Combat Camera: Marines and Sailors Fight Indiana Flood

Freshly made sandwiches wait while Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fill sandbags June 9, 2008, in Elnora, Ind. The Marines and sailors began working at 4 a.m. and continued throughout the day. Local authorities in Elnora requested the 26th MEU to provide support to reinforce the levees from flooding of the White River. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Patrick M. Johnson-Campbell.)

Marine Cpl. Corey R. Read shovels sand into a sandbag held by Lance Cpl. Glenn A. Rini, both Marines of Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, June 9, 2008, in Elnora, Ind. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Patrick M. Johnson-Campbell.)

Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, move a hose through the water from the White River June 9, 2008, in Elnora, Ind. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Patrick M. Johnson-Campbell.)

Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph S. Angelicchi, Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, receives a sand bag from Delmar L. Knepp a welder and local resident of Elnora, Ind., June 9, 2008, in Elnora. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Patrick M. Johnson-Campbell.)

Marines and sailors of 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit attempt to stop a spillage caused by flooding of the White River June 9, 2008, in Elnora, Ind. (U. S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Patrick M. Johnson-Campbell.)

Marines and sailors of 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit stack sandbags to reinforce the levees June 9, 2008, in Elnora, Ind. (U. S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Patrick M. Johnson-Campbell.)

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Guard Unit to Fly F-22 Raptors for Homeland Security

The Virginia Air National Guard's 192nd Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Va., is the first Air Guard unit to fly the F-22 Raptor, like those shown here flying over New Mexico, in support of Operation Noble Eagle. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Russell Scalf.)

On the Home Front:

Operation Noble Eagle

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va., June 14, 2008 -- The Virginia Air National Guard's 192nd Fighter Wing here is the first Air Guard unit to fly the F-22 Raptor in support of Operation Noble Eagle.

Operation Noble Eagle was established by President George W. Bush to protect the American homeland following the terrorist attacks in September 2001.

Aircrews from the wing's 149th Fighter Squadron fly the Raptor.

"The mission for the protection of the homeland has not changed for us since the inception of Operation Noble Eagle," said Lt. Col. James Cox, 149th FS commander. The capability of the 149th to carry out the mission has been greatly increased because of the abilities of the F-22.

The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions providing a diverse aerial combat capability for operational concepts. One concept the F-22 has become involved with here is Total Force Integration. An example of TFI is the combination of two force components -- active duty and Air Guard in this case -- sharing the responsibility of one mission -- Operation Noble Eagle.

Under the TFI construct, the active duty 1st FW and the 192nd FW provide combat forces in a more cost-effective manner to support the defense of the nation, said Lt. Col. David Nardi, 149th Fighter Squadron operations officer. This is the first time the Air Guard has operated with a front-line fighter soon after it reached full operational capability.

The 1st FW and 192nd FW combined in October 2007 under TFI. That move made the 192nd the first Air Guard unit to operate the F-22.

"The integration of the two wings provides the combat capabilities we need to execute the Operation Noble Eagle mission," said Colonel Nardi. The TFI construct adds a tremendous amount of ability from all critical areas required in protecting the nation and fulfilling the Air Force mission around the world.

The F-22 flew its first active-duty flight in support of Operation Noble Eagle in January 2007. The 1st FW's 27th FS was the first unit to conduct an operational flight with live ordnance loaded in the Raptor.

"We do the same thing for Operation Noble Eagle as we would do in theater, in support of the troops," said Colonel Cox. "The F-22 has performed brilliantly and we have seen our best response times to date."

(Story by David Hopper, Air Combat Command Public Affairs.)

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Insurgency Not Spreading, But Challenges Remain in Afghanistan, U.S. General Says

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2008 -- Though statistics indicate the insurgency in Afghanistan is not expanding, multiple challenges remain there, the U.S. officer who just finished his tour as commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan said here today.

“I do not share the view that many do that this thing is spreading; it’s not,” Army Gen. Dan K. McNeill told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

“The empirical data doesn’t support that,” McNeill emphasized.

McNeill, who recently wrapped up a 16-month duty tour in Afghanistan as commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, shared his experiences and thoughts about his prior command. He is preparing to retire from the Army after a 40-year career. Army Gen. David D. McKiernan assumed command of NATO’s ISAF from McNeill.

The current situation in Afghanistan “sort of goes against those who say the insurgency is spreading,” McNeill observed. “I’m not sure that it is; I think it is staying roughly in the same places.”

Statistics compiled over the past two years, McNeill said, show that most insurgent attacks continue to occur in just 10 percent of Afghanistan’s territory, confined mostly in the southeastern provinces.

Intelligence estimates, McNeill noted, indicate there are between 5,000 and 20,000 insurgents in Afghanistan.

About 48,000 international troops are serving with ISAF in Afghanistan, including about 18,000 U.S. troops. The more than 3,000 U.S. Marines dispatched to Afghanistan earlier this year already are making an impact, McNeill said, especially 2,000 of those Marines working with British forces to put the squeeze on Taliban militants in a previously unpatrolled section of Helmand province.

“We knew it was a dark hole and we had to get to it; we simply didn’t have the force” until the Marines arrived to exert pressure on the insurgents, McNeill recalled.

A much-ballyhooed Taliban spring offensive didn’t materialize this year, McNeill noted, citing stepped-up efforts of U.S. and NATO forces, as well as the contributions provided by increasingly capable Afghan soldiers and police. There are now about 60,000 Afghan soldiers, the general noted, up from about 20,000 soldiers available last year.

Security has improved in Afghanistan, McNeill said, as provincial reconstruction teams’ efforts continue across the country. Myriad roads, schools and hospitals have been built across the country, he said, and Afghanistan’s infant mortality rate has fallen.

Yet, whatever occurs in Afghanistan is really a regional issue, McNeill emphasized. Afghanistan’s neighbors, some of which may cast a fearful eye at its fledgling democratic government, can be of immense help, he said.

“Anybody who wants to have a view of Afghanistan, and who does so only in the context of Afghanistan, in my belief, will opine incorrectly about Afghanistan about 99 percent of the time,” McNeill said. “If you cannot see it as a regional issue, you will not see it clearly.”

Pakistan’s federally administered tribal area in the country’s remote northwest region offers a sanctuary and training area for terrorists, according to senior U.S. officials. Regions like the tribal areas and other places adjacent to Afghanistan, McNeill said, present a “great risk” of collusion between Taliban militants and transnational terrorists such as al-Qaida. Terrorists, he said, are known to enter Afghanistan from Pakistan from points along the two countries’ long, porous border.

The illegal cultivation of poppy plants, McNeill said, is another serious issue that threatens Afghanistan as well as the region. The powerful illegal narcotic heroin is derived from poppy plants, and insurgents in Afghanistan are heavily involved in the poppy-producing business to fund their activities.

“It is something that the Afghans have to take on,” McNeill said. “I don’t think the international community can do this for them. We can support them, and we can back them up, but if they want [southern Afghanistan] a little calmer, they’re going to have to take on this business of narcotics.”

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

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Forces in Afghanistan Thwart Ambushes, Kill Enemy Fighters

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2008 -- Coalition and Afghan forces thwarted three ambushes, killing at least 17 enemy fighters and seizing explosive materials and weapons in Afghanistan over the past two days, military officials said.

About 100 militants attacked coalition and Afghan forces today with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in the Tarin Kowt district of Uruzgan province, before fleeing into a nearby village.

Coalition aircraft identified and engaged the enemy position with a precision air strike. Military officials did not indicate if, or how many, militants were killed in the counterstrike.

Today’s engagement comes a day after an unknown number of enemy fighters attacked a combined reconnaissance patrol in Tarin Kowt district.

The ambush in the restive area yesterday occurred as coalition and Afghan forces investigated a site used by militants to attack an Afghan army checkpoint earlier this week, military officials said.

Combined forces retaliated with an air strike that killed an estimated 17 militants. The strike triggered a secondary explosion in a compound, where forces later recovered remnants of bomb-making materials.

In a separate operation yesterday, armed militants fired on coalition forces from a compound in the Zurmat district while troops were searching for two militant leaders. Military officials said the leaders are linked to attacks against Afghan government and coalition forces.

The force responded with small-arms fire and air strikes, killing several militants inside a building. One militant detonated a suicide-bomb in the compound, killing only himself. A woman inside the building died as a result of the coalition counterstrike.

Coalition forces also discovered multiple AK-47 assault rifles, a sniper rifle, ammunition vests, small-arms ammunition, and grenades in the operation.

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

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Larger Force in Afghanistan May Be 'Counterintuitive' U.S. General Says

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2008 -- The current number of forces in Afghanistan is enough to accomplish the mission, but it’ll take awhile to do so, the U.S. officer who just finished his tour as commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan said here today.

“Let’s just say that somebody waved a magic wand, and by gosh, between the Afghans and the international force you’d produced a force that was well over 400,000,” Army Gen. Dan K. McNeill said to reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

That larger force, McNeill said, likely would produce “instant quiet” across much of Afghanistan.

Yet, “in some areas you’d see a different kind of friction arising,” McNeill predicted, as the Afghans probably would become incensed at having so many foreign troops in their land.

“So, probably, to get that many [troops] in there would be somewhat counterintuitive,” the four-star general said.

McNeill, who recently wrapped up a 16-month duty tour in Afghanistan as commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, shared his experiences and thoughts about his prior command. He is preparing to retire from the Army after a 40-year career. Army Gen. David D. McKiernan assumed command of NATO’s ISAF from McNeill.

The number 400,000 was obtained through a mathematical formula derived from U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine that factors in a country’s landmass and population, McNeill explained. That force, he noted, would include diplomatic and reconstruction specialists, as well as U.S., NATO and Afghan security forces.

The aim of a counterinsurgency operation, McNeill pointed out, is to defeat the enemy’s strategy by separating the people from the insurgents.

“You need reconstruction, you need the right kind of governance,” in addition to security forces during counterinsurgency operations, McNeill pointed out.

Everyone acknowledges that anti-insurgent forces in Afghanistan are under-resourced, McNeill said. And there’s little chance, he noted, that those forces would be greatly increased.

“The answer is, we’ve got the get the Afghans enabled” to conduct their own security, McNeill said.

It’s important, McNeill said, to contemplate the state of the wills of the U.S. and European governments, as well as the Afghan people, to see the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan through to the end.

However, if there are going to be terrorist sanctuaries just out of reach of NATO or Afghan forces, McNeill said, then it doesn’t matter how many terrorists are destroyed in Afghanistan.

“And, so it seems to me, at some juncture, the Afghans have to take on the responsibility for security of their own battle space,” McNeill said. The Afghans, he noted, “are well on their way to doing that.”

It’ll take a few years for the Afghans to be ready to provide for their own security, McNeill predicted, noting Afghan forces will start taking over some of the battle space in their country around August.

The United States, its NATO allies and the Afghans accomplish the job with an under-resourced force structure, McNeill told reporters.

“It will simply take longer,” he explained. “If you want a faster rate of progress, you need a more capable force. If you’re not willing to make the force more capable, then you have to accept the pace that you presently have, which by some people’s reckoning is somewhat slow.”

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

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U.S. Army Invention Saves Severely Injured Troops

Focus on Defense:

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, June 13, 2008 -- A new lifesaving standard of care has garnered the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research here a prestigious recognition: invention of the year.

The innovation, called Damage Control Resuscitation of Severely Injured Soldiers, was named one of the Army’s “Top Ten Greatest Inventions of 2007.”

“The American Association for Trauma Surgeons calls this one of the biggest improvements to trauma care in the last 10 years,” said Michael Dubick, senior research pharmacologist for the Institute of Surgical Research. The invention is aimed at saving severely injured soldiers with internal injuries that cannot be compressed using a tourniquet or other device, Dubick said.

The institute focused its attention on severely injured soldiers after analyzing data from an autopsy study that showed 79 percent of servicemembers killed in combat died of hemorrhage, and 70 percent had an injury that couldn’t be compressed.

“We needed to find a better way to stop bleeding,” Dubick said. “In theater, there was no solution for people with noncompressible injuries.”

The innovation involves the fluid resuscitation process, in which IV fluids and blood products are used to stabilize a patient’s physiology. The standard method is to administer IV salt solutions in an amount that is three times the patient’s blood volume. If the patient is still bleeding, blood transfusions are given to restore lost blood.

In most cases, this method is effective for wounded troops, but for some severely injured warriors, the massive volume of fluids and blood can create a negative effect, Dubick said.

“The body has only a finite amount of clotting factors,” he explained, “and a large volume of fluids can dilute those clotting factors, which reduces their ability to slow down or stop the bleeding.”

Under the new standard of care, fluid resuscitation with salt solutions is limited, which keeps the blood pressure from rising too high and “popping” newly formed blood clots. In addition, blood volume is restored using plasma as the primary resuscitation fluid, along with packed red blood cells.

But rather than using the standard of four times the amount of red blood cells to plasma, “we use a ratio of 1-to-1 of plasma to red blood cells,” Dubick said.

Dubick said early use of a clotting factor called “rFVIIa” also has been beneficial. The factor normally is used for hemophiliacs, but it has proven beneficial for severely injured warriors. Other blood products, such as platelets and “cryoprecipitate,” are used as needed.

The reduction in fluids not only increases the patient’s short-term chances of survival, but also helps long-term treatment, since “there is less fluid built up in organs, and surgeons have a better field of operation,” Dubick said.

While the innovation is gaining recognition stateside, it already has had a striking impact in the combat theater, decreasing the mortality rate from 65 to 17 percent.

The impact of this change in the standard of care is so striking, Dubick said, that “some liken this standard of care to the first time someone applied antibiotics.”

The military innovation also is gaining civilian attention.

“We’ve met with over 26 civilian centers and are working with 16 of them,” Dubick said.

As word of the lifesaving measure begins to spread, Dubick said, he and his fellow scientists already are looking ahead, working with a company to produce freeze-dried plasma. In its natural state, plasma has a limited shelf life and is subject to temperature requirements.

The scientists also would like to develop a shelf-stable artificial blood with clotting factors that would enable medics to provide early intervention at the site of injury, Dubick said.

“The majority of patients bleed to death in the first five to 10 minutes,” Dubick said. “We believe that procedures like this one can save soldiers who survive beyond 10 minutes -- keep them alive long enough to get to the hospital and to surgery. It’s a remarkable innovation.”

Dubick’s team for the project includes Jill Sondeen and Charles Wade, from the Institute of Surgical Research; Philip Spinella, Brooke Army Medical Center; Army Maj. Jeremy Perkins, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; Air Force Maj. Matthew Borgman, Wilford Hall Medical Center; and Army Col. John Holcomb, ISR commander.

The invention was the only medical innovation to make the Army’s Top Ten cut, and marks the third year of the last four that the Institute of Surgical Research has made it to the Top Ten list. The winning programs are selected based on their impact on Army capabilities, inventiveness and potential benefit outside the Army.

(Story by Elaine Wilson, Fort Sam Houston Public Information Office.)

Related Site: U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research

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Troops in Iraq Kill 9, Nab 24, Seize Weapons

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed nine enemy fighters, captured more than 24 suspects, and seized weapons across Iraq in the past three days, military officials said.

In operations today:

• Coalition forces captured a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist near Lake Tharthar and three alleged foreign terrorist facilitators in Beiji, about 62 miles south of Mosul.

• Coalition troops detained two suspected terrorists in separate raids just north of Baghdad. Military officials said the operations degraded al-Qaida’s network in the northern belt around the Iraqi capital.

• Troops also captured a wanted man and an associate near Biaj, about 80 miles southwest of Mosul.

During operations yesterday:

• Coalition forces killed five gunmen and captured two suspected members of Iranian-backed “special groups” near Hillah, about 45 miles south of Baghdad. Troops acted in self-defense, military officials said.

• Coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists during two-day operations in Mosul that culminated yesterday. The raids targeted associates of al-Qaida in Iraq leaders in the northern city.

• Coalition troops detained three individuals, including a wanted man with suspected ties to an al-Qaida in Iraq bombing network that operates in the Tigris River valley.

• Troops also targeted associates of al-Qaida in Iraq leaders in the southern belt around the Iraqi capital, capturing three suspected terrorists west of Baghdad.

• Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained three suspected special groups members. Those captured are associated with attacks yesterday against Iraqi civilians and coalition forces in Baghdad's Rashid district, military officials said.

• Coalition forces captured a special groups weapons smuggler in Kut, about 110 miles southeast of Baghdad. Troops also detained several others in the operation, military officials said.

• Iraqi security forces and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers uncovered nearly 10 weapons caches throughout the Iraqi capital. The stockpiles comprised scores of munitions, assault rifles, grenades, homemade explosives and military equipment.

Al-Qaida fighters near the town of Ishaki in Salahuddin province attacked the homes of several members of a citizen security group known as “Sons of Iraq” On June 11. The citizens successfully defended their homes in the ensuing firefight, killing four enemy fighters. Three Sons of Iraq members suffered injuries, military officials said.

Elsewhere in Iraq that day, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers seized several weapons in an operation in the New Baghdad security district of the Iraqi capital. Soldiers with 66th Armor Regiment, attached to the 10th Mountain Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, seized assault rifles and pistols in the raid.

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

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Air Force Predator Crashes in Afghanistan

An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, like this one sitting in a hangar at Balad Air Base, Iraq, crashed shortly after takeoff June 12 from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Steffen.)

Dispatches from the Front:

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, June 13, 2008 -- An Air Force MQ-1 Predator crashed following takeoff at approximately 2 a.m. local time June 12 here.

The aircraft was approximately six miles south of Kandahar Airfield.

The aircraft is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft. The MQ-1's primary mission is conducting armed reconnaissance.

A board will be convened to investigate the accident.

(Story by by Capt. Toni Tones, 455 Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs.)

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'Battered' al-Qaida Remains 'Lethal Foe,' Head of Joint Chiefs Says

News in Balance:

Al-Qaida is “on the run in Iraq.”--Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 -- Although al-Qaida’s operations in Iraq have been battered, the terrorist organization remains a threat to be reckoned with, the U.S. military’s top officer said here today.

Al-Qaida is “on the run in Iraq,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted at a Government Executive Magazine-hosted breakfast at the National Press Club. The terrorists, he said, are being pressured by U.S. and Iraqi security forces, as well as concerned citizens who want al-Qaida out of their country.

However, al-Qaida remains a “lethal foe” of the United States, Mullen cautioned, noting the terrorist group hasn’t given up its intent to attack America again. Al-Qaida, he noted, even is “growing in some parts of the world,” such as the Horn of Africa region.

Al-Qaida’s leadership “is still planning against us,” Mullen pointed out. The terrorist group, he said, runs training camps in northwestern Pakistan’s federally administered tribal areas, and al-Qaida operatives are known to enter Afghanistan from Pakistan to attack coalition and Afghan security forces.

U.S. and Pakistani troops aligned along the border have cooperated in efforts to stem the flow of insurgents into Afghanistan, Mullen said.

The United States and Pakistan, he said, both are investigating a recent border incident in which Pakistan claims some of its troops were killed by U.S. munitions during an anti-insurgent operation.

“The details of this [incident] are still not clear,” Mullen said, noting the investigation is continuing.

Mullen cited the difficulty of maintaining security along what he described as a “porous” Afghanistan-Pakistan border. “It’s a very challenging area,” Mullen said of the border region, noting Pakistan has a serious extremist problem.

Pakistan is a sovereign nation with a new government that will have to grapple with the extremist issue, along with food, energy and other challenges, Mullen observed.

Pakistan also is an ally of the United States in the war against terrorism, Mullen pointed out, and a number of pacts between the two nations regarding border security and other issues are being worked.

The United States made prior agreements with Pakistan regarding border security issues that realized limited success, Mullen recalled.

“These agreements have occurred before, but they haven’t been enforced,” Mullen noted.

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

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National Guard Floods Midwest States With Assistance as Waters Rise

Army Spc. Joseph Stamm, 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry, helps residents load sandbags into their vehicle in Martinsville, Ind. Flash floods tore through the area after more than 10 inches of rain poured over the already saturated land. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. William E. Henry, Indiana National Guard.)

On the Home Front:

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 -- Governors in four of six Midwestern states affected by heavy rains and subsequent flooding called out more than 2,000 National Guard members this week as flood waters forced residents from their homes, left thousands without power and damaged infrastructure.

The severe weather began in the region June 4 and continued for several days, with flood waters continuing to rise today. It included heavy rains, tornadoes, hail, severe lighting and, in one instance, nearly 11 inches of rain near the Indianapolis area within a matter of hours.

Many officials were comparing the floods to the Midwest's historic "Great Flood of 1993," which caused an estimated $15 billion in damage.

National Guard members in Indiana, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Iowa were continuing their support to civil authorities with manpower and equipment today. Helping them were additional Guard members from neighboring states.

In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels called out more than 1,300 Guard members to assist in evacuations, search and rescue, security, road blocks, sandbagging, and other emergency assistance missions. President Bush declared much of central Indiana a major disaster area.

National Guard Bureau officials reported that a variety of Guard equipment was being used to assist emergency responders in Indiana and its affected communities, including 35 5-ton trucks, 37 Humvees, five UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, 26 potable water trailers, 17 light-medium tactile vehicles, and five buses. Still other special equipment and personnel include members of the West Virginia National Guard's 53rd Civil Support Team, as well as an RC-26B Metroliner reconnaissance aircraft.

"We are here for the citizens of Indiana," said Army Capt. Andy Weaver in an Indiana National Guard news report. Weaver and other Guard members helped evacuate at least 256 patients from a flooded hospital June 8 in Columbus. "Even though some of our soldiers have been affected by the flooding, they are here helping out the community. This is where they feel they should be," he added.

Indiana Guard members also were delivering Red Cross supplies, equipment and personnel to the town of Worthington. They delivered 7,200 gallons of water to the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency and provided self-contained shower units to the town of Hope in Bartholomew County.

In Iowa, Guard officials reported many lakes, rivers and streams were at near-record levels, flooding communities and forcing many Iowans out of their towns and homes. Gov. Chet Culver mobilized at least 640 Guard soldiers and airmen for state active duty to assist in the state's disaster response. The governor declared 40 counties as disaster areas.

The Guard members are partnering with federal, state, county and local officials in at least 11 counties and are providing generator support and emergency drinking water. Other Guard members are involved in sandbagging and transportation, as well as securing bridges.

A band of storms that moved across West Virginia on June 5 caused severe flooding that forced Gov. Joe Manchin to declare a state of emergency for at least 15 counties.

At least 97 West Virginia Guard members responded to affected areas with military dump trucks, Humvees, water supplies, backhoes and other equipment to assist residents and local responders as river levels climbed. The Guard members were removing debris with their equipment in at least five counties.

The Wisconsin National Guard mobilized at least 80 soldiers and airmen. The soldiers were providing potable water and sandbags to flooded counties. Officials reported that soldiers of 2nd Brigade were tasked to deliver 20,000 sandbags to Dodge County and the village of Mukwonago. Guard soldiers from 147th Aviation were assisting in aerial damage-assessment missions for military and state leaders. The other states flew similar aerial assessment missions for their leaders.

Army Spc. Cassandra Groce from the Kentucky National Guard reported today that an RC-26B from 186th Air Refueling Wing in Meridian, Miss., arrived in Wisconsin yesterday to fly over dozens of affected areas in the state to provide live video. A similar Guard aircraft from West Virginia flew missions over flooded areas of Indiana.

The capability allows engineers on the ground to plan reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and was employed after Hurricane Katrina. It was tested during last year’s Guard response to the California wildfires and is now being used for the first time in the flooded states, Groce reported.

Army Master Sgt. Paul Gorman from the Wisconsin Guard reported yesterday that 924th Engineer Detachment dispatched engineer elements to team up with civilian engineers at key damage sites in three heavily affected counties. A Wisconsin Guard UH-60 Black Hawk from 147th Aviation Battalion also provided aerial assessment, Gorman reported.

In addition, 54th Civil Support Team brought communication, liaison and combat-lifesaver capabilities to support the ground-based engineer element in western Vernon County.

(Air Force Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith serves with the National Guard Bureau.)

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Too Early to Predict Further U.S. Troop Cuts in Iraq, Head of Joint Chiefs Says

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 -- The number of U.S. troops in Iraq is slated to decrease from 20 to 15 brigades by the end of July, but it is too soon now to predict additional reductions, the U.S. military’s top officer said here today.

The Iraq redeployment involves about 30,000 U.S. troops who were sent there last year to support the surge of forces, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted at a Government Executive Magazine-hosted breakfast at the National Press Club.

Their departure by the end of July, Mullen said, will bring the total number of U.S. troops in Iraq to about 140,000.

The U.S. “surge” troops and 100,000 additional Iraqi security forces combined their efforts to push al-Qaida terrorists and other insurgents out of Baghdad and its environs, producing improved security and reduced violence across the country.

“Clearly, if the trend continues, … we would most likely need fewer forces” in Iraq, Mullen said. However, “it’s too early to say,” he cautioned, whether U.S. commanders in Iraq will recommend additional troop reductions in the months ahead.

U.S. commanders in Iraq continuously assess troop requirements, Mullen told the audience. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the current commander of Multinational Force Iraq who has been selected by President Bush to take over U.S. Central Command, is slated to evaluate Iraq troop requirements this fall, the admiral noted.

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

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Improved Security in Iraq Sparks Rebuilding, Growth

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 -- Improvements in overall security incidents and Iraqi forces continued to rise during the past week, enabling the central government and coalition forces to begin progress in other areas vital to Iraq’s growth and sovereignty, a senior U.S. military official in Iraq said yesterday.

The country began to see a reduction in security incidents four weeks ago, marking the lowest levels since March 2004, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. The Iraqi government is undertaking broader efforts to provide services that were not possible a year ago, such as reconstruction in Sadr City and the Shola neighborhoods as well as agricultural initiatives across the country, he said.

Electricity, water, cleaning, infrastructure restoration, and humanitarian aid projects are under way in Sadr City, said Tahseen al-Sheikhly, a civilian spokesman for Operation Fardh al-Qanoon, also known as the Baghdad Security Plan. These projects will help eliminate unemployment for Baghdad citizens, which is the cause of much of the violence in the city, Sheikhly said.

Now that security has been achieved, he added, the challenge is to provide the best services to the citizens, thereby raising the living and economic standards and infrastructure.

The Ministry of Electricity already has replaced light poles and restored power to the Sadr City hospital, he said. Officials also are establishing a solar power system in an effort to minimize future outages and continue growing employment opportunities.

Agriculture also is benefiting from the low security-incident levels, Bergner said. The government’s date palm spraying campaign raised more than 33 percent from the previous year, covering more than 170,000 acres in Babil, Baghdad, Diyala, Karbala, Wasit provinces.

Iraqi pilots flew 336 spraying sorties under difficult time constraints and challenging weather conditions using two government Mi-2 helicopters, Bergner continued. Baghdad and Diyala provinces were sprayed for the first time in six years, as security conditions since the war began hadn’t permitted spraying until now.

“Iraqi planning for the 2009 spraying campaign is already under way,” he added, noting he Ministry of Agriculture has appropriated some $20 million for helicopters and spare parts.

“Progress in the agriculture sector and other improvements are a direct result of the security gains around Iraq and the growing capacity of Iraqi forces,” Bergner said. “The increasing support of Iraq’s citizens for the rule of law has been a key factor in reducing the levels of violence.”

Since the beginning of Operation Sawlat al-Fursan on March 25 in Basra and Operation A`Salaam on May 20 in Sadr City, Iraqi security forces have uncovered more than 500 weapons caches and stockpiles -- 378 in Basra and 124 in Sadr City, Bergner said. More than 3,500 mortars, 1,600 rocket-propelled grenades, 600 improvised explosive devices, and 75 armor-piercing explosively formed projectiles were confiscated.

“As Iraqi forces and Iraqi citizens cooperate to remove weapons from the hands of extremists before they can be used, their government is increasingly capable of being able to provide the services that Dr. Sheikhly talked about to the Iraqi people,” he said.

The increased security will “allow businesses to reopen, allow children to go back to school, revitalize the agriculture sector as they are in the process of doing, and allow Iraqis to rebuild their lives,” he said.

“There is still much tough work ahead, but the steady progress in Basra, in Baghdad, and in Mosul is now providing better opportunities for the citizens of Iraq,” the general said.

(Story by Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden, American Forces Press Service.)

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Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management Members Named

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 -- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates today announced the membership of the task force asked to review DoD's nuclear weapons management. The task force, announced by Gates June 5, will provide independent advice on the organizational, procedural and policy improvements necessary to ensure that the highest levels of accountability and control are maintained in the department's stewardship of nuclear weapons, delivery vehicles, sensitive components and basing procedures.

Task force members are:

• Chairman James R. Schlesinger, former secretary of defense, secretary of energy and director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

• Retired Air Force Gen. Michael P. C. Carns, former vice chief of staff and director of the Joint Staff, Joint Chiefs of Staff.

• Retired Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command.

• Dr. John J. Hamre, president of Center for Strategic and International Studies, Defense Policy Board chairman and former deputy secretary of defense.

• Mr. Franklin C. Miller, former special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for defense policy and arms control on the National Security Council.

• Dr. Jacques S. Gansler, University of Maryland Roger. C. Lipitz chair in public policy and Private Enterprise and former under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

• Dr. J.D. Crouch, Defense Policy Board member and former deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush.

• Mr. Christopher Williams, Defense Policy Board member and former acting under secretary of defense for policy.

The Task Force will consider the findings and recommendations of the investigative report prepared by Navy Adm. Kirkland Donald entitled "Investigation into the Shipment of Sensitive Missile Components" and the three parallel assessments of inventory control procedures done by the Air Force, Navy and Defense Logistics Agency for nuclear weapons and nuclear-weapons related materials.

Gates requested the task force provide an initial assessment focusing on organizational, procedural, policy and other matters involving the Department of the Air Force within 60 days. The second phase is scheduled for completion within 120 days of appointment and includes Department of Defense-wide matters to ensure sufficiently far-reaching and comprehensive recommendations are considered.

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

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Troops in Iraq Kill 8, Detain 24

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 -- Forces in Iraq killed eight enemy fighters, detained 24 terrorism suspects and found various weapons in recent operations, military officials said.

Coalition forces killed four men and detained nine suspected terrorists today after detainees in custody provided them with information regarding the location of an al-Qaida in Iraq suicide-bombing network.

Coalition forces positively identified the targeted individual, known for making suicide vests, and followed him into a remote area north of Baqouba, about 50 kilometers north of Baghdad. The area was believed to be a hideout used to house weapons, and the house was rigged with booby traps, officials said.

Coalition forces called for supporting aircraft to engage the area, which triggered several secondary explosions, indicating bomb materials and weapons on the ground. Four men were killed in the engagement.

Once the site was safe, the ground force moved in and discovered a tunnel system, fighting positions, weapons, military-style assault vests, and documents detailing terrorist operations.

Also today, coalition forces targeted another member of the Diyala suicide-bombing network who had fled to Tikrit, and they detained three suspected terrorists during the operation.

In Mosul, coalition forces captured a wanted man and one other suspect who are alleged associates of al-Qaida in Iraq senior leaders.

Yesterday in Abu Ghraib, coalition forces captured an alleged al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda cell leader. The man is believed to spearhead production and distribution of extremist propaganda in Baghdad and have ties to al-Qaida members outside Iraq. Coalition forces discovered large amounts of media materials in the targeted building and detained one additional suspect.

In other operations yesterday:

• Members of “Sons of Iraq,” a citizen security group, prevented an enemy car-bomb attack by killing four al-Qaida in Iraq members in Salahuddin province.

• Iraqi soldiers in Mosul captured two suspected members of al-Qaida in Iraq in an operation to capture suspected terrorists who allegedly are responsible for killing an Iraqi soldier and for car-bomb attacks in Mosul. Six additional suspects were detained during the operation, officials said.

• Iraqi special operations forces captured a criminal who reportedly is involved in the kidnapping and killing of Iraqi soldiers and the murders of Iraqi civilians in the Basra area.

• Iraqi soldiers seized three weapons caches in Baghdad’s Sadr City district. The cache contained homemade bombs and grenades. In other parts of Sadr City, soldiers discovered rockets, rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, rifles, various machine guns, and hundreds of AK-47 assault-rifle rounds.

• Iraqi national police, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers and local Iraqis all pitched in to help rid the streets in Baghdad of weapons, officials said. Among the weapons found were homemade bombs, Iraqi army body-armor vests, anti-aircraft projectiles, mortar rounds, a bag of unknown powder, rockets, and rocket-propelled grenades.

In June 10 operations, Iraqi and coalition forces captured three suspected terrorists allegedly responsible for bomb attacks. Four other suspects were detained. Enemy fighters engaged the Iraqi and coalition forces, and one man detonated a suicide bomb. Another man threw a grenade at coalition forces, who then fired back, killing him, military officials said.

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

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Combat Camera: Sha’ab Recovering After al-Qaida Special Groups Attack; Baghdad, Iraq

National policemen from the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police Division, along with Soldiers from 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, walk through destroyed buildings in the Sha’ab neighborhood of the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad, June 11. The area was hit with a deadly bombing attack by special groups extremists, June 4. (Photographer: 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs.)

A National policeman with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police Division, takes information from a Sha’ab resident during a humanitarian aid mission to this northern Baghdad neighborhood. The area was hit with a deadly bombing attack by special groups extremists, June 4. (Photographer: 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs.)

A Sha’ab resident waits to be seen by medics with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police Division, during a humanitarian aid mission in the Adhamiyah neighborhood, June 11. The area was hit with a deadly bombing attack by special groups extremists, June 4. (Photographer: 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs.)

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