Afghanistan, May, 2010 - The Big Picture [Photos]
There are a number of photos featuring Stryker soldiers in this series from the Boston Globe.
Stryker Soldier Welcomed Home
Wounded Soldier Returns Home - WGCL Atlanta
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. -- First Lt. Army Ranger Dan Berschinski was wounded in Afghanistan on Aug. 18, 2009.While leading a stryker brigade, the 26-year -old was under heavy fire and stepped on an improvised explosive device.
“I lost both my legs and suffered damage to my left hand,” said Berschinski. “For the past couple of months I have been just hanging out at Walter Reed going through therapy. It has been difficult, I guess but really there is no other choice. I could sit in a hospital bed and cry and pop a lot of pills but I figured I’d drive on and do the best I could with it.”
On Saturday, hundreds of people waved American flags in honor of Berschinski and all of the men and women who serve in our armed forces.
1-17 INF Profiled
Battalion among hardest hit in Afghan war - The Associated Press
The battalion's story is an extreme example of the challenges American soldiers face in Afghanistan. ad_icon Click here!The battalion is part of the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which originally trained for urban combat in Iraq. But the mission changed in the final months of training, and the brigade's 130 Arabic students took a crash course in Pashto, the language of Afghanistan's largest ethnic community.
The battalion's Stryker vehicles, prized for their speed and mobility, were making their debut in the Afghan war. But they could not operate in rough terrain where soldiers had to get around on foot.
Al Khindi School Opens Its New Doors
Story by Pfc. Adrian Muehe
DIYALA, Iraq — As students across the United States are running out of the front door of their school for the summer vacation, one school in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, is beckoning both children and community members to stay and take a tour around.
Outside the Al-Khindi school gathered, local government officials, members of the Diyala Provincial Reconstruction Team and Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, as the Diyala Provincial governor, Abdal Nassir, cut the ribbon during a ceremony to commemorate its' reconstruction, May 24.
"When we first got here, we wanted to touch every school in Diyala," said Capt. Dan Threkeld, battery commander for Battery B, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3SBCT, 2ID.
US Forces end occupancy of Forward Operating Base Normandy
Story by Pfc. Adrian Muehe
DIYALA, Iraq - After seven years of housing U.S. Forces, Forward Operating Base Normandy, Iraq, was handed over to the Iraqi Army in a Transfer of Authority ceremony, May 25.
Signing-over the base was Lt. Col. Adam Rocke, commander of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, who has been commanding the unit here since August of last year.
To honor this momentous occasion, a special flag was specifically flown above the base to be lowered by U.S. Soldiers.
"The flag we had raised today was once flown over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," said Lt. Col. Rocke. "It was given to us by our regimental sergeant major at our deployment ceremony to be flown over our FOB."
Operation Medical Alliance [Photos]
U.S. Soldiers assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division pulled security with Iraqi police during an ambush at a local hospital in Abu Ghraib, Baghdad, Iraq, May 15. The Soldiers were part of a Operation Medical Alliance to provide knowledge between Iraqi and American providers for the growth of Iraqi provider health care networking.
(via DVIDS)
Memorial Day
"Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men." -- Pericles (c. 600 B.C.)
Stryker Soldier Profiled
US soldier is a veteran of war and rodeo
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan -- Paul D. Bliss has, in his words, "pretty much destroyed my knees, dislocated my right and left shoulders, busted my left arm, fractured my right arm, been kicked in the face here," - he motions to a scar - "right above my right eye: 28 stitches from that. Busted my nose four or five times. Bruised my back a few times. I've also dislocated both my ankles."That was before the 36-year-old U.S. Army sergeant went to war. A rodeo cowboy, he rode bulls for fun and money, and got tossed and trampled plenty of times.
So far, through two tours in Iraq and now a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan that ends this summer, he has escaped serious injury.
Stryker Soldiers Under Investigation
Stryker soldiers under investigation in deaths of 3 Afghan civilians - The News Tribune
KABUL, Afghanistan – The U.S. military is investigating allegations that a group of Stryker soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord deliberately killed three Afghan civilians in a series of shootings earlier this year.Military officials have detained one soldier with the Army’s 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which deployed last summer to Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, military officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
If the allegations prove true, they could undermine the U.S. military’s credibility in southern Afghanistan as it gears up to target the Taliban’s spiritual capital in Kandahar.
Stryker Soldiers Featured in AP Article [Photo]
United States Army Spc. Kevin O'Connor, of Hingham, Mass. lays in wait under cover of darkness during an ambush set up by 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Stryker Brigade to catch Taliban fighters who had fired on their outpost Friday, May 21, 2010, in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
5/20 Infantry CSM Change of Resposibility
Video about a Change of Resposibility ceremony for the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Produced by Sgt. 1st Class JD Phippen.
Update on CPT Scott Smiley
Blind soldier from Pasco continues to serve military in new niche - The Associated Press
Since a car bomb blinded Capt. Scott Smiley in Iraq, he has skied Vail, climbed Mount Rainier, earned his MBA, raised two young boys with his wife, won an Espy award and pulled himself up from faith-shaking depths.Smiley, 30, has snagged attention for his big accomplishments. But the daily ones are telling, too, including the recent tour he gave of his staff's offices at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he plans to attend President Barack Obama's address of the Class of 2010 on Saturday.
Unable to see the path around the workers' cubicles, Smiley stepped forward with a joke to the camouflage-clad officers he was showing around: "I walk around, and when I hit things, I move," he said.
Tickets for Documentary "Restrepo"
Restrepo is a new documentary about U.S. forces in Afghanistan that will be showing at the 2010 Seattle International Film Festival. Kanani Fong of The Kitchen Dispatch website has a limited number of tickets available for screenings on May 28th & 29th. If you are interested please contact her via email directly at kananifong@gmail.com.
From Sebastian Junger, author of "The Perfect Storm" and Tim Hetherington comes this searing portrait of the present-day combat experience. Between 2007 and 2008, the directors made ten trips to Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, a six-mile region near the Pakistan border, at that time the focal point of the fighting between U.S. forces and the Taliban. There they dug in with the soldiers of the Second Platoon over the course of their 15-month deployment at an outpost named in honor of a fallen comrade, PFC Juan Restrepo. With unprecedented access, they chronicled the camaraderie, the tedium, and the deadly firefights that are the stuff of daily life; the result is this profoundly experiential film. After-the-fact interviews with the soldiers provide context and insight into what can be a disorienting experience for the viewer, as well as for the soldiers themselves. A nonfiction companion piece to Academy Award®-winning film The Hurt Locker.
PFC Jason D. Fingar
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Pfc. Jason D. Fingar, 24, of Columbia, Mo., died May 22 in Durai, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his military vehicle struck 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:
Stryker soldier reported killed in Afghanistan - The News Tribune
Missouri soldier dies in Afghanistan - Kansas City Star
Pfc. Jason D. Fingar loved making people laugh - Columbia Missourian
Stryker soldier remembered for music, smile - The News Tribune
Stryker Unit Holds Shura With Local Village Elders [Video]
Video of soldiers meeting with Afghanistan tribal leaders to discuss quality of life issues. Produced by Marine Cpl. Marc Morgenstern. Soundbites from 1st Lt. Patrick Kohler.
Another Report on Kandahar Offensive
U.S. Military Tones Down Rhetoric On Kandahar - NPR
When President Obama announced a new strategy for Afghanistan, he said an additional 30,000 U.S. troops would be deployed, in part, to take on Taliban militants on their home turf in the southern province of Kandahar.Until a few weeks ago, U.S. and NATO military officials were describing the upcoming operation in Kandahar as a major offensive — the cornerstone of the new strategy meant to break the momentum of the Taliban insurgency — and said it was due to get under way this spring or in early summer, to be wrapped up by August.
But then last month, American military spokesmen in Kabul began telling reporters it was incorrect to use terms such as "offensive" or "operation" in describing plans for Kandahar. Last week, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the "efforts" in Kandahar are a process, not an event.
Switching Gears in Kandahar
Afghanistan war: Kandahar offensive is now in the slow lane - CSMonitor.com
Key military operations have been delayed until the fall, efforts to improve local government are having little impact, and a Taliban assassination campaign has brought a sense of dread to Kandahar's dusty streets.NATO officials once spoke of demonstrating major progress by mid-August, but U.S. commanders now say the turning point may not be reached until November, and perhaps later.
At the urging of Afghan leaders, U.S. officials have stopped describing the plan as a military operation. Instead, they've dubbed it "Cooperation for Kandahar," a moniker meant to focus attention on efforts to build up local governance while reducing fears of street battles.
Wounded warriors share sources of inspiration
Story by Sgt. Mike MacLeod
CAMP RAMADI, Iraq – Mothers or any family member or friend can play a pivotal role in the recovery of service members severely wounded in combat, according to wounded veterans visiting here the day after Mother's Day.
Ten wounded warriors told their stories of recovery to paratroopers of 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist), May 10, in the latest tour of Operation Proper Exit, a program designed to provide closure to severely wounded veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom by returning them to the site of their injury.
"Whether it's mom or dad or a wife or a brother, the family support that wounded warriors receive helps them tremendously through the healing process and recovery," said Richard Kell, executive director of Troops First Foundation and leader of the sixth OPE tour.
"We've seen warriors less fortunate, who don't have that mom or dad or someone particularly close to them to spend time as a medical attendant in the hospital with them, and in general, those warriors without that type of support do not move as quickly through recovery," he said.
Commander, Gold Star Mother Design Memorial
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE MAREZ, Iraq – Over the last seven years, Soldiers have honored the fallen here in Iraq with perhaps hundreds of memorials, most in the form of T-walls, street signs and plaques.
Now, at Contingency Operating Base Marez, Iraq, Lt. Col. Warner Holt, garrison commander for COB Marez, Regimental Fires Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and an Estill Springs, Tenn., native, is collaborating with Gold Star Family member Nanette West to build a memorial for fallen Soldiers at COB Marez in honor of service members that have died near Mosul, Iraq.
"It's important to have a memorial," Holt said. "It's something to keep the memory alive for all these troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice."
Injured Stryker Soldiers Interviewed [Audio]
Life After Injury: Stories From American Soldiers is a segment from KUOW that featured three Stryker soldiers dealing with combat injuries. Click the audio format you want under the "Listen to Weekday" heading on the right side of the landing page. Description:
Thousands of American soldiers have served in Iraq and Afghanistan during the last decade. Many suffered physical injury as a result. What does it take for them to rebuild their lives after such a trauma? How does a serious combat injury change a soldier's perspective on life, or on the wars we are fighting? Today we hear first–hand stories from members of our military. Also, if you were injured in combat, what encourages you? What advice do you have?
[Video] Warrior Care Rocco Armonda
A day in the life with Army neurosurgeon Col. Rocco Armonda, who has treated seriously injured Stryker soldiers. Learn more about Warrior Care at www.warriorcare.mil.
Tobacco Factory Investigated for IED Components
Video from “Tobacco Factory Investigated for IED Components“ in the B-roll section about Soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border, working with Afghan civilians to keep insurgents from using local businesses to manufacture or hide weapons. Includes soundbite from Staff Sgt. Jason Packard, Stryker Platoon Leader. Produced by Marine Cpl. Marc Morgenstern.
1-17 INF, 5/2 SBCT in the News
Afghan: US ranks harbor soldier chef in the field - The Associated Press
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan — The oldest soldier in Alpha Company has lived hard. He shuttled through foster homes in San Francisco as a child, busted his nose and scraped his knuckles in street brawls as a young man, deployed as a U.S. military medic in Iraq and campaigned against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.What has lifted this soldier through the hard times is a love of food.
U.S. Army Sgt. Abel Aceituno, 42, relies on the memories of food he has eaten in the past, and the dream of opening a restaurant in the future. It's his way of burrowing into private yearnings when comforts and safety are scarce.
For Aceituno, eating is more than refueling. He talks about food as both fun and sacred. Taste buds quiver.
'Chop Shop' Soldiers
Story by Pvt. Zach Zuber
DIYALA, Iraq – The sign out front may say 'Chop Shop,' but inside the massive tin sheet metal building located at the south end of Forward Operating Base Warhorse, there are no stolen vehicles or illegal activities. Instead, with an ever-present aroma of engine oil and transmission fluid wafting in the air above an oil and grease stained floor; the Red Lion mechanics labor through both routine and complex maintenance puzzles.
Serving as a one stop repair shop for motor-powered equipment of every shape and size, the Soldiers from Headquarters Support Battery, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, have perfected a wide variety of specialties and skills to fix any damaged piece of equipment or vehicle that enters their lair.
Although each Soldier may have a different technical expertise, all find fulfillment in their daily work. For Spc. Brandon Fulkert, a generator mechanic, this job enables new opportunities in his post-Army career.
"I had been working in sales pretty much since I got out of high school, and with the tough economy those jobs can be kind of up or down," said Fulkert, a native of Toledo, Ohio. "When I signed up I chose this job so that I could get a strong foothold in a field that would provide a steady income for my family."
2-1 INF, 5/2 SBCT Featured in Article
Big Afghan offensive must overcome deadly terrain - The Associated Press
LAKO KHEL, Afghanistan—U.S. soldiers had just made it through a dense patch of vineyards to a cluster of abandoned mud compounds when the radio operator let out a shout: "Sir, we are about to be ambushed from three different locations!"The men rushed for cover, dodging a potential attack and cursing Kandahar province's tough terrain that is tailor-made for the Taliban. The deadly obstacle course may haunt thousands of additional U.S. troops pouring into this corner of southern Afghanistan for what is expected to be the make-or-break offensive of the nearly 9-year-old war.
The thick fields, snaking canals and bomb-laden dirt roads in key districts around the provincial capital, Kandahar City, force jittery soldiers out of their heavily armored vehicles into a landscape dotted with towering mud compounds that provide militants with ideal cover.
Soldiers Conduct Patrols in Local Villages, Package
Video from “Soldiers Conduct Patrols in Local Villages” in the B-roll section about Soldiers assigned to a stryker unit in eastern Afghanistan conducting dismounted patrols in local villages to establish positive relationships and help improve the locals' quality of life. Includes soundbite with 1st Lt. Reagan Meyer, Stryker Platoon Leader. Produced by Marine Cpl. Marc Morgenstern.
Photos: Wounded Warriors Visit 4-2 Stryker Soldiers at Camp Liberty in Iraq
Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Huggins (center) and Lt. Col. Darron Wright (left), the brigade sergeant major and deputy commanding officer of 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, U.S. Division-Center, greet wounded warriors returning to Iraq to share their stories with Soldiers May 12 at the Camp Liberty Warrior Chapel. Operation Proper Exit allows service members to return to the country where they received their wounds to help them find closure.
Operation Apache Roadhouse
Video about a rare daytime assault Soldiers from 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division raided a small home to capture and detain a known suspect. capt. Mark Pemberton Commander, A Co., 1/23 Infantry comments on the operation. Produced by Sgt. 1st Class JD Phippen.
Deployment Ceremony for 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment
B-Roll of the Deployment Ceremony for 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. Scenes include Soldiers in formation, the casing of the colors and Soldiers listening to speeches. Part 1 of 5.
Related:
Deployment Ceremony for 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Part 2
Deployment Ceremony for 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Part 3
Deployment Ceremony for 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Part 4
Deployment Ceremony for 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Part 5
Stryker Unit Employs HIDES in the Fight Against Terrorism
Video about how the U.S. Military uses the Handheld Intra-Agency Identity Detection System (HIIDES) to identify individuals based on physical or behavioral traits. Produced by Cpl. Marc Morgenstern.
Related:
Penguins of Afghanistan - Michael Yon
Analysis: Al Qaeda in Iraq
Al Qaeda in Iraq: Last stand, or sign of resilience? - The Long War Journal
In the wake of a deadly wave of coordinated bombings and shootings in Iraq on Monday, which marked the bloodiest day in the country so far this year, Iraqi and American authorities have scrambled to reassure the public that the Iraqi security forces remain firmly in control of the security situation in Iraq, and that American forces will continue to withdraw from the country as planned.Both Iraqi and American security officials have blamed the attacks, which killed 119 people and injured more than 350, on al Qaeda in Iraq. The officials reiterated their belief that the terrorist organization has been seriously damaged in recent months, as Iraqi and American forces have succeeded in killing or capturing a number of key al Qaeda commanders.
Audio: Esprit de Corps
This episode of To the Best of Our Knowledge contains multiple segments featuring Stryker soldiers from the 3/2 SBCT.
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 May edition here: On Point.
Blackhorse Soldiers Create Renewed Security
Story by Pvt. Zach Zuber
DIYALA, Iraq – As Soldiers are spending their final weeks on Forward Operating Base Normandy, Iraq, inventorying equipment and packing large shipping containers for their long journey back to the United States, many pay little attention to the bright lights that sparkle in the dark of night.
Several of the Patriots, who call this base 'home' may not have a clue that each day families in the surrounding area are reminded of the U.S. presence and support in their communities. However, one company of Soldiers represents the entire force stationed there as they support the Iraqi security forces in providing a safe environment for local citizens.
Soldiers from Blackhorse Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, have been running daily counter-indirect fire operations in Al Aitha, Diyala province, Iraq, since the end of April.
With an increase in the number of attacks against FOB Normandy throughout April, Blackhorse Soldiers launched a new plan to integrate illumination mortar fire with combined Iraqi-U.S. patrols in the surrounding villages to stop these perpetrators.
Positioned throughout the area bordering their home, mortar teams from Blackhorse Company, 2/3 Inf., taken the dark out of the night thus preventing their enemies from using the darkness to set up attacks.
Spiders, Snakes & Scorpions
US soldiers stalk Afghanistan's deadly wildlife - The Associated Press
GHUNDY GHAR, Afghanistan—As night falls on this small hilltop base in the heart of Taliban country in southern Afghanistan, U.S. Army soldiers break out their knives and flashlights and go hunting for some of the country's deadliest inhabitants: snakes and scorpions.Tracking down the "creepy crawlies" that lurk in the nooks and crannies of the countryside is a favorite pastime, providing education, some entertainment -- arachnid fight night! -- or even a quick meal.
The expeditions help break the monotony of 10-day rotations the soldiers do once or twice a month at this rugged outpost in Kandahar province. Other than patrolling for a few hours a day, there is little for troops to do except watch movies or lift weights at a makeshift gym.
Trucks Will Help Environmental Office Begin Work
Story by Pvt. Zach Zuber
DIYALA, Iraq – After months of processing paper work, two signatures were all it took for the Diyala Environmental Office to receive three new vehicles from the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, May 5.
"We have many tasks that we have to do… there are many places for us to visit to enforce our regulations," said Abdallah Haddi Grafa'a Al-Shammari, director of the Diyala Environmental Office. "This will be very helpful for us to go around to all the different areas that we need to control."
The DEO is a young organization whose task is to improve environmental conditions and enforce pollution regulations that affect the province's natural resources. These trucks are just one part of the assistance they have received from U.S. forces. Since their initial meeting, the 296th BSB has provided supplies and training to help the DEO execute their mission throughout the province.
Tomahawks Make Macro Difference With Micro Grants
Story by Pfc. Kimberly Hackbarth
HAMAMIAT, Iraq – There's an empty space where a front window should be, letting in flies that climb over food waiting to be sold to customers, while dust coats the shelves at a hole-in-the-wall falafel shop in Hamamiat.
Shop owner, Majid Saadoon Noor, is caught in a catch-22. He believes that with improvements to his shop, he can double his business. However, because he isn't drawing in enough customers, he can't make enough money to afford those improvements. He also is unable to secure a small business loan because they are unavailable from Iraqi banks.
There is help. U.S. forces are offering micro-grants to Iraqi small business owners to help grow the local economy.
Company B, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment Soldiers visited Majid's falafel shop and another business to hand out paperwork for the shop owners to apply for the micro-grants.
Funding for micro-grants comes from the Commanders' Emergency Response Program, explained Staff Sgt. Carl Hendricks, a squad leader with B Company, 2nd Bn., 23rd Inf. Regt.
Iraqi Students Meet G.I. Jundi
Story by Spc. Ry Norris
DIYALA, Iraq –Young students eagerly spoke of their future careers as lawyers, soldiers, doctors and teachers to the Iraqi soldier standing in the front of the classroom. "G.I. Jundi," or G.I. Soldier in Arabic is an Iraqi army campaign designed to foster a sense of trust and confidence in their capabilities within the local communities.
Soldiers from the 5th Iraqi Army Division and 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, visited the Khalis Primary School, to meet and speak with children about the responsibilities of an Iraqi soldier and emphasize the important role they also have in preventing crime, May 3.
"The IA is working very hard to bring security to our country," said the school Vice Principal, Isa Jafer Hamid. "They've come to reassure us what we already know: security has vastly improved."
The Iraqi soldiers placed a bright spotlight on crime prevention and making a positive difference in their community during their visit. They encouraged students to report crimes if they saw something that could potentially harm another person.
After the students finished talking with the IA, they were given gifts such as stuffed animals, radios, and personal-sized flags. With a flag in one hand, the students ran to the schoolyard to give a presentation of their own.
The children stood shoulder to shoulder, short ones in the front and tall ones in the back as if they were preparing for a class picture. Soldiers gathered around them, watching the group with interest. With a teacher as conductor, the students sang Iraq's national anthem with gusto.
"About 300 of them stood there gripping their flags and sang," said Sgt. 1st Class James Kennard, detachment non-commissioned officer-in-charge attached to 3rd SBCT, 2nd ID. "As they were singing, you could just feel the sense of hope, unity, and pride in the air."
The flags had the words "We Love Iraq" written on them.
At a time when a young democracy is developing and hope is flourishing, the children of the Khalis Primary School have shown a desire to help rebuild the country of Iraq.
"We are proud of how things have changed for the better," said Vice Principal Hamid. "Iraq is enriched by its people.
(via Digital Video & Imagery Distribution System)
Air Power Gets Grounded to Help Iraqis
Story by Sgt. Phillip Valentine
BAGHDAD – A police force is considered necessary in order to bring order from chaos, especially in Baghdad.
Airmen from 2nd Platoon, 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, U.S. Division–Center, work in partnership with local Baghdad based Iraqi police to do just that.
On May 7, the Airmen of 2nd Plt., traveled to the Yarmouk local police station located inside a hospital to distribute medical supplies and bed linens. The Iraqi Police will later take these items and deliver them to the hospital and people in the local area.
"We go out to IP stations and patrol with them emphasizing community policing," said Tech. Sgt. Eric Gray, a Phoenix native and squad leader assigned to 2nd Plt. "It helps them build up their rapport within the community."
Photos: Odierno Visits 4-2 'Tomahawks'
New Yon Dispatch
An Afghan Story - Michael Yon Online
If normal life were a river, most days would likely be a slow-moving, meandering passage. But when a life squeezes into the gorge of war, there can be a deafening whitewater, falls and yet bigger falls, slams against stones, falls again and underwater no air and over the falls again and time stretches and compresses and seems to defy normal experience and over the falls again and you drown or don’t. Some people come out the other side exhilarated and want to do it again and again, while others are terrified, and yet others will just do what needs to be done. The persistence of the memories wrought would seem to leave clocks drooped over limbs or floating away.From wars grow countless wild stories, many of which are true. Even a single witness will hear thousands over the years. Back at home, the retellings can seem vague, distant, and as soulful as a soleless boot. But when you are in a war zone with civilians or combat troops, some stories might start like, “Be careful here. This is where Jimmy got blown up,” and there is still a crater and all the branches are blown off a nearby tree. Later in the day, “Be careful here, bullets sometimes come through that window,” and there are pocks on the walls inside the room. The retellings are not secondhand, not ancient, but immediate and pressing. In the wars, stories are road signs to the here and now, and so you seek out stories not for entertainment. They are not entertaining anyway. Few people likely would be entertained by the story of their own death. “This is where the suicide bomber hit,” and you are standing there, knowing lightning makes habits.
Captain Max Hanlin of Charlie Company 1-17th Infantry was living with his soldiers at the Shah Wali Kot District Center in northern Kandahar Province, and he said to me from across the tent that the District Governor for Shah Wali Kot district had some interesting stories that should be told. We walked out to the perimeter under the watchful eye of a machine gunner in his guardpost, and around the corner to see the District Governor so that something useful could get out.
5/2 SBCT Photos & Feature Story
Attacks Signal End Of Poppy Harvest In Afghanistan - NPR
The gunfire and explosions echoing across this Taliban-infested district in southern Afghanistan on Friday signaled the end of the opium poppy harvest as militants again turned their attention from agriculture to attacking NATO and Afghan forces.U.S. Army soldiers perched on this small hilltop base in Kandahar province's Zhari district had a ringside seat to the early morning fighting. It snapped a lull in violence that had lasted almost three weeks while the Taliban focused on taxing the poppy crop, one of its main sources of revenue.
Building up resources is especially important for the Taliban this year as NATO is ramping up its latest military operation in Kandahar, the group's spiritual heartland. Military commanders have characterized the Kandahar mission as the make-or-break battle of the nearly 9-year-old war.
Kandahar Operation
Afghans wary as NATO rebrands Kandahar process - Reuters
Afghan leader Hamid Karzai is due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama next week and the Kandahar offensive will be high on the agenda after a spate of civilian deaths caused a rift between Kabul and Washington.On the outskirts of southern Afghanistan's largest city, thousands of U.S. troops have been preparing to drive the Taliban from their spiritual home next month in what is being billed as the biggest military offensive of the 9-year-old war.
The operation, involving at least 23,000 NATO and Afghan troops, is the central objective of U.S. and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal's counter-insurgency plan to turn the tide using reinforcements pledged by Obama in December.
Establishing Effective Government in Afghanistan
US Army captain becomes 'king' in Afghanistan - The Associated Press
HUTAL, Afghanistan — In the U.S. Army, Casey Thoreen is just a 30-year-old captain. Around here, he's known as the "King of Maiwand" district — testimony to the fact that without the young captain and a fat international wallet, local government here as in much of the insurgency-ravaged south could not function at all.Setting up effective governments at the district level is key to U.S. strategy. U.S. officials hope that providing basic services will draw support away from the Taliban, especially here in the Islamist group's heartland of Kandahar province.
But in this dusty farming community 40 miles (60 kilometers) west of Kandahar, Thoreen has discovered that bolstering the authority of a district governor, who relies on him almost completely for financial resources and credibility, is a delicate balancing act. He also knows the effort is unsustainable without greater support from the central Afghan government in Kabul.
Operation Proper Exit
Amputee soldier from Fort Wainwright returns to Iraq as part of Army program - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS - When Staff Sgt. Brian Beem left Baghdad in 2006, it was on a stretcher with the lower part of his right leg so severely damaged, doctors said there was only a 10 percent chance they could save it.When he returns to Iraq this month, Beem, 32, and now an amputee, is determined to walk out of the country on his own terms. [...]
Beem is one of about 10 other soldiers in the Army who are going back to Iraq as part of Operation Proper Exit. Sponsored by the Troops First Foundation, Operation Proper Exit takes soldiers back to places where they were injured to help them find closure.
It's a bird ... it's a plane ... no, it's the Wasp III
Story by Spc. Luisito Brooks
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – In today's warfare, being able to put a set of eyes on the enemy first, without the enemy knowing, greatly increases the success rate of the mission.
Soldiers with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division were the first U.S. Army Soldiers in Iraq to receive training on the Wasp III, an unmanned micro-aerial surveillance system, and take it for a test flight April 24 around Camp Taji.
"This system is effective, lightweight and very adaptable," said Staff Sgt. Brian Phillips, a Raven unmanned aerial surveillance master trainer with Company C, 1st Battalion, 38th Inf. Regiment, 4th SBCT, 2nd Inf. Div. "A single Soldier, at the company or platoon level can throw the whole system on their back and carry it into the field,"
Phillips also said a unit commander has the ability to launch the Wasp III from just about anywhere.
Securing Iraq by Stepping Aside
Story by Pvt. Zach Zuber
DIYALA, Iraq – Nothing ever stays the same. This truism is apparent to all U.S. Soldiers currently serving in Iraq as their responsibility and mission is significantly different from just six months ago. No longer conducting combat operations, they are advising Iraq-taught training courses and supporting Iraqi-led missions.
Iraqi policemen, with assistance from the Skyes' Regulars of Battle Company, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, performed a security patrol through one of three planned sections of northern Biritz, May 3.
The Soldiers from Battle Company, 5/20 Inf., walked unfamiliar ground during this operation as they reversed roles with the Iraqi policemen, who planned and led the mission. Working in support of the IPs has required them to be flexible as they get used to their different leadership role.
"We thought we had a good idea of what they [IP leaders] wanted to do on this search, and as soon as we got there they had decided they wanted to go somewhere different," said Staff Sgt. Casey Merriman, a fire team leader for Battle Company, 5/20 Inf. "It's a common thing for them to change frequently so we do a link up with them before the mission and support what they want."
