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TARMIYAH, Iraq – The Iraqi word sahwah means to wake up from sleep or to have a psychological awakening, and a sahwah or awakening of minds is currently taking place in Tarmiyah, Iraq, where tribal leaders and local residents have made the decision to stand up and fight terrorism.
Earlier this month, Iraqi army soldiers and Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash., began a joint effort to clear the city of al-Qaida.
Formerly a violent city and terrorist haven, Tarmiyah is now quickly becoming a place of peace and prosperity.
By Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
BAGHDAD – Two comrades with Company G, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, stationed out of Vilseck, Germany, experiences the first of 15 months in their unit’s deployment as the Iraqi capital’s quick-reaction force.
Pfc. Reuben Gonzales and Spc. Daniel Liles’ first month on the ground was not exactly what they expected. For Gonzales, training back at home station was helpful, but a little different.
“We might get into direct contact every other day which is a lot different than what we trained for. We trained everyday, it was a constant ‘Go, go, go,’” Gonzales said of Modesto, Calif.
TAJI, Iraq – The men and women of today’s all-volunteer force have many different reasons and motivations for joining. Whether it’s money for college, patriotism, or adventure, each individual’s choice is unique.
Spc. Anderia Mayom, a linguist attached to the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash., has always dreamed of becoming an American Soldier. To achieve this goal however, he had to confront many personal challenges.
THA’ALBA, Iraq – Iraqi and coalition forces captured six enemy targets during the early morning hours of Sept. 25 in Tha’Alba, Iraq, during Operation “Viking Squeeze II.”
U.S. Army Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash., and Soldiers from the Iraqi 5th Special Troops Company detained 10 individuals – six of which are suspected of facilitating and executing attacks against innocent civilians, Iraqi security forces and coalition forces.
By Sgt. Patrick Lair, 115th MPAD
KHAN BANI SA’AD, Iraq — A year since insurgents evicted them from their homes, more than 100 families are set to return to the neighborhood of Al-Askari, with funds supplied by the Iraqi federal government.
Thanks to a recent clearing operation in the embattled suburb of Khan Bani Sa’ad, about 10 miles north of Baghdad, insurgents and buried explosives have been removed from the streets, Iraqi security checkpoints established along the main roads and several thousand pounds of humanitarian aid have been delivered to local residents.
It was the first time Iraqi security forces planned, lead and executed their own mission in the area, with only logistical and secondary support from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
By Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
BAGHDAD - The essence of an insurgent-dominated neighborhood of the Iraqi capital's East Rashid District is evident as Soldiers weave through the desolate, maze-like streets peppered with improvised explosive devices. Several doors and gates are painted with evidence of a fanatic Muslim stronghold.
“In the name of God, I take back this house from the non-Muslim,” a Sunni interpreter reads from a gate. “Signed, al-Qaeda in Iraq.”
Despite the dangers that linger behind street corners and on rooftops, the Vilseck, Germany-based 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, currently with Multi-National Division – Baghdad, wanted to send a clear message to the insurgency Sept. 20.
Blog-Ah! has published its latest column from David Hardt, a 3/2 SBCT solider who recently returned home from Iraq. In this piece he talks about the difficulties of reintegration. Excerpt:
There are so many emotions you go through in the first 72 hours it’s not even funny, and I am almost ashamed to admit it. I tell myself I have done this before and I reintegrated just fine, but this time life and circumstances have dramatically changed.
Bill Roggio of The Long War Journal is currently in Iraq and spent some time with the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. His recently published dispatch, "Counterinsurgency in al Qaeda’s last bastion in Baghdad" is certainly the most detailed reporting of the 2nd SCR's operations since they arrived in country. Excerpt:
Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Rod Coffey, the Wolfpack of the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Calvary Regiment arrived in Baghdad in August and assumed control of the battlespace in a dangerous segment of Doura on September 7. The Wolfpack’s area of operation consists of the neighborhoods of Shurta, Asiya, and Mechanics, which are nestled in the far eastern corner of the Rashid district. (Rashid was split into Bayaa and Doura for the purpose of the Baghdad Security Plan.)The three neighborhoods are divided by long strips of open space, each several hundred meters across and run north to south. Shurta and Asiya are described as relatively safe after the Wolfpack cleared the two neighborhoods upon arrival. Residents “are supportive and provide tips,” Coffey said while on patrol in the neighborhoods.
US forces believe these the Mechanics neighborhood is one of the last bastions of al Qaeda in Iraq inside Baghdad. “Al Qaeda coerces the population in Mechanics,” said Coffey. The Iraqi Army and Coalition forces left the Shurta, Asiya, and Mechanics neighborhoods three months ago, and security deteriorated. US forces were moved into the Doura neighborhoods to the north to clear al Qaeda cells after the terrorist group declared Doura to be the capital of Islamic State of Iraq inside Baghdad.
Michael Yon is back in Iraq after a brief break. I'm hoping he links up with Stryker troops on this visit as well. Regardless, he's re-published an article from Defense Daily on his site that talks about the Army equipment reset process. To illustrate the process the writer focuses on the journey of a single vehicle - the Stryker affectionately dubbed the "General Lee". Yon featured the General Lee in his dispatch titled "Superman". Excerpt:
By sea and by land, one of the Army’s war-battered Stryker vehicles known to its unit as the General Lee is coming home to Anniston Army Depot, Ala., where it was built, to be repaired and sent on to a unit in ready-to-fight condition.General Lee will be just one of the more than 300,000 major pieces of equipment the Army has spent $38 billion to repair to date under the process it calls reset, according to a September Congressional Budget Office report. The process is complex, involving a multitude of military organizations and contractors, hundreds of people and hours of work.
Time after time in Iraq, General Lee saved soldiers from improvised explosive devices, but an explosion in April left it unrepairable in Iraq and declared a battle loss.
Noah Schactman of Wired magazine files another embedded dispatch with the 4-9 INF, 4/2 SBCT that focuses on the Land Warrior concept. Excert:
I've just spent a week with Prior and the 4/9 (known as the "Manchus" since their assaults on China in 1901). And much to my surprise, a bunch of the soldiers in the unit are warming up to Land Warrior, especially now that the gizmo ensemble has been pared down and made more tactically relevant. So now the question is: can this once-doomed soldier-of-the-future ensemble spring back to life?Over the last decade, the military has connected nearly all its command posts and all its vehicles into a kind of internet for battle. That allowed them to, at the very least, see each other's locations and better coordinate attacks.
Individual soldiers, however, still remain largely off the grid -- only now, more than four years into the Iraq war, are many troop teams getting radios of their own. That's a problem because counterinsurgency fights, like the ones in Afghanistan and Iraq, are almost wholly dependent on small groups of soldiers like these. Land Warrior was supposed to be the way to plug them in.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. David L. Watson, 29, of Newport, Ark., died Sept. 22 in Baqubah, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a non-combat related accident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd 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.
Related Articles:
Soldier’s death makes 27 for unit from Fort Lewis
Watson to be laid to rest Saturday - Newport Independent
Hundreds Show Up To Honor Fallen Soldier - KAIT News
‘National treasures,’ lost - The News Tribune
If you follow the link to the full article you will see a photo of 1-38 INF, 4/2 SBCT soldiers providing security following the bombing.
By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD -- As top Shiite and Sunni Muslim leaders broke their fast together in a symbolic show of unity Monday, a suicide bomber struck in their midst, killing as many as 25 people and injuring 40 in the turbulent city of Baqubah.
The attack apparently targeted Diyala provincial and tribal leaders who are part of U.S. efforts to forge an alliance against Sunni extremists, who once controlled large parts of the city 35 miles northeast of the capital.
Gov. Raad Tamimi was injured in the blast, which killed the Baqubah police chief, Brig. Gen. Ali Dilayyan, and other senior officials, Iraqi security officials said.
No Americans were killed, but two soldiers were wounded, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, a military spokesman based in Tikrit. They were treated and returned to duty. Donnelly could not confirm casualty figures provided by Iraqi police.
The U.S. military has sought to replicate its progress in Anbar province, where violence decreased after an alliance of Sunni tribal leaders revolted last year against the Sunni militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq.
[...]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska's Stryker Brigade came home from Iraq almost a year ago but has been anything but idle.
The Strykers are in elite training with a foreign army and soon they will enter a new era of service to its country and the world.
The 1st Stryker Brigade 25th Infantry Division, previously known as the 172nd Brigade, renamed after arriving home from Iraq. They spent almost two weeks at Fort Greely training with the Indian Army on counter insurgency drills.
Multi-National Division – North PAO
ARAB JABAR, Iraq – A suspected al-Qaeda weapons supplier was captured by Coalition Forces near Sheik Hammad Village, Iraq, in Baghdad province, Sept. 20.
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, detained four additional men, along with the weapons supplier, during Operation “Viking Snatch,” following tips received by local citizens.
The supplier was providing machine guns, ammunition and improvised explosive devices to insurgents in northern Baghdad province.
“The capture of these weapons suppliers, financiers and accomplices degrades al-Qaeda’s ability to coordinate and sustain attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces,” said Maj. Mike Garcia, spokesperson for 4th SBCT. “The removal of these weapons and explosives saves potentially dozens of lives.”
A cache was also discovered containing two AK-47s, four magazines and two pistols with two magazines.
Spcs. Gustavo and Katrina De La Victoria returned home to Lacey on Saturday after spending the first 15 months of their marriage in Iraq.
They’re eager to start a life together in a more relaxed setting – one without constant worry about the other’s safety.
“Privacy as a married couple: That’s the biggest thing we’re looking forward to,” said Gustavo De La Victoria, 24.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Luigi Marciante Jr., 25, of Elizabeth, N.J., died Sept. 20 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Lewis, Wash.
All of us here at Strykernews would like to offer our sincere condolences to his loved ones and comrades.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cpl. Graham M. McMahon, 22, of Corvallis, Ore., died Sept. 19 in Balad, Iraq, from a non-combat related illness. 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.
Blog-Ah! has published its latest column from David Hardt, a soldier who served with the 3/2 SBCT in Iraq. In this edition he recounts his trip home. Excerpt:
So I said my good-byes, closed my computer, grabbed my assault pack, and then made my way out the door. But before I did, I looked back at the room and took a visual picture of the life I had lived there, because when I get home and things get rough, all I will have to do is close my eyes and remember that room, and I am sure I will snap out if it. I made my way up the stairs where everyone else was getting their stuff. We grabbed our bags and went to load them on the truck and then marched down to where we would sign out. And just like we left in the middle of night to come to Iraq, we would start our journey back through the thickness of darkness.
CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – Imagine being a wife at home back in the states with your husband far away in a war zone. You go about your life filling every minute of your day with anything to keep your mind off of the inevitable, when suddenly you get a phone call. The voice on the other end says, “I’m at the hospital. I’ve been injured. Don’t worry I am fine.” Your heart sinks and you are helpless. There is no way to assure yourself that he is ok.
Sgt. Gregory Rayho’s wife has taken that dreaded phone call not once, but three times since July 2006.
Rayho, a team leader with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, received his second Purple Heart on Sept. 12. He is waiting to be presented with his third when he gets back to Fort Lewis some time later this month. He earned all three during his 15-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Aaron J. Walker, 23, of Harker Heights, Texas, died Sept. 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Vilseck, Germany.
We offer our condolences to his family, friends, and fellow soldiers.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Donald E. Valentine III, 21, of Orange Park, Fla., died Sept. 18 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We wish to extend our condolences to his family, friends, and fellow soldiers.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Nicholas P. Olson, 22, of Novato, Calif., died Sept. 18 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and fellow soldiers.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Joseph N. Landry III, 23, of Pensacola, Fla., died Sept. 18 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd 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.
Noah Schachtman of Wired magazine is beginning a week-long embed with the 4-9 INF, 4/2 SBCT. His first dispatch is titled The Stink of Tarmiyah. Excerpt:
We’re in an ugly, overgrown village called Tarmiyah, about 25 kilometers north of Baghdad. It is an extremely bad place. A professional-grade sniper has been terrorizing the town, killing two members of the 4-9th Infantry Regiment stationed here, and wounding seven more. 4-9’s Comanche company, primarily responsible for holding the town, has handed out 25 Purple Hearts in just five months. That’s about a fifth of the men in the company.To keep from handing out more Purple Hearts, the soldiers here go out as little as possible during the day. They do their work at night. And they sometimes take over local houses to crash out, in between missions. (Especially during times like these, when an extra company has poured into Tarmiyah, and all the cots at the local patrol base are full.) In the next room of this slapped-together building of concrete and brick, a dozen G.I.s are draped over couches, t-shirts covering their faces to keep the flies away. At least there’s satellite TV, so they can zone out to the X-Files before their next mission. Not so bad, then. Better than the platoon down the road, which has taken over a smaller house; several of the soldiers have to sleep outside under the laser-like sun.
Homecomings continue...
There are few certainties in life. Fewer in war. But for parents like Kevin and Julie Meadows of Whittier, Calif., prayers sometimes do get answered.
Their son, Spc. Garrett Meadows, 21, was among roughly 620 soldiers from Fort Lewis’ 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division who returned home Tuesday night from a 15-month deployment in Iraq.
“We prayed God would bring him home,” Kevin Meadows said.
The Army will next week convene the first of five public meetings on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the permanent stationing of the 2/25th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT).
This EIS examines several alternative Army installations capable of supporting the permanent stationing of the 2/25th SBCT. It includes analysis of all activities (equipment fielding, training, facilities construction, and Soldier and Family support) required to permanently station the 2/25th SBCT. The public comment period, which began July 20, will end Oct. 30.
[...]
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
VILSECK, Germany — The 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment’s rear detachment members are getting information out to family members still in Germany as the unit suffers its first wounded soldiers in Iraq.
Spokesman Maj. Richard Spiegel confirmed Monday that a small number of 2nd Cav soldiers were wounded in action weeks after the unit arrived in Iraq to start a 15-month mission.
By Spc. Alexis Harrison, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
BAGHDAD – Patrolling the streets of the Iraqi capital is common to just about any cavalry squadron, infantry battalion, troop or company. Now add in regular rotations through a coalition outpost, where you live next door to the local populous, and you have what many leaders call a "projection of force" to deter would-be terrorists from inhabiting quiet neighborhoods.
Company I, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment from Vilseck, Germany, is only about a month into their tour, but have already been tasked with running Combat Outpost "Remagen" and patrolling the streets of the Karkh District in central Baghdad.
Although not Stryker-related, the following two articles are worth reading for insight into military operation in Iraq.
The commander of the 1-23 INF, 3/2 SBCT is quoted in the following article.
By Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal
Camp Victory, Baghdad Province: With the surge in full swing in southern Baghdad province, the increase in US forces has been matched with an unexpected surge in Iraqi forces – local Iraqi residents who have organized to defend their communities from al Qaeda in Iraq and Shia extremist groups such as the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups.
In southern Baghdad province, the establishment of the Concerned Citizens, also referred to as Iraqi Police Volunteers, began to take hold in late spring. Initiated by tribal connections from Anbar province, the movement mimicked the rise of the Anbar Salvation Council in some respects, but differed in many ways. This bottom up process of local reconciliation consists of both Sunni and Shia tribes wishing to restore a measure of peace to the war torn regions south of Baghdad.
We've received numerous emails from both soldiers and concerned family members regarding reports that flights home for some units have been delayed. If true, this obviously creates problems for soldiers wanting to be home and family members planning homecoming trips on short notice.
We don't have any official information regarding flight manifests, and I would caution anyone against publishing that information here. However, it would be nice if someone from the brigade (rear detachment or FRG representative) could point folks in the right direction should they have questions.
Finally, we ask that you please do not comment on rumors, which, if untrue, can only serve to further confuse the situation.
By Chris Eshleman, Daily News-Miner
Shelby Winch picked up a black Army radio receiver and held it to her ear.
“You got me?” 8-year-old Shelby asked.
“Roger that,” 22-year-old Spc. Justin Banner answered back from another radio a few feet away.
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers and Iraqi Army troops captured four suspected terrorists in the first day of Operation Dragon Talon II. The operation kicked off in the southern part of the Iraqi capital in the early morning hours of Sept. 16 with targeted raids against terrorist suspects.
Troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division, the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment “Dragoons” and 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team “Dragons,” 1st Infantry Division worked together to conduct clearing operations and make the arrests.
At the request of his fellow soldiers we wanted to recognize the passing of SPC William J. Willis, 23, of Kansas City, Kansas. He died September 5, 2007 at Ft. Wainwright in Alaska. He served with the 172nd SBCT during its 16 month deployment, where he worked as a counterintelligence agent, according to an Army statement.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow soldiers.
The DoD has another new photo album featuring the 1-38 INF, 4/2 SBCT conducting Operation Rock Hammer.
Follow the link for a few photos as well.
By Spc. L.B. Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – The 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (SCR) “Dragoons” replaced the 3rd “Arrowhead” Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division as the quick-reaction force for the Iraqi capital Sept. 13, allowing the Arrowhead Soldiers to return home to Fort Lewis, Wash., after more than 15 months of combat.
A casing of the colors event marked the completion of the transfer of authority at the headquarters building of 2nd SCR at this western Baghdad base camp.
The DoD has published a new album of photos featuring the 2-1 CAV, 4/2 SBCT on patrol.
Follow the link for video.
By Keith Eldridge, KOMO 4 News
FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- A key commander from Fort Lewis said the U.S. should not be in too much of a hurry to bring the troops home from Iraq.
Cmdr. Col. Steve Townsend of the 3rd Stryker brigade spoke with KOMO 4 News via satellite from Iraq on Wednesday just as Congress is calling for a quicker withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Blog-Ah! has published David Hardt's final column from the war zone. Hardt served with the 3/2 SBCT in Iraq, and is on his way home soon. Excerpt:
I could write a review of the whole 15 months and absolutely bore you all to death. In this last article, I will briefly share with you what I learned and what I believe we could have done differently. This may be the most opinionated article I write, but I see it only fair that I share with my faithful readers what has been on my mind for some time.
By Spc. John Crosby, 4/2 SBCT Public Affairs
KHAN BANI SA’AD, Iraq – The Iraqi children were full of smiles as they competed for the attention of the cavalry scout Soldiers of 1st Platoon, Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, Aug. 29, in Kahn Bani Sa’ad, Iraq. Their laughter rang clear as they traded, passed and inspected the toys the Soldiers handed out to them during a patrol of the village.
The smiles and laughter would be short lived, however, as the mission quickly intensified.
Arrow Troop, 2-1 Cav., of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., has patrolled the streets of this city for more than a month now, living at Joint Combat Outpost Key West.
Mike Gilbert of The News Tribune has a nice homecoming photo on his blog, along with a few thoughts about the image.
FORT LEWIS -- On the day that the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq told Congress that more troops should be able to come home, a battle-weary battalion from this base did just that after 15 months at war.
The 260 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment of Fort Lewis arrived home Monday night to sheer joy at the Sheridan Gymnasium. The soldiers are part of the 3rd Stryker Brigade, and the first main body of the brigade to come home.
Here's a nice article regarding the 1-37 FA, 3/2 SBCT - a unit we haven't seen profiled very often during its deployment.
by SSG Jon Cupp, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – The 1st “Red Lion” Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment currently attached to the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Regiment will soon be “pulling up stakes” and leaving Iraq after 15 months in country.
The battalion, which is home stationed out of Fort Lewis, Wash., as part of the 3rd “Arrowhead” Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, spent two-thirds of its 15 in theater with the Ironhorse Brigade on Taji.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Capt. Drew N. Jensen, 27, of Clackamas, Oregon, died Sept. 7 in Seattle of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire during combat operations May 7 in Ba'qubah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
We wish to extend our condolences to his family, friends, and fellow soldiers.
Simpson has published a new dispatch with the 1-38 INF, 4/2 SBCT. Excerpt:
1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment is currently attached to 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at FOB (Forward Operating Base) Warhorse, which is about 60 miles north and east of Baghdad.The FOB sits near the Tigris River, which divides the city of Baqubah. Its population is about 200,000. Shias comprise 15 percent of the population; Sunnis comprise 83 percent of the population; Kurds and “others” comprise the final 2 percent.
The battalion’s area of operations is the western half of the city. In the month that it has been here, the battalion has made significant progress in the area.
FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- The Army says 260 soldiers from the main body of the Three-Two Stryker brigade (3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division) are returning to Fort Lewis from Iraq.
A welcome home ceremony with family and friends is scheduled Monday evening (at 6 p.m. at Sheridan gym).
The soldiers are from the main body of the brigade. An advance unit of 140 soldiers returned last week. The rest of the brigade's 3,800 soldiers will return in the next two weeks. They have been deployed in Baghdad and Mosul.
[...]
Would you like to read General Petraeus' status report to Congress? His entire report is available at the DoD website, along with his presentation slides. Both are PDF files.
By Sharon Behn, The Washington Times
BAGHDAD — Many U.S. soldiers on the ground in Baghdad caution that improved security in the capital city will last only as long as the surge. If American troops were to leave, they say, the insurgents could be back within hours.
U.S. forces broke up insurgent networks and curtailed the ability of terrorists to strike, said Sgt. Gregory Rayho, 30, of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, the recipient of three Purple Hearts during his time in Iraq.
The following article mentions the upcoming deployment of the 2-25 SBCT.
By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser
The long-awaited report from Army Gen. David Petraeus on the "surge" of 30,000 extra troops to Iraq that President Bush ordered in January probably won't have much of an impact on Hawai'i troops.
Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, briefs Congress tomorrow and Tuesday on progress in Iraq and whether it would be wise to begin pulling back the troops sent there as part of the surge.
While there are nearly 8,000 Hawai'i-based soldiers and Marines in Iraq, none was part of the troop surge, so it is unlikely their deployments will be directly affected by Petraeus' report.
KAREN MCCARTHY; For The News Tribune
BAGHDAD – Sgt. 1st Class Jason Dalton looks forward to his December wedding, Sgt. Larry Clapper to seeing his 1-year-old son, Lt. Jacob Czekanski to kayaking with his wife.
Staff Sgt. James Jastrzebski wants to hit the track on his bike, and Sgt. George Hudgeons wants to “drive on roads that won’t blow up.”
The Strykers of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division are the local face of the U.S. troop surge that President Bush ordered in January. The Fort Lewis soldiers were already in Iraq at the time, but they moved down from Mosul to help secure the capital and then later back north to clear out enemy fighters who had fled to Baqouba.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class David A. Cooper Jr., 36, of State College, Penn., died Sept. 5 in Baghdad, Iraq, from a non-combat related injury. 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.
Simpson has posted a few new dispatches from his time with the 4/2 SBCT over at Blog-Ah!
Blog-Ah! has published its latest column from David Hardt, a soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Iraq. Excerpt:
It has been a long time, and we have been through a lot. So when your boys hit the ground, I want you to know that these men know what the definition of “hell and back” really means. I hope that the comfort you bring them makes them feel like they’re in heaven. They deserve it. SEE YOU ALL SOON.
Soldiers are training and testing a new Stryker mounted cannon at Fort Wainwright this month.
The 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, is the third Stryker brigade to receive the M-1128 Mobile Gun System.
The MGS has a 105-mm, direct-fire cannon mounted on top of the vehicle, similar to the main gun on an M-1 Abrams Main Battle Tank.
LACEY — Two years ago, Army Maj. Brent Clemmer pushed his 8-month-old son Julian in a stroller as they joined hundreds of people at the Military Family Support March on a Saturday in early September.
When the fifth annual march occurs Saturday, it will have added significance for Clemmer, 34.
His unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) is ending a record-long 15-month deployment, and its 3,600 soldiers are on the verge of returning home. And Clemmer, 34, has been named one of five honorary grand marshals, all active-duty service members who have served in Iraq and are assigned to Fort Lewis.
FORT LEWIS — The doctor told Megan Edwards to stay in bed this week and marshal her strength for the imminent arrival of twins — a baby boy and girl.
But there was no way she was going to miss her husband's homecoming after he'd spent nearly 15 months in Iraq, on an extended tour that was part of President Bush's plan to increase U.S. troop strength.
So there she was Tuesday in the Sheridan gymnasium at Fort Lewis, seated on a folding chair, grimacing from frequent kicks. In the early afternoon, her face broke into a tight smile as her husband, Maj. Rich Edwards, walked into view along with 140 other returning soldiers from the 3rd Brigade 2nd Infantry Division.
Simpson has published a brief teaser for an article to be featured in the upcoming edition of the Ft. Lewis Ranger newspaper.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
It has been the longest, and arguably the hardest, deployment of the Iraq war for any unit from Fort Lewis. But now it’s finally coming to a close.
An advance party of about 140 soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division arrived home Tuesday, marching into a gym on post to fanfare and hugs and kisses 15 months in the waiting.
The rest of the Stryker brigade’s 3,800 troops will return over the next couple of weeks, officials said.
The following article also includes a nice photo gallery from the homecoming.
FORT LEWIS — Paul and Janine Barboza of Yelm had it all planned out. The staff sergeant would be home from his second deployment to Iraq in time to reacquaint with his two children and be present for the delivery of their third.
But when the Army extended by three months the tour of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), as well as other active-duty units serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the expectant mother found herself in an unenviable position.
"Doing the pregnancy thing with two other kids by yourself is very hard," she said Tuesday.
By SSG Jon Cupp, 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Two deployed brothers - Staff Sgt. Eric Breeden, a weapons squad leader from Company A, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division and Sgt. Charlie Breeden, a medic for the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division - have two very busy military careers that have taken them all over the world.
But thanks to various deployments and overseas assignments, the siblings have been unable to see each other face to face for more than six years. That is until now. Ironically enough, they said, it would take a deployment to Iraq and Charlie’s promotion ceremony from corporal to sergeant, Sept. 1, to bring them back together.
The 2nd Stryker CR is starting to get some press as they begin to operate in country.
by Spc. Alexis Harrison, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE PROSPERITY, Iraq – For many of the Soldiers in the "Saber" Squadron, this isn't their first tour in Iraq. Many remember the days they spent in Mosul and Tel Afar under much harsher conditions than what they found inside the walls of Forward Operating Bases Prosperity and Union III where the squadron will be headquartered.
Now they have begun another rotation into Iraq. The 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment has assumed responsibility from the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, currently attached to the 2nd “Black Jack” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, of the Karkh District area in Baghdad’s center, where heavy fighting against anti-Iraqi forces took place earlier this year.
Simpson has published a new dispatch with the 4/2 SBCT at Blog-Ah!, along with some very good photos. Excerpt:
This past Saturday, I went out with a platoon of engineers from the 38th Engineer Company. Our mission was to clear a number of area roads of IEDs. Needless to say, it is hot and dangerous work.As a huge machine called the Buffalo checked out where IEDs may be, the rest of the platoon dismounted from their Strykers and patrolled down both sides of the road. This was hard work; the ground is uneven, the grass is taller than you are, the heat is suffocating.
It is very tedious, hard and slow work.
But it paid off this past Saturday.
FORT LEWIS -- Tuesday’s homecoming for about 140 soldiers signaled the beginning of the end of the longest deployment for a Fort Lewis brigade that has served in Iraq.
The soldiers will ensure preparations are complete for the return of the 3,600 soldiers assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) after 15 months in combat.
The majority of the soldiers are scheduled to begin arriving on separate flights in a week or so.
By Sgt. Patrick Lair, 115th MPAD
BAQUBAH, Iraq— Setting down their combat helmets in order to pass loaves of bread, Iraqi and American forces celebrated the reopening of a Baqubah flour mill on Aug. 21, nearly one year after Diyala government food production collapsed.
“Of all the things we’ve done here in Iraq, from Mosul to Baghdad to Baqubah, to help them make this bread is probably one of the most important things we’ve done,” said Lt. Col. Fred Johnson, deputy commanding officer of the 3rd Brigade Stryker Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, speaking to his troops at the mill. “Know that when you go back home, you’ve left something behind that means something.”
Stryker Soldiers capture three suspected AQI terrorists
TAJI, Iraq – Coalition Forces conducted a raid near the village of Ramadan and detained six suspects including three suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives, Aug. 31.
Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 9 Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, captured three suspected members of an AQI terrorist cell, believed to be responsible for several coalition deaths. Three other individuals were also detained, one of whom is also suspected in attacks against coalition forces.
Ground and air assets were used during the raid to prevent the AQI suspects from escaping during the operation.
Soldiers found several assault rifles and ammunition during the raid.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class Daniel E. Scheibner, 40, of Muskegon, Mich., died Aug. 30 in Al Noor, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.He was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
The Strykernews family offers our condolences to his family, friends, and fellow soldiers.
J.M. Simpson has another embedded dispatch with the 4/2 SBCT. Excerpt:
The Blackhawk touched down with a bump as clouds of dust engulfed it. Col. Lehr, commander, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 2nd Infantry Division, turned, pointed at me and motioned toward the door.We both headed out into the rotor wash created dust storm and away from the helicopter. As I ran, I could see Lehr to my left in my peripheral vision.
In a few moments, the Blackhawk lifted off, and the dust … a lot of it … began to settle.
Welcome to Key West, a little hole-in-the-wall that sits hard on the outskirts of Al Rasoul, a town comprised of Sunnis and Shias.
Blog-Ah! has published its latest column from David Hardt, a Stryker soldier serving with the 3/2 SBCT in Iraq. This might be one of his last columns before redeploying.