Dear Interested Reader,
Four "Rough Riders" become US citizens. Mosul SWAT arrests the Muthana Bn Sharia Judge. Iron Bde hosts Iraqi staff officers for professional development. Dagger Signal Soldiers maintain communication needs. IA get to know the "Shadow." Combined forces conduct clearing op in Shuzayf. In Afghanistan, 33 rebels are killed in southern Afghanistan. COP Apache serves in the Jalrez Valley.
Joanna
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April 6, 2009
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs RSS
Rough Riders Become U.S. Citizens
Story by Sgt. Shannon Black
From left to right: Spc. Eduardo Reyes, from Guayaquil, Ecuador; Spc. Rosemarie Narvaez, from Subic-Zambales, Phillipines; Pfc. Dianne Hurtado, from Quito, Ecuador; and Pfc. Grace Wanjie, from Nairobi, Kenya, Soldiers with 27th BSB, 4th BCT, 1st Cav Div, became U.S. citizens during a ceremony held at al-Faw Palace on Camp Victory in Baghdad recently.
COB ADDER – Pfc. Grace Wanjie, assigned to the ‘Rough Riders’ 27th BSB, was one of 250 men and women from 65 countries sworn in by Lt. Gen Lloyd Austin, MNC – Iraq cmdr. “It felt like a new day had dawned for me, and a new chapter had opened in my life,” said Wanjie. “It was a dream come true, because this means that I have access to the privileges that Americans have. Serving in the military and having the right to vote in America, which is the greatest country in the whole world, gives me a sense of pride and honor.”
Wanjie successfully completed the long process along with 3 of her fellow 27th BSB battle buddies. After the ceremony, Wanjie shared the experience with her family members by calling them in Kenya. “When I called them, they were so overjoyed, and my dad told me that I was like an open door for my other siblings,” said Wanjie. “He told me to make sure that as soon as I get home, I should fly the flag that was given to me during the ceremony, because it represents the country that I now belong to.”
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Mosul SWAT seizes Muthana's voice of authority
Multi-National Corps - Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
TIKRIT - Mosul SWAT, with CF advisors, arrested the Muthana Bn Sharia Judge on a Ninewah Ops Investigative Court-issued warrant, and detained an additional suspected terrorist cell member, March 28 during an op in eastern Mosul.
The arrested individual was suspected of ordering terrorist attacks, and serving as a liaison between terrorist security and intel sections, stated the tactical cmdr directly involved in the op. The arrested individual is not easily replaceable and is vital for the terrorist bn's operational capability, he added. "Without his approval, terrorists in southeast Mosul cannot conduct operational attacks against Iraqi Security or CF," he said.
Within a 2-hour period, an additional cell member, who has a history of murder and carrying out roadside bomb attacks, was also detained during the raid.
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2nd BCT, 1st Armored Div Public Affairs RSS
Iron Brigade Hosts 17th IA Div Staff Officers for Professional Development
Story by Pfc. Evan Loyd
Maj. Duhmad (center) and IA staff receives a briefing on the structure of the 47th Forward Support Bn, 2nd BCT, 1st Armored Div, from Lt. Col. Michel Russell, cmdr, 47th FSB, at Camp Striker, March 27.
BAGHDAD – The 47th FSB ‘Modern Pioneers’ met with their Iraqi staff counterparts for the first time at the Pioneers’ HQ to assist the professional growth of the Iraqi soldiers, and achieve awareness and coordination between the Iron Bde and the 17th IA Div. One of the goals of the staff-to-staff visit was to illustrate to the Iraqi staff officers the importance of proper logistics planning in supply, maintenance, transportation and services for the unit.
Logistics planning is one of the challenges facing the IA, but the Modern Pioneers have an existing program in which subject matter experts teach and train the IA soldiers at their bases on maintenance, supply ordering and coordinating all classes of supply.
The IA officers received an Ops and Intel briefing to give an overview of the rest of the day’s activities. The briefing also serves as a training tool for the Iraqi soldiers to take back with them to their units. The brief illustrated to the Iraqi soldiers a part of the U.S. Army military decision-making process, which is a proven analytical process in developing estimates and a plan.
Maj. Duhmad, cmdr, 17th IA Div., MTR stressed to his staff members the importance of the meeting. Duhmad reminded them to apply the knowledge gained from the visit to help shape the MTR into a more organized and efficient logistics bn.
"Working with the IA has been a great experience,” said 1st Lt. Krystle Penaherrera, the intel officer of the 47th FSB. “I have enjoyed every moment working with them, and this partnership will bring us one step closer to going home."
After the staff counterpart break out meetings, Lt. Col. Michel Russell, took Duhmad on a tour of his bn’s areas, including the M4 rifle qualification range, the Camp Striker aid station and the maintenance bays. “When I was here at Camp Striker in April 2003 as the 47th FSB support ops officer, the new IA was not created yet. I wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told me that in 6 years I would be the 47th FSB bn cmdr, back on Camp Striker, participating in a professional exchange with my IA counterpart,” said Russell.
Iraqi Maj. Duhmad (center) is given a tour of the M4 firing range.
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2nd BCT, 1st ID Public Affairs RSS
Dagger Signal Soldiers Unite for Mission
Story by 1st Lt. Selina Tolonen
Soldiers from the 2nd Plt “Knights” Joint Network Node (JNN) 7768, BSTB, 2nd HBCT, 1st ID, work as a team to troubleshoot one of the switches that enable the pathway for users to receive military phone and internet services at FOB Justice, March 27. The Knights work together with the communications section of the 1st CAB, 18th Inf Regt, 2nd HBCT, 1st ID, MND-B to fulfill the communications needs of their fellow 2nd HBCT Soldiers.
BAGHDAD – Communications Soldiers in Iraq have to constantly work closely with their counterparts to maintain the communication needs of their fellow Soldiers.
“The JNN provides the backbone for our network,” explained 1st Lt. William Lee, communications officer in charge, Vanguard Bn. “The high capacity line of site and satellite channel a signal through the JNN to all the digital voice, data and Internet subscribers in the ‘Vanguard Nation.’” Some of the duties the Vanguard communications section takes on include ensuring the re-imaging of computers, installation of software and external devices, functionality of e-mail accounts, and radio ops. The JNN Plt programs phones, allocates users and troubleshoots and maintains the network.
“All in all, we have our responsibilities and they have theirs,” said Spc. Jeremy Carroll, the Local Area Network mgr, for the Vanguards. “There are some things, such as conducting bn and bde radio checks, and running and testing cable, which we do together.” He said since a signal Soldier’s job never truly ends, it helps to work together with the fellow “signaliers” in the JNN plt to accomplish the communication mission on FOB Justice.
With6 months of the deployment complete, the JNN Plt and the Vanguard communications section continue to focus on executing a successful maintenance program, understanding the environment and system limitations, and keeping a pulse on the ever-evolving communication needs of users. “Complacency kills; we must constantly work together and remind ourselves of the scope and end-state of our mission, because what we do affects the war fighters outside the wire,” said Sgt. Michael Cannon, high capacity line of sight team chief.
Pfc. Jason Huff, a signal support systems specialist, 1st CAB, performs a radio check to Camp Liberty.
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2nd BCT, 4th ID Public Affairs RSS
8th Iraqi Army Division Familiarizes With the Shadow
Story by Sgt. Rodney Foliente
A Shadow tactical unmanned aerial vehicles sgt with Co A, STB, 2nd BCT, 4th ID, inspects a TUAV launcher during pre-flight checks, prior to a launch demo for officers from 8th IA Div during familiarization training at Camp Echo, March 29.
CAMP ECHO – Soldiers from Co A, STB, conducted the training by reviewing technical data, explaining training requirements for operators and maintenance personnel of the TUAV, and launching a Shadow TUAV to demonstrate its surveillance capabilities first-hand.
“We were happy to show them our capabilities for surveillance, and they were pleased to learn,” said SSgt. Henry Henson, TUAV sgt, Co. A. He said the Iraqis expressed a lot of interest in obtaining a similar system through the GoI. “We’re hoping for future joint ops, assisting them in learning the capabilities, until they can be self-sustaining.”
“The demo was excellent,” said Lt. Col. Kassim Kathem, cmdr for the 8th IA Div. military intel bn. “We hope this surveillance capability will be available to every Iraqi soldier and officer as they conduct their missions. We hope to have a UAV unit.” Kathem said they appreciated the CF’ assistance with UAVs in the past, but felt that “Iraqi personnel could use this technology more effectively because they know the area better. Our units could have greater command and control of our areas of responsibility with such an asset.”
IA Officers watch and learn as Soldiers from Co A conduct pre-flight checks on a TUAV launcher prior to a launch.
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Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq RSS
Iraqi, U.S. Soldiers Conduct Clearing Operation in Shuzayf
Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Walter Pels
U.S. Soldiers from Green Plt, 1st Bn, 24th Inf Regt, 1st Stryker BCT, 25th ID, destroy a building used as an insurgent hideout with high explosives in the village of Shuzayf, March 26.
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Afghanistan News Center
33 rebels killed in southern Afghanistan
KABUL – Thirty Taliban-linked militants were killed in a police op in southern Afghanistan and 3 others died in an explosion during a bomb training session, authorities said March 31.
The heavy toll suffered by the insurgents came as world leaders gathered in The Hague to focus on ways to help Afghanistan tackle a growing extremist insurgency and build stability. The op in the south was launched March 30 in Uruzgan province and continued March 31 in neighbouring Helmand province, another hotbed of Taliban activity, the interior ministry said in a statement. "During this op 30 enemies of peace and stability were killed and 17 were injured," he said, adding that Mullah Yaqoub, a "famous Taliban cmdr," was among the dead.
Several rifles, machine guns and some ammo were also seized during the fighting, one of the biggest raids against the militants in recent weeks, the ministry said.
Uruzgan dep. police chief Mohammand Gulab said that 150 Afghan police took part in the op and were assisted by int'l troops. Four policemen were wounded in the fighting, he said.
Separately, 3 militants were killed and 2 wounded when a bomb exploded while they were training to use explosives in the eastern province of Khost on Monday, the defence ministry said. "A bomb exploded during the training session conducted by foreign instructors and killed 3 of the terrorists," he said. The statement did not say if the dead included "foreign instructors" -- a reference to Al-Qaeda operatives supporting the Taliban.
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American Forces Press Service
Combat Outpost Serves as Front Line in Afghanistan Fight
By Fred W. Baker III
Army SSgt. Robert Rios, right, and Pfc. Michael Halter, Co A, 2nd Bn, 87th Inf Regt, lead a patrol down during a village assessment in the Jalrez Valley of Afghanistan’s Wardak province, March 12, 2009. This was the troops’ first stop in the village, as they worked their way out from the nearby COP Apache.
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2009 – Next to a small village in Afghanistan’s fertile Jalrez Valley, a plt of U.S. soldiers busy themselves fortifying a fighting position, stringing concertina wire, aiming mortars, and filling lots and lots of sand bags.
“Apache,” a U.S. military COP, is housed in an abandoned former district agricultural building. It is flanked by a school and medical clinic on its east. Villagers tend to an orchard that runs along its west side, and to the north a handful of farmers care for cattle and crops.
It seems an unlikely spot for CF to go toe-to-toe with the Taliban and other enemy fighters who use this valley for staging attacks in nearby areas, such as the capital city of Kabul. But the outpost is the front line in a fight against an enemy that hides among the local population in the villages and in the mountains.
Pushing troops out of larger FOBs and into community-based COPs was successful in Iraq, for holding areas cleared of enemy forces. It is this same strategy that military officials in Afghanistan’s Wardak province hope will quash enemy activity in one of the country’s most dangerous valleys.
“Our presence alone is the security,” said Army Capt. Matthew Thom, cmdr of Co A. “I believe that since we’re here … our permanent presence is going to prevent that kinetic activity.” The 10th Mtn Div’s 3rd BCT has more than tripled the firepower here since taking over ops in Wardak and Logar provinces last month. It has doubled the number of COPs to 6 in Wardak. “I'm fully confident that they would be foolish to attack us,” Thom said. “Nobody wants that, but I feel that we're postured according to the threat level very well. I believe that our posture alone is going to prevent that from happening.”
Thom’s troops landed, literally, in the valley about a month ago, in an air assault mission that many of the soldiers described as the most difficult of their careers. In the bitter-cold, early morning hours, the infantry troops launched with full combat packs from hovering helicopters into waist-deep snow and began a 5-mile trek to what is now their outpost. The mud building that would become their home was abandoned and cold. There was no electricity or water. Like most outposts here, conditions are, to say the least, austere, especially at the start. The troops themselves build up the outposts, securing them first, and then adding comforts such as heat. There's no running water and no cold storage, which means no cooked meals and no showers. Troops suffice with heated, packaged Army meals and keep clean with “lots and lots of baby wipes.” But, for the most part, the infantry soldiers are happy. It’s not a bad life as far as infantry goes, they said. There's a roof over their heads, and they are not sleeping on the ground. Mail is delivered fairly regularly, and soldiers rely on comfort items sent from home. Conditions are better now than during the unit’s first deployment to Afghanistan a few years ago, the unit’s veterans said. One plt sgt went 4 months without a shower, he said.
“Life is good,” Thom said. “This is definitely not Bagram [Airfield], but I really don’t want it to be that. We have what we need to do our jobs, and too much more becomes a distraction. We stay really busy.”
The U.S. troops bring with them much-needed funds for construction and renovations. But still, some in the area are wary that the troop’s presence will draw more fighting to the valley, and that their families and livelihoods could be caught in the crossfire. “When we come here, we kind of bring a sense of war with us,” Thom acknowledged. “There is some skepticism, but I believe the better part of the population is happy we’re here.”
Patrols are focused around assessing villages and meeting local leaders. Military officers mentor district govt leaders and help them strengthen their local support. Cmdrs’ Emergency Response Program funds are funneled into local projects such as repairing wells, refurbishing schools and building roads. And for their efforts, the troops hope the local people will point out anyone in their villages who would threaten the security in the area.
Hogan and the soldiers in his command are hopeful that the increased troop strength may have staved off some attacks. And they are pushing hard to establish roots in the communities so that when the enemy fighters return, they find themselves without the support they enjoyed in previous years.
Army Spc. Daniel Camino, left, and SSgt. Cody Collins, Co A, 2nd Bn, stop a local boy riding his donkey near a meeting with local leaders in Afghanistan's Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, March 12, 2009. The patrol secures the area for the meeting and is watchful of attacks in one of the most dangerous valleys in the province.
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