PFC James L. Miller
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Pfc. James L. Miller, 21, of Yakima, Wash., died March 29 in Dashat, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Related:
Roadside blast kills Stryker soldier, 21, in Afghanistan - The News Tribune
Fallen soldier was close to returning home - Yakima Herald-Republic
Chugiak graduate killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan - Anchorage Daily News
Kandahar 'Shaping' Operations Under Way, Official Says
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 30, 2010 – U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan are laying the groundwork for their much-anticipated efforts to combat extremists in Kandahar, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said in a Pentagon news conference today.
Morrell said combat operations will begin in earnest in the coming weeks. But in the meantime, he said, troops are engaged in what military officials refer to as “shaping” operations in preparation for the upcoming offensive there.
“The truth is they have begun,” Morrell said of shaping operations taking place in Kandahar, the spiritual center of the Taliban. “They have been months in the making.”
A U.S. Stryker brigade combat team arrived in southern Afghanistan last summer, marking the beginning of operations there. The Stryker vehicles are used to secure routes in and out of Afghanistan’s second-largest city, while other preparatory work, such as tribal engagements by U.S. special operations forces, are also under way.
Stryker Concept Turns 10
Scott Fontaine looks back at the decade that has passed since the Stryker concept was announced.
Strykers fight enemies abroad, skeptics at home - The News TribuneIt was more than 10 years ago that Gen. Eric Shinseki announced the Army’s controversial plan to create brigades built around a medium-weight infantry carrier.
Shinseki, then the Army chief of staff, delivered a speech in October 1999 in which he said the Cold War-era force needed a versatile alternative that could move quickly into battlefields across the world.
This sparked a debate: Should the new vehicles be on wheels or tracks? How heavy is too heavy? How light is too light?
The Pentagon tapped the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division to become its test brigade. It received its first shipment of vehicles in June 2002, and took them to war 18 months later.
Continued Evolution of the Stryker Vehicle
Future Stryker: Stronger, safer and plentiful - The News Tribune
The Stryker vehicle has adapted to the fast-evolving warfare of Iraq and Afghanistan.Birdcage-like slat armor was added early on to lessen damage from rocket-propelled grenades. Heating coils on a pole jut from the nose of the vehicle to set off heat-sensitive bombs. Sniper screens create a canopy and protect the gunners.
But the largest change yet could come with the introduction of a double-V-shaped hull, which an Army acquisition official wrote could give the Stryker the same survivability rates as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.
The new hulls also should lower the center of gravity, reducing the chance of a rollover, General Dynamics officials say.
New Yon Dispatch
The Battle for Kandahar: Part I
The Battle for Kandahar has begun. The face of this battle is not one of sudden fury but a process, a complex struggle for legitimacy between local Taliban governance and Kabul rule.A scent of weakness is in the air. The Taliban remain deadly and capable – yet they seem to be losing the initiative. “Shaping Operations” are underway. Special Operations Forces are picking off and collecting key Taliban leaders. With our increase in troops, the Taliban must spend more time on self-defence, deducting from their capacity for offensive operations.
This year, 2010, is particularly crucial for the future of Afghanistan. The fight is on for key physical terrain, politcal terrain, and information dominance. Before Christmas, we will know who won the Battle for Kandahar. Who wins this Battle likely will win the war.
First female four-star general visits, inspires Raider Soldiers
Story by Pfc. Kimberly Hackbarth
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Standing at parade rest in the doorway of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division headquarters, Spc. Jacqueline Williams, a medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, was excited, waiting to call the headquarters to attention for a distinguished guest.
Though she'd done it many times before for important visitors, this guest meant a little more to her as a female Soldier, as the guest that day was the first female four-star general in U.S. Armed Forces history – Gen. Ann Dunwoody, commanding general of U.S. Army Materiel Command.
The general visited the brigade March 22 and received a brief from leaders of 4th SBCT about the Stryker unit's mission, the Stryker's role in current operations, recommendations about changes to the maintenance program of the Stryker, changes to the vehicles basic equipment load and configuration of the new blast seats.
While the brief was taking place, a group of female officers had gathered outside the brigade headquarters, as excited about the general's visit as the young specialist had been earlier that morning.
Offensive Begins in Kandahar
Kandahar, a Battlefield Even Before U.S. Offensive - NYTimes.com
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — American forces have begun operations to push back Taliban insurgents in this most important southern province, the birthplace and spiritual home of the Taliban, and a full-scale offensive is expected in coming weeks.But the Taliban have already turned this city into a battlefield as they prepare for the operation, which American officials hope will be decisive in breaking the insurgency’s grip on southern Afghanistan.
When American forces all arrive, they will encounter challenges larger than any other in Afghanistan. Taliban suicide bombings and assassinations have left this city virtually paralyzed by fear. The insurgents boldly walk the streets, visit shops and even press people into keeping guns and other supplies in their houses for them in preparation for urban warfare, residents say.
Tomahawks Bring the Heat in the Iraqi Desert
Story by Pfc. Adrian Muehe
DIYALA, Iraq – "Hang it," repeated Spc. Nicholas Keim, of Olympia, Wash., and an assistant gunner for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, while holding a 120mm mortar round steady over the massive gun pointed out of the back of a Stryker vehicle. While waiting for the call to release, he maintained this position as sweat dripped off his brow in the Iraqi desert.
"Fire," said Spc. Stephan Forbes of Denver, a gunner for HHC, 1/23 Inf. After this call, Keim repeated his order. He dropped the mortar into the tube and immediately braced himself for the recoil. A few seconds later the round fired. The back of the Stryker vehicle sunk down from the force of the shot, sending the dry dirt resting under the vehicle into the air causing a massive cloud of dust. Flames erupted from the end of the mortar tube as it fired the 120mm shell down range. All eyes immediately went to the target, which was engulfed in a cloud of smoke as the round impacted.
This action was a small part of a fire coordination exercise conducted by 1/23 Inf. It lasted three days and coordinated their assets of forward observers, mortarmen, close air support and field artillery in the desert just outside of Forward Operating Base Grizzly, March 21-23.
Video: Live Fire Training Exercise
Package made from "Live Fire Training Exercise" in the B-roll section about Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division training with various weapons systems during a complex live fire exercise. Produced by Spc. Abigail Waldrop.
New Yon Dispatch
Michael Yon has a new dispatch, The Scent of Weakness, from Afghanistan.
Photos: 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Activity
Video: Stryker BDE Trains ANP Soldiers
Suffering and triumph in Iraq; a sheikh's story
Story by Spc. Ry Norris
DIYALA, Iraq – "I am responsible for this area," said Sheikh Habib Khazal Karim, of the Al Gawalba tribe.
The people of the Al Gawalba tribe in Dojima live along the Diyala River in Diyala province. Since becoming the leader of the Al Gawalba tribe, Sheikh Habib's focus has always been the people.
"One day, AQI [al Qaida in Iraq] came here. These men were very well equipped, just like the coalition forces. We approached them. They told us, 'Your Shia neighbors are not Muslim. You must fight them.' We told them, 'But we have lived together with Shia as neighbors for a long time. We have no desire to fight them.'"
Al Qaida extremists responded by burning houses and killing the Shia people of the village and the surrounding area. They controlled the area for the greater part of 2005 and 2006, targeting Iraqi policemen, government of Iraq officials, and coalition forces.
Aruba Suq Micro-grant Surge Shows Unprecedented Progress
Story by Pfc. Adrian Muehe
DIYALA, Iraq – "What was once unthinkable is now a reality right before our eyes," said Qaim'maqam Zaid, mayor of Muqdadiyah, Iraq, while standing in the middle of a once again bustling Aruba Suq, March 16.
To restore Aruba Suq to the prominent business community it used to be was a collaborative effort of 2nd Battalion, 3 Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division; Battery B, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3-2 SBCT; the local government; the Diyala Red Crescent; and the Diyala Provincial Reconstruction Team.
A year ago, the streets of the Aruba Suq were desolate. A fierce battleground is what became of the second largest market in Diyala province. Buildings that once flourished as successful shops now stood demolished. Their owners and shoppers fled to escape the violence that strangled the life out of the area.
"People were afraid to open their stores, afraid to come to work," said 1st Lt. Sean Malloy, the commanders emergency relief program project purchasing officer for 2/3 Inf. "Shops were left empty, buildings were burned and store fronts were looted."
Illuminating the Night to Increase Bases Safety
Story by Pvt. Zach Zuber
DIYALA, Iraq – Though security is part of every service member's job, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, performs an operation at Forward Operating Base Warhorse that helps to ensure safety on a higher level.
Squads from 5/20 Inf. provide countermeasures to indirect fire attacks on the base by firing illuminating mortar rounds during hours of darkness to light up specific areas in order to disrupt any enemy movement in the surrounding area.
"When the brigade first came to this area we hadn't received much more than erratic IDF, but as a response to the increase in attacks the brigade began tasking battalions to perform counter-IDF measures," said Sgt. 1st Class Stanley Wilson, a Crystal Springs, Miss., native.
Progress in Southern Afghnistan
SHAH WALI KOT, Afghanistan – More than thirty Shura Members came together to discuss future projects in the Shah Wali Kot District, Afghanistan.
More than 30 shura members gathered, March 22, in Shah Wali Kot, Afghanistan, to speak with the District Governor about proposed projects to better the district. The main topic of discussion was the Kandahar Irrigation Rehabilitation Project, coined the Dahla Dam Project, which would greatly improve the irrigation systems' efficiency in the Southern region of Shah Wali Kot.
Lt. Col. Patrick Gaydon, commander of the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, said the higher turnouts in recent weeks are a product of improved security and that the people feel safer traveling to the district center.
"The troops out with [1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5/2 ID (SBCT)] have worked with Afghan national police to establish the kind of security that gives the people confidence to travel to the shuras," he said. "If they're afraid of being blown up, or confronted by the Taliban in their homes, they won't attend. Task Force Stryker has worked hard to make them feel safe."
Memorial Webcast: PFC Erin L. McLyman
We received the following message from Douglas Technical Services.
We are webcasting the memorial of Erin McLyman starting at 2 pm PST on Thursday 3/25/10 from Eugene, OR. The address for the webcast is http://www.audiocam.com/mclyman/.
Photos: Soldiers build checkpoint in Afghanistan
The Army website has a new photo slideshow featuring soldiers from the 5/2 SBCT. Description:
Soldiers install HESCO barriers at an Afghan police checkpoint in Robat, Afghanistan, March 19, 2010. The Soldiers are assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division's 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
Working to Restore Iraq's Past for the Future
By Spc. Brian Johnson
BAGHDAD – Soldiers from the 16th Engineer Brigade Survey and Design team conducted a site assessment on several buildings at an historic site in Aqar Quf, 20 miles west of Baghdad to assess and verify the electrical needs of renovating two modern structures at the base of an ancient ziggurat there.
The ziggurat, a stepped, temple tower, is the Mesopotamian equivalent of the Egyptian pyramids. Aqar Quf's ziggurat, rising 180 feet above the desert floor, was considered to be built more than three and a half millennia ago.
Recently, the Iraqi Ministry of Antiquities approached 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, for help with restoring some modern structures at the temple in order to attract visitors to the site which would revitalize the economy and preserve the temple.
The modern structures at the base of the ziggurat, built in the 1960s, functioned as a museum and administrative building throughout the second half of the 20th century. However, after years of war, the site is not what it once was.
Engineers Attend JOC Grand Opening
By Spc. Brian Johnson
BAGHDAD – As leaders from 6th Iraqi Army Division and the U.S. Army 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, celebrated the grand opening of a new joint operations center at Joint Security Station Constitution, March 15, leaders from 16th Engineer Brigade and 101st Engineer Battalion celebrated getting them to this day.
The new JOC affords American and Iraqi forces the opportunity to bring command and control elements together under one roof.
"This structure provides the ability for our IA partners to work side-by-side with our 4/2 BCT brothers and train them how a tactical operations center should function," said Brig. Gen. Glenn C. Hammond, III, commander of 16th Engineer Brigade.
6th Iraqi Army Division, 4-2 SBCT Open New Operations Center
By Spc. Luisito Brooks and Sgt. Bryce Dubee
BAGHDAD – After months of planning and construction, the 6th Iraqi Army Division and the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division held a ribbon cutting for the recently completed Joint Operations Center on Forward Operating Base Constitution, March 15.
"This JOC will prove to be an invaluable asset in the effort to provide security to the Iraqi people," said Lt. Col. Darron Wright, deputy commanding officer of 4th Bde., 2nd Inf.
While the new facility, designed to be the central node for the sharing of information between U.S. and Iraqi forces in western Baghdad, had been in operation since before the March 7, Iraqi national elections, the ceremony represented the official opening of the operations center.
With a quick snip of a pair of gold-handled scissors, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Hashim Aouadi, commanding general of the Baghdad Operations Command, cut the ribbon on the state-of-the-art center, which brings the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of the U.S. and Iraqi militaries under one roof.
5/2 Soldier Makes Surprise Visit Home
Dad’s return from Afghanistan surprises kids - The News Tribune
Kirra Reiter buried her face in her father’s camouflage jacket and squeezed him hard. Her little brother, Jarrod, stared at his dad and smiled.And Capt. Troy Reiter, a travel-weary Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier back from the war in Afghanistan, soaked in every minute of his children’s surprise to see him.
“This was worth it,” Reiter said. “Just very, very much worth it. I’m so glad I did it.”
Video: Stryker BDE Trains ANP Soldiers
Package made from 'Stryker BDE Trains ANP Soldiers" b-roll about Soldiers training Afghanistan police. Produced by Staff Sgt. Lashaundra Rankin.
5/2 SBCT Role in Marjah Offensive
How Lewis-McChord 5th Brigade helped at Marjah - The News Tribune
The Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers dodged roadside bombs. They took sniper fire from housing compounds and machine gun fire from mosques. Taliban fighters attacked them from crowds filled with women and children.One insurgent dressed in a burqa and passed himself off as a female bystander before firing at troops.
Enemy fighters repeatedly tried to exploit NATO troops’ restrictive rules of engagement throughout the 31/2 weeks the Stryker soldiers fought as part of the largest operation of the Afghanistan war, Lt. Col. Burton Shields of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division told The News Tribune this week.
IEDs Get Bigger & Deadlier in Afghanistan
Afghan Bombs Get Bigger, Forcing U.S. to Adapt - WSJ.com (Subscription required to view full article)
The dangers posed by the large IEDs were driven home to many in the military by a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan in October that wiped out an entire squad of soldiers from the 5th Brigade of the Army's 2nd Infantry Division. [IEDS]Early in the morning of Oct. 27, a heavily armored U.S. Stryker vehicle rolled over a bomb that had been buried in a dried-out riverbed in Kandahar province. The force of the explosion blew a protective plate that had been attached to the bottom of the truck straight up through its roof, killing seven of the eight soldiers inside.
Military explosives experts who did a forensic examination of the blast site later estimated that the IED weighed more than 1,000 pounds, making it one of the largest makeshift bombs seen in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Since that blast, U.S. forces in Afghanistan have begun to routinely encounter 100-pound, 200-pound and 500-pound IEDs.
Video: Task Force Legion Academy
Package made from "Task Force Legion Academy " b-roll about Task Force Legion Academy which is a partnering training event between Soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team and Afghan National Security Force soldiers from the Kandahar province in Afghanistan. Produced by Senior Master Sgt. Keith Baxter.
Operations in Kandahar
AFP: US operations have already started in Kandahar
WASHINGTON — US operations to push back Taliban forces around Kandahar have "already begun" and will steadily build in coming months, the commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan said Wednesday.General Stanley McChrystal told reporters that the US-led offensive on the Taliban's spiritual heartland had started with initial military and political efforts, including operations designed to secure key roads and districts surrounding the southern city.
"And instead of putting a date certain on which there would be a climactic military operation, I tell you, that process has already begun," McChrystal said by teleconference from Afghanistan.
Photos from Kandahar
The Battle for Kandahar is a photo gallery from Foreign Policy magazine, which features a number of images of 5/2 SBCT soldiers. Description:
At the Taliban's doorstep: Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city, is the spiritual homeland of the Taliban -- and one of the bloodiest arenas of the coalition's war. Since 2001, 237 coalition soldiers have been killed in action there, a death toll second only to the 421 killed in Helmand. Grim milestones have taken place in Kandahar, including the 2002 assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai and Afghanistan's first suicide bombings in 2005. Now, military officials have named it the next battleground in defeating the Taliban, following the conclusion of the recent coalition operation in Marjah. Above, a U.S. soldier wades through an opium field on March 15 in Howz-e-Madad.
(via FOB Tacoma)
Governance, Reconstruction, & Development Reports from Afghanistan
Commanders from the 5/2 SBCT (Task Force Stryker) in Afghanistan have asked us to post two very extensive reports detailing the brigade's activities to date. The first provides an overview of the brigade's various areas of operation, while the second focuses on Task Force Buffalo in the Shah Wali Kot District.
Traumatic Brain Injuries in the Military
(March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. The following is a guest entry from Chelsea Travers with CareMeridian. I think the new FCC rules require me to disclose that we were not compensated in any way to publish this announcement. - Editor)
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is becoming a common wound of modern warfare. It has even been coined the “signature wound” of the War on Terror. While TBI is becoming more prevalent in wartime activity, many service men and women continue to go undiagnosed. Institutions, like the US Department of Veterans Affairs, are working to make quick and accurate diagnoses in order to prescribe appropriate and effective treatment.
TBI is caused by forced trauma to the head, either by being shaken or hit. The severity of a TBI varies from case to case, but symptoms range from mild concussions to a debilitating state. The majority of TBI’s acquired by military personnel are classified as mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI). Initial symptoms of MTBI consist of loss of consciousness, disorientation, loss of memory, headache, and temporary loss of hearing and vision. They are often partnered with anxiety, irritability, difficulties processing information, limited concentration amongst other problems experienced down the road. While MTBI is most common amongst the men and women of the armed forces, more severe cases of TBI are happening much more frequently and often require the victim to attended specialty rehabilitative nursing centers, like CareMeridian.
The most common cause of a TBI in the military is due to blasts. There are three degrees of blast injuries where a TBI is common; Primary (due to blast itself), Secondary (due to objects being propelled by a blast) and Tertiary (due to a collision with a third party object). According to the Veterans Health Initiative, active male members of the military from the ages 18-24 are hospitalized with a TBI at a rate of 231 per 100,000 and females 150 per 100,000. Based on military force projections this would mean that 4,141 military personnel are hospitalized on average each year with a TBI, and these numbers often rise during wartimes.
The best prevention for veterans to avert the long-term effects of a brain injury is to recognize the symptoms of a TBI. Once the symptoms are identified an individual should take basic precautionary measures in order to begin the healing and recovery process until a more specific diagnosis can be made.
Service men and women give so much to protect this country and they deserve to come home to a happy and healthy life. Creating awareness about TBI will help ensure their long term health. By helping our veterans, their friends and their families recognize the early warning signs of a TBI, treatment can be sought as early as possible.
PFC Erin L. McLyman
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Erin L. McLyman, 26, of Federal Way, Wash., died March 13 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked her base with mortar fire. She was assigned to the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lews-McChord, Wash.
Related:
Defense.gov News Release: DOD Identifies Army Casualty
Pentagon confirms Lewis-McChord soldier's death - FOB Tacoma
'She was somebody I wanted my daughter to look up to' - KOMO News
Eugene native dies in Iraq, becomes Oregon's latest war casualty - OregonLive.com
'Lost child' grew up to be a decorated soldier - Seattle Times
Fallen soldier was 'proud to be' in Army - The News Tribune
Public invited to honor Sheldon grad killed in Iraq - KVAL
Governor orders flags lowered in soldier’s honor - The Register-Guard
PFC McLyman's Family and Friends Recall a Bright Woman - Salem-News.Com
Community honors soldier killed in Iraq - KVAL News
'Amazing' 3rd Brigade soldier mourned - The News Tribune
Fort Lewis soldier remembered - KING 5 News
Election success a credit to Iraqi soliders, Diyala citizens
The News Tribune carried a report on the recent elections written by Col. David Funk, commander of the 3/2 SBCT.
Make no mistake. The security for this election was an ISF show. Our brigade was an interested observer, providing aerial coverage and bomb disposal support. We also assisted with training and rehearsals before the big event.But out on the ground where it mattered most, where citizens were braving lengthy walks to polling sites, where the enemy did his best to threaten and intimidate, the ISF were the only uniformed personnel in sight.
They reacted magnificently. Throughout the entire week preceding the election, each explosion was an opportunity for the ISF to either shrink from their duty or to embrace it. They did the latter. Their quick and brave responses had a palpable effect on the citizens here, solidifying their new-found reputation as dedicated, professional patriots.
The elections succeeded for another reason. No amount of security would have resulted in success unless the citizens of Diyala wanted – indeed demanded – to stake a claim in their future. With more than 60 percent of eligible Diyalans participating in the electoral process, it is clear they have staked this claim.
2nd SCR Training Videos
DVIDS has three new videos featuring soldiers from the 2nd SCR training for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.
2 SCR Key Leader Engagement Scenario
Successful Elections Prove Progress In Iraq
Story by Pvt. Zach Zuber
DIYALA, Iraq – On March 7, Iraqi citizens in Diyala province proved their desire for democracy and chose to ignore threats of violence and harm. Iraqi security forces showed they know how to plan and execute successful security operations to allow this democratic process to happen. They demonstrated what they have learned and what they have always been capable of, all in one day.
At the Diyala Provincial Joint Coordination Center, leaders from the Iraqi security forces came together to manage efforts to keep their people safe as they voted for the leaders they support during the Iraqi parliamentary elections.
"We are happy for our success but also sad because one civilian died," said Brig. Gen. Kamal Issah Mustafa. "This was a success for democracy that we consider a step forward in our future."
The day proved a step forward because of the process involved in creating a secure voting environment.
4-2 Legal Office Settles Old Debts
Story by Sgt. Bryce Dubee
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – As U.S. forces proceed on course with the responsible drawdown of forces in Iraq, Soldiers in the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division legal office are working hard to set things right and tie up loose ends among Iraqi citizens who are owed compensation from the U.S. government.
The Army has programs in place designed to address any claims filed by Iraqi citizens, including property damage, injury or loss of life, and even paying landowners lease payments for land used by the U.S. military.
For example, if a 20-ton Stryker accidentally backs into an Iraqi citizen's car, the drivers can't exactly exchange information and let the insurance companies take care of it.
Instead, the citizen can file a claim with the military, which is then processed and paid out by military legal professionals.
Times UK Reporter Embedded With Strykers in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Dodging the bombs - Times Online
I am embedded with the US troops of Alpha Company, the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, who operate in a Stryker brigade along a 37-mile stretch from combat outposts with names such as Ramrod and Terminator, on the border between Kandahar and Helmand provinces. As their unit’s name indicates, the soldiers patrol the road in Stryker vehicles — armoured troop carriers — acting as part attack force, part highway patrol.“Our primary role is to secure the route and to provide freedom of movement for the Afghan people,” says First Sergeant Kevin Floyd from Perkasie, Pennsylvania. “This road is vital to the whole country, it’s the only route that runs east-west and everything that moves does so on this route.
“But it’s equally important to the Taliban, who are actively targeting coalition convoys and the Afghan army. They use the road to move weapons and fighters west, and opium east down to Pakistan. When we got here they were placing some massive IEDs [bombs] in the culverts under the road, but we’ve been blocking those with concertina wire, so recently they’ve been placing smaller pressure-plate IEDs on the side of the road.”
US soldier in Afghanistan has a dream
US soldier in Afghanistan has a dream - The Associated Press
BADULA QULP, Afghanistan—He proposed to her on Oct. 6, and she made him say "Will you marry me?" over and over because she liked the sound of it. He proposed again on her birthday four days later, and this time he got down on one knee with a diamond ring. His mother was on the phone, listening in as a witness.It all happened in Mount Holly, North Carolina. Now, U.S. Army Pvt. Mark Goodwin is in Afghanistan and his fiancee, Jillian De Voe, is waiting back home. They have spent a month of their lives together, and they say they plan to marry on July 4, a year after they met. They are young—he is 21, she is 23—but their tale of lovers separated by war is an old one, known by many across generations.
Goodwin is the lowest-ranking soldier in Alpha Company of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Stryker Brigade, but he doesn't worry about status. He missed a promotion because he missed a plane—"I slept in"—while heading back to his unit from leave after he proposed. It was a "nice little fiasco," he said, but it meant more time with De Voe.
Latest Michael Yon Dispatch
The Bridge is Yon's most recent dispatch from Afghanistan.
Supplies shipped by sea to the port of Karachi flow through two major arteries into Afghanistan. In the north is Torkham, near the famous Khyber Pass. In the south is Spin Boldak, a border town located between Quetta in Pakistan, and Kandahar in Afghanistan. Kandahar, with its critical airfield, will be a major locus for the upcoming offensive, making route security crucial to US/NATO plans.Stryker Brigade Combat Team 5/2 (SBCT) is responsible for security at the Spin Boldak point of entry and has deployed the 8-1 Cavalry squadron to live in and patrol the area. Just north of Spin Boldak, in the wilds along the border, are known enemy safe havens that were used during the Soviet war.
The Stryker Brigade is also tasked with a Freedom of Movement (FOM) mission that extends from Spin Boldak along Highway 4 past Kandahar Airfield (KAF), which is literally one of the busiest airports in the world. According to AFCENT, during FY09 there were 184,095 tower movements at KAF, which explains why it’s so loud there. Highway 4 passes the eastern end of KAF’s single runway. About three miles beyond the runway, Highway 4 crosses over the Tarnak River Bridge, one of a number of crucial chokepoints, on the road north to Kandahar.
Gates Visits Soldiers at Sharp End of Conflict
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan, March 9, 2010 – A white-painted blast wall standing in front of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, headquarters here bearing the names of 22 fallen soldiers was a sobering reminder to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates of the cost of the war.
Gates is visiting Afghanistan to get the “ground truth” directly from the soldiers at the sharp end of the spear. He visited with soldiers at this base and also traveled to Now Zad to visit Marines who are liberating Helmand province from the Taliban.
The 17th Infantry is part of the 2nd Infantry Division’s 5th Stryker Brigade based at Fort Lewis, Wash. The unit was supposed to deploy to Iraq, but President Barack Obama ordered more troops to Afghanistan, and the mission shifted. The soldiers arrived in July as the first Stryker brigade to deploy here.
Secretary Gates Visits Stryker Troops in Afghanistan
Decisive phase of Afghan war looms: Gates - Reuters
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday they would soon be part of a "decisive phase" in the war -- an operation to impose control over the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province. [...]"You all have had a very tough tour," Gates told troops with a Stryker brigade at Forward Operating Base Frontenac, about 48 km (30 miles) north of Kandahar city. Twenty-two troops have been killed and 62 wounded in the area since July last year.
"You came to an area that was totally controlled by the Taliban. You bled for it," Gates said.
"Here in the environs of Kandahar, you're in an area that once again is going to be an important part of the decisive phase of this campaign. Once again, you will be the tip of the spear," he said.
Video: Press Conference Discussing the 2010 Iraqi Elections
Lt. Col Darren Wright briefs the media on the role the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division had in the mission to integrate Iraqi security forces with U.S. troops to ensure safe elections. Parts 1 & 2.
TNT Outlines Stryker Role in Iraqi Elections
South Sound soldiers work behind the scenes in election - The News Tribune
American troops should be out of sight from polling places today as Iraqis elect a parliament for the second time since the fall of Saddam Hussein. But Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers are working behind the scenes throughout the country.From Baghdad to Basra to Diyala, many of the 12,000 troops from Lewis-McChord have trained Iraqi soldiers to secure today’s polling. They also will provide support and remain on call to intervene in any attacks.
For many troops, the majority of whom arrived in Iraq last year, today’s election is the climactic event of their 12-month deployment.
Recent Stryker Articles on DVIDS
DVIDS has a number of recent article re: the Stryker Brigades.
- Signal Soldiers Provide a Different Type of Communication
- Small Gift Creates Hope for a Better Future
- Signal Soldiers Have Unique Opportunity
- Security paved way to successful Iraqi elections; leaders pleased
- Frontline Soldiers operate Warhorse Woodshop
- 296th Brigade Support Battalion Holds Mass Graduation
- 1-38 provide defensive support for Iraqi elections
- Raider Brigade witnesses hard work pay off as Iraqis head to polls
SPC Anthony A. Paci
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. Anthony A. Paci, 30, of Rockville, Md., died Mar. 4 at Gereshk, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered during a vehicle rollover. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Related:
Lewis-McChord soldier killed in vehicle rollover - The News Tribune
Friends remember fallen soldier, family man - FOB Tacoma
Sergeant's father notes 'time to cry' - The News Tribune
Army Sgt. Anthony A. Paci of Maryland buried at Arlington - washingtonpost.com
Army Set to Redesign Stryker
FOB Tacoma - V-shaped hull for Strykers
A change to the design of the Army's Stryker vehicle to make it more likely to withstand a blast from a roadside bomb should be coming soon, the service窶冱 chief of staff told lawmakers Wednesday.Gen. George Casey told the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee that it窶冱 "probability more than a possibility" that Army will add a V-shaped hull to the bottom of the 20-ton vehicle. The shape of the hull would help deflect blasts from the Stryker窶冱 underbelly and is modeled from a similar design in the Mine Resistant Ambushed Protected class of armored vehicles.
"I can't take exactly how long it's going to take, because we're in the early design stages of it," Casey said. "But we are moving rapidly to get it built, tested and into the hands of the forces."
Embedded Reporter Reflects on Time With Strykers
The Associated Press: Analysis: Hard part in Marjah has only just begun
KABUL (AP) — The hardest fighting is over, but the battle for Marjah is just beginning.The outcome of last month's military campaign was never in doubt. With 15,000 combined NATO and Afghan troops pouring in to oust an estimated 400-1,000 insurgents, it was simply a question of how long it would take to clear the southern Afghan city that belonged to the Taliban for years.
Now, the fight for Marjah focuses on keeping the population safe and — perhaps harder — setting up the first clean and effective civilian administration there in decades.
Avengers, ANA Take Historic Trip
Story by Sgt. Chris Florence
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Just a few short weeks ago a historic convoy traveled along two of arguably the most dangerous highways in southern Afghanistan and through several provinces to deliver a new fighting force to Helmand province and Operation Mostarak, the largest military operation since 2001.
Answering the call from Regional Command (South), the 402nd Brigade Support Battalion, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, launched a 140-vehicle convoy, its longest ever, with a mission to escort and assist the 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army from the Kandahar province into the embattled Helmand.
The 215th Corps is the ANA's newest of seven existing corps and was developed to partner with the Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Helmand province.
Home Is Where the Music Is
Story by Sgt. Chris Florence
AFGHANISTAN -- Stryker Soldiers escape through their native tunes.
For many people in many cultures, music is an important part of their way of life and music has been a way for some Stryker Soldiers to put their minds at ease while deployed to Afghanistan. Two Soldiers from 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Spc. Vincent Cruz of Yoña, Guam and Spc. Landrew Sappa of the island of Aua, Pago Pago, American Samoa brought a little "peace" of home with them. Sappa and Cruz are from two different islands but share a common interest in playing the ukulele.
On some days while taking a break Cruz and Sappa play the ukulele to relax and "mellow out." The music usually draws a crowd of listeners.
Many people associate the instrument's sound with the islands and rightfully so. The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of a small guitar-like instrument brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants. The word "ukulele" means "jumping flea" in Hawaiian.
Photos: 2nd Battalion, 12 Field Artillery Regiment 'Vikings' Change Command
Lt. Col. Terrence Braley, right, incoming commander, 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, and other 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, commanders and command sergeants major, salute the American flag during a change of command ceremony in which Braley took command of the battalion from Lt. Col. Kevin Murphy March 2.
U.S., Iraq Leaders Join Together to Provide Fresh Water to Aqur Quf
Story by Spc. Daniel Schneider
CONTINGENCY OPERATING LOCATION NASIR WA SALAM, Iraq – Civil affairs Soldiers and leaders from 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, joined with the Iraqi Ministry of Water, Feb. 28, to celebrate the opening of a refurbished water filtration plant near the village of Aqur Quf.
The Soldiers, from Company B, 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, and 4th Bn., 9th Infantry Regiment, assisted the Iraqi officials in the project at their request in order to provide clean drinking water to the Iraqis in the area.
The plant is one of three such plants expected to open in different regions in the coming months, said 1st Lt. James Hester, a civil affairs team leader and project manager assigned to Company B, 422nd CA Bn.
"This is the main water treatment plant of the area, and [it] now can connect more areas through water piping from this facility," said Hester. "The Iraqis did a tremendous amount of work on this project. We've had weekly meetings with the Ministry of Water, the plant manager and contractors to make sure things progressed properly."
The new plant will deliver fresh water to the people living in the Jeb Dafar and Zydon regions as well as an additional 4,000 to 5,000 people in the surrounding area. The plant can be renovated further to serve even more people as the need arises, said Hester.
4-9 'Manchus' Check Polling Sites in Election Preparation
Story by Spc. Daniel Schneider
CONTINGENCY OPERATING LOCATION NASIR WA SALAM, Iraq – A week before Iraqi elections, March 7, Soldiers from 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, conducted a presence patrol along the Kandahri marketplace near Abu Ghraib.
At the request of Iraqi security forces, the Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, joined them, March 1, to patrol along polling sites that will be used in the coming election to ensure the Iraqis were prepared to protect voters.
"We're here working together with the Iraqis for a common goal," said Spc. Yahir Macias, assigned to Company B. "If the Iraqis succeed, then U.S. forces succeed."
The patrol demonstrated U.S. willingness to support the Iraqi people when requested, said 1st Sgt. Mark Ohme, first sergeant of Company B.
AP Report from Afghanistan
Afghanistan battle shows war rarely fought to plan | ajc.com
Over the past week, men belonging to the 5th Stryker Brigade and Afghan forces have swept through villages and compounds once held by Taliban fighters, advancing with painstaking caution to avoid casualties from booby traps and harassing fire.In the military's innocuous-sounding jargon, the soldiers have cleared "objectives" and had "contact," which really means vicious firefights. They "engaged the enemy" and "possibly destroyed" snipers. The Taliban rarely leave their dead, if they are, in fact, dead.
At night, U.S. and Afghan commanders, with Canadian advisers, pore over maps based on satellite imagery as they plot the next day's assault. The mission has a start time and an estimated end. There are questions, comments. It has the feel of a classroom exercise, removed from the shouting, the diving and hugging of cover, the cacophony of battlefield bullets and machinery.
Photos: Key Leader Engagement
DVIDS has a new photo album featuring the 2-3 INF, 3/2 SBCT.
Correction: In the comments DJ points out that the photos are of 2-23IN/4-2 SBCT in Taji.
Video: RED HORSE Builds Stryker Unit Facilities
Package made from 'RED HORSE Builds Stryker Unit Facilities" b-roll about civil engineering squadron RED HORSE building semi-permanent facilities for a U.S. Army Stryker Brigade in Afghanistan. Produced by Lance Cpl. A.J. Lugo
On Point: 3/2 SBCT Newsletter
"On Point" is a monthly newsletter produced by the 3/2 SBCT, which is currently deployed to Iraq. Read the March edition here: On Point.
Reading on the Front Lines
When shooting stops, some soldiers read - The Associated Press
BADULA QULP, Afghanistan — When he was a child, and it was bedtime and lights out, Gene Hicks would hide under the blankets and read with a flashlight. Now he's Army 1st Sgt. Gene Hicks, fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and sometimes lies in his sleeping bag reading with a flashlight."I'm still doing the same thing," said Hicks, whose mind travels far from the war zone to a world inhabited by a monk, a duke, an assassin and the merchant princes of medieval Europe.
Hicks, 39, of Tacoma, Washington, is reading "The Anger of God" by Paul Doherty, a mystery novel set in London in 1379. His girlfriend in the U.S. wrote to Doherty to tell him Hicks was a fan. The author mailed a prayer card, autographed copies of four books, and a note — "Be safe."
Hicks is part of a force from the 5th Stryker Brigade that has pushed into Taliban land near the southern town of Marjah, where U.S. Marines are fighting. He retreats to Doherty's book when he can.
Profile of 4/2 SBCT Chaplain Junior Tupuola
A long, twisting path for Army chaplain - The News Tribune
Thus began Tupuola’s long, unlikely journey to Iraq, where he serves as a chaplain with a Joint Base Lewis-McChord Stryker brigade in western Baghdad province.Tupuola is one of the most visible people at his battalion’s base in rural Nasir wa Salam. He pops into offices. He organizes Bible study. He referees basketball tournaments. He hangs out at the morale tent. He pumps iron alongside the infantrymen in the weight room.
Chaplains can’t carry weapons, but Tupuola wears a sidearm holster with a Bible in it.
“Everyone knows chap,” said Lt. Col. Mark Bieger, commander of the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment – part of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
