Dear Interested Reader,
Marines hosted a key leader engagement at Patrol Base Jaker. 377th Parachute FAR on 2 night air assaults in Khowst. Haqqani training site destroyed. Booby-trapped building fails. Security patrols continue in the Nawa district of Helmand prov.
Iraq: Kirkuk residents make their voices heard. Basrah SWAT arrests suspected terrorist cmdr. Vocational training provides job skills in Basra. Joint engr project to span the Tigris.
Joanna
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August 9, 2009
Afghan Corps commander visits ANA soldiers
By Lance Cpl. John M. McCall, RCT 3
PATROL BASE JAKER, Afghanistan —
Regional ANA corps cmdr, Brig. Gen. Zazi, visited his troops, July 28, 2009. Zazi spoke to Afghan soldiers about their partnered efforts with U.S. Marines, and positive interaction with the local populace. Lt. Col. William McCollough, comm. officer of 1st Bn, 5th Marine Regt greets ANA Generals Ghoori and Zazi during a key leader engagement involving ANA Soldiers and local Nawa District officials.
(Lance Cpl. James)
HELMAND PROVINCE -- “I'm proud of you for the sacrifices you’ve made for the people of Afghanistan,” Zazi said. “The coalition is the Afghans’ friend. We need to come together. We’re all brothers in arms.” Zazi talked with a group of village elders, hearing their opinions on current issues in the area.
“The people are very pleased. They're happy with what the ANA has been doing,” said Army Col. Gary Schmitt, senior mentor for the 205th Corps, the ‘Hero Corps.’ “The ANA is a lot stronger than it was a year ago,” Schmitt said. “They’re natural-born fighters. We don’t need to teach them how to be warriors, but we do need to teach them a lot of the enablers to be successful.”
Many of the people in Nawa District are concerned that the ANA and U.S. Marines will stop providing security in the area after the Aug. 20 elections, but U.S. and Afghan military leaders continue to stress that their forces are here to provide partnered security for the long term. “The enemy tells them things that just aren’t true,” Schmitt explained. “A lot of people think that Marines will pack up and leave after the elections are finished. That is completely false.”
With security established, Marines and Afghan forces can continue to give people a reason to feel safe. “The center of gravity for this war is the people,” Schmitt said. “And the center of gravity for these people is family, religion and culture. If we can understand that, we will win.”
Marines with 1st Bn, 5th Marine Regt, hosted a key leader engagement involving ANA soldiers and local Nawa District officials at Patrol Base Jaker. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Purschwitz)
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CJTF-82 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center
ANA, U.S. Soldiers join forces for night-time air assaults in Khowst
Photos by Spc. Matthew Freire
KHOST PROVINCE - Army Cpl. Shaun Armstrong, assigned to 2nd Bn, 377th Parachute FAR, 4th BCT, 25th ID, secures a landing zone for an air-assault mission during Op Champion Sword, Aug. 2.
ANSF and ISAF teamed up for the joint op, which targeted specific militants in eastern Afghanistan.
Cpl. Armstrong scans the area during air-assault mission.
Pfc. Branden Hazuka searches a qallat, or Afghan home, for explosives and weapons.
ANA and U.S. soldiers search buildings for weapons.
Army Soldiers search the roof of a qallat, or Afghan home, for weapons and explosives.
Army Soldiers alongside ANA soldiers, secure their landing zone.
Army Soldiers watch a CH-47 Chinook helicopter land.
Sgt. Andrew Burch tells Pfc. Frank Hardcastle, and an ANA soldier how to
orient themselves for security, during an air-assault mission to search
Khowst province, as part of Op Champion Sword, Aug. 4.
Sgt. Burch and an ANA soldier scan a tree line for militants, Aug. 4.
AF Joint Tactical Air Controller pulls security alongside Army Soldiers, Aug. 4.
Pfc. Rodrigo Ximeno scans for threats, Aug. 4.
Army Pathfinders pull security, Aug. 4.
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War on Terror News
Haqqani Training Site Destroyed in Khowst
Kabul - An Afghan-ISAF assaulted a militant stronghold in the remote mountains of Khowst Prov., Aug. 4, in pursuit of a Haqqani cmdr responsible for facilitating foreign fighters, weapons, IEDs, and other explosive materials in the region.
The joint force targeted a location on the west side of the prov. after intel confirmed subversive activity. The SECFOR was engaged by enemy small arms fire, heavy machine gun fire, RPG fire, and an SVIED during the op. The SECFOR used direct fire and close air support to defeat the militant attacks.
As the enemy maneuvered from its mountaintop positions, the SECFOR cleared an array of bunkers, tents and lean-to structures that indicated an active training site. The SECFOR killed 18 militants and recovered the following items from the targeted location: IED and explosive materials, an RPG launcher and multiple RPG rounds, a DSHKA machine gun, a recoilless rifle, a PKM machine gun, several AK-47 rifles, more than 40 military chest racks with fragmentation grenades, and communications gear.
The op dealt a severe blow to Haqqani ops in Khowst Prov. Afghan and ISAF remain steadfast in their pursuit to disrupt all Haqqani ops and to interdict Haqqani leadership in Afghanistan.
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War on Terror News
Booby-Trapped building in Ghazni Fails
KABUL - An Afghan, ISAF conducted ops near the farming village of Alakh in western Ghazni Prov., Aug. 4 in an effort to break the Taliban’s command and control of its subordinate elements, and to choke the flow of foreign fighters into the region.
After receiving intel of militant activity, the joint force was led to a building in the village. The force first issued verbal commands for occupants to exit the targeted building. Upon observing no occupants, the force continued its escalation of force by launching grenades and explosives near the building when the structure exploded. A subsequent search determined the structure was booby-trapped with explosives.
This joint op was prompted in part by a recent fatal IED attack against Afghans in neighboring Zabul Prov. Afghan and ISAF continue to combine thoughtful planning, patient observation and resources into extending their reach into Afghan’s provs., and eliminating this deadly threat.
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DoD Imagery
AF Maj. Missy Steckler, a flight nurse assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight, provides care to a patient during a mission at Kandahar Airfield in Kandahar, July 21, 2009. The patient will be transported to Bagram Airfield in Parwan.
(DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller, AF)
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DoD Imagery
Marines with Bravo Co, 1st Bn, 5th Marine Regt and ANP officers conduct a security patrol through the Nawa district of Helmand province, Aug. 3, 2009. Marines with 1st Bn, RCT 3, 2nd MEB-A are deployed to support NATO's ISAF and participate in counter insurgency ops. They will train and mentor ABSF to improve security and stability in the country.
(DoD photo by Cpl. Artur Shvartsberg, Marine Corps)
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DoD Imagery
(DoD photos by Lance Cpl. Jeremy Harris, Marine Corps)
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jonathan Collins with Alpha Co, 1st Bn, 5th Marine Regt laughs and jokes with an Afghan boy during a key leader engagement in the Nawa district of Helmand prov., July 30, 2009.
Marines leave their FOB to conduct a census patrol in the Nawa district, July 30.
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Multi-National Division - North PAO-Iraq
Kirkuk residents voice their opinions through their community leaders
Brig. Gen. Ali (center), the chief of the Raheem Awa Police Station in Kirkuk, hosted a meeting at his station, Aug. 3.
(Army photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor)
FOB WARRIOR, KIRKUK - Hearing the opinions of every resident in a politically, religiously and ethnically diverse city like Kirkuk, is an important task for forward progress, according to Lt. Col. Terry Cook, cmdr of the 3rd Bn, 82nd FAR, 2nd BCT, 1st Cav Div.
In order to expedite this process, the Raheem Awa Police Station hosted a meeting Aug. 3, where local community leaders met public officials face-to-face and addressed the concerns of Kirkuk residents.
"People come and tell us their concerns, and we bring them to the table," explained Abdul-Star Abdulla, a community leader from the Raheem Awa District. "That way we can come up with solutions." This wasn't the first such meeting; in fact, they take place nearly every month at different stations around the city.
These monthly meetings are still a fairly new idea to residents in the city, but already the community leadership is seeing positive results. During the last meeting at the Raheem Awa Police Station, local officials from the trash collection service were informed that many neighborhoods in the district were full of garbage, said Abdul-Star. After only a brief period, garbage collectors arrived and started cleaning up the area. "Now it looks more beautiful than it has in the past," he added. "Both the community and public officials are beginning to see the value of communication, and that is something that will last even when we're gone," said Grevious.
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Multi-National Corps - Iraq PAO
Basrah SWAT arrests suspected terrorist commander in southern Iraq
BAGHDAD - IP from the Basrah SWAT team, along with U.S. force advisors, arrested a suspected terrorist cmdr Aug. 5, during an Iraqi-led op in southern Iraq.
During the early-morning mission, the SWAT team operated under the authority of a warrant issued by the Basrah Court. The suspected terrorist cmdr of the Basrah-based insurgent group is allegedly responsible for conducting and coordinating IED and indirect fire attacks in the area.
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Basra Project Provides Job Skills, Employment Opportunities
By A. Al Bahrani
Gulf Region South district
Lt. Col. Humberto Ramirez, GRS Basra Area Office dep. cmdr, and Todd Harter, GRS construction rep, discuss the construction progress at the Al Basra Institute for Vocational Training renovation project with Iraqi project engrs.
BASRA — A vocational school renovation project is slated to help residents of Al Hyyaniya, a densely-populated neighborhood in Basra, learn job training skills that should increase their employment opportunities.
“The renovation project will have a big impact for Basra Community,” said Todd Harter. “The aim of the project is to provide the residents of Basra a modern vocational training center that will offer a positive learning environment to train students for many years.” In addition, Harter said, “The graduates of the training center will provide a greater skilled pool of workers for companies to choose from in the area. Companies will be able to hire graduates and be assured that they are training properly.”
Built in 1976, the Institute was completely unusable after 2003. “All the buildings, warehouses, and classrooms were in very bad condition, and there weren't enough rooms for all the students who wanted to join the training center,” said Al A’mara, the center’s headmaster. “The center was able to accommodate about 400 students, but when completed we hope this number will increase to 1,000,” Al A’mara said. “In addition to welding, carpentry, electric, plumbing, auto mechanics, and masonry classes, we are planning to include new computer, electronics, English, a/c and refrigeration courses.”
The renovation project is scheduled to be completed in Nov.
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Joint Engineer Mission to Span the Tigris
By Sgt. Rebekah Malone
225th Engineer Brigade
The Soldiers of 277th Engr Co, 46th Engr Bn, 225th Engr Bde, work on the first step of a many step process to build a Mabey Johnson Float Bridge near Taji. The huge undertaking requires 6,000 cubic yards of dirt to be moved to level the ground for the bridge. That is nearly 400 dump truck loads of dirt.
BAGHDAD — The Tigris River, or in Arabic Nahr Dijlah, winds itself through the very heart of Baghdad. For centuries, it has provided life-sustaining water and enabled trade in Mesopotamia. Traversing the fabled waterway is what a joint U.S. and Iraqi engr project hopes to accomplish.
The 225th Engr Bde, with help from the 555th, out of Balad, and IA engrs aim to complete an iconic Mabey Johnson Float Bridge that will span the banks of the Tigris River by Taji, north of Baghdad, by the beginning of Sept. 2009.
The bridge, known for the speed in which it can be built, its dependable nature and the heavy weight capacity, make the Mabey Johnson a perfect fit for the nearly 90 meter span of river that engrs must cross.
Without the bridge, troops would have to take a route into the cities late at night, a 2 hour one-way trip, in order to support the rest of the BCT on the west side of the river. The bridge currently in place cannot support neither the weight nor height of large military vehicles. "Building this bridge helps reduce U.S. forces' traffic in the city," said Lt. Col. Dave Dancer, ops officer for the 225th. "It cuts travel time for 1-1 CAV down by 1-1/2 hours."
Combat engr, Sgt. Maj. James Reppond, explained that the near and far sides of the river needed huge amounts of dirt removed to level the ground to emplace the bridge. "We have to build an area identically, same elevation, same size, same everything where the actual bridge will go on both sides of the river," said Reppond.
Heavy equipment operator, Sgt. Thomas Pearson, 277th Eng. Co., said high motivation is what gets the Soldiers through the long, hot, tiring days. "Our work ethic means we will never miss a deadline," Pearson said. "If you treat your Soldiers the right way, it gives them the right motivation to succeed, no matter what the cost."
Sgt. Adam Deluna, is in charge of the dirt-moving portion of the project. He said the Army engr surveyors have the difficult task of carrying equipment back and forth across the river. "It's a tough job, bouncing around to give cut and fill grades, then coming back to check again," Deluna said. "The numbers are changing constantly."
This is Deluna's second deployment. On the first deployment, he completed a project similar to the one he is supervising now, just further down the Tigris.
"This is my second time to have fun by the river," Deluna said with a smile. "Anytime we get to do a big project we have fun. We've been waiting on this project for over a month!"
The depth and speed of the river's current, coupled with the nearly 20' drop-off raised eyebrows when the engrs began the project. But their professionalism and skill has so far kept the Soldiers safe as they work on the banks of the river.
"Were there concerns? Yes. Difficulties? No," Pearson said with pride. "The project is easy because we have young Soldiers that are motivated, enthusiastic, and want to see the finished product."
It's expected to take 12 days to complete the dirt work, and another 15 days for the 555th and IA engrs to install the actual bridge before it is ready for military vehicles to drive across.
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