THE TENSION: October 19, 2008

Saturday, October 25, 2008

US Airpower Summary; Oct. 25, 2008: F-16 Strikes Enemy

An F-16 Fighting Falcon flies a mission over Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter.)

Dispatches from the Front:

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Oct. 25, 2008 -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Oct. 24, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.

In Afghanistan, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs dropped a guided bomb unit-38 and fired cannon rounds onto anti-Afghan forces using small arms fire against coalition forces in the vicinity of Shurakian. The mission was confirmed a success by an on-scene joint terminal attack controller.

Coalition aircraft performed shows of force to deter enemy activities in the vicinity of Qalat and Malek Din. JTACs reported the missions successful.

An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon dropped a GBU-12 onto enemy positions in a building that was using rocket propelled grenades against coalition forces near Lashkar Gah. The mission was declared successful by a JTAC.

Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles conducted multiflight shows of force to provide armed aerial overwatch to a coalition convoy that had struck multiple IED's and to deter insurgent activities in the vicinity of Soltani. A JTAC confirmed the mission successful.

An A-10 performed a show of force near Gardez to deter enemy activities. The mission was confirmed a success by a JTAC.

In total, 50 close-air-support missions were flown as part of the ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols.

Fifteen Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions
as part of operations in Afghanistan. Additionally, two coalition aircraft performed tactical reconnaissance.

In Iraq, coalition aircraft flew 37 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions integrated and synchronized with coalition ground forces, protected key infrastructure, provided overwatch for reconstruction activities and helped to deter and disrupt terrorist activities.

Twenty-eight Air Force and Navy ISR aircraft flew missions as part of operations in Iraq. Additionally, two Air Force aircraft performed tactical reconnaissance.

Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft and C-17 Globemaster IIIs provided intra-theater heavy airlift, helping to sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn
of Africa.

Approximately 130 airlift sorties were flown, 390 tons of cargo delivered, and 3,100 passengers were transported. This included approximately 21,600 pounds of troop re-supply air-dropped in Afghanistan.

Coalition C-130 crews flew as part of operations in Afghanistan or Iraq.

On October 23, Air Force and coalition aerial refueling crews flew 54 sorties and off-loaded approximately 3.6 million pounds of fuel to 290 receiving aircraft.

(Report from a U.S. Air Force news release.)

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Combat Camera: 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Soldiers Air Assault Into Iraqi Village

A soldier with the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, pulls security in a village near Tikrit, Iraq, on Oct. 21, 2008. The soldiers searched the village for contraband and aimed to disrupt extremist activity in the area. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

A signal soldier with the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division pulls security during an air assault mission on Oct. 21, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

A medic pulls security during an air assault mission near Tikrit, Iraq. The 1st Special Troops Battalion soldiers aimed to disrupt weapons trafficking in the tiny hamlet near Saddam Hussein's hometown. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

A signal soldier with the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, scans the barren landscape of the rural Tikrit area, during an air assault mission Oct. 21, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

Special Troops Battalion soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, air assaulted into a village near Tikrit, Iraq, on Oct. 21, 2008. The soldiers aimed to disrupt weapons trafficking operations by extremist networks in the region. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

A signal soldier with the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, watches the sun rise during an air assault mission near Tikrit, Iraq, on Oct. 21, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

A signal soldier with the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, searches the rooftops of a village near Tikrit, Iraq, on Oct. 21, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

1st Special Troops Battalion soldiers silhouetted by the sun during an air assault mission near Tikrit, Iraq, Oct. 21, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

A signal soldier's shadow silhouetted in the sun. (Photographer: Sgt. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs.)

More Combat Camera Imagery on THE TENSION

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Combat Camera: Footage From the Frontlines

In this June file photo, Petty Officer 2nd Class Angela McLane, Fleet Combat Camera Group Pacific, documents U.S soldiers interacting with Iraqi people in a small town in the Diyala province of Iraq. (Photographer: Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Seeber, 14th Public Affairs Detachment.)

In this file photo, Petty Officer 2nd Class Angela McLane, Fleet Combat Camera Group Pacific, treks through date palm groves in the Diyala province of Iraq while out on Operation Fire Fortress with 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment soldiers in June. (Photographer: Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Seeber, 14th Public Affairs Detachment.)

In this June file photo, Petty Officer 2nd Class Angela McLane, Fleet Combat Camera Group Pacific, carefully films and interview being held by Iraqi media with an Iraqi police Officer. (Photographer: Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Seeber, 14th Public Affairs Detachment.)

Dispatches from the Front:

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq, Oct. 25, 2008 -- “We’re here to, basically, document history,” said Mass Communication Specialist Petty Officer 2nd Class Angela McLane, Fleet Combat Camera Group Pacific. “We’re frontline cameramen.”

A common misconception of troops who have never gone out on missions with COMCAM Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, is that they never go outside the wire while deployed, said McLane, the non-commissioned officer in charge of combat camera and the resident COMCAM videographer at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, Iraq.

In reality, the photographers and videographers live up to their job titles.

“Combat Camera uses still and moving imagery to support military operations worldwide,” McLane said. “Any kind of conflict, war, crisis, anything like that, you’ll see combat camera there documenting it. Our job is to be there when something significant happens.”

COMCAM is a job that holds a unique significance to the military, McLane said.

“We capture history in the making, history as it’s happening,” she said. “This is how we can show the world, in current times and in years to come, what we are doing as a military and as a country. We can show all the good we are doing, as well as look back to learn from the mistakes that we have made in the past.”

McLane said as well as using COMCAM imagery for documentation and historical purposes, the military uses it for training purposes, as well.

“No one is perfect, but I think we can be as close to it as possible,” she said. “We can use COMCAM’s past imagery for that. If something is done wrong, we can reflect back on it, look back on it, and that way we can learn from history instead of repeat it.”

McLane said while most job fields in the military require troops to go out on specific types of missions, COMCAM is there for them all.

“I’ve been on night raids where they go and find bad guys, I’ve gone and documented where they have found weapons caches, I’ve been on missions where U.S. forces have had to disable snipers,” McLane said. “But I have also been on missions where the U.S. has assisted on new hospital wings opening, or where we have been training Iraqi army soldiers on new techniques to better handle the problems in their own country. COMCAM dabbles in a little bit of everything.”

McLane has even dabbled in a bit of battlefield injury, having recently taken some shrapnel in the arm from and improvised explosive device and subsequently refusing removal so she can continue her mission.

“The doc said that if they took it out it would cause more damage to my arm and prevent me from going out on missions for two weeks to a month,” she said. “I didn’t want to do that so I just decided to wait until I get home, because I’m here to accomplish a mission and that is to document all that the U.S. is doing out here.”

Despite the long missions, oppressive desert heat and thankless, quality time spent with video editing systems, McLane loves her job as a combat camera videographer because she gets to see the progress being made, first hand.

“I get to see the Iraqis starting to return to normalcy, just like I get to see U.S. and Iraqi forces catching bad guys,” she said. “The more bad guys we catch, the less violence there is and the less innocent people get hurt. And what I like the most is that I get to show that. I like to be able to show that we are helping to make that progress.”

(Report by Pfc. Alisha Nye, 14th Public Affairs Detachment.)

More Combat Camera Imagery on THE TENSION

Tags: DOD, Military, War, United States, U.S., Army, Middle East, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Multinational Force, al Qaeda, al Qaida, GWOT, terrorism, Photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism, Combat Camera, Stryker, Dispatches from the Front
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Friday, October 24, 2008

US Airpower Summary; Oct. 24, 2008: F/A-18C Engages Anti-Afghan Forces

An F/A-18C Hornet, assigned to the "Stingers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113, flies over Southern Afghanistan to return to the Nimitz-class Aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Ronald Reagan and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14 are providing support to coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan. Ronald Reagan is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Commander Erik Etz.)

Dispatches from the Front:

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Oct 24, 2008 -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Oct. 23, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.

In Afghanistan, an Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II fired rockets and cannon rounds onto anti-Afghan forces using a rocket launcher in the vicinity of Gardez. Furthermore, an A-10 conducted a show of force to deter further hostile activity in the area. The missions were confirmed a success by on-scene joint terminal attack controllers.

An Air Force MQ-1 Predator used a Hellfire missile against two enemy fighters who were firing mortars and/or rockets at coalition forces in the vicinity of Gardez. In addition, a Navy F/A-18C Hornet conducted a show of force to deter enemy activity in the same area. JTACs reported the missions successful.

An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle dropped a guided bomb unit-38 onto enemy fighters who were hiding in a tree line and firing rocket propelled grenades against coalition forces near Bari Kowt. The mission was declared successful by a JTAC.

An F/A-18C dropped a GBU-38 onto anti-Afghan forces who were using rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire against coalition forces in the vicinity of Shurakian. A JTAC confirmed the mission successful.

A Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet and a coalition aircraft conducted multiple shows of force to deter enemy activities in the vicinity of Sangin. The missions were confirmed a success by JTACs.

A coalition aircraft performed a show of force to deter enemy activities in the vicinity of Kajaki Dam. A JTAC reported the mission successful.

A-10s performed shows of force in the vicinity of Bagram, Morghab, Ghazni and Tarin Kowt to deter enemy activities. The missions where confirmed a success by JTACs.

In total, 73 close-air-support missions were flown as part of the ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols.

Thirteen Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions as part of operations in Afghanistan. Additionally, four Navy and coalition aircraft performed tactical reconnaissance.

In Iraq, coalition aircraft flew 43 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions integrated and synchronized with coalition ground forces, protected key infrastructure, provided over watch for reconstruction activities and helped to deter and disrupt terrorist activities.

Twenty-five Air Force, Navy and coalition ISR aircraft flew missions as part of operations in Iraq. Additionally, three Air Force and coalition aircraft performed tactical reconnaissance.

Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft and C-17 Globemaster IIIs provided intra-theater heavy airlift, helping to sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa.

Approximately 140 airlift sorties were flown, more than 480 tons of cargo delivered, and more than 3,600 passengers were transported. This included approximately 22,000 pounds of troop re-supply air-dropped in Afghanistan.

Coalition C-130 crews flew as part of operations in Afghanistan or Iraq.

On Oct. 22, Air Force and coalition aerial refueling crews flew 38 sorties and off-loaded approximately 3.8 million pounds of fuel to 276 receiving aircraft.

(Report from a U.S. Air Force news release.)

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OIF Summary; Oct. 24, 2008: Troops in Iraq Nab Suspected Terrorists, Discover Weapons Caches

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2008 -- Coalition forces continued efforts to disrupt al-Qaida in Iraq car bomb networks, capturing eight suspected terrorists during operations today and yesterday in central Iraq, military officials said.

Forces operating in Baghdad Thursday night captured a wanted man believed to be associated with one of the city's terrorist car bomb cells. He and another suspect were detained without incident during the operation, officials said.

Coalition forces also took aim at terrorist car bomb networks during two related operations today outside of Fallujah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, officials said.

During the first operation, forces captured a wanted man who intelligence reports suggest is a car bomb facilitator in Fallujah with multiple connections to other facilitators throughout the region. Two men believed to be associates of the wanted man were also detained for questioning, they said.

During a subsequent operation in the area, forces nabbed another wanted man believed to be associated with area car bomb networks. The man, who is also assessed to be an Al-Qaida weapons facilitator, was detained with two other suspected terrorists.

Additional terrorists were captured during other recent operations in Iraq:

Coalition troops detained five suspected members of Iranian-based terrorist groups yesterday in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. The soldiers were with the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 7th Squadron.

On Wednesday in Tikrit, Salah ad Din Special Weapons and Tactics captured a suspected terrorist cell leader. The cell leader is believed to be responsible for emplacing improvised explosive devices, torturing innocent civilians to death, and providing early warning to insurgents regarding coalition and Iraqi forces operations.

In an operation Tuesday in western Mosul, Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured four suspected terrorist cell members operating in the Hay Al Tinek neighborhood. The cell members are believed to be responsible for conducting assassinations, kidnappings for ransom, and IED attacks.

During a separate operation Tuesday, Iraqi soldiers captured three suspected Al-Qaida terrorists in eastern Mosul responsible for IED and vehicle-borne IED attacks. One man is believed to have conducted more than 12 attacks since July.

Coalition soldiers captured an Iranian-based terrorist group member yesterday in the Aamel community of southern Baghdad.

U.S. soldiers arrested two suspected terrorists Wednesday and Thursday while conducting early morning raids in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad.

At about 3 a.m. Wednesday, soldiers from 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, detained a suspected criminal in connection with a car bomb attack on Oct. 10 in the Abu T'shir community.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div. detained a suspected special group criminal Thursday at about 2 a.m. in the Aamel community. The patrol returned to a combat outpost with the suspect wanted for weapons trafficking.

In other reports out of Iraq, a local citizen led coalition troops yesterday to a cache of over 5,000 pounds of munitions in the town of al-Harij in northern Babil province, officials said.

Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team uncovered the buried cache that contained 34 bags of home-made explosives weighing 154 pounds each, more than 500 cylinders of explosives, 30 RPG rounds, 100 mortar rounds, two 5-pound bags of explosives, 23 hand grenades, two 80-mm mortars, two 4-foot rockets, four 60-mm rounds, four mortar sights, three anti-personnel grenade rounds, one bag of loose AK-47 rounds, 15 magazines for 7.62-caliber rounds as well a other bomb-making materials, they said.

An explosive ordnance disposal team rendered the cache items safe for removal, officials said.

Lt. Col. Timothy Newsome, commander of the 3rd Battalion, credited the coalition’s improved relationships with Iraqis in allowing them to make such finds.

"Though we have a relatively peaceful and stable environment in the Jurf As Sakhr region, the astounding size of this cache, the variety of munitions that are in it and the indicators that it is a relatively new cache all serve to demonstrate the very tenuous nature of the hard fought peace that is currently in place," Newsome said. "Discoveries of this magnitude would not be possible without the close working relationships we have fostered over the past 11 months with the honest, hard-working citizens of the region."

In other weapons seizures this week:

U.S. troops seized bomb-making materials yesterday during a security patrol in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. Responding to a citizen’s tip, soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team patrolled the Aamel community and seized 27 copper plates suspected to be used for explosively formed projectiles. An explosives ordnance disposal team responded to handle the bomb-making materials.

Coalition troops secured a weapons cache Wednesday just west of Suwayrah. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade received a tip from an Iraqi citizen of the location of the cache which included seven copper discs and PVC cases used to manufacture explosively-formed penetrators, four rocket-propelled grenades, four blocks of C4, two 120 mm mortar rounds and one 60 mm mortar round.

The Muthanna Province's Iraqi Police were tipped off about a weapon cache near al Khidr, a town southwest of Samawah, Tuesday and found 1,100 pounds of TNT dynamite in a concrete plant. The police also discovered 110 fuses at the site.

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

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OEF Summary; Oct. 24, 2008: Troops Kill 3, Nab 4 Militants in Paktika Province

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2008 -- Coalition forces killed three armed militants and detained four others during an operation targeting the Haqqani terrorist network in Paktika province yesterday, military officials reported.

Troops searched a compound in Ziruk district, targeting a Haqqani commander suspected of foreign fighter and weapons facilitation, officials said. He is also believed to finance Haqqani terrorist operations throughout eastern Afghanistan, they said.

As the force searched the compound, they received small-arms fire from several armed militants, officials said. Coalition forces returned fire, killing three armed militants. A search of the compound revealed multiple AK-47s and other military style equipment, they said.

(Compiled from a U.S. Forces Afghanistan news release.)

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US Air Force Nuclear Enterprise Roadmap Urges New Command, Headquarters Agency

Air Force leaders released their Nuclear Enterprise Roadmap Oct. 24, a document directed by the secretary of the Air Force to address cultural and systemic challenges across the service's nuclear forces. (U.S. Air Force graphic by Mike Carabajal.)

Focus on Defense:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2008 -- Establishment of a Global Strike Command and a Headquarters Air Force staff agency to handle Air Force nuclear assets are some of the recommendations found in the Nuclear Enterprise Roadmap released Oct. 24 by senior leaders.

The roadmap, titled Reinvigorating the Air Force Nuclear Enterprise, also recommends a nuclear weapons center and a single process for inspections.

The roadmap follows an unauthorized transfer of munitions from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale AFB, La., in August 2007 and an inadvertent shipment of sensitive missile components to Taiwan in 2006. The secretary of the Air Force created the Air Force Nuclear Task Force to develop a strategic roadmap to rebuild the service's nuclear enterprise.

"This roadmap will enable the Air Force to effectively secure, maintain, operate and sustain our nation's nuclear capabilities and expertise," said Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley. "It will also correct long-standing systemic and institutional weaknesses in our stewardship of nuclear matters.

"This roadmap is our commitment to the nuclear enterprise," Secretary Donley said. "It's the foundation for reinvigorating the Air Force nuclear enterprise to reestablish the confidence in our ability to provide nuclear deterrence to our nation and our allies."

The chief of staff of the Air Force said the roadmap is going back to fundamentals.

"This roadmap reflects a back-to-basics approach in accountability, compliance, precision and reliability," said Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff.

According to Air Force officials, the roadmap is vital to improving Air Force stewardship of the bomber, missile and associated logistics capabilities that form the foundation of America's strategic nuclear deterrent.

"These changes will be institutionalized across our nuclear enterprise, ensuring our commitment to excellence regardless of changes to our force structure, competing mission requirements or the size of our nuclear arsenal," Secretary Donley said.

To fortify current operations, develop personnel and sustain and modernize current capabilities within the nuclear forces, Air Force officials will undertake a series of action plans to address the root causes of the recent problems. The action plans implement approximately 100 recommendations grouped into a composite set of major actions that serve as the foundation of the roadmap.

These major actions include:

Increase institutional focus and oversight by establishing an Air Force Global Strike Command, led by a lieutenant general, and a HAF strategic deterrence and nuclear integration staff office, to be known as A10. Both will focus on nuclear enterprise matters.

Consolidate sustainment functions under Air Force Materiel Command's Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center.

Implement a centralized Nuclear Surety Inspection process and increase NSI oversight.

Align strategic deterrent and nuclear operations-based education, training, career development and force development actions.

Implement a Global Deterrent Force approach for bomber operations that balances current global commitments with dedicated periods for personnel to focus on nuclear operations training and proficiency.

Consolidate planning, programming, budgeting and execution of nuclear enterprise elements.

Create Strategic Investment Plans that address long-term nuclear requirements, including those for cruise missiles, bombers, dual-capable aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Establish positive inventory control measures for nuclear weapons-related material.

Create a coordinated, advocacy-based engagement strategy that enables thoughtful Air Force input to national and joint policy, strategy and planning processes.

Present roadmap implementation results to oversight committees established by the secretary of defense.

The roadmap incorporates ongoing corrective actions, as well as new initiatives suggested by experts from inside and outside the Air Force. It provides the fundamental guidance to organize, train and equip the Air Force's nuclear forces to ensure effective nuclear deterrence and nuclear surety in an integrated and synchronized manner, Air Force officials said.

As a follow-on to the roadmap, an implementation plan is being developed to identify the appropriate steps and timeline required to stand up the new Global Strike Command. Included in the implementation plan will be details on the criteria to be used for identifying a location for the command headquarters and the realignment of personnel and resources from under their current major command to the newly established AFGSC.

In the past year, Air Force officials identified and funded initiatives that were immediately executable. A total of $84.7 million was funded in the areas of nuclear sustainment, security, training and facility projects. For fiscal year 2009, officials are identifying funds from within the current budget to continue implementation of nuclear enterprise initiatives and addressing emerging requirements with Congress.

Click here to view the entire roadmap, Reinvigorating the Air Force Nuclear Enterprise.

(Report from a U.S. Air Force news release.)

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US Marines Step Back as Iraqis Step Up

An Iraqi boy holds his pencils and looks to see what else the Iraqi Army will be giving at an elementary school in Khasfah, Iraq, Oct. 21. Several organizations back in the states sent school supplies to the Marines with the Baghdad Military in Transition Team, which is assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Iraqi Brigade, 7th Iraqi Division. The Marines then turned them over to the IA to be distributed to schools. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Paul Torres.)

Marines with the Baghdadi Military in Transition Team, which is assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Iraqi Brigade, 7th Iraqi Division, unload boxes of school supplies at Khasfah, Iraq, Oct. 21. Iraqi soldiers distributed the supplies to the children at an elementary school. Marines with the Baghdad MITT work with the Iraqi Army to help facilitate them in their operations as they now play a more prominent role in Iraqi security. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Paul Torres.)

An Iraqi soldier stands guard near a box of school supplies at an elementary school in Khasfah, Iraq, Oct. 21. The Iraqi Army distributed school supplies to the students and teachers to help them improve their relationship with the people of Khasfah, which is one of the many rural towns they are now responsible for the security of. Since security of al-Anbar province has been given back to the Iraqi government, the IA has started playing a bigger role in operations as the Marines with the Baghdad Military in Transition Team have stepped back and supervised. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Paul Torres.)

Boxes of school supplies sent by Marines' friends, family and organizations in the U.S. were distributed to students and teachers by the Iraqi Army at an elementary school in Khasfah, Iraq, Oct. 21. Since security of al-Anbar province has been given back to the Iraqi government, the IA has started playing a bigger role in operations as the Marines with the Baghdad Military in Transition Team, which is assigned 3rd Battalion, 2nd Iraqi Brigade, 7th Iraqi Division, have stepped back and supervised. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Paul Torres.)

Dispatches from the Front:

BAGHDADI, Iraq, Oct. 24, 2008 -- The goal of Coalition forces has always been to hand the country of Iraq back to the people.

Marines with the Military in Transition Team (MITT) 0723, which is assigned to 3rd Battalion, 27th Iraqi Brigade, 7th Iraqi Division, are working with the Iraqi Army to coordinate operations as they now play a more prominent role in Iraqi security.

On a recent operation, the MITT supplied the IA with school supplies to be distributed to the students of an elementary school in Khasfah, Iraq.

“This is a rural area that doesn't have a lot of supplies,” said 1st Lt. David A. Keltner, 27, from Tucson, Ariz., who is the company advisor for the MITT. “We arranged for small organizations back in the states to send us school supplies and we gave them to the IA. The people don't get a lot of interaction with the IA outside of patrols, so this gives the IA another way to get to know the people.”

Military in Transition Team 0723 is the seventh team to work with the 27th Iraqi Brigade, and as the Iraqis are becoming more and more proficient, the MITT is seeing its role decrease.

“This is the last MITT to be embedded at the battalion level,” said Keltner. “We will still have a team at the brigade level, but we were essentially here to work ourselves out of a job and they are at the point where they can function on their own.”

Military in Transition Team 0723 has acted as a link between Iraqi and Coalition forces to help them coordinate operations.

“We are here to train, mentor and advise the Iraqi Army in operations,” said Maj. Thomas E. Elders, 32, from Swedesboro, N.J., who is the commanding officer for the MITT 0723. “We have basically built on what the previous MITTs have accomplished. Our main role is to act as a liaison between the Iraqi forces and Coalition forces to give them access to assets they don't have yet. For example, if something happens and they need mortars or air support, we are able to facilitate that.”

Military in Transition Team 0723 is able to advise the Iraqis on how to use what assets they have for when they will no longer have Coalition forces to rely on.

“They do a great job and my guys are learning a lot from the Marines,” said Col. Wiheed Abd Al-Mihmediwe, commanding officer, Iraqi 3rd Bn., who has been with the Iraqi military for 23 years. “We have had a good relationship with the MITT and they have been a great help with logistical planning.”

The experience the Marines bring to the table has helped the speedy development of the IA forces and has allowed the IA to develop their own support where possible

“We have really emphasized them tapping into the IA assets instead of relying on Coalition forces,” said Elders. “For example if they find a cache now, instead of calling us for explosive ordinance disposal, they can call the Iraqi bomb disposal (unit) to come and dispose of it.”

As the threat of the insurgency decreases, the IA is now focusing on maintaining security and rebuilding Iraq.

“The next big step is for them to move to a permanent location where they can do normal, conventional training,” said Keltner. “Right now, they have only been trained on how to fight an insurgency and they are now pulling back and consolidating to train for a more conventional security role.”

(Report by Lance Cpl. Paul Torres, Regimental Combat Team 5.)

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US Air Force: Lasers May Aid Missile Defense, Engine Crack Detection

Ultra-fast flashes of X-rays can eject an electron from a molecule, leaving the molecule in a super excited state that eventually causes it to break apart. The interaction of atoms and molecules is both useful for making coherent X-rays which, in the future, may show previously undetectable cracks in jet turbine blades. (Courtesy image.)

Extreme nonlinear optical techniques have succeeded in up-converting visible laser light into X-rays, making a tabletop source of coherent soft X-rays possible. The interaction of atoms and molecules is both useful for making coherent X-rays which, in the future, may show previously undetectable cracks in jet turbine blades. (Courtesy photo by University of Colorado.)

Focus on Defense:

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 24, 2008 -- Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded work at the University of Colorado at Boulder could lead to possible future technologies that use the high energy densities of lasers.

Studies by university officials explore how atoms and molecules respond to light pulses, which could show cracks in high-performance engines.

The husband and wife research team of Dr. Henry Kapteyn and professor Margaret Murnane has developed new, practical, laser-like sources in the ultraviolet and soft X-ray regions based on the most extreme form of nonlinear optics.

In this work, an intense femtosecond laser is focused into a gas-filled hollow waveguide. The interaction between the laser field and the atoms in the gas is so strong that electrons are violently accelerated, and then liberate their energy as a coherent beam of X-rays.

Ultrafast coherent beams of X-rays have a myriad of applications in technology and science -- from next-generation microscopes that have the capability to image thick samples in 3-D, to understanding how heat flows in nanostructures or how electrons move at interfaces relevant to energy harvesting.

This research impacts the Air Force by making ultra-fast lasers useful in remote sensing, missile defense and adapted optics. The femtosecond lasers that the couple develops to power the X-ray source are also used in micro-machining and may be applied to aircraft aerodynamics and high-performance engines.

"Our research straddles the boundary between laser science and technology," Ms. Murnane said. "We take ideas all the way from conception to integration in systems that can then be used by other scientists. This takes a team of physicists, engineers and chemists all working together. We discovered that the interaction of atoms and molecules is both useful for making coherent X-rays which, in the future, may image previously undetectable cracks in jet turbine blades."

A major future challenge is to find ways of generating coherent X-ray beams which require the scientists to control quantum phenomena at very high laser intensities. The challenges have also yielded new demands on the technology the couple uses to meet their goals.

"After a number of years of exploiting the laser technology that we already developed, we are now planning a new push for high-power laser technologies," Ms. Murnane said.

(Report by Maria Callier, Air Force Office of Scientific Research.)

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Prototype F-35 Fighter Completes Air-Start Test at Edwards

An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, marked AA-1, lands Oct. 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The F-35 Integrated Test Force staff concluded an air-start test. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes.)

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EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Oct. 24, 2008 -- The prototype F-35 Joint Strike Fighter AA-1 completed an air-start test validating the aircraft's ability to shut down and restart its engine in flight Oct. 23 here.

This ensures the aircraft, which is called the F-35 Lightning II for the Air Force, can regain power and fly safely in the event of an unanticipated engine flameout.

The F-35 Integrated Test Force staff showed the test points to 20 members of the local, national and international presses that same day as part of an F-35 media day. The aircraft arrived here Oct. 1 from Lockheed Martin's plant at Fort Worth, Texas.

The test marks the beginning of the "largest flight test program in history," said Doug Pearson, the Lockheed Martin vice president of the F-35 Integrated Force.

"This is the most comprehensive flight test program ever assembled," Mr. Pearson said. "We performed the test here because we needed to understand how we can support this complex piece of machinery. We also needed to understand how our team, both contractor and government, can function."

"It is a great day for our country and our friends, allies and partners around the globe," said Col. William Thornton, 412th Test Wing commander. "The F-35 is a significant increase in combat capability, but more importantly, it will provide America's crucial dominance in airpower."

Edwards Air Force Base was chosen for the air start testing because of its "unmatched combination of location, facilities and people," Colonel Thornton said. "Its remote location allows us to test advanced aerospace vehicle safely. We have miles and miles of lakebed runways. With this testing, we continue to learn how great an aircraft the F-35 is."

(Report by Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes, 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs.)

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Combat Camera: Joint Iraqi Army, US Army Patrol in Abu Ghraib, Iraq

Iraqi soldiers from 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division search a residence while on a routine Cordon and Knock with their Brigade in the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

An Iraqi soldier from 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division waits with a pickaxe for orders to break a lock on a door while on a routine Cordon and Knock patrol with his brigade to the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

Max a military working dog inspects a room with his handler while in support of an Iraqi army run Cordon and Knock mission to the Al Ban apartments area in the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

Iraqi soldiers from 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division move tactically up a stairwell at the Al Ban apartment complex in the city of Abu Ghraib while on a routine Cordon and Knock mission, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

Iraqi soldiers from 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division talk to the owner of a residence while on a routine Cordon and Knock with their Brigade in the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

An Iraqi soldier from 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division guards the door to a residence while others from his unit are inside searching during a routine Cordon and Knock mission to the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, 18 Oct 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

Iraqi soldiers from 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division talk with local resident, while Nemo a U.S. military working dog waits for further direction during a routine Cordon and Knock with their Brigade in the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

An Iraqi soldier sits next to the turret of his Humvee and waits for orders to get his gear and and move out on mission to the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

Iraqi soldiers from 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division take a small break before heading out on an early morning Cordon and Knock mission to the Al Ban apartments in the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

Nemo a U.S. military working dog walks into a residence with his handler while on a support mission for the 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division as they conduct a cordon and knock mission in the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

Max a U.S. military working dog checks a room for explosives during a support mission for the Iraqi army that was conducting a Cordon and Knock in the area of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)

U.S. soldiers from 1-21 Infantry Battalion 2nd Brigade Combat Team 25th Infantry Division make last minute preparations prior to rolling out with Iraqi soldiers from 24th Brigade 6th Iraqi Army Division to conduct a Cordon and Knock at the Al Ban apartments in the city of Abu Ghraib Iraq, Oct. 18, 2008. (Photographer: Sgt. Jacob H. Smith, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.)