back” were pink labels with “Packing Slip Enclosed.”
2nd Cavalry gets a sports bar to call home
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
VILSECK, Germany — The ratio was overwhelming — 50 guys to two women — at Vilseck’s new on-post sports bar.
The Zone, which opened Jan. 4, fills what used to be an auditorium inside the Langenbruk Center — a large building near the 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment headquarters at Vilseck. It includes numerous flat-screen televisions above the bar and around the room. There are various amusements, other than beer, that range from basketball shooting games to pool tables. The decor includes dim lighting and larger than life posters of sporting icons.
