4/2 SBCT Continues Training
The News Tribune provides an update on the training by the 4/2 SBCT as it prepares to deploy to Iraq in the fall.
These roadside bombs weren’t much of a surprise.A convoy of three Strykers from the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division rolled down the muddy roads of a Fort Lewis range Wednesday afternoon.
A mock bomb exploded near the second vehicle. Soldiers discovered a copper wire leading to a house at the base of a hill. Gunners in the vehicles fired at the house with Squad Automatic Weapons while a patrol on the ground closed in and eventually stormed the building.
Then they’d regroup, reload their ammunition and repeat the scenario.
It doesn’t quite mimic what they’ll see in Iraq, where the brigade will deploy this fall, but Wednesday’s live-fire training was as real as some of the unit’s newest members have seen since joining 4th Brigade.
Strykers Mission in Afghanistan
Via FOB Tacoma we learn from an article in The New York Times what is likely to be the initial mission of the 5/2 SBCT when it deploys to Afghanistan this summer.
ZANGABAD, Afghanistan — American commanders are planning to cut off the Taliban’s main source of money, the country’s multimillion-dollar opium crop, by pouring thousands of troops into the three provinces that bankroll much of the group’s operations. [...]Many of the new American soldiers will fan out along southern Afghanistan’s largely unguarded 550-mile-long border with Pakistan. Among them will be soldiers deployed in the Stryker, a relatively quick, nimble armored vehicle that can roam across the vast areas that span the frontier.
All of the new troops are supposed to be in place by Aug. 20, in order to provide security for Afghanistan’s presidential election.
Walking With Warriors
BAGHDAD – At Joint Security Station Hor al-Bosh, the day for Company C, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry, begins around a briefing board mounted on a wall. Soldiers gather around as they receive the day's mission; again reminded of the threats that they could face.
"We brief them on the mission, making sure everyone knows what task they will perform and the purpose for performing it," said Staff Sgt. Bert Finland, from St. Mary's, Pa. "We cover the risks we face and if any of those risks become reality, the actions we will take."
It's a ritual that the Soldiers have ingrained in themselves after more than three months in Iraq. Each Soldier is called on to brief something; indicators of an improvised explosive device, actions on identifying a threat, and evacuation of wounded. All of them repeat the steps as if they were second nature.
Retran Keeps Soldiers Talking on the Battlefield
Story by Sgt. Jeremy Pitcher, 145th MPAD
DIYALA, Iraq – Communications on the battlefield are a crucial necessity which can be easily overlooked by the average Soldier conducting their day-to-day business. The ability to pick up a microphone and talk to another person or leadership may seem as simplistic as just a push of the button, in reality it is anything but.
For Soldiers of the 176th Signal Company, Brigade Troops Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division the mission to keep communications working throughout the Diyala province is a daunting task.
Their response: go mobile.
With three retransmitting teams, the 176th has established two locations in strategic regions of the province and additionally have a mobile asset that can travel to the battlefield to keep the eight different communication networks going.
A Retran team is equipped with a set of four antennas. They move to a location and setup up the antennas to receive incoming signals. These signals are then relayed from the site to their desired location. Without the retransmission, these signals would fall short of their desired recipient and would not be heard.
Combat Outpost Closures Display Security Progress for Baqubah
Story by Sgt. Jeremy Pitcher, 145th MPAD
DIYALA, Iraq – With the recent closure of three combat outposts, or COPs in the city of Baqubah, located in Diyala province, Soldiers of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division are maneuvering themselves to aid in security for the region while allowing Iraqi security forces to take the next step in self sufficiency.
The recent COP closures include COP Khatoon, which closed on February 9, COP Old Baqubah, which closed on February 19 and COP Tehrir, which closed on April 7. These three closures are part of the strategic repositioning resulting from the security agreement signed between the U.S. and Iraq in November 2008.
The decisions made for the closures of the COPs were a joint effort, taking into account both the strategic goals of coalition forces on both the Battalion and Brigade level, along with the ability and needs of the Iraqi security forces.
Tactical Operation Center Keeps the Battle Going
Story by Sgt. Jeremy Pitcher, 145th MPAD
DIYALA, Iraq – The battlefield is a complex place. Having to account for all of the moving pieces and the threats that may hinder those pieces can sometimes be an arduous task.
The job of the tactical operation center for the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division is to understand this battlefield and those elements that go into it in order to succeed in security and stabilization.
For the Soldiers that man this tactical operations center, the mission often differs from other operations centers. Because the battalion is field artillery there are fewer Soldiers available for staffing. This aspect, along with the exchange of one of their FA batteries for an infantry company early on in the unit's deployment, puts an additional twist into the operations field.
"The duel mission requires two separate frames of mind," said the 2-8 Battalion Operations Officer Major Jon Sowards.
Photos: Medical Clinic in Shuzayf
Soldiers from the 1-24 INF, 1/25 SBCT are featured in this photo album from DVIDS.
Farewell Ceremony
The News Tribune describes how Good Samaritan hospital came together to bid farewell to soldiers from 8-1 CAV, 5/2 SBCT as they prepare to deploy.
The soldiers of 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment were preparing for a deployment to Iraq, where they were to help rebuild the country. Squadron leaders contacted Good Samaritan and asked for help.“We approached them and said, ‘We want to learn how to run a hospital on a daily basis,’” recalled Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Willing. “They were all for it. I teamed up with the maintenance crew. Others shadowed guys in the ER.”
His squadron was linked with Puyallup through Community Connections, a nine-year-old program that twins a Fort Lewis unit with one of the surrounding communities. And even though the 5th brigade has since been redirected to Afghanistan – it will deploy early this summer – Willing stressed the importance of the experience.
First Pitch
The Northwest Guardian has a nice article about SSG Daniel Deen, a soldier with the 1-23 INF, who threw out the first pitch at a recent Seattle Mariners game.
SEATTLE — The pitch brought to mind Jamie Moyer rather than vintage Randy Johnson, but it got the job done.When Staff Sgt. Daniel Deen’s right-handed soft toss from in front of the mound at Safeco Field settled into the glove of Seattle Mariners pitcher Shawn Kelly, Deen had successfully performed his part in Saturday’s 7th Annual Boeing Salute to Armed Forces Night.
Deen, a member of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, represented the Army as I Corps and Fort Lewis NCO of the Year. He joined service members from the Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard in throwing out ceremonial first pitches.
Iraqi Army and Coalition Soldiers Conduct Combined Strike Training
DIYALA, Iraq – Even in the face of adverse weather Soldiers of the Iraqi army trained alongside coalition Soldiers in combined strike training on the flight line of Forward Operating Base Normandy, April 8.
The training, conducted by the IA's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 20th Battalion, 5th Division and 1st Platoon, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was performed to keep the Soldiers prepared for their aerial quick reaction force mission, said Capt. Morgan Maier, platoon leader, 1st Platoon.
Due to the adverse weather, heavy clouds, sand and partial rain, a helicopter could not be provided for the static training portion, forcing Soldiers to improvise and use cots to simulate the inside of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
The training included how to safely enter and exit a helicopter while maintaining security. Coalition Soldiers demonstrated how to properly conduct the movement then had the IA Soldiers join in and practice conducting combined entering and exiting.
Coalition Forces Teams Up With Emergency Response Force
DIYALA, Iraq – Under the late afternoon sun, Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, work in close coordination with the Iraqi police's Emergency Response Force, April 9.
"The ERF is the best Iraqi force that we've come across," said Sgt. 1st Class Mitchell R. Hanson, 1st Platoon's Platoon Sergeant. "They are more than willing to go on any patrol and they share information with us."
Both the ERF and 2nd Platoon spent the afternoon and late into the evening searching for weapons caches hidden by al Qaida or other anti-coalition groups in the Effa Desert.
Conservation Corps
An article from the Seattle Times describes how a former Stryker Brigade soldier enrolled in a program to transition veterans to civilian life.
COVINGTON — At a subdivision in Southeast King County, nine people wield shovels, picks and machetes to hack down blackberry thickets that have overgrown a tiny wetland.Hour by hour, they clear more of the brambles, revealing cedar and other native plants that had been enveloped by the thorny bushes.
Every person on this crew is a military veteran, most of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan. All are hoping to forge new careers through the Veterans Conservation Corps, a state-financed program that helps them tackle two big challenges of civilian life — finding new employment and coping with the psychic battle scars of war.
Photos: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Kanaan, Iraq
Soldiers from the 1/25 SBCT are featured in a new photo album at DVIDS.
ISF Ensure Safety in Sab Al Bour
Story by Staff Sgt. Peter Ford
BAGHDAD – Iraqi security forces have taken the lead to ensure the safety of the people in a place known as the "City of Peace."
"Sab al-Bour, once a thriving city with over 60 thousand people composed of Shi'a and Sunni tribes living in harmony saw its population dwindle to less than 10 thousand during [Operation Iraqi Freedom]," said Sgt. Hussan, an Iraqi army Soldier with the 3rd Battalion, 22nd Brigade, 6th IA Division.
"Al Qaida came in and disturbed the peace and caused sectarian violence among the people here," said Muhammed, an Iraqi policeman in Sab al-Bour. "Many of the people left the city to escape the violence," he added.
According to Muhammed, some stayed to fight with the coalition forces to protect their community and to help drive al Qaida out.
Students of Ann G. McGuinness School Let Soldiers Know They Care
Story by Staff Sgt. Peter Ford
BAGHDAD – After a long stressful day of patrolling the streets of Sab al-Bour looking for weapons and explosive devices, weary Soldiers of B Troop, 2nd Squadron, 104th Cavalry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team return to base anxious to fall into bed. But, as they enter their quarters, they pause for a look at the collage of greeting cards that hang around the door. The cards, a collection of well wishes from children at the Ann G. McGuinness School back in the States, seem to erase the events of the day and cause smiles to form on their weary faces.
"It just makes you feel good," said Spc. Matthew Fogarty, from Bethleham, Pa., and a cavalry scout in B Troop.
According to Fogarty, there are many schools around the country like the Ann G. McGuinness Intermediate School from Union Endicott, N.Y., that make it a point to let Soldiers know they still care. But this is different for Fogarty and the Soldiers of B Troop. The cards of support come from one of Fogarty's childhood friends.
5/2 SBCT Training for Afghanistan
Via FOB Tacoma comes this article from the Army Times regarding the 5/2 SBCT.
The 2nd Infantry Division’s 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team will mark a series of firsts when it deploys to Afghanistan this summer from Fort Lewis, Wash.It will be the first Army brigade to deploy to Afghanistan with Strykers. It will be the first full combat brigade to deploy with Land Warrior. And this will be the first combat tour for the Army’s newest Stryker brigade.
But Col. Harry Tunnell, commander of the 5th SBCT, downplayed the firsts.
“We’re trained, we’re ready [and] we’re anxious to do our duty,” he told Army Times on April 8.
Baghdad - A City In Transition
Although not Stryker-related I thought the following article from The New York Times was interesting. Improvements in security have brought cultural changes to the city.
BAGHDAD — Vice is making a comeback in this city once famous for 1,001 varieties of it.Gone, for the most part, are nighttime curfews, religious extremists and prowling kidnappers. So, inevitably, some people are turning to illicit pleasures, or at least slightly dubious ones. [...]
“Everything is going back to its natural way,” said Ahmed Assadee, a screenwriter who works on a soap opera.
Photos: 1/25 SBCT
DVIDS has a number of new photo albums featuring soldiers from the 1/25 SBCT. Thanks to Bill for the links.
- Palm Grove Clearing in Esalwid
- Bunker Survey in Dashtan
- Controlled Burn of a Palm Grove in Daliabas, Iraq
- Palm Grove Search in Jazeera
- Medical Care in Abu Bakr
CF team up with ERF in search of weapons caches
Multi-National Division – North PAO
DIYALA, Iraq – Under the late afternoon sun, Soldiers of 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, work in close coordination with the Iraqi Police’s Emergency Response Force, April 9.
“The ERF is the best Iraqi force that we’ve come across,” said Sgt. 1st Class Mitchell R. Hanson, 1st Platoon’s platoon sergeant. “They are more than willing to go on any patrol and they share information with us.”
Both the ERF and 2nd Platoon spent the afternoon and late into the evening searching for weapons caches hidden by Al Qaeda or other anti-Coalition groups in the Effa desert.
“The enemy runs a decentralized supply operations, which would be caches,” said Hanson. “The check points the Iraqi Army, the IP’s and the Sons of Iraq have up and down the Mukdadia area have pretty much denied [the enemy] freedom of movement. With taking their supplies away and already having their freedom of movement [taken], they’re pretty much hurting.”
Brothers in Arms
Story by Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Growing up together in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Staff Sgt. Jeremy Moersch and Spc. Brandon Kosky played cops and robbers as boys, fighting the "bad guys" and putting them behind bars in an imaginary world.
Now more than 15 years later, the two service members, both currently deployed here, are doing something similar - only now, it's not a game and their actions are helping aid the Iraqi judiciary system.
An Airman with the 732nd Expeditionary Intelligence Squadron, Sgt. Moersch is a document media exploitation cellular exploitation analyst assigned to the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team here. Spc. Kosky, also assigned to the 56th Stryker BCT, is an infantry Soldier and Stryker driver.
Support Unit Keeps Outposts Stocked With Fuel, Food
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – A Pennsylvania National Guard unit is on a quest to find the best ways to quickly and safely move supplies of every kind to remote outposts dependent upon timely delivery of those goods.
Soldiers of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team's 328th Brigade Support Battalion spend their nights braving the roads of Iraq to make re-supply runs to joint security stations. In the two months since they've started their mission, they've fine tuned the process, cutting time on the road while making sure loads of goods fit the needs of the receiving company at the joint security station.
"The goal is to get out there in a timely fashion and an orderly manner, offload, and then get back to Camp Taji," said Sgt. Maj.Thomas Buck, of Myerstown, Pa., sergeant major of the 328th. "The less time you can spend outside the wire the better for the Soldiers."
56th SBCT Soldiers Injured
The Public Opinion of Chambersburg, PA is reporting that four soldiers from 2/104th CAV, 56th SBCT were injured in an explosion.
Capt. Cory Angell, public information officer, released the following statement on the incident:"Members of the 2/104th CAV were struck by an IED on the afternoon of April 12 just south of Camp Taji, Iraq. Four soldiers were injured, one was returned to duty and one is being treated at Balad in Iraq.
"The other two were evacuated from country and are categorized as having very serious injuries. Of those two, one is at Walter Reed and the other at Landstuhl Army Medical Center awaiting transport to Walter Reed." [...]
All of the families have been notified.
Related:
Frederick police officer wounded in Iraq - Frederick News Post
Injured Stryker Brigade soldier helped others, wife says - The Patriot-News - PennLive.com
Guard member recovering from surgery at Walter Reed - Hagerstown Morning Herald
Iraq blast caused 'chaotic scene' - The Patriot-News
IED blast injures two guardsmen - Carlisle Sentinel
Update: SPC Josh Whitfield
The Modesto Bee has a nice update on SPC Josh L. Whitfield, a 2nd SCR soldier who was injured in Iraq last year. Thanks to Barb for the link.
A little more than a year after he suffered a significant brain injury in an ambush in Iraq, Josh L. Whitfield of Waterford received the Bronze Star for his heroic efforts to protect Iraqi schoolchildren and his fellow U.S. soldiers even after he was hit.The pinning ceremony took place Tuesday at Fort Lewis, Wash.
Photos: 1/25 SBCT
Bill sent along links to two new photo albums on DVIDS featuring soldiers from the 1-24 INF, 1/25 SBCT. Thanks!
- Medical Care in Abu Bakr (13 images)
- Patrol in Albu Sawwat, Iraq (15 images)
Summer Exercises
Stars & Stripes outlines the summer training plans for the 2nd SCR.
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — The U.S. will send eight-wheeled Stryker armored personnel carriers and troops from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment to Romania and Bulgaria this summer to train alongside forces from those countries.Lt. Col. Daniel Herrigstad, public affairs officer for Joint Task Force East, said elements of 2nd Cav’s 4th Squadron will head to Romania while soldiers from the regiment’s 2nd Squadron will deploy to Bulgaria to train during summer and fall.
The 2nd Cav returned last year from a 15-month deployment to Iraq but with the focus of U.S. military intervention moving to the battle against the Taliban, there is speculation that the Strykers’ next combat deployment could be Afghanistan.
Update: Injured 56th SBCT Soldier
WJAC News has a story and video segment featuring SPC Keith Maul, a 56th SBCT who was injured seven weeks ago.
It's a very special weekend for the family of 20-year-old Specialist Keith Maul of Portage. Just seven weeks after losing his arm and leg while serving in Iraq, he's back home and already walking.Specialist Keith Maul made his second trip home Friday night, but this trip was special. When he arrived at his in-laws in Lilly, he was walking on his own with no wheelchair in sight.
Maul has been working hard and going through intense rehabilitation at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Convoy Training Develops Iraqi Army Unit's Skills
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Threats to Soldiers come in all shapes and sizes on the streets and roadways of Iraq. Constant training for the unexpected is the norm.
For Pennsylvania Army National Guard Soldiers, simulating improvised explosive device attacks, April 7, served as a training objective for their Iraq army counterparts.
The Soldiers, from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 328th Brigade Support Battalion, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, worked with an Iraqi army commander over the past two weeks to conduct individual Soldier task training for an Iraqi army logistics platoon. The U.S. trainers capped training with convoy exercises designed to make the Iraqi army soldiers put those individual skills to work as a team.
"This was the culmination training for the convoy STX [situational training exercise] lanes," said Capt. William Salisbury, the HHC commander.
Prepping for Afghanistan
The Northwest Guardian features the 5/2 SBCT as it prepares for its upcoming deployment in the following article.
Fort Lewis Soldiers will operate this summer in southern Afghanistan, the birthplace of the Taliban, where Mullah Omar invited Osama bin Laden to rebuild al-Qaida. Some call it the center of hatred and lawlessness in Central Asia.If the Stryker Soldiers of 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division accomplish their goals, they will continue the restoration of order in the southern provinces and set systems in place to help tenuous local governments and tribal councils rebuild their societies and reconstruct their cities. [...]
The terrain, culture and languages are different than those 5th Bde., 2nd Inf. Div. had trained for two years to engage. Officially notified of the mission change in February as it deployed to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., for its final readiness test, leaders of the Destroyer Brigade rapidly shifted their sights to meet the threats in Central Asia. But no Soldiers were affected more than those in the brigade’s special troops battalion.
Stryker Simulator
Stars & Stripes has a feature on the simulator 2nd SCR soldiers are using to train.
VILSECK, Germany — Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment will be able to test their driving skills on a variety of military vehicles, using the Vilseck Training Support Center’s new virtual reality driving simulator.Jason French, a center technician, showed off the million-dollar simulator during an open house for Stryker soldiers on Wednesday.
Soldiers took turns in the cab — designed to replicate the inside of a Stryker armored personnel carrier — driving the vehicle through rough, mountainous terrain and urban environments depicted on three massive video screens.
Three arrested, explosive cache found north of Baghdad
Multi-National Division – Baghdad
BAGHDAD – Three suspected insurgents are behind bars and deadly weapons are off the street after joint Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division—Baghdad force’s operations March 27 and 28 in Tarmiya.
The 4th Battalion, 36th Brigade of the Iraqi Army, in conjunction with 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, raided two homes north of Baghdad in the early morning, netting suspected members of an RKG-3 anti-armor grenade cell.
Several local residents stepped forward to positively identify the three men who conducted recent attacks. The 4thBn., 36th Bde., IA is ensuring terrorists who target the Iraqi people, Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition forces are brought to justice.
In a separate action, Iraqi Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 36th Brigade discovered several explosive caches southwest of Rowad, Iraq, March 28. U.S. Soldiers from 1st Bn., 11th Inf. Regt. immediately responded to assist their Iraqi counterparts with the cache seizures.
The caches consisted of 52 mortar shells of various sizes, two improvised explosive device shape charges and rocket-propelled grenades of various sizes.
They also found assorted IED-making materials, to include wire, remote controls and a camcorder.
The IA commander on the scene called in a Coalition forces explosive ordinance disposal team to safely clear the cache.
Embedded Reports With 1/25 SBCT
It looks like local news station KTUU is featuring a three-part series on the 1/25 SBCT from embedded, independent journalist Doug Grindle. His reports feature articles, photos and videos. Parts 1 and 2 are up so far. Check back for a link to Part 3 after it has been published.
