Sadr City Update
Despite the announcement of a cease fire in Sadr City the fighting continues. The Long War Journal has a new update on the situation (Clashes continue in Sadr City). Excerpt:
Mahdi Army fighters continue to attack US and Iraqi units as they work to complete the barrier along Qods Street in Sadr City. These attacks are occurring despite the truce agreed upon by the Sadrist political block and the Iraqi government. Iraqi and US forces said 10 Mahdi Army fighters during clashes in Sadr City and three more Mahdi fighters were killed elsewhere in Baghdad. Iraqi troops have also begun reinforcing the Shula neighborhood in Baghdad.The Iraqi military said it killed eight “gunmen” inside Sadr City over the past 24 hours. The US military said it killed two Mahdi Army fighters from the night of May 12 to the morning of May 13 during five separate engagements. Three more Mahdi Army fighters were killed in the Mahdi-influenced neighborhood in New Baghdad and in northwestern Baghdad as they planted roadside bombs.
MND-B Soldiers seize munitions, detain criminals
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers detained five criminals and 13 suspected criminals in separate events in the West Rashid and Kadhamiyah districts of Baghdad May 11.
At approximately 7 a.m., Soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, detained a known criminal and six other suspected criminals while conducting a population engagement operation in Kadhamiyah.
At approximately 7:45 a.m., Soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, detained a suspect and three other individuals during Operation Tusker Chamberlain in West Rashid.
At approximately 8:00 a.m., MND-B Soldiers detained another suspect and three other individuals allegedly involved in planning improvised-explosives device attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition forces.
At approximately 11:20 a.m., Soldiers with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, seized a munitions cache, west of Baghdad. The cache consisted of a 55-gallon drum filled with more than 300 pounds of homemade explosives. The area was cleared and the munitions were detonated on site.
MND-B soldiers rescue kidnap victim
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers rescued a kidnapped Iraqi citizen May 8 near Ibrahim Bin Ali, northwest of Baghdad.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment “Gimlets,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, acted on tips from Iraqi Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, in addition to tips provided by Iraqi Police and Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) members.
The suspected kidnappers were detained and are being held for further questioning.
“U.S. soldiers, in full partnership with Iraqi Security Forces, are aggressively pursuing criminals and terrorists, especially those who directly threaten the lives of Iraqi citizens,” said Col. Bill Buckner, MNC-I spokesman. “With the restoration of security, we see the Government of Iraq more able to provide essential services for the people – and that’s the goal.”
Sadr City Cease Fire
The Long War Journal is reporting that a cease fire has been negotiated between militia forces and the Iraqi military/government. Excerpt:
After over six weeks of heavy fighting in and around the Mahdi Army stronghold Sadr City, where Mahdi Army forces took lopsided casualties in the fighting, the government and the Sadrist political bloc have signed an agreement to end the fighting. The agreement will allow for the Iraqi military to operate freely inside Sadr City while the Mahdi Army must halt its fighting.The negotiations, which took place over the course of the last several days, culminated in the signing of a 14-point agreement. Both Iraqi government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh and Sadrist spokesman Sheikh Salih al Ubaydi confirmed an agreement was reached.
Related:
Operations continue in Sadr City
Warrior Sappers Lead Way for Engineers
By Sgt. 1st Class Christina Bhatti, 2/25 SBCT PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – The engineers from the 66th Engineer Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, are the 2007 winners of the Lt. Gen. Emerson C. Itschner award, recognizing them as the best engineer company in the Army.
“It feels good,” said Spc. Jose Diaz, about the recognition. “The last two years of training were hard, and now we are being recognized by the Army as being the best engineer company.”
Diaz, a native of Arlington, Texas, who is a combat engineer with the 66th Eng. Co., joined the Army two years ago as a combat engineer. He said the job wasn’t really what he wanted to do, but it was a good option and he doesn’t regret the decision.
ISF, MND-B soldiers engage IED emplacers and armed criminals
2/25 SBCT and 2nd SCR soldiers were involved in the following operations.
Multi-National Division – Baghdad
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers kept the pressure on rogue criminal elements in the greater Baghdad area May 7-8, engaging IED emplacers and armed individuals and discovering weapons caches.
At approximately 10:40 a.m. May 7, Iraqi Police from 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi National Police Division, and soldiers from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were attacked by criminals using rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in Adhamiyah. An aerial weapons team was called in to assist. The AWT fired one Hellfire missile and killed two Special Groups criminals.
At approximately 11:40 a.m., west of Baghdad, soldiers from 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered three mortar rounds, four grenades, a land mine and numerous blasting caps.
MND-B soldiers detain multiple criminals in Baghdad
2/25 SBCT were involved in the following operations.
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division detained a suspected criminal linked to a foiled explosively-formed penetrator attack, in the eastern Baghdad neighborhood of Fadailliyah May 7.
The soldiers, attached to 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, who are conducting operations in support of Iraqi Security Forces, traced a command wire from an EFP back to the criminal’s location in the New Baghdad district of Baghdad.
Sadr City Update
See The Long War Journal for another update on current coalition operations in Sadr City. Excerpt:
Clashes between the Mahdi Army and US and Iraqi forces continued in Baghdad over the weekend as efforts to complete the security barriers separating the southern portion of Sadr City from the Mahdi Army-controlled north. The US military has moved another battalion of Strykers into the Sadr City. In the South, Iraqi troops cleared another militia-controlled neighborhood in Basrah.
Sadr City Update
The Long War Journal continues its coverage of coalition operations in Sadr City with a new report. Excerpt:
The large majority of the direct attacks by the Mahdi Army against US and Iraqi forces in Sadr City are occurring on Qods Street, where a barrier is being erected to separate the Iraqi Army and US controlled sections in the south from the northern portion of the district, the US military told The Long War Journal. The Mahdi Army is attempting to stop the building of the barrier. [...]The Mahdi Army is trying desperately to stop the barrier from being built, and is focusing its attacks on US engineers and patrols as they work to complete it. The Mahdi Army has launched complex attacks and ambushes using small-arms, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and roadside bombs.
MND-B, ISF find several weapons caches
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, along with their Iraqi Security Forces partners and Iraqi citizens, confiscated multiple caches of improvised-explosive devices, bomb-making materials and weapons across Baghdad May 1.
At approximately 8:40 a.m. in southern Baghdad, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, seized two Dragonov sniper rifles, an Explosively Formed Penetrator IED, and an MP-5 machine gun from the back of a vehicle.
At approximately 12:30 p.m., Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered a weapons cache west of Baghdad, hidden in a field that contained a bag of unknown explosives, two 122 mm mortar rounds, 120 rocket boosters, 544 antitank rounds, seven Russian made rockets of various sizes, 100 .50-caliber rounds, a box of miscellaneous IED-making materials, two command detonation wires, 100 blasting caps, detonation cord and four unknown rocket caps.
Sadr City Order of Battle
The Long War Journal has just published another update on the current fighting in Sadr City, which involves elements of both the 2/25 SBCT and the 2nd SCR. Bill Roggio also confirms exactly which units are involved in the recent operations. Excerpt:
The US and Iraqi military have rapidly built up their forces in and around Sadr City over the past several weeks. Two Iraqi Army brigades and elements from an Iraqi armored brigade and an Iraqi National Police brigade, along with eight US Army battalions have been reported in military press releases to be operating inside Sadr City over the past several weeks. In early April, only two US Army battalions, and Iraqi Army brigade, and elements from an Iraqi National Police brigade were known to be operating inside Sadr City.A US Army brigade, three Iraqi National Police brigades, and an Iraqi Army brigade are also operating in the neighborhoods adjacent to Sadr City. This unprecedented buildup of forces indicates the Iraqi government and the US military are serious about advancing into Sadr City beyond the southern third of the district being hemmed in by the security barriers being erected.
MND-B Soldiers Deliver Law Books at Tarmiyah Courthouse
By Sgt. Waldemar Rivera, 2/25 SBCT PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division’s Office of the Staff Judge Advocate helped the growing legal processes of Iraq April 24 by dropping off 50 Arabic-language law books to the courthouse in the town of Tarmiyah, northwest of Baghdad.
The books, donated by the High Court in Baghdad, were dropped off in conjunction with a visit with the judge at the courthouse to check progress and address any issues they may have, said Capt. Harrison Kennedy, a native of San Diego, California, who serves as an attorney with 2nd SBCT.
Sons of Iraq Capture Key Terrorist
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD — The strong working relationship between Multi-National Division – Baghdad and the Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) led directly to the capture of key terrorist at approximately 9 p.m. on April 28.
During a meeting with a local sheik and other citizens, a Sons of Iraq member indicated that a known key terrorist was nearby. The SoI member detained two suspects and turned them over to MND-B soldiers for further identification.
More on Sadr City
Again, The Long War Journal has a multiple updates on the current fighting in Sadr City between coalition forces and militia members.
- US troops kill 28 Mahdi fighters during Sadr City ambush - April 29
- US, Iraqi troops killed 41 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad clashes - April 28
Sadr City Updates
The Long War Journal has number of recent articles examining the situation in Sadr City.
- Maliki offers Sadr an out: disarm the Mahdi Army - April 26th
- Sadr calls for freeze in fighting - April 25th
- US, Iraqi forces engage Mahdi Army - April 24th
Amid Sadr City Chaos, American Medics Tend to Iraq’s Wounded
By MICHAEL R. GORDON, The New York Times
BAGHDAD — Shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, there was a desperate wail at the back gate of B Company’s compound in Sadr City. A woman had been badly burned and her relatives were begging for help.
With little in the way of emergency services and travel hampered by blocked streets, nightly curfews and sporadic firefights, a steady trickle of Iraqis has been turning to the American soldiers here for medical care.
Medics who have trained for combat have attended to a seizure victim, an infant brought in by an anxious father and a boy wounded by gunfire. On Thursday, they cared for Samera Tula, who had been seared over much of her body when a propane tank accidentally exploded.
Ultimatum issued to Mahdi Army
The article also provides an update on operations in Sadr City involving elements of the 2/25 SBCT & 2nd SCR.
By Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal
The senior-most Iraqi general in charge of the security operation in Basrah has issued an ultimatum for wanted Mahdi Army leaders and fighters to surrender in the next 24 hours as the Iraqi and US military ignore Muqtada al Sadr's threat to conduct a third uprising. US troops killed 15 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad yesterday and have killed 56 fighters since Sadr issued his threat last weekend.
In Basrah, General Mohan al Freiji, the chief of the Basrah Operational Commander and leader of the security operation in the province, has issued warrants "for 81 people, including senior leaders of the Mahdi militia, and they have 24 hours to give up," The Associated Press reported. [...]
IA, Warriors Search for Caches
By Sgt. Waldemar Rivera, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from 3rd Platoon, Company B, 52nd Infantry Regiment, attached to 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, worked alongside Iraqi army soldiers from the 36th Mechanized Brigade to search for weapons caches Apr. 17 in Fahad Fadhil, northwest of Baghdad.
The purpose of the mission was to follow-up on reports that indicated the presence of cache sites in the area, to clear the area of possible caches, and show the people of the town the IA is there to protect them.
GIs in Sadr City caught between warring Iraqi sides
Story via FOB Tacoma. Here's the first part - click through to read the whole article.
By Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD — Three weeks after U.S. troops were ordered into the sprawling Shiite Muslim slum of Sadr City to stop rockets from raining down on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad's Green Zone, they're caught in crossfire between Shiite militiamen and the mostly Shiite Iraqi army.
American soldiers who try to move around this urban area, even in the U.S. Army's state-of-the-art Stryker armored vehicles, risk being ambushed. The soldiers in a platoon from the 25th Infantry Division quickly learned that holding a position puts them in the line of fire from both the Mahdi Army militia and the U.S.-backed Iraqi forces.
IA, Warrior Soldiers Hand Out Toys, School Supplies
By Sgt. Waldemar Rivera, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, and Iraqi army soldiers from 1st Battalion, 34th Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, handed out school supplies and toys Apr. 13 to the children at the Asim Bin Omar school in Sab al Bour, northwest of Baghdad.
The purpose of Operation Bounty Hunter Pencil was to bring school supplies and toys to students of two schools near the city of Taji, said 2nd Lt. Lauren Bowen, a native of Roscoe, Ill., and platoon leader with Company A, 225th BSB.
Taji Pavilion Dedicated to Fallen Soldier
CAMP TAJI, IRAQ – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from 3rd Platoon Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, MND-B, stood on the front stage of the Taji pavilion, pulled the lanyards that dropped the covering over the commemorative memorial to Sgt. Jon M. Schoolcraft, III, April 15.
Schoolcraft died of injuries when the vehicle he was riding was destroyed by an improvised explosive device, Jan. 18. He was the first Soldier lost for this deployment of the 2nd SBCT.
“This was absolutely the right thing to do,” said Col. Brian Harris of Loganville, Ga., and Camp Taji garrison commander. Harris’ comments honoring Schoolcraft who meant so much to his comrades and the command.
MND-B Deputy Commander Stops to Smell Flowers, Flour
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Brig. Gen. Mike Milano, deputy commanding general, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, visited the Taji Qada, northwest of Baghdad, to see a local greenhouse project and the Taji flour mill April 5.
It was an opportunity to see parts of the agricultural progress in the rural area and a chance to stop and smell the roses.
Lt. Col. Harvey Fitzgerald, from Hermosa S.D., provided insight on the visit. Fitzgerald serves as the senior agricultural advisor of the embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team – Baghdad 5, attached to 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, MND-B,
“Working with our Inma partners, we are identifying areas that are critical areas of the value chain.”
Iraqi Unit Flees Post, Despite American’s Plea
An embedded report with the 1-14 INF, 2/25 SBCT in Sadr City. Thanks to Dan for the link.
By MICHAEL R. GORDON, The New York Times
BAGHDAD — A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias.
The retreat left a crucial stretch of road on the front lines undefended for hours and led to a tense series of exchanges between American soldiers and about 50 Iraqi troops who were fleeing.
Capt. Logan Veath, a company commander in the 25th Infantry Division, pleaded with the Iraqi major who was leading his troops away from the Sadr City fight, urging him to return to the front.
Iraqi, US troops press forward against the Mahdi Army
By Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal
[...] The Iraqi government signaled that it was willing to take on the Mahdi Army inside its Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City and the outlying neighborhoods since Muqtada al Sadr ordered his militia to cease fighting six days after the Basrah operation began in March. Last weekend, Ali al Dabbagh, the spokesman for the government of Iraq, said Iraqi and US forces would "continue [operations] until we secure Sadr City." Multinational Forces Iraq said it was backing the Iraqi government and the military in its efforts.
The operation involves more than military operations, as the Iraqi government seeks to wrest control of the Mahdi Army's grip on public services inside Sadr City. "The aim now is to launch an ambitious plan of 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day public works and services -- improvement projects designed to convince the local population that the Iraqi government -– and not Sadr's Mahdi Army militia – is best able to improve the quality of life in an impoverished expanse of pot-holed streets, open sewers, and joblessness," the Christian Science Monitor reported. "US and Iraqi military are now set up and living among the Sadr City residents in the 'demonstration' area of the southern third of the sector."
Stryker Brigade will be based in Hawaii
By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser
The Army today announced it had formalized its decision to permanently station the Stryker brigade in Hawai'i, officials said.
The decision, which has been expected for months, ends questions about the long-term location of the $1.5 billion fast-strike unit, whose 4,000 soldiers and 325 Stryker vehicles are deployed to Iraq.
Although the Army in 2001 decided to base one of the units in Hawai'i, and proceeded with more than $700 million in construction projects, a federal appeals court ruled in 2006 that the service had not adequately examined alternative locations.
Warrior News - April 2008
Warrior News is a monthly publication distributed by the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division public affairs office. It features photos, articles and other items of interest to the 2/25 SBCT community.
Provided below is a link to the most recent edition. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to open the document, but it is available for free if you need it.
- Warrior News - April 2008 Edition (PDF, 1.7 MB)
Audio: NPR in Sadr City
NPR's Eric Westervelt reports today from Sadr City and mentions the Stryker units. Summary:
In fighting in Sadr City that left hundreds of Iraqis dead over the past two weeks, U.S. soldiers in support roles observed Iraqi forces firing weapons indiscriminately. They also say communication was lacking and logistics were poor.
Combat tours take toll on families
By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser
When the nation's top-ranking military commanders talk about the Army being stressed nearly to the breaking point by repeat combat deployments, a lot of that concern doesn't have to do with the battlefield. It has to do with home.
Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff, reiterated the mantra again on April 1 before a Senate Armed Services subcommittee.
Cody said the Army today is out of balance.
US, Iraqi troops prepare the battlefield in Sadr City
The Long War Journal provides the following update on the situation in Sadr City, including confirmation that at least two Stryker battalions are operating there.
By Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal
Three weeks after the Iraqi government initiated Operation Knights Assault in Basrah, US and Iraqi forces have squared off against the Mahdi Army daily in the Shia slums of Sadr City. Additional US and Iraqi forces have moved into northeastern Baghdad to prepare for a possible major engagement against the Mahdi Army.
While Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army and the Sadrist political movement, has called for his fighters to pull off the streets on March 30, the Mahdi Army has continued to attack US and Iraqi forces in Sadr City and northeastern Baghdad. The Mahdi Army began seeding the streets of Sadr City with roadside bombs just days after Sadr declared the unilateral ceasefire. "Outlaw groups have planted roadside bombs and other explosives in most of the streets of Sadr City," the Baghdad Operational Command reported. [...]
The Iraqi and US military have also moved additional forces into the region around Sadr City in northeastern Baghdad. At least on Iraqi Army brigade and a National Police brigade are operating in the northeast, while two additional Army brigades are adjacent to the region. At least nine US Army combat battalions - the equivalent of about three brigades, are operating in or near Sadr City. At least three US battalions, including two Stryker battalions, have been identified operating inside Sadr City alongside Iraqi troops. [...]
Related Article:
Iraqi government: "We will continue until we secure Sadr City" - The Long War Journal
SPC Jeremiah C. Hughes
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Jeremiah C. Hughes, 26, of Jacksonville, Fla., died April 9 in Balad Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident in Abu Gharab, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
We'd like to offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.
Related Articles:
Friends, family recall soldier as a 'real patriot' - Florida Times Union
Soldier's Body Arrives Back on the First Coast - First Coast News
A city salutes for a soldier - Florida Times Union
Casualty Of Iraq War Honored At Homecoming - News4Jax.com
Schofield soldiers stay in Sadr City
By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser
A 96-hour assignment has turned into an open-ended mission for some Hawai'i Stryker brigade soldiers in Baghdad as fighting continues in Sadr City against militants loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
About 150 soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry "Gimlets" out of Schofield Barracks were sent into the Baghdad slum on March 26.
Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has fought battles with U.S. and Iraqi forces in Sadr City after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a crackdown on militias loyal to al-Sadr in Basra in the south. The fighting has spilled over into the capital.
"We had some significant contact when we first arrived," Capt. Scott Bailey, a Schofield soldier, said in an Army release. [...]
Soldiers Teach Iraqi Soldiers Valuable Skills
By Sgt. Jerome Bishop, 2/25 SBCT Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers take to the roads daily around Camp Taji, northwest of Baghdad, to search for improvised explosive devices to ensure the safety of Iraqi security and coalition forces and the people of Iraq.
The Soldiers from the 66th Engineer Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, MND-B, who conduct route-clearance missions, took steps April 5 and 6 to teach their Iraqi army counterparts what it takes to make their own roads safe.
U.S. sergeant's weapon in Iraq is cash
A 2/25 SBCT SGT is featured in the following article. There's also video if you follow the link.
TAJI, Iraq (CNN) -- In Iraq, even being a Good Samaritan can prove deadly.
Before heading back to base, the 25th Infantry Division platoon must complete a patrol along Route Tampa. Tampa is the code name for a well-traveled convoy route between Balad and Baghdad.
Coalition vehicles are regularly on the road and often the target for insurgents. So it surprised everyone when the only incident we came across was a traffic accident. [...]
Isle Stryker brigade does a bit of everything in Iraq
By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser
Hawai'i's Stryker brigade operates in a region of Iraq that employs more than 9,000 "Sons of Iraq," or armed militiamen, to help keep the peace, a commander said.
That translates to U.S. payments of at least $2.7 million a month.
More than five of the brigade's 19-ton Stryker vehicles have been damaged or destroyed by roadside bombs over the past four months that the fast-strike unit has been in Iraq.
Article: Stryker Concept
Paula McLeary has a new article published in Defense Technology International featuring the 2/25 SBCT's use of the Stryker vehicle. The article is in a format that doesn't allow me to excerpt, so click on over and read the whole thing.
Injured soldier returns to Aliquippa
Injured 2/25 SBCT soldier is on the mend. There's video if you follow the link.
By Michael Pound, Beaver County Times
ALIQUIPPA — Even with twin plastic boots protecting his shattered ankles and purple scars weaving along his right thigh, P.J. Gennaro looks about as relaxed as one could expect of a soldier home on a monthlong leave.
This isn’t just a visit for the 26-year-old Aliquippa native, though. The scars, the boots and the wheelchair tell a different story. Gennaro, a corporal in the Army’s 25th Infantry Division, was nearly killed when his Stryker — an 11-ton wheeled armored vehicle used by infantry units on patrol — ran over a 500-pound bomb that had been planted in the middle of a road in northern Iraq on Feb. 8.
Sons of Iraq discover, turn in large cache
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
TARMIYA, Iraq – In cooperation with the local sheik, Abna al-Iraq members, or Sons of Iraq, notified Multi-National Division – Baghdad of a substantial munitions cache northwest of Baghdad April 1.
The Soldiers from 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team searched the area and discovered the cache consisting of more than 100 68 mm rockets, rocket fuses, helicopter rockets, 82 mm mortars, and mortar fuses. The cache also contained more than 500 artillery fuses, empty rocket bodies, 155 mm artillery shells, 75 boxes containing hundreds of 14.5 mm heavy machine gun ammunition, and nine large boxes containing loose 14.5 mm heavy machine gun ammunition. Fifty plastic green tubes containing an unknown substance, M-88 anti-tank mines attached to detonating cord, rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47 magazines, numerous loose small arms rounds and one copper cone-shaped charge were all found in the large cache.
An explosive ordnance disposal team evaluated the find and assumed control of the munitions cache.
“The Abna al-Iraq are the heroes of the day. They found this very large cache and took it out of the hands of the terrorists,” said Maj. Al Hing, a 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team spokesperson. “Looking at the sheer amount of munitions that will not be used against Iraqi Security Forces, Coalition forces and the people of Iraq, terrorists are going to have a harder time doing their ugly business. The partnership that worked together to remove this cache makes for a safer and more stable Iraq.”
Stryker Soldier writes new chapter in Family history
By Staff Sgt. J.B. Jaso III, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - As some 19 year-old males are going to college, hanging out with friends and beginning their adult life, one Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier is beginning his adulthood assisting in securing Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pvt. Derk Hayes, a Peru, Ind., native, is the youngest soldier in his unit, Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment "Wolfhounds," 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, MNB-D.
From a very young age, Hayes knew he wanted to be a Soldier in the Army.
SPC Gregory B. Rundell
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Gregory B. Rundell, 21, of Ramsey, Minn., died March 26 in Taji Iraq, of wounds suffered from small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the loved ones he leaves behind.
Related Articles:
North St. Paul soldier killed by sniper in Iraq - Star Tribune
Schofield-based soldier dies in Iraq - Honolulu Advertiser
Schofield Barracks soldier dies in Iraq - Associated Press
Army Nurse Strives to Make a Difference
By SFC Christina Bhatti, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – She stands out like a sore thumb. Her barely five-foot-tall stature easily dwarfed by the sea of infantrymen. Her body armor and Army combat helmet make her look childlike and her M4 is more than half her size.
“Come here. I want a picture,” said Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier Capt. Jody Brown, a native of Kingston, N.H.. Her fellow MND-B medic reluctantly poses with her for a picture before they load into Strykers on their way to Batta Village, northwest of Baghdad, for a combined medical effort March 17.
Soldiers capture key individual
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers captured a key individual in Sab al Bour, northwest of Baghdad, March 23.
The Soldiers, an element of the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, captured the high-value individual who is a suspected terrorist linked to a March 19 explosively-formed projectile attack in Sab al Bour.
“The detention of this individual is a significant blow to the terrorist elements operating in the Sab al Bour area,” said Lt Col. David S. Davidson, the Brigade’s deputy commander.
“His detention means that the people living in this area are safer than they were several days ago, and he can no longer stand in the way of progress toward peace and prosperity for the Iraqi people,” Davidson said.
Warrior News - March 2008
Warrior News is a monthly publication distributed by the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division public affairs office. It features photos, articles and other items of interest to the 2/25 SBCT community.
Provided below is a link to the most recent edition. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to open the document, but it is available for free if you need it.
- Warrior News - March 2008 Edition (PDF, 5 MB)
Soldiers Take Time Out to Seek God
By Spc. Andrea Merritt, 1st Sustainment Brigade
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Leaders and Soldiers of the 1st Sustainment Brigade rose early in the morning to join together for the brigade’s first prayer breakfast held at the Cantigny Dining Facility March 18.
At the beginning of the program, guests enjoyed a medley of praise songs from the Praise and Worship Team, a praise team on Taji.
During the event, guests heard an inspirational message from guest speaker Maj. Mark Knox, the chaplain for the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
PHOTOS: Warriors Host Congressional Delegates
Photos of the 2-25 Warriors can be found here.
Chickens fly the coop, and U.S. troops move in
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
TARMIYAH, IRAQ — Most soldiers call this growing patrol base simply “The Chicken Coop.”
That’s not just colorful military lingo. About a week ago, the base was exactly that. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment arrived here to find feathers, feeding troughs and other chicken waste.
Rough as The Chicken Coop is, it’s an important part of the battalion’s expansion into the rural areas northeast of Taji, said 1st Lt. Calvin Kline, the battalion’s information and operations officer. This area is a longtime refuge for insurgents “dubbed the arms room of al-Qaida.” Prior units saw fierce fighting here. The insurgents even managed to shoot down an Apache helicopter in 2005.
Paul McLeary Dispatch
Embedded journalist Paul McLeary has published a new dispatch titled, "The Enemy of My Enemy," which features the 2/25 SBCT. Excerpt:
Captain Christopher Loftis, commanding officer of C company, 2/25 in Tarmiya, was trying to feel out a group of Iraqi men who hoped to join the Sons of Iraq movement. The men were standing around a checkpoint that flew the yellow flag of the Anbar Awakening movement at an intersection a few miles outside of town, and he was asking them how things were going.The response was the same each time: “more weapons” to fight the insurgents. Loftis would smile, shake the man’s hand, and move on. It was the usual request, always denied, but given that these men weren’t even under contract to provide security, the plea was a little premature. The captain had come out to this checkpoint in front of a former Saddam-era uranium processing plant not just to meet these men, but the men who organized them, along with about six hundred others who wanted a contract with the American Army to provide security.
Baghdad Troops Sweep Junkyard for Potential Munitions
By Sgt. Jerome Bishop, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Soldiers from 4th Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, along with members of the Iraqi army, began a five-day operation, March 11, near a vital route to secure all possible improvised-explosive device parts from a junkyard.
The goal is to remove munitions available to enemy forces.
“The bad guys tend to go to the junk yard and take a lot of empty rounds along with them,” said Staff Sgt. Ralph Haney, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., who serves as a squad leader for 4th Pltn., Co B. “It makes it easy for them to grab a couple, take them back to their houses, pack them full of explosives and put them back on the road.”
SOI lead Soldiers to 2 weapons caches in Tarmiya
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers seized weapons and munitions during ongoing security and stability operations in Tarmiya, northwest of Baghdad, March 11.
Soldiers from 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, seized the cache during a search. Abna al Iraq, or Sons of Iraq, members provided information to the Soldiers to help them locate the cache.
“The Abna al Iraq are truly stepping forward to ensure the safety of people of Iraq in their area,” said Maj. Al Hing, spokesperson for 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. “They provide safety with tips of weapons caches, allowing Coalition forces to remove the tools of the terrorists.”
The munitions seized included a Dishka machinegun, AK-47 rifles, more than 40 sticks of TNT, a rocket propelled grenade launcher with rounds and fuses, and various improvised explosive device making materials.
The SOI led Soldiers to another cache of homemade explosives in the same area March 10.
An explosive ordnance disposal team performed a controlled detonation at the site.
Paul McLeary Dispatches
Embedded journalist Paul McLeary has two new dispatches featuring soldiers from the 2/25 SBCT.
‘Operation Warrior Wake Up’ Brings Taste of Hawaii to Iraq
By Sgt. Jerome Bishop, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Every morning, thousands of Soldiers wake up to a steaming cup of “Joe” – whether it's black as midnight or mostly cream and sugar, it's part of their daily routine.
In association with the Hawaii Gathering of Eagles organization, coffee farmers from the big island of Hawaii launched “Operation Warrior Wake Up” to provide Hawaii-based Soldiers deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom a little taste of the isles.
Senior NCO Keeps Promise to Daughter
By Sgt. Jerome Bishop, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Keeping a promise can sometimes be an insurmountable task, especially when a person is thousands of miles away; but one Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier made sure he'd keep a promise he made to his daughter back in Hawaii.
Before the Soldiers of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, received notice of deployment to Iraq, Sgt. Maj. Berk Parsons, a Fayetteville, N.C., native, told the eldest of his three children, 16-year-old Emily, that he'd participate alongside her for a school run, which took place March 4.
Paul McLeary Dispatch
Paul McLeary has published another dispatch titled, "Part II: The Suicide Bomber," from his time with the 2/25 SBCT. Excerpt:
Within thirty minutes of the blast, two Army helicopters actually landed on the small patch of land inside the base to ferry the most badly wounded Iraqis to an Army hospital, a risky move that impressed Cox, and one he hoped impressed the Iraqis, as well. It showed the Iraqis, he believes, that while groups like al Qaeda want to sow death, the Americans are willing to risk their lives to save Iraqi lives.The attack came at a time of increasing al Qaeda attacks on Sons of Iraq checkpoints, a gambit that doesn’t seem to be accomplishing its objective of getting Iraqis to quit the groups.
Soldier Inspired By Grandfather's WWII Service
By Spc. Brian Pierce, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Pvt. Edward Robinson, a native of Saint Albans, W. Va., had his grandfather in mind when he joined the Army in 2007.
Robinson's late grandfather, a World War II veteran, served in the Army as an infantryman. That service is what inspired Robinson to follow in his grandfather's footsteps.
"When you think of the Army, you think of the Infantry," said Robinson.
Robinson is currently assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment "Wolfhounds," 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad. He is a member of the Brigade's tactical reserve which rapidly responds to significant activities and events within the brigade's area of operations.
Paul McLeary Dsipatch
Paul McLeary has published a new dispatch on his site from his time embedded with the 2/25 SBCT. It's called, "Part I: The Farmhouse." Excerpt:
“Looks like most of this stuff has been placed here pretty recently,” Captain Jeffrey Higgins observed as we walked a reed line along a canal with Sergeant Jamie Giles, inspecting a weapons cache 1st platoon found there earlier that morning. The two noted that the jugs of homemade explosives, 155mm and 120mm projectiles, blasting caps, and command wire (commonly used for IEDs) looked relatively clean, meaning they hadn’t been sitting outside for very long. They also found a Soviet DSHK (“Dishka”) rifle, a mounted heavy machine gun that can burn through several hundred rounds a minute, which is a pretty heavy-duty piece of weaponry to have lying around.
MND-B Soldiers seize weapons cache in Tarmiyah
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers seized weapons and munitions during ongoing operations in Tarmiyah, located north of Baghdad, March 8.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, seized the weapons cache near Joint Security Station Tarmiyah.
The munitions seized included SK5 rockets, PG7 rockets, type-69 rockets, 160 mm mortars, 120 mm mortars, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, projectiles, Iraqi hand grenades, and various other munitions and weapons.
An explosive ordnance disposal team performed a controlled detonation at the cache site.
Taji Rail Lines Open for First Time Since 2003
Soldiers from 2-11 FA, 2/25 SBCT participated in this operation - click through for a nice photo.
By Sgt. Jerome Bishop, 25th Infantry Division Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI — The railroad lines of the Taji Qada, north of Baghdad, have laid dormant since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, but as a result of the efforts of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, the first train let loose a thunderous blast of its horn March. 5, as it slowly rolled through the gates of Camp Taji.
"This particular train … is part of a proof of principle,” said Cpt. James Kerns, a Harrison County, Ky., native, who serves as the assistant operations officer for the Base Defense Operations Command (BDOC), Multi-National Division – Baghdad. "(This mission was executed) to facilitate the Iraqi railroad infrastructure improvement so they can, in the future, utilize the train and rail system to carry goods."
MND-B Soldiers discover cache
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered a munitions cache on a routine patrol March 3.
The Soldiers found 20 artillery rounds of various calibers; four AK-47s; 90 artillery fuses; six motor rockets; three anti tank mines; six hand grenades; 1,000 7.62mm rounds; a rocket propelled grenade; 20 anti-aircraft rounds; five anti-tank rocket rounds and a rifle west of Taji.
The weapons and munitions were consolidated and controlled by explosive ordnance disposal personnel for disposal.
“Our Soldiers continue to seek out and destroy the tools of the terrorists,” said Maj. Al Hing, spokesperson for the 2nd SBCT. “Finding these caches is hard work and their work is paying off in two ways. The tools of terrorism are going away and the people of Iraq are safer today. Our Soldiers work hard every day to make Iraq a safer place.”
This is part of Operation Phantom Phoenix the on going efforts operation to kill or capture al Qaeda in Iraq and Shia/Sunni criminals to deny them rest and sanctuary in Baghdad and the surrounding rural areas.
Paul McLeary Dispatch
Paul McLeary, embedded with the 2/25 SBCT, has published a new dispatch on his site titled, "Forgiveness for the greater good." Excerpt:
After a few days at combat outpost Courage embedded with C company, I was able to hitch a ride a little bit further north and west to another company-sized combat outpost, named Warrior (it has since been renamed combat outpost Ibrahim Bin Ali—IBA for short—which is the name of a town a few kilometers south of the base.) Manned by the men of company B of the of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, in many respects Courage and IBA are similar in setup and in the Spartan lives the soldiers live. They’re each ringed by high blast walls that enclose a large farmhouse converted into a headquarters, the soldiers live in large communal tents, and each outpost has a mobile mess unit for hot meals, a couple of shower and toilet trailers, and a handful of computers for Internet use and phones to call home. In total, it’s maybe two city blocks large, if that. Also like Courage, IBA is situated out in the flat farmlands of rural Iraq, where farms are cut into squares by irrigation canals overgrown with high reeds, making excellent hiding places for insurgents to hide weapons and explosives.
Massachusetts Soldier Proud to Be Part of War Effort
By Staff Sgt. J.B. Jaso III, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Eight-months ago, Pfc. Steven Murphy, a native of Westford, Mass., married his wife Sarah, in front of family and friends. Now he is thousands of miles away from his wife, and serves with Company B, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“I was sick of not being a part of the war efforts,” the 22-year-old infantryman said.
He joined the Army in 2007 to deploy.
Hawaii is ideal for Stryker unit according to the Army
By Gregg K. Kakesako, Honolulu Star Bulletin
Despite the insistence by local environmental groups that Fort Lewis is a better location than Schofield Barracks, Army planners say there is no room at the Washington state base for another 4,000-member Stryker Brigade Combat Team and their family members.
Fort Lewis was the home of the Army's first combat unit built around the 320 eight-wheeled, 19-ton vehicles. Opponents like environmental lawyer David Henkin believe the Washington facility has the necessary room and its location near an Air Force transport base makes it a better choice than Schofield Barracks.
Iraqi Sheik turns in weapons cache
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – A local Tarmiya sheik turned in a weapons cache Feb. 29 to Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, northwest of Baghdad.
The cache consisted of 41 artillery shells of various calibers, artillery casings filled with home made explosives and detonating cord, 13 metal containers filled with home made explosives, seven mortar shells, two missile warheads, three rocket warheads, two jugs of nitric acid and seven detonating fuses.
“This is a convincing commitment to show the forward progress for stability of all people in Iraq,” said Lt Col. Thomas Boccardi, commander of 1st Bn. 14th Inf. Regt. “All the tribes from the Tarmiya area see stability and peace, as is evident by turning in this cache.”
An Explosive Ordnance Disposal team arrived at the site and secured the cache.
Keeping Hot Guns Firing
Click through for a few photos as well.
By Sgt. Jerome Bishop, 2/25 SBCT PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers rely on multiple factors out in the field, ranging from air support by attack helicopter crews to fire support from artillery crews.
The task of keeping the big guns shooting, however, falls on the shoulders of three soldiers from Company B, 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, MND-B.
The maintenance shop, run by Sgt. Vincent Dulude, a Zanesville, Ohio, native, who serves as a fire control repairman with Co. B, takes on repair missions ranging from the Army’s newest piece of artillery – the M-777 Howitzer – to some of its oldest weapons, like the M-2 .50-caliber machine gun.
MND-B Soldiers, ISF, local residents discover multiple caches
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, Iraqi Security forces and local Iraqis discovered multiple weapon and ammunition caches Feb. 27 northwest of Baghdad.
Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered a 68mm mortar round, a French-made rocket and a 68mm mortar tube during a combat patrol at approximately 10:30 a.m.
Paul McLeary Dispatch
Paul McLeary has published another dispatch titled "The Sunni and the Shia are like the Tigris and the Euphrates” from his time with the 2/25 SBCT. Excerpt:
A slim, slightly weathered-looking man with flecks of gray in his hair, Colonel Ehssan—leader of the local Sons of Iraq group—sat behind his desk, looking unhappy. We had driven from COP Courage this morning to his “office”—a first floor room in an old building set far back from the main road on a narrow dirt strip, only a few miles from the American base. The room, and the building, is typically Iraqi, meaning typically shabby, with sand-caked windows, peeling yellow paint on the walls, and a few long couches turned toward the colonel’s desk. A space heater sits in the middle of the room, providing whatever heat it can muster.With Charlie company’s Stryker vehicles idling out in the courtyard, where I had accidentally kicked a rusted AK-47 clip laying in the dirt on the way in, Captain Helberg and his interpreter settle in for their meeting with the colonel. On the surface, things really aren’t all that bad for Ehssan: his 250 SOIs are all under contract, meaning the American military pays them each $300 a month to man checkpoints in their area and his men have all been entered into the HYDE system, which American forces use to take their biometric information and enter them into a central database. If any prospective SOI member is already in the system, that means that they’d been fingerprinted and photographed doing something that made the Americans unhappy at some point in the past, making them ineligible.
MND-B Soldiers Find Weapons Cache
By Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad discovered a significant weapons cache, Feb. 24, northwest of Baghdad.
During a combat operation, soldiers from 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, found nearly 200 artillery projectiles of various sizes; two 82 mm mortar rounds; 70 empty 107 mm rocket tubes; 10, 107 mm empty rockets; 15, 120 mm empty shell casings; five 5-inch rockets and a 105 mm artillery projectile.
National security cited in Hawaii Stryker report
Gregg Kakesako, Honolulu Star Bulletin
Schofield Barracks is the preferred Army post to house its fifth Stryker Brigade Combat Team because "it is best able to meet the Army�s strategic defense and national security needs in the Pacific theater," according to an environmental study.
"The rapid deployment capabilities of the SBCT (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) currently represents the Army's most credible threat of projecting forces in the Pacific region to shape U.S. strategic national security interests," according to the report's executive summary.
"Stationing the 2/25th (2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division) in Hawaii provides the military commanders of the Pacific with two distinct acts of deployment facilities (Alaska and Hawaii) from which to deploy a SBCT to support national security requirements and contingency operations."
Photos: 2/25 SBCT
Paul McLeary has posted a set of photos from his time with the 2/25 SBCT.
MND-B Soldiers detain 2 suspected Special Groups criminals
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers detained two suspected Special Groups criminals near Saba al-Bour, northwest of Baghdad, Feb. 22.
Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 14th Cavalry Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, both from 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, detained the suspects, who are accused of financing Special Groups.
The suspects are being held for questioning.
“The activities of Special Groups criminals who continue to disobey the just-renewed ceasefire pledge by al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr will not be tolerated,” said Lt. Col. Neil Harper, MNC-I spokesman. “Iraqi and Coalition forces are working to disrupt the networks of these criminal elements and bring them to justice.”
Texas Soldier Makes Difference Helping Rid Iraq of Terrorism
By Staff Sgt. J.B. Jaso, III, 2/25 SBCT PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – The deployment to Iraq marks the first time Pvt. William Gentry has been out of the United States.
The Austin, Texas, native, said he was nervous and anxious to see what Iraq was like when he received his deployment notice.
“My heart was beating so fast that I thought it was going to come out of my chest,” he said.
Soldier Dreams of World Series of Poker Bracelet
By Spc. Aaron Rosencrans, 2/25 SBCT PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – The inherent right of every American to follow his or her dreams, in however they want, is part of what makes the U.S. envied by people around the world. For one Multi-National Division – Baghdad officer, his dream extends beyond his commitment to serve his country into a life that is perhaps somewhat off the beaten path.
1st Lt. Jon Still, a native of Union City, Penn., and medical officer with 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, said he dreams of finishing his commitment to the Army and becoming a World Series of Poker champion.
Stryker Soldier Serves Proudly in Iraq
By Staff Sgt. J.B. Jaso III, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – A long way from his family, friends and hunting, Pvt. Benjamin Raulerson, a native of Jacksonville, Ala., is here helping his unit, Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, rid the northwest Baghdad area of terrorism and criminal activity.
In his first month in Iraq, the 22-year-old infantryman has participated in more than 50 patrols, where he has assisted in identifying and seizing enemy cache sites and helped secure the area in order to provide the government of Iraq the opportunity to provide essential services to the people.
Stryker Soldiers Capture IED Cell Member
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Soldiers with Multi-National Division – Baghdad captured a suspected key member of an improvised explosive device ring Feb. 19.
Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 14th infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, detained the suspect near the Nassir Factory, northwest of Baghdad.
The suspect is allegedly an al-Qaeda member and IED facilitator that is part of a terrorist IED ring.
He is suspected of multiple IED attacks against Coalition and Iraqi Security forces.
The suspect is being held for further questioning.
Paul McLeary Dispatch
Embedded journalist Paul McLeary has a new dispatch on his site called, "The Rejected". Excerpt:
“They’re gonna see us going out, and know that we have to come back this way,” Cpt. Helberg cautioned his men as we walked out of Courage just before nightfall. The message was simple: the enemy studies habits, trends and patterns just as any other military outfit does; so as the platoon left the base, he wanted to make sure that they would not be complacent on the way back in.It was a hell of a way to walk to a neighbor’s house for dinner, but that’s just what we were doing. Sheik Munder, a prominent Shia in the area had invited the captain over for dinner, and despite the fact that his house was less than a mile from the base, we would be walking across open road, with flat, open land on either side, so every precaution would be taken. The area had been an al Qaeda stronghold until just a few months ago—before the Sons of Iraq came out in force—and caution was the name of the game.
MND-B Soldiers seize munitions northwest of Baghdad
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers seized munitions northwest of Baghdad Feb. 18.
Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, MND-B acted on a tip from an Iraqi citizen and found the munitions.
The munitions consisted of two 132 mm, two 105 mm artillery rounds, one 120 mm round, 17 18-pound bombs, two 90 mm artillery rounds, one 30 mm artillery round and seven speed bump improvised explosive devices.
An explosive ordnance disposal team conducted a controlled detonation of the munitions.
“Finding and destroying these caches continue to degrade terrorist operations,” said Maj. Al Hing, a 2nd SBCT spokesperson. “Every operation we execute brings increased security for the Iraqi people.”
Paul McLeary Dispatch
Journalist Paul McLeary, who is embedded with the 2/25 SBCT, has published a new dispatch on his site called, "The LTC and the Sheik." He let us know that updates from his time with the brigade should become more regular. Excerpt:
In a dim, chilly tent, lit by a single fluorescent tube and the gray winter light creeping in through the flap, Lieutenant Colonel Mario Diaz sits across the table from sheik Hussein al-Tamimi, an influential Shia sheik in the rural region northwest of Baghdad, sipping Pepsi and trading pleasantries.Diaz made the drive to combat outpost Courage for this meeting from his headquarters at Camp Liberty, which is part of the staggeringly vast Baghdad airport military complex southeast of here. The string of American camps that abut the airport house a number of American bases kept running by an army of civilian contractors who are protected by Ugandan guards, all of whom live in a world carved into shape by rows of high concrete T-walls that separate the complex into discrete cells of activity. The place is so cut off from the country that surrounds it that it could be anywhere—Kosovo, Korea, Afghanistan, or Alaska—but out here, at Courage, there’s no such separation. Plopped down in a farm field and ringed simply by a row of T-walls no more than two city blocks in size, Courage is unmistakably part of today’s Iraq.
Army Announces Environmental Impact Notice for Stryker Unit Stationing
Public Affairs Office, U.S. Army Environmental Command
The Department of the Army announced Feb. 15 its intention to release the Final Environmental Impact Statement that evaluates the potential environmental and socioeconomic effects associated with the permanent stationing of the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division as a Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The Final EIS will be transmitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for publication of a notice of availability in the Federal Register, anticipated to occur on Feb. 22.
This Final EIS identifies Schofield Barracks Military Reservation in Hawaii as the Army's preferred alternative for the stationing location of this brigade. A Record of Decision document will announce the final location decision no earlier than 30 days from the date the EPA notice of availability of the Final EIS appears in the Federal Register.
Wolfhounds capture brigade’s #1 high-value individual
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Elements of 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, detained the brigade’s number-one high-value individual and his brother early Feb. 14.
The two are suspected al Qaeda in Iraq as improvised-explosive device facilitators and are allegedly linked to a fatal IED attack Jan. 29.
“The capture of these individuals will greatly contribute to a safe and secure Iraq,” said Col. Todd McCaffrey, commander, 2nd SBCT.
Five others suspected of facilitating improvised-explosive device activity in Taji Qada, northwest of Baghdad were also detained.
All seven suspects are being held for further questioning.
Cody soldier injured
By Buzzy Hassrick, Cody Enterprise
Pfc. Wes Hixon of Cody is in critical condition after his vehicle was struck by a bomb Feb. 8 near Baghdad.
Four other soldiers with him in the cab of the vehicle died. Six others who were in the vehicle's transport area are in critical condition, according to family friend Brenda Marchese and other members of Families on the Frontline.
“We'll just keep praying for him,” said Marchese, who has two sons in the military.
Soldiers Visit Town to Show They Care
By Spc. Aaron Rosencrans, 2/25 SBCT PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, conducted a consequence management mission and visited local leaders of Fourteenth Ramadan, northwest of Baghdad, Feb. 8.
The mission was in response to the recent assassination of one of the town’s local leaders.
“We visited to show our condolences for the loss of their local leader,” said 1st Lt. Marc Dudek, a native of Midlothian, Texas, platoon leader, 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Bn. “We did this to let them know we care and want to continue to work with them to bring security and stability to the town.”
Resupply Missions Provide Huge Boost in Morale
By Spc. Aaron Rosencrans, 2/25 SBCT
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Sodas, sweets and fresh chemical toilets are coveted items here.
Making sure Soldiers who live outside the wire within the Taji Qada, which is northwest of Baghdad, get what the need and want is an important mission of the Soldiers of Company A., 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
SGT Gary D. Willett
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Gary D. Willett, 34, of Alamogordo, N.M., died Feb. 8 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Manibog was assigned to 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
We hope his loved ones find some measure of comfort in the thoughts and prayers shared by the Strykernews community.
SSG Jerald A. Whisenhunt
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Jerald A. Whisenhunt, 32, of Orrick, Mo., died Feb. 8 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Whisenhunt was assigned to 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
All of us here extend our deepest sympathies to his family during this difficult time.
SGT Timothy P. Martin
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Timothy P. Martin, 27, of Pixley, Calif., died Feb. 8 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Martin was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones he leaves behind.
SPC Michael T. Manibog
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Michael T. Manibog, 31, of Alameda, Calif., died Feb. 8 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Manibog was assigned to 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow soldiers.
Related Articles:
4 isle soldiers killed - Honolulu Star Bulletin
4 Hawaii-based soldiers die in Iraq explosion - Honolulu Advertiser
Fallen soldier dedicated to family - The Daily Review
Michael Manibog of San Leandro killed in Iraq - San Francisco Chronicle
Face of Defense: Infantry Soldier Takes Pride in Iraq Service
By Staff Sgt. J.B. Jaso III, Special to AFPS
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - A long way from his family, friends and hunting, Army Pvt. Benjamin Raulerson, a native of Jacksonville, Ala., is helping his unit rid northwestern Baghdad of terrorism and criminal activity.
In his first month in Iraq, the 22-year-old infantryman has participated in more than 50 patrols, in which he has helped identify and seize enemy weapons cache sites and secure the area to provide the Iraqi government the opportunity to provide essential services to the people.
"(It) feels good knowing that I'm assisting in removing items that can harm the U.S. and (Iraqi citizens)," said Raulerson, who serves in Multi-national Division Baghdad with the 25th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, after a patrol that yielded several mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and other items that could be used in improved explosive devices.
New Dispatch
Independent journalist Paul McLeary has another dispatch from his time with the 2/25 SBCT. Excerpt:
On one bitterly cold night patrol run out of COP Courage, we made the usual stops at several SOI-manned checkpoints to see how things were going. Almost every trip outside the base requires stops at the checkpoints to try and gather intelligence and provide some visibility, in order to show the SOI and those potentially watching them that the Americans and their astonishingly mobile Stryker vehicles are around, and can and will drop in anywhere at any given time.The checkpoints run the gamut from nicely constructed HESCO S-turns in the middle of the road to concrete barriers to little more than piles of dirt with shivering Iraqis standing nearby. In the entire 233 square kilometers that falls under Stryker Task Force Gimlet’s control, there are 1580 SOI on the payroll, with 75 checkpoints breaking up the roadways, denying the use of the roads to anyone carrying explosives, heavy weapons or bomb-making materials.
Sons of Iraq turn in cache
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD – Members of the the Sons of Iraq, turned in a weapons cache to Coalition Forces near Mushada Feb. 6.
The contents of the cache included 67, 80mm projectiles; eight 90mm projectiles; miscellaneous ordinance; four speed-bump-type unfinished improvised-explosive devices; and five homemade rocket launchers.
The contents of the cache were turned over to Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
An explosive ordnance disposal detachment was able to successfully recover and destroy the contents of the cache.
This is part of Operation Phantom Phoenix -- the on-going offensive operation to kill or capture al-Qaeda and Shia/Sunni extremists, to deny them rest and sanctuary in Baghdad, and the surrounding rural areas.
Day in the life - Personal security for 'the man'
By Spc. Aaron Rosencrans, 2/25 SBCT PAO
The mission sounds simple: Protect the colonel and his entourage at all cost.
It may seem easy enough to some, but when you factor in the dynamic battlefield Soldiers face in Iraq - such as moving by foot in a town or city with plenty of buildings for the enemy to hide in and attack from or numerous other unknown variables that threaten the security of a walking patrol - the challenge can prove somewhat daunting.
Accomplishing the mission is just another day at work for Multi-National Division - Baghdad's Sgt. Tyrel Tierney, a native of New Orleans, who serves as a brigade commander Personal Security Detachment shift leader with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division.
Embedded in Iraq
Paul McLeary is an independent journalist currently embedded with the 1-21 INF, 2/25 SBCT in Iraq. He is beginning to post dispatches on his website.
536th Maint. Co. Soldiers Make Vehicles More Secure
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – The 536th Maintenance Company, which is based out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, has been in Iraq for about two months and during that time they have been working to help protect the lives of the warfighters.
The Hawaii-based unit is the only direct support maintenance company located on Camp Taji, and they have been tasked to make, at times, life-saving modifications to warfighters’ vehicles – namely, the Stryker and mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles.
Stryker brigade, Makua key, Mixon says
By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser
The next commander of the U.S. Army in the Pacific said it's strategically important to have a Stryker brigade in Hawai'i, and that Makua Valley is needed for company-size live-fire exercises.
Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. "Randy" Mixon will gain a third star in the move Friday from commander of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks to head of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter.
Soldiers Bring Medicine to Local Iraqis
By Spc. Aaron L. Rosencrans, 2nd SBCT, 25th Infantry Division
CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Multi-National Division – Baghdad and Iraqi soldiers hosted a combined medical engagement Jan. 25 at the Falahat girls school in Taji, which is located north of Baghdad.
The medical engagement was intended to bring medical care to a community that had been overlooked in the past.
“This area is predominantly Sunni, so many of the families have been neglected when it comes to medical care,” said 1st Lt. Jon Still, and native of Union City, Penn., who serves as a medical officer and event coordinator with 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, MND-B.
Battle Flag Flies in Iraq Again
See the previous article we posted regarding the flag.
By Spc. Aaron L. Rosencrans, 2nd SBCT Public Affairs, 25th ID
TAJI, Iraq — The tattered, yet proud American battle flag once again made its way from Hawaii and patrolled the streets of Iraq, Jan. 22, to honor the fallen Soldiers who served with it.
Rather than appearing in combat, the battle flag was shared with the Iraqi army on a humanitarian mission and a mounted patrol in the vicinity of Taji, Iraq.
Soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, brought the flag with them to a new medical clinic outside Taji, where the Iraqi army delivers medical supplies and furniture.
'Just another day at the office'
Here's another article regrading an incident that occurred last week.
By KEITH ROGERS, REVIEW-JOURNAL
A little more than a week ago, Rob Congdon was ducking bullets fired by a sniper while he and other medics tried to rescue five soldiers wounded in a roadside bomb attack on a Stryker armored vehicle.
"It was just a single shooter," Congdon, a Bonanza High School graduate, former local lifeguard and paramedic, said about the Jan. 18 encounter about 20 miles north of Baghdad, near the Tigris River.
"He fired three rounds and we went inside the Stryker," he said Thursday by telephone from Camp Taji, Iraq. "We raised the ramp so he wouldn't have any clear angle.
Tribal Sheik turns in two weapons caches
By 2nd Stryker BCT PAO, 25th Inf. Div.
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, and Iraqi Army Soldiers were directed to a weapons cache by a Tribal Sheik leader in Tarmiya Jan. 14.
Contents of the cache included a car bomb, 44 blocks of TNT, four 122mm mortars and seven large containers of home made explosives.
SPC Jon M. Schoolcraft, III
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Jon M. Schoolcraft, III, 26, of Wapakoneta, Ohio, died Jan. 19 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and fellow soldiers.