Stryker Brigade News

“When I first got here, I was like, ‘What are we waiting for?’” he said. “Let’s go.”

The battalion also has cleared several contentious neighborhoods, including the western suburbs of Shula and Ghazaliya, and the contentious neighborhoods of Adhamiya and Rusafa, since the operation began in August.

Despite claims by American military officials that the operation has significantly reduced sectarian violence in Baghdad, officials with the Iraqi Health Ministry reported 1,500 violent deaths in August, roughly the same as in July, according to The Associated Press.

While Kelly said he views Sadr City, in northeast Baghdad, as just another neighborhood, he realizes the strategic importance of the area and the risks involved.

No one has to tell the 4-23 that every war is cruel. Its members freely admit they've been luckier than a lot of units in Iraq. The 172nd has lost fewer than 20 of its roughly 4,000 troops in the past year, and the 4-23 has had no one killed in action. Their record in the field, along with their almost indestructible armored vehicles, made the 172nd an obvious choice to clean out Baghdad's sectarian death squads. "We were victims of our own success," says Capt. Phillip Mann, the 4-23's intelligence officer. Even so, the war's emotional and spiritual costs keep rising for them and their loved ones back home. Velotta's little girl tells of bad dreams that he's going to die. "No, baby," her mother says. "He is coming home"—wishing she could be sure of that. The wedding of Spc. Shawn Mott and Nina Herrera was set for Sept. 16. Eight hours after she mailed the invitations, he called to say he had to go to Baghdad instead of flying home. "I was so scared to call you," he told her afterward. "I thought you'd leave me."

BAGHDAD — Only days after Iraqi Army and MND-B Soldiers cleared the neighborhood of Adhamiyah, U.S. and Iraqi forces returned to hand out generators and food.

“We’re showing the Iraqi people that we’re here to help them,” said Capt. Andrew Corbin, native of Austin, Texas, and civil affairs team leader with 414th Civil Affairs Battalion, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.

“All the people I’ve talked to in Adhamiyah say they like the security that’s been established,” said Shields. “We’d like to build on that.”

Residents of the area came out in large numbers, filling the streets for an opportunity to share thoughts with the U.S. Soldiers. The troops made it a point to talk to local residents who have been employed as street cleaners to ensure the workers are getting paid.

“There’s a lot of good things planned for Adhamiyah,” remarked Shields. “We’re working to fix electricity, sewer and water issues and working to get the hospital back up and running.”

The citizens of the area appeared eager to discuss their concerns about safety and ongoing operations in their neighborhood, observed the Soldiers. A key question posed was whether residents felt safer walking around their neighborhood.

“Since Coalition Forces came into Adhamiyah, we’ve seen less violence,” said one resident. “I feel safe. The longer Coalition Forces stay, the better it will get.”

Members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team who suffered financial hardships when the Army extended their Iraq tours at the last minute could be reimbursed for financial losses under a Senate-passed amendment.

Under the proposal, which is not final unless also approved by the House of Representatives and signed into law, reimbursement would be allowed only when there has been no other reimbursement of expenses and when there is no other provision of law that provides help.

BAGHDAD – In the early morning hours of Aug. 29, Soldiers of Multi-National Division –Baghdad’s 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team piled into heavily-armored vehicles and rolled into a cordoned section of Baghdad to continue clearing operations as part of Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s Operation Together Forward.

The platoon, working with a dog team from 67th Specialized Search Dogs Detachment, 5th Engineer Battalion, 16th Engineer Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, was able to clear approximately 130 residences and businesses in three days of operating in the area.

“Our mission today was to root out any weapons caches, find any foreign fighters and (eventually) bring some peace and normalcy to the area,” said Waits, a native of Littlerock, Ark.

The platoon’s two-fold mission also involved collecting information from residents about trouble in the neighborhood as well as general information about the local populace.

“We have been going more or less, house to house, getting a census of the community to see who lives where, what’s going on and what problems they have been having in the neighborhoods,” said Spc. Phillip Page, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 4th Sqdn., 14th Cav. Regt.

“For example, we are trying to gain information about terrorists groups in the area and how they are affecting the populace, and as a result, how the populace feels about Coalition Forces coming into this neighborhood,” explained Page, who is aided in these efforts by an interpreter.

“We want the local residents to feel comfortable enough to tell us what’s going on and to lead us in the right direction to track down these terrorists,” said Waits.

Many agricultural businesses operate within Adhamiyah, growing everything from date palm trees to garden vegetables. “Most of the residents we have spoken with are farmers,” said Page, a native of Alliance, Ohio. “They are good people who have been living in the area for quite a while and just trying to make a living for themselves,” he said.

The Soldiers also came across a kindergarten school that had recently come under fire from mortars launched by terrorists.

The terrorists were aiming at the Iraqi National Police station nearby, explained the head security guard for an Adhamiyah kindergarten school through an interpreter. “If (these patrols) happen more times, maybe the terrorists would leave,” he said.

He said he has lived in the neighborhood for seven years, has observed the area change for the worse, he said, and feels the current security operations being conducted in Adhamiyah will be good for the neighborhood.

“Even my babies, they see Americans and Iraqi (security) forces and they feel safe because they think this will give security to them,” said the father of three.

“A lot of the residents I have spoken with said as soon as we rolled in (three days ago), the terrorists, or whoever was taking over this area, rolled out. Violence has gone down and it seems pretty peaceful,” said Page.

“Our kids have only experienced war time,” said Hussein. “We hope we never see another war. We hope our kids live in peace.”

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – After spending 12 long months patrolling the streets of Mosul in northern Iraq, the Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, based out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, are now taking on terrorists in neighborhoods near Baghdad.

The brigade was all set to redeploy back home before it was rerouted to Baghdad for an additional four months of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Soldiers accepted their added responsibilities with pride, said Wuestner, in knowing they will bring a unique skill set and fresh approach to the new mission in a new area.

The field artillery Soldiers are taking over for an armored unit that performed a majority of its operations from tanks. The FA Soldiers primarily operate using humvees, although dismounted patrols are often their preferred course of action, which enables them to interact face-to-face with residents in the area, said Wuestner.

Following on the heels of their successes in Mosul with civil-military operations, the Soldiers will continue to rely heavily on human intelligence gathered through personal interaction with local Iraqi citizens.

Staff Sgt. Jeff Reisdorfer, section chief, Battery C, 4th Bn., 11th FA Regt., said that dismounted patrols and gathering intelligence from local residents are the keys to success.

“The people see us on a regular basis, and we are constantly stopping and talking to people and building rapport every day we come out here,” added Reisdorfer.

FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska (Army News Service, Sept. 5, 2006) – The Army has provided increased funding, more than $5 million, to immediately mitigate hardships on the families of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team during the unit’s extended deployment.

The extra funding from the Installation Management Agency will be used to:

• Repair and upgrade the Family Assistance Centers at forts Wainwright and Richardson;

• Extend the privately-owned vehicle and household goods storage contracts for deployed Soldiers;

• Provide funding for critical civilian and contractor hires to assist the installations in supporting affected family members;

• Fund Child and Youth Services activities;

• Fund the conversion of the Last Frontier Community Center at Fort Wainwright to a Community Activity Center;

• Fund repairs to the School Age Services building at Fort Wainwright; and

• Provide for civilian overtime pay for positions necessary to provide support for the Soldiers and their families.

In other efforts to help families of the 172nd, the mental health clinic at Bassett Army Community Hospital has transitioned to an open-access clinic, where the Army Surgeon General’s office has sent two child psychologists to train teachers and school counselors delivering mental-health services to school children.

Michele Barber, the Fort Richardson Family Assistance Center coordinator, said her staff has received 146 visitors and nearly 200 hundred phone calls by family members looking for support and information.

More than 650 phone calls have been received by the Fort Wainwright FAC staff, and they have assisted a little more than 100 visitors.

“Initially families needed counseling and emotional support to address coping with the news of the extension and talking to the kids,” Barber said. “As time progresses families are dealing with more pragmatic issues.

“Besides the many vacation plans that were interrupted, many Soldiers had plans to move on to their next mission. Some spouses were already in the process of PCSing to their next duty location, others are in housing that is scheduled to be remodeled so they need to move,” she explained.

“Some Soldiers had been on a tight timetable to go to a special training or position, which is being missed. Each of those issues is being worked individually. Other issues include expiring powers of attorney, huge telephone bills and needing additional child care.”

Karen Conrad, the USAG-AK FAC coordinator, said support will be tailored for differing circumstances.

“Every family has their own unique circumstances resulting from this extension,” Conrad said. “Each case will be handled professionally, carefully and as quickly as possible. We will work to appropriately address everyone’s problem, no matter how big or how small.”

Barber said there are still many things the civilian and military community can do for the affected families.

“Refer families affected by the deployment extension to the FAC,” she suggested. “The FAC was set up specifically to be a convenient place for families affected by the deployment extension to get support.

“When an issue involves multiple agencies, those who go through the FAC are escorted to each agency and provided immediate assistance,” she explained. “We also follow up on each FAC case to make sure the issues are addressed. When issues are not resolvable at the local level, we take those issues through our chain of command and the DA Tiger Team to get assistance to resolve the issue.”

The Tiger Team, a Department of the Army-led group of experts from various support channels, is taking issues that cannot be resolved locally to the level necessary to fix the problem, Barber said. One of the Tiger Team initiatives was to have AKO automatically extend all sponsored accounts of deployed 172nd Soldiers for 180 days.

She pointed to a recent Tiger Team success when a family member was initially turned down for a full refund of unused airline tickets.

The family’s tickets cost $2,400 and the airline agreed to refund only $700.

The issue went up the Tiger Team chain and a full refund followed soon after.

“That was reversed due to the influence of the DA Tiger Team,” Barber said. “They are working with the individual airlines and cruise lines to obtain full refunds for everyone whose travel plans were impacted by the deployment extension.”

Locally, Barber said people can “volunteer to do the things that we struggle to find volunteers for,” such as mowing lawns, shoveling snow, helping with household and car maintenance issues, and providing transportation for those who can’t drive.

BAGHDAD — Almost one month into an operation meant to reclaim control of Baghdad after escalating ethnic killings and reprisals, U.S. officials presented data Thursday showing a dramatic drop in violence in several of the city’s besieged neighborhoods.

Using March as a baseline, attacks on civilians peaked in August at 73 percent over March, then dropped to 8 percent above March levels, according to data Caldwell released.

Though the data didn’t include hard numbers, graphics plotting murders, executions and casualties from indirect fire and bombs indicated marked drops in the worst districts, including Kadhamiya on the northwest, Sadr City on the east, Karada in the center and Dora on the south. Rusafa, in central Baghdad just outside the Green Zone, was the only area that appeared to have an increase in all casualties.

Operations are either completed or started in about half of the city, with almost 49,000 buildings cleared, 75 detainees seized, and about 1,100 weapons seized, according to information distributed during a weekly news conference.

Earlier this month, the U.S. military deployed several thousand extra combat troops to flashpoint districts in the troubled Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The security operations are part of a joint U.S.-Iraqi effort to halt escalating sectarian violence and shore up support for Iraq's struggling government.

"Hello. How are you today? Pardon the intrusion into your homes and neighborhoods this morning," said Lieutenant Colonel John Norris.

On this day, the commander of the Stryker Brigade's 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry, Lieutenant Colonel John Norris, tries to assure nervous Sunni residents in Adamiyah that help is on the way.

"We are working in cooperation with the Iraqi army, the Iraqi national police, the Iraqi police, trying to clear it of the sectarian violence and make your neighborhood safe for you and your family," he said.

"[Saeedi] is the direct supervisor of the criminal Haitham al-Badri, who planned and executed the bombing of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra," Mr. Rubaie said.

Saeedi – also known as Abu Humam and Abu Rana – was reportedly captured as he hid in a residential building southwest of Baqouba.

The Iraqi national security advisor said that Saeedi carried out the policy of the al-Qaida in Iraq organization to ignite sectarian riots. According to Rubaie, Saeedi is also accused of supervising the creation of death squads and ordering assassinations, bombings, kidnappings and attacks on Iraqi Police and Army checkpoints.

Rubaie said Saeedi’s arrest has left al-Qaida in Iraq suffering a "serious leadership crisis."

On the same day Saeedi’s capture was announced, Iraqi and Coalition leaders in Adhamiyah, an area of northeastern Baghdad, told reporters they are now focusing on phase two of operations in that neighborhood.

Taming Adhamiyah was part of Operation Together Forward, also known as Amaliya Ma’an ila Al-Amam. With the area secure, leaders are now focusing on restoring civil services – electricity, water, sewer and fuel – to the neighborhood.

“The first part of the operation is not successful unless the second part is successful,” said Maj. Gen. Mahmood Ayoub Bashar, 9th Iraqi Army Division commander.

His unit’s soldiers, along with the Iraqi Police, 6th Iraqi Army Division Soldiers and U.S. Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, moved together to secure the area.

The combined troops were successful, according to Col. Michael Shields, 172nd SBCT commander.

Iraqi troops cleared 23 mosques, combined troops found four caches, and most significantly, they found a factory where improvised explosive devices were made, said Shields.

He was not self-congratulatory, however.

“I do gauge success in the security of Adhamiyah, and the relationship between the people of Adhamiyah and Iraqi and Coalition forces,” Shields said.

According to Brig. Gen. Emad Ismail Ali, Adhamiyah Police chief, the troops are gaining local citizens’ respect.

“We met a lot of people on the ground, and the people are pleased,” he said.

His Police officers worked with Military Police of Iraqi and Coalition forces.

“We are starting to see people stand up to the militias,” said Shields.

The colonel said Iraqi citizens there are turning more and more to Iraqi forces rather than the militias.

The 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division commander saw this as an important aspect of Operation Together Forward.

“Our goal was to regain the trust of the people and to overcome terrorists,” said Brig. Gen. Jabar Mujhed Msad.

With that goal seemingly achieved, the commanders agreed the second phase – restoring civil services – must now find success.

“Our number one concern has been security, but right behind that it is electricity, also water, sewer and fuel availability,” said Shields.

The colonel said 1,700 humanitarian assistance meals were distributed, as well as about 50 power generators.

“None of us in this room would want to live without electricity,” added Bashar. However, he said Adhamiyah citizens went 45 days without it.

Shields praised the citizens for what they endured.

“I commend the Iraqis for their patience,” he said. “Patience in supporting security searches, patience with traffic, [and] patience with lack of services.”

With Coalition and Iraqi support, Adhamiyah is on the road to recovery.

“People are shopping, small businesses are opening back up, but there is a lot of work to do,” said Shields.

For these commanders, complete recovery means a secure Iraq with the necessities of modern life.

The results were mutually beneficial as students and News-Miner journalists were introduced to military issues and learned the obstacles they might face in trying to cover a combat theater. Likewise, soldiers learned some do’s and don’ts.

Then comes the second person.

Reporter Margaret Friedenauer saw the story potential in embedding with local troops overseas to tell their stories for the people back home. She made her pitch as the 172nd was deployed and talked her bosses into the idea of spending the holidays in Mosul with the soldiers.

Her six weeks there in December 2005 and January 2006 were successful. Our community and readers, by and large, praised her stories and photos. The Web site drew so much traffic that computer techs here had to quickly put the site on a server of its own because the traffic was slowing down the company’s entire network.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - As they patrol the streets of the troubled Ash-Shulah neighborhood, the troops of Charlie Company seek out tormentors and guardians: Sunni Arab insurgents who come to kill in this largely Shiite enclave, and Shiite militiamen who protect residents while doing their killing in adjoining Sunni districts.

``It's too peaceful,'' said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kelly, who heads the 1st Battalion of the 17th Infantry Regiment, which includes Charlie Company. ``It's great. It's really nice talking to folks. It's really refreshing. I wish it would stay like that.''

U.S. troops are again on the move in this city of 6 million people. Officials have taken to calling the new operation ``The Battle for Baghdad,'' and they emphasize that the stakes are high.

``The Battle for Baghdad will go a long ways toward determining the future of Iraq and the future of the Middle East,'' said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, answering questions via e-mail. ``The United States simply cannot achieve its goals of a democratic, stable and secure Iraq if the unacceptable levels of violence that we had in Baghdad in recent months continue.''

About 8,000 additional U.S. soldiers have been in Baghdad since early August, accompanied by 3,000 Iraqi soldiers. [...]

Commanders concede that insurgents and killers may be waiting out the U.S. presence, knowing the troops will soon move on.

The Opel gang. Even though Iraq's third-largest city, Mosul, is still plagued by some 14 attacks a week, it is seen as a successful model of the training effort. The lone 12-man U.S. Special Forces team forged a good relationship with the 172nd Stryker Brigade, which has now been sent to Baghdad to help quell the violence there. Lt. Col. Charles Webster, one of the Stryker battalion commanders who invited the special forces to join his planning meetings, recalled how they helped shut down a group he called the "Opel gang," which was plaguing the city with car bombs. "One of them said, 'Sir, they meet here, pick up the cars at this point, drop them off there,' and pointed out the locations on the map," Webster said.

AWAH and BAGHDAD, Iraq — The call to reinforce Baghdad with U.S. forces originally destined for Anbar province may be essential to restore order in the Iraqi capital, but it risks sacrificing gains paid for with American blood in the western province.

Anbar has always been an “economy of force” theater for U.S. commanders, meaning they have never had as many troops as needed to control the province and defeat the insurgents. According to some officers, the only reasons senior leaders paid Anbar any attention was the presence there of al-Qaida in Iraq’s foreign jihadists. “If there were no foreign fighters, I don’t think anyone in Baghdad would give a flying frog about Anbar,” said Marine Lt. Col. Ron Gridley, executive officer for Regimental Combat Team 7, which is in charge of a swath of central and western Anbar.

Despite limited forces, U.S. commanders felt they were making progress in the province. But the recent repositioning has left even fewer American troops there to hold down the fort while all eyes turn to Baghdad.

ANAH, Iraq — insurgents had freely waged a two-year reign of terror on this sleepy, affluent Sunni city of 30,000. They blew up the police station and chased out the nascent police force. They murdered the chairman of the city council and cowed the local populace.

Lt. Col. Mark Freitag, commander of the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, installed a Stryker infantry company in a combat outpost just outside Anah in late March. The grunts of Apache Company, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, attached to Task Force 4-14, took aggressive action against the insurgents, whose leaders made a move to regain the initiative: They dispatched a shadowy commander named Abu Hamza to take charge of the insurgency in Anah.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - In a lively but polite give-and-take, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fielded questions Saturday from wives and other family members of Alaska-based soldiers whose combat tours in Iraq were abruptly extended just as they prepared to return home this month.

Asked whether the Army was preparing another brigade to take over for the 172nd in case the improvements in Baghdad are not achieved by December, Rumsfeld said he could make no promises.

"I wish I had a magic wand and the power to say yes. I don't," he said. "I will do everything in the world I can do to see that they are not extended beyond the 120 days."

BAGHDAD – As part of Operation Together Forward, Iraqi army soldiers and Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s Company C, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, mounted a combined operation and conducted a cordon and search mission Sunday in the Baghdad neighborhood of Ghazaliyah in an effort to decrease terrorist activity and protect law-abiding residents.

Many of the residents were at home and were present as each room of their residence was searched. However, some homes appeared to be recently abandoned because all furniture and household items were absent.

In previous searches Company C has conducted, Soldiers found notes threatening homeowners to leave, and sometimes the notes had a bullet attached, said Mousseau.

It is threats and violence such as these that the IA and MND-B Soldiers hope to end with Operation Together Forward.
“People are very interested (and respond) well to what we are doing, giving us information and displaying a positive attitude towards us,” said Sgt. Shane Weaver, infantryman, 1st Plt., Co. C. “They seem happy to see us on the ground.”

“It’s great to have the IA along,” added 2nd Lt. Michael Williams, platoon leader, 2nd Plt., Co. C. “They do a good job and the residents like to see them out here as well.”

“We’re making the area safe from terrorists,” said Habib, an Iraqi army soldier, through the aid of an interpreter.

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq — For some of the American troops whose Iraq tour has been extended in a new attempt to secure Baghdad, saying goodbye a second time was the hardest part.

The 4th Infantry Division’s Command Sgt. Maj. Ronald Riling also attended, to thank returning soldiers and to pass out free phone cards. The 4th ID has operational control of all troops in the Baghdad area.

“I just want to say thanks for coming back,” he told the crowd. “When the nation called for the best, they called for you.”

For the most part, soldiers in the fairly subdued crowd said they would rather be home, but were committed to their duty as soldiers.

He also described a marked decrease in murders and violence in both the Shulla and Ghazaliyah neighborhoods.

Shields said that in the 30 days prior to the execution of the operation, there had been 36 attacks and 83 murders reported in those neighborhoods. During the operation, there were zero attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces involved in the operation, and only nine reported murders in the area. Jaleel said terrorist activity has decreased anywhere from 50 to 75 percent in recent weeks.

The Iraqi commander, meanwhile, praised the skill and professionalism of his Coalition partners.

“These troops that just arrived here in Baghdad are very experienced, and we enjoyed working with them during the operation,” said Jaleel.

When asked how effective his troops would be in operating independently of Coalition forces, he pointed to his unit’s past experience.

“My forces were providing security before these most recent operations, and that will continue afterward,” said Jaleel.

But improving security was only one area of success.

“Where we really made gains was conducting neighborhood or district security council meetings with both the Shulla leadership and Ghazaliyah leadership,” said Shields. “This was a great first step toward community improvement in those areas.”

The colonel said the focus of the meetings was on identifying short-term projects for bolstering the community’s quality of life – items such as rubbish removal - and more long term projects, such as sewer, water and electricity improvements.

In another success, Shields said that during the operation they saw several businesses opening across the neighborhoods. He branded the news a positive indicator of improved perceptions of security in the area.

Shields said his team is hiring locals for community enhancement projects, and that weekly neighborhood advisory committee meetings will continue to occur in the hopes of identifying additional projects.

The reaction of community residents has been extremely positive, he said.

“A majority of the people in Shulla, Nur and Ghazaliyah have been very happy that the security forces have come in to reestablish security in their neighborhoods,” Shields said. “You can see it in the children playing in the streets, and you can see it with families sitting out on their front lawns relaxing.

“It’s not uncommon for the citizens of these neighborhoods to walk up to Iraqi security forces or Coalition forces and thank them for what they’re doing.”

Evidencing this apparent trust, the colonel said several of the weapons cache discoveries were the result of tips from local citizens.

“I think what's really important is that we, as a team, treated the people with dignity and respect, and that the locals appreciated the way Iraqi security forces treated them when they were out patrolling and clearing for the security of their areas,” Shields explained.

“I think the confidence of the people has gone up with the Iraqi security forces … The Iraqi Army, the National Police and Iraqi Police have been instrumental in improving the perception of security within these areas,” he said.

Even with those successes, Shields admitted there is a lot of work still to do.

“We're working very closely with our Iraqi security force counterparts to provide that security and we're pushing hard to … improve the quality of life,” he said.

FAIRBANKS, Ala. (Army News Service, Aug. 24, 2006) – Though the hardships of being deployed to a combat zone are difficult for Soldiers, the families left behind may experience even greater challenges. Add uncertainty and unpredictability to the equation and things can get that much tougher – just ask families of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

The unit’s tour in Iraq was unexpectedly extended last month, just two weeks before their scheduled redeployment date.

Harvey told the spouses that having Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker BCT in Baghdad is critical to breaking the cycle of terror in Iraq.

“I know this has been a great disappointment to all of you,” Harvey said to family readiness group members. “I understand the hardships we’re putting you through, but this is important to the establishment of democracy in Iraq.

“With their advanced combat platforms and systems, 172nd Soldiers are bringing unique, never-before-seen capabilities to the operation in Baghdad,” Harvey said, adding that the Army’s senior leaders are keenly aware of the strain the deployment has put on Soldiers and their families.

Family assistance centers continue to assist family members with such issues as enrolling children in school systems, reimbursing airfare, honoring future assignments and return delivery of household goods.

“The support we have received has been phenomenal and overwhelming. It has filtered all the way down to the families,” said Barbara Keyes, wife of the 172nd Support Battalion commander. “I think most people have confidence that their problems are being resolved.”

“My number one priority is to re-establish predictability for families and resolve personnel and entitlements issues related to the extension,” said Harvey.

The secretary reminded family readiness group members that the support teams have a direct link with Washington in order to help with specific issues and cut through red tape.

“In some ways, deployments and extensions are harder on families than Soldiers,” said Harvey. “It takes a solid team – unit leaders, family readiness groups, the garrison and the community – to provide the support needed to help ease the burden of separation.”

BAGHDAD, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Militias blamed for much of the sectarian violence that has pitched Iraq towards civil war may have melted back into the population to escape a major security crackdown, a U.S. military commander acknowledged on Wednesday.

The possibility that the operation, which has focused on the most volatile districts of Baghdad, had simply displaced death squads to other areas was also "a concern", he said.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have been going street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood searching houses for weapons and suspects in a make-or-break operation to restore stability.

But there have been no major confrontations with any militants so far. Military analysts had warned at the start of the operation that insurgents and militias could simply disperse, hide their weapons and try to wait out U.S. forces.

"We did a good job of isolating the neighbourhoods. Could some individuals have fled the area? Of course," said Shields, who commands the 172nd Stryker Brigade, at a briefing at Camp Liberty military base in western Baghdad.

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – A team of pilots from 1st and 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, conducted multiple air integration training sessions with the Soldiers of two Stryker Battalions now stationed at Camp Taji.

The training is important for both the Aviation and Stryker Soldiers because it allows the ground troops to familiarize with the pilots who provide battlefield protection and an added asset to their units, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Corey Swetz, Co. A, 1st Bn., 4th Avn. Regt.

“It allows them to know our capabilities as well as giving them a face-to-face with the people they’ll be actually talking to in the air,” he said. “It lets us tell them what they can expect from us. They’ve got a ground perspective. We’re just trying to let them understand what it is to deal with the air crews and the importance or painting the picture properly so that we can give them the best support possible.”

According to Sgt. 1st Class Chad Walker, platoon sergeant, 2nd platoon, Co. C, 1st Bn., 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd SBCT, the unit never utilized the services of the HH-60, while serving in Mosul.

“We primarily used the Strykers as a form of casualty evacuation,” he explained. “The Combat Support Hospital was close enough that anytime we got hit with anything, we could truck them on down to the CSH. It was a lot quicker than using air support.”

It was important for his unit to receive the training because a lot of its younger Soldiers had never seen any of the aircraft before, said Walker. Since the unit will be operating in a theater different from the Mosul area, having attack and support aviation is critical to its success.

“It’s important that we get the aviation integration training so that our guys are at least a little more fluent with operations that are going on here,” said Walker, who leads a platoon of 38 Soldiers.

Staff Sgt. Kristopher Barnette, 172nd SBCT, said he, too, was pleased with the way the CAB presented the training and he was enlightened by the amount of information provided by the flight crews.

“I think the aviation crew had everything put together really well. They told us everything we needed to know as far as extracting the pilots and anything we may need to get out or take care, as far as not letting anything get into enemy hands.

Barnette pointed out that his unit had worked with aviation before but not with a unit with as many aviation assets as the CAB.

“Every day that we were out, we would work with the aviation elements,” he said. Barnette, who is a native of Blacksburg, S.C. “I think this training will be very, very beneficial. I just look forward to working with these guys.”

According to 1st Lt. Nicholas Sykes, the training is a valuable tool for his Soldiers as they learn about new aircraft and what the CAB can provide for troops on the ground.

“So far the training has been good,” said Sykes, platoon leader, 2nd platoon, Co. C. “I had never seen an HH-60 model. I got to see a new bird today, and I learned a little bit more about the Apaches from the guys in the skies. That always benefits us on the ground.”

He said he thinks the air integration training will be beneficial for his unit because it provides them a valuable lesson about several key assets in the fight.

“Any training we can get, when we’ve got a little down time, like we have right now, is awesome for the guys,” he explained. “It keeps them from getting too bored, and it gives us infantry guys something to learn.”

Sykes added the intent of his unit’s mission in Mosul was very similar to what they’re asked to do in Baghdad.

“We were there to help pacify the city and create a safe and secure environment for the local nationals there,” Sykes said.

MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, lead the way during a medical screening that took place in the Asad neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq Aug. 15.

From the beginning of the year there was little support from IA. IA medics were not interested in helping out during medical screenings, because of safety concerns. They did not want to leave the IA compounds. Early on, medical screenings were primarily provided by U.S. Forces.

After several months IA medics started becoming more involved during medical screenings.

According to 1st Lt. Brett Phillips, platoon leader, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, Brigade Medical Support Company, the IA medics get involved more and more with each screening. It is important that the local populace see that involvement, because it instills confidence in there security forces.

All IA medics go through a base combat life saver course which is taught by U.S. Forces. Most medics have gone through the basic nursing school and have advanced to a more intensive medical schooling. The IA medics have the knowledge base of a state-side physician’s assistant.

The medical supplies that are administered during the screening are purchased from the local Iraqi economy, and are bought by U.S. Forces.

“Right now we are working with the IA logistical support to try to get them to purchase the medical supplies,” said Sgt 1st Class Namond Travis, medical platoon sergeant, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd SBCT, 2nd Infantry Division. “It is a slow road to travel, but the more we get the Iraqis involved the more independent they become. It allows the citizens to see the faces of the IA.”

By July 26, Jennifer Flower had resigned from her civilian job at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. With her husband, Army SSgt. Brian Flower, expected home within days after a tough year in Mosul, Iraq, Jennifer planned to welcome him home and then to pack for reassignment to Fort Knox, Ky.

“I called friends to see if they had heard the same rumors. Then we all just waited to get the official word,’’ said Jennifer. It came that evening.

In a video teleconference with the brigade’s Family Readiness Group – spouse volunteers ready to pass along information and provide support to other families -- Col. Michael Shields, brigade commander, confirmed the disappointing news.

“I was very upset. Angry. I was sad,” said Jennifer, describing her initial reaction. “It was literally heartbreaking. To spend 12 months [apart] and to be within days of having your spouse back home, to find out that was going to be ripped away…was crushing.”

That was three weeks ago. Families say they are bouncing back. They have returned to work, altered travel and vacation plans, arranged for ticket refunds and unpacked boxes. Some have taken their children on to new assignments, including to Europe, so they can settle in before school starts. Other children are surprised to be returning to Fairbanks schools.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – The most important thing military leaders can offer their people is an up-front assessment of what they're facing, as exemplified by the way the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team's leaders informed the troops about their extension in Iraq, DoD's top enlisted adviser told American Forces Press Service.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared his thoughts after returning from Alaska, home of the "Arctic Wolves."

The affected soldiers knew what was ahead for them before the official announcement thanks to the open communication from their leaders, Gainey said. "They already knew the announcement was coming that they would go back," he said of troops he met with during his visit to Fort Wainwright.

Gainey said that's a sea change from the military he joined 31 years ago, when leaders kept information to themselves. "I remember when you didn't get news," he said. "News wasn't for you to have."

But, Gainey said, sharing information -- the bad as well as the good -- is critical and enables troops to build trust in their leaders.

Gainey said he was amazed at how well the Stryker Brigade troops digested the news their leaders delivered.

He said he told the soldiers that their unit would be hard to replace because their training level was so high after a year in Iraq "I told them, 'I'm sorry you got extended, but it's bad being the best," he said. "It's really bad being the top dog.'"

"And I was shocked when they said, 'Sergeant Major, we will go back tomorrow. We are ready to go back because our buddies are over there,'" Gainey said. "And that really set well in my heart that they were ready to go. If we had a bus and a plane that day, they would have flown that day."

Gainey emphasized that despite their commitment, it was evident that the soldiers felt torn between their families at home and their comrades in Iraq. "That's human nature," he said, recalling similar personal conflicts during his own career. "I experienced the same thing when I left my family, but I also experienced (knowing that) my buddy is over there," he said. "And where our buddies are, we need to be."

Members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Iraq will return to Fort Wainwright by mid-December, according to a letter from Army Secretary Francis Harvey.

“The extension is for up to 120 days with the main body elements of the BCT now scheduled to return by mid-December 2006,” Harvey said in an Aug. 11 letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

BAGHDAD — Sweating through their uniforms, Capt. Ed Matthaidess and his men hunted through the heart of this Shiite neighborhood. In 120-degree heat, they spent six hours searching drawers and sewers alike. By the end of the day, their afternoon search had yielded slim pickings: four AK-47s and a tiny green water pistol.

"The hard-core Al Mahdi guys left on the first day," said Matthaidess, of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. He was referring to Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr's Al Mahdi militia, which U.S. military officials believe is behind many of the kidnappings and extrajudicial executions of Sunni Arabs here. [...]

"It's frustrating," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kelly, commander of the 1st Battalion, whose men arrived in Baghdad 10 days ago. About 3,800 soldiers with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team were about to return home to Alaska when they were told to go to the capital from Mosul, adding 120 days to their yearlong deployment.

In northern Iraq, Kelly and his men fought a Sunni nationalist insurgency. In Baghdad's Shula neighborhood, Shiite militias "are the biggest problem," he said.

Many homes in the neighborhood are decorated with posters of Sadr; Al Mahdi members provide aid to widows and struggling families, and they distribute free gasoline. With only a few hours of electricity per day, Iraqis must rely on generators to keep cool. But at $1 per gallon at the pump and $4 on the black market, the fuel for the machines has become prohibitively expensive.

More than 300 soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade who returned to Alaska earlier this summer after a year of war duty are being shipped back to Iraq, this time to the dangerous capital of Baghdad.

The 301 Stryker troops being recalled will join more than 3,500 still in Iraq, officials announced Monday. The soldiers, known for their wheeled, armored vehicles, are tasked with an enormous mission: to bring order to Baghdad, where escalating violence is being described by some as civil war.

"From a tactical and military standpoint, this makes all the sense in the world. It is much preferable to reassemble a proven team," Maj. Gen. Charles Jacoby, commander of the U.S. Army Alaska, said from Fort Wainwright on Monday in a video news conference that included the Pentagon.

A beefed-up American and Iraqi force continued to press into western Baghdad neighborhoods on Monday, pushing ahead in the effort dubbed “Operation Together Forward.”

Coordinated operations targeting the Shula and Ameriyah neighborhoods of the capital included searches of thousands of homes and sweeps through business districts. “Security in Baghdad is the top priority for everyone working in Operation Together Forward. We continue to work very closely with Iraqi security forces in a major effort to clear this area of terrorists and death squads,” Col. Robert Scurlock, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, was quoted in an Army news release.

Iraqi and U.S. forces “are working side by side every day to increase security in Baghdad and help the Iraqi people return to a more normal domestic life.”

WASHINGTON -- About 300 Alaska-based soldiers sent home from Iraq just before their unit's deployment was extended last month must now go back, the Army said Monday, setting up a wrenching departure for troops and families who thought their service there was finished.

Lt. Col. Wayne Shanks, a service spokesman, said the Army fully realizes the hardships triggered by the move and is "bending over backward to accommodate" the families.

The bulk of the 172nd Brigade was still in Iraq when Rumsfeld extended their deployment as part of a plan to quell the escalating violence in Baghdad. Overall, the brigade has about 3,900 troops.

Another 300 soldiers from the unit had left Iraq and gotten to Kuwait, and were about to board flights home when they were called back.

I wrote a commentary recently about my husband’s upcoming third deployment. In that article, I referred to him as a hero.

When he read it, he zeroed in on that word and said I was wrong, that he wasn’t a hero – just another Soldier doing what he was told to do.

A hero is different for everybody. It could be the friend who baby sits so you can have an hour of quiet time, or the teacher who goes out of her way to encourage her students to excel.

Regardless of the definition, if you see a hero, please tell them so.

BAGHDAD – The Coalition commander responsible for operations in the Iraqi capital is optimistic about what he has seen since operations to quell sectarian violence here started.

Al-Doura – a mixed Shiia and Sunni area – is one of the hotspots. The area had 20 sectarian murders one night before the operation started. The plan zeroes in on reducing the number of murders, kidnappings, assassinations and car bombs, Thurman said.

Al-Doura has about 135,000 people living in more than 16,000 homes. Iraqi forces carry most of the water in the operation. They search the mahalas – neighborhoods – that are causing the problems. “We’ve dropped the violence down to near nothing,” Thurman said.

Multi-National Division - Baghdad officials said the Iraqis, backed by Coalition forces, have cleared 5,500 homes in Doura. “We have to clear those mahalas and get the cells out of there and then hold those areas, protect them and build civil capacity,” Thurman said.

The 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team gives Multi-National Division - Baghdad added mobility, flexibility and agility to maneuver anywhere in the city, Thurman said. The unit was due to rotate back to Alaska following a year in the Mosul area. The Army extended its time in Iraq for up to 120 days and assigned it to Baghdad.

The civil work is key to getting the Iraqis to stop the cycle of tit-for-tat sectarian murders. Iraqi officials in al-Doura are clearing the garbage from the streets, dismantling illegal roadblocks and engaging with district and neighborhood advisory councils. The people in the mahalas have confidence that life will improve for them, and that the government is the way forward, Thurman said.

Once the Iraqi security forces clear the neighborhood, Iraqi police hold the area and Iraqi officials work to ensure the essential services – electricity, water and sewage – are working in those areas. Other local officials work to ensure economic opportunity in the area.

“The Battle of Baghdad is about perception and building trust and confidence in the average citizen of Iraq,” Thurman said.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Welcome home signs still line the main road on Fort Wainwright, though certainly not as many as crowded the fences the last few weeks, before it was announced the Stryker Brigade would not be coming home as early as planned.

Now that the initial shock is passing, the families of Stryker soldiers are having to deal with a wide range of emotional and logistical problems as they adjust to the new deployment timetable. The Army has set up a Family Assistance Center on Fort Wainwright to help ease a few of those problems.

"It's kind of like a one-stop to get all of your questions answered," Kroll said. [...]

The phone number to the center is 353-4458 or (800) 352-9013.

While their families are busy here, the Stryker Brigade soldiers are beginning their new assignment in Baghdad. Those members of the brigade who were in Kuwait ready to return home are now in Baghdad, Jacoby said.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The new push by U.S. and Iraqi forces to reverse a rising tide of violence in Baghdad will target four violent "hotspots" in the city, the American general in charge of the plan said Saturday.

The other three targeted districts are Mansour and the Ghazaliyah-Shula areas of western Baghdad and the Azamiyah area in the northeast, he said, adding that the goal is to quell the violence and restore ordinary Iraqis' confidence in their government's ability to provide security and basic services. [...]

Pace, who arrived Saturday from Washington, met with Thurman and other senior American commanders and addressed the troops at Camp Liberty to thank them for their service.

A few of the soldiers in his audience were with the Alaska-based 172nd Stryker Brigade, whose one-year tour of duty in Iraq was extended by four months recently in order to add another 3,500 soldiers to Thurman's force in the capital. Thurman said he has received another 2,000 extra troops from other units.

Thurman said he now has 32,444 U.S. troops in Baghdad and areas south of the capital, as well as 32,554 Iraqi forces. Of the U.S. total, about 13,500 are in Baghdad proper, he said.

As recently as a month ago, U.S. officials thought they were going to be able to reduce U.S. troop levels this fall, but Thurman said the rise in strife between different religious groups "had us worried" and prompted him to ask his superiors for more combat power "so we could quell this and once and for all get rid of the people that are causing the problems here." Thus, the 172nd Stryker Brigade was moved into Baghdad from northern Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 8, 2006 — Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the commanding general of the multinational forces in Iraq, had the difficult duty today of telling 3,700 soldiers who had expected to be heading home that they were going to have to stay in Iraq a while longer.

Today Chiarelli met with some of the soldiers to explain. The following is a transcript of a portion of the meeting:

"I just want to tell you guys how proud we are of you and the way that you handled this. And I know it was a kick in the stomach. There's no doubt about it. Twelve months in this place is long enough for anybody. I know. I've done it before. "I know what that means to you personally, 'cause you get over a hump and you're looking forward to going home and I know what that does to your families back home.

"And I hope you know that this decision was not made lightly. It was not made lightly. As Gen. Casey says, 'This will be the defining battle,' so to speak, of this particular campaign. We've got to take back Baghdad.

BAGHDAD — U.S. soldiers sent to reinforce security in Baghdad were seen for the first time on the streets of the capital as Iraqi police used loudspeakers to reassure people that the Americans were there to protect them. [...]

U.S. commanders hope the presence of heavily armed Americans will intimidate sectarian death squads believed behind many of the killings and reassure Iraqis — especially Sunni Arabs — that they will be protected by Iraq’s heavily Shiite security forces.

Moving the Stryker brigade to Baghdad, however, meant drawing down — at least temporarily — the U.S. military presence in northern Iraq. Another U.S. command, the 3rd Stryker Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, has been sent to Mosul to replace the unit redeployed to Baghdad.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. reinforcements sent to Baghdad to help quell sectarian violence and clamp down on other attacks took up positions in a restive neighborhood Saturday, while two bombs at a market northeast of the city wounded eight people.

The 3,700 soldiers of the Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade moved in from the northern city of Mosul to bolster U.S. and Iraqi security forces already in the city.

Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, governor of Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, said 20 militants were believed to have been killed during prolonged street gunfights with security forces in the city's eastern neighborhoods Friday.

The Army is taking significant steps to ensure Soldiers and families of the 172nd Stryker Brigad