Saturday, July 19, 2008

Iraqi SWAT Air Assault Nets 6

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Iraqi SWAT members smile and cheer after a successful air assault mission where six suspected insurgents were apprehended in addition to locating and destroying two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. (Photo by Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

Dispatches from the Front:

SALAH AD DIN PROVINCE, Iraq, July 19, 2008 -- Whooping and whistling like children on a roller coaster ride, Iraqi Police soared through the sun-soaked July sky on their way home from a successful mission. Their enthusiasm was not borne of the high-speed helicopter ride, but of the hard day’s work, which helped save the lives of countless Iraqi citizens.

In the predawn hours of July 12, Iraqi Police, along with Soldiers from the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, conducted an air assault into the arid farmlands north of Balad. Throughout the burning July morning, the Iraqi SWAT teams moved with speed and discipline to clear a suspected enemy hideout in the area.

The combined air assault mission resulted in the capture of six men with ties to the local insurgency, three of whom were known to be members of al Qaida in Iraq. A thorough search of the area resulted in the discovery of two vehicles wired with explosives and a substantial amount of ammonium-nitrate; a chemical compound used to make homemade bombs.

The vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, which have been used with devastating results in the past, were destroyed by Coalition forces, along with the explosives. The operation aimed to deny enemy extremists the ability to carry out future terror operations against innocent Iraqis and Coalition forces in the Salah ad Din province.

“Countless lives were saved today as a result of seizing and destroying these [explosives] before al Qaida could use them,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Hauerwas, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division executive officer. “There is no way of knowing how many innocent people would have been killed or injured by these cold-blooded killers.”

Increasingly, Coalition forces are seeing Iraqis take the lead in the fight against extremists in the province of Salah ad Din.

“If we don’t work with the [Iraqi Security Forces] there is no mission success,” said Maj. Phillip Borders, 1st STB operations officer. “You can catch all of the bad guys in the world but until we get the Iraqis to do it, the old standard is still there.”

With every combined mission, the ISF are honing their ability to plan for and execute these types of missions autonomously. Their experience is extensive, considering that a fair number of the ISF have been battling the insurgency for a number of years, alongside their Coalition allies.

“Their sense of duty and their sense of patriotism are undeniable,” said Hauerwas. “What they lack in equipment, such as communications and mobility, they make up for in sheer will,” he said.

(Story by Sgt. Rick Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

9/11 Co-Conspirators Return to Court

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
ARLINGTON, Va., (FILE PHOTO; Sept. 11, 2001) -- Medical personnel and volunteers work the first medical triage area set up outside the Pentagon after a hijacked commercial airliner crashed into the southwest corner of the building. (U.S. Navy Photo by Journalist 1st Class Mark D. Faram.)

News in Balance:

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, July 19, 2008 -- Alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three other alleged co-conspirators returned to the Expeditionary Legal Complex here to address accusations of intimidation regarding their elections of counsel, July 9-10, 2008.

Mohammed and four others had been previously arraigned on multiple counts of terrorism-related activities June 5, 2008. At the simultaneous arraignment, Mohammed and the other accused spoke across the courtroom amongst themselves before the arrival of the detailed military judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann.

Following comments by Army Maj. Jon Jackson, defense counsel for alleged al-Qaeda member Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, alleging intimidation by Mohammed which influenced the others’ election of counsel, Kohlmann ordered hearings “to discuss the matter with each of the accused on the record and in five separate sessions where each of the accused will appear outside the presence of the other accused” in an order dated July 1, 2008.

Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali had elected to proceed “pro se” as their own counsel during the arraignment, and represented themselves during the latest round of hearings.

The four hearings proceeded similarly, with Kohlmann reading prepared statements and questions to the accused, apprising each of the accused of the pitfalls of self-representation. He noted that trained legal counsel are better prepared to file motions and make arguments, due to the fact that they are not detained and possess proper security clearances, both during a potential trial and, if convicted, a potential sentencing.

Kohlmann also notified each of them that “the right of self-representation is not a license to abuse the dignity of the courtroom, nor is it a license not to comply with the relevant rules and procedures of substantive law,” and that, in the case of an appeal, “the accused cannot later complain about the quality of his defense or the denial of effective assistance of counsel.”

Kohlmann, speaking slowly through translators, methodically addressed each issue with all four, before asking each for their choice of representation.

Mohammed, Ali and Bin ‘Attash chose to reconfirm their “pro se” elections while retaining their detailed military defense counsel as standby counsel, along with civilian defense attorneys as advisers.

Ali, Mohammed’s nephew and alleged lieutenant, denied claims of intimidation and denied that Mohammed had pressured al Hawsawi to dismiss detailed military counsel in favor of proceeding “pro se” by asking him if he was in the Army.

“We might say something as a joke and they might think it is an order. Mr. Mohammed was joking to Mr. Hawsawi ‘are you in American Navy now?’ He was just joking because he was wearing white,” said Ali of the similarities in color between the accused’s clothing and the Navy officer’s summer white uniform.

Al Hawsawi chose not to make an election of counsel, telling Kohlmann through a translator, “thus far I haven’t made a decision.”

Speaking slowly and clearly for the translator, Kohlmann explained that military attorneys “have been detailed to represent you and the rules from the commissions state that each of the accused will be represented by counsel unless they waive that right and choose to go ‘pro se.’”

“I understand that you are still making up your mind and I do not want to rush you,” continued Kohlmann. “So, until such time as you make up your mind or make a firm decision, I am going to direct that Maj. Jackson and Lt. [Gretchen] Sosbee continue to act as detailed defense counsel.”

The fifth co-conspirator, Ramzi Bin al Shibh, did not appear pending the completion of a competency board ordered by the judge earlier in July.

(Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathaniel Moger.)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Photo Essay: Congressional Delegation Visits Kuwait

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Lt. Gen. Jim Lovelace, commanding general of United States Army Central Command and coalition forces land component command, greets Sen. Barack Obama, after stepping of a plane on July 18 for a tour of the U.S. military's Kuwaiti area of operation. (Photographer: Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Democrat Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, along with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., shake the hands of Airmen deployed to Kuwait during the Congressional delegation's tour on July 18. (Photographer: Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Sen. Barack Obama shakes the hands of servicemembers boarding a C-130 Hercules aircraft during the Congressional delegation's camp tour of Kuwait on July 18. (Photographer: Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Sen. Barack Obama shakes the hand of a servicemembers boarding a C-130 Hercules aircraft during the Congressional delegation's camp tour of Kuwait on July 18. (Photographer: Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Sen. Barack Obama talks with airmen during lunch at the Desert Wind dining facilty on July 18. (Photographer: Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Air Force Master Sgt. Charles Mann, convoy commander, 424th Medium Truck Company talks to Sen. Jack Reed (left), Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Chuck Hagel about the M915A3 line-haul tractor during a tour on July 18. (Photographer: Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Maj. Gen. Charles A Anderson, deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Central Command, explains the differences between Humvees to Sen. Barack Obama during an exhibit. (Photographer: Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Sen. Barack Obama sits in the passenger seat of a mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle during an exhibit at Camp Arifjan, July 18. (Photographer: Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)

News in Balance:

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, July 19, 2008 -- It was an unusual day as three U.S. senators visited U.S. military posts throughout Kuwait, July 18.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., toured the U.S. military bases in Kuwait, accompanied by Lt. Gen. Jim Lovelace, U.S. Army Central Command commanding general, to visit servicemembers deployed to the region.

The visit provided the congressional delegation with the opportunity to visit with military and government dignitaries and receive an update on operations in country.

“What we want to do is have a chance to meet Soldiers, talk to small unit commanders and noncommissioned officers, and get an impression everywhere we go, both Afghanistan and Iraq, of the situation facing our American forces,” said Reed.

The official party made their first stop at a camp coined “The Rock,” where they were given a tour by Col. Marcia R. Meeks-Eure, 386th Mission Support Group Command, before enjoying lunch with servicemembers.

The meal was followed by an exhibit by the 424th Medium Truck Detachment and 109th Truck Company. Master Sgt. Charles E. Mann, convoy commander, 424th MTD provided the delegates with information on the capabilities of various military vehicles, such as the M915A3 line-haul tractor and the M1151 high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle.

The tour continued as the senators were taken to Camp Arifjan, where they explored an exhibit displaying the evolution of the M998 HMMWV. Chief Warrant Officer Eric McKay, quality assurance inspector, 2nd Battalion, 401st Army Field Support Brigade and Lt. Col. Mark Kelly, operations commander, 401st AFSB walked the party through the exhibit.

The entourage made their final stop of the Kuwaiti tour at the fitness center gym.

“I am so grateful to all of you for the extraordinary service you do for our country, we are so proud of you,” said Obama, riling up the crowd.

After a speech by Obama, servicemembers were able to come down onto the basketball court for a chance to meet the senators.

“These are men and women dedicated to a cause and purpose much higher than their own self-interest,” said Hagel, when asked what he has taken from his trip so far.

“I think the greatest privilege an American can have is to lead American Soldiers, and I was fortunate enough to have that privilege,” said Reed, who is a West Point graduate and served as a company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division.

After greeting the large crowd of servicemembers and signing autographs and taking pictures, Obama played a friendly game of “Horse” with Spc. Lakeisha D. Willingham of the 311th Sustainment Command.

Upon leaving the gym, the senators made their way to the airfield, catching a flight and continuing their tour.

(From a story by Sgts. Brooks Fletcher and Jarod Perkioniemi, U.S. Army Central Command.)

Related Articles:
Combat Camera: Senator John McCain on Deck, Surveys Iraq Progress (Sen. McCain's 8th Visit)
Combat Camera: Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham Visit Iraq
Combat Camera: U.S. Congressional Delegation Visits Kirkuk, Iraq (Sen. McCain's 7th Visit)

COMBAT CAMERA Recent Combat Camera Imagery on THE TENSION

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Friday, July 18, 2008

Pentagon Weighs More Troops for Afghanistan

News in Balance

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2008 -- Pentagon planners are studying ways to get more U.S. troops to Afghanistan quickly.

“We're constantly reviewing troop needs, troop levels,” President Bush said during a July 2 news conference. “We're halfway through 2008; as I said, we're going to increase troops by 2009.”

U.S. and international leaders agree on the need for more troops in Afghanistan. A statement released at the end of the NATO Summit in Bucharest in April stressed the need for allies to provide troops needed in Afghanistan. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan has unmet requirements for more forces, including three combat battalions. The NATO force also needs more helicopters and airlift assets, officials have said.

ISAF, which includes such non-NATO allies as Australia, New Zealand, Jordan and 11 other nations, needs troops capable of engaging in full-spectrum combat operations, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said yesterday.

In 2009, the United States would like to send 11,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, he said. Currently, there are roughly 35,000 U.S. troops in the country -- 23,550 assigned to ISAF and another 18,500 assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force 101, U.S. command in the country.

Whitman said the U.S. would like to increase the troop level in Afghanistan by two brigade combat teams and about 4,000 trainers in 2009.

But there can be no discussion of increasing troop levels in Afghanistan without considering troops levels in Iraq, a DoD official said. “The two are tied,” a Pentagon spokesman said on background today.

Since his confirmation as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen has said that United States does what it must in Iraq and does what it can in Afghanistan. He has called Afghanistan an “economy of force” mission, with Iraq receiving priority for people, equipment and resources.

Now, Mullen said, the calculus is changing, as the signs of progress in Iraq are unmistakable. Levels of violence are down in Iraq and continue to reduce even as the last of the surge brigades leave the country. “I won't go so far as to say that progress in Iraq, from a military perspective, has reached a tipping point or it is irreversible,” Mullen said during a July 16 news conference. “It has not, and it is not.

“But security is unquestionably and remarkably better,” he continued. “Indeed, if these trends continue, I expect to be able early in the fall to recommend to the secretary and to the president further troop reductions.”

Defense leaders have said these reductions would open the door for more troops in Afghanistan.

“I think that we are clearly working very hard to see if there are opportunities to send additional forces (to Afghanistan) sooner rather than later,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during the July 16 news conference. “No decisions have been made. No recommendations have been made.”

Defense officials believe units currently on tap to deploy to Iraq could be shifted to Afghanistan if security gains in Iraq hold steady. However, the services cannot just shift a unit training to deploy for Iraq to Afghanistan, Whitman said, adding that it is not so easy to repurpose a force in the midst of training. Forces deploying for combat train to accomplish specific tasks, which are different in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.

The enemy, terrain and missions are different, Whitman said. Soldiers would have to familiarize themselves with different languages, cultures and ways of doing business. Units would deploy under different command arrangements and have different nationalities as allies.

Units often work months in advance with the units they are replacing. This, too, would have to be modified, the Pentagon spokesman said on background.

“And the enemy has a vote, too,” the spokesman said.

If events in Iraq take a turn for the worse, any withdrawal will stop. “Any decision on troops will be conditions-based,” the spokesman said.

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

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Troops in Afghanistan Kill Militant Fighters

Dispatches from the Front

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2008 -- Coalition and Afghan forces killed several militants and seized weapons in Afghanistan in operations this week, military officials said.

During a combined force patrol in the Nahr Surkh district of Helmand province, militants engaged troops with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades from a fortified position.

The patrol, which responded with small-arms fire, called for fire support. The retaliatory measures killed an unknown number of militants, military officials said.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan on July 16, Afghan national security forces, assisted by coalition troops, confiscated a large weapons cache in the Sheberghan district of Jawzjan province.

Acting on information supplied by local residents, the combined element removed and destroyed the munitions from a compound in She Shanben village.

The stockpile consisted of more than 1,000 mortar rounds, 60 anti-aircraft rounds, and various small arms with several tons of ammunition, military officials said.

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Troops Nab 5 Suspected Iranian-Backed Militants in Baghdad

Dispatches from the Front

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2008 -- Coalition forces detained five suspected militants and seized weapons caches in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad over the past three days, military official said.

Forces captured five suspected Iranian-backed “special groups” members during operations today in the Adhamiyah section of the capital.

Troops targeted the location of a suspected special groups financier responsible for disbursing funds for propaganda-related activities, military officials said. Coalition forces captured three suspects as they approached the target site and two additional suspects at a separate location nearby.

During operations yesterday, combined troops discovered nearly a dozen weapons caches across Baghdad. The stockpiles contained munitions and mortar rounds, grenades, homemade explosives, mines, bomb-making materials, assault rifles and ammunition, and other military equipment.

In southern Baghdad July 16, an Iraqi citizen guided soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, to three rocket-propelled grenades in the Rashid district of the Iraqi capital, a raid that occurred in conjunction with Operation Nor'easter. An explosives ordnance disposal unit hauled the munitions to a coalition forces base for destruction, military officials said.

“The 1st Brigade soldiers interact daily with the Iraqi citizens of the Rashid district,” said Army Maj. Dave Olson, a spokesman for 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, in Multinational Division Baghdad. "As part of Operation Nor'easter, we continue to provide a safe environment for the citizens of Iraq."

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Soldiers Missing From Vietnam War Identified

News in Balance

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2008 -- The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Chief Warrant Officer Bobby L. McKain, of Garden City, Kan.; and Warrant Officer Arthur F. Chaney, of Vienna, Va., both U.S. Army. McKain will be buried on Aug. 11 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., and Chaney will be buried Sept. 16 in Arlington.

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

On May 3, 1968, these men flew an AH-1G Cobra gunship on an armed escort mission to support a reconnaissance team operating west of Khe Sanh, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Their helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, exploded in mid-air and crashed west of Khe Sanh near the Laos-Vietnam border. The crew of other U.S. aircraft flying over the area immediately after the crash reported no survivors, and heavy enemy activity prevented attempts to recover the men's bodies.

In 1985, an American citizen with ties to Southeast Asian refugees turned over to U.S. officials human remains supposedly recovered from an AC-130 aircraft crash in Laos. While subsequent laboratory analysis disproved the association of the remains to the AC-130 crash, some of the remains were those of McKain and Chaney.

Between 1989 and 2003, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) investigative teams working in Laos and Vietnam made five attempts to locate the crew's crash site, but could not confirm the location.

Among 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 identifying the remains.

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

Related Site: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Hurricane Hunters Deployed to U.S. Virgin Islands

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
WC-130J Hurricane Hunters from the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., have deployed to the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist the National Hurricane Center in tracking severe weather systems. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett.)

On the Home Front:

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss., July 17, 2008 -- Hurricane Hunters have deployed from the Air Force Reserve Command's 403rd Wing here to a forward operating location on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands to be in position for storm flights.

After Citizen Airmen of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew missions into Hurricane Bertha recently, the National Hurricane Center again has called on them to provide critical data on a new storm system brewing just east of the windward islands.

The C-130J Hercules aircrews are investigating the strong tropical wave which is a westward-moving disturbance gaining a significant amount of convection in the past 24 hours. Heavy showers and gusty winds are sweeping over Barbados as the system approaches. Other windward island locations can expect similar conditions soon.

Satellite images and surface data indicated that the area of low pressure located 225 miles east of the islands had become better organized and that it could become a tropical depression.

The Hurricane Hunters will be flying a mission into the disturbance to provide information to NHC forecasters. Data gathered through aerial reconnaissance is more accurate and gives forecasters a better picture of what is going in inside the disturbance.

Follow-on flights may be scheduled depending on the needs of the NHC.

(From a story that appeared on AF.mil.)

Tags: , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Air Force Unit Marks 22nd Day Fighting California Wildfires

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
A C-130 Hercules from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., equipped with the modular airborne firefighting system, taxies to the runway at McClellan Airfield, Calif., July 5 to begin firefighting operations. Aircraft from the 302nd AW are conducting firefighting support missions as part of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Hector Garcia.)

On the Home Front:

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 17, 2008 -- Aircraft of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group conducted their 22nd day of aerial firefighting support missions July 17 in a coordinated effort to control wildfires in California.

Wednesday, the 302nd AEG military aviation assets performed a total of four air drops delivering 5,600 gallons of fire retardant. The 302nd AEG has performed a total of 989 air drops and have delivered close to 1,360,000 gallons of fire retardant and water since June 26.

C-130 firefighting sortie covered the following fire: four air drops were performed on the Mill fire within the Soda Complex, located in the Mendocino National Forest approximately 15 miles northwest of Upper Lake, Calif., delivering around 5,600 gallons of fire retardant.

The 302nd AEG is currently made up of eight Air Force MAFFS-capable C-130 aircraft and six Marine Corps helicopters located at McClellan Airfield, Calif. and two Navy Reserve helicopters at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.

The 302nd AEG C-130 aircraft units include three Air National Guard units - the 145th Airlift Wing from Charlotte, N.C., the 146th Airlift Wing from Channel Islands, Calif., and the 153rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wyo., and one Air Force Reserve unit -- the 302nd Airlift Wing from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

Three Marine helicopter units - Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron (HMMT) 164 and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 268, both based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 465 based out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego - fly CH-46E Sea Knight and CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters equipped with specialized fire fighting buckets.

United States Navy Reserve helicopters flying at NAS Lemoore are assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron (HSC) 85 based out of Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. The squadron flies MH-60S helicopters with 420- and 360-gallon specialized fire fighting buckets.

The 302nd AEG provides unique capabilities and is part of a unified military support effort of U.S. Northern Command to provide assistance to the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the National Interagency Fire Center.

(Story by by Staff Sergeant Luke Johnson, 302nd Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs.)

Tags: , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Troops in Iraq Nab 14 Suspects

Dispatches from the Front

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces caught 14 suspects and seized weapons caches in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said.

Troops detained nine suspected terrorists, including three wanted men, today during operations in Iraq targeting al-Qaida in Iraq's financial and foreign-terrorist networks.

In those operations:
  • Coalition forces in Hit, about 90 miles west of Baghdad, captured a man allegedly working with al-Qaida in Iraq to bring foreign terrorists into the country.

  • Coalition troops caught a wanted man and an additional suspect in Karmah. The wanted man is believed to conspire with longtime al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists in the northern belts around Baghdad, where troops detained another suspect in a separate operation.

  • Forces captured a man in Mosul believed to be involved in criminal plots to finance al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist attacks. The wanted man was detained with one other suspect.

  • Coalition forces near Tikrit, about 100 miles north of Baghdad, targeted al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists who reportedly were planning to conduct attacks with poisons. Troops detained three suspects in the raid.

In the New Baghdad security district of eastern Baghdad, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained a key suspect yesterday, military officials said. Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team detained the suspect during a mission in the Kamaliyah area of the Iraqi capital. The suspect allegedly has planted roadside bombs, conducted indirect-fire attacks in the area, and provided finances for bombing activities.

Also in New Baghdad yesterday, the 4th Brigade Combat Team confiscated more than a dozen assault rifles during clearance operations in the eastern Baghdad district.

During operations July 15:
  • Combined forces in the Sadr City district of Baghdad detained an Iranian-backed “special groups” member with an arrest warrant issued by Iraq’s Interior Ministry. The individual has attacked and killed Iraqi security and coalition forces with homemade and small-arms fire, military officials said.

  • In the Jisr Diyala neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad, Iraqi special operations forces detained a suspected leader of an Iranian-backed bombing cell. The suspect allegedly is responsible for weapons trafficking, homemade bombings and an assassination plot against an Iraqi general officer.

  • Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained a known leader of an Iranian-backed militant group during Operation Raider Nor'easter in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. The suspect allegedly has used homemade bombs in the area, military officials said.

  • Iraqi special operations forces detained a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq leader in Fallujah. The suspect, detained on a, Iraqi Justice Ministry warrant, reportedly is in charge of three al-Qaida unit commanders who that oversee some 200 terrorists.

  • Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers seized weapons caches around the Iraqi capital. The stockpiles included artillery and mortar rounds, machine guns, pistols, rockets, explosive materials, fuses and other military equipment.

  • Members of a local “Sons of Iraq” citizen security group led coalition forces to a weapons cache west of Samarra in Salahuddin province. The cache contained mortar and artillery rounds and small-arms munitions.

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Forces Seek More MRAP Vehicles for Afghanistan

Focus on Defense

Focus on Defense:

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2008 -- Commanders in Afghanistan have asked for more of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles the military calls “MRAPs,” the Pentagon’s press secretary said today.

There are roughly 800 MRAPs in Afghanistan. “It’s safe to say that commanders are interested” in more of the vehicles, Geoff Morrell told reporters.

Though the request is unofficial so far, it was relayed by Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, commander of Combined Task Force 101 at Bagram Airfield to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Navy Adm. Mike Mullen during the chairman’s recent visit to Afghanistan.

Part of the request may be tied to the normal planning that always goes on, another senior Pentagon spokesman said. If the number of U.S. troops goes up in Afghanistan – which President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates would like to see happen – then the number of MRAPs in the country will have to grow also, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman explained.

“Certainly, that type of planning takes place at various levels all the time,” Whitman said. “Force protection is key to any force-planning construct.”

Morrell said there 800 MRAPs are in the country already, and officials would like about 200 more.

U.S. commanders in Afghanistan want the RG-31, the smaller of two versions of the MRAP, because it’s better suited for the unimproved roads and rugged terrain of the country. “The RG-31 is the MRAP of choice in Afghanistan,” Morrell said.

The fact that the task force commander spoke to Mullen is not strange in the least, Morrell said.

“The chairman has made it very clear that [commanders] should not be bashful about speaking up if they need more forces than they currently have,” Morrell said. “[Commanders] should not worry about the overall stress on the force and be mindful of what their needs are in their areas of responsiblity. DoD leaders will determine if it is possible to meet their needs.

“‘Speak up if you need them, and we’ll see what we can do’ is the way it works,” Morrell said.

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

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Pentagon Urges Pakistan to Increase Border Policing

News in Balance
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, address the media during a press availability at the Pentagon, July 16, 2008. (Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley.)

News in Balance:

More U.S. troops may go to Afghanistan this year.

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2008 -- Pakistan must do more on its side of the border with Afghanistan to combat terrorist extremists, U.S. defense leaders said here today.

“We're seeing a greater number of insurgents and foreign fighters flowing across the border with Pakistan, unmolested and unhindered,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a news conference. “This movement needs to stop.”

Mullen, who recently returned from a trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said all involved with operations on the border must do a better job of policing the region and eliminating the extremists’ safe havens in Pakistan’s federally administered tribal areas that are launching pads for attacks on coalition forces. The most recent example was an attack on a coalition and Afghan military outpost in Wanat, in which nine soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team were killed.

“We either find ways to work better together or we fail to secure a better future for the people we've all pledged to protect,” Mullen said. “We can and must do better.”

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said there is no question that the absence of pressure on the Pakistani side of the border is creating an opportunity for more terrorists to cross and launch attacks.

“There are efforts under way to try and improve that on both the Pakistani side and on the Afghan and coalition side,” he said. “There is a real need to do something on the Pakistani side of the border to bring pressure to bear on the Taliban and some of these other violent groups.”

Gates and Mullen said the enemy in Afghanistan has grown bolder, more sophisticated and more diverse. They also said the enemy is taking advantage of the safe havens to train and plan attacks. Mullen said that doing something about the situation was the main message he delivered to all leaders he met in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The new Pakistani government needs to face the reality that it faces a security challenge of its own from these groups, Gates said. The number of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan has doubled in a year, he noted.

“One of the things that is really important is the civilian government gaining a full appreciation of the magnitude and reality of the danger to them posed by these groups and the lack of control or the lack of pressure in the FATA and in the Northwest Province,” the secretary said. “So it seems to me the first thing is for the Pakistanis to have a clear understanding of what's happening. We can make a contribution there. And then, … as I've said before, we are ready, willing and able to help them in any way we can.”

Defense Department officials are looking closely at sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. President Bush said the United States would like to send three brigade combat teams to Afghanistan in fiscal 2009. “I think that we are clearly working very hard to see if there are opportunities to send additional forces sooner rather than later,” Gates said. “No decisions have been made; no recommendations have been made.”

Gates said a need clearly exists to provide additional forces. Commanders in Afghanistan are looking within Afghanistan to see how to reposition the forces they have. The French, for example, are sending a 700-man battalion to Regional Command East that could free up U.S. troops for action elsewhere in Afghanistan.

Gates indicated that military planners are looking at a variety of options on how to respond to the need for more troops.

“I will tell you that I have sought assurances that there will be no return to longer than 12-month deployments,” Gates said. “That's not something we're considering, and I'm not aware of any plans to extend anybody beyond the extensions that have already taken place.”

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

Related: Transcript

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Forces Kils Insurgents, Civilians in Insurgent Attacks in Afghanistan

Dispatches from the Front

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2008 -- Insurgent attacks in Afghanistan yesterday resulted in coalition forces killing several insurgents as well as eight civilian bystanders.

In Bakwa, Farah province, eight innocent bystanders were killed and two others were wounded when a coalition aircraft dropped a precision bomb on insurgents attacking a coalition convoy, military officials said.

The convoy was conducting a routine patrol when insurgents attacked using machine-gun and artillery fire. Coalition forces called for aerial fire support against the insurgents, who were concealed within houses lined along the nearby street, officials said.

The incident is under investigation, military officials said.

Afghan national security forces and coalition troops killed an undetermined number of militants yesterday during operations in Kandahar province’s Shah Wali district.

The combined force was conducting a patrol when militants engaged them with small-arms fire and mortars from multiple directions. The coalition troops returned fire, forcing the militants into fortified positions where they were killed by precision air strikes, officials said.

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Forces in Iraq Nab 18 Suspected Terrorists, Find Weapons

Dispatches from the Front

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2008 -- Coalition forces detained 18 suspected terrorists and discovered weapons caches during recent operations in Iraq, military officials said.
Coalition forces captured 16 suspected terrorists in separate operations today in Baghdad and Mosul.

An alleged car-bombing cell leader, three suspected subordinate leaders and five suspected cell members were detained during operations in Baghdad.

The individuals reportedly manufacture and distribute car bombs while staging attacks on local security forces. Coalition forces believe the suspects were in the process of “planning an imminent attack” on U.S. and Iraq forces in the area, officials said.

Intelligence gathered from a June 12 operation resulted in coalition forces detaining seven suspected al-Qaida operatives in Mosul. The individuals are believed to be “associates of al-Qaida senior leadership” in Iraq.

One suspect was injured during an attempt to flee the area after ignoring warning shots by the troops. The individual was treated on site by coalition medics and transported to a nearby military medical facility, officials said.

In operations yesterday:
  • In Baghdad’s Sadr City district, Iraqi soldiers found eight drums of automatic machine gun rounds, seven rocket-propelled grenades with two launchers, two AK-47 assault rifles with rounds, a radio with charger and explosive initiation wire with 14 initiation devices.

  • In Baghdad’s Mansour district, a man found a mortar round with fuses while digging in his garden. He reported and turned in the round to local police, officials said.

  • U.S. soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team discovered 500 feet of detonation cord and four artillery rounds in western Baghdad.

Operations June 14 in Baghdad’s Jahida district led U.S. soldiers from 10th Mountain Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team detained two suspected Iranian-backed “special groups” members. During the operations, the troops found several assault rifles, a pistol and various bomb-making materials.

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Pentagon Identifies 9 US Soldiers Killed in Northern Kunar, Afghanistan

News in Balance

News in Balance:

NOTE: This is an update to an earlier article.

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of nine soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died of wounds suffered when their outpost was attacked by small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades from enemy forces in Wanat, Afghanistan, on July 13. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy.

Killed were:
  • 1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii.

  • Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, Calif.

  • Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Ga.

  • Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Wash.

  • Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tenn.

  • Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Ga.

  • Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, N.C.

  • Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Mo.

  • Pfc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Ky.

In addition, 15 ISAF and four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were wounded.

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

Related Articles:
NATO: 9 ISAF Soldiers Killed in Northern Kunar, Afghanistan
NATO Deaths in Afghanistan Highlight Need for Pakistani Cooperation

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Missing Soldiers Jimenez and Fouty Returned Home

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez was posthumously promoted from sergeant to staff sergeant with a date of rank of December 1, 2007. (U.S. Army photo.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Spc. Byron Fouty was posthumously promoted from private first class to specialist with a date of rank of March 8, 2008. (U.S. Army photo.)

News in Balance:

10th Mountain Soldiers Recovered After Determined Search

BAGHDAD, July 16, 2008 -- On June 4, 2007, the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq declared two captured U.S. Soldiers dead and buried. The message mocked the United States in saying the bodies would not be returned nor found.

Fourteen months of relentless efforts by U.S. and Coalition forces proved the terrorists' taunts false.

Coalition Special Operations Forces accompanied by Soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, recovered the remains and equipment of Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Mass., and Spc. Byron Fouty, of Waterford, Mich., west of Jurf As Sukhr on July 8, 2008, led to the site by one of the men who buried them.

Jimenez, Fouty, and Pfc. Joseph Anzack, of Torrance, Calif., all Soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, were captured and four other Soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter killed during an attack May 12, 2007, outside Yousifiyah, Iraq - an area within the infamous "triangle of death."

The body of Pfc. Anzack was later recovered from the Euphrates River downstream from the attack on May 23, 2007.

The search for Jimenez and Fouty continued over the following weeks with over 4,000 Soldiers conducting combat operations in support of their recovery. They disseminated posters, talked to the local population and engaged community leaders for help - and absorbed casualties among their own in the determined search that followed.

"The US Army Soldier's creed states: 'I will never leave a fallen comrade,' expressing the belief that there is a bond between professional warriors that can never be broken - not even by capture or death," said Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, 10th Mountain Division and current Multi-National Division - Center commander.

In June 2007, al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack in written postings and a propaganda video posted on extremist websites. Later that month, Coalition forces discovering some personal effects of Jimenez and Fouty, including their identification cards during a raid of a suspected AQI safe house near Samarra, Iraq.

In October 2007, Coalition forces recovered weapons issued to Jimenez, Fouty and Anzack in Fetuah, Iraq. The following month, video evidence depicting weapons and equipment taken from the captured Soldiers was discovered in Iskandariyah, Iraq. Each new finding gave intelligence experts more clues and more suspects, some of whom provided key names and information.

In November 2007, Task Force Marne, then in charge of Multi-National Division - Center, formed a Missing & Captured operations team to maintain continuity in the search efforts as the 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div., prepared to return home.

The MISCAP cell fused the intelligence efforts of several coordinated sources. This included the collaboration of key unit brigades on the ground, the Personnel Recovery Division at Multi-National Force - Iraq, and analysts from multiple agencies, to include: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Intelligence & Security Command, National Security Agency and the U.S. Central Command. The cell also took charge of conducting analysis and targeting suspected individuals involved in the attack.

Talking to the population and working with Iraqi counterparts assisted Coalition forces in gathering material that would lead them to some of the insurgents believed to be directly linked to the ambush and capture.

"We had a number of people detained we know were involved and we had a number of other leads that point to other people we believe were involved," said Lt. Col. Michael Ryan, of Oklahoma City, the staff judge advocate at the MND-C Headquarters.

Throughout the course of a year's search, over a dozen key people with information were detained or captured. Others with known criminal and terrorist ties chose to fight and were killed by Coalition forces intent on capturing them to gain more information.

During the winter of 2007 and early 2008, Coalition forces detained and questioned sources who eventually led them to three people alleged to know the Soldiers' exact location.

Throughout the month of June, the 4th BCT and the 3rd BCT, 101st Airborne Division, continued to engage Iraqi citizens for information of AQI in their communities, gaining valuable information on terrorist activities and movements in the area.

On July 1, Coalition SOF captured a reported leader of multiple AQI cells south of Baghdad. The captured leader, linked to facilitating suicide bombers for attacks in Baghdad, was believed to know the missing Soldiers' whereabouts. Initially telling Coalition forces he knew where Jimenez and Fouty were buried, it was not until July 3 that the AQI leader disclosed the location.

On July 8, the AQI leader led Coalition SOF and Soldiers from the 4th BCT to the site where the Soldiers secured the area. Once on site, however, the AQI leader could not determine the exact location, but led Coalition SOF to another suspect nearby he claimed had information about the burial site.

Coalition forces located and detained the suspect who, after identifying the original burial site, led them to another nearby site where he claimed he had moved the remains. Upon searching the area, Coalition forces discovered the remains and various equipment and clothing of Staff Sgt. Jimenez and Spc. Fouty.

"This was definitely a joint effort of many units within and outside of Multi-National Division - Center that led to the recovery of these two warriors," said Lt. Col. Richard Ruffcorn, officer in charge of the Missing & Captured cell at the MND-C Headquarters.

On July 9, a Criminal Investigation Division forensics team and an investigative officer from MND-C Headquarters traveled to the burial site, located nearly 20 kilometers south of the May 12 ambush site, to survey the area and collect evidence. Later that day, the remains of Staff Sgt. Jimenez and Spc. Fouty were transported by mortuary affairs personnel to Camp Victory, south of Baghdad and prepared for transportation to the United States. At 10:51p.m., following a ramp ceremony honoring the fallen Soldiers, the airplane departed with Staff Sgt. Jimenez and Spc. Fouty aboard, headed for Dover Air Force Base.

Arriving in Dover, Del., July 10, the remains were transported to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology where a medical examiner analyzed and confirmed they were Jimenez and Fouty. Shortly after positive identification was confirmed, the families of Jimenez and Fouty were informed by uniformed officers of the U.S. Army.

"I would have to say I consider it an honor to have been involved in the recovery of these two Soldiers," Ruffcorn said.

The quest to find Staff Sgt. Jimenez and Spc. Fouty was a study in commitment and teamwork, with every service, unit, and individual Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and civilian who has been involved in their recovery playing a part in its success. Yet their mission is not complete.

"We look forward to working together with the Government of Iraq to bring the criminals and terrorists responsible for the ambush, kidnapping and death of the these Soldiers to justice," Ryan said.

Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez and Spc. Byron Fouty were posthumously promoted from sergeant and private first class respectively. Staff Sgt. Jimenez's date of rank is December 1, 2007; Spc. Fouty's date of rank is March 8, 2008.

(Story by Staff Sgt. Michel Sauret, MND-C PAO.)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Global Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button