Dear Interested Reader,
Robert Gannon - an extraordinary story about a remarkable Vietnam Vet. Keystone troops take us on patrol. Massive weapons caches seized. Defense Sec'y Robert Gates believes that the future looks bright for Iraq. Iraqis conduct live-fire marksmanship course. In Afghanistan, deployed father and son are reunited. Afghan women celebrate culture and achievements.
Joanna
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March 21, 2009
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
Basra Children’s Hospital receives toys, $10,000 in special delivery
By Norris Jones
Gulf Region Division South District
BASRA — A private pilot in his Cessna 182 landed at Basra Int'l Airport, March 18 to present a $10,000 check and 9 boxes of toys for the Basra Children’s Hospital. Robert Gannon, a Vietnam veteran who served on a medical evacuation helicopter, has visited 110 countries on humanitarian missions over the past 8 years. He says that flying into Iraq and seeing the efforts being made to rebuild the country “is definitely one of the highlights of my life.”
Dr. Muaead, representing the Basra Health Directorate, accepted the $10,000 check and said he and his staff sincerely appreciate Gannon’s interest in helping the Iraqi people. “We recognize all those working on the Basra Children’s Hospital project, which is scheduled to open later this year.”
Gannon noted it was the Associated General Contractors of Iowa that provided the funding. “Americans are caring people, and this group definitely wanted to reach out and help,” he said. He also recognized Project Hope for its efforts in making the visit possible.
Also greeting Gannon at the airport was Lt. Col. Humberto Ramirez with the Gulf Region Div, USACE in Iraq. “This is another example of how partnering efforts are making a big difference in building Iraq’s future,” he said. “The $165 million hospital will soon be a reality because a number of different groups are working together to make it happen. It’s not just U.S. resources being invested here – the UN Development Fund is participating through a $22 million grant from the Govt of Spain, there is more than $9.8 million in funding from the Iraqi Ministry of Health, and Project Hope is providing more than $30 million for medical equipment and medical staff training.”
USACE is overseeing the hospital’s construction with hundreds of Iraqis on the various crews working there. Once open, the hospital will employ in excess of 1,000 professionals and supporting staff at full operation. It will be a pediatric referral center for all of Iraq, with a focus on childhood cancers.
Following the news conference at the airport, Gannon traveled to the hospital and toured the ongoing construction at the facility. “I was extremely impressed with the workmanship and quality,” he said. “I used to own a construction co. I know the business. That hospital could have been anywhere in the western world. The Iraqi engrs and various crews are all working hard, wanting to do their best. More Americans need to know what’s happening here.”
Gannon made one trip around the world flying west, and is now about half-way through making a global trip flying east. He says he normally is gone a month or two flying his plane, parks it, goes home and works for 2 to 3 months, and then returns. He’s flown over all the oceans including an 18-hour 2200-nautical-mile leg from California to Hawaii, been to the North Pole and Antarctica, and all the continents.
“I have a special soft spot in my heart for children. I’m glad we're able to do some good today, as all involved here move a step closer to offering Iraqi youngsters with serious health problems hope for a brighter tomorrow,” he said.
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Keystone Troops Get Out On Patrol
Photos by Sgt. Doug Roles
CAMP TAJI
Spc. John Kohr (left), pulls security while 1st Lt. Steven Zahuranec, talks to other elements participating in a patrol in Al-Faris, southwest of Tarmiyah, Friday, March 13. The Soldiers are from Co C, 1st Bn, 111th Inf Regt, 56th Stryker BCT.
Sgt. 1st Class James Mergott, a plt sgt. gestures to other Soldiers after dismounting his Stryker vehicle near an IA traffic checkpoint. Mergott and Soldiers from Co C were on their way to patrol in the village of Al-Faris, when they dismounted to talk to IA soldiers.
Sgt. Oshea Washington (kneeling, right), takes up a position at the corner of a building to pull security.
Sgt. 1st Class James Mergott, plt sgt, reviews a manning roster in the rear of a Stryker vehicle.
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Iraqi police, Paratroopers uncover massive cache
BAGHDAD – March 19, while conducting combat ops in the 9 Nissan district of eastern Baghdad, acting on a tip from a concerned local Iraqi, NP officers supported by Paratroopers from 2nd Bn, 505th PIR, 82nd Abn Div, uncovered 3 separate weapon cache sites in the district.
Safely removed 29 Katushya rockets, more than 620 mortar rounds of varying sizes, 20 pounds of TNT, 15 anti-tank RPG rounds, 44 RPG rounds; along with substantial amounts of primers, mortar fuses, gunpowder and additional explosive materials and bomb making components.
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Iraqi security forces, 400 personnel cooperate to uncover dangerous cache
FOB ADDER – With the help of the Qal’at Salih and Amarah IP Depts and the al-Amarah SWAT team, the IA recovered a large weapons cache, and detained 3 individuals in the southern Iraqi province of Maysan, March 16.
Seized were 255 grenades, 23 fuses, 2 cases of AK-47 ammo, a large bag of 12.7mm ammo, 12 rounds of 82mm mortars, a mortar sighting device, 1,000 rounds of 14.5mm armor piercing ammo, 3 AK-47 rifles and 10 AK-47 mags on a farm just north of Qal’at Saleh.
“I’m always excited to work with the Americans; my Soldiers always learn new things during these missions,” said Lt. Nubrass Shaker, an ops officer in the IA. The op involved more than 400 personnel and multiple simultaneous objectives. The joint effort disrupted a major smuggling effort the IA and Maysan Police depts were working to defeat. Currently, the SF are partnered with the 4th BCT, 1st Cav Div.
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Gates: Six Years In, Future Looks Bright
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON — Prospects for the Iraqi people “get better every day,” with the Iraqis now solving their problems “politically, and not with guns,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said March 18, as OIF marks its 6th anniversary.
“That’s a much different kind of life,” Gates said, contrasting life in Iraq now to what the Iraqis endured under Saddam Hussein’s brutal dictatorship. “I believe that the Iraqi people today, with all that pain in the past, have a future that they have probably never had before,” Gates said. “They actually have a say in who governs them, where there is the opportunity for people to live under a govt that operates under the law, and the opportunity for economic growth and prosperity that makes life better for all Iraqis.”
Security trends continue to move in a positive direction, said AF Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Defense Dept spokesman. Violence is down in virtually every category: fewer civilian, Coalition and Iraqi SF casualties, fewer insurgent bombings and suicide attacks, and less ethno-sectarian violence. Iraqi SF, working closely with Coalition troops, have made headway in disrupting al-Qaida networks and reducing terrorists’ ability to communicate and coordinate, Ryder said.
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MiTTs Step Back: Iraqis Conduct Live-Fire Marksmanship Course
By Cpl. Triah Pendracki
2nd Marine Expeditionary Force
CAMP MEJID — In recent years, American MiTTs have played a huge role in the ongoing effort to build a solid and professional IA that will eventually assume full security responsibilities for its own country.
When IA Soldiers recently conducted a live-fire shooting course aboard Camp Mejid, they did so with minimal assistance from their American advisors, and in the face of high winds and blowing sand. The IA was in control of all aspects of the course – giving the safety brief, providing marksmanship tips and instructions, and overseeing the course of fire.
"The 7th Div conducted the range in a very professional and efficient manner,” said Capt. Rusty Tuten, an artillery officer serving as the ops advisor for the 7th MiTT. “As the focus of the Army shifts from combat ops to garrison functions, increased emphasis will be placed on their ability to conduct essential training evolutions. “The 7th Div has placed training as one of its top priorities, setting the example for the rest of the IA to follow,” said Tuten.
Under the U.S. Marines’ tutelage, the Anbar province-based 7th Div has emerged as one of Iraq’s most capable units, and has been used to combat insurgency outbreaks throughout Iraq – mostly outside its home province.
The live-fire course was the first time the Soldiers fired their Kalashnikov assault rifles on the range since it opened in November 2008. What made this particular training evolution important was the presence of an inspection team from the Iraqi Joint HQ based in Baghdad.
Off the range, the Soldiers are working hand-in-hand with the MiTT Marines in basic military skills like intel, logistics, explosive ordnance, and MP ops.
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Friendly Pinch
An Iraqi NP officer pinches a boy's check after clearing a house, March 7, in the Rusafa District of eastern Baghdad. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Alex Licea)
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A Little Love
Airman 1st Class Lesley Parra, a security forces apprentice with the 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Sqdrn, plays with Iraqi children, March 4.
(Photo by Tech. Sgt. Craig Lifton)
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Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Afghanistan RSS
Deployed Father, Son Reunite in Afghanistan
Photo by Lance Cpl. Monty Burton
Sgt. Lee Cronin and his father, Chet Cronin, reunite, March 8, at Camp Barber. Chet Cronin, a field service rep with II Marine Expeditionary Force at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, had the opportunity to visit his deployed son in southern Afghanistan, while troubleshooting communications equipment in Afghanistan. Sgt. Cronin, a watch chief deployed to Helmand province with Combat Logistics Bn 3, said seeing his father really boosted his morale. Sgt. Cronin deployed to Afghanistan 4 months ago. His father, Chet, has been deployed to Iraq for the past 2 years, and the 2 haven't seen each other in over a year. CLB-3 is the logistics combat element of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground TF - Afghanistan, whose mission is to conduct counterinsurgency ops, and train and mentor the Afghan NP.
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Afghan women celebrate culture, achievements
by Capt. Stacie N. Shafran
Panjshir PRT
Representing the Panjshir PRT, Tech. Sgt. Dawn Allison-Hess, accompanied by interpreter Jamila, speaks with nearly 125 women and girls from Panjshir Valley who attended the March 8 Int'l Women's Day celebration in Bazarak District. Sgt Allison-Hess is deployed from Goodfellow AF Base, Texas, and is the PRT's intel officer.
PANJSHIR - The audience heard from the province's dep. gov. and a former female Afghan judge. “Panjshir has very smart women,” Deputy Gov. Abdul Kabiri said. “They are working beside the men for the development of society. With education, we can have doctors and teachers. … Our society needs everything.”
A majority of the women wore burkas to the event, and once inside the Astana Guesthouse, wore traditional head scarves.
One of the most popular presenters, a former Afghan judge named Rahila, was recognized as “Panjshir’s Woman of the Year.” Rahila spoke about the Afghan education system during her speech. “We tend to pay more attention to boys, valuing them more than the girls, who are often uneducated,” she said. “Women are half of the society. They can participate in whatever they want.” The judge acknowledged that during the majority of her 17-year career, men were displeased with her role. “Don’t be discouraged,” she said. “One day your daughters can be like me.” Rahila distributed educational materials to the women and girls, and talked to as many as she could before the event ended.
AF Tech. Sgt. Dawn Allison-Hess shared a similarity between Afghan and American women. “The reason I can stand before you as a woman serving in the U.S. military is because of the hard work, sacrifice and dedication of countless women who came before me,” said Allison-Hess. “I'm grateful for their dedication, as I know your daughters and granddaughters will be grateful to you for selflessly striving to secure their futures.”
Following the speeches, the women and girls feasted on a traditional Afghan lunch of pilau, a rice dish made with raisins and carrots.
“This was an opportunity of a lifetime to meet with the women who influence the lives of Panjshir,” said AF Maj. Valerie Trump, the PRT’s nurse practitioner, who is deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. “The female judge and the doctors impressed me the most because of their hearts and their powerful minds,” she said. “It was a proud day for me to be a part of their celebration. I believe the Panjshir women are the key to affecting change in their families and, ultimately, this will improve the quality of life here."
A young girl listens to a speech.
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