In the Saydabad district of Wardak prov., forces detained several suspects today after searching a series of buildings known to be used by a Taliban leader and his unit. The group is suspected of providing financial support, weapons and bombs to other militants.
In a third op today, forces detained several suspects after searching buildings west of Kandahar City. The buildings are known to be used by a Taliban element responsible for the supply of weapons, explosives, fighters and money to other militant elements in the region.Nuristan's Gov. Badr, said ISAF and Afghan troops besieged a group of Taliban in an area of the prov.'s Kamdesh district, but did not give further details. "The op started this morning," Badr told Reuters by phone. A press officer for U.S. and NATO-led troops said there was "activity ongoing" in the area but gave no further details.
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Blackanthem Military News
"Even though we're in a combat zone, a non-training environment, I want to pass on as much info and training as possible to the younger guys," said the instructor pilot. "My goal is to ensure pilots get the best training possible," he added.
Spc. Donald Tharp, Co C, was on his first deployment in his 3-year military career during the mobilization to Iraq in 2009. "When I first starting flying, I was nervous," said Tharp. "He pulled me to the side and helped me calm down." Sawyer's mentorship did not stop at comforting the specialist during that first flight. "He's always pushing people to study academics of the aircraft," added Tharp. "He's always pushing people to be better at what they do."
The company's 1st sgt, 1st Sgt. James Hudnall, also recognized Sawyer as an asset to the company and deployment. "He's a very fit, dedicated and knowledgeable Soldier who is extremely confident," Hudnall said. "He's representative of the loyalty and professionalism of the military in general."
The school's construction was originally initiated by the Republic of Korea’s Army in June 2007, which redeployed back to Korea in December 2008. Several U.S. Army Civil Affairs Teams supervised the project from then until its opening.
"There was a lot of overcrowding in this area," said Lt. Col. Timothy Quinlan, who helped oversee the project from June 2008 to April 2009 while serving in Erbil with the 304th CAB. "This is a growing community and the gov. wanted to put schools in the poor neighborhoods that needed them most," Quinlan said. Opening a school of this size and quality in a downtrodden neighborhood like Bnaslawa, demonstrates to the people that the govt really cares, according to Quinlan.
For the young girls who will be attending school here, the new school is more than just a place to learn. "The building is very beautiful and new," said Zahra Azadin, 14, who will be attending 9th grade at the school. "If a school is small, we can still study, but here, we have more opportunity of moving forward. We can go from here to better things. I'm very excited to be here," said Zahra.
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During a joint mission, Oct.1, Burt, along with partnered IFP HQ across the street from Sameen's store, dropped by to congratulate Sameen on the upgrades he made with his micro-grant funds. "I was surprised when I walked up to see all the changes he made," said Burt. "We'd driven by a few times and saw the new paint on the outside, but when we walked up, there was lighting and a/c inside and fresh supplies for the community. He did exactly what he said he'd do with the money."
U.S. troops asked Sameen if he could remove plastic toy handguns stocked at the store as part of a turn-in weapon campaign. The toys are difficult to distinguish at first glance from real weapons on the street. Sameen understood and said he would get rid of them.
"This is an example of how a micro-grant can greatly impact the community by providing assistance to a local business and gaining rapport for the IFP and U.S. forces working in Risalah," Burt said.
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The ISF, with U.S. forces advisors, confiscated numerous weapons and explosive material used by Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) members to build VB bombs and suicide vests for attacks against the ISF and civilians in Mosul. The security team cleared several buildings uncovering military rockets and industrial-grade chemicals used to manufacture bombs.
In a separate security op, the ISF with U.S. advisors, entered several buildings in Mosul in order to arrest a warranted AQI member responsible for obtaining and distributing explosive material used to build IEDs and VBIEDs throughout Ninewa Prov. One individual was questioned and identified as an AQI criminal accomplice. Iraqi Army soldiers arrested the suspect, who will be tried for crimes before an Iraqi judge.
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Fly Ball
(Photo by Spc. Gavriel Bar-Tzur)
Army Sgt. Miguel Pastrana, 3212th Psychological Ops Det, tosses a soccer ball to children during a visit to Nasariyah, Sept. 30.
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MNF-I
Sweet Tooth
(Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kirk Worley)
Army Staff Sgt. Timothy Mills, 2nd ID, gives a child a piece of candy during a joint patrol with Iraqi Soldiers in Diayala Prov., Sept. 30.
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