PFC Junior Cedeno Sanchez
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Junior Cedeno Sanchez, 20, of Miami, Fla. died May 28 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position during a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones he leaves behind. Any articles we find will be added to this entry.
SSG Thomas M. McFall
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Thomas M. McFall, 36, of Glendora, Calif. died May 28 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position during a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow soldiers during this difficult time. We will add any subsequent articles we find to this entry.
PFC Charles B. Hester
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Charles B. Hester, 23, of Cataldo, Idaho, died May 26 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when the vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the loved ones he leaves behind. Any articles we find will be added to this entry.
New Scam Targets Military Spouses
WASHINGTON, May 31, 2007 – The American Red Cross is warning military spouses about a new identity-theft scam that targets family members of deployed troops.
The Red Cross was alerted of the scam earlier this month, said Devorah Goldburg of the Red Cross.
The scam involves a person with an American accent calling a military spouse, identifying herself as a representative of the Red Cross, and telling the spouse that her husband was hurt in Iraq and was medically evacuated to Germany. The caller then says that doctors can't start treatment until paperwork is completed, and that to start the paperwork they need the spouse to verify her husband's social security number and date of birth.
Injured soldier returns home
By Mark J. Armstrong, The Daily Times
It’s been eight months since U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Boothby was injured by a roadside improvised explosive device near Baghdad.
Two pieces of shrapnel remain lodged in Boothby’s head, and his left arm and hand still are weak. Boothby also has no left peripheral vision.
Despite that, family members said Boothby has come a long way.
Soldiers Help Iraqi Doctor See Over 200 Patients
By Sgt. Armando Monroig, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAQOUBA, Iraq – During her first visit to the Buhriz Clinic, Capt. Jan Rose saw an empty medical facility with only the clinic director present.
“We were told there was a physician that was kidnapped by al-Qaida and later executed,” said Rose, a nurse with the 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, from Little Rock, Ark. “So, all the physicians were afraid to come back and work at that clinic. It was done as an example so the physicians would work with the terrorists – if they didn’t (cooperate), they would be executed.”
Fort Lewis Troops Set Up Combat Outpost
By Spc. Alexis Harrison, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
BAGHDAD – The troops from Task Force 1-14 Cavalry (1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment) operating in the Iraqi capital as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, have had to go through many changes.
They moved from Forward Operating Base Falcon to FOB Union III after the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division showed up a few months ago from Fort Riley, Kan.
Stryker Soldiers Start Afresh in Tarmiyah
By Staff Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
TARMIYAH, Iraq — Tarmiyah is a town with a history of violence, but three months to the day insurgents mounted an attack against Soldiers in a patrol base in Tarmiyah, killing two and wounding 29, Stryker Soldiers were back out walking the streets of the town.
Watchful eyes followed the Soldiers’ progress through a marketplace. Locals lined the shops of the town, a Sunni insurgent stronghold, watched as the Soldiers approached people out in the street, saying hello and shaking hands. The people seemed curious, and guarded.
As Capt. Patrick Roddy put it, “some of them are not thrilled we are here.”
Fort Lewis to consolidate memorials for dead
Michael Gilbert, The News Tribune
Fort Lewis, which this month has suffered its worst losses of the war, will no longer conduct individual memorial ceremonies for soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead, the post will hold one ceremony for all soldiers killed each month, the Fort Lewis acting commanding general, Brig. Gen. William Troy, wrote in a memo to commanders and staff last week.
“As much as we would like to think otherwise, I am afraid that with the number of soldiers we now have in harm’s way, our losses will preclude us from continuing to do individual memorial ceremonies,” Troy wrote in the memo, according to a copy obtained by United for Peace Pierce County and posted on the group’s Web site. A post spokesman confirmed the policy change Tuesday. It will start in June.
SPC Mathew P. LaForest
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Mathew P. LaForest, 21, of Austin, Texas, died May 25 in Taji, Iraq, of injuries suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time.
Working Dogs Bring Bite to the Fight
By Sgt. Armando Monroig, 5th MPAD
BAQOUBA, Iraq – Soldiers went into the village hunting for insurgents and the materials they use to create car bombs, roadside bombs or suicide vests.
The troops took with them their normal weapons and equipment – Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker vehicles, rifles and ammunition, radios – as they searched the outskirts of Khan Bani Sa’ad, about 15 miles south of Baqouba, Iraq, May 15.
Memorial Changes
On his blog Mike Gilbert of The News Tribune discusses a new protocol for Ft. Lewis memorials honoring fallen soldiers.
Related Article:
Fort Lewis moves to monthly memorial - The News Tribune
Memorial Day
"Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men." -- Pericles (c. 600 B.C.E.)
This entry will remain on top through Memorial Day. We will resume our regular news coverage on Tuesday, May 29.
Please take a moment to visit our Memorial Page honoring soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
You might also be interested in reading past entries from our Tributes Category.
U.S. Memorial Day Website - Great launching point for learning more about this holiday.
Memorial Day Quotations - Words for reflection.
Please feel free to share other links of interest in the comments section.
Adam Watkins' Condition Improving
The following provides an update on the condition of a Stryker soldier injured last week.
By Grant Hall, The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE--It seems like just the other day that Adam Watkins was playing games with my son Scott, two houses down from us on Stagecoach Drive, or going to see "Jurassic Park" with our families.
Adam's older sister, Liz, was best friends with my daughter, Joanna, and still is.
Last Monday, Pfc. Adam Watkins, 21, just three weeks into his tour of duty in Iraq, was severely injured when the Stryker Armored Vehicle he was driving ran over an improvised explosive device.
No Time for Grieving in Iraq's Daily Grind
Jane Arraf reports from Diyala with the 5-20 INF, 3/2 SBCT.
Baquba - The tattoo circles his left wrist – “Our Fallen Brothers” – the ink etched into his skin almost the same color as the blue in Army uniform.
“I don’t like to wear jewelry,” says Sergeant Michael Alsip with one of those understated explanations common to soldiers.
For most soldiers deployed in what has become one of fiercest fights in Iraq, the names of fallen comrades hardly fit any more on the black metal bracelets some wear to commemorate them.
Three from family serve in Iraq
LACEY — As the wife, mother and mother-in-law of Fort Lewis soldiers headed to Iraq, Joyce Hawkins said her fair share of goodbyes to family members last summer.
But in an improbable twist, the soldiers didn’t have to bid farewell to one another.
Her loved ones all serve in the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, a subordinate unit of one of the two Stryker brigades serving in and around Baghdad.
Memorials for area troops bigger these days
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
With each announcement from the Pentagon that another Fort Lewis soldier has been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s usually just a few hours before a portrait of the life lost begins to emerge.
On the Internet, and in the 24-hour news cycle, stories come quickly about young men and women with hopes and dreams and people who loved them.
In past wars, a soldier’s death usually was reported in a two- or three-sentence news item played on an inside page in the local newspaper, often weeks after the fact.
Seven hostages rescued in Baqubah
BAQUBAH — Coalition forces rescued seven kidnapped victims during a three-day operation in Chibernat, a village north of Baqubah, Wednesday.
Coalition forces also discovered more than 10 caches, nine improvised explosive devices and detained 11 suspected insurgents throughout the course of the operation.
The caches consisted of rocket-propelled grenade munitions, small-arms weapon systems, approximately 200 loaded AK-47 magazines, IED-making materials, grenades, mortar rounds and a suicide vest.
MySpace as a war memorial
Heather Woodward, The Olympian
Pfc. Anthony J. Sausto liked listening to the band Green Day and watching movies starring Adam Sandler.
The Fort Lewis soldier wanted to have children someday.
Sausto was killed May 10 by small-arms fire in Baghdad, but many personal details and his photograph live on at his MySpace.com profile.
Haunted by memories, a warrior seeks change
The following article is a detailed profile of retired CSM Thomas Adams, who is struggling to recover from PTSD. He served with the 1/25 SBCT in Mosul.
SPANAWAY, Pierce County -- By the end of his tour in Iraq, Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Adams was crushed by memories. Too many memorial services for dead soldiers. Too many visits to the wounded in the hospital wards. Too many innocents -- men, women and children -- blown up by insurgent bombs or killed inadvertently by his Fort Lewis brigade.
Adams, the highest-ranking enlisted soldier in his brigade, started taking tranquilizers to help him sleep. In an unusual step, he shared his struggles with the homeward-bound troops.
At a dusty desert base in Kuwait, Adams went from unit to unit, telling his fellow soldiers that he was not OK and would seek counseling when he returned. He urged others to do the same.
SGT Iosiwo Uruo
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Iosiwo Uruo, 27, of Agana Heights, Guam, died May 24, in Buhriz, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire. 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 offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones he leaves behind. Any articles we find will be added to this entry.
Army struts Stryker’s stuff
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — The U.S. Army got a chance to show off its Stryker armored personnel carrier this week to delegates from the 56-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
A 1999 agreement called the the Vienna Document requires members of the organization, which includes the U.S., to demonstrate major weapons within a year of their deployment in Europe, U.S. Army Europe public affairs officer Bruce Anderson said.
Col. Ricky Gibbs Press Briefing
Col. Gibbs mentioned joint operations with the 3/2 SBCT in his briefing today.
DoD News Briefing with Col. Ricky Gibbs at the Pentagon
[...]
We are currently now in the middle of a combat operation called Operation Dragon Fire. Together with the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's Arrowhead Brigade, which is commanded by my good friend Colonel Steve Townsend, and our three partnered Iraqi security force brigades, we are clearing the areas in order to defeat those extremist actors and those criminals who are using the area as a safe haven to launch attacks against the peace-loving Iraqi people and coalition forces.
Just some of the significant results of this operation I'd like to highlight:
SSG Kristopher A. Higdon
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
SSG Kristopher A. Higdon died May 22 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow soldiers during this difficult time. We will add any subsequent articles we find to this entry.
SSG David C. Kuehl
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. David C. Kuehl, 27, of Wahpeton, N.D., died May 22 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit.He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the loved ones he leaves behind. Any articles we find will be added to this entry.
PFC Robert A. Worthington
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
PFC Robert A. Worthington died May 22 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones he leaves behind. Any articles we find will be added to this entry.
Soldier survives IED explosion that killed six of his friends
The following story also includes video.
A broken arm and a few scrapes and bruises are the only visible signs that Larry Clark was hurt when he drove over an IED and it exploded.
"Usually a stryker can handle IED's fairly well. Usually hardly anyone gets hurt," said the Army Infantryman from Yorktown. But the enormous blast killed six of his closest friends who sat just inches from him. Sgt. Jason Harkins, Cpl. Joel Lewis, Spc. Anthony Bradshaw, Pfc. Michael Pursel and Sgt. Vinchinzio Romeo were all killed May 6th, during the explosion.
Brigade expects to end up in Iraq
By BRAD RHEN, Lebanon Daily News
When the Army announced its latest round of troop rotations for Iraq earlier this month, the writing was scribbled on the wall for many Pennsylvania National Guardsmen.
Of the 10 brigades slated for deployment by the end of this year, two are Stryker brigades — the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment from Vilseck, Germany, and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
The 2nd Stryker Cavalry is making its second deployment to Iraq since it became operational as a Stryker brigade four years ago.
But of more interest to Pennsylvania troops is the deployment of 2nd Brigade of the 25th Infantry. That brigade is the fifth of seven planned Stryker brigades throughout the Army, and it just became operational this year.
Memorial Day Calendar
Mike Gilbert of The News Tribune outlines Memorial Day activities in the Puget Sound region on his blog.
'The Bradley, upside down, was on fire.'
A photo-journalist embedded with Stryker soldiers responds to an attack on a separate unit operating in the area.
We were in a private house in Amiriya, a Sunni suburb near Baghdad airport. The soldiers were talking to residents when we heard gunfire and an explosion. It was late afternoon Baghdad time, and my second patrol of the day. A call came through the radio - we headed to the scene.
The Stryker vehicle platoon I was with was acting as the Quick Reaction Force that day, supporting the US military and Iraqi army in the area. When you hear an explosion you don't know what it is. We arrived to find a lot of smoke and moved into a house to assess whether there was shooting still going on.
Photos: With the 3rd Stryker in Baghdad
A new album (5 photos) from the Army website. Description:
Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, search for weapons caches and insurgents during a clearing mission in Baghdad on May 6.
Stryker transportation a joint effort
By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser
The U.S. military likes to talk about "joint operations" and "joint basing" — essentially services working together.
Since January, an Army watercraft has made a lot of trips from the Navy's Alpha docks at Hickam Air Force Base to transport Stryker armored vehicles to and from the Big Island.
Diyala Updates
The Fourth Rail has another in depth analysis of the situation in the Diyala Province. Excerpt:
The province of Diyala, where al Qaeda has established its command headquarters over the past year, has been the scene of increased activity of the past several days. Al Qaeda conducted a sophisticated attack in a Kurdish village in the north, and a coordinated attack on a military outpost and a bank in Baqubah. The U.S. detained two al Qaeda leaders in a raid in the city, while the general commanding the 5th Iraqi Army Division was relieved of his command. The recent events signal the Diyala Campaign is on the horizon as both sides seek to consolidate their positions in the province.
PFC Jonathan V. Hamm
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Jonathan V. Hamm, 20, of Baltimore, Md., died May 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his forward operating base received indirect enemy fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow soldiers during this difficult time. We will add any subsequent articles we find to this entry.
PFC Aaron D. Gautier
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Aaron D. Gautier, 19, of Hampton, Va., died May 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his mounted patrol came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire and an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the loved ones he leaves behind. Any articles we find will be added to this entry.
Uncertain Allies In A Threatening Landscape
Baghdad, May 17, 2007 – The Army’s Stryker vehicles are meant to be fast and agile. But with an ever-changing array of dangers on the roads in some of Baghdad’s still-volatile neighborhoods getting there is half the battle.
So on Tuesday, as brigade commander Steve Townsend went out to check on his latest battalion to arrive in Iraq the Strykers slowed to a crawl through an area known as a zone for EFPs – explosively-formed penetrators – the roadside bombs that can penetrate a tank.
They’ve been found hidden in the debris along the sides of the road in pieces of foam and chunks of concrete.
Vilseck businesses brace for deployment
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
VILSECK, Germany — Shops, bars and restaurants here are bracing themselves for hard times while 3,500 soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment are in Iraq.
Last week, the Department of Defense announced that 10 brigades, including 2nd Cav and Baumholder’s 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, will deploy to Iraq between August and December. Vilseck Mayor Hans-Martin Schertl said Tuesday that 2nd Cav officials told him they will deploy in August for 15 months.
General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award
A Captain with the 2/25 SBCT (Hawaii) was an award recipient.
BY J.D. Leipold, Army News Service
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 17, 2007) - Twenty-eight Army officers were presented the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award for exceptional leadership skills by Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey and Jake Tobin, MacArthur Foundation representative, at the Pentagon yesterday.
In its 20th year, the award is given annually to active-duty and reserve-component company-grade officers who exhibit outstanding military performance, leadership and achievement, and who also reflect the ideals for which Gen. MacArthur stood - duty, honor and country.
Tips are many, facts are few
By Damien Cave, New York Times
RUSHDIMULLAH, IRAQ - The stories have come in by the dozen.
One man swore that he had personally buried two Americans. As soldiers quickly began digging, another man came up and asked why they were unearthing his cousin.
Other Iraqis have said they saw the Americans walking, encircled by their captors. And still more have fingered people who they thought might have something to do with the ambush on Saturday that killed four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter.
Tributes From Comrades
Mike Gilbert shares tributes from a memorial held in Iraq to honor the six soldiers killed from 5-20 INF, 3/2 SBCT on May 10, 2007.
David Hard Column
Blog-Ah! has published its latest column form David Hardt, a soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Iraq. He talks about the loss of the 6 soldiers on May 10, 2007, whom he knew personally.
Search Continues
The Fourth Rail has an extensive update on the search for the three missing soldiers, which has been joined by the 1-23 INF, 3/2 SBCT.
Rashid Clearing Continues
By Major Kirk Luedeke, 1st Inf. Div. PAO
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Security Forces, along with Coalition Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad continued clearing operations in southwestern Baghdad neighborhoods May 14 and 15, detaining two suspects believed to be involved in anti-coalition activities and seizing seven caches containing explosively-formed projectiles, artillery and mortar shells, weapons and other bomb-making materials.
Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division and the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, along with national police and Iraqi Army troops, continued Operation Dragon Fire/Arrowhead Strike 10 to rid the Rashid District of southwestern Baghdad of terrorists and criminals and protect the population.
Stryker Soldiers Clear East Side of Baqubah
By Staff Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAQUBAH, Iraq - About a month and a half after entering the city of Baqubah, Soldiers of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, completed clearing the east side of the city during a week-long operation in the neighborhood of Tahrir that began April 23.
The battalion encountered heavy resistance during the first two days of the operation, engaging insurgents in several firefights that lasted for hours.
Strykers Search for Missing Soldiers
Blackfive uploaded the following B-Roll footage of Stryker soldiers searching for the three missing soldiers. The raw footage can be found at DVIDS if you'd like to view or download the original file.
Military blocks sites MySpace, YouTube
The one caveat to this policy is that it only applies to those accessing the internet through the military network. Soldiers are still able to visit these sites if they have access to private internet cafes on base.
LOLITA C. BALDOR; The Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Lt. Daniel Zimmerman, an infantry platoon leader in Iraq, puts a blog post on the Internet every now and then “to basically keep my friends and family up to date” back home.
It just got tougher to do that for Zimmerman and a lot of other U.S. soldiers. No more using the military’s computer system to socialize and trade videos on MySpace, YouTube and more than a dozen other Web sites, the Pentagon says.
Too Hot for Mission
By Sgt. Nicole Kojetin, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
BAGHDAD – “Ugh! It’s real hot. It’s like being in an oven,” said Spc. Erik Gonzalez from Sun Valley, Texas, May 10, in a brief pause from guzzling water.
He was tucked under a little tree taking advantage the small amount of shade, not caring that he was kneeling right next to a thorn bush. Gonzalez and his comrades from Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division were on hour five of a clearing operation in Baghdad’s western Rashid District and were trying to take a break from the sun.
Coalition Forces Clear Outskirts of Baqubah
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAQUBAH, Iraq – U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers hunted for al-Qaida in Iraq operatives as they moved through the outskirts of Baqubah, Iraq, May 6.
During the operation, members of 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, and Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., focused on the villages of Abu Karuum and Abu Fa’ad, where they believed persons with ties to the terrorist organization were located.
Virtual Training Crucial at Schofield
Julia Norton-Dennis, KGMB News
Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team drove stryker armored combat vehicles on icy roads, with improvised explosive devices going off around them, up and down steep hills. But they did it all without leaving Schofield Barracks. The Army says this virtual training is vital.
"All right, you got a truck coming up. You're going to have to merge into the left lane," says a trainer, as he watches a screen showing a Stryker moving along a road.
Arraf Reports: Baghdad's Sectarian Fault Line
Baghdad – The U.S. military and the Iraqi police know this neighborhood and its abandoned houses pockmarked with bullet holes as one of the front lines in Baghdad’s sectarian war.
Azhar and her family know it as home.
This part of the Baya neighborhood on the south-Western edge of the city is one of the fault lines in Iraq’s sectarian war. Sunnis extremists to the south, Shiite militias to the north – both sides dart in to launch attacks and leave, the military says.
Which is why most of the people here left months ago.
Most of the neighborhood consists of dusty streets interspersed with streams of sewer water. Almost all of the shops are shuttered. A lone stray dog searchs vainly for garbage that isn’t plastic bags or soda cans. The soldiers also keep an eye on the garbage as we make our way through the streets – on alert for roadside bombs hidden in the debris.
Ft. Lewis Memorial
Ft. Lewis held a memorial this afternoon for the six Stryker Brigade soldiers killed on May 10, 2007. The following articles describe the event.
- Fort Lewis remembers soldiers killed in Iraq (includes video) - KING 5 News
- Fort Lewis remembers 6 soldiers killed in Iraq - The Associated Press
- Fort Lewis Remembers 6 Soldiers Killed In Iraq (includes video) - KOMO 4 News
- Fallen soldiers remembered at Fort Lewis memorial - The Seattle Times
- Somber farewell for six killed by bomb (audio slideshow included) - The Olympian
- Maj. Robert Bennett's Eulogy - As published by The Seattle Times
- A family of soldiers, shattered - The News Tribune
Michael Yon to Embed With Strykers
I recently had an email exchange with freelance journalist Michael Yon, who is currently in Iraq covering the Marines in Al Anbar province. He confirmed that he will be embedding shortly with the 3/2 SBCT, and will be covering them for the remainder of their extended deployment.
For those of you not familiar with Michael's work I strongly encourage you to visit his website and browse the "Michael's Most Popular" section at the bottom of the page. He was embedded for months with the 1-24 INF ("Deuce Four"), 1/25 SBCT in 2005 while they were in Mosul, and many of those dispatches are from that period.
As a freelance journalist (and former special forces soldier, btw) he relies heavily on donations to keep him in Iraq. If you value this kind of coverage I strongly encourage you to drop a few bucks in his tip jar. I made my donation yesterday. To learn more about Michael and why he's in Iraq, please visit his "Thank You For Your Support" page.
US soldier's Iraq frontline blog wins prize
An American soldier's graphic account of his deployment in Iraq, detailing the firefights and frustrations of frontline life, has won a prize for books based on blogs, organisers said Monday.
Colby Buzzell's "My War: Killing Time In Iraq", the winner of this year's Lulu Blooker Prize, grew out of an online journal which he started in 2004 while serving as a machine-gunner based in Mosul, northern Iraq.
Stryker unit joins fight in Diyala, reports say
Update 05/15: Mike Gilbert provides additional information re: this move on his FOB Tacoma blog. Bottom line? The entire brigade has not moved.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
U.S. military commanders in Iraq have apparently moved all or most of a newly arrived Stryker brigade up to Diyala province to join hundreds of other Fort Lewis Stryker troops fighting insurgents there, according to published reports.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division moved northeast of the capital in response to a commander’s request for more troops in the province, which has seen heavy fighting the past several weeks.
The Fort Lewis-based 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment has been there since mid-March in a shift to deal with insurgents fleeing the U.S. and Iraqi security crackdown in Baghdad. The battalion has lost nine soldiers – seven last week – and many more wounded since its move to Diyala.
A memorial ceremony for six soldiers killed May 6 in Baqouba is scheduled for 3 p.m. today at Fort Lewis.
[...]
PVT Anthony J. Sausto
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pvt. Anthony J. Sausto, 22, of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., died May 10 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire.He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow soldiers during this difficult time. We will add any subsequent articles we find to this entry.
US to send more troops to restive Iraqi province
BAGHDAD -- The US military said Sunday it will send 3,000 more troops to a violence-ridden province northeast of Baghdad following a plea for reinforcements from the senior US commander in the area.
"There is a recognition clearly that up in Diyala there has been an up-tick in the violence," US spokesman Major General William Caldwell said at a press conference Sunday.
Caldwell said the number two US commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, had decided to move an infantry brigade equipped with Stryker armored vehicles to Diyala province.
Stryker Losses in Iraq Raise Questions
The Stryker concept has been controversial since its inception, but the vast majority of first-hand reports have been very positive.
By Robert H. Reid and Anne Flaherty, The Associated Press
BAGHDAD — A string of heavy losses from powerful roadside bombs has raised new questions about the vulnerability of the Stryker, the Army's troop-carrying vehicle hailed by supporters as the key to a leaner, more mobile force.
Since the Strykers went into action in violent Diyala province north of Baghdad two months ago, losses of the vehicles have been rising steadily, U.S. officials said.
SGT Jason W. Vaughn
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Jason W. Vaughn, 29, of Iuka, Miss., died May 10 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.Vaughn was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and fellow soldiers Vaughn leaves behind.
A Fort Lewis stalwart praised as ‘a great mentor and adviser’
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
These are tough times for Army spouses at Fort Lewis, even before this week’s tragic news that nine more local soldiers had died.
Most of the 10,000 Fort Lewis soldiers now deployed to Iraq left a wife or a husband back home. And most who are there have had their combat tours extended from 12 to 15 months.
So it might come as a little bit of a lift to learn that one of their own was chosen to represent all Army spouses Friday in a White House ceremony to mark Military Spouse Appreciation Day.
DoD Briefing with Maj. Gen. Mixon from Iraq
Mixon, who is in charge of all coalition forces in Northern Iraq, including the Diyala Provice where the 5-20 INF is operating, gave a press briefing from Iraq today. The full transcript is available. Excerpt:
GEN. MIXON: I have enough soldiers in my area of Nineveh province, Salahuddin province and also Kirkuk province to provide that security and to conduct operations with those divisions in that area and to move them forward. I do not have enough soldiers right now in Diyala province to get that security situation moving. We have plans to put additional forces in that area. I can't discuss the details of that. We have put additional forces in there over the last couple of months, an additional Stryker Battalion. But I'm going to need additional forces in Diyala province to get that situation to a more acceptable level so the Iraqi security forces will be able in the future to handle that.
(via FOB Tacoma)
Photos: Stryker Operations
Recent photo albums from DVIDS.
- Combined Cordon and Search in Ameriyah (16 images, 5/11/07)
- Cordon and Search (13 images, 5/10/07)
- Ameriyah Operations (27 images, 5/9/07)
- Dora Patrol (17 images, 5/9/07)
You can find many more older albums on DVIDS by browsing "Stryker" search results.
1-14 Cavalry Troops Take Over Operations on Haifa Street
By Sgt. Robert Yde, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE UNION III, Iraq – After spending the majority of the month of April providing assistance in Diwaniyah, Iraq, the Soldiers of 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, are back in Baghdad and focusing their attention on to their next mission – taking over operations in the Haifa Street area in Baghdad’s city center.
“It’s definitely a more challenging battlefield,” Troop A commander, Capt. Gerald Resmondo said of Haifa Street. “It’s probably the most challenging battle space or area of operations that we’ve operated in just because of all the built-up and high-rise buildings.”
E-Mails Reveal a Fallen Soldier's Story
SSG Darrell R. Griffin Jr., a soldier with the 2-3 INF, 3/2 SBCT, was killed in Iraq in March 2007. US News reporter Alex Kingsbury interviewed SSG Griffin at length when he was embedded with the unit. In the following article, which was just published, Kingsbury supplements that material by speaking with Griffin's family. The result is a must-read, and is certainly one of the most in-depth profiles of a fallen soldier that I have read. What is excerpted below is only one page of an eight page article.
By Alex Kingsbury, US News & World Report
Four days before his death, Army Staff Sgt. Darrell Ray Griffin Jr., an infantry squad leader in Baghdad, sent an E-mail to his wife, Diana. "Spartan women of Greece used to tell their husbands, before they went into battle, to come back with their shields or laying on them, dying honorably in battle. But if they did not return with their shield, this showed that they ran away from the battle. Cowardice was not a Spartan virtue ... Tell me that you love me the same by me coming back with my shield or on it."
A few days later, Diana replied. "Are you ok??? I haven't heard from you since Sunday and it is now Wednesday ... I know you said you were going on a dangerous mission ... I get so nervous when I don't hear from you ... phone call or e-mail ... I just hope and pray your ok honey ... "
It was an E-mail Griffin would never read.
The Diyala Salvation Front
The Fourth Rail takes a look at the ongoing situation in Diyala, including the formation of a new alliance of local tribes to confront al-Qaeda in the province.
David Hard Column
Blog-Ah! has published its latest column from David Hardt, a soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Iraq. This week Hardt examines the new OPSEC regulations issued by the Army.
Bringing home soldiers a somber duty
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
The bad news arrived between 3 and 4 in the morning, like nearly every other time that Maj. Bob Bennett’s comrades have called from Iraq to let him know that another of their soldiers has died.
The caller gives a name, a Social Security number and preliminary details. It sets in motion a process that will draw in many of the 250 or so soldiers under Bennett’s charge as a Stryker brigade rear detachment commander.
“Everything stops,” Bennett said Thursday. “We are doing other things – training replacements, for instance. We have trained and sent more than 100 soldiers to Iraq as replacements.”
CPL Michael A. Pursel
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cpl. Michael A. Pursel, 19, of Clinton, Utah, died May 6 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
CPL Anthony M. Bradshaw
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cpl. Anthony M. Bradshaw, 21, of San Antonio, Texas, died May 6 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
CPL Matthew L. Alexander
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cpl. Matthew L. Alexander, 21, of Gretna, Neb., died May 6 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
SGT Joel W. Lewis
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Joel W. Lewis, 28, of Sandia Park, N.M., died May 6 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
SGT Jason R. Harkins
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Jason R. Harkins, 25, of Clarkesville, Ga., died May 6 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
SSG Vincenzo Romeo
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Vincenzo Romeo, 23, of Lodi, N.J., died May 6 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
2nd Cavalry will rehearse at Hohenfels for mission in Iraq
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
VILSECK, Germany — The 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment will conduct a mission rehearsal exercise in June at Hohenfels’ Joint Multinational Readiness Center to prepare troops for deployment to Iraq in August.
On Tuesday, the Department of Defense announced that 10 brigades, including 2nd Cav and Baumholder’s 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, will deploy to Iraq between August and December.
Maj. Jon Pendell, a 2nd Cav spokesman, said Wednesday that the unit is equipped, trained and ready to deploy.
Schofield Couple Gets Ready For Iraq
By Leland Kim, KHNL News (Video included)
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS (KHNL) - The Department of Defense taps more Schofield soldiers to deploy to Iraq. The announcement came Tuesday morning, which means units from the 2nd Stryker Brigade and nine other Army units will leave before the end of the year.
Captain Glen Helberg smiles for his wife Shannon as takes his picture. A member of the 2nd Stryker Brigade, he will ship out to Iraq at the end of the year.
"It's something we kind of expected," he said. "It wasn't really a question of if; it was a question of when."
Fort Lewis community answers news of deaths with prayer
Link via Blog-Ah!.
FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- In the days following the worst hit to date on a heavily armored Stryker vehicle from Fort Lewis, there were no public memorials, no obvious remembrances for the fallen soldiers in the communities surrounding the base.
A roadside bomb Sunday in Iraq claimed the lives of six American soldiers from Fort Lewis and one Russian photographer; two soldiers were wounded. The base plans a memorial service May 15.
Injured soldier would have been in Stryker
The bullet that pierced Spc. Josh Holubz’s left shoulder March 17 might have saved the Stryker soldier’s life.
Holubz, who lives in Parkland, was a rifleman with A Company of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, which lost six soldiers Sunday in a roadside bombing in Baqouba, Iraq.
Stryker unit set to deploy to desert fight
By Gregg K. Kakesako, Honolulu Star Bulletin
Despite setbacks brought about by environmental lawsuits that restricted training, leaders of the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team say they're on track to deploy to Iraq in December.
Capt. Glen Helberg, who served a combat tour in 2003 in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division, says he's looking forward to putting the 19-ton, eight-wheeled Stryker vehicle through its paces.
Helberg belongs to the nearly 4,000-member Stryker team, one of 10 Army brigades that received orders taking them to Iraq for up to 15 months.
Photographer Died Doing What He Loved
Along with six soldiers, photojournalist Dmitry Chebotayev was killed in the explosion on Sunday. The following article is a profile of Chebotayev, and also provides details of the day's events.
Update 05/09: Here's a related article from The News Tribune.
By TODD PITMAN, The Associated Press
BAQOUBA, Iraq -- In the last hours of his life, Russian photojournalist Dmitry Chebotayev was doing what he lived for: taking pictures. And laughing.
Chebotayev died Sunday when a bomb exploded under the U.S. Stryker troop carrier he was traveling in as it moved down a road in this insurgent-plagued city northeast of Baghdad, killing him along with six American soldiers. He was 29.
[...]
DoD Announces Force Adjustments
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Stryker) is on the list of scheduled deployments announced by the Pentagon, as is the 2/25 SBCT.
The Department of Defense announced today additional major units scheduled to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The announcement involves 10 brigade combat teams consisting of approximately 35,000 personnel.
These units will deploy as replacement forces for formations currently operating in Iraq. The deployment window for these units will begin in August 2007 and continue through the end of the year.
These deployments will provide commanders in Iraq the flexibility to maintain the appropriate level of effort based on their assessment of the security situation on the ground.
Worst Stryker attack ever kills six
The following is an updated version of the story we linked to yesterday.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
The bomb that killed six Fort Lewis soldiers Sunday was the deadliest attack on a Stryker since the armored vehicles entered service in Iraq 31/2 years ago.
It was also the worst loss of life for local soldiers since the December 2004 chow hall bombing in Mosul, when six Fort Lewis troops died in an attack that killed 22 in all.
Few details emerged Monday about the improvised bomb strike in Diyala province, north of Baghdad. But in a Web statement, an al-Qaida front organization, the Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In addition to the six soldiers who were killed, a Russian news photographer died, and two other soldiers were wounded.
The soldiers were from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, one of the infantry battalions of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. The Stryker brigade has been in Iraq since June and was recently extended to remain into October.
[...]
Six killed in bomb blast were local soldiers
We will certainly post additional information as it becomes available.
MIKE GILBERT; The News Tribune
The six U.S. soldiers killed in a roadside bomb strike Sunday in Diyala Province were from Fort Lewis, a post spokesman said Monday.
The soldiers were all Strykers assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. A journalist embedded with their unit was also killed.
“It is a Fort Lewis unit. We have been anticipating the first call asking whether they were Fort Lewis soldiers: yes, they were,” said Joseph Piek, the post spokesman.
[...]
Videos: Recent Stryker Operations
Links to recent videos published at DVIDS.
Strykers on the Range in Kuwait
B-roll of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division testing its Mobile Gun System Strykers for the final time before they enter combat. Scenes include Soldiers entering the Strykers, firing the vehicles' gun system and driving through the desert. Produced by Cpl. Joseph Bicchieri.
This edition features stories on the arrival in Iraq of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and detaining suspected terrorists. Hosted by Spc. John Sheldon.
Package of Strykers arriving in the Diyala Province and conducting operations with other units. Produced by Spc. Samantha Szesciorka.
Strykers Find Action in First Mission to Baqubah
Package about a Stryker battalion engaging insurgents immediately upon arriving to the area. Produced by Spc. Justin Puetz.
Heavy Fighting Continues in Baqubah
B-roll of Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment engaging insurgents in heavy fighting while clearing a neighborhood in Baqubah. Scenes includes Soldiers fighting in the streets and on rooftops, moving under cover of smoke and Apache helicopters flying overhead.
Stryker Unit Air Assaults to Capture Terrorists
By Staff Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAQOUBA, Iraq -- Stryker Soldiers in Baquba launched an air assault against al-Qaida in Iraq in the farmlands south of Buhriz, April 16.
Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., captured twelve suspected terrorists and killed another during the 24-hour operation in the largest air assault ever by a Stryker unit, according to Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Huggins, battalion command sergeant major.
Bronze Star With ‘V’ Device Awarded
By Sgt. Robert Yde, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE UNION III, Iraq – During a squadron awards ceremony April 29, Sgt. Marvin Sanjurjo, a member of 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor Device for actions he took last year while his unit was conducting operations in Baghdad.
The Bronze Star Medal, which is the Army’s fourth highest combat medal, is awarded for heroic or meritorious achievement while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States, and the Valor device identifies the award as resulting from an act of combat heroism.
New Stryker brigade added to Fort Lewis
The following story also contains video after the link.
By Keith Eldridge, KOMO 4 News
The war means as many as 15,000 more people are moving to Ft. Lewis. The Army is adding a new Stryker Brigade to the fort. It's like dropping an instant city into the area.
The 4,000 men and women of the brand new 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division held their activation ceremony at the army base.
Some of them are seasoned combat veterans with several tours in Iraq. But many are young recruits who've never seen battle.
Dad accepts soldier's diploma
By Jeremy P. Meyer- Denver Post Staff Writer
Half a world away from Denver, Army Capt. Joel Parker sat in a military camp outside Baghdad on Saturday and watched his graduation ceremony from Regis University via the Internet.
A virtual graduation was fitting for Parker, since he has been completing his master's of business administration degree online while fighting on the front lines.
"It's a great feeling," said Parker in a telephone interview from Iraq. "It feels like a mission accomplished."
His father, Leedell Parker of Denver, stood in his 36-year-old son's place Saturday, donning a black cap and gown and striding across the Regis stage to accept the diploma to a standing ovation.
Stryker brigade readies for war
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
The Army officially activated the last of its seven Stryker brigades in a ceremony Friday at Fort Lewis, with one mission clearly in mind: getting its 4,000 mostly new soldiers ready to go to Iraq.
The 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division is scheduled to complete its training and preparations by early 2009.
The commander, Col. Harry Tunnell, was asked whether he thinks U.S. combat troops will still be in Iraq by then.
“That’s a question you’ll have to ask someone else,” Tunnell said. “We are training to go to war.”
New weapon set to psych out insurgents
A fresh Army Stryker brigade recently entered Iraq armed with the Mobile Gun System.
The MGS has a stabilized, direct-fire 105mm cannon mounted atop a Stryker vehicle for destroying hard targets such as bunkers and barricaded enemy positions.
The 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., is the first these fast-moving units to deploy with the new system.
David Hardt Column
Blog-Ah! has published its latest column from David Hardt, a soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Iraq.
Fort Lewis' latest Stryker brigade to be activated
The Army's seventh Stryker brigade will be officially activated in a ceremony Friday at this post south of Tacoma.
The ceremony will include an uncasing of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's colors, to signify its status as an active duty military unit, Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Hitt said Thursday. The 10 a.m. event will be held at Soldiers Field House on post.
The 5th Brigade is the fourth such brigade to be formed and trained at Fort Lewis, which is also home to the 3rd and 4th brigades - currently in Iraq. The Stryker is the Army's eight-wheeled, medium-weight vehicle.
[...]
4/2's Arrival
Mike Gilbert of The News Tribune has additional information regarding the 4/2 SBCT on his blog. He shares what he knows about where specific units will be located.
New Stryker Vehicles Tested
By Sgt. Thomas L. Day, 40th Public Affairs Detachment
KUWAIT — The 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division is making a debut of sorts. For its first time in combat, the newest edition of the Stryker vehicle will roll into Iraq, under the direction of this Fort Lewis, Wash. based unit.
The arrival of the vehicles drew a visit from Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb, Third Army/U.S. Army Central commanding general, during their training at the Udairi ranges in Kuwait.
Battlefield Advances
A Stryker soldier is featured in the following article regarding medical advances used to treat soldiers.
By Michael J. Weiss, Reader's Digest
"Oh My God, I'm Hit!"
Hot dust choked the air over the desert outside Rawah, Iraq. It wasn't even noon last June 27, but already the temperature had climbed to 100 degrees. Perched in the gun turret of his Stryker light-armored vehicle, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jacque Keeslar surveyed the dirt road ahead while on a mission to raid a safe house for suspected insurgents. As his patrol sped through the dusty landscape, 36-year-old Keeslar never saw the improvised bomb buried beneath the road. Suddenly an explosion ripped through the vehicle with a roar. "Oh, my God!" cried Keeslar as he frantically tried to pull himself out of the turret. "I'm hit!"
Three out of five soldiers in the Stryker sustained serious injuries, but his were the worst: The blast had shredded both his legs. Within 48 hours, surgeons in Germany amputated his right leg below the knee and his left one at the kneecap. "I don't remember when I realized my legs were gone," says Keeslar today. "All I could think about was starting the recovery process so I could walk again."
Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death
If strictly enforced this would be truly unfortunate. Milblogs provide valuable insight into the work our men and women are doing overseas.
Noah Shachtman, Wired Magazine
The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.
Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.
4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division arrives in Iraq
On the heels of the previous article comes this press release from MNF-Iraq.
Multi-National Corps – Iraq PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Corps-Iraq added a U.S. brigade this week to assist the Iraqi Security Forces in and around Baghdad.
The 4th Brigade, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Lewis, WA will be deployed in various locations around the country. Their mission will be to assist Iraqi Security Forces to clear, control and retain key areas of the capital city in order to reduce violence.
The brigade includes approximately 3,700 Soldiers.
4,000 U.S. Soldiers Arrive in Baghdad
This is the first mention of the 4/2 SBCT we've seen since it deployed. According to the article the 4/2 will operate in Baghdad and northern Iraq.
By HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) - Bombings and shootings killed 10 people Wednesday, including three Sunni brothers who were shot to death in Baghdad, and nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers arrived in the capital as a crackdown aimed at quelling the sectarian violence entered its 12th week.
The security efforts come as President Bush is engaged in a fierce debate with the Democratic-led Congress over the war in Iraq. Bush vetoed legislation to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq Tuesday night in a historic showdown with Congress over whether the unpopular and costly war should end or escalate. [...]
Dubik gives up Fort Lewis helm
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Fort Lewis’ departing commander offered a sobering assessment of the nation’s enemies Monday and expressed appreciation for the people he’s worked with the past 21/2 years at the local Army post.
Lt. Gen. James Dubik relinquished command in a ceremony to Brig. Gen. William Troy, who will serve as interim commander.
Stryker brigade troops credited with major find
ROBERT BURNS; The Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Fort Lewis soldiers leading a sweep of a Baghdad neighborhood found documents that enemies could use to gain entry to the fortified Green Zone, the Pentagon says.
The area where the documents were captured – just west of the Green Zone – has been a stronghold of Sunni extremists linked to al-Qaida, said Army Col. Steven Townsend, commander of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which led the operation.
