Friday, April 25, 2008

U.S. Identifies 11 Missing WWII Airmen

News in Balance
B-24 Liberator

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2008 -- The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of 11 U.S. servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Capt. Robert L. Coleman, of Wilmington, Del.; 1st Lt. George E. Wallinder, of San Antonio, Texas; 2nd Lt. Kenneth L. Cassidy, of Worcester, Mass.; 2nd Lt. Irving Schechner, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 2nd Lt. Ronald F. Ward, of Cambridge, Mass.; Tech. Sgt. William L. Fraser, of Maplewood, Mo.; Tech. Sgt. Paul Miecias, of Piscataway, N.J.; Tech. Sgt. Robert C. Morgan, of Flint, Mich.; Staff Sgt. Albert J. Caruso, of Kearny, N.J.; Staff Sgt. Robert E. Frank, of Plainfield, N.J.; and Pvt. Joseph Thompson, of Compton, Calif; all U.S. Army Air Forces. The dates and locations of the funerals are being set by their families.

Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.

On Dec. 3, 1943, these men crewed a B-24D Liberator that departed Dobodura, New Guinea, on an armed-reconnaissance mission over New Hanover Island in the Bismarck Sea. The crew reported dropping their bombs on target, but in spite of several radio contacts with their base, they never returned to Dobodura. Subsequent searches failed to locate the aircraft.

In 2000, three Papua New Guineans were hunting in the forest when they came across aircraft wreckage near Iwaia village. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified and began planning an investigation. In 2002, a JPAC team traveled to Deboin Village to interview two individuals who said they knew where the crash site was. However, the witnesses could not relocate the site.

In 2004, the site was found about four miles from Iwaia village in Papua New Guinea where a JPAC team found an aircraft data plate that correlated to the 1943 crash.

Between 2004 and 2007, JPAC teams conducted two excavations of the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material including some crew-related artifacts such as identification tags.

Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

(From a U.S. Defense Department press release.)

Related Site: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office

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Future Combat System Tested at White Sands

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The non-line-of-sight launch system recently completed the Future Combat System technical field test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The test proved the system's ability to integrate and operate with other FCS as well as current force equipment. The launch system will be tested further this summer. (Photo by NLOS-LS Project Office.)

Focus on Defense:

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, April 25, 2008 -- The non-line-of-sight launch system has completed the first of multiple summer tests, meeting all mission requirements.

The Future Combat System technical field test, conducted in February and March, marked the beginning of a summer of demanding developmental and operational tests for the FCS command and control network, as well as a host of FCS related programs, to include Redstone Arsenal's NLOS-LS. The NLOS-LS reaped praise from users and evaluators alike during the test.

Army Experimental Task Force Soldiers conducted the two-week test using NLOS-LS production representative prototypes. Also involved in the test were FCS unmanned ground systems and network components, as well as current force equipment.

Participating in two separate operational vignettes, NLOS-LS successfully received fire missions and engaged targets from FCS and current force platforms. All exercises were conducted with actual platforms in the field using live communication networks.

For the NLOS-LS project office, the TFT proved the ability of NLOS-LS to work with the current force and integrate into the current force's network architecture. Specifically, NLOS-LS showed compatibility with the Army's Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System.

The success of the NLOS-LS in the TFT provides the entrance criteria for more complicated and demanding force development and limited user tests this summer, including the upcoming Training and Doctrine Command's force developmental test and evaluation event.

NLOS-LS consists of a highly deployable, platform-independent weapon system that provides networked, extended range, precision strike capability for combat commanders. The NLOS-LS is capable of unattended/unmanned operations under all weather conditions. Armed with 15 Precision Attack Missiles, the NLOS-LS is capable of engaging a host of varied targets on the modern and future battlefield.

The NLOS-LS is one of the Future Combat System program's 16 core systems. FCS is the Army's leading modernization program to develop manned and unmanned systems linked by a common network and equipped with leading-edge technology.

(Story by Maj. Frederick Hughes, Army News Service.)

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Troops in Iraq Kill 22 Terrorists, Nab 37

Dispatches from the Front

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 22 suspected terrorists, captured 37 others, and seized weapons caches in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said.

During operations today:
  • An air weapons team fired a Hellfire missile at four criminals as they attempted to emplace an improvised explosive device in northeastern Baghdad around 1 a.m. The missile killed all four and destroyed the IED.

  • A separate AWT witnessed two criminals setting up a firing position in northeastern Baghdad at about 1:30 a.m. The AWT engaged with one Hellfire missile and killed one criminal; the other fled to a nearby building. The AWT could not engage the second criminal due because innocent civilians were near the building.

  • Coalition forces captured six suspects south of Beiji, including two wanted men. One of the wanted suspects allegedly leads a large bombing cell that spans Salahuddin province. The other is believed to be a key distributor of explosives used against coalition forces and their allies. Troops also discovered and destroyed a weapons cache during the operation.

  • Coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists in two raids targeting al-Qaida in Iraq leaders in Samarra.

  • Coalition troops continued to corral members of the al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda network, detaining a wanted man in Baghdad who is believed to conspire directly with terrorist leaders.

  • Troops, using information gleaned in an April 21 operation, captured an alleged go-between for al-Qaida in Iraq senior leaders in Mosul.

  • Troops descended on an alleged foreign terrorist hideout northeast of Khalis and detained one suspected terrorist believed to be an assistant to the al-Qaida in Iraq network.

In operations around Iraq yesterday:
  • Coalition forces and Iraqi police members recovered three rocket rails while searching the Ubaydi neighborhood of the New Baghdad district. During the operation, criminals attacked the joint forces with explosives and small-arms fire. The combined force and an AWT retaliated, killing an IED triggerman and three Iranian-backed “special groups” criminals.

  • A Multinational Division Baghdad AWT killed three criminals in northeastern Baghdad. Around 10:30 a.m., the AWT observed the men attacking a coalition forces patrol with small-arms fire. The AWT engaged them with a Hellfire missile, killing all three.

  • A three-man criminal mortar team attacked U.S. and Iraqi soldiers at their joint security station in northeastern Baghdad. Soldiers located and engaged the assailants, killing all three.

  • Around 10 p.m., an AWT spotted criminals digging by a road in northeastern Baghdad. The AWT engaged them with a Hellfire missile, killing two.

  • Coalition forces fired on a renegade vehicle east of Samarra that refused to stop after verbal commands and warning shots. Troops killed one suspected terrorist in the vehicle. Two others, armed with grenades, exited the vehicle. Coalition forces, responding to the hostile threat, engaged and killed them.

  • Coalition troops near Taji stopped a vehicle believed to be associated with terrorist activity. While searching the vehicle, coalition forces found several pipe bombs, two assault rifles and bomb-making materials. They destroyed the weapons materials and the vehicle and detained three terrorism suspects.

  • Forces targeted an individual in Mosul believed to be involved in planning suicide attacks. Troops stopped a vehicle believed to be associated with the suspect, and detained five suspected terrorists.

During April 23 operations:
  • Coalition forces conducted four coordinated operations in Samarra targeting associates of al-Qaida in Iraq leaders. When troops called out for occupants to exit the target building, one man initially appeared, but suddenly refused to follow the interpreter's instructions and moved toward the building. Perceiving hostile intent, coalition forces engaged and killed him. Troops detained eight suspected terrorists.

  • Coalition forces in southern Baghdad captured three suspected terrorists, including a suspected financier and liaison for al-Qaida in Iraq groups in Baghdad and the southern belt surrounding the city. As troops secured buildings in the area, one man failed to comply with coalition forces' instructions and reached for an object under a pillow. Coalition forces responded to the hostile threat by engaging and killing the terrorist.

  • Troops captured an alleged terrorist assistant and four additional suspects during an operation along the Tigris River south of Tikrit. The suspected assistant is believed to directly conspire with senior al-Qaida in Iraq leaders who move in and out of the country.

  • In a separate southern Baghdad raid, coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists while targeting an individual believed to have a long history with the al-Qaida in Iraq network, whose group conducts bombing and small-arms attacks. One of the suspects was wanted for his alleged role as a bombing cell leader in the city.

  • Coalition forces found and recovered 12 Iranian-made rocket launchers south of Baghdad following a tip from a local resident. The rocket launchers, designed for 107 mm rockets, were discovered near a reported launch site. This site appeared to be targeting a nearby forward operating base. Initiation wire attached to the launchers indicated they are of Iranian origin. The same type of wire has been found at previous launch sites, military officials said.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq and Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)

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Head of Joint Chiefs Says Iranian Meddling Destabilizes Iraq, Region

News in Balance

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2008 -- Recently manufactured Iranian weapons found in and around Basra, Iraq, provide disturbing evidence that Iran continues meddling in Iraq in ways that hamper progress and put U.S. and Iraqi lives at risk, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said he’s “increasingly concerned about Iran’s activity, not just in Iraq, but throughout the region.”

“I believe recent events, especially the Basra operation, have revealed just how much and just how far Iran is reaching into Iraq to foment instability,” Mullen said. “Their support to criminal groups in the form of munitions and training, as well as other assistance they are providing and the attacks they are encouraging continues to kill coalition and Iraqi personnel.”

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq who is in line for the top U.S. Central Command job, is preparing a briefing that details these activities, Mullen said. The report is expected in the next couple of weeks.

The recent findings prove Iraq is not living up to its pledge several months ago to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that it would stop meddling in Iraqi affairs, Mullen said. “It's plainly obvious they have not,” he said.

“Indeed, they seem to have gone the other way,” the chairman said. “I think actions, certainly here, must speak louder than words. And the actions just don't meet the commitments on the part of their leadership.”

While conceding that he has “no smoking gun” to prove high-level Iranian government involvement, he said he’s “hard-pressed to believe the head of the Quds Force is not aware of this.”

The Quds Force is a special unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that organizes, trains, equips and finances foreign operatives.

Citing the “great downside potential” of this influence, Mullen emphasized the need to “to continue to press, using all available means,” to get Iran to reverse course.

“While all options certainly remain open, I'm convinced the solution right now still lies in using other levers of national power, including diplomatic, financial and international pressure,” he said.

But “we are not taking any military elements off the table,” the admiral added.

Mullen said he has no expectation that the United States will get into a conflict with Iran in the immediate future, and conceded that “a third conflict in this part of the world would be extremely stressing for us.”

He emphasized, however, that the United States has reserve capability, particularly in the Navy and Air Force and based in other regions. “So it would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability,” he said.

“But in terms of having another conflict in that region, I certainly don't think that would be where we'd want to go right now,” he said.

(Story by Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service.)

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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Navy Re-Establishes U.S. Fourth Fleet

Focus on Defense
The new U.S. Fourth Fleet headquarters will be located in Mayport, Florida. (U.S. Navy photo.)

Focus on Defense:

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2008 -- Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today the re-establishment of the U.S. Fourth Fleet and assigned Rear Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, currently serving as commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, as its new commander. Fourth Fleet will be responsible for U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and submarines operating in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

U.S. Fourth Fleet will be dual-hatted with the existing commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO), currently located in Mayport, Fla. U.S. Fourth Fleet has been re-established to address the increased role of maritime forces in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of operations, and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to regional partners.

"Re-establishing the Fourth Fleet recognizes the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere, and signals our support and interest in the civil and military maritime services in Central and South America," said Roughead. "Our maritime strategy raises the importance of working with international partners as the basis for global maritime security. This change increases our emphasis in the region on employing naval forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interests. "

Effective July 1, the command will have operational responsibility for U.S. Navy assets assigned from east and west coast fleets to operate in the SOUTHCOM area. As a result, U.S. Fourth Fleet will not involve an increase in forces assigned in Mayport, Fla. These assets will conduct varying missions including a range of contingency operations, counter narcoterrorism, and theater security cooperation (TSC) activities. TSC includes military-to-military interaction and bilateral training opportunities as well as humanitarian assistance and in-country partnerships.

U.S. Fourth Fleet will retain responsibility as NAVSO, the Navy component command for SOUTHCOM. Its mission is to direct U.S. naval forces operating in the Caribbean, and Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies to shape the maritime environment.

Kernan will be the first Navy SEAL to serve as a numbered fleet commander.

(From a U.S. Defense Department press release.)

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Troops in Iraq Kill Four Iranian-Trained Fighters

Dispatches from the Front

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2008 -- Coalition forces killed four Iranian-trained “special groups” criminals and detained five other suspected criminals today in Rashidiyah, Iraq, north of Baghdad.

Intelligence sources led the forces to the location of a criminal suspected of receiving weapons and finances from Iran. He also is suspected of directing and conducting kidnappings and sectarian violence against Iraqi citizens.

Despite receiving sporadic small-arms fire attacks, coalition forces apprehended the suspected criminal and three other suspects. As the forces approached a second location to apprehend another suspected criminal, they came under small-arms fire from both sides of the road and returned fire, killing one criminal.

After arriving at the targeted individual’s location, the forces again came under small-arms fire from three criminals atop a local residence. Coalition forces followed the three individuals to a home in the neighborhood then came under attack from the criminals inside the house. They engaged the hostile threat, killing the three criminals. The engagement ignited a fire in the house, but coalition forces were able to evacuate residents from the building unharmed.

“Coalition forces will continue to seek out these criminal elements supported by Iran who threaten the security of Iraqi citizens and who undermine the sovereignty of Iraq,” said Navy Cmdr. Scott Rye, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.

Elsewhere, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed three criminals in separate engagements in Baghdad yesterday and today.
  • At about 7:30 a.m. today, an aerial weapons team observed a criminal with a heavy machine gun firing on Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers in northeastern Baghdad. The aerial weapons team fired one Hellfire missile, ending the attack. The heavy machine gun was destroyed, but no casualties were reported.

  • At about 11:30 p.m., two criminals were observed emplacing an improvised-explosive device in northeastern Baghdad. After fleeing the scene, an aerial weapons team engaged the criminals in a building with two Hellfire missiles, killing both.

  • At about 10:50 p.m. yesterday, an aerial weapons team observed a criminal emplacing an improvised-explosive device. The IED was targeting a coalition forces patrol in northeastern Baghdad. The aerial weapons team engaged the criminal with a Hellfire missile, killing him.

In other operations yesterday, coalition forces killed three al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists and detained 14 suspects during operations targeting terrorist networks in the central and northern parts of the country Wednesday.

    • West of Biaj, coalition forces captured an alleged foreign-terrorist facilitator and three additional suspects. While rounding up the detainees, one terrorist attempted to escape. After the terrorist refused commands to halt, coalition forces engaged, killing him.

    • Coalition forces targeted an alleged leader of an al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda cell during an operation in Mosul. As coalition forces arrived at the target area, two individuals attempted to seize their weapons from them. Coalition forces responded in self-defense, engaging and killing the two men, officials said.

    • Coalition forces captured a suspected senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader in Mosul during a precision operation. Intelligence reports also indicate he is involved in kidnapping and suicide-bombing operations.

    • West of Baghdad, coalition forces conducted two operations targeting operatives in the area's bombing network. Six suspected terrorists were detained, and four are believed to be part of a bombing cell that attacks coalition forces.

    "Iraqi citizens reject the criminal activity of al-Qaeda in Iraq's members," Rye said. "Terrorists cling to violence, while the people of Iraq have chosen a path of peace."
    Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained five suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists today during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq networks operating north of Mosul.

    Information from an operation April 12 led Coalition forces to a location where they secured a building and detained three suspected terrorists. Acting on additional intelligence, Coalition forces proceeded to a second location. While securing the building, two individuals displayed hostile intent toward Coalition forces, who fired in self-defense, wounding both men. One suspect was taken to a military medical facility, and the other wounded suspect was treated on site and detained.

    Coalition forces followed a suspected terrorist in a vehicle to an area northwest of Samarra. When the driver would not follow signals to stop, including warning shots, Coalition forces fired into the vehicle. The vehicle stopped, and secondary explosions erupted from inside, indicating weapons, ammunition or explosives inside the vehicle. The terrorist in the vehicle was killed.

    “We continue to target terrorists in Mosul and throughout Iraq to disrupt their networks and degrade their ability to attack innocent Iraqis,” said Cmdr. Scott Rye, MNF-I spokesman.

    Also yesterday, Multinational Force West soldiers pursuing two suspected enemy vehicles engaged insurgents north of Lake Thar Thar. Insurgents engaged the soldiers with small-arms fire and grenades. The brief chase ended as the lead enemy vehicle stopped. The enemy continued their attack as the second vehicle sped away. The soldiers returned fire, killing six insurgents and destroying their truck.

    (Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq and Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)

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    Combat Camera: New Iraqi Army Emerges from Shadow of Saddam Hussein

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    Brig. Gen. Omar Hama Saleh Anwar, commander, 16th Brigade, 4th Iraq Army Division and Col. David Paschal, commander, 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division shake the hands of the villagers of Sewsenan during a visit April 16. Sewsenan, located south of Sulayminiyah, in the Kirkuk province suffered a chemical attack ordered by Saddam Hussein in March 1988 during his Anfal campaign against ethnic Kurds in this region. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

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    Commander, 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division Col. David Paschal shakes an Iraqi child's hand during a visit facilitated by the 16th Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division to the northeastern village of Sewsenan, Apr. 16. Sixty-eight villagers were killed, March 22, 1988, during a chemical attack ordered by Saddam Hussein during his Anfal campaign that resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 ethnic Kurds in this region alone. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

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    A young Iraqi girl receives a package of school supplies and a toy during a visit by soldiers from the 16th Brigade, 4th Iraq Army Division and 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, April 16 in the village of Sewsenan. The people of Sewsenan suffered a chemical attack in March 1988 ordered by Saddam Hussein, killing 65. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

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    16th Brigade, 4th Iraq Army Division soldiers hand out school supplies and toys to the children of Sewsenan, Iraq, April 16, 2008. This village, located in the northeastern most region of the Kirkuk province, suffered a chemical attack, March 1988, ordered by Saddam Hussein during his Anfal campaign against ethnic Kurds here. Sixty-five died in that attack. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

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    16th Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division and 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division soldiers hand out school supplies and toys to the children of Sewsenan village, April 16. The village was attacked in March 1988 by chemical weapons ordered by Saddam Hussein during his Anfal campaign against ethnic Kurds in the northeastern most regions of the Kirkuk province. Sixty-five from this village alone died in the attack. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

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    A monument resembling a bomb is situated in the middle of 65 graves of the victims of a chemical attack ordered by Saddam Hussein, against the village of Sewsenan, March 22, 1988, during his Anfal campaign against ethnic Kurds in the northeastern region of Iraq. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

    Dispatches from the Front:

    SEWSENAN, Iraq, April 24, 2008 -- Twenty years ago, Saddam's Iraq army turned their weapons away from combatants in Iran and began simultaneously firing rockets and dropping bombs filled with biological agents upon unarmed villagers in the northeastern mountainous regions of Iraq. This was during the former dictator’s genocidal-type campaign in 1988 against ethnic Kurds in an operation known as ‘Anfal,’ loosely translated as "The Disappeared" or also as "The Spoils of War." At its conclusion, Anfal would result in the deaths of an estimated 100,000 men, women, and children of Kurdish descent in this region alone.

    In the village of Sewsenan, located south of Sulayminiyah, in the Kirkuk province, the death toll, “may never be known…they are gone,” Serdar Jabbar, of Sewsenan, said. What is known is that 65 would die as a result of the chemical attack that occurred here, March 22, 1988. Jabbar remembers it well although he was only 10-years-old at the time. He watched as family, friends, and neighbors returning home for their evening meal began falling to the ground vomiting as they died in a barrage of artillery rounds and exploding bombs dropping from the sky on the village. “Everybody was screaming,” he said. “My father yelled for us to get in the house. He began wetting pieces of cloth, telling us to cover our faces.” Jabbar’s father also sealed cracks and crevices of their mud hut with anything he could find. His father’s quick actions may have saved them, but Jabbar’s vision would be permanently damaged. He is blind in one eye and suffers blurred vision in the other.

    Twenty years later, the Iraqi army is back. This time the soldiers are armed with food purchased from their own pockets, school supplies donated by U.S. organizations, and a pledge that, “we will continue to support and protect the people of Sewsenan and other villagers in our area of operation,” Brig. Gen. Omar Hama Saleh Anwar, commander, 16th Brigade, 4th Iraq Army Division said during a visit Apr. 16. “They have suffered heavily…we owe them much.”

    To the 100 or so families that have returned to this village that once numbered 400 families prior to the March attack, the reception is surprising. Most of the villagers, minus the children attending school, both male and female, lined the main dirt road leading to the entrance of the village. They ceremoniously and enthusiastically greeted the IA soldiers, and 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division Soldiers as they exited their vehicles, shaking hands with and warmly greeting each Soldier individually.

    “We are finally enjoying our freedom and a sense of security,” Jabbar said, looking at the Soldiers as they interacted with the villagers and their children, while handing out the provisions. “What you are seeing would never have happened in the past.” he said.

    Also unique to this brigade, headquartered in Sulayminiyah, is the inclusion of former Peshmerga soldiers into their ranks…those that fiercely fought Sadaam’s army in this region. Anwar is one. He remembers this village and others, who fed and cared for him as he and others fought against Saddam's army here. “I slept in the mosque over there,” he said, pointing to the center of town. “I will never forget how these people risked their lives for us and how they died … never,” he said.

    “This is not the same army we feared,” Roveter, 83, said. He too suffered vision loss in one eye by the same chemicals that killed his son in front of him, and several relatives. His home was destroyed by one of the bombs, dropped by aircraft. “I would not believe that I would live long enough to see this … our army helping us this way,” he said.

    IA and CF soldiers alike stopped into the village’s two schools, handing out school supplies and chatting with the teachers and students. When a headmaster of one thanked Col. David Paschal, commander, 1-10th Mtn. Div., for the coalition support he responded, “It is your army that provided these supplies. Your thanks go to General Anwar who is responsible for this visit. He brought us here to introduce us to the courageous people of Sewsenan …we are here as guests of the Iraqi army.”

    As a result of the past, Anwar and his soldiers are deeply committed to assisting the people they protect. They conduct civil military operations on a continual basis. “It is the responsibility of the Iraqi army to establish good relations with its citizens. It is our duty to protect our country and its people and help however we can,” Anwar said. “We must make sure as soldiers that we remember the atrocities that were carried out during Saddam's time in our country’s past and that they do not get repeated.”

    (Story by Staff Sgt. Margaret C. Nelson, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

    COMBAT CAMERA More Combat Camera Imagery on THE TENSION

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    Wednesday, April 23, 2008

    Gates Moves to Speed Up Delivery of Combat Assets

    Focus on Defense

    Focus on Defense:

    WASHINGTON, April 23, 2008 -- When it comes to delays in getting warfighters what they need, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is a man of little patience.

    Expressing frustration earlier this week about the perceived foot-dragging in getting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gates announced that he had stood up a task force to push the issue to the front burner.

    Gates told reporters today he’s given the task force “some pretty short deadlines.” Its first report to him is due next week, and Gates wants its complete job wrapped up in 90 days.

    “I have found that perhaps the most effective way to get things done around here is to put pretty short deadlines on things -- and then force them,” he said.

    So in the weeks ahead, the task force will hone in on two key areas: determining what ISR resources can be moved into the combat theater, and ensuring commands there are making the best use of what they already have.

    Gates said he wants the team to take a worldwide inventory of the department’s ISR assets – manned and unmanned aircraft, satellites and ground-based sensors, among them – to see if some can be moved into the combat zone.

    Even ISR assets now committed to training will be subject to the task force’s review.

    “If we look at training in a different way than in the past,” the secretary wondered, “can we squeeze a little bit more of those capabilities over to Iraq or Afghanistan?”

    Meanwhile, Gates said he wants the task force go see firsthand if combat commanders are making the best use of ISR assets they already have. “Are there ways in which, by changing the way they do business in some respects, we can squeeze more capability out of what they already have?” he questioned.

    Gates announced April 21 to Air War College students at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., that he had stood up the task force because ISR assets weren’t getting where they were needed fast enough. “My concern is that our services are still not moving aggressively in wartime to provide resources needed now on the battlefield,” he said.

    He noted a 25-fold increase since 2001, with 5,000 unmanned aerial vehicles now in the military inventory.

    “While we have doubled this capability in recent months, it is still not good enough,” he said. “In my view, we can do -- and we should do -- more to meet the needs of men and women fighting in the current conflicts while their outcome may still be in doubt.”

    Gates expressed frustration at the pace of progress, slowed by people “stuck in old ways of doing business” who make instituting change “like pulling teeth.” He urged the Air Force audience to cast convention aside to come up with better ways to provide, not only ISR assets, but also other critical support to combat forces.

    Today, Gates clarified that his frustration wasn’t directed just at the Air Force, but at all the military services too bogged down in bureaucracy to do things quickly.

    “It really has to do with institutional barriers here to getting things done quickly,” he said. “In too many instances, there is a tendency to look out a year or two years or three years in terms of programs and … processes as usual.”

    What’s lacking is more “willingness to think out of the box in how do we get more help to the theater now,” he said. “How do we help the men and women who are on the front lines out there now?”

    This isn’t the first time Gates has shaken up the Defense Department to get warfighters what they need. Last year, after reading an article in U.S. News and World Report that described the protection mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles provide against roadside bombs and other explosives, he stood up another task force to speed up getting them to the troops.

    After Gates’ call to action, the department began jumping through hoops to get the V-hulled vehicles to the theater as quickly as possible -- from fast-tracking the acquisition process to airlifting models as they rolled off the assembly line. Within six months, 1,500 MRAPs had been delivered to the theater. As of April 5, more than 5,000 were in the CentCom area of operations, with thousands more on the way.

    Gates traveled to Charleston, S.C., in January to see the progress firsthand. He watched MRAPs being loaded onto C-17 aircraft bound for the theater and toured the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, where teams installed radios, sensors, jammers and other equipment on the massive vehicles.

    Speaking to the factory workers, Gates cited President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s call to the World War II production lines to raise their sights and prove wrong anyone who said that what they were striving to achieve couldn’t be done.

    “Those in the MRAP program have shown that it can be done,” Gates said. “So keep raising your sights. Keep these vehicles rolling off the line. Your efforts are saving lives.”

    (Story by Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service.)

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    Forces in Iraq Detain Six, Destroy Weapons Caches

    Dispatches from the Front

    Dispatches from the Front:

    WASHINGTON, April 23, 2008 (AFPS) -- Iraqi and coalition forces detained six suspected criminals and destroyed multiple weapons caches today near Khan Bani Saad, an area allegedly used as a manufacturing and storage location for homemade bombs, north of Baghdad.

    Acting on previously gathered intelligence, Iraqi and coalition forces moved into the area and immediately stopped a suspected criminal’s vehicle trying to escape.

    They discovered numerous weapons and detained three individuals. One of those detained allegedly received weapons training in Iran and was involved in numerous attacks on coalition forces and Iraqi security forces personnel, officials said.

    The combined forces detained three more suspects during building searches at two other locations. Additionally, they discovered more weapons caches that included various munitions, assault rifles, and other weapons and materials to create bombs. All weapons materials were destroyed.

    In operations in Iraq yesterday:
    • Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team witnessed a criminal emplacing an improvised explosive device in northeast Baghdad. Soldiers shot and killed the criminal.

    • Unmanned aerial vehicle operators from the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team spotted two individuals with a mortar tube. They loaded the weapon into a vehicle and drove off in northeastern Baghdad. Shortly after their departure, the UAV fired one Hellfire missile, killing two criminals and destroying one vehicle.

    • In northeastern Baghdad, soldiers from 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, engaged and killed one criminal after coming under a small-arms fire.

    • In eastern Baghdad, criminals attacked soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team with a homemade bomb while the soldiers were conducting a mounted patrol. The patrol was then attacked with rocket-propelled grenades. The soldiers identified the criminals’ location and engaged them with small-arms fire, killing six.

    • Criminals attacked soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team with RPGs in eastern Baghdad. Soldiers identified two separate RPG teams and retuned fire, killing five criminals.

    • Elements from 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, detained a suspected criminal in the Abu Ghraib area, west of Baghdad. This suspect is believed to be involved with attacks on Iraqi army and coalition forces and the making of homemade bombs.

    • Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team discovered and seized four Iranian-made 107 mm rockets while patrolling their sector in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad.

    In Iraq operations April 21:
    • Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, discovered a weapons cache containing rocket-propelled grenade rounds, an AK-47 assault rifle and a box of PKC rounds in Yusifiyah. The cache was destroyed by an explosive team.

    • A member of the local “Sons of Iraq” citizen security group led Multinational Division Center soldiers of 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, to a weapons cache containing two armor-piercing explosively formed projectiles near Jisr Diyala. One of the EFPs had a makeshift stand for adjusting elevation. Both were turned over to an explosives team.

    • Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, seized three anti-tank RPG launchers and 10 high-explosive RPG rounds in the Rashid district in southern Baghdad. Soldiers from Company C, 4-64th AR, along with their Iraqi security forces counterparts from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, discovered the weapons cache.

    (From Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

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    Gen. Petraeus Nominated to Head Central Command

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    Gen. David H. Petraeus

    News in Balance:

    WASHINGTON, April 23, 2008 (AFPS) -- The White House will nominate Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, currently commander of Multinational Force Iraq, to be the next U.S. Central Command commander, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today.

    “I recommended him to the president because I am absolutely confident he is the best man for the job,” Gates told reporters. He cited Petraeus’ in-depth understanding of the situation in Iraq as well as counterinsurgency operations, and the successes seen in Iraq under his leadership.

    “The kinds of conflicts we are dealing with not just in Iraq, but in Afghanistan and some of the challenges that we face elsewhere in the region in the CentCom area, are very much characterized by asymetric warfare,” he said. “And I don’t know anybody in the United States military better qualified to lead that effort.”

    Gates also announced today that the White House will nominate Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who commanded Multinational Corps Iraq until just two months ago, to succeed Petraeus as Multinational Force Iraq commander.

    Odierno served as Petraeus’ right-hand man in Iraq, Gates said, and like Petraeus, has the experience required for the job.

    “I believe in most parts of the world, especially the Middle East, personal relationships make a difference,” Gates said. “And General Odierno is known recently to the Iraqi leadership, he’s known to the Iraqi generals, he’s known to our own people. He has current experience, so the likelihood of him being able to pick up for this baton-passing to be smooth – the odds of that are better with him than with anybody else I could identify.”

    Odierno had been nominated as Army vice chief of staff. That nomination will be withdrawn, with Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, currently Gates’ senior military advisor, to be nominated for a fourth star and to serve in that position, the secretary announced.

    Gates said Navy Adm. William J. Fallon’s decision in March to step down as CentCom commander came unexpectedly, creating a big hole at “one of our most important combatant commands, one engaged in two wars and on many fronts and perhaps the most sensitive part of the world.”

    Gates said he turned to the person most up to speed on the region to fill the post quickly without losing momentum.

    Petraeus said he is “honored to be nominated for this position and to have an opportunity to continue to serve with America's soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and civilians."

    Gates said he expects the Petraeus-Odierno team to work together to continue building on progress taking place in Iraq. “I think the course … that General Petraeus has set has been a successful course, so frankly I think staying that course is not a bad idea,” he said. “I would say it’s a good idea.”

    Because Odierno served directly under Petraeus for the past year, his assumption of the Iraq command with Petraeus at CentCom “probably preserves the likelihood of continued momentum and progress,” Gates said.

    The secretary urged the Senate to move quickly on the nominations, confirming them by Memorial Day, if possible, to pave the way for Petraeus to take the CentCom helm. Gates cited the “high respect” many Senate leaders have for Petraeus and said he expects a fairly smooth confirmation process.

    Meanwhile, Petraeus will remain in the Multinational Force Iraq job through late summer or early fall to ensure a smooth hand-off to Odierno. Gates said he expects Petraeus to be on site to evaluate ground conditions following a 45-day pause to begin after the final surge forces withdraw from Iraq.

    “I would expect that General Petraeus would carry out not only the evaluation, but that first decision in terms of are we able to draw down another brigade combat team or not, depending on conditions on the ground,” Gates said.

    At CentCom, Petraeus will broaden his responsibilities to address challenges not only in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region. Gates said he expects Petraeus to follow in Fallon’s footsteps building relationships throughout the region.

    Gates said he believes Petraeus, Odierno and Fallon all share the same views about the dangers of Iranian interference in Iraq. “What the Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen and women inside Iraq,” he said.

    The secretary expressed special appreciation to Odierno for his willingness to accept another tour in Iraq so soon after returning home, and to his family for supporting the decision.

    “I think his extraordinary sense of duty that has led him to accept this tough assignment,” he said. “I am personally very grateful to him and to his family for their remarkable service to this country.”

    Army Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, who was Fallon’s deputy commander, has served as acting CentCom commander since Fallon handed over the reins March 28.

    (Story by Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service.)

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    Breaking: Gen. Petraeus Nominated to Head Central Command

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    Gen. David H. Petraeus

    News in Balance:

    WASHINGTON, April 23, 2008 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today that the White House has nominated Army Gen. David H. Petraeus to be the next U.S.Central Command commander. The Senate must confirm Petraeus, who is currently the commander of Multnational Force Iraq in Baghdad.

    Gates also announced that Army Gen. Raymond Odierno has been nominated for the command in Baghdad. He had been nominated as Army vice chief of staff.

    Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli has been nominated for a fourth star and the position of Army vice chief of staff.

    More coverage to follow.

    (From a U.S. Defense Department press release.)

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    Despite Waivers, U.S. Military Recruiting Standards Remain High

    News in Balance

    News in Balance:

    WASHINGTON, April 23, 2008 (AFPS) -- The Defense Department maintains stringent standards for its recruits, despite an increase in felons the military services accept.

    A senior defense official said waivers sometimes are granted to people who commit “youthful pranks that went way too far,” but not to dangerous criminals.

    The military granted waivers to 903 felons in 2007, 511 of them for the Army and 350 for the Marine Corps, Bill Carr, acting deputy under secretary for military personnel policy, told American Forces Press Service. These numbers, up from 249 in the Army and 208 for the Marine Corps in 2006, constitute a tiny fraction of all incoming recruits -- one half of one percent, Carr said.

    Contrary to what media reports imply, the waivers weren’t granted to hardened criminals fresh out of prison, Carr said. Mostly they’re granted to people who made mistakes when they were younger, but then straightened up to become responsible citizens, he said.

    The military is extremely judicious in granting the waivers and limits the number granted each year. A general officer must approve all such applications. Those with “sinister crimes” are automatically eliminated. Only those who show they’ve turned around and have potential in the military get a chance to enlist.

    “The military determines that they’re worth betting on and gives them a second chance,” Carr said.

    In a tough recruiting environment, the practice serves the military too. Two-thirds of the American youth population is disqualified to enlist by today’s military entrance standards, said Army Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, a Pentagon spokesman. Medical conditions account for most of the disqualifications, and medical waivers make up the biggest percentage of waivers granted.

    Of waivers granted to felons, most were to individuals involved in crimes against property. Typically, the offenses occurred years before the waivers were granted, Withington said.

    One recruit described in news reports as a “bomber” actually was a young person who blew up a mailbox using a soda bottle full of gunpowder, Carr said. “It was more of a youthful prank than the sinister activity that some of the media suggest,” he said. That offense occurred two years before the waiver was granted.

    Another recruit had been convicted of involuntary manslaughter resulting from driving under the influence of alcohol three years before receiving the waiver. Several recruits had been convicted of sexual offenses, most involving consensual sex with a minor and typically years before the military waiver was granted.

    Carr has a message to parents concerned about who their son or daughter joining the military may serve with.

    “They should feel assured that we are very careful about who their children serve alongside,” he said. “These are generally people of respectable character who made a terrible move in their youth, but have made a dramatic turnaround.”

    (Story by Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service.)

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    Civilians Get Feel for Navy Life on Carrier

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    75th Joint Civilian Orientation Conference participants view night flight operations on the USS George Washington, April. 20, 2008. (Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison.)

    Focus on Defense:

    RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, April 23, 2008 (AFPS) -- Forty-eight business, civic and local government leaders visited the USS George Washington about 80 miles off shore from here April 20, and a lucky dozen got to spend the night on the ship.

    “It reminds me that the best and the brightest are right here representing our country,” said Neal Denton, a senior vice president of government relations and strategic partnerships for the American Red Cross, based in Washington, D.C.

    Denton and the other visitors are participating in the 75th iteration of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, a defense secretary-sponsored program for America's leaders interested in expanding their knowledge of the military and national defense. JCOC is the oldest existing Pentagon outreach program.

    The USS George Washington is here on its way to its eventual new home port in Japan. It will replace the USS Kitty Hawk based there now. JCOC participants toured the ship talking to sailors and meeting its leaders.

    An aircraft glitch led to a small group of participants spending the night on the ship and having the rare opportunity to watch night operations aboard the aircraft carrier.

    One participant likened the incredible synchronicity of the flight operations to a “high-risk ballet.”

    But, equally fascinating for the group was walking up to the bridge and finding Seaman James Holzmann, a 19-year-old from Arizona with only two years in the Navy, driving the ship.

    The George Washington’s flight deck is 4.5 acres. The ship can accommodate about 6,000 sailors. It can distill 400,000 gallons of water a day, serves 18,000 meals daily, and is held together by 60,000 tons of structural steel.

    Denton said that he was struck by how everyone on the ship worked together despite the enormity of its daily operations.

    “This is a city, and everyone has a job and everyone has a responsibility and knows each other and knows what their jobs are and how they rely on each other,” Denton said. “I guess I just didn’t perceive it like that, as a city where everyone here has a role to play in making sure this thing ticks from the first thing in the morning until they all go down to bed at night.”

    A former Army enlisted man, Denton said the best part of his visit was in the galley with the sailors. In fact, he said, getting back in touch with the troops was one of his main motivations for joining the JCOC trip, he said.

    “I love some of these guys here. I had some of the best conversations. That was my favorite part. Sitting at the tables talking with them,” Denton said. “This was a chance to sort of reconnect with what is going on in today’s service.

    “There has been so much discussion in Washington -- public policy decision makers who are trying to find their way into making the right decisions now -- and I like to be engaged in their conversations. Now I feel like I’m engaged in those conversations with a different pool of knowledge than I had before.

    “I feel as though I know a heck of a lot more now than I did before,” Denton said.

    John Stross, the owner of Leverock’s Restaurant, in St. Petersburg, Fla., said he was impressed with the efficiency of the air operations. It takes only 45 seconds for crews to clear the landing strip between planes during the day. At night it still takes only minutes.

    Crews in different colored shirts, each with their own meaning, move around the deck with precision speed, moving planes, pulling chains and cables, and sending signals with colored flash cones.

    No detail is too small on the spotless ship. Sailors on their hands and knees scrub the insides of divots in the deck to secure chains tied to the planes. Dirt can settle inside the indentations and stick to the planes’ tires.

    Debris on a tire could find its way onto the landing strip and into one of the jet engines, causing a “blowout” requiring the engine to be rebuilt. Each engine costs more than $1 million, an officer explained.

    “If I could run my restaurant as efficiently as they run their flight operations, I would never put out a bad meal,” Stross said.

    The longtime business owner used a seafood restaurant analogy to give credit to the ship’s leaders.

    “I believe the fish stinks from the head down. I think that great leaders make great organizations,” Stross said. “My hat is off not only to the enlisted people, but especially to the officers and the [noncommissioned officers] who, to use Army terms, have made these enlisted people the best that they can be.

    “I think, in interacting with the people, at times if you didn’t see … the rank or the brass they wore on their uniforms, you might not know the difference,” said he added.

    Karen Johnson, senior vice president with Valente and Associates, a government affairs firm based in Washington, D.C., was all smiles when she came off the flight deck after the night operations ended.

    “I thought it was incredible. Seriously, you could just feel it in your gut when they landed and when they took off. It was the most amazing feeling,” Johnson said as she tried in vain to put her hair back in some sort of order.

    At this point, it was nearly 10 p.m. local time. The group had left at 4 a.m. two days earlier and had not seen a bed since. They spent the first day of their trip in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, reviewing military operations there, before boarding an all-night flight to Rio de Janeiro, where they waited all day for their flight to the ship.

    But, Johnson summed up her opportunity on the ship in one sentence as she wrestled to shove her hair up under the souvenir conference hat.

    “It was worth a bad hair day,” she said.

    (Story by Fred W. Baker III, American Forces Press Service.)

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