“It’s something that always happens,” said Sgt. Catarino Briseno, 23, a motor transport operator. “You have to be able to adapt and overcome, to get yourself out of the situation as quick and safe as possible.”
The engrs of 1st CEB were called to build a small patrol base to help the Marines and sailors of 2nd Bn, 1st Marine Regt, to maintain a presence in a new area. Unfortunately, the terrain was made up of flooded fields, with few dry spots. Terrain, the engrs say is ideal for construction, but not so much for travel with heavy equipment vehicles.
“There are always different challenges that come along with each mission,” said Sgt. Fredrick Lugalia, 27, a heavy equipment operator. “The terrain dictates a lot; the soil has to be a certain way for things to work quickly and efficiently.”
With multiple deployments to Iraq under his belt, Lugalia had never been faced with Afghanistan’s challenging terrain.
“When I was in Iraq there was a lot more desert,” Lugalia said. “You didn’t have to deal with the canals and farmland that Afghanistan has.”
On their way to the suggested building site, the lead vehicle got stuck in a mud patch. A vehicle in the convoy was sent forward to recover it, but in doing so the recovery vehicle became trapped itself - a process that became routine, as Marines recovered and got stuck again, numerous times trying to leave the area. Troops were forced to dig out vehicles with shovels to free them from the soft, muddy terrain.
“We had to think quickly, get the vehicles unstuck, and continue moving, so that we could accomplish the mission and get these positions built,” Lugalia explained. Marines filled sand bags to put in the road to help vehicles get traction, as they drove through the mud.
Soltero’s family knows better than anyone how right Mickle was, when he said Soltero was always ready. Soltero’s father, Gustavo, and his younger brother, Adrian, both told hometown media reps that Soltero wanted to join the Army and serve his country, since he was a boy. “From when he was a little kid, he said when he turned 18 he wanted to join. He wanted to fight the bad guys,” Gustavo Soltero told John Gonzalez of the San Antonio Express News, Feb. 1. “He loved his country.”
"He was a hero," said Adrian Soltero, as KENS Channel 5’s Karen Grace reported in San Antonio, Feb. 1. "He did what he had to do to serve his country."
Sgt. James King, sniper team leader for HHC said that it's not an easy mission for him to put into words the impact Soltero had on his team. However, King’s poignant accounting of Soltero, and his significance, proves both he and Soltero were capable of “soldiering up” when faced with a tough task in a combat zone during a time of war. "I can say simply that he was a great man to have watching your back, and a true example of what it means to be a soldier."
Soltero’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart; Army Achievement Medal, with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters; Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal, with Bronze Service Star; Afghan Campaign Medal, with Star Device; Kosovo Campaign Medal, with Bronze Service Star; Global War on Terror Service Medal; NCO Professional Development Ribbon, with Numeral 2; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon, with 2 Bronze Service Stars; Armed Forces Reserve Medal, with Mobilization Device; NATO Medal, with 2 Bronze Service Stars; Ranger Tab; Combat Infantryman Badge; Expert Infantryman Badge; Parachutist Badge; and Air Assault Badge.
Delegation Conducts Market Outreach Mission in Zormat
In addition to the PRT, the delegation included members of the 2-45 ADT, the sub-gov., chief of police, and a rep from the Paktya Dept of Agriculture. "The people of Zormat have been reporting insurgent activity more than ever before, to the GoA and CF," Magee said.
Last month, U.S. and GoA SECFORs seized 5 weapons caches, based on tips submitted from Zormat residents. During the same time period last year, no tips came from the area. “The people here are tired of fighting. They want development now,” said sub-gov. Shah.
Magee said that U.S. and GoA officials will begin further developing the area this spring. Their plans include the installation of greenhouses at schools, beekeeping and poultry production classes, and construction projects to help mitigate seasonal flooding.
In addition to improving the townspeople's lives, Magee hopes that community involvement in the development projects will increase support for CF and the Afghan govt. As they strolled through the market, the delegation met with shoppers and shop owners to assess the economic and agricultural state of the bazaar, as well as to listen to any concerns the villagers might have.
Removing the handles was the first of many steps in disassembling the weapon. Also watching were Sgt. Leo Pins, a cavalry scout, team leader with the scout/sniper plt, HHC, 1st Battalion, 133rd Inf Regt, and Spc. Christopher Burke, a field artillery gunner, attached to the scout/sniper plt.
The 2 Soldiers from the Iowa NG’s 2nd BCT, 34th ID, TF Red Bulls, taught the ANA soldiers how to disassemble, clean and reassemble the weapon in a 2-hour training session the week before. The test was the moment of truth for Afghan soldier Abdul Ahmad, a rifleman, to see what he had retained from the training.
“The ANA soldiers didn’t originally know anything about the .50 cal,” Pins said. "It’s been about a week, so all I wanted to see was how much they retained from my first class.” He appreciated the results. “When I came over here, they actually had the bolt completely taken apart, which is something I didn’t teach them in the first class. They already figured out how to take it apart and put it back together, so that shows me that in their off time, they’ve been working with each other to learn more about the weapon, and that they'd retained a lot from what we taught them the first week,” Pins said.
“It’s pretty impressive, because it takes some of our own Soldiers more than once to even remember half the stuff involved with disassembling and reassembling this weapon,” Pins said, who's on his 3rd deployment, and has worked with .50 caliber Machine guns the last 6 years. “I know a lot of the little quirks to make it easier to take this weapon apart,” he said. “I’ve been slowly teaching them what I’ve learned, and a lot of them have picked it up, as well as learned their own ways, which is amazing to see in their 2nd class.”
Meanwhile, about 30 yards away, the soldiers from the other half of the ANA platoon were gathered around 3 of their humvees. The up-armored vehicles were inherited from the coalition, but now the ANA soldiers are responsible for maintaining and operating the vehicles. That’s where Spcs. Rene Girasek, and Richard Rawson, a field artillery gunner, attached to the scout/sniper platoon of HHC, came into the picture.
“I tried to explain why it’s important to conduct a proper PMCS,” Girasek said. “If you go on a mission and your truck dies because it’s been leaking, and there’s no oil in it, it gets overheated; or your tires didn’t have enough air in them, and they go flat; you will not be in a good situation. So we showed them how to conduct PMCS to ensure their truck will work properly.”
Rawson said they also showed the soldiers how to switch the vehicle to 4-wheel-drive mode in the event they get stuck in the rough Afghan terrain during a mission.
“We’ve been working with these guys for the last 2 months now, and we go out and do a lot of scout missions,” Pins said. “About a month ago we had contact in a village with them, and we got to see exactly how they react to that. If we didn’t have any type of working relationship with these guys, we probably would have incurred injuries, but by working with these guys, and making them our straight-up counterparts, they did an amazing job in the village, and we received no casualties. It makes us feel more confident to know that because of our training, they'll know what to do to keep this country safe. It’s teambuilding. We know if we get into something nasty, the ANA’s got our back, because they know their job.”
Research like this hasn’t been done in Afghanistan since the 1970s, and is necessary in a country with 20 million sheep and goats. “If Afghan farmers haven't dewormed before, they may see a big difference. However, we're not sure if deworming makes a big difference in every location,” Floyd said.
Floyd’s uncertainty is due to the lack of data. He and other U.S. Army military vets found no studies on gastrointestinal worms in Afghan sheep since the mid-1970s. This created a problem: without data, Floyd and other experts had no way of knowing if deworming treatments should be routinely recommended to improve the health of sheep.
As a result, Floyd and the other vets proposed a deworming study of sheep that could help Afghan farmers, and demonstrate to the govt the benefit of applied scientific studies in the field. “We realized we could make this into a project to answer that question, and get the Afghan govt and universities involved,” Floyd said. “We have the goal of demonstrating that this type of research is valid for them to do, to generate useful info for the Afghan agriculture.”
“It's very helpful,” said Sayed Mahmood, animal herd mgr. for DAIL, and in charge of collecting the data in Parwan, through an interpreter. “Afghans keep cattle and sheep for everything.”
Floyd hopes that this study has more benefits than just helping sheep. After 30 years of war and devastation in Afghanistan, he hopes this encourages the Afghan people to invest in applied scientific research on farm animals.
“The Afghan AF and ANA’s 207th Corps are prepared to support movement and delivery of humanitarian assistance. The Shindand District Gov. Mohammad's priorities for the displaced people are to distribute blankets, tents, water and food in that order,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mario Salinas with the 838 Air Expeditionary Advisory Group.
Initial estimates of those affected by the floods were 200 to 1,000 local nationals. However, current estimates show approx 2,000 households affected. The plan is to transport available aid from the Shindand Air Base as soon as possible, and are looking for more aid from around the country.
BAGHDAD - Iraqi children carry a water purifier received Jan. 15, during a combined humanitarian aid mission involving ISF and soldiers with 1st Bn, 7th FAR, 2nd AAB, 1st ID, in the Muhallah district in Baghdad.
“That’s the textbook ‘mission’ answer,” said Capt. Tommy Rutherford, COB Speicher RPAT officer-in-charge. “In simpler terms, we ensure all the equipment that has accumulated in Iraq, since the beginning of the war, is properly accounted for, vetted, and transported to its next destination.”
The RPAT is a centralized location where customers can turn in any and all equipment listed on their property books. The RPAT is divided into 2 sections: rolling stock and non-rolling stock. “We help customers out with everything from a telephone to a tank,” said Capt. Rutherford. “We make sure all paperwork is in order, and all the pieces and parts are attached. If it has wheels, it goes one way. If it doesn’t, it goes another.”
“It was a challenge becoming familiar with all the unique material that is used throughout Iraq,” said Staff Sgt. Craig Harris. “The best part of my job is getting a chance to operate all of the vehicles our guys are using outside the wire in the fight.”
“These guys tend to get all the odd items lying around the base,” Capt. Rutherford said. “Particularly for JET airmen, the challenge is figuring out what an item is or where it belongs.”
“I’m responsible for requesting movement on all assets to the next destination, and for compiling all the paperwork needed for the convoys,” said Staff Sgt. Porsha Harris, RPAT customer service and data mgt. rep.