Dear Interested Reader,
Comanche troops from the 14th Cav Regt check on renovations made to the Bata Primary School. The 21st Inf Regt conduct joint patrol in Abu Ghraib. Sadr City welcomes our troops into their homes, while TF 1-6 help deliver meals. Robert Gates visits Joint Base Balad. Iraqi IP continue to make great strides in training run by the 42nd FAR. An interesting take by officials working hard on what is the best Afghanistan strategy, while Americans win the hearts of Afghan children.
Joanna
______________________
Dec. 15, 2008
Multi-National Corps - Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
Comanche troops check on Iraqi school
CAMP TAJI - Dec. 2, Soldiers from Troop C, 2nd Sqdrn, 14th Cav Regt, 2nd Stryker BCT, 25th ID, visited the Bata Primary School, northwest of Baghdad. Capt. Travis Shain, cmdr., personally visited the all the classrooms with the school's principal. "The school is right on course with where we had thought it would be," Shain said. "The large number of students in attendance is obviously a great sign."
While Shain visited classrooms, the other Soldiers spoke to the children about the importance of school and setting long term goals for their lives. The Soldiers let the students know that the road ahead is never as easy as they plan, but encouraged them to never give up.
Not to be outdone, the teachers from Bata Village Primary School taught a valuable lesson to the Soldiers. "We learned that the students there were being taught to read and write English," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Lemay, squad leader. "We couldn't wait to see firsthand how much they knew." Short sentences couldn't be written fast enough on the classroom chalkboard by the students and Soldiers. Everyone learned something that day. "I enjoyed today; stopping by and interacting with the future of tomorrow, was the highlight of my day," Lemay said. "I hope this visit proves that we are here to help aid in any way to make tomorrow better for the country of Iraq."
Cpl. Michael Wade, cavalry scout, is surrounded by students.
(Army Photo by Cpl. Cerone Waddy)
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MND-B Soldiers take to streets of Karnabot
BAGHDAD -
Pvt. Troy Troy and Sgt. Benjamin Eaquinto pull security along a wall while conducting joint patrol with IA soldiers in the South Karnabot neighborhood of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, Dec. 8. Both Troy and Eaquinto are infantrymen assigned to Co B, 1st Bn, 21st Inf Regt, 2nd Stryker BCT, 25th ID.
(Army photos by Spc. John Stevens)
Sgt. 1st Class Waylon Petty, an infantryman assigned to Co B, rides a bicycle through the streets of the South Karnabot. MND - Baghdad Soldiers continue to increase relationships with the locals while providing security and comfort during joint patrols with the IA in Abu Ghraib.
A child watches Cpl. John Scully, an infantryman assigned to Co B,
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Sadr City residents welcome IA, MND-B Soldiers into homes
BAGHDAD - The residents of Tharwa 1 shook hands with Soldiers of 1st Bn, 6th Inf Regt and IA Soldiers in the streets as they conducted house-to-house searches for unauthorized weapons, and the residents gladly opened their doors and welcomed the Soldiers inside. Most residents offered tea and breakfast, and they took handbills and tip cards with great interest, as they hoped to show the Soldiers they were willing to help out in order to keep the area safe for their children.
"The people here in Sadr City really appreciate our efforts, and it's nice to see them all come out to greet us when we knock on their doors," said Spc. Mark Kupiec, Co C, 1st Bn, 35th Armor Regt, TF 1-6, 2nd BCT, 1st Armored Div, attached to 3rd BCT, 4th ID.
Kupiec, and the other Soldiers of 2nd Plt, Co C, 1-35 AR, have conducted numerous clearing ops in Thawra 1. They recently finished clearing an area of more than 3,000 homes in a course of 2 months. In that search, the Soldiers confiscated more than 375 unauthorized weapons and passed out more than 100,000 handbills stressing the importance of SF.
"It's amazing to think of how many homes we've searched this deployment, but we're professionals and we know exactly where to look to find hidden weapons," said Cpl. Bradley Hahn, 2nd Plt, Co. C.
"It's always good to know basic Arabic phrases such as 'May we come in,' 'Open the door' and 'Do you have a weapon,'" said SSgt. Ralph Bain. The 2nd Plt Soldiers all have spent time studying Arabic with their interpreter, and it comes in use often when the plt is split into separate teams, and they only have one professional interpreter.
Soldiers talk with Thawra 1 neighborhood residents.
(Army photo by 1st Lt. Christopher Young)
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IA, MND-B Soldiers deliver meals to Sadr City
BAGHDAD - Dec 7, Iraqi Capt. Mohammed made it his show, coordinating his soldiers and setting everything up. Once everything was ready, the Soldiers with TF 1-6, 2nd BCT, 1st Armored Div, attached to 3rd BCT, 4th ID, started inviting the growing crowd of children in to receive their meal. The crowd grew steadily while the op was ongoing. Capt. Mohammed handed out meals personally for the duration of the distribution. The U.S. Soldiers greeted children, women and families of all ages. The MND-B Soldiers also distributed comic books, Iraqi flags and messages of peace and a united Iraq.
Children were seen walking away waving their flags in the air, chanting and dancing. Elderly women were allowed into a separate entrance, so they would not be mixed in with the excited crowd, to ensure they were not left behind.
IA soldiers and U.S. Soldiers from Co A, TF 1-6, celebrate with Iraqi children after the Iraqi Soldiers handed out Halal humanitarian meals.
(Army photo by 1st Lt. Jamen Miller)
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Six suspected terrorists detained in Mosul
MOSUL - Coalition and Iraqi SF detained 6 suspected terrorists during an op Dec. 12., in the Shuada neighborhood approx. 4 a.m.
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Gates visits Sustainers at Joint Base Balad
JOINT BASE BALAD - Dr. Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense met with military leaders and visited service members here today as part of a tour through the Middle East.
At the town hall, when asked about his decision to stay on as Secretary of Defense, Gates said, "No reason was more compelling to me than the fact that if hundreds of thousands of young Americans are doing their duty - your duty - without fail and often under difficult and dangerous circumstances, then I really had no choice but to follow suit."
Gates praised the military's efforts to improve warrior care and medical evacuations. He said everything possible was being done to protect service members and get them home safe, and he cited how quickly the Department of Defense deployed 12,000 Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected vehicles as proof.
In his opening remarks, Gates had nothing but praise for the service members. "Each one of you could have done something easier, safer, probably with better pay," he said, "but you chose to step forward and wear the country's uniform."
This is Gates' ninth trip to Iraq.
Service members listen and ask questions.
(Army photo by Spc. Brian A. Barbour)
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MND-B Soldiers detain 2 suspected criminals in Rusafa
BAGHDAD - Soldiers assigned to 4th BCT, 10th Mtn Div captured 2 suspected criminals in eastern Baghdad's Rusafa district, Dec 12. Soldiers from 3rd Sqdrn, 89th Cav Regt conducted an early morning op and detained the criminal suspects shortly before 3 a.m.
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Iraqi Police rise to challenge
BAGHDAD - Throughout Baghdad's Karkh security district IP make daily strides to earn the trust of the local population. During the past year, the IP in Saliyah, Karkh, and Juafer stepped up, and took the lead in securing their neighborhoods. Taking this more active role has placed them in the spotlight in securing Karkh, and the citizens of northwest Baghdad appreciate their efforts.
CF have supported this move by enrolling the IP into the Police Train-the-Trainer program, or PT3 that is run by the 4th Bn, 42nd FAR, 1st BCT, 4th ID, operationally attached to the 2nd HBCT, 1st ID, at FOB Prosperity. The program starts every few weeks and teaches IP basic fundamentals of marksmanship, dismounted patrolling, traffic control point ops, basic first aid, basic Iraqi law, crime scene mgt., IED identification and reaction, building clearing and searching procedures of a person and a vehicle. The IP's then follow up by conducting the training at their station to their fellow officers.
CF then included the IP on several joint neighborhood clearances. During these clearances the IP's took the lead and confiscated a number of AK-47's and weapons mags. They also took the lead in talking to the local population. By doing this, the IP have made sure that the citizens of Karkh know they are on their side, and are there to ensure they remain safe in their neighborhood.
"With the increase of responsibility that the IP in the Karkh district have taken since July, they've been operating without the help of the IA," says Capt. William Macugay, cmdr., Btry A. 4th Bn. "They've really taken charge of the area, and have been able to respond to significant events and execute missions across the district."
CF continue to train the IP's every day, and see a bright future for them in Karkh. "The ISF have been very successful in taking control over the Karkh security district, and they are the model for the rest of the country's ISF with the IP's being in the lead," said Sgt. Bruce Eggleston, Intel sgt.
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Officials Work Toward Best Afghanistan Strategy
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2008 – The U.S. has been at war with extremists in Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001, and officials worldwide are working to devise the best strategy to meet changing and challenging conditions in the country. The U.S. approach to Afghanistan breaks into 2 periods: pre-insurgency and post-insurgency, a military official speaking on background said.
ISAF took over security for Kabul and its environs, and later added other areas of the country. By October 2006, NATO had security responsibility for the entire country. “For the last 24 months, we’ve had an insurgency grow,” the official said. Violence increased in 2008. The enemy tried new tactics, moving to more roadside bombs, car bombs and small-unit attacks that increased in size and sophistication. The Taliban were taking root in the nation again.
Adding to this problem is the larger issue of cross-border attacks by Taliban and terrorist groups using U.S. ally Pakistan as a planning and staging area. Developing a new operational construct is key to defeating the Taliban, the official said.
“Counterinsurgency is not strategy; it’s ops,” the official said. The surge and a new strategy led to the success in Iraq, and that has lessons for Afghanistan. “I think we’re having to walk almost the same learning curve in Afghanistan, where an insurgency arose and NATO has been challenged to handle it,” he said.
The alliance has been challenged because of manpower constraints, and NATO and affiliated countries are working to deal with this. The U.S. has committed to sending 3 BCTs -- or their equivalents -- to Afghanistan. The U.S. also will send combat enablers such as helicopters and UAVs, which may prove even more important than infantrymen, the official said.
The principal focus outside of Afghanistan is Pakistan, the official said. “You have to stabilize Pakistan before you can stabilize Afghanistan,” he said. “That is key.” Working with allies also is key. “There are those in this town who would say, ‘Kick NATO to the curb -- let’s “git’r done,”’” he said. “But we go from the construct that NATO is the reality in Afghanistan, and we need them in order to be successful. NATO must be part of the solution, and it is included in the whole strategy review. Does it make it more challenging? Heck yes, especially in a counterinsurgency.”
Coalition warfare is best suited for a strictly offensive environment. Counterinsurgency is more complex -- there are no front lines, and the enemy is all around, the official explained. “Each country has different capabilities that they bring to a counterinsurgency strategy, and any plan has to be tailored to understand that,” the official said.
The answer isn’t only with more U.S. or NATO troops. More Afghan SF are needed. The Afghan police need much work, but the Afghan army is doing well, the official said. “The sense is that the Afghans really do want to succeed,” he said. “They are fearless, and we need to stay with them. We need strategic patience in the area.”
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Americans Donate Shoes, Clothes to Aid Afghan Village
By Air Force Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
Special to American Forces Press Service
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Dec. 12, 2008 – A need for a pair of shoes provided the catalyst for a donation that benefited an entire Afghan village.
AF Lt. Col. (Dr.) Thomas Knolmayer helps an Afghan girl try on donated shoes at a humanitarian assistance visit to the Afghan Dept. of Refugees and Repatriation village. The doctor spearheaded efforts to bring clothes, shoes, coats and blankets to the refugee camp.
The humanitarian effort began when Lt. Col. Knolmayer, gen. surgeon for the Craig Joint Theater Hospital here, was operating on a boy who had been shot in the abdomen in crossfire. The doctor noticed the boy’s callused, mud-caked feet. "I was thinking about the fact that we were going to have to send him home with bare feet," said the colonel, who is deployed here from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. "His feet were covered in calluses that did not appear to be just formed, but formed over years. I felt sorry for him, so I e-mailed my wife and asked her to send a pair of my son's old hiking boots."
The request for a pair of shoes grew into something more. Knolmayer's wife contacted her friends and asked them to do the same. Before long, the donations came rolling in. The colonel worked with the Kapisa and Parwan PRT to coordinate a delivery of the shoes to people who needed them the most.
"He had quite a big collection, and we found an appropriate place to deliver them," AF Chief MSgt. John Zincone, Kapisa and Parwan PRT info officer, said. "I really appreciate this; our people were running out of humanitarian aid, and they did not have anything for the winter," Ali Hahm, a village elder, said. "I really thank, from the bottom of my heart, the CF who provided this stuff for the poor people here in this village." The relationship that formed between the PRT and DORR through the humanitarian aid drop is one both parties hope to continue, Hahm said. "We are looking forward to having the same help, the same support," he said. "We have a lot of poor, needy people here."
"They kind of ran the show," Zincone, deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., said. "We showed up with all of the goods, but they had a system in place. They had gone out ahead of time and identified all of the families. They called them out and came into the compound area one or two families at a time. Outside, a large group gathered, but the Afghan NP was there [to keep order]."
The highly organized event allowed for each family's needs to be specifically met. "It was a great experience; I loved being able to be a part of it," Knolmayer said. "What is enjoyable for me is being able to hand out these things, and watch their faces light up because they are in dire need of it. That is something we don't see very often. It is a very rewarding thing to be able to give like that."
Knolmayer said the trip will stand out in his mind for a long time. "It was fun to be a part of this event, but the larger concept of it is overwhelming and heartwarming," he said. "It's simple families back home who will never see villages in Afghanistan. They care enough to empty out their closets, and ship a box of shoes and clothes over here to these children."
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