Druid's Dance Exercise: A Military Training Milestone

Lt. Col. Joe Schulz, an action officer with Air Combat Command's Joint Air Ground Combat Division and an A-10 "Warthog" pilot provides virtual close air support to troops on the ground in Great Britain during the Druid's Dancer exercise. Schulz, using the U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Training and Experimentation Network communicates and interacts with British Joint Terminal Attack Controllers on the ground nearly 3,700 miles away using the same equipment, tactics, techniques and procedures as if he were there in person. This virtual training is the next step in allowing joint coalition forces from around the world to train together in a live-virtual construct without traveling to a central location. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joe Laws)

Focus on Defense:

Pilot Provides Close Air Support From 3,700 Miles Away

SUFFOLK, Va., May 3, 2008 -- A forward air controller spots an enemy target during a training exercise. Using a standard-issue radio, he relays the coordinates for an air strike to a pilot.

Communications are sent back and forth until the target is locked on and eliminated.

It all sounds very ordinary until you realize the controller is standing on the Salisbury Plain west of London and the pilot is flying a simulator at the Joint Warfighting Center here.

As little as two years ago, this scenario would have seemed almost unimaginable, Steve Kostoff, communications planner for the Joint Warfighting Center, said. With recent advances in live virtual constructive training and network connectivity, communication between allies has improved training dramatically, he explained.

"We've demonstrated this capability before in the United States. But now, we're extending it from a U.S. network into a British network," Kostoff said. "It's taken us a long time to solve that problem effectively, but we pretty much have solved it in the case of training. 'Druid's Dance' is the first time we have done this network connection with the United Kingdom."

Druid's Dance is a joint United Kingdom and U.S. Joint Forces Command training exercise designed to train a battle group of soldiers to deploy to the Afghan theater. U.S. forces are experiencing Druid's Dance as a simulation, but U.K. troops are living it as a live exercise.

The new network capability provides better and more cost-effective training by allowing the U.S. and U.K. forces involved in Druid's Dance to communicate through normal methods of communication without having to be in the same area of operations or needing special equipment in the field.

Kostoff said the only field equipment required is a standard radio, replicating the real-world experience. The forward air controller uses a radio to send out a signal. Software converts the signal to data sent through a U.K. network and relayed to the network in Suffolk. A pilot at a work station here receives the transmission and responds with a simulated air strike.

All this happens in real time, with the controller and the pilot in constant communication.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Joe Schulz, an action officer with the Air/Ground Combat Division of Air Combat Command, is one of the pilots who provides simulated close-air support for Druid's Dance and had high praise for the new network and its potential to improve training.

"It's nothing but a positive. I used to be stationed over in England and did a lot of work with the U.K ground FACs. Now, we have the ability to do the same type of work from the United States," Schulz said. "We crawl into our simulator; we make contact with the U.K. forward air controllers and run through a fairly realistic scenario from our home bases. That is going to allow everyone's training to be exponentially better."

The network not only brings better training, but also helps conserve training dollars.

"It costs a lot of money for a jet to get up in the air and fly around for an hour or two to do training. This will never supplant [live] training, but you can do it a lot more often. You can train with greater frequency when you can do it this way, as well," Kostoff said.

Kostoff said the technology used in Druid's Dance is not completely new. Talisman Saber, a joint exercise last year with the Australian armed forces, used a similar network.

"This is the first time we have ever had this kind of network-to-network connection with this ally," Kostoff said. "I was very satisfied that we were finally able to see success come out of two years' effort; it was a lot of hard work. But here we are, and we were talking to the British this morning over the radio. When you do that, it's nice to see the payoff."

Schulz added that the British deserve much of the credit for making the new capability a success.

"We'd be remiss if we didn't really thank the British for all the hard work they put in on their side to make this happen," Schulz said.

Druid's Dance will wrap up May 16. If it proves a success, Kostoff said, the Joint Warfighting Center will expand the program to other allies.

"We plan, by next year, to be able to extend the same capability to Canada. And then after that, we're looking at NATO," Kostoff said. "We have a sister installation at NATO called the Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger, Norway. It's very much like the Joint Warfighting Center. And we've begun work on how we can make connections with that installation and train with them."

Kostoff also is looking beyond just close-air-support training. NATO battle staff and naval warfare training could be the next areas for the new capability, he said.

(Story by Army Spc. Andrew Orillion, U.S. Joint Forces Command Public Affairs.)

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Gates: Afghanistan Command Restructuring Worth Considering

Focus on Defense:

TEXARKANA, Texas, May 3, 2008 -- The concept of increasing U.S. command and control in Afghanistan “is clearly something that needs to be looked at,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday.

Responding to a reporter’s question after touring Red River Army Depot, Gates called the idea that would extend U.S. control into southern Afghanistan “an interesting idea” to be explored.

He emphasized, however, that any change in the command structure in Afghanistan would requires consultation with the coalition partners in Regional Command South, and with consideration of any sensitivities they might have.

NATO took command in southern Afghanistan in mid-2006, and now has overall responsibility throughout the country.

“I think we need to look also at some of our own command and control arrangements,” Gates said. “For example, does it continue to make sense to have two combatant commands involved in one country? And so there are several aspects to this that I think need to be looked at.”

U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan fall under two commands. About 16,000 troops operate under the NATO International Security Assistance Force. Another 18,000 troops support the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom mission.

“We are basically just trying to see, ‘How do you best provide for unity of command, and how do you have the most effective operations possible in Afghanistan?” Gates said. “But we won’t do anything without prior consultation and agreement with our allies.”

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

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Combat Camera: Aboard USS Nimitz; May 3, 2008

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 28, 2008) An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the "Aces" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA 41), prepares to launch from the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Steven Maksinchuk (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 26, 2008) Aviation Electronics Technician 3rd Class Eric Andrews replaces a receiver on an F/A-18C Hornet aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joseph Pol Sebastian Gocong (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 26, 2008) Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman Apprentice Eduardo Ortiz cleans the inside of an F/A-18E Super Hornet intake aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joseph Pol Sebastian Gocong (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 26, 2008) Electrician's Mate Fireman Andrew Edgett operates the pilots landing aid television camera during flight operations aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman John Wagner (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 26, 2008) Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Richard McCarthy, assigned to the "Black Ravens" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 135, prepares to start the engine of an EA-6B Prowler for a ground turn-up aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Orrin Batiste (Released)

GUAM (April 20, 2008) A Black-tipped Shark swims through the coral reefs alongside the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a port visit to Guam. Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Steven Maksinchuk (Released)

GUAM (April 20, 2008) The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) arrives in Guam for a four-day port visit. Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Steven Maksinchuk (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 18, 2008) The President of the Federal States of Micronesia, Emanuel Mori, watches flight operations on the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joseph Pol Sebastian Gocong (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 19, 2008) Aviation Electrician's Mate Airman Jonathan Honebrink cleans a trailing wing on an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the "Sunliners" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81 aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joseph Pol Sebastian Gocong (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 16, 2008) An F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter assigned to the "Black Aces" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 lands aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joseph Pol Sebastian Gocong (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 15, 2008) Sailors assigned to the "Black Aces" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 change out the missile launcher bottle on the wing of an F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Orrin Batiste (Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 15, 2008) Aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 prepare to launch from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman John Wagner (Released)

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Forces in Iraq Kill Three Enemy Fighters

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces killed at least three enemy fighters, captured 55 suspects, and seized weapons in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said.

In Iraq today:

• Coalition troops detained four suspected terrorists during raids in Mosul targeting members of the local al-Qaida in Iraq network responsible for attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces.

• Using information gleaned in previous operations, coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists in a separate raid in Mosul.

• Iraqi and coalition forces captured two wanted men and two additional suspects 15 miles northwest of Baghdad. One of the wanted men is believed to be a leader in the al-Qaida in Iraq bombing network in the northern belt surrounding the Iraqi capital, while the other allegedly operates a bombing cell.

• Coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists during an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq senior leaders and their associates about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad.

• Combined forces in Mosul captured an alleged member of an al-Qaida in Iraq cell that targets security forces with indirect-fire attacks. Coalition forces detained an additional suspect and discovered a cache of weapons near a house.

• In a three-day operation that culminated today, coalition forces seized al-Qaida in Iraq computers and information storage devices and destroyed three weapons caches near Samarra.

During operations in Iraq yesterday:

• As they prepared to stop a vehicle south of Mosul, coalition forces received small-arms fire from another vehicle. Responding to the hostile threat, troops engaged the vehicle, killing three attackers and destroying weapons and ammunition inside. Despite coalition forces’ warnings to stop, the driver of the target vehicle refused to comply. Forces engaged the vehicle, killing the driver. They later found heavy machine guns and other weapons within the vehicle.

• Iraqi army and coalition soldiers detained 32 suspected terrorists in a joint operation in Mosul. The cordon and search took place in the city’s Zanjali and Borsa neighborhoods.

• After witnessing a car bombing that killed a coalition soldier in Baghdad, Iraqi citizens apprehended an enemy fighter involved in the attack and turned the individual over to the Iraqi National Police. Citizens arrested and transferred two others to Iraqi police. All three suspects later tested positive for contact with explosives.

• Coalition forces detained a wanted man in Iskandariyah, 60 miles south of Baghdad. The man is an alleged al-Qaida in Iraq leader in the Arab Jabour area and is believed to conspire directly with the terrorist network’s senior leaders.

• Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, seized two Dragonov sniper rifles, a deadly homemade bomb, and an MP-5 machine gun from the back of a vehicle in southern Baghdad.

• Soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, discovered a weapons cache hidden in a field west of Baghdad. The cache contained two 122 mm mortar rounds, 120 rocket boosters, 544 anti-tank rounds, seven Russian-made rockets of various sizes, ammunition and bomb-making materials.

• While conducting a combat patrol, soldiers from Company A, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, were approached by a local citizen who led them to a weapons cache. The cache contained three rocket-propelled grenades and a launcher.

• A local citizen approached the joint security station in Karb De Gla to turn in a 60 mm mortar round he found. In addition, Iraqi National Police, working in the Abu Tshir community, reported finding a hand grenade.

• Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers and Iraqi police discovered three caches in an abandoned building in southern Baghdad’s Rashid district. The caches contained 10 deadly makeshift bombs and 100 pounds of homemade explosives, dozens of mortar and artillery rounds, 47 rocket-propelled grenades, rockets and other ammunition.

In the Sadr City section of Baghdad yesterday:

• Enemy fighters used small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire to attack soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, around 11:30 a.m. as troops attempted to emplace barriers. An air weapons team providing overwatch for the operation engaged the attackers with a Hellfire missile, killing one and causing the rest to flee.

• As the soldiers continued their barrier-emplacement operation, they saw a suspect in a building with a weapon around 1:45 p.m. An M1A2 Abrams tank crew providing security for the operation fired a 120 mm round and killed the would-be attacker.

• About an hour later, soldiers with 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment came under attack by assailants using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades from a nearby building. An air weapons team fired two Hellfire missiles, and fixed-wing aircraft dropped two precision-guided munitions and destroyed the building, which ended the enemy attacks.

• Soldiers from 1-68th Combined Arms Battalion were attacked at 5:40 p.m. by enemies using small arms from a building while the soldiers were engaged in a barrier-replacement operation. An air weapons team fired two Hellfire missiles, destroying the building and ending the enemy’s attack.

In other news from Iraq, Iraqi special operations forces advised by U.S. Special Forces soldiers captured an Iranian-backed “special groups” commander in Baghdad April 30.

The man is believed to be a weapons smuggler and has reportedly launched attacks with homemade bombs and indirect fire. Intelligence reports link him to a bombing attack in October that killed four U.S. soldiers and a mortar attack that month that killed another, officials said.

During the operation, the Iraqi forces received small-arms fire from enemy fighters and saw two armed men running toward them. The Iraqi troops retaliated and killed them both.

“The detention of this suspect will likely affect the ability of special groups criminals to conduct attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces in the area and will possibly lead to the detention of additional criminals in the area,” said Army Col. Bill Buckner, a Multinational Corps Iraq spokesman.

Elsewhere in Iraq on April 30, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers, acting on tips from local citizens in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad, seized additional weapons and munitions.

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

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First 100 Days of Combat Focus of New Army Handbooks

Bloggers' Roundtable:

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 -- The U.S. Army has published three new handbooks to help soldiers prepare for the first 100 days of combat, officials said on a teleconference with online journalists and “bloggers” yesterday.

Army Col. Steven Mains, director of the Center for Army Lesson Learned, and Milton Hileman, a senior military analyst, explained that there was a small but clear rise in the number of casualties early in a combat deployment, concentrated in the first 100 days.

“It’s not a new phenomenon that … we just figured out and nobody had ever seen before, but it’s something we could clearly show was the case in Iraq,” Mains said.
“And so it drove us to say, well, what do they know at day 250 that they really need to know during those first 100 days?”

After an extensive interview process with approximately 1700 soldiers, Mains and Hileman said that there were three key elements to surviving the first three months; avoiding complacency, good decisions made by junior leaders, and the efficient staff processes at the battalion and brigade level for commanders.

“When we interviewed the soldiers one on one, we asked them to respond back to us as if they were talking to a fellow soldier,” Hileman said.

Overall, the soldiers said they need to stay alert and stay attuned to the environment in order to survive, Hileman said. Avoiding complacency was a reoccurring theme among the soldiers interviewed, he added.

“Soldiers said that complacency in one way or another contributed to every casualty they saw,” Hileman said. “It was little things like not following (standard operating procedures), not having all of your kit when you went out the gate on a mission, leaders not doing their pre-combat inspections, and leaders not being adaptive in the way they plan their mission.”

Mains explained the original idea was to write one handbook for soldiers, but based on what soldiers told them, it grew into another handbook for junior leaders.

“The decisions the junior leaders make clearly affect survivability and mission accomplishment,” said Mains. “And of course, they’re not used to making those decisions because they’re new in theater as well.”

Soldiers expect to have good leadership at every level, Hileman said.

Hileman explained that to a soldier good leadership means willingness to lead from the front and having tactical experience.

“They certainly expect their leaders to share that same level of risk that they shared everyday when they went out on a mission,” said Hileman. “They expect their leaders to set standards and enforce the standards every day.”

Furthermore, Hileman said the soldiers told him that when they identified a weak leader, they tended to create their own informal chain of command.

The soldiers were also asked if they had the right training, and more than 70 percent said their unit was trained and ready to go.

Mains said that while most military handbooks would publish approximately 20,000 copies, the “First Hundred Days” soldiers handbooks have published more than 200,000 copies.

“We know that four countries are translating it for their own soldiers,” said Mains. “And the other two handbooks are really close behind that.”

Mains also said the Army is going to publish a handbook focused on transition teams. Transition teams are “not quite as focused on going on patrol and staying alive as a junior soldier might be, but they need to come in quickly and gain rapport with … the guy that they’re advising,” he said.
(Story by Navy Seaman William Selby, New Media branch of American Forces Information Service.)

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Marines Say Osprey Has Proven Itself in Iraq

CENTRAL IRAQ (2008 FILE PHOTO) An MV-22 Osprey vertical-lift aircraft is refueled before a night mission in central Iraq. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Joe Kane (Released)

Focus on Defense:

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 -- The MV-22 Osprey has proven itself in Iraq, and Marine officials are applying the lessons learned in the first operational deployment of the tilt-rotor aircraft to current operations.

“We’re immensely proud of the Marines of Tilt-Rotor Squadron 263, who took on the challenging task of the first combat deployment of the Osprey,” Lt. Gen. George J. Trautman, deputy commandant for Marine Corps aviation, said here today.

The MV-22 takes off and lands as a helicopter, but flies like an airplane.

Trautman, squadron commander Lt. Col. Paul Rock, MV-22 pilot Capt. Sara Faibisoff, and crew chief Sgt. Danny Herrman briefed Pentagon reporters on the squadron’s deployment to Iraq. The unit deployed from Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., in September 2007 and returned last week.

Trautman said the decision to send the MV-22 to Iraq was the right one. It gave the Marines and soldiers in Anbar province “the best assault support aircraft” ever made, he said.

The MV-22 handled every mission it was assigned, Rock said. The unit flew more than 2,500 sorties during its seven-month deployment, with each of its aircraft flying an average of 62 hours per month. Rock said before the deployment, officials forecast each MV-22 would fly around 50 hours per month.

The aircraft was easier to maintain than the CH-46 helicopters it replaced. The 46 is 1950s-based technology, and mechanics put in 24 hours of maintenance on those aircraft for every hour in the air. The MV-22 took about 9.5 hours of maintenance for every hour of flight.

The squadron deployed with 10 aircraft. “On any given day, about seven aircraft were mission ready,” Rock said. “That was more than sufficient to meet our daily taskings.”

The biggest surprise for the Marines was the vastly increased payload and greatly increased range the Osprey brings to the mission. Herrman said that, in loading the aircraft, he would often run out of cubic space rather than exceeding the weight the aircraft could handle.

The range and speed of the aircraft also were pleasant surprises. Faibisoff told of flying a medical evacuation mission on Christmas Day. She picked up a Marine with a ruptured appendix in a remote base well south of Al Asad Air Base. The aircraft was able to launch and get the Marine to medical help in 56 minutes -- well within the “golden hour,” a rule of thumb that gives an ill or injured person the best chance for survival if treated within the first hour of being stricken.

“We were off deck within 15 minutes of receiving the call and headed for a zone about 90 miles south of Al Asad,” she said.

Computer software makes the aircraft easy to fly, and it was able to handle the desert environment, Faibisoff said.

The aircraft flew raid operations and scout missions, and conducted tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel. The squadron also flew alert missions and casualty evacuations.

“The overwhelming majority of what we did was general support -- taking people, gear, combat equipment all over the very large battle space,” Rock said.

The combat conditions in Anbar province had improved to such a degree that the aircraft never had to fly into a landing zone while hostilities were under way. Still, Rock said, squadron aircraft came under small-arms fire once and rocket fire once. “Taking advantage of the aircraft’s performance (means that) somebody’s opportunity to engage us is very short,” he said.

The Marine Corps is looking at adding an all-aspect, all-quadrant weapon on the MV-22.

“The system we’re looking at now with the [U.S.] Special Operations Command is an all-aspect weapon that would be mounted in the belly of the aircraft,” Trautman said. The weapon will fire in any direction and be controlled by a gunner inside the airplane.

Another MV-22 squadron is operating at Al Asad Air Base today. The service will create two more squadrons each year.

“We’re on a journey to exploit a new and revolutionary technology,” Trautman said. “We’re going to continue to learn lessons and we’re going to continue to improve and we’re going to work hard to exploit the capability this aircraft.”

(Story by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service.)

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Combat Camera: Marines in Helmand Province, Afghanistan

Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO – International Security Assistance Force conduct operations in Garmsir District, Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 29, 2008. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Robert Piper, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs.)

Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO – International Security Assistance Force conduct operations in Garmsir District, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Robert Piper, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs.)

Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO – International Security Assistance Force conduct operations in Garmsir District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Robert Piper, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs.)

Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO – International Security Assistance Force conduct operations in Garmsir District, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Robert Piper, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs.)

Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO – International Security Assistance Force conduct operations in Garmsir District, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Robert Piper, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs.)

Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO – International Security Assistance Force conduct operations in Garmsir District, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Robert Piper, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs.)

Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO – International Security Assistance Force conduct operations in Garmsir District, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photographer: Staff Sgt. Robert Piper, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs.)

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U.S. Condemns Iraq Suicide Bombings that Killed 29, Wounded 52

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 -- Military officials condemned a pair of suicide bombings that occurred near an Iraqi hospital today, killing 29 Iraqis and wounding 52.

In the small Diyala province village of Balad Ruz, an Iraqi woman, disguising deadly explosives in a mock-pregnant belly, detonated her suicide bomb next to a children's shoe store and a cafe. As emergency response units arrived on the scene, a male bomber detonated his suicide explosives, military officials said.

“By striking near a hospital, targeting civilians and wounding even small children, the enemy has once again demonstrated its total depravity and complete disregard for human life,” said Maj. Geoffrey M. Schmalz, executive officer of 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

“While the citizens and leaders of Balad Ruz work to build their community, the enemy seeks only to kill and destroy," Schmalz added.

(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)

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Troops in Afghanistan Capture Three Enemy Fighters

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 -- Coalition and Afghan forces captured three militants during operations in Afghanistan yesterday, military officials said.

Combined forces detained two enemy fighters in a joint raid aimed at degrading militant operations in Khowst province. Troops detained the targeted militant and his associate while searching compounds in Khowst district for operatives of the pro-Taliban Haqqani network.

In other news from Afghanistan, a militant appeared at Forward Operating Base Mando Zayi to complain that coalition forces had searched his house in the Nadar Shah Kot district the previous night. When coalition forces identified him as the militant targeted in the previous night's search, they apprehended him.

The militant is suspected of being a Haqqani network extremist who has smuggled weapons and conducted bombing attacks against coalition forces.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 101 news releases.)

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NASA Invites You to Send Your Name to the Moon

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 (AFPN) -- NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft. The LRO is scheduled for launch in late 2008.

The Send Your Name to the Moon Web site enables everyone to participate in the lunar adventure and place his or her name in orbit around the moon for years to come.

Participants can submit their information, print a certificate and have their name entered into a database. The database will be placed on a microchip that will be integrated onto the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008.

"Everyone who sends their name to the moon, like I'm doing, becomes part of the next wave of lunar explorers," said Cathy Peddie, deputy project manager for LRO at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The LRO mission is the first step in NASA's plans to return humans to the moon by 2020, and your name can reach there first. How cool is that?"

The orbiter, comprising six instruments and one technology demonstration, will provide the most comprehensive data set ever returned from the moon. The mission will focus on the selection of safe landing sites and identification of lunar resources. It also will study how the lunar radiation environment could affect humans.

LRO also will create a comprehensive atlas of the moon's features and resources that will be needed as NASA designs and builds a planned lunar outpost. The mission will support future human exploration while providing a foundation for upcoming science missions.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is being built at Goddard. The mission also will be managed at the center for NASA's Explorations Systems Mission Directorate in Washington.

Send Your Name to the Moon is a collaborative effort among NASA, the Planetary Society in Pasadena, Calif., and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

(From a U.S. Air Force press release.)

Related: Send Your Name to the Moon Web site

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Air Force Suspends Training Flights of T-38C

A T-38C Talon similar to this one crashed May 1 at Sheppard Air Base, Texas. The T-38 Talon is a twin-engine, high-altitude, supersonic jet trainer used in a variety of roles because of its design, economy of operations, ease of maintenance, high performance and exceptional safety record. It is used primarily by Air Education and Training Command for undergraduate pilot and pilot instructor training. Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration also use the T-38 in various roles. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Focus on Defense:

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, May 2, 2008 (AFPN) -- Air Education and Training Command officials suspended flights of T-38C Talon aircraft May 1 following a fatal crash at Sheppard AFB, Texas.

The crash was the second in two weeks involving a T-38, following an April 23 accident in which two pilots were killed when their T-38 crashed at Columbus AFB, Miss.

General William R. Looney III, AETC commander, directed the stand-down.

"We have no evidence that these incidents are related," General Looney said. "But until we have a more complete understanding of the causes of both accidents, it's prudent to stand down the T-38's."

The causes of both crashes are under investigation.

The Air Force has approximately 500 T-38 aircraft in its inventory. The T-38 is used in AETC to prepare student pilots for future training in fighter and bomber aircraft.

(From a U.S. Air Force press release.)

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Gates Reviews Long-Term Prospects, Purpose in Iraq

News in Balance:

The Question in Iraq is 'What’s the Endgame?'

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 -- The question for the American people is not whether the United States ought to be in Iraq, but what the endgame is, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said at Fort Bliss, Texas, yesterday.

Gates spoke at a news conference after touring the Restoration and Resilience Center at the West Texas base.

Gates said Iraq will require a residual U.S. presence for years. “I think the question is, at this point, not whether or not we should be in Iraq. We are there,” the secretary said. “The question is, what's the endgame?”

The U.S. government and coalition allies in Iraq have to manage the final phases of the Iraqi conflict in a way that doesn’t “leave us with a bigger problem in Iraq than we started with,” the secretary said.

U.S. officials have said throughout the war that the goal in Iraq is to have a democratically elected, representative government in place that is an ally in the war on terror, is not a threat to its neighbors and yet can still defend itself. Gates said defense leaders have to manage the process in such a way that American servicemembers pull back from the major combat role, turning that mission over to increasingly capable Iraqi security forces.

“My own view is, we are going to require a residual presence in Iraq, of some size, for a period of years, as a stabilization force to help go after al-Qaida, [and] to continue training Iraqis,” Gates said. “But I think that, despite our impatience as we enter the sixth year of the war, we still have to handle the end of the war and the end of our participation in major combat in a sensible and thoughtful way.”

Gates said he approves of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sending a delegation to Iran to discuss that nation’s support of terrorism in Iraq. “I think it's a very important step, and I think that the Iranians do care about what the shape of their future relationship with Iraq will be,” Gates said.

He said the delegation will force the Iranians to make a choice to either support or subvert the Iraqi government. “For a Shiite prime minister to send a delegation to Iran, presumably to confront the Iranians with that kind of a choice, I think, is a healthy development,” Gates said.

The secretary also received a briefing on the implications of the base realignment and closure process -- Fort Bliss is scheduled to receive between 20,000 and 25,000 soldiers, civilian employees, and family members by 2011 -- and spoke at the Army Sergeants Major Academy.

(Story by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service.)

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Forces in Iraq Kill, Detain Terrorism Suspects

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces killed and captured suspected terrorists in various operations around Iraq over the past three days, military officials reported.

During operations in Iraq yesterday:

• Coalition surveillance teams in the Tigris River Valley, 85 miles south of Mosul, saw armed men entering a vehicle behind a targeted building. Coalition aircraft engaged the vehicle and killed five of them. The vehicle then erupted with secondary explosions, indicating that weapons and ammunition likely were inside. Ground forces killed an additional suspected terrorist in the raid and detained another.

• An air weapons team used a Hellfire missile to engage and kill three enemy fighters in a vehicle around 2 a.m. in northeastern Baghdad. Earlier in the evening, coalition forces saw the men placing a homemade explosive before fleeing in the vehicle.

• Coalition aircraft struck a known Iranian-backed senior “special groups” leader in the Sadr City section of Bagdad at 2:17 p.m. The leader is responsible for criminal acts against Iraqi citizens and coalition forces, according to military intelligence. It is unclear whether the air strike injured or killed the targeted suspect, officials said.

• Troops captured an alleged suicide-car-bombing associate in Abu Ghraib, 10 miles west of Baghdad, and another man believed to be preparing to carry out a suicide attack.

• Iraqi and coalition forces in Tuz, some 50 miles south of Kirkuk, detained two suspected terrorists while targeting an individual believed to have long-standing ties to the local al-Qaida in Iraq network.

• Coalition troops captured two wanted individuals in Mosul during a raid targeting associates of al-Qaida in Iraq leaders.

• Coalition forces captured an alleged bombing network associate in Beiji.

In Iraq Wednesday:

• Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, came under indirect fire and heavy machine gun fire from a vehicle in northeastern Baghdad. The soldiers retaliated and killed seven attackers.

• Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, saw enemy fighters loading multiple rockets onto a launch sled in Sadr City at about 3 p.m. The soldiers engaged the men before they could fire the rockets, killing five of them. About 20 minutes later, troops killed another man as he attempted to recover the rockets, which coalition forces later destroyed.

• Attackers in Sadr City fired rocket-propelled grenades at soldiers from 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment. The soldiers returned fire and killed three enemy fighters.

• Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, received rocket-propelled-grenade and small-arms fire while emplacing barriers in northeastern Baghdad. The troops returned fire and killed three enemy fighters.

• Soldiers from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, operating an unmanned aerial vehicle, witnessed two armed men, including one bearing a rifle on the rooftop of a house. Soldiers fired one Hellfire missile from the UAV, killing both enemy fighters and destroying their weapon.

• Enemy fighters attacked soldiers with small-arms fire in northeastern Baghdad around 8:10 p.m. The soldiers retaliated and killed two attackers.

• Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, positively identified an Iranian-backed “special groups” operative with an RPK machine gun. Acting in self-defense, the soldiers returned fire and killed the individual.

• Troops captured a wanted man and detained an additional suspect while targeting al-Qaida in Iraq operatives in Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood. The wanted man is believed to be associated with an al-Qaida in Iraq leader responsible for car bombing and suicide attacks in the Iraqi capital.

• Coalition forces captured two suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists in Mosul, using information gleaned from an April 21 operation. One suspect is a wanted man allegedly associated with several senior terrorist leaders in the city.

• Iraqi and coalition forces nabbed an alleged al-Qaida in Iraq operative in Kirkuk and an additional suspected terrorist. The alleged operative is believed to have ties to senior terrorist leaders both in Kirkuk and Mosul.

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

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U.S. Carrier Activity in Persian Gulf 'Routine,' Generals Say

PERSIAN GULF (FILE PHOTO, April 2008) Two F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighters prepare to launch from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Truman is on a scheduled deployment supporting maritime security operations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo J. Reyes (Released)

Focus on Defense:

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2008 -- The presence of two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, interpreted by some as an indication of an imminent attack on Iran, is just a routine rotation, two senior military officers told Pentagon reporters here yesterday.

“Obviously, we’re constantly rotating our forces, including the maritime forces. So it’s not particularly unusual to have two carriers in the CentCom area of responsibility,” said Army Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Joint Chiefs of Staff director for operations. CentCom is the U.S. Central Command, with headquarters in Tampa, Fla., which overseas operations in the Middle East.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln recently joined the USS Harry Truman in the gulf. Ham said the two ships would conduct routine operations over a one- to two-day period.

Having two carriers operating close together in that part of the world is not unusual, Ham pointed out, noting the ships can practice joint mission tactics and procedures. “So, again, I wouldn’t read more into this than there is,” Ham said. “It is two carriers deployed for a very, very short period of time for those purposes.”

Although the Pentagon makes plans for possible contingencies, there has been no heightened activity for a military campaign against Iran, Marine Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, who accompanied Ham at the news conference, told reporters. Sattler is the Joint Chief’s director for strategic plans and policies.

There has been “no order or stepped-up effort to plan anywhere, and I’ll just leave it at that,” he emphasized.

The generals’ statements mirrored recent comments by Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, who was accompanying Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates during an official visit to Mexico City. “Let me make this abundantly clear,” Morrell told reporters in Mexico’s capital yesterday. “There are no new directives, no new plans in the works, no efforts to plan for a possible war with Iran.”

The United States is focusing on using diplomatic and economic tools to persuade the Iranian regime to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs, Morrell said.

Iran is still suspected of aiding illegal militias operating in eastern Baghdad’s Sadr City sector and in some other areas of Iraq, Ham said, despite a declared commitment by the Iranians to stem the flow of insurgent fighters and military material from Iran into Iraq.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also believes the best way to modify Iran’s behavior toward Iraq “is not through military means,” Ham said.

(Story by Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service.)

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