War On Terror News

America Supports You: Group Awards Spouses Record Number of Scholarships

More Military Spouses Earn Scholarships

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2008 – More military spouses than ever before are heading back to school this year, and they’ve earned some financial help to study for their chosen degree, National Military Family Association officials said.

The association, which prepares military spouses, children, and parents to better deal with the unique challenges of military life, recently announced the nearly 400 recipients of its 2008 Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship Program.

This number represents a dramatic increase over previous years, officials said, thanks to new partnerships with the Fisher House Foundation and Health Net Federal Services, who helped meet the increasing demand of military spouses for education benefits.

"I am very determined, and I will finish my degree. It will be one of the proudest moments of my life, and I truly believe this is something every person should have the opportunity to accomplish,” said DeAnn Fine, a Marine Corps spouse and winner of an NMFA scholarship.

“There are so many opportunities for [servicemembers] to earn a higher education,” she continued, “and there should be just as many opportunities for their spouses because we proudly serve our country, too."

In addition to the Joanne Holbrook Patton scholarships, the new Folds of Honor Foundation provided generous scholarship funding for 180 spouses of military servicemembers disabled or killed in the line of duty during the global war on terror.

Of the scholarship recipients, about 56 percent are Army spouses, 17 percent are Navy spouses, 15 percent are Air Force spouses, 10 percent are Marine spouses, and 2 percent are Coast Guard spouses. More than 75 percent of recipients are married to enlisted servicemembers, while 20 percent are officers’ spouses. Warrant officers’ spouses represent 2 percent of the scholarships awarded.

NMFA created its scholarship program to provide financial assistance to military spouses working toward their education goals. The military lifestyle presents several challenges. Education may cost more for military spouses because constant moves require they re-take credits that don't transfer or they are forced to change their degree or program because the new school does not offer the same program, officials explained. Also, spouses sometimes take a break from their education when lengthy deployments create additional child care expenses or limit their time for their classes and studies.

Through the inspiration of Joanne Holbrook Patton, who recognized that a scholarship serves both as a reward and an incentive, NMFA officials said they launched the program to enhance full military spouse career potential.

Scholarships are awarded to spouses of uniformed servicemembers -- including those of active duty, National Guard and Reserve, retirees and survivors -- to obtain professional certification or to attend post-secondary or graduate school. Scholarship amounts range from $500 to $10,000, and can be put toward tuition, fees, and school room and board.

A complete list of winners, along with more information on the scholarship requirements and application process, can be found on the National Military Family Association Web site.

The National Military Family Association is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

Related Sites:
National Military Family Association   
America Supports You

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 30, 2008

Ramadi Welcomes New Municipal Building

Saturday, 30 August 2008

Mahmoud Marre (left), a local Iraqi contractor, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Eric Jett, a team leader with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, look over the newly-reconstructed 17th Street Municipal Building in Ramadi, June 22, 2008. Photo by Lance Cpl. Casey Jones, Regimental Combat Team 1.

RAMADI — Citizens here, along with city and provincial leaders, came together to take part in the grand opening of the 17th Street Municipal Building, Aug. 24.

 

The municipal building, also known as the “Red Building” by the locals because of its distinctive color, will serve as the local government’s city hall. The building will be occupied by the mayor, city council members, and other elected and appointed city officials.

“This building will help serve the people of Ramadi,” said Latif Obaid, the mayor of Ramadi. “Now, the city’s officials have an official place to work and focus on the public.”

The three-story building also serves as a symbol of restoration in the recuperating region.

“The building is symbolic,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Eric Jett, a team leader with Civil Affairs Detachment 2, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and a native of Oceanside, Calif. “It’s a landmark; a keystone building in the center of Ramadi. It symbolizes to the locals that their government is back on its feet.”

Before the renovation efforts, the building was used as a student dormitory.

The structure was severely damaged during fighting early in the war and needed extensive repairs to refurbish it. It was often used as a launching pad for attacks by insurgents.

“The building was hit by almost every type of munitions known to Coalition forces,” said Capt. Angel Torres, the commanding officer of Civil Affairs Detachment 2. “It was just a frame with a big hole in the middle of it.”

For the last year, the mayor of Ramadi worked inside the local police headquarters for an extra layer of security. But now that the city is a great deal safer, the local government decided to move the mayor’s office to a separate location.

With the security gains in the region, the Iraqi people have embraced peace and have begun reconstructing their city. According to Obaid, the grand opening of the municipal building was a visible testament to the tireless efforts of the people of Ramadi and Coalition forces.

(By Lance Cpl. Casey Jones, Regimental Combat Team 1)

 

Feature Stories

Marines, Law Enforcement Professional Work Together to Prosecute Criminals

Friday, 29 August 2008

By Cpl. Erik Villagran
Regimental Combat Team 5

Roger Parrino, a law enforcement professional with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, questions an Iraqi, Aug. 20, 2008, in Hit, Iraq, about an incident that occurred in the area. Photo by Cpl. Erik Villagran.

 

HIT — Marines with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 and the battalion’s law enforcement professional is working closely to prosecute criminals in Iraq.

 

Roger Parrino, the battalion’s LEP, serves as the criminal investigator for the battalion and uses his background in law enforcement to assist Coalition forces. His 21 years in the New York Police Department helped him prepare for the job. He retired as the commanding officer of the Manhattan North Homicide Squad.

Prior to the battalion’s combat deployment, Parrino joined the unit in September 2007 and assisted the Marines by giving classes on sensitive-site exploitation, tactical questioning, rule of law, detainee handling and patrol observations. He has continued to advise Marines during their combat deployment.

“When we take the LEP out, he teaches us questioning techniques and how to read people’s body language to see if they’re being forthright,” said Sgt. Jay J. Richardson, a section leader with 3rd Bn., 4th Marines.

He has spent the deployment assisting 3rd Bn., 4th Marines by questioning Iraqi locals about shootings in town, building evidence against insurgents and appearing in Iraqi courts to testify. He’s also been mentoring the National Intelligence and Investigation Agency, which is similar to the FBI.

“The [LEP] program was designed to bring someone in from law enforcement to help in the counter insurgency environment,” said Parrino.

So far, Marines have noticed his presence in Iraq. They’ve realized that he conducts his investigations in a different manner than they would.

“He does his job and approaches it differently than we do,” said Sgt. Josh W. Huskey, a platoon sergeant. “The biggest difference between us is the way he handles sensitive-site exploitation and tactical questioning. The questions we don’t have, he does.”

Marines have not only noticed his abilities, they’ve also seen the thoroughness that goes into Parrino’s investigations, and they like it.

“You see him still conducting his investigations three months after an incident occurred,” Huskey said “Last deployment, if you didn’t find the guy in three or four days, you’d move on.”

For Parrino, it’s all part of his job. He says he’s appreciated his time with the Marines and enjoys watching them use his training.

“The highlight of the deployment has been when I’m out on patrol and seeing small-unit leaders performing things the way I instructed,” Parrino said. “It has been worthwhile, and I would like to do it again.”

 

Rejuvenated Iraqi National Police Now ‘Force of Choice,’ General Says

WASHINGTON — The Iraqi National Police once owned an unenviable reputation for unreliability, but that has all changed, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said this week.

Interactive Iraq :: Video News

Iraqi Freedom Minute, Aug. 28

• This edition features a story on Col. Ronald Gallimore's experience as a paratrooper.

Watch Now

 

Friday, 29 August 2008	More than 11,000 Men Released from Coalition Detainee Operations (Camp Cropper)
Friday, 29 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers capture suspected SGCs (Baghdad)

Lollipop Lane          

Friday, 29 August 2008	DoD Identifies Army Casualty (Baghdad)
Friday, 29 August 2008	DoD Identifies Army Casualty (Baghdad)

Hole in One          

Friday, 29 August 2008	CF Soldier dies in non-combat related incident (Ninewa)
Friday, 29 August 2008	Iraqi National Police graduate Carabinieri training (Baghdad)

From the Front          

Friday, 29 August 2008	Al-Qaeda network in Hamrin Mountains decimated
Friday, 29 August 2008	Local resident turns in munitions, MND-B Soldiers find cache

Researchers Work Toward Regenerating Lost Extremities

Researchers Hope to Regenerate Lost Extremities

By Elaine Wilson
Special to American Forces Press Service

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Aug. 28, 2008 – A powder that regrows fingers and toes sounds like the stuff of fairy tales, but medical experts here are hoping they can use it to make magic happen for wounded warriors.

Related Sites:
U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research

Doctors from the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research are trying a regenerative medicine powder that’s already approved by the Food and Drug Administration in hopes of stimulating tissue growth in soldiers with missing extremities.

“The powder is FDA approved and is already being used for hernia repairs and other applications,” said Dr. Steven Wolf, chief and task area manager of clinical trials at ISR. “But it has never been used for this reason in people.”

ISR researchers are working with Steve Badylak at the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, whom they found while seeking medical innovations that could benefit wounded warriors. They were particularly interested in medical advances that could aid in combating the loss of extremities, which is a “common problem” on today’s battlefield, Wolf said.

“This is a topic the Army and Department of Defense are interested in, because when injuries happen in war, most of them are extremity injuries,” the doctor said. “With burns in particular, we commonly end up with loss of digits.”

Based on studies, ISR doctors were intrigued by what they nicknamed “pixie dust,” and the idea of a new application for an existing innovation.

“Since the powder was FDA approved and safe for use, we figured we would try it,” Wolf said. “The idea was out there that it might work for this application, but it had never been tried on humans.”

The “pixie dust” is far from magic. It is derived from pig bladder. To create what Wolf refers to as extracellular matrix, scientists take a mix of protein and connective tissue, “spin” it to remove the cells, and then mash the remaining material into a powder.

“When put onto open wound, it seems the body starts to regrow normal tissue,” Wolf said.

The theory is that when the powder is applied, circulating stem cells see the matrix, stop and differentiate into whatever they are near, Wolf said. For instance, if by a bone, then the cells become bone; if by a blood vessel, then they become a blood vessel; or if by a nerve, they become a nerve.

In other words, the regenerative medicine powder acts as a stop sign for stem cells, which are undifferentiated cells everyone has circulating throughout their blood stream.

Wolf likens the concept to regrowth of a severed tail in a salamander.

“You pull a tail off a salamander, and it regrows,” Wolf said. “The end of the tail forms what is called a blastema, and that blastema elongates. We think that’s what happens when we put this powder on.

“This process of growing your fingers has happened to you before, in your mother’s womb,” Wolf said. “The code is there, the DNA is there. What we’re trying to do is trick your body into doing that again.”

Application of the powder involves surgery to open the wound and apply it, a procedure that can be done in conjunction with an already scheduled surgery. Other than the normal risks of surgery, Wolf said, trials of the powder are practically harmless.

“If it doesn’t work, there is no downside,” Wolf said. “That’s why we’re testing it on fingers vs. legs. If we apply it to a leg amputee, the downside is the soldier won’t be able to walk for several months, and it may not work.”

So far, doctors have applied the powder to two soldiers with missing fingers.

“The first time, we saw an increase in length of the finger, but the wound closed before further growth could occur,” Wolf said. “The other case is too soon to tell.”

Wolf emphasized the concept is referred to as an innovative surgical technique. “It’s not a sure thing,” he said. “It’s a possibility.”

However, “We’re hoping for increased length with bone support,” Wolf said. “But we’re not sure how long it will take or if it will even work.”

The odds may be high, but Wolf is hoping to take a complex scientific innovation and yield magical results for improvised explosive device victims and other wounded warriors.

“If we have a soldier who was blown up by an IED and missing fingers, and we have a chance to give him his fingers back, increase his function, how can we not try?” he said.

(Elaine Wilson works in the Fort Sam Houston Public Affairs Office.)

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 30, 2008

Cultural Awareness Critical as Troops Conduct Operations During Ramadan

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2008 – The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is one of the most complex periods for coalition forces to conduct operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and being culturally aware of the environment is critically important, military officials at the Pentagon said.

For many troops who have served in current operations in the Middle East, Ramadan has been a time of increased vigilance and cultural awareness. Although cultural awareness and sensitivity always are important facets of military operations, Ramadan poses particular challenges for which coalition forces should consider and prepare, said Army Maj. Pat Work, aide de camp for the Army secretary.

This year, Ramadan begins at sunset Aug. 31 and goes through sunrise Sept. 30. The holy month begins 11 to 12 days earlier each year, because it is based on the lunar calendar, which is 255 days long.

Because Ramadan is a time of fasting, there is less opportunity for interaction with the local populace. Local citizens, security forces and even insurgents spend their days praying, reading the Koran and participating in other Ramadan traditions. However, insurgency doesn’t stop; attacks simply occur more often at night, said Work, who has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a company commander with 2nd Ranger Battalion and as a battalion operations and executive officer with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.     More....

Combined Joint Task Force-101
Operation Enduring Freedom

TF Gladiator delivers school supplies to 3 Parwan villages

Written by 1st Lt. Lory Stevens TF Warrior Public Affairs

Saturday, 30 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 28, 2008) -- Task Force Gladiator, together with Afghan National Police and a contracted construction and supply company, delivered 75 desks, 10 chalk boards and 150 sets of school supplies to three villages in Kohi Sofi District, Jurghati, Hasanzi and Shawo Katay, on Aug. 26.    

The Commander’s Emergency Response Program funded supplies after Capt. William Coulter, Alpha Company commander, visited and assessed a number of local communities. 

“All three villages had absolutely no school supplies and the only one with any furniture was Hasanzi,” said Coulter.  “The furniture at Hasanzi was old, rotten and falling apart.”

Coulter’s team sprung into action.

“The cost of supplies distributed is over $15,600, with the majority of money being spent on wood and metal for the desks,” said Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Miller, CERP manager.  Task Force Gladiator worked closely with the local contractor to ensure materials could be accessed and distributed quickly.  Children of each village were given two sets of school supplies, to include a backpack, paper, coloring book, crayons, and other basic classroom materials. 

“The road system in this region is very bad and locals have no way to commute to Bagram Air Field or Kabul to work,” said Coulter.  Task Force Gladiator plans to distribute farming tools and several water wells to residents in these villages.

Shawo Katay Village, resting upon a mountain top, has no school building and uses a mosque for meetings and instruction.  Jurghati Village has a school, although it is based out of someone’s house and the structure of the building is poor.  Projects for school buildings are badly needed, especially in Jurghati where children from four villages gather together for instruction.

“Many projects to improve the lives of Afghan people take a long time,” said Coulter.  “School supplies, farm equipment and wells make a positive impact quickly on communities.”

Press Releases

Militants killed during base attack

Friday, 29 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 29, 2008) - Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces killed more than a dozen militants after a Coalition base in Shaheed Hasas...
+ Full Story

Three detainees released from Bagram Theater Internment Facility for Ramadan

Friday, 29 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 29, 2008) –  In the spirit of Ramadan, three detainees being held at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility were released early...
+ Full Story

Militants killed, detained in Paktika province

Friday, 29 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 29, 2008) – Almost a dozen militants were killed and two were detained during a Coalition forces’ operation to disrupt militant...
+ Full Story

Over 100 militants killed in Helmand province

Friday, 29 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 28, 2008) – Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces killed over 100 insurgents during combat operations in Helmand...
+ Full Story

ANSF stop suicide attack

Friday, 29 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 26, 2008) – Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces averted a suicide bomber from harming Afghan civilians in the Tarin...
+ Full Story

Search for Top Military Spouse in Full Swing

Magazine Seeks Top Military Spouse

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2008 – Servicemembers who think their spouses are top-notch now have the opportunity to tell the world why everyone else should agree.

Military Spouse magazine is accepting nominations for its 2009 Military Spouse of the Year award, which recognizes military spouses’ myriad contributions.

“This award is MSM’s opportunity to thank all military spouses for their invaluable contributions, in addition to recognizing them for the challenges they overcome every day,” said Babette Maxwell, the magazine’s co-founder and executive editor.

The Military Spouse of the Year honoree represents millions of unsung heroes who maintain the home front, give selflessly to their communities and provide support to the nation’s troops, Maxwell said. Often, these spouses also have full-time jobs and raise families, she noted.

Nominees must be the spouse of a current member of the U.S. armed forces. Criteria for selecting the winner include impact on community change, volunteerism, personal sacrifice, education and career pursuits and other military spouse-related efforts.

Nominations can be made online at www.msoy.milspouse.com, and must be received by Oct. 8.

After judges review all submissions and select 10 finalists from each military service, Military Spouse magazine and its readers will select the 2009 Military Spouse of the Year. The winner will be announced nationally in the June issue.

He or she also will be honored during the second annual Military Spouse of the Year awards ceremony here in conjunction with National Military Spouse Appreciation Week in May.

The winner will make additional public appearances, write a monthly column to appear in Military Spouse magazine, and maintain a blog during his or her reign, which will last through May 2010.

Last year’s award generated hundreds of nominations from across the country, culminating in the selection of Army wife Chelle Brewer as Military Spouse of the Year for 2008.

The Military Spouse of the Year award is sponsored by USAA, a financial services company that serves military members and their families.

“The reason USAA exists is to help military families with their financial security and the peace of mind that brings – especially to the military spouse who shoulders so much responsibility,” said Joe Robles, USAA’s chief executive officer and a retired major general. “I know I couldn’t have done what I did for the Army if my wife, Patty, hadn’t taken care of everything else.

“Being the title sponsor of this award is a natural for us. We feel honored to honor military spouses,” he added.

USAA is a corporate supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

(From a USAA news release.)

Related Sites:
America Supports You

Sailor to Pursue Gold Medals in Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games

Sailor Pursues Gold in Beijing Paralympic Games

By Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 – Four years after he became the first active-duty servicemember to compete for the United States at the Paralympic Games, a sailor assigned to Naval Medical Center San Diego will compete again next month for gold in track and field.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Casey Tibbs, an interpretive cryptologic technician, competed in Athens, Greece, in 2004 and soon will be heading to Beijing for this year’s Paralympic Games.

"I'm just ready to go there and have fun, and that's what I'm going to do, Tibbs said during an Aug. 13 teleconference with bloggers. “And, I really can't wait to go out there and represent the United States, … the United States Navy, as well, and the whole military."

Tibbs -- who lost his right leg in a 2001 motorcycle accident -- will compete in the track and field pentathlon, 200-meter race, 400-meter race, and long jump. To prepare for the 2008 Paralympic Games, Tibbs said, he has spent an average of 30 to 35 hours per week training at the San Diego Olympic Center near his duty station.

Sitting in the medical center’s prosthetics lab during the teleconference, Tibbs explained that, as a peer mentor there, he advises wounded servicemembers to take one day at a time, cautions them not to overdo their rehabilitation in the beginning, and helps them realize that things are going to get better.

“And that's what I tell them at the beginning, because sometimes … they can hear it from a doctor, they can hear it from their family, but when they hear it from somebody who has actually sat in a hospital bed and gone from a hospital bed to an Olympic podium, it gives them a lot more hope,” Tibbs said.

Tibbs had been in the Navy for nearly two years before he lost his leg. Just two and a half months later, he ran 400 meters in two and a half minutes, he said.

“I remember doing it, and it was probably the hardest run I've ever done in my life,” he admitted. “But after that day, I was able to progress a lot more. And now I can run 400 meters in 53 seconds.”

Three years later, his hard work and training paid off, earning him a trip to compete in Athens.

“I stayed on active duty [and] went to the games in 2004. I won a gold medal and a silver medal -- a gold medal in the 4 x 100 relay, and a silver in the men's pentathlon, setting a new American record,” Tibbs said. “[I] then went to 2006 world championships. I … won my first gold medal in the individual pentathlon, and now I've qualified for the 2008 games, where I'm going to be competing in the pentathlon, the 200 meters, the long jump and the 400 meters, and, hopefully, the relay again.”

Tibbs said that before he lost his leg, he never imagined he would participate in the Olympics.

“The whole Olympic … dream really didn't start until after I lost my leg,” he said. “I was 22 years old, or 23, when I started thinking, ‘Hey, I could go to the Paralympic Games.’ That's really when my dream started.”

As Tibbs prepares for his departure for the 2008 Paralympics he reflected on the hero who helped him attain his Olympic dream: his coach, Joaquim Cruz, an Olympian from Brazil. Cruz won the gold medal in 1984 in the 800 meters as his country’s only gold medalist in track and field.

“He ran 1:41 in the 800 meters, and he's one of three people to ever do that in history of all sports, period,” Tibbs noted. “And he's definitely an inspiration to me, so he's definitely one of my Olympic heroes.”

Tibbs added that competing in the 2008 Paralympics is not about winning a gold medal or being the first-place finisher. “It's about just getting back to your life and competing in sports and just playing sports,” he said. “It's a huge part of rehabilitation.”

The opening ceremonies for the 2008 Paralympic Games are scheduled for Sept. 6, with competition officially starting Sept. 9.

(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg works in the New Media Directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)

Related Sites:
Defense Department Bloggers Roundtable

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 29, 2008

Iraqis Put Proud Face on Budding Businesses at Joint Base Balad

Friday, 29 August 2008

By Staff Sgt. Les Newport
76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

Mr. Hashim Abd Al-Amir Mahdi, owner of the Miran Company and operator of the new Joint Base Balad Container Repair facility shares a light moment with Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Crabtree of the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The facility is yet another project of the burgeoning Iraqi based industrial zones initiate that provides Iraqis with economic growth opportunities on the perimeters of installations of Coalition forces. Photo by Staff Sgt. Lesley Newport.

JOINT BASE BALAD — In a region where many men are often judged on their ability to thwart progress, he is counted among a growing number that can make things happen. And he has been making good things happen for his fellow countrymen since long before coalition forces arrived six years ago.

 

His name is Hashim Abd Al-Amir Mahdi and he is an Iraqi business leader who has been able to sustain long-term contracts with Coalition forces and provide valuable jobs for local nationals. Hashim recently took yet another step in his long journey to help restore normalcy to the land between the rivers.

Hashim hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new container repair facility at Joint Base Balad, marking the most recent and largest contract his business, the Miran Company, has negotiated with Coalition forces.

According to Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Crabtree, the contract has the potential for saving the US government more than one million dollars a year.

“The last I heard, we have over 10,000 containers [at JBB], and if they needed repaired we had to send them to Arifjan in Kuwait, a country and a half away,” said Crabtree. “Then we have to ship them back.”

Crabtree also points out that the facility, an Iraqi-based industrial zone project, is a catalyst for continued progress in Iraq, providing jobs for Sons of Iraq. The group has been given considerable credit for supporting the Iraqi government’s efforts to bring peace to the region.

As local leaders have worked to increase security, local business leaders and sheiks have forged an alliance to move forward with economic development opportunities like the container repair facility. A tertiary effect has been diminishing returns for insurgents according to Crabtree.

Feature Stories

Combat Medicine at Its Finest

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — During a recent air assault operation in the Diyala province, the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division medical team once again demonstrated its excellence. The group, which consisted of one physician, three physician assistants, one mental health provider, a preventive medicine officer and numerous skilled combat medics, delivered seamless and exceptional medical care, despite harsh conditions.

Salvadoran's Give Demo for Incoming Troops

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — Leaders from El Salvador’s Cuscatlán Battalion gathered at Bunker 7 for a quick reaction force demonstration Aug. 23. The demonstration gave the Soldiers an opportunity to show the incoming troops and Salvadoran media the high level of training they achieved in their six months here.

Thursday, 28 August 2008	IED kills civilian in marketplace (Kirkuk)
Thursday, 28 August 2008	ISF seize weapons caches throughout Baghdad

 

Training Days          

 

Thursday, 28 August 2008	Interior Ministry holds first conference on forensics
Thursday, 28 August 2008	Al-Qaeda bombing facilitator killed (Baghdad)

Bug Juice          

 

Thursday, 28 August 2008	Conference focuses on future of ISF (Baghdad)
Thursday, 28 August 2008	MND-B Soldier attacked in IED strike (Baghdad)
Thursday, 28 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers find homemade explosives, IEDs in abandoned house (Baghdad)

 

                                              

RAVEN FLIGHT

 

Thursday, 28 August 2008	Sons of Iraq find weapons cache in southwestern Baghdad, EOD diffuses IED (Baghdad)
Thursday, 28 August 2008	MND-B Soldier attacked by SAF (Baghdad)

Thursday, 28 August 2008	Iraqi system engineers complete training course (Baghdad)
Thursday, 28 August 2008	Coalition pressures al-Qaeda leaders (Baghdad, Diyala)

Health System Prepares Online Tools

By Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2008 – The Military Health System is planning a late-September update to its behavioral health Web site, AfterDeployment.org.

The site was launched Aug. 5.

“AfterDeployment.org provides servicemembers, their families, and veterans with online behavioral health tools,” Dr. Robert Ciulla, afterdeployment.org project manager at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Wash., said on the “Dot Mil Docs” program on BlogTalkRadio.com Aug. 21.

“The Web site is a self-care solution targeting post-deployment adjustment concerns,” he said. “Individuals who might not otherwise seek out services can now be empowered to use AfterDeployment’s resources at their own pace.”

During the initial phases of the site’s development, officials worked to understand the site’s eventual user population, Ciulla said, recognizing that since October 2001, more than 1.5 million United States troops have deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Among that group, Ciulla noted that the most troops are between the ages of 17-29, and have a high school-level education.

“We also recognized that our user population is knowledgeable about computers,” Ciulla said. “The intent, then, was to build a site that offered more than just a lot of text-based articles; we wanted the materials to be interactive. We wanted to give users a variety of ways to access the information.”

The site has many features. “If a user wanted to get a better understanding about their stress level or their anger problem, they can take a quick self-assessment right on the site and get some immediate feedback concerning their scores,” Ciulla said.

Users also can test their knowledge with user-friendly quizzes and participate in narrator-guided multimedia workshops tailored to address specific concerns.

AfterDeployment.org also includes video-based testimonials from servicemembers, veterans and families discussing their deployment challenges and how they coped.

Online tools have several advantages, including 24/7 access anywhere an Internet connection is available. Users can log on to AfterDeployment.org in the privacy of their own homes, which should help to reduce or eliminate barriers to care and the stigma associated with seeking out in-person consultation, the doctor said. For some, AfterDeployment.org may serve as an alternative to traditional face-to-face care, while others may use the site in tandem with an actual provider, he added.

Ciulla said the self-care tools available on AfterDeployment.org provide the entire military community with vital service-delivery options. The site has particular advantages for National Guard and Reserve units, who may be distant from a military treatment facility or otherwise located in areas lacking providers who are knowledgeable about military-related adjustment concerns, he noted.

Additionally, military leadership and health care providers can tap the site’s materials to learn about common problems and change strategies, and to obtain useful contact information concerning local resources, he said.

AfterDeployment.org offers 12 programs: Adjusting to War Memories, Dealing with Depression, Handling Stress, Improving Relationships, Succeeding at Work, Overcoming Anger, Sleeping Better, Controlling Alcohol and Drugs, Helping Kids Deal with Deployment, Seeking Spiritual Fitness, Living with Physical Injuries, and Balancing Your Life.

(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg works in the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)

Related Sites:
AfterDeployment.org
Military Health System
“Dot Mil Docs” on BlogTalkRadio.com

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 29, 2008

Marines Stay Focused on Afghan Police Mission

By Navy Seaman William Selby
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2008 – U.S. Marines in Afghanistan face daunting challenges in legitimizing the Afghan police and turning them into an effective counter-terrorist force, but perseverance and focus have served them well, a Marine officer said Aug. 27.

“Probably the biggest challenge has been the size of our area of operations,” Marine Corps Lt. Col. Richard D. Hall, commander of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, said during a call with online journalists and military bloggers. “And to answer how we’ve overcome that challenge, I summed it up in one word: Marines.”

Hall’s unit has responsibility for recruiting, training and mentoring the Afghan National Police and turning them into a credible force that the Afghan populace views as honest and capable.

“We want them to become a more proficient, respectable and legitimate force, which is really an extension of the government on the district level,” Hall said. Significant progress has been made on the training mission, but full recognition by Afghan citizens will take time, he added.      More...

Sailors Take on Nontraditional Roles

With the robust nature of the provincial reconstruction team mission in Afghanistan’s Konar province, some sailors find themselves contributing to the mission in ways they never imagined.  Story

Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill More Than 100 Enemy Fighters

Afghan and coalition forces killed more than 100 enemy fighters during combat operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province over the last three days, military officials reported.     More...

Guard Bureau Chief Visits Troops in Afghanistan

By Army Lt. Col. Paul Fanning
Special to American Forces Press Service

CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan, Aug. 28, 2008 – The chief of the National Guard Bureau came to see his troops serving here during a two-day visit that began Aug. 26.

 

Army Chief Warrant Officer Russell Hoyer from Voorheesville, N.Y., assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix Logistics Task Force, poses for a photo with Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau. U.S. Army photo by Lt. Col. Paul Fanning, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum was accompanied by Army Command Sgt. Maj. David Ray Hudson, the Guard Bureau’s command sergeant major, during his visit with members of the New York National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and soldiers from other Guard units serving in Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix VII.

“The main thing I want to do is thank you,” Blum said. “I want to thank you for your service. I want to thank you for what you do every day back home to add value to America and to your communities. Thanks for being citizen-soldiers that are willing to do what the nation asks us to do whether it is overseas or right back home in the states.

“You are making a significant difference over here,” he said in reference to CJTF-Phoenix’s mission to train and mentor the Afghan national security forces. “You are probably America’s best goodwill ambassadors.”

He added that citizen-soldiers reflect more of what is right about America than anything else.

Army Col. Brian K. Balfe, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix and the 27th IBCT, thanked Blum for his visit. “National Guard troops from nearly every state are a part of this great team, and his visit is deeply appreciated,” he said.

The visit by the National Guard’s top leader included stops at Camp Blackhorse, Camp Alamo and Camp Phoenix, where task force soldiers were given the opportunity to listen to Blum and ask him questions during open forums.

But mostly the troops heard praises from Blum, who has led the National Guard Bureau for more than five years as historic changes and deployments have brought the Guard from its strategic reserve role to a position as an operational force.    More....

Combined Joint Task Force-101
Operation Enduring Freedom

Press Releases

Militants detained, killed in Paktika province

Thursday, 28 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 28, 2008) – Two militants were detained and one was killed during a Coalition forces’ operation to disrupt militant activities...
+ Full Story

Coalition service member killed in southern Afghanistan

Thursday, 28 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 28, 2008) – A Coalition service member was killed while conducting a patrol in southern Afghanistan, Wednesday.  The name...
+ Full Story

News From Nato

ISAF escalation of force incident in Kunduz province killed three civilians

KABUL, Afghanistan - ISAF forces and ANSF opened fire on a vehicle that failed to stop at a check point killing three civilian occupants, two children and one woman, and wounding two others August 28.

Afghan civilian killed in attack on ISAF outpost

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan civilian was shot by militants in an attack on an International Security Assistance Force outpost in Konar province August 28.

Law Firm Supports Workers With Military Ties

By Sara Moore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2008 – Because they are military veterans and have a unique understanding of the sacrifices servicemembers make, some of the top leaders of the law firm Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice have created a military-friendly work environment that supports not only veterans, but also employees who serve in the National Guard or Reserve.

The law firm has many policies and programs in place to support its employees who serve part-time in the military, and for its efforts in this area, it is receiving the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice, a business law firm with headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C., has 11 offices along the East Coast. The law firm has several employees who have been deployed with the National Guard and Reserve, and the firm goes above and beyond legal requirements to make sure these employees are taken care of when they’re gone, said Bruce Buchanan, marketing copywriter for the firm, who prepared the nomination for the Freedom Award.

When an employee is deployed, the law firm makes up the difference in the employee’s military pay vs. what he would make at the firm, Buchanan said. In that pay differential, the firm includes the total amount the employee would make with bonuses and overtime, not just base salary, he said.

The firm also continues health, dental, life and disability insurance for the employee and his family, and any time employees spend on active duty counts toward the community service hours all attorneys are expected to perform, he said. The company also gives all employees in the National Guard or Reserve 10 days a year to complete military training.

The firm also does other “informal” support activities, such as sending care packages and cards to deployed employees and organizing drives to collect items for the troops, Buchanan said.

“It’s very simple. These are the people who are protecting our safety and guarding our freedom, and anything we can do for them is just a very small token compared to what they do for us,” Buchanan said. “Certainly, we can never repay the men and women in the armed forces for all their hard work and sacrifice. We do all we can, but you can never do enough.”

Chris Geis, a judge advocate general officer with the Navy and a lawyer with Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice, knows about the firm’s support efforts firsthand. Geis, who served on active duty for four and a half years and is now in the Navy Reserve, has been deployed twice. His first deployment was on active duty, but his second deployment came after he joined the reserve and became an employee of Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice.

Geis was deployed two years ago to Kuwait, and the firm took care of him throughout his time there, he said. The company made up the difference in his pay, and his coworkers wrote him letters and even helped him with the legal services he was providing to the sailors in his unit. The support continued after his deployment as well, he said.

“When I got back, it was not only as if I had never left, but they just showered me with attention and appreciation,” he said. “I was very grateful for that.”

Geis said he enjoys working for Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice because of the military culture. Many of the employees are former military, including the office administrators in four of the firm’s offices, and that makes the company as a whole more appreciative of servicemembers and the sacrifices they make, he said. His military experience also helps him in his civilian job, he said.

“You get a great perspective being in the military, not only because you know what’s important in life, but you are constantly in touch with a culture that values integrity, commitment, duty, and things like that,” he said. “And the other thing is, you are constantly dealing with all types of people in the military, and that helps you deal with your clients as a civilian lawyer.”

The firm’s leadership also recognizes the added value of employees with military experience, Buchanan said. In fact, the firm actively seeks to employ National Guard and Reserve members and retired military personnel.

“We’ve had good experiences with those people. They typically have very strong leadership skills, are willing and able to accept responsibility and have a proven track record of performance in the military,” he said.

Everyone at the firm was very excited to hear about the Freedom Award, Buchanan said. Receiving the award is a huge honor, but is also very humbling, he said. “Anything we do is only a small gesture compared to what the men and women in the armed forces do,” he said. “We’re very honored.”

Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice will receive the Freedom Award along with 14 other companies in a ceremony Sept. 18 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center here. The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to recognize exceptional support from the employer community.

Related Sites:
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 28, 2008

Schools Open for Children in She Shon

Thursday, 28 August 2008

By Pfc. Michael Schuch
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division

Capt. Sean Nolan, of San Antonio, and a soon-to-be student of the newly-refurbished primary school in Jisr Diyala, await cookies and cake during the school's ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 21, 2008. Photo by Pfc. Michael Schuch.

COMBAT OUTPOST CASCHE SOUTH — A kindergarten and primary school opened in the She Shon area during ribbon-cutting ceremonies Aug. 21.

Soldiers from the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion helped local contractors renovate two schools in She Shon to ensure the children of the area have the opportunity to receive a formal education.

"We are very thankful this project is now complete," said Fatema Rhady, the headmistress of the kindergarten. "I hope that this will show Iraqi contractors that here, just like in America, they shouldn't be scared of anything by helping us. We are all just trying to help the children."

Participants cut the kindergarten’s ribbon first, marking the school’s opening and ability to begin classes in September. Children in the area received cookies, a special treat in celebration of the momentous day.

The school repairs took six weeks to complete. A local Iraqi contractor hired skilled citizens from surrounding towns to perform the work. This helped create jobs and increase the flow of money for the small urban village.

The school received new doors, windows, paint and remodeled bathrooms. The school boasts the only playground in the area, in addition to the numerous classrooms.

The children are put through two classes: a starter class, which introduces them to the educational system in slow, smooth steps, and a preparatory class, which ensures children are ready to move on to the grade school that follows.

Following the Kindergarten’s opening, Soldiers from 415th CA Bn. made the local primary school their next stop.

The Maka al Mukarama Primary School, run by headmaster Mahamed Muhmod Hussein, received fresh paint, new doors and windows, remodeled bathrooms and minor structural repairs.

This two-story school boasts nearly two dozen classrooms and offices, a large courtyard and a court with soccer nets and basketball hoops.

The two remodeled and operational schools provide a significant advantage to the children of She Shon, further demonstrating the commitment of the Iraqi people, Iraqi security forces and coalition forces to improve the health and welfare of the Iraqi children.

 

Feature Stories

 

Pool Reopening Symbolizes Return to Normalcy

By Army Sgt. Zach Mott
Special to American Forces Press Service

BEIDA, Iraq, Aug. 27, 2008 – In what was once a recruiting hotbed for terrorist and illegal militia elements in northern Baghdad, community leaders gathered to celebrate the grand reopening of a pool complex that now serves as a spot of relief for residents.

An Iraqi boy takes advantage of the slide at the recently reopened Asafah pool complex in northern Baghdad’s Beida neighborhood, Aug. 26, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

 

A lifeguard stands watch over the newly reopened Asafah pool complex in northern Baghdad’s Beida neighborhood, Aug. 26, 2008. The pool once was a hotbed for insurgent recruiting, but now offers a respite for residents from the scorching temperatures of an Iraqi summer. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, Multinational Division Baghdad

An Iraqi man lines up his shot at the pool hall Aug. 26, 2008, in the recently reopened complex that includes a billiards hall as well as a community swimming pool for residents of northern Baghdad’s Beida neighborhood. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, Multinational Division Baghdad

The Beida neighborhood leader cuts a ribbon Aug. 26, 2008, to celebrate the grand reopening of the Asafah pool complex in the Beida neighborhood of northern Baghdad. The complex, which was once a bastion for insurgents, was given a $200,000 facelift and is now enjoying an eight-fold increase in patronage compared to the same time frame in 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott, Multinational Division Baghdad

Interactive Iraq :: Video News

Iraqi Freedom Minute, Aug. 27

• This edition features new equipment for the Iraqi Navy and plans for a new sea wall and pier to be built.

 

Watch Now

Wednesday, 27 August 2008	Pool reopening symbolizes return to normalcy in Beida
Wednesday, 27 August 2008	Taji Level III Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance Facility celebrates early progress

On Watch          

Wednesday, 27 August 2008 MND-B Soldiers find weapons cache in southeastern Baghdad

 

Climbing High          

Wednesday, 27 August 2008 Coalition forces capture senior Special Groups leader at BIAP

 

Brick by Brick          

Wednesday, 27 August 2008 MND-B Soldiers find weapons cache in southwestern Baghdad (Rashid)

 

Loving Arms          

 

Wednesday, 27 August 2008	Al-Qaeda in Iraq associates face continued pressure (Baghdad)
Wednesday, 27 August 2008	Terrorists with suicide vests killed, alleged attack cell leader detained (Baghdad)

'Go-To' Guy Gets It Done

 

Face of Defense: Corporal Becomes Unit’s ‘Go-To’ Guy

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Brent Hunt
Special to American Forces Press Service

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2008 – Though the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were a big factor in why Cpl. Jack Condon joined the Army, he also had another reason in mind.

 

Army Cpl. Jack Condon briefs Army Sgt. 1st Class Albert Rodriguez on the daily operations in the Tactical Operations Center on Camp Taji, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Brent Hunt, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

“I really wanted to make my family proud of me,” he said.

The aviation operations specialist serving in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 4th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, has succeeded making not only his family, but also his fellow soldiers, proud.

Condon is serving his second combat tour in Iraq, and he has become the “go to guy” in the Gambler Gun’s Tactical Operations Center here.

“Condon is one of those guys who make stuff happen,” said Sgt. 1st Class Albert Rodriguez, first sergeant for the battalion’s headquarters company, who compared the corporal to a 1980s television character who always found a way to succeed. “He gets the mission done. He is a ‘MacGyver’ type of guy who can fix anything from a piece of equipment to analyzing a problem and coming up with a solution quickly.”

Rodriguez said Condon has merged as an effective leader. “He really takes charge in the TOC,” the first sergeant said. “He trains the soldiers how to do their job step by step.”

Condon said that when he deployed to Iraq this summer, he essentially was in charge of himself. His job was simple: be in the right place, at the right time, in the right uniform. Although this is the task of most soldiers, leaders around the battalion recognized that he would be an effective noncommissioned officer.

“I have been put in charge of six soldiers since I’ve been here,” said the Catoosa, Okla., native. “The great thing about being a leader is watching soldiers grow, even though when I was a private I thought I could never do what an NCO does.”

Condon’s day starts with the shift-change brief, in which soldiers coming on shift are informed of the night’s activity while getting information that pertains to their upcoming 12-hour shift.

After the briefing and the handing out of assignments, Condon supervises and teaches his troops while simultaneously verifying flight schedules, tracking missions and ensuring equipment is maintained properly so the operations center runs smoothly and efficiently.

“Every 15 minutes I get a [situation report] so I can inform the commander on the mission and what is going on. I have been put in the center of the information flow,” Condon said as soldiers throughout the TOC constantly asked him questions and pulled him in different directions. “Nothing can happen unless we are here.”

Condon works in one of the brigade’s two Apache helicopter battalions. Their mission is to protect soldiers on the ground, escort air ambulance missions and conduct combat operations.

As Condon grows in experience and knowledge, he said, he occasionally asks for advice from leaders throughout the battalion.

“I still ask for guidance from the senior NCOs about what to do with a soldier or a situation, because every soldier and situation is different,” he said. “What keeps me going is watching my soldiers grow. That’s how my NCOs are, and I want to be the same.”

Growing into a great leader seems to be Condon’s destiny. Working hard on getting college courses completed before and after shifts is the next goal in his already long list of achievements.

“I’m hoping to get my third stripe here shortly,” he said. “That is my next goal.”

(Army Sgt. 1st Class Brent Hunt serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 4th Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade.)

Related Sites:
Multinational Corps Iraq

 

Army Cpl. Jack Condon works on a generator as part of his daily routine on Camp Taji, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Brent Hunt, Multinational Division Baghdad

 

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 28, 2008

Coalition Forces Detain, Kill Militants in Afghanistan

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2008 – Coalition and Afghan security forces detained four militants and killed more than a dozen others in separate operations yesterday and Aug. 25, military officials reported.

Four militants were detained, including a targeted individual, during a coalition forces operation to disrupt militant activities in Paktika province yesterday. Coalition forces searched a compound in Barmal district, targeting a militant facilitating the movement of foreign fighters and weapons from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

Afghan and coalition forces killed several militants during a combat patrol in Sangin district, Helmand province, Aug. 25. The combined force spotted a large number of heavily armed militants gathering in small groups and preparing to attack the soldiers. The troops engaged the militants with small arms, machine guns, and close-air support, killing more than a dozen of them.

In other developments, Afghan and coalition forces conducted a medical civil action program in Qalat district, Zabul province, Aug. 24-25.

During the two-day program, coalition forces medical personnel treated 728 children, 373 women and 89 men for various ailments ranging from stomach pains to broken bones. Medics also taught preventive care by distributing handouts advising Afghans to boil water before drinking to prevent illness.

Educational supplies, Korans and Afghan national flags also were distributed to the local populace.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 101 news releases.)

Combined Joint Task Force-101
Operation Enduring Freedom

      

There is a slide show here on the right hand side of this page where you can see close to a dozen pictures of our men in Afghanistan as well as the local Afghani's.  Please take the time to look beyond the war and see the beauty of the country and its people.    -MsMarti

Press Releases

Coalition forces detain militants in Paktika province

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 27, 2008) – Four militants were detained, including a targeted individual, during a Coalition forces operation to disrupt militant...
+ Full Story

ANSF, Coalition forces provide medical assistance to more than 1,000 Afghans

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 27, 2008) – Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces conducted a Medical Civil Action Program in Qalat District, Zabul...
+ Full Story 

ANSF, Coalition forces disrupt militant operations in Helmand province

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 27, 2008) – Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces killed several militants during a combat patrol in Sangin District,...
+ Full Story

Un-Manned Air Craft Crashes in Paktika province

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 27, 2008) – A Coalition forces’ un-manned aerial vehicle crashed earlier today in the Yosof Khail District of Paktika province,...
+ Full Story

Militant operations disrupted in Paktika province

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 26, 2008) – Two militants were detained during a Coalition forces’ operation to disrupt militant activities in Paktika...
+ Full Story

Looking for a great vacation getaway? Check out Ahoy Cruises and Tours

Have you been thinking about taking a cruise, but figured you can’t afford it?  What about heading to a special destination and booking a tour from there, such as Hawaii or Alaska. If you plan ahead a bit farther than most people, you can take advantage of a special discount.  If you are a veteran, then you can take advantage of the discounts offered by many cruise lines to our military.

You need to locate a good travel agent, and then start asking about what kind of trip you might be able to take. What would best fit your lifestyle? Do you have kids, how long can you be gone, do you want to stay close to home, go overseas, go to a specific destination and explore from there or take a cruise to Alaska or Europe?

I know of one travel agent who has booked many a vacation for a friend in the military. Bill McCombs, of Ahoy Cruises and Tours, has a new website up where you can look at a good variety of choices. He has worked with our military personnel in the past and will do his best to get you the best price for your vacation package that he can.

Figure out where you are going, pick a range of times when you would be available to go, and then ask about what discounts are available to you as a veteran. In some cases, the spouses of veterans are entitled to a discount even if the veteran him/herself is not traveling with them at the time.

Maybe you just want an all inclusive resort where you can go and not worry about anything else. I truly think most of us don’t have a clue as to all the wonderful possibilities out there for a dream vacation, and they are not always beyond our reach.  There are cruises, tours to take in addition to that special cruise, all inclusive resorts, destinations such as South/Central America, the Panama Canal, the pink sands of Bermuda, Asia, the Orient and more.

Be sure to check out the website of Ahoy Cruises and Tours today, and then start planning that dream vacation.

 

 

Copyright 2008 MsMarti. All rights reserved.

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 27, 2008

Conference Focuses on Future of ISF

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

By Sgt. David Turner
Multi-National Division - Center

Maj. Gen. Ali, commander of the 17th Iraqi Army Division (bottom right), meets with coalition and Iraqi army leaders for a conference to discuss the future of Iraqi security forces at Camp Victory, Aug. 20, 2008. Photo by Sgt. David Turner.

BAGHDAD — Leaders from Task Force Mountain, Multi-National Corps - Iraq and other units working with the Iraqi Security Forces met with Iraqi Army commanders for a one-day conference, Aug. 20.

 

"What we are trying to do is identify force generation needs. We are looking at the way ahead," said Capt. Steven Chadwick, an ISF coordinator with 10th Mountain Division.

The conference focused on manning, equipping and training the ISF to be a more effective and self-sustaining force.

"We already know where we are going to be in six months. We are looking two years-plus, trying to figure out what we see the IA looking like, what challenges we are going to encounter in getting to that end state," said Chadwick.

As insurgent attacks have slowed dramatically in the past ten months, new IA units have stood up at a rapid pace. The coalition troop surge gave the ISF a chance to accelerate their growth, said Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, commander of Multi-National Security Transition Corp - Iraq.

"The [IA] knows how to conduct operations," said Chadwick. "They know how to clear rooms; they know how to conduct a cordon and search. They do that all the time, and they are doing that on their own, like in [recent operations in] Amarah. They are conducting major combat operations, like up in Diyalah right now, with minimal coalition support."

In the coming year, said Helmick, ISF have the chance to use the gains made in security to increase their capacity of "enablers" - support units that provide engineering, logistics, air support and other assistance to combat units.

New equipment is also being fielded to IA units in an effort to modernize the force. IA units are now recieving M-16 rifles, up-armored Humvees and sophisticated radios to perform their missions. A whole new generation of military equipment is being purchased by the IA, including helicopters, tanks and equipment to defeat improvised explosive devices.

With new equipment comes specialized training. A new program called warfighter training is giving IA battalions the chance to conduct exercises that develop team and leadership skills while units gain proficiency with new vehicles and weapons. Soldiers also learn counterinsurgency and other training not necessarily provided by military transition teams.

"Our role is shifting. As the Iraqis get increasingly better at controlling their battlespace ... we are shifting less from advising on operations and intelligence and fires, where they are not only competent but they are four or five times better than the bad guys -- and we are helping them more on logistics," said Col. Timothy Deady, whose team works with the 8th IA Div.

The successful growth of the military increases the need for housing, another challenge to the IA.

Patrol bases and small outposts built and occupied by coalition troops, many of them during the surge, are being turned over to IA units, saving them time and money.

"They can actually fall in on our old outposts and have a fully functional outpost; that's what “shrink and share” means," Helmick said. "The end goal is for them to increase their security capability and for us to decrease our presence.

"We know we're not where we need to be, we know we're not where we want to be, but thank goodness we're not where we used to be," he said.

Feature Stories

 

Iraqi Army Takes Lead to Support Sadr City Medical Clinic

BAGHDAD — The 11th Iraqi Army Division delivered medical supplies and provided treatment to the citizens of the Thawra 1 neighborhood of the Iraqi capital’s Sadr City district Aug. 20.

Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers provided security for the operation, while Iraqi Soldiers and medical personnel met with families in need of treatment.

 

Soldiers Offer Microgrants, Security While Patrolling Streets of Sha’ab

BAGHDAD — He sees a lot of potential in northern Baghdad.

During a routine patrol around the area, he points to several areas that need improvements – a park here, a new store sign there; even Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) checkpoints are on his radar for upgrading.

“(We’re) showing the people that we care about them, and we care about the future,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jason Maynard.

 

Grand Canal Upgrades Ease Traffic Flow

CAMP TAJI — Traffic builds while a truck struggles to make it up a sandy on-ramp as the vehicle’s driver navigates an alternate route in an attempt to bypass a damaged bridge.

After some time, Iraqi Police and locals give the driver a push.

The scene replayed every few minutes, frustrating military and civilian drivers alike near the city of Taji. A steep slope on the on-ramp, coupled with a lack of a hard surface, were making it hard for traffic to travel the road and causing traffic to regularly back up for half a mile.

 

Interactive Iraq :: Video News

Iraqi Freedom Minute, Aug. 26

• This edition features a story on the Reaper, an unmanned aerial vehicle which is used to engage the enemy with its 3000 pound payload.

Watch Now

Freedom Journal Iraq, Aug. 27          

• This edition features the Army’s oldest Jump Master, and a look at the Iraqi Navy’s largest port.

Watch Now

Tuesday, 26 August 2008	VBIED wounds 9 in Ninewah
Tuesday, 26 August 2008	VBIED wounds 13 in Tikrit

 

 

 

Shadows          

Tuesday, 26 August 2008	VBIED kills 25 in Diyala
Tuesday, 26 August 2008	Iraqi Air Force bids farewell to Iowa Guardsmen

 

The Little Things          

 

Tuesday, 26 August 2008 INP confiscate weapons caches in southwestern Baghdad

On Edge          

Tuesday, 26 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers seize weapons caches throughout Baghdad
Tuesday, 26 August 2008	IA soldiers detained five suspects following IED strike (Baghdad)

Hand-off          

Tuesday, 26 August 2008	Two Kata’ib Hezbollah suspects captured in Rusafa (Baghdad)
Tuesday, 26 August 2008	Al-Qaeda bombing cells, foreign terrorist network disrupted (Mosul, Sharqat)

Face of Defense: Soldier Donates Money, R&R Time to Needy

I felt it was important to make you aware of how our soldiers are not only supported overseas, but also, how this particular soldier takes an active role in supporting his community and those he has never met in much the same way your support is given for our military men and women.  Here High School students, with their letters, are supporting Army Spc. Timothy Roy, who in turn supports his community during his R & R time at home.   -MsMarti

Soldier Donates Money, R&R Time to Needy

By Army Spc. Evan D. Marcy
Special to American Forces Press Service

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Aug. 27, 2008 – Whether it involves time with their families, their personal comforts or even their lives, the duty of soldiers eventually requires sacrifice. Certain soldiers, though, go beyond that call of duty and give more.

During his two-week rest and recuperation from serving a 15-month deployment in Iraq, Army Spc. Timothy Roy, C Company, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, and his parents, James and Lynn Roy, assist at a soup kitchen and shelter in New Hampshire. Roy gives much of his personal time volunteering and donating to charities such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Army Spc. Timothy Roy of 5th Signal Command’s C Company, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, has made it his personal endeavor to provide his time and money for those in need.

During his two-week rest and recuperation leave while serving a 15-month deployment in Iraq, Roy and his parents volunteered their time preparing and serving meals at a soup kitchen and shelter near their home in New Hampshire. He also donated $1,000 to the soup kitchen and convinced a large corporation to match his contribution.

“My parents always taught me to put others before myself,” Roy said.

He also became involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation by donating $3,000 to grant a wish that was tied to his own interests in computers. His donation was matched with a 17-year-old girl afflicted with lupus, a life-threatening, inflammatory disease. She used the money to buy computer equipment, allowing her to continue her education from home.

“What Specialist Roy did was really remarkable, and shows how much of a good guy he really is,” Army 1st Sgt. John Willis, C Company, 44th ESB, said. “Soldiers usually take deployment money and spend it on themselves. I was surprised by how much money came out of his pocket.”

Roy said he hoped to set an example. “I figured if people saw me giving back, it would encourage them to do the same,” he said. “When they see a soldier trying to give back, when they are already selflessly serving their country, they want to be a part of it as well.”

The specialist said it simply feels good to give. “To know that you can make a profound difference in someone's life is a wonderful feeling,” said Roy. “I got a letter of thanks from the first child and her mother that I sponsored [through Make-A-Wish], and she said she was moved to tears by my kindness. There's no feeling like that; it's hard to put in words how that made me feel.”

This year, Roy is sponsoring another wish through the foundation, and he persuaded the Macy’s department store chain to contribute as well. Together, they are providing a small haven for a girl who needs weekly medical treatments.

“We’re giving her the room makeover of her dreams,” Roy said. “She's always shared a bedroom, and her older sister just moved out, so were making her a place she can call her own.”

Roy found another way to give back to the community through a classmate from high school who now teaches at an elementary school in Connecticut. During his deployment, the 5th Signal specialist and students are sharing letters, which provides “an educational experience for them; they are learning about Iraq and what the soldiers are doing here to make things better,” Roy explained. “They ask the most innocent questions.”

Because the children had never met a soldier, Roy made a three-hour drive to visit them while on R&R leave from Iraq.

“I spent the day with them, answering questions and playing at recesses,” he recalled. “It was a great experience. It only takes a few minutes every couple of weeks to write a small letter … to let them know how things are going. They looked at me with such awe. I was really touched to be a part of their lives.”

Roy’s first deployment was in 1999 while assigned to the 110th Military Intelligence Battalion, which went into Bosnia as part of a NATO peacekeeping force.

“There were bullet holes everywhere, and I saw a lot of burned-down houses,” Roy remembered. “The kids would come up and ask for money. I talked a lot to our translator about the country. Everyone liked us being there; it felt good. We were down there for a good cause. I’ve spoken to Bosnian forces serving with us here; they said it’s gotten a lot better.”

While deployed to Iraq, Roy, an information technology specialist, is assigned to the Technical Control Facility help desk on Camp Echo, near Diwaniyah. His role is to manage and troubleshoot Internet, phones and switches, while also providing configuration changes throughout the camp.

Also located at his installation is a provincial reconstruction team, which he said “does a great job of helping poverty in Iraq.”

“They go out, meet people personally and give back in a real way to these local communities,” he said. “The PRT at Camp Echo has a program to rebuild schools [and] the local infrastructure, while also giving school children brand new laptops.”

To the many folks he has touched, Roy could be considered a one-man PRT. For him, it’s simply a personal duty to help out the needy.

(Army Spc. Evan D. Marcy serves with the 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion.

 

Army Spc. Timothy Roy, C Company, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, maintains computer servers and routers at Camp Echo near Diwaniyah, Iraq. Roy, who is on a 15-month deployment, recently spent his two-week rest and recuperation time to help the needy by working and donating $1,000 to a soup kitchen in New Hampshire. Roy also volunteers his time and donates to charities such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Evan D. Marcy, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion

Related Sites:
Multinational Corps Iraq

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 27, 2008

Engineers Bridge Gaps on Afghanistan’s Highway 1

By Army 1st Lt. Tomas Rofkahr
Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 27, 2008 – Members of the Australian Reconstruction Task Force and Task Force Castle’s 420th Engineer Brigade completed the emplacement of two Mabey Johnson bridges near Andar and Moqur in eastern Afghanistan.

Army Spc. Corey Thompson, 420th Engineer Brigade, works with Australian combat engineers as they align two sections of a bridge. U.S. Army photo by Capt. James Reid, Combined Task Force Castle  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Insurgent attacks during the summer left the bridges impassible, forcing Afghans and coalition forces to use single-lane bypasses.

Work progressed quickly once the Australian and American combat engineers arrived. The first bridge in Andar was erected in just over two days, and forces then moved on to Moqur, where they emplaced the second bridge.

Both bridges are on Highway 1, which connects Kandahar in southern Afghanistan to the Afghan capital of Kabul. Highway 1 is a paved route originally built in the 1960s. The 300-mile stretch that includes the bridges was refurbished in 2002 and 2003 as part of President Bush’s Afghanistan Road Initiative. The U.S. Agency for International Development credits the work with reducing the transit time between Kandahar and Kabul by half.

In recent months, Highway 1 has become a focal point for insurgent activity, as Taliban fighters and common bandits target supply convoys and merchant traffic. The bridge attacks were the latest in the Taliban’s efforts to impede Afghanistan’s reconstruction and stability, officials said.

The bridge attacks are a serious concern, but not a serious engineering problem to solve.

“Each section of the bridge is called a bay and is about 10 feet long,” said Army Capt. James Reid, Task Force Castle’s assistant operations officer. “We were able to do a 10-bay bridge in two days.”

Reid, an Arkansas native, has seen a great deal in his 20 years of military service, with multiple tours in Iraq and now building bridges in Afghanistan.

“I’m excited to be involved in this,” he said. “It’s helping everybody -- it’s helping Afghanistan, it’s helping the coalition forces, and it’s just a win-win for everyone.”

(Army 1st Lt. Tomas Rofkahr serves in the Combined Task Force Castle Public Affairs Office.)

The Moqur Bridge on Afghanistan’s Highway 1 shows damage inflicted by Taliban operatives. U.S. and Australian combat engineers rebuilt two bridges on the important road that links Kandahar in southern Afghanistan with the Afghan capital of Kabul. U.S. Army photo by Capt. James Reid, Combined Task Force Castle

Australian combat engineers work with a crane to lay a bridge structure in place. U.S. and Australian engineers repaired two bridges that Taliban operatives had rendered impassible on the highway that links Kandahar, Afghanistan, with the Afghan capital of Kabul. U.S. Army photo by Capt. James Reid, Combined Task Force Castle

Australian and American combat engineers rebuild the Mabey Johnson Bridge in Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Capt. James Reid, Combined Task Force Castle

Work complete, the new Mabey Johnson Bridge covers the ruined structure of the old Moqur Bridge on Afghanistan’s Highway 1. U.S. Army photo by Capt. James Reid, Combined Task Force Castle

News From Nato

12 Detained in joint operation

KABUL, Afghanistan - International Security Assistance Forces, in conjunction with Afghan National Police, detained 12 suspected insurgents and discovered a weapons cache in the Qarabaugh District of Ghazni Province August 26

         

ISAF soldier dies in northern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - A German ISAF soldier died from wounds received during an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strike August 27 in northern Afghanistan.

         

Escalation of Force in Kandahar province

KABUL, Afghanistan - At approximately 10:50 a.m. August 26, ISAF soldiers on patrol in the vicinity of Daman district were approached by a vehicle coming toward them at high speed that failed to respond to warning signals to stop.

         

Kandahar school receives year’s worth of supplies

         

KABUL, Afghanistan - ISAF soldiers and members of Kandahar city’s Skills Generation gave a year’s worth of school supplies to both students and their teachers at the Afghan National Army camp’s Sayd Pacha School August 26.      

The school supplies were purchased with donated money from the soldiers’ families in Canada. The project started after a few Canadian soldiers, responsible for training and mentoring the ANA at Camp Hero, began working with Sayd Pacha School’s principal, Mohammad Issa, and regularly visited the school to spend time with the students.

“It was a great opportunity for people at home to feel like they are doing something tangible to support what their loved ones are doing here,” said Major Jim Short, chaplain for Task Force Kandahar’s Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team. “Apart from the things that make us very different, we all want the opportunity for our children to be educated.”

To ensure the school supplies are evenly distributed throughout the school year, Canadian soldiers handed over the project to the Afghan organization Skills Generation. Skills Generation’s mandate is to help Kandahar schools receive adequate school supplies and textbooks for teachers and students by working closely with the Ministry of Education to improve Kandahar province’s school system.

“Skills Generation will help to continue the donations from families to Afghans; school bags are being made by Skills Generation who hires women to sew the bags,” said Luc Saint-Jean, who previously served with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan as a Civil-Military-Cooperation operator and who now works for a Kandahar city business development company responsible for Skills Generation. “School supplies will be put into the bags to be given to the school and a link put on the [web]site so they (families) have proof.”

Major Short said the project began five months ago and has finally come to fruition after the hard work of a small, dedicated team of Canadian soldiers.

“Children are the future of this country,” said Major Short. “And they want to learn; we all want the children to go to school.”

Free Financial Tool Offered to All U.S. Veterans

Press Release

August 22, 2008

Free Financial Tool Offered to All U.S. Veterans

Middleburg, Va. (August 22, 2008) - MyBizHomepage, a web-based small business, today announced its commitment to helping U.S. military veterans succeed in becoming entrepreneurs and launching and growing small businesses of their own.

“We are a boot-strap company, and we know how difficult it is to start and maintain a business,” said Peter Justen, president and CEO of MyBizHomepage. “We believe there is nothing more important than helping other small businesses succeed, especially those owned by veterans, who have made sacrifices to serve our country.”

As part of that commitment, MyBizHomepage is giving a free copy of QuickBooks Simple Start™ to all U.S. veterans and is providing them with a free financial tool that allows them to better understand their business’ finances and to view their QuickBooks data on an easy-to-read dashboard. In addition, MyBizHomepage has designed a special website (http://veterans.mybizhomepage.com) specifically tailored to veterans.

“Providing Quickbooks and making the MyBizHomepage site and the service it offers accessible and user-friendly to veteran small business owners is just our way of showing thanks to these men and women for all they have done for us,” said Justen. “We only hope that the features and capabilities which the site offers to veterans convey the deep level of our gratitude.”

The recently upgraded MyBizHomepage platform will provide veterans with more financial tools than ever, including: MyBizMetricsTM, an easy-to-read graphical display of QuickBooks data in multiple formats, including pie charts, bar charts and numeric values. The MyBizDashboard will also display alerts and notifications about important and timely financial information critical to the success of a small business. “Cash in Your Pocket” notifications will tell users how much cash they’re spending and how much time they have left before their cash runs out. Notifications can also be sent by email and optional text messaging directly to a user’s cell phone.

The site also provides valuable social media Web 2.0 features, including forums, events and the ability for veterans and other small business owners to build online profiles and share them within the MyBizHomepage.com community. Veterans will also be able to submit their own products and services to the community and receive valuable feedback and reviews by utilizing the MyBizHomepage Connect to SuccessTM feature.

The site has already garnered the support of many “vetrepreneurs”.

“MyBizHomepage.com is an invaluable managerial tool in my business and I use it everyday because it’s easy and simple to understand,” said retired Army Lt. Col. Joseph Silbaugh, adding that the website is also a place for veterans to meet and talk to other veterans. “I strongly urge my brothers and sisters of the armed forces to use MyBizHomepage.com.”

MyBizHomepage.com was designed specifically for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The company’s proprietary technology simply extracts data from the business owner’s QuickBooks software, and pushes that data to their desktop via a web browser. The data then appears in an easy-to-use graphic “dashboard” which displays easy-to-understand key financial metrics.

About MyBizHomepage

MyBizHomepage is a free, web-based service that provides easy to use financial analytics and other information to help small and emerging businesses run more smoothly and profitably. The site gives entrepreneurs and small business owners a comprehensive view of their business-critical financial information in real time and in plain English, empowering them to understand more of their own business.

The Company’s proprietary software synchronizes with and extracts data from the user’s QuickBooks software, whether it’s entered by them or their accountant, and then pushes that data to their desktop in an easy-to-understand, easy-to-customize graphic “financial dashboard,” displayed alongside Google search, news updates, calendar and other information as the default start page for Internet Explorer. If the user does not have QuickBooks, MyBizHomepage provides them with a complimentary copy of QuickBooks Simple Start for their use.

Launched in 2006, MyBizHomepage is now used by entrepreneurs and small businesses across a variety of industries in 43 countries.

Company:	MyBizHomepage
Contact Name:	Christopher Flynn
Contact Phone:	540-687-5144
Company URL:	http://www.MyBizHomepage.com

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 26, 2008

Reintegration Facility Contributes to Iraq’s Security, Economy

Tuesday, 26 August 2008

By Kendal Smith
Gulf Region Central district

Security lights are prepared for placement in the Modular Detainee Housing Unit area of the Theater Internment Facility and Reconciliation Center. USACE photo.

BAGHDAD — “The Theater Internment Facility Reconciliation Center in Taji has been constructed to integrate detention with reintegration programs,” said Lt. Col. Ronald Pieri, Task Force 134 Engineer. “The overall goal of the TIFRC is to reintegrate detainees with basic education and trade skills such that they can contribute to a peaceful and secure Iraq.”

 

TF-134 is the organization in charge of detainee operations in Iraq. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers $77.3 million project to build the TIFRC is close to being finished with a completion date of Nov. 30, 2008.

The facility has two distinct parts, explained Michael Vantzelfden, a project manager for Gulf Region Division. On one side of the facility, detainees are housed in a secure environment in 13 dormitory-style buildings. Each 19,600 square foot dormitory has a K-span overhead cover for weather protection. On the other side, they are educated and trained; “reconciled” for reintegration into Iraqi society.  Arabic, English, math and other basic courses are taught in eleven classrooms of varying sizes built to accommodate the resident population of the facility.

Importantly, detainees are also taught vocational skills for reintegration into Iraqi society and future employment. Three vocational-technical facilities are the largest structures at the center. One textile manufacturing mill, and a brick factory with a production capacity of 12 million bricks per year highlight the training opportunities.

Support facilities include a 20,000 square foot medical facility for use by everyone at the Center.

Besides education and training, there are judges’ chambers and parole areas with a family visitation center incorporating a family embracing area to assist with the reconciliation and reintegration efforts.

“To rebuild people means contributing a very critical part of rebuilding the country,” said Lt. Cmdr. Paul Chan, who is overseeing the construction. “That is exactly what the TIFRC is designed and constructed to do. It plays an essential role in the reconciliation of useful citizens for a stronger Iraq.”

 

Coalition Forces Capture Two Key al-Qaida Leaders in Baghdad (Updated article)

American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Aug. 25, 2008 – Coalition forces captured two suspected senior al-Qaida in Iraq leaders here during recent operations, military officials reported.

Salim Abdallah Ashur al-Shujayri, also known as Abu Uthman, was captured Aug. 11. He reportedly is the al-Qaida emir of Baghdad’s Rusafa district. Ali Rash Nasir Jiyad al-Shammari, also known as Abu Tiba, was captured Aug. 17. Both men are assessed to be long-time members of al-Qaida in Iraq, officials said.

Coalition officials said Abu Tiba is believed to be the al-Qaida senior advisor in Baghdad, providing guidance and targeting assistance to subordinates throughout the city, including Abu Uthman, officials said. Abu Tiba is suspected of terrorist activity since 2005. He was previously reported to be the emir of the Karkh district of Baghdad, and he managed the al-Qaida presence in the capital during its most active operational period in early 2007.

He reportedly oversaw financial and attack operations for up to 15 attack cells, providing them with money, weapons and explosives. He is alleged to have personally approved targets for car and suicide bombings targeting Iraqi civilians.      More...

Interactive Iraq :: Video News

Iraqi Freedom Minute, Aug. 24

• This edition features a nearly-complete children's hospital that will be the largest in the area.

Watch Now

Freedom Journal Iraq, Aug.24          

• This edition features the development of the Iraqi Navy and its continued training, and much more.

Watch Now

Monday, 25 August 2008 Raiders detain 3 suspected criminals (Baghdad)

All Smiles          

 

Monday, 25 August 2008 MND-B Soldier killed in small-arms fire (Baghdad)

 

Rewarded          

 

Monday, 25 August 2008 Iraqi, 41st FB doctors improve health care in al-Kut

 

Neck and Neck          

 

Monday, 25 August 2008 Al-Qaeda in Iraq takes more hits (Baghdad)

 

Thirsty Bird          

Grammy-Winning Oak Ridge Boys to Perform After Freedom Walk

Oak Ridge Boys Support Freedom Walk

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2008 – Award-winning music will greet participants in the 4th Annual National America Supports You Freedom Walk when they reach the Pentagon on Sept. 7.

Country music group the Oak Ridge Boys will perform a musical tribute in the Pentagon’s south parking lot Sept. 7, 2008. The tribute will conclude the 4th Annual National America Supports You Freedom Walk. Defense Dept. graphic  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Country music group the Oak Ridge Boys will perform a musical tribute at the conclusion of the walk. The musical tribute has become an important part of the walks, each tribute demonstrating the nation’s patriotism through music, officials said.

“We're very pleased to have the Grammy-winning Oak Ridge Boys performing at the end of the America Supports You Freedom Walk," said Roxie T. Merritt, director of community relations and new media in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. “Their patriotic music lends itself well to the spirit of the day.”

The spirit of the day will be set when thousands of walkers, including Defense Department officials, gather at Arlington National Cemetery for the 9 a.m. start of the Freedom Walk. After opening remarks, a color guard will lead the group about a mile from the cemetery to the Pentagon.

The America Supports You Freedom Walk began in 2005 as a way to honor the victims of Sept. 11 and to pay tribute to veterans past and present. Since 15,000 patriots took that initial walk, more than 390 Freedom Walks have taken place in all 50 states and at military installations around the globe.

Those interested in participating in the 4th Annual National America Supports You Freedom Walk must register at www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil/FreedomWalk. Registration closes Sept. 5.

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 26, 2008

Combined Joint Task Force-101
Operation Enduring Freedom

Press Releases

Coalition helicopter makes precautionary landing

Monday, 25 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 25, 2008) – A Coalition helicopter made a precautionary landing in the Sabari District, Khowst province earlier today. The...
+ Full Story

News From Nato

Armoured personnel carrier non-recoverable

KABUL, Afghanistan - A French armoured personnel carrier was destroyed by ISAF forces after it was determined to be non-recoverable in Kapisa, August 25.

The vehicle was involved in an IED explosion August 24.  The IED site was secured following the  incident.

No ISAF service members were injured in the IED explosion.

ISAF soldier died in IED strike

KABUL, Afghanistan - One ISAF soldier died in southern Afghanistan August 25 when his vehicle struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

“It is with great sorrow that we must announce this brave soldier’s death as we offer our sympathies to this soldier’s loved ones,” said Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette, ISAF spokesperson. “This soldier died helping bring peace and security to the Afghan people.”

Next of kin have been notified.

ISAF helps Afghans fight fire in Kunduz city

KABUL, Afghanistan - ISAF soldiers assisted local fire fighters when a blaze began at 8 p.m. at a market in Kunduz city August 24.  More...

         

9 Funerals for 9 Warriors

Step back in time with me to the Kunar province of Afghanistan, back to July 13, 2008, courtesy of SFC Rice.    -MsMarti

This is the story you won't here on our news media back home. All you heard was of the worst loss of life in Afghanistan since the war began and that Afghanistan is turning into a quagmire. I was there, it's not a quagmire, never has been, never will be. I was part of several attacks and we dominated the enemy so bad every time I actually felt bad for them. This is the story you need to hear and tell your friends about. These men are heroes! Fighting terrorists on foreign soil so Americans remain safe at home. This is why America is the greatest country in the world, men like this!!! Always Remembered, Never Forgotten!

When the talk in your home, in the class room or in your own private solitude turns to courage, valor and leadership, after you read the following your standards for those lofty terms may change. No study, no textbook will ever be able to define or quantify why men exercise the extreme courage that men such as these have done since our nation's birth. Some modicum of insight might be sensed by the words I have highlighted at the end. To those who have forged those very special relationships with "brothers" those are the bonds that will drive warriors beyond medically defined limits of flesh and extend such commitment that all who see stand in jealous amazement and dip their colors to the valor of which elite unit legends are continued: without need for embellishment.

9 Funerals for 9 Warriors

I'm sure you heard about 9 soldiers being killed in Afghanistan a couple of weeks ago. As AP reported it, it was a "setback", the "newly established base" there was 'abandoned' by the Americans. That, of course, was the extent of their coverage.  Steve Mraz of Stars and Stripes and Jeff Emanuel tell the rest of the story. Emanuel, who went out and dug into the story sets the enemies force at 500 while AP sets it at 200. Frankly I'm much more inclined to believe Emanuel than AP.

July 13, 2008 was the date, and Jeff Emanuel, an independent combat reporter sets the scene:  Three days before the attack, 45 U.S. paratroopers from the 173d Airborne [Brigade Combat Team], accompanied by 25 Afghan soldiers, made their way to Kunar province, a remote area in the northeastern Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, and established the beginnings of a small Combat Outpost (COP).

Their movement into the area was noticed, and their tiny numbers and incomplete fortifications were quickly taken advantage of.

A combined force of up to 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters quickly moved into the nearby village of Wanat and prepared for their assault by evicting unallied residents and according to an anonymous senior Afghan defense ministry official, "us[ing] their houses to attack us."

Tribesmen in the town stayed behind "and helped the insurgents during the fight," the provincial police chief, told The Associated Press. Dug-in mortar firing positions were created, and with that indirect fire, as well as heavy machine gun and RPG fire from fixed positions, Taliban and al Qaeda fighters rushed the COP from three sides.

As Emanuel notes, the odds were set. 500 vs. 70. Even so, Emanuel entitled his article, "An Alamo With a Different Ending." The 500 terrorists apparently didn't realize they were attacking US Army paratroopers.  The unit in question was 2nd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, led by 1LT Jonathan Brostrom.

The first RPG and machine gun fire came at dawn, strategically striking the forward operating base's mortar pit. The insurgents next sighted their RPGs on the tow truck inside the combat outpost, taking it out.

That was around 4:30 a.m.

This was not a haphazard attack. The reportedly 500 insurgents fought from several positions. They aimed to overrun the new base. The U.S. soldiers knew it and fought like hell. They knew their lives were on the line.  The next target was the FOB's observation post, where nine soldiers were positioned on a tiny hill about 50 to 75 meters from the base. Of those nine, five died, and at least three others -- Spc. Tyler Stafford among them -- were wounded.

When the attack began, Stafford grabbed his M-240 machine gun off a north-facing sandbag wall and moved it to an east-facing sandbag wall. Moments later, RPGs struck the north-facing wall, knocking Stafford out of the fighting position and wounding another soldier.

Stafford thought he was on fire so he rolled around, regaining his senses. Nearby, Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling, who later died in the fight, had a stunned look on his face.  Immediately, a grenade exploded by Stafford, blowing him down to a lower terrace at the observation post and knocking his helmet off.

Stafford put his helmet back on and noticed how badly he was bleeding.  Cpl. Matthew Phillips was close by, so Stafford called to him for help. Phillips was preparing to throw a grenade and shot a look at Stafford that said, "Give me a second. I gotta go kill these guys first."

This was only about 30 to 60 seconds into the attack.

Kneeling behind a sandbag wall, Phillips pulled the grenade pin, but just after he threw it an RPG exploded at his position. The tail of the RPG smacked Stafford's helmet. The dust cleared. Phillips was slumped over, his chest on his knees and his hands by his side.  Stafford called out to his buddy three or four times, but Phillips never answered or moved.

"When I saw Phillips die, I looked down and was bleeding pretty good, that's probably the most scared I was at any point," 

Stafford said. "Then I kinda had to calm myself down and be like, 'All right, I gotta go try to do my job.'  The soldier from Parker, Colo., loaded his 9 mm handgun, crawled up to their fighting position, stuck the pistol over the sandbags and fired.  Stafford saw Zwilling's M-4 rifle nearby so he loaded it, put it on top of the sandbag and fired. Another couple RPGs struck the sandbag wall Stafford used as cover. Shrapnel pierced his hands.

Stafford low-crawled to another fighting position where Cpl. Jason Bogar, Sgt. Matthew Gobble and Sgt. Ryan Pitts were located.  Stafford told Pitts that the insurgents were within grenade-tossing range. That got Pitts' attention.  With blood running down his face, Pitts threw a grenade and then crawled to the position from where Stafford had just come. Pitts started chucking more grenades.  The firefight intensified. Bullets cut down tree limbs that fell on the soldiers. RPGs constantly exploded.

Back at Stafford's position, so many bullets were coming in that the soldiers could not poke their heads over their sandbag wall. Bogar stuck an M-249 machine gun above the wall and squeezed off rounds to keep fire on the insurgents. In about five minutes, Bogar fired about 600 rounds, causing the M-249 to seize up from heat.

At another spot on the observation post, Cpl. Jonathan Ayers laid down continuous fire from an M-240 machine gun, despite drawing small-arms and RPG fire from the enemy. Ayers kept firing until he was shot and killed. Cpl. Pruitt Rainey radioed the FOB with a casualty report, calling for help. Of the nine soldiers at the observation post, Ayers and Phillips were dead, Zwilling was unaccounted for, and three were wounded. Additionally, several of the soldiers' machine guns couldn't fire because of damage. And they needed more ammo.  Rainey, Bogar and another soldier jumped out of their fighting position with the third soldier of the group launching a shoulder-fired missile.

All this happened within the first 20 minutes of the fight.

Platoon leader 1st Lt. Jonathan Brostrom and Cpl. Jason Hovater arrived at the observation post to reinforce the soldiers. By that time, the insurgents had breached the perimeter of the observation post. Gunfire rang out, and Rainey shouted, "He's right behind the sandbag." Brostrom could be heard shouting about the insurgent as well.

More gunfire and grenade explosions ensued. Back in the fighting position, Gobble fired a few quick rounds. Gobble then looked to where the soldiers were fighting and told Stafford the soldiers were dead. Of the nine soldiers who died in the battle, at least seven fell in fighting at the observation post.

The insurgents then started chucking rocks at Gobble and Stafford's fighting position, hoping that the soldiers might think the rocks were grenades, causing them to jump from the safety of their fighting hole. One rock hit a tree behind Stafford and landed directly between his legs. He braced himself for an explosion. He then realized it was a rock.

Stafford didn't have a weapon, and Gobble was low on ammo.  Gobble told Stafford they had to get back to the FOB.  They didn't realize that Pitts was still alive in another fighting position at the observation post. Gobble and Stafford crawled out of their fighting hole. Gobble looked again to where the soldiers had been fighting and reconfirmed to Stafford that Brostrom, Rainey, Bogar and others were dead.

Gobble and Stafford low-crawled and ran back to the FOB. Coming into the FOB, Stafford was asked by a sergeant what was going on at the observation post.  Stafford told him all the soldiers there were dead.  Stafford lay against a wall, and his fellow soldiers put a tourniquet on him.

From the OP, Pitts got on the radio and told his comrades he was alone. Volunteers were asked for to go to the OP.

SSG Jesse Queck sums up the reaction to the call: "When you ask for volunteers to run across an open field to a reinforced OP that almost everybody is injured at, and everybody volunteers, it feels good. There were a lot of guys that made me proud, putting themselves and their lives on the line so their buddies could have a chance."

At least three soldiers went to the OP to rescue Pitts, but they suffered wounds after encountering RPG and small-arms fire, but Pitts survived the battle.

At that time, air support arrived in the form of Apache helicopters, A-10s and F-16s, performing bombing and strafing runs.  The whole FOB was covered in dust and smoke, looking like something out of an old Western movie.

"I've never seen the enemy do anything like that," said Sgt. Jacob Walker, who was medically evacuated off the FOB in one of the first helicopters to arrive. "It's usually three RPGs, some sporadic fire and then they're gone .... I don't where they got all those RPGs. That was crazy."

Two hours after the first shots were fired, Stafford made his way -- with help -- to the medevac helicopter that arrived.  "It was some of the bravest stuff I've ever seen in my life, and I will never see it again because those guys,"

Stafford said, then paused. "Normal humans wouldn't do that. You're not supposed to do that -- getting up and firing back when everything around you is popping and whizzing and trees, branches coming down and sandbags exploding and RPGs coming in over your head ... It was a fistfight then, and those guys held ' em off."

Stafford offered a guess as to why his fellow soldiers fought so hard.

"Just hardcoreness I guess," he said. "Just guys kicking ass, basically. Just making sure that we look scary enough that you don't want to come in and try to get us."

Jeff Emanuel summed the fight up very well:

"Perhaps the most important take away from that encounter, though, is the one that the mainstream media couldn't be bothered to pay attention long enough to learn: that, not for the first time, a contingent of American soldiers that was outnumbered by up to a twenty-to-one ratio soundly and completely repulsed a complex, pre-planned assault by those dedicated enough to their cause to kill themselves in its pursuit.

That kind of heroism and against-all-odds success is and has been a hallmark of America's fighting men and women, and it is one that is worthy of all attention we can possibly give it."

Of the original 45 paratroopers, 15 were wounded and The Sky Soldiers lost 9 killed in action in the attack. They were :

1LT Jonathan Brostrom of Aiea, Hawaii
SGT Israel Garcia of Long Beach, California
SPC Matthew Phillips of Jasper, Georgia
SPC Pruitt Rainey of Haw River, North Carolina
SPC Jonathan Ayers of Snellville, Georgia
SPC Jason Bogar of Seattle, Washington
SPC Sergio Abad of Morganfield, Kentucky
SPC Jason Hovater of Clinton, Tennessee
SPC Gunnar Zwilling of Florissant, Missouri

Of the 9 that were lost, Sgt Walker says:

“I just hope these guys' wives and their children understand how courageous their husbands and dads were. They fought like warriors."

They fought like warriors.

Last month, there were 9 funerals in the United States. 9 warriors were laid to rest. 9 warriors who had given their all for their country. All proud members of a brotherhood that will carry on in their name. They fought and died in what most would consider impossible circumstances, and yet they succeeded. A nameless fight in a distant war which, until you understand the facts, could be spun as a defeat. It wasn't. And it is because of the pride, courage and fighting spirit of this small unit that it was, in fact, a victory against overwhelming odds. And there's little doubt, given that pride and given that fighting spirit, that they'll be back to reestablish the base, this time with quite a few more soldiers just like the ones who "kicked ass" the last time there.

SFC Rice

 

These brave men of 2nd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, led by 1LT Jonathan Brostrom, are yet another prime example of what makes our military the finest in the world, and has made this country the greatest in the world.

Thank you, SFC Rice for giving me permission to share this with my readers.

My thanks go out to all of our military.  It is because of you, I can sleep in peace each night, knowing I am safe! Keep up the great work you ALL are doing!  Thank you, and God Bless you all.

Ms. Marti

Copyright 2008 MsMarti. All rights reserved.

Run For The Fallen A Journey Completed

It has been 10 weeks, and over 4,000 miles since the man  who organized Run For The Fallen started out.  A journey that started in California, with stops along each mile of the way to place a flag and a card about one of our finest who lost their life in Iraq.

"Run for the Fallen is a living record," an exhausted, emotional Bellona told the crowd at the finish. "It is not just dedicated to the more than 4,000 men and women who gave their lives, but to the families, loved ones and active duty currently in harm's way."

"Today we've come over 10 million steps to be here at the doorstep of the most sacred place in America, Arlington National Cemetery."

For a great photo essay on the run, and a video please check out the following sites.  Remember these brave men and women as they lived, remember all their great accomplishments, who they were, what they stood for (freedom) and not just the fact that they gave their all for their country!  By remember these things about them, they shall live forever and never be forgotten.

See related sites for pictures and videos.

Related Sites:

Assoluta Tranquility

MAIL CALL!  Supporting the Troops

Stars and Stripes

Copyright 2008 MsMarti. All rights reserved.

Group Hosts Survivors Conference

Conference Focuses on Survivors

By Sharon Foster
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2008 – The United Warrior Survivors Foundation will host its fifth annual West Coast Survivors Conference Aug. 22-25 in San Diego.

“These conferences were established with the unique needs of Special Forces widows in mind, affording them a healing experience and sense of camaraderie and support,” Kelly Chott, foundation administrator, said.

The conference brings together Special Forces widows at various stages of bereavement and includes an array of speakers and experts in the fields of military widowhood, bereavement, financial planning, benefits and entitlements, as well as practical classes in self-defense and coping with their children’s grieving process, Chott explained.

Conference organizers encourage all surviving spouses of U.S. Special Operations personnel who have died in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001, to attend. The conference also is open to surviving spouses of those who died while on volunteer support or re-supply missions to Special Operations teams.

The overall goal of the conference is to provide a safe and fun setting for sharing stories and challenges and forging bonds with others who have suffered similar tragedies, Chott said.

"The ‘survivor reunions’ bring all of us together, and we form this amazing bond,” said Jackie Syverson, widow of Army Maj. Paul Syverson of the 5th Special Forces Group. “Before my first reunion, I would wake up in the morning and wonder how I was going to make it through another day, feeling all alone in what I was facing.

“I left the reunion renewed,” she continued, “and with a new group of friends that are walking this path along with me. United Warrior Survivors Foundation gives us the chance to come together, share experiences and help one another through the grieving process. That is priceless, and has truly changed my life."

Because of the overwhelming response to the West Coast Conference, United Warrior Survivors Foundation had its first East Coast conference several years ago.

“These reunions are lifelines for all surviving spouses,” said Emily Munoz, widow of Army Capt. Gil Munoz of the 7th Special Forces Group.

United Warrior Survivors Foundation, a home-front group of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, was founded in 2002 in direct response to the loss of life in the global war on terror. Through counseling, emergency financial aid and financial planning, the group has extended help to more than 150 widows. Annually, it offers scholarships to college-bound Special Operations surviving spouses.

Related Sites:
America Supports You
United Warrior Survivors Foundation

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 25, 2008

Members of Successful Security Program Take Steps to Join Police

Monday, 25 August 2008

By Sgt. Philip Klein
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

A proud Iraqi finishes with the transition process to the national police, Aug 22. The screening process consisted of the applicants taking a test to determine suitability, a physically fitness test, identification verification and medical screening. Photo by Sgt. Philip Klein.

FORWARD OPERATION BASE WAR EAGLE — Members of the successful Sons of Iraq security program began the transition from neighborhood guardians to full fledged members of the Iraqi Security Forces at Forward Operating Base War Eagle, Aug. 22.

 

The screening process took place at War Eagle where Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers facilitated the transition of Iraqi citizens to the Iraqi National Police by evaluating applicants and job packets for the would-be members.

The screening process consisted of the applicants taking a test to determine suitability, a physical fitness test, identification verification and medical screening.

“Once we assemble the packets they are sent through Iraqi channels to be vetted, if they are approved and deemed appropriate candidates, the applicants will receive a class date and will attend the Iraqi Police Academy for approximately four weeks,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Smith, a squad leader with the 300th MPs.

After four weeks of training, the recruits will graduate and become members of the national police and be assigned a duty station in their home district.

“It’s good to see the local population wanting to step up and get involved, and it will help us get out of here faster for them to take the point,” said Staff Sgt. John Plossick, a squad leader with 4th Inf. Div.

For Miqdam Hasan Mihihsim, a member of the SOI from Shaab in the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad, the reasons to become a national policeman are his family and his country.

“It’s an honorable job to serve our nation as an Iraqi, but the salary will also help me support my family and will guarantee my families future,” said Miqdam.

 

Feature Stories

Officials Reopen Refurbished Jadriya Lake Park in Karadah

FORWARD OPERATING BASE RUSTAMIYAH — An estimated 2,250 Iraqi citizens witnessed a step toward a return to normalcy as local officials reopened Jadriya Lake Park in the Karadah District of eastern Baghdad, Aug. 22.

Government officials, security force leaders, contractors, and Soldiers who all worked together to restore the lake and surrounding grounds joined the people in celebrating the successful lake reopening.

Medical Clinic Nears Completion in Araifiya

COMBAT OUTPOST CASHE SOUTH — Khalaf Assad, a local Iraqi contractor, spent more than one month building a new primary care medical clinic in the small area of Araifiya.

The work began on little more than a piece of property, but Assad's vision drove him to continue.

 

Coalition Forces Help Rawah Focus

RAWAH — The town of Rawah has had many improvements since Coalition forces arrived. With their help, and the assistance of several organizations from Colorado, the local residents will soon be able to see the progress a little better.

Coalition forces recently delivered over 700 prescription eyeglasses to help provide the residents of Rawah with badly needed prescription lenses.

Sunday, 24 August 2008	Officials reopen refurbished Jadriya Lake Park in Karadah
Sunday, 24 August 2008	IA, MND-B Soldiers continue to take weapons off streets

Teething          

 

Monday, 25 August 2008 Female suicide bomber detained in Baqubah

 

Peace          

Sunday, 24 August 2008	ISF conduct riot control training
Sunday, 24 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers, SoI seize weapons cache, munitions

Dressed for Success          

 

Sunday, 24 August 2008 Coalition forces capture two key al-Qaeda leaders in Baghdad

 

Arms Full          

 

Sunday, 24 August 2008 Multiple IED attacks kill 2 Iraqi citizens in Baghdad

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 25, 2008

Coalition Forces in Afghanistan Kill Enemy Fighters
American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 24, 2008 – Coalition forces killed “multiple militants” yesterday during an operation to disrupt militant activities in Afghanistan’s Kapisa province, military officials reported.

The force searched a remote area in the province’s Tag Ab district targeting a senior Taliban commander smuggling weapons and foreign fighters into Afghanistan, as well as organizing rocket, roadside-bomb and suicide attacks against coalition and NATO forces.

During the operation, armed militants engaged the force. Coalition forces responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants, officials said.

Coalition forces searched the area and discovered multiple AK-47 assault rifles and machine guns. The weapons were destroyed to prevent future use.

(From a Combined Joint Task Force 101 news release.)

 

Afghan Family Donates Land for New Girls' School

By Air Force Capt. Jillian Torango
Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 25, 2008 – On a hillside overlooking the picturesque stepped farmlands of the Rokha district in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, a small group of people attended a ground-breaking ceremony Aug. 20 for the $130,000 Haish Saidqi eight-room schoolhouse.

Abdul Rahman Panjshiri speaks to the crowd during a ground-breaking ceremony for the $130,000 Haish Saidqi eight-room schoolhouse, Aug. 20, 2008, in the Rokha district of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province. Panjshiri donated the land for the school. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Jillian Torango, Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Hajji Kabiri, the province’s deputy governor, and Zolmaid Shahid, the provincial director of education, were among those on hand. Of special importance was the attendance of Abdul Rahman Panjshiri; he and his wife donated the land for the school.

Panjshiri, as his name indicates, is originally from Panjshir. His wife’s family had to leave the province when she was a girl so she could continue with school and get a good education.

Panjshiri said he and his family took asylum in the Netherlands during the Taliban regime, but he always knew he wanted to come back to Afghanistan.

“When the Taliban fell and I decided to come back to Afghanistan, some of my family was not happy with me,” he said. “My three sons even did not come back with me, but my wife and daughter did, and we now live and work in Kabul.”

Panjshiri is a communications engineer and serves as a director of International Radio and Television in Kabul. A year ago, he assisted in bringing the first television station to Panjshir.

His wife, a chemist, was the only woman from Rokha district to graduate from Kabul University in 1977. She now teaches at a school in Kabul.

“When we heard from the Ministry of Education in Kabul that they desperately needed land for a school, my wife encouraged me to give this land here for a girls’ school,” Panjshiri said. “She had to move away from Panjshir to get an education, and she didn’t want the girls today to have to do the same thing.”

Air Force Capt. Jayson Stewart represented the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team and offered Panjshiri words of thanks.

“It is a good thing that his family was willing to give their personal land for a girls’ school, because good, useable land is getting very hard to find here in Panjshir,” Stewart said.

Panjshiri said it takes not only commitment from people like himself, but also financial help from international donors and assistance from NATO’s International Security and Assistance Force for progress to continue in Panjshir and throughout Afghanistan.

“When I decided to come back to Afghanistan, a good friend of mine from Holland asked me why I would want to leave the Netherlands for Afghanistan,” Panjshiri said.

For Panjshiri, the answer was duty.

“I told him that I was sure that as long as coalition forces were here helping our government, then I knew it would be a good, safe place to come,” he said. “I am very happy that I made the decision to come back to Afghanistan, because I can do something for the people here – for my people.”

The Haish Saidqi eight-room schoolhouse is scheduled to be complete in April.

(Air Force Capt. Jillian Torango serves with the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team.)

 

Combined Joint Task Force-101
Operation Enduring Freedom

 

Thor Soldier receives Purple Heart
Written by Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg 382nd Public Affairs Detachment
Sunday, 24 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 23, 2008) — The Purple Heart Award is given to Soldiers who have been wounded by the enemy in combat and dates back to the Revolutionary War.

Spc. Vicente Torres, a motor vehicle operator from Alpha Company, 201st Brigade Support Battalion and San Diego native, was awarded a Purple Heart, Aug. 18, for wounds suffered July 17.

The Purple Heart was presented by Lt. Col. Bradley White, 201st BSB commander.

Torres said he does not feel like he did anything special to receive the Purple Heart, he was just doing his job.

He and his combat logistics patrol team members conducted a convoy up to a FOB in northern Nuristan to bring them supplies that could not be airlifted.

On the return trip, the lead vehicle spotted a freshly-painted white rock. The convoy stopped and the lead vehicle went to investigate the suspicious rock but did not find any IEDs.

They got back in their trucks and proceeded along the narrow, unpaved mountain road. After about 100 meters, the convoy was attacked from both sides by anti-Afghan forces.

For approximately half an hour the enemy continuously hit the convoy with multiple RPG and small-arms fire.

Torres was the gunner in a humvee, which was struck by an RPG immediately after the attack began. He received shrapnel in his right wrist from the blast, but stayed in the fight. He continued to return fire with his left hand while a medic bandaged his wounded wrist.

“The actions of everyone that day, not just Torres, proved we were trained and ready for this deployment,” White said. “The fact that he kept fighting even though he was injured is proof to the kind of Soldier Torres is.”

While Torres was recognized for the wounds he received that day, he praised his fellow Soldiers who were with them that day.

They might not have gotten an award, but they still did their job, Torres said. The team made it out of that attack because they all worked together as a team.

“Torres performed heroically that day,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Vaughn, from Baudin, S.C. “If he had not done what he did people would have died.”

Press Releases

Multiple militants killed in Kapisa province

Written by Bagram Media Center

Sunday, 24 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 24, 2008) – Multiple militants were killed by Coalition forces during an operation to disrupt militant activities in Kapisa province, Saturday.  The force searched a remote area in Tag Ab District targeting a senior Taliban commander smuggling weapons and foreign fighters into Afghanistan, as well as organizing rocket, IED and suicide attacks against Coalition and ISAF forces. During the operation, armed militants engaged the force. Coalition Forces responded with small-arms fire killing the militants. Coalition forces searched the area and discovered multiple AK-47s and machine guns.  The weapons were destroyed to prevent future use

 

News From Nato

Southern region Governors meet in Kandahar City

KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan—Key members of the Southern  Region conference on their way to the governors’ palace.          

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Independent Directorate of Local Government (IDLG) held a Conference in Kandahar City August 23 between key Afghan Government Ministers and four governors of the Southern region.        

This conference was hosted by the new Governor of Kandahar, Rahmatollah Raufi, at the Governor’s Palace. Governor Mohammed Ghulab Mangal of Helmand province; Governor Asadullah Hamdam of Uruzgan province, Governor Delbar Jam Arman Shinwari of Zabul province came together to discuss the challenges and issues they each face in their respective provinces. GIRoA representatives included; the Director General of the Independent Directorate of Local Government, H.E. Jelani Popal, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, H.E Ehsan Zia, Minister of  Education H.E. Mohammed Hanif Atmar and other representatives of central  government ministries.

Both the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Mr Kai Eide and the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), General David McKiernan addressed this high level event.

The parties discussed security, governance and development issues. They agreed to meet again within several weeks to further develop a number of initiatives which will benefit the people of the South.

 

Spanish ISAF soldiers save lives of ANA soldiers

24 Aug. - Early in the morning of August 22, an Afghan National Army vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Badghis Province, killing two Afghan soldiers and seriously wounding two others.

Independent Election Commission signs joint security order with partners

24 Aug. -  The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan signed a Joint Security Order with its international partners August 24.

 

           

Multimedia
	News Conference - 24 Aug. 2008 Video 3 parts

A member of an ISAF Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) team distributes information leaflets to Afghan citizens near the village of Spin Boldak, in Kandahar province, during a visit aimed at determining the needs of the local population.                              Credit: Canadian MoD 

Colorado Group to Sponsor Educational Seminar

Group Hosts Seminar for Military Families

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2008 – Military families, mental health professionals, educators, pastors and other interested parties are invited to attend an educational seminar addressing issues facing military families who don’t live near installations.

“We are concerned with the needs of military families who are unable to access support and services because they live too far away from a military base,” said Susan Hamilton, director of operations for Armed Forces Support Coalition, a seminar sponsor. “It’s important to educate many segments of the community about the difficulties these families face, so we are all prepared to be supportive.”

The Colorado Joint Family Support Assistance Program will host the Sept. 13 seminar in Ignacio, Colo. The free program will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude at 2 p.m., with lunch included.

Guests scheduled to speak at the seminar include military family life consultants, a Military OneSource consultant and an Operation Military Kids representative. Other speakers will discuss post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and the challenges these issues bring to families and communities.

These topics will be of special interest to school counselors, mental health professionals, and pastors, Armed Forces Support Coalition officials said.

Seating is limited, so those interested in attending the seminar must register before Sept. 1.

Armed Forces Support Coalition is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

(From an Armed Forces Support Coalition news release.)

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 24, 2008

Iraqi Police, U.S. Soldiers Team Up for Medical, Humanitarian Aid Mission

Sunday, 24 August 2008

By Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

A member of the 3rd battalion, 4th brigade, 1st national police division hands a stuffed animal to an Iraqi girl during a combined medical engagement in the Sha'ab neighborhood of northern Baghdad on Aug. 22, 2008. Sgt. Zachary Mott.

BAGHDAD — Hundreds of residents braved the intense Iraqi summer heat to receive a medical screening from American doctors and receive an aid package from Iraqi National Police in the Sha’ab neighborhood of the Adhamiyah District of northern Baghdad on Aug. 22.

 

Even before the doors officially opened shortly after 8 a.m., Sha’ab residents began lining up outside the neighborhood school for the chance to have their ailments and pains checked.

“This is the third time we’ve come here to get medicine and I’m very happy to come here,” said Sabiha al Aabi Rathel, a Sha’ab resident who had her three children en tow at the combined medical engagement.

After being screened by doctors and medics with Multi-National Division – Baghdad, and being prescribed the needed medication if available, the attendees were ushered by police to pick up various school supplies and a humanitarian aid package.

The school supplies handed out by the 1st Iraqi National Police Division included a backpack, pens, pencils and a stuffed animal for those too young for school. The humanitarian aid package is designed to feed a family one meal.

While many who came to the medical event were more interested in the free supplies, they were initially screened in a sick-call type procedure to determine if any medication was required.

“We handed out a lot of vitamin syrup, Tylenol, Motrin, mostly aches and pains type stuff,” said Sgt. Eric Duvella, a pharmacy technician, who was responsible for dispensing the medication.

Some residents were in need of more in-depth medical coverage than is typically available at these events. In such cases, they are urged to visit a local hospital that offers more advanced care.

 

Feature Stories

Coalition Forces Help Rawah Focus

Sunday, 24 August 2008

By Lance Cpl. Paul M. Torres
Regimental Combat Team 5

 

Hamed Khalid Abrahim, the mayor of Rawah, Iraq, tries on a new pair of glasses in Rawah, Aug 13, 2008. Coalition forces delivered 720 pairs of prescription glasses to the local optometrist in Rawah. Photo by Lance Cpl. Paul M. Torres.

RAWAH — The town of Rawah has had many improvements since Coalition forces arrived. With their help, and the assistance of several organizations from Colorado, the local residents will soon be able to see the progress a little better.

 

Coalition forces recently delivered over 700 prescription eyeglasses to help provide the residents of Rawah with badly needed prescription lenses.

“We are helping increase the quality of life for many of the people who could otherwise not afford prescription glasses,” said Navy Lt. Malcolm Brown, battalion surgeon for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5. “There have been instances where Iraqis have gotten themselves in a life-threatening situation because they could not read the warning signs, so we are potentially saving lives.”

Poor eyesight can be easily treated with a simple pair of glasses, if glasses are available.

“They don’t have a proper hospital where they can go to be treated,” said 1st Lt. Daniel M. Thomas, team leader for Civil Affairs Team 5, Detachment 1, Regimental Combat Team 5. “The clinic they do have is lacking medical supplies, such as glasses, and the facilities to treat some of the more severe eyesight problems.”

The glasses were delivered to the mayor’s office in Rawah, and the local optometrist met with members of Coalition forces to discuss how the glasses were to be distributed.

“The local optometrist will be handing out most of the glasses for free,” said Thomas.

The glasses were donated by three organizations from Colorado: the Fort Collins Lions Club, the Sterling Lions Club and the Rotary Club of Fort Collins. The Rotary and Lions clubs collected and sorted the glasses by prescription before sending them.

“It’s great that there are people back in the states that are willing to help the people out here,” said Lance Cpl. Kyle J. Friel, a motor transportation mechanic with CA Team 5. “By helping the people, they are also helping our mission to aid the Iraqis in rebuilding their infrastructure.”

Bridge Re-opens Over Thar Thar Canal

Sunday, 24 August 2008

By Cpl. Chris T. Mann
Regimental Combat Team 1

 

FALLUJAH — Iraqi Army Soldiers, operating in an area shared by Regimental Combat Team 1, escorted local sheiks and tribal leaders across a newly constructed bridge in the Bagharra region of Iraq, Aug. 19.

The passage marked the re-opening of the Salem Bridge, an important link in connecting local citizens with cities on the other side of the Thar Thar Canal. Insurgents had demolished the original bridge with improvised explosive devices more than a year ago, forcing locals to travel nearly five hours to cross the canal.

“Before this bridge opened, the people were suffering,” said 2nd Lt. Nasser Kazzoy, scout platoon commander with the Iraqi army. “Now that the bridge is open, people can cross the bridge and get to the other side in five minutes.”

Bagharra, a remote area with vast open desert, is home to mostly farmers who earn their living raising crops and livestock. They depended on passage over the canal to import farming supplies and to export their harvests to nearby cities. Insurgent’s destruction of the original bridge forced many families in the area to move because of lost profits.

The re-construction included entry control points to allow the IA to continue security efforts near the bridge.

Marines with the local military transition team credited IA Soldiers for their lead in the project.

“This has been an effort purely initiated by the IAs and will help stimulate the local economy and increase the quality of life for people living in the area,” said 1st Lt. Emre I. Albayrak, military advisor. “These guys are doing an amazing job keeping the area secure.”

Al Thura Sports Handicapped Club Hosts Rashid Special Olympics

Sunday, 24 August 2008

By Staff Sgt. Brent Williams
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

Members of the Iraqi Wheelchair Fencing Federation, Ali Zhati parries with Mohammed Taliq during the first game of the Boy's Fencing Competition - part of the Rashid Special Olympics, Aug. 22, 2008, at the Al Thura Sports Handicapped Club located in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON — Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers attended the Rashid Special Olympics, Aug. 22, to show their support for disabled athletes at the Al Thura Sports Handicapped Club, located in the Al Thura Disabled Veteran’s Community of the Rashid District in southern Baghdad.

 

Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division applauded Rashid’s disabled athletes during the annual youth sports event that showcased tennis matches, table tennis and fencing in the spirit of camaraderie and competition for trophies and medals.

“It’s a great event,” said Capt. Thao Reed, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. “It shows that we can unite Iraqis and endorse teamwork and build camaraderie.”

The club is one of five youth sports centers for disabled athletes in Iraq, and the second such club in Baghdad. The Al Thura Club was first established in 2004 within a community in southern Baghdad and was created for disabled veterans of the Iraq-Iran War more than two decades ago.

The youth center and sports events, such as the games, are indicators that the mindset of Iraqi society is changing, said Reed.

“I think the Iraqi government are realizing that disabled citizens can be integrated into society and can play a productive role in society,” she said.

Activities such as the Rashid Olympics are great rehabilitation programs, integrating Iraqis into sports to build confidence and physical recovery for disabled athletes and citizens, said Reed.

With the help of non-governmental organizations, Iraqi leaders are also working to identify and treat youth suffering from the trauma of war, opening clinics to address mental health issues, such as depression, said Reed.

“They are providing special education classes meant to help increase awareness and wellness to reach the population,” she said. “The NGOs are doing their part to help educate Iraqi men and women, using programs such as the youth sport centers to help address those needs.”

Sgt. Andrew Glover said the opportunity to attend events such as the Rashid Olympics shows an improvement in the security situation for Iraqis in Baghdad.

“It also shows great leaps and bound in the fact that they have become self-sufficient as a whole and want to better themselves and their community,” said Glover, 4th Inf. Div.

As the Iraqi people worry less about security in their communities, the people are returning to a sense of normalcy in their lives, explained Reed.

The Rashid Olympics will conclude with the final championship games tentatively scheduled for Sep. 2.

Saturday, 23 August 2008	Suicide bomber kills 5 in Kirkuk city
Saturday, 23 August 2008	101st Soldiers unearth weapons caches in Salah ad Din

 

Salah Sunrise

 

Saturday, 23 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers seize weapons caches
Saturday, 23 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers detain two suspected AQI members, Special Groups criminal

 

Flare Pair

 

Saturday, 23 August 2008	ISF, MND-B Soldiers confiscate weapons, find munitions
Saturday, 23 August 2008	IA Soldiers recover cache of explosives in al-Nasiriyah

 

Shadow Signals

 

Saturday, 23 August 2008	Three AQI captured, four killed in separate Diyala operations (Balad)
Saturday, 23 August 2008	Camp Victory paratroopers celebrate airborne history, XVIII Airborne Corps’ birthday (Baghdad)
Saturday, 23 August 2008	Coalition forces target al-Qaeda leaders, bombers (Baghdad)

Olympic Updates-Photo Essays

OLYMPIC PENTATHLON - U.S. Air Force World Class Athlete Program Capt. Eli Bremer rides Dangdang to a 14th-place finish worth 1,060 points in the equestrian show jumping portion of the modern pentathlon, Aug. 21, 2008, at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Beijing. Bremer finished 23rd in the five-sport event that includes pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, riding show jumping and running with 5,204 points. U.S. Army photo by Tim Hipps

  Hi-Res | Special | Lead Photo Archive



For more photos, please follow this link to the Military Olympians page.

There is a great photo of Capt. Eli Bremer as he swims in the  200 Freestyle portion of the mens modern Olympic pentathalon.  The pentathalon is a five-sports in one-day event.  The participants must compete in pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, equastrian riding and cross-country running.

Don't miss the other great photo of Staff Sgt. Keith Sanderson, shooting in the 25 meter rapid-fire event where he placed 5th.  Staff Sgt. Sanderson shot an Olympic qualifying score of 583.

Both Capt. Bremer of the Air Force and Staff Sgt. Sanderson of the Army are part of the U.S. World Class Athlete Program.



Copyright 2008 MsMarti. All rights reserved.

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 24, 2008

Combined Joint Task Force-101
Operation Enduring Freedom

Asad Abad celebrates the 89th Anniversary of Afgha...

Written by Navy Lt. Neil Myers, Konar Provincial Reconstruction Team
Friday, 22 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 20, 2008) – Government officials, security forces and local citizens gathered in downtown Asad Abad in celebration of the 89th anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence from Great Britain.

Konar’s provincial governor, Gov. Sayed Wahidi, addressed the crowd and urged the security forces of the province to work hard to improve security for the people as he praised them for their hard work.

The event included a military parade that showcased various Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army battalions driving and marching proudly displaying Afghanistan’s flag. The soldiers saluted Wahidi and other senior officials as they proceeded through the streets.

Afterwards, the celebration moved to the Provincial Shura Hall at the governor’s compound where several poets gathered to recite poems in celebration of Afghan nationalism. The poets recited their verses giving honor to this significant day and to the heroes who defended their country against British forces.

Wahidi congratulated the people and the nation for the arrival of the 89th anniversary of Afghan independence. He asked the people to support their legitimate government in the effort to maintain security, pride and dignity.

At the end of the ceremony the participants received gifts donated by the Konar PRT and other donors.

Faltering Economy? Bagram troops still capitalize ...

Written by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace CJTF-101 Public Affairs
Friday, 22 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 18, 2008) – One by one, heels snap together as hundreds of service members, with their rifles slung in front of their torsos, assume the position of attention and salute the flag-draped caskets travelling down Disney Drive on Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.

Disney Drive, named for Spc. Jason Disney, who died after suffering injuries at Bagram on Feb. 13, 2002, is the air field’s main thoroughfare and is the site of Fallen Comrade ceremonies, which are almost a daily occurrence here this summer.

Sadness can be overwhelming and Soldiers need to get away from it even if escaping means spending money in a time when the economy is faltering, said Master Sgt. Eric Elliott, a barrel-chested Soldier on his 16th combat deployment.

Elliott said he has seen too many fallen companions pass by in the somber ceremonies. “I’ve been through hell and I need my two-week R&R [rest and recuperation leave] with my sweetie and kids,” said Elliott.

To escape his solemn memories of Bagram’s Disney Drive, Elliott is taking his family to a more joyful Disney. He bought tickets to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., so “I can spend quality time with my family and get my head together before returning to this rat race of a war again,” he said.

Despite a weak economy and soaring fuel prices, U.S. troops are still travelling and taking vacations while on R&R.

“Taking a vacation is very helpful to families because it allows the family to get to a neutral spot to spend maximum time together,” said Maj. Karen Meeker, Combined Joint Task Force-101’s deputy chaplain.

The chaplain suggested service members should “spend the maximum amount of time with their immediate family without distractions. A vacation normally proves to be valuable for most families.”

Despite an uncertain economy, some companies still are offering military discounts or even free tickets.

The Anheuser-Busch company extended its “Here’s to the Heroes” campaign and offers free admission for a service member and three family members at any of its parks. Troops and their families can spend a complimentary day at: Busch Gardens in Virginia or Florida, any SeaWorld park, Adventure Island in Tampa, Fla., Water Country USA in Williamsburg, Va., or Sesame Place in Pennsylvania.

Shades of Green, a morale, welfare and recreation hotel on Disney World property, offers discounts to troops if they visit while on their R&R leave. According to its Web site, Shades of Green offers a 20 percent discount on rooms and other accommodations to troops serving at least 12 consecutive months in the war zones.

Like Elliott, Spc. Desmond Marks plans to take his wife and child to Orlando to spend part of his R&R at the Magic Kingdom.

“I just can’t wait to get away from this place and recharge,” said Marks, CJTF-101’s webmaster, who is serving his first overseas deployment.

Marks agreed that Soldiers can’t let a weak economy deter them from enjoying their brief time at home. Most junior enlisted Soldiers do not have money to blow and Marks is no exception.

Marks planned his vacation with his budget in mind and he intends to stay at his father-in-law’s time-share property in Orlando. He also plans to drive to Florida instead of flying to save money, he said.

An Army officer, 1st Lt. Nathan Perry, agreed with Marks and warned of the hazards of going into debt over a vacation.

Soldiers have alternatives to running up a hefty tab for a family trip, said Perry, a prior-enlisted Soldier from the Mississippi National Guard.

Soldiers could go camping or partake in a multitude of other inexpensive trips and still recharge their batteries, said Perry. “I made it through college with little money going on these sorts of trips.”

In addition to the price of the vacation, soldiers have to plan for transportation costs too, said Perry. As gas prices continue to rise, service members make adjustments accordingly.

The Information, Tickets and Tours Office on Dover Air Force Base, Del., reported sales this summer have been good but also said it is selling more tickets for local parks and events.

Not as many Airmen are taking long-distance trips, said April Stover, a Dover AFB ITT agent.

“We ordered 300 tickets for Hershey Park, [Pa.,] sold out and had to re-order more,” said Stover, explaining that Dover-based Airmen can’t afford the price of airfare or gas and opt to vacation closer to Delaware.

Whether they take an elaborate vacation or just go camping, Soldiers need to take advantage of their two-week R&R period in the middle of a God-forsaken 15-month deployment, said Elliott.

“Three words sum up my idea of how important R&R is: life, limb and wife,” he said. “If it doesn’t kill me, seriously maim me or cause my wife to leave me, I’ll find a way to make it happen.”

Elliott explained a Soldier never knows when he may get blown up or if he will make it home again.

“If I can foster a last memory of me and my family at Disney World, then I will damn sure make it happen,” he said. “I never know when it may be my turn to be paraded down Disney over here – life is way to short to not enjoy what time you have.”

Force protection increased at district center

Written by Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg 102nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Friday, 22 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 18, 2008) —The Quargehay District Center has come under two attacks since April, and recently a Criminal Investigative Division police officer was killed while searching the culverts surrounding the center for improvised explosive devices.

However, work is being done to strengthen the area around the district center from these attacks, such as Hesco Barriers and the construction of a guard tower.

With the Afghanistan National Police station and a governor’s building located there, the district center is the hub of government activity for the Quargehay District.

The 527th Military Police Company, out of Giessen, Germany, Methar Lam Police Mentoring Team and Dyncorp workers reinforce security in the area.  These three components work together to help train the ANP, and on Aug. 1 they brought building supplies for additional Hesco Barriers to help the police fortify the district center.

“The two recent attacks on the district center are the reason the chief of police requested the Hesco Barriers,” Capt. Englebert Roy, with the Methar Lam PMT, said.

“The police are going to build the barriers themselves and then a contractor will come and fill the barriers with sand,” Sgt. Michael Butts, 3rd squad leader of the 527th MP Company, said.

Along with the barriers, construction of a guard tower is scheduled too.
The tower is going to be a huge improvement for the police to conduct perimeter operations, Roy said.

Fortifying the district center has been an ongoing process, Roy said. With the new wall of Hesco Barriers and the guard tower the police will be able to fight back from a more secure position than they had previously.

ANSF assumes control of Bak District Center

Written by Spc. Casey Ware TF Currahee Public Affairs
Friday, 22 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 17, 2008) — The Afghanistan National Security Forces assumed control of the Bak District Center during a transfer-of-authority ceremony Saturday.

After five months of mentoring from a Task Force Currahee Military Police platoon, the Afghanistan National Army soldiers have shown they are ready to assume full responsibility of the area, said Capt. Jim Raines, company commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment.

“The ANA are very well equipped to conduct counter-insurgency operations,” said Lt. Col. David Ell, commander of 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment. “The fact is, the ANA are Afghans, they speak the language and understand the culture. They are able to do a great job of counter-insurgency because the people truly identify with them.”

The district center is now in the well trained hands of the ANA. Afghan National Police also assist with security.

“Our MP platoon has done an absolutely fabulous job mentoring the ANA and ANP and their hard effort has paid off by making this transition possible,” Ell said.

Handing over the security responsibility of Bak to the ANSF shows continued progress in the fight against terrorism throughout their area of operation.

Not only does the turnover show the capabilities of the Afghan people to self-govern and maintain order by their own forces, it frees up valuable manpower than can be devoted to less stable areas.

“Our whole goal is to transfer as many District Centers to ANSF control as possible so we can begin to concentrate on different areas that we need to focus our combat power at,” said Ell.

Task Force Currahee put five months worth of hard work into making this transition happen and their hard work has paid off.

The ANSF taking the lead and standing up on their own in the Bak District sets an example for all of Khost province and Afghanistan.

News From Nato

Veterinarian Civil Assistance Patrol in Qalat City

            

QALAT CITY, Afhganistan--The Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in conjunction with the Provincial Government of Zabul has created a plan to improve conditions for the Kuchi tribesmen in the vicinity of Qalat City. The PRT has recently conducted three VETCAPs for the Kuchi tribes. (ISAF photo)

KABUL, Afghanistan - The nomadic Pashtun Kuchi tribe of Southern Afghanistan has been labeled as one of the largest and most vulnerable populations in the country. The tribe’s livelihood depends on the maintenance and grazing of large herds of sheep and goats.

The Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team, in conjunction with the Provincial Government of Zabul, has created a plan to improve conditions for the Kuchi tribesmen in the vicinity of Qalat City. The team is working in close coordination with Kuchi Tribal Leaders and Qalat City authorities to bring this three-phased plan to life.

The plan began with three Veterinarians Civil Assistance Patrol held in Qalat City, August 18-20.  In order to conduct the actvity three specialists were brought in from Bagram Airfield.  This specialized crew brought medicine to treat the animals of the local Kuchi tribesmen.  The treatments, mainly concentrated on de-worming, should be conducted twice a year and will improve the overall health of the herds of sheep and goats.  If the animals go untreated, the effects of worms can result in the death of the animals or infection of humans. Over the three days the team was able to treat many sheep, goats and cattle.

The Provincial Government of Zabul was extremely excited about the benefits that this project will bring to the Kuchi people. Governor Arman said, “It is extremely important to help the Kuchi people with their animals as herding represents their main livelihood. We have to support them to ensure that their livelihoods are maintained during these hard times.”   

These three small VETCAPs have allowed the PRT to make more contacts with, and gain the trust of, the Kuchi Tribal leadership. The PRT is committed to supporting the Provincial Government to improve conditions for the Kuchis. These VETCAPs have shown the Kuchis concrete examples of the government's commitment to provide for them in the future.

The next phase of this project will be to conduct VETCAPs for the large Kuchi herds out in the districts.  Before the winter months, the veterinarians will work through the Kuchi Tribal Elders to treat as many animals as possible.

The last phase of this project is the construction of a Kuchi animal market in Qalat City.  The animal market will consist of upgraded facilities for the Kuchi’s and their animals including a veterinarian center, pens for 1,000 animals, and access to potable water.  The construction of this centralized facility will see the Kuchis becoming increasingly integrated into the trading economy of Zabul province.

This project is one of many currently being conducted by the U.S.-led Zabul PRT in Qalat City.  The impact of these projects will extend far beyond the Kuchi community as it will create a centralized trading hub for the Kuchi tribesmen.

Five IEDs discovered and destroyed in Paktika province

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan National Army and International Security Assistance Forces discovered and destroyed five IEDs in the Orgun District of Paktika province August 22.

Afghan National Army soldiers discovered one IED along a main road, and while investigating the site discovered four more just down the road. Task Force Currahee and ANA soldiers also found numerous fighting positions near the IEDs.

All five IEDs were destroyed in place  with no injuries to ANSF or ISAF forces, and therefore ensured security in the  area.

Security forces stop IED emplacement

KABUL, Afghanistan – International Security Assistance Forces stopped several militants from placing an IED in Ghazni province August 22.

Soldiers from Task Force Currahee observed four militants placing an IED along the Sharana to Ghazni road in Ghazni province.  Aircraft were called in and fired upon the militants.

Task Force Currahee and ANA soldiers disposed  of the IED and searched the building the militants ran to, finding an RPG.

This joint effort of ANSF and ISAF  prevented damage to the people in the region and enhanced security in the area.

PRT proving ingenuity is all it takes to make a difference

by Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
AFCENT News Team

8/20/2008 - QALAT, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- In a country where the reality is that parents will have to bury one of their children before the age of 5, members of a coalition provincial reconstruction team at Zabul, Afghanistan, are working to reverse this staggering trend.

After two Air Force medical professionals spent some time on the ground in Southeastern Afghanistan, they came to a conclusion -- providing clinical medical care for locals was just a band-aid solution for three major issues plaguing the country. So they made the decision to take a step back and think outside of the box for solutions.

Capt. (Dr.) James Arnold and Capt. Tim Harrelson, physician assistant, have been hard at work looking for ways they could step beyond clinic care traditionally provided by PRT medics. The two were determined to find sustainable, cost efficient ways locals could combat the three largest medical killers in the country diarrhea, malnutrition and childbirth complications -- information they were provided by the Afghani government.

"Every environment is different; the resources are different; what you can use and what the people will accept is even different," Captain Harrelson said. "Even if you discover something that has already been done, you have to figure out how to get it accepted here. You have to be able to work with people on a human level. Those were our challenges in the beginning. We realized early that half of our job was going to be to sell the solution."

Neither of these Airmen ever anticipated they would be involved in a quest to discover feasible solutions to problems like these.

"When I was at physician assistant school I never even considered that I would do anything like this," Captain Harrelson said. When he volunteered for the deployment, the captain thought he would treat trauma cases, run sick call and deal with a few public health items, which is a more standard deployed medical mission.

"The reality of it is when you get out into your job, you have to look around in the environment to find out what the problems are and decide how you re going to fix them," said Captain Harrelson, deployed from Misawa Air Base, Japan.

The Airmen found wrapping their arms around these problems was hard.
"When we got here all we could see is what we could not do," said Doctor Arnold, deployed from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. "We had to learn and accept what we could do and do it to the best of our ability. Once we got to that phase, we took off like a runaway train. It almost got simpler when we took a step back. You can't solve all of these children's individual medical problems, but you can tackle very simple things. That is going to impact a lot of people."

The decision was made early that they needed to create low cost and easy to replicate solutions that would be simple to implement. The primary goal they had going into the process was to provide a means for the Afghanis to be self-sufficient, not creating a cycle of dependency on coalition medical care.

Cleaning up the water
The Qalat PRT operates in the poorest region of Afghanistan, an area where most homes are made of mud without electricity and the source of running water often comes from a polluted water well or from a river where people bathe.

Doctor Arnold was determined to discover a way to provide clean drinking water to the population knowing that doing so would drastically reduce the number of diarrhea patients in hospitals. He began searching the Web for a possible solution in April where he discovered a hypochlorite generator system that would work in this environment. The system uses a probe to convert a water and salt mixture into a chlorinated solution to be bottled and taken home for families to mix into their drinking water to kill bacteria. The system cost approximately $5 a month per 300 families to maintain.

Finding a simple system that could be cheaply maintained was just the first half of the battle, however; the village elders would have to provide their blessing before it could be successfully introduced to a village. The PRT doctor met with the village elders to discuss the benefits of the system and provide them a sample, before the system was presented to a hospital in Shajoy a 45 minute drive from Qalat.

"Once we convinced them to taste it, they realized it was a good thing, and they all gave their verbal pledge, which is a big deal," the doctor said. "They all stood up and agreed that their village and their families would use it."

This approval provided the PRT the green light to take another step forward, ensuring that the hospital's electrical wiring could support the system. Doctor Arnold coordinated to have this done, but even with the proper wiring, the hospital is only able to run its power for short periods of time - a fact that will not hinder this system's operations.

The doctors delivered the system to the Shajoy hospital Aug. 9, where the team was greeted by swarms of children and inquiring looks on the adult's faces not realizing what the true impact of the troop's arrival meant. The system was delivered with almost 300 bottles to be filled with the chlorine-based solution it produces to be handed out to families.

"Everything that we are doing goes back to clean their water," said Doctor Arnold, a Des Moines University graduate. "We are really trying to get to the lowest common denominator with everything"

Sweet tastes can save lives
When it came to facing the issue of malnutrition, a local Afghani public heath administrator provided the team with a starting point. Dr. Zamarai Sultan, the Qalat public health administrator, shared some information with Doctor Arnold about a product he knew of that had been used in other countries like Africa.

Based on this starting point, Doctor Arnold and Captain Harrelson found a recipe online, in July, they thought could be successfully reproduced, and more importantly, they believed could be tweaked for the local production. The "Ready to Use Therapeutic Food" recipe they settled on called for only five ingredients - sugar, oil, powered milk, almonds and liquid vitamins, all which are available for purchase in village markets.

"We are using this particular recipe because there is no cooking required," Captain Harrelson explained. "The types of ingredients we are using are not water based, so this can stand on a shelf without refrigeration for four months. This really works perfectly. It won't go bad. It won't cause disease, and it won't cause sickness."

Doctor Arnold said he believes this, compared to other projects PRTs have done in the past, is one can have a profound effect. "We can teach them to make this; the materials are here in the country, and they can sustain this. They just need to know how to do it and know that it exists," he said.

A single batch of the sweet-tasting RUTF can feed a child who is severely malnourished for 20 days for less than five U.S. dollars. A child receives a 600 calorie serving of the supplement to eat throughout the course of a day. This routine will bring a child back to healthy state so a normal diet can be started.

The peanut butter like consistency of the supplement, designed specifically for those 6 months to 5 years old, has more benefits than just being easy to make.

"The children don't have to actually chew it, they can suck on it. They don't have to have a lot of strength or teeth," Captain Harrelson said.

The delivery team did not meet the same welcome at the Qalat hospital when they delivered samples of the RUTF supplement Aug. 10. The patients who would benefit from this product were in a room lined with 15 beds -- most with their mothers and a sibling or two at their bedside. Initially, the infants were hesitant to eat the food, but after the doctors asked the mothers to feed their children, the babies eagerly accepted it.

Doctor Sultan smiled while looking on at this development. This will help most of the babies and children here because it is a strong treatment. The babies will get healthy on it, he said.

"The doctors are jazzed," Doctor Arnold said. "They are educated; they see what we are doing for them, and they are very appreciative. One of the reasons they are so happy about this is they see us doing something, and they know they can do it too."

Captain Harrelson agreed. "It is not just something we will implement while we are here, and then we leave, it is gone. They are going to take this, and they are going to run with it. They want their kids to survive. And now they are getting the tools to do it, and realizing they can do it themselves."

Teaching others to help
The final large medical project for this PRT is helping to establish a midwife course in Qalat since one in six child births ends in the death of the mother, child or both.

A contributing factor to this problem is the culture here doesn't allow females to see male physicians, Doctor Arnold said.

This project required the least amount of research for the team since the curriculum already existed in another city. The goal is to replicate the 18-month course here, with an agreement that the graduates would remain in the local area as government employees. The class would be formed of 16 female students, all of whom had to pass a literacy test.

The hurdle facing them was gaining permission from the city council to implement the program.

Work is still in progress to form the first class for this course, which is anticipated to kick off in October.

Since most child births here occur in the home, the doctor said this class will focus on things as simple as sterilization and clearing a baby's mouth and nose, moving up to medical procedures like proper sewing and bleeding control.

"It is not unrealistic to cut the child birth mortality rate in half in an area with the implementation of this course," Doctor Arnold said.

The road ahead
For the next PRT here, these Airmen are leaving hope that they don't have to spend nine months coming up with new solutions. Instead, they can spend their time expanding these established programs throughout the province. The blue print has been made leaving a path for expansion.

"We are ready to see these programs moved on to a larger scale," Doctor Arnold said. "The Taliban works to say we are infidels. I think the people we affect with our work see that we are trying to learn their ways and see that we are trying to adapt to their way. We are trying to find ways to help them, while respecting their culture. An acceptance based on this will allow us to take big steps forward in working ourselves out of a job."

Zabul team combats malnutrition, unsafe water

Zabul team combats malnutrition, unsafe water Capt. (Dr.) James Arnold gives a food supplement to the mother of a malnourished Afghan child Aug. 9 at the Qalat Hospital in Qalat, Afghanistan. Dr. Arnold, along with other members of the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team, is working with local heath officials to combat the main causes of infant mortality such as unsanitary water supplies and malnutrition. Dr. Arnold is a family medicine physician at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Keith Brown)

Capt. (Dr.) James Arnold gives a food supplement to the mother of a malnourished Afghan child Aug. 9 at the Qalat Hospital in Qalat, Afghanistan. Dr. Arnold, along with other members of the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team, is working with local heath officials to combat the main causes of infant mortality such as unsanitary water supplies and malnutrition. Dr. Arnold is a family medicine physician at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Keith Brown)  Download Full Image | E-mail a friend

Capt. (Dr.) James J. Arnold shows Dr. Saleh Mohammed, Director of the Shajoy District Hospital in Shajoy, Afghanistan, how to mix chlorine and water to kill bacteria and parasites. Dr. Arnold is a family medicine doctor and is deployed to the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team. In an effort to combat one of the main causes of high infant mortality rate here, Dr. Arnold and other members of the Zabul PRT developed a system for extracting chlorine from salt to sanitize drinking water. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Master Sgt. Keith Brown)

 

Source: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123111661

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 23, 2008

New Substation Helps Stabilize Diwaniyah’s Electrical Grid

Saturday, 23 August 2008

Construction of a $25 million new 132kV substation for the city of Diwaniyah in southern Iraq’s Qadisiyah Province is 82 percent complete and scheduled to be finished this fall. USACE photo by Alicia Embrey.

AL DIWANIYAH — The Al Diwaniyah 132kV substation in southern Iraq’s Qadisiyah Province is scheduled for completion this fall. Currently 82 percent finished, this massive project has sparked the interest of Al Diwaniyah’s 400,000 residents and local officials.

 

 

According to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region South District Iraqi Engineer Sahib Dukman, the project was originally planned in 1982. Dukman explained that at that time the Iraqi Government developed an electrical master plan, but projects under the plan were delayed due to what Dukman called Saddam Hussein’s bad behavior.

“The 132 kV substation in East Diwaniyah is very important for the electrical grid in this region. This new substation will reduce the load currently on two 33/11 kV substations built in 2003 to a reasonable level,” said Dukman.  “The substations built in 2003 are part of the master plan developed by the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity but were not built to handle the current demand for power,” he added.

“More substations are being built throughout the Qadisiyah Province and when finished will link together, forming a stabilized grid,” explained Gulf Region Division Construction Representative John De Los Santos. “With the help of Iraqi Engineers like Dukman working with contractor Pauwels International who has employed hundreds of local Iraqis, this $25 million project is nearly complete.” 

Dukman said the Qadisiyah Province deputy governor recently visited the site and was impressed with the quality of construction.

Once completed, the contractor will test, energize and commission the substation working directly with Ministry of Electricity officials ensuring the facility meets their standards.

(By Alicia Embrey,  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region South District)

Interactive Iraq :: Video News

Iraqi Freedom Minute, Aug. 21

• This edition features Iraqi contractors and Army Corps of Engineers working together to rebuild Baghdad's sewer system.

   

Watch Now

 

Freedom Journal Iraq, Aug.21          

• This edition features the Secretary of State meeting with Iraqi officials, and the combat capabilities of the Air Force's MQ9 Reaper.

Watch Now

 

Friday, 22 August 2008 DoD Identifies Army Casualty (Amarah)

Flown and Folded
          

 

Friday, 22 August 2008 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty (Anbar Province)

 

Farm Fresh    
       

 

Friday, 22 August 2008 Schools refurbished in Abu T’shir

 

Window to the Future          

 

Friday, 22 August 2008	National Police seize large cache in New Baghdad
Friday, 22 August 2008	Release of 49 juveniles puts number of detainees returned to society above 11,000 for 2008

All Aboard          

 

Friday, 22 August 2008	Two suspected Kata’ib Hezbollah associates nabbed in New Baghdad
Friday, 22 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers detain key suspected criminal leader in New Baghdad

Nose to Nose          

 

Friday, 22 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers seize weapons cache in Baghdad
Friday, 22 August 2008	Camp Victory paratroopers celebrate airborne history, XVIII Airborne Corp’s birthday

Star Attraction    
     

 

Friday, 22 August 2008 MND-B Soldiers discover munitions in Rashid district

 

High Ride          

 

Friday, 22 August 2008	Al-Qaeda bombing, propaganda networks degraded (Baghdad)
Friday, 22 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers detain suspects across Rashid, ISF dismantle booby trap

America Supports You: Group Helps Political Parties Build Common Ground

Two Wounded Vets to Receive New Homes During Political Conventions

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2008 – It took a Massachusetts troop-support group to get the country’s two major political parties to find a sliver of common ground, literally, during this election year.

A joint advertisement by the Democratic and Republican parties shows unity for a common cause, as a wounded veteran from each of the cities that will host their 2008 national conventions will receive an adaptive home from Massachusetts-based “Homes for Out Troops,” a supporter of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program. Courtesy graphic  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

During each party’s convention, Homes for Our Troops will present a wounded veteran from each of the communities where the Democratic and Republican conventions are being held with keys to a specially adapted home.

The timing and locations are no coincidence. Everything was very carefully planned between Homes for Our Troops and representatives of the Republican and Democratic national committees.

“The RNC and the DNC, that’s one of their things that they do,” said Dawn Teixeira, Homes for Our Troops vice president and chief communication officer. “They converge hundreds of people into these cities, [and] they like to leave something nice behind. That’s why the conventions are involved.”

The Credit Union National Association is at the center of it all, she said. Involved in the conventions because of lobbying interests, the association helps the parties fulfill their desire to give back to the communities in which they hold their conventions.

With the mission of “People helping people,” the association saw what Homes for Our Troops was doing and decided it fit the parties’ mission perfectly. “They saw us and they said, ‘What a perfect way to give back,” Teixeira said.

To get the two houses built took a fair amount of effort on the part of Homes for Our Troops, despite the backing of the two powerhouse parties, because each project was started from scratch. “We had to seek out some vets to say, ‘We have this wonderful opportunity. We’re going to build you a house,’” Teixeira said.

It was months ago that Homes for Our Troops shocked Travis Strong and Marcus Kuboy with the news that each would receive a home built to accommodate their unique needs. During each of the conventions, the wait to move into their new homes will be over.

Ceremonies are scheduled to turn over the keys to Strong on Aug. 27 in conjunction with the Democratic convention in Denver and to Kuboy on Sept. 1 in St. Paul, Minn. The Republican convention takes place that week in Minneapolis.

Strong was on a patrol during his second tour in Iraq when the Stryker armored combat vehicle he was riding in was hit by a roadside bomb. He lost both of his legs because of the incident.

When he, his wife, Misty, and their children, Sean and Brianna, get the keys to their new home in Denver, they will be moving into the 30th home that Homes for Our Troops has completed since October 2005.

Kuboy was injured in a Humvee explosion while serving in Iraq last year. Both of his legs were severely damaged. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury, a broken arm, back and jaw.

After months of recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, he continues rehabilitation at the Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Center in St. Paul.

While the benefits of the projects are the primary focus for all parties involved, the irony isn’t lost on both political parties’ operatives. That was evident when they released a joint advertisement for their home-building endeavors.

“There’s not much Democrats and Republicans agree on, but we all agree on supporting our troops,” reads a joint Democratic and Republican advertisement. “That’s why the Democratic and Republican National Conventions are proud to join … Homes for Our Troops in building specially adapted new homes in Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul for a seriously wounded servicemember and their family from each of these communities.”

Homes for Our Troops is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

Related Sites:
America Supports You
Homes for Our Troops

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 23, 2008

Refugees Find Safe Haven in Afghanistan With Governor’s Help

By Navy Lt. Neil Myers
Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2008 – Recent fighting between the Taliban and Pakistani forces in Pakistan’s Bajwar Agency has forced thousands of families – many of whom fled to Pakistan after the 1979 Soviet invasion – to cross the border into Afghanistan. Many arrived in Konar province seeking assistance from the local government.

 

Gov. Sayed Wahidi, Konar's provincial governor, distributes humanitarian assistance to refugees from the Bajawar Agency, Pakistan, at the Shigal District Center in Afghanistan’s Konar province. Wahidi assigned a special committee to increase the emergency assistance available to refugees, many of whom are temporarily settled in the province’s Shigal, Dangam and Marawara districts. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

In response to the influx, Konar Gov. Sayed Wahidi has assigned a special committee to increase emergency assistance available to refugees, many of whom are settled temporarily in the province’s Shigal, Dangam and Marawara districts.

On Aug. 16, Wahidi conducted an operation to deliver hundreds of Konar Provincial Reconstruction Team and Red Crescent-donated blankets, food rations and clothes for the refugees. Wahidi pledged that more assistance is forthcoming from his administration.

According to United Nations statistics, the number of Afghan refugees who crossed the border into Pakistan surpassed 3 million at its highest point after the Soviet invasion.

The 1.2 million displaced Afghans now living in Pakistan make up the largest refugee group in the world today, the U.N. report stated. More than 240,000 Afghans settled in refugee camps in Bajawar Agency, Pakistan, 50 miles from Konar province.

(Navy Lt. Neil Myers serves with the Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team.)

Gov. Sayed Wahidi of Afghanistan’s Konar province distributes humanitarian assistance to refugees from the Bajawar Agency, Pakistan, at the Shigal district center. Courtesy photo  Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution

Refugees stand in line awaiting humanitarian assistance distribution at the Shigal district center in Afghanistan’s Konar province. Courtesy photo  Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution

Coalition Disrupts Militants in Eastern Afghanistan

American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2008 – Multiple militants were killed and one was detained by coalition forces during an operation to disrupt militant activities in Afghanistan's Kapisa province yesterday, military officials reported.

The force searched a compound in Tag Ab district, targeting a Taliban commander who smuggles weapons and foreign fighters into Afghanistan and organizes suicide attacks against coalition and NATO forces, officials said.

During the operation, armed militants engaged the force. Coalition forces responded with air strikes and small-arms fire, killing the militants.

(From a Combined Joint Task Force 101 news release.)

Combined Joint Task Force-101
Operation Enduring Freedom

Creating a $table Afghan future to bank on

Written by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace CJTF-101 Public Affairs
Friday, 22 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 19, 2008) — U.S. forces here will now utilize commercial Afghan banking services, which will bolster Afghanistan’s economy by putting approximately $100 million worth of monthly-business transactions into private banks’ hands.

Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, the Central Bank of Afghanistan’s governor, and officers from the 101st Joint Logistics Command met at Camp Eggers, Aug. 7, to sign a memorandum which changed the banking relationship between U.S. forces and the Central Bank.

Monetary procedures between the Central Bank and U.S. forces will still remain in tact to help reduce the volatility of the Afghani exchange rate, said Fitrat. In the end, business will still flow to the smaller private banks.
Central Bank is anxious to support transition efforts, said Fitrat.

The Central Bank will convert the U.S. dollars to Afghani and then transfer the currency to commercial banking services, explained Maj. Noah Cloud, 101st JLC finance officer. The Central Bank will have to remain engaged in the transactions.

“The Central Bank uses U.S. dollars to purchase Afghani on the open market,” said Cloud. “[This] allows the Central Bank access to foreign currency reserves, which are necessary to the legitimacy of the Central Bank in the eyes of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Organization.”

Private banking is critical to the economic development in Afghanistan, said Fitrat. 

The ultimate goal is to build confidence in Afghan banks, agreed Cloud.

“The more confidence we can build in Afghan banks, the more vendors will utilize them for payment via Electronic Funds Transfers,” said Cloud. “This new [process] paves the way for U.S. forces to utilize private banks in Afghanistan for commercial services. This is vital because previously the Central Bank provided commercial services to our forces.”

In the years gone by, Afghanistan did not have a substantial private banking infrastructure or an economy to support it, said Cloud. As the nation continues to develop, both the Afghan government and Coalition forces must continue to find ways to help bolster Afghanistan’s development.
   
Fitrat agreed cooperation and progression must come from both sides and said he shared the vision of a strong relationship between the Central Bank and U.S. forces.

(Army 1st Lt. Meagan Newsom contributed to this story.)

Press Releases

Coalition service member dies in eastern Afghanistan

Friday, 22 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 22, 2008) — A Coalition service member was killed during an IED incident today in eastern Afghanistan. The name and nationality...
+ Full Story

Taliban commander killed in clash with ANSF and Coalition forces

Friday, 22 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 22, 2008) – Afghan National Army Commandos and Coalition forces on patrol were ambushed by insurgents in the Shindand District of...
+ Full Story

Militants operations disrupted in eastern  Afghanistan

Friday, 22 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 21, 2008) – Multiple militants were killed and one was detained by Coalition forces during an operation to disrupt militant...
+ Full Story

News From Nato

ANSF, ISAF defeat IED threats
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF prevented insurgents from emplacing IEDs Aug. 20 and 21 along the Kabul-Kandahar highway in Ghazni and Wardak provinces.

On Aug. 20, Task Force Currahee soldiers identified insurgents placing an IED in a culvert near Ghazni City. American helicopters identified then killed several of the insurgents. 

Fleeing insurgents were tracked and engaged three more times as they left the site. Afghan and ISAF soldiers found three militants dead and discovered various munitions and IED making materials in a nearby house.

In a separate incident Aug. 21, Task Force Currahee soldiers identified about six insurgents emplacing an IED along a major road in the Sayad Abad district of Wardak province. ANSF and ISAF units called in an airstrike that killed several of the insurgents.

One insurgent retreated to a nearby tree line where he was seen with two more insurgents. American aircraft continued to engage the insurgents as they loitered in the area. ANSF and TF Currahee soldiers found four dead insurgents after an immediate search of the site.

No ANSF or ISAF personnel were injured, and there have  been no reports of civilian casualties from these events.

ISAF, Pakistan coordinate artillery strikes
KABUL, Afghanistan - ISAF fired multiple artillery rounds into Pakistan last night after the Pakistan military confirmed insurgents were preparing to fire rockets at an ISAF base in Paktika province.

Task Force Currahee gained positive identification of the insurgents and coordinated the attack with Pakistan.

Pakistan military officials called for two batteries of fire and informed ISAF forces that they would engage any insurgents attempting to flee.

Pakistan military personnel observed secondary explosions confirming that the insurgents were heavily armed with   munitions.

Pakistan officers relayed that all rounds were on target, with no civilian casualties.

ISAF troops were unable to confirm the number of insurgents killed since they were inside Pakistan.

Partnership Yields Benefits for Guard

By Sara Moore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2008 – The Regional Emergency Medical Service Authority, with headquarters in Reno, Nev., has a close relationship with the local National Guard air ambulance unit, so it’s no surprise that the company excels at supporting its employees who serve in the military.

REMSA, a ground and air ambulance service with 300 employees, is one of 15 companies receiving the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for outstanding support of its employees in the National Guard or Reserve.

Because REMSA and the air ambulance unit have similar functions, they often collaborate on training and share personnel, said Mike Williams, vice president of REMSA. “They recruit our people; we recruit their people,” he said.

REMSA has six employees who are deploying to Afghanistan in September with the National Guard, and several other employees in the Air Force Reserve, Williams said. On a day-to-day basis, the company works with the National Guard unit on training schedules and trains with the Guardsmen. REMSA has put on classes for members of the National Guard unit, and the National Guard has loaned the company helicopters for training, he said.

REMSA also works closely with the Air Force Reserve medical unit in Reno, as the commander of the unit is a REMSA employee, Williams said. REMSA lets the Air Force Reserve members use their facilities for all their weekend training, he said.

When an employee is deployed, REMSA steps up its support for the employee and his family, Williams said. The company pays a salary differential to make up the difference between active-duty pay and the employee’s regular salary, and continues the entire benefits package, including life insurance, health coverage and use of a staff psychologist.

Williams noted that the continuation of health coverage for families is especially important, since there isn’t a nearby military installation for the families to go to for medical care.

Williams served 20 years in the Air Force, both active duty and reserve, and was deployed to the Middle East for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, so he is drawing on his own experiences to help his employees. He has enlisted a number of REMSA employees to send daily e-mails to deployed employees, keeping them abreast of the happenings in the company. The company also includes the families of deployed employees in all functions, such as picnics and Christmas parties, and is working on getting life-sized posters of the deployed employees to display at the events, he said.

Efforts like these are important because they keep the employees involved in the organization and remind them of the “real world” back home, Williams said. “We want them to know that even though they’re gone, they’re still a member of the organization, and will be when they get back,” he said.

“When you’re deployed overseas, you want to know there is a real world back home, and you stay grounded in the insanity that you’re doing by remembering that there’s a reason behind it, and it’s your family and your coworkers and your friends and everybody else,” he continued. “So it’s important we do the e-mail; it keeps them connected with that real world.”

To help prepare the families of the six employees who are set to deploy, Williams is organizing a barbecue at his house so he and his wife can talk to them about their experiences, he said.

Having employees with military experience is a great benefit to REMSA, Williams said. In addition to its National Guard and Reserve personnel, REMSA actively recruits medics coming off of active duty and pays for their civilian training and credentialing.

“They’re good, experienced candidates that usually fit well into the training scheme,” he said. “They come with a great set of work ethics that kind of sets an example for others to follow.”

Williams said that he and the rest of the REMSA leadership were surprised and excited to hear about the Freedom Award. They never really felt like they deserved recognition for their efforts, he said. “This is what we do anyway,” he said of the company’s support activities. “It’s just kind of what we do, and we didn’t realize that not everybody did that.”

REMSA will receive the Freedom Award along with 14 other companies in a ceremony Sept. 18 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center here. The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to recognize exceptional support from the employer community.

Related Sites:
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 22, 2008

Iraqi Partnership Extends to OR

Friday, 22 August 2008

Iraqi Army Maj. Tahseen Muallah, medical officer from Camp Habbaniyah, oversees the preparatory work done on an Iraqi Policeman who is going in for surgery to remove fragmentation. Muallah worked with Lt. Cmdr. John A. Lynott, senior orthopedic surgeon with Camp Taqaddum Surgical, 1st Supply Battalion (-) (Reinforced), 1st Marine Logistics Group, and the staff at TQ Surgical to understand their operating procedures. The two groups have been working together throughout the year, sharing their expertise in the medical field. The end goal is to get the Iraqis trained so they can operate their own medical facilities efficiently and effectively. Photo by Cpl. Tyler B. Barstow, U.S.M.C.

CAMP TAQADDUM — Iraqis are no longer just patients in operating rooms, now they are scrubbing-in alongside their U.S. counterparts to participate in surgeries.  Camp Taqaddum Surgical, 1st Supply Battalion (Reinforced), 1st Marine Logistics Group, has partnered with Iraqi medical personnel at Camp Habbaniyah, bringing them into the operating room for the first time here, Aug. 21.

Lt. Cmdr. John A. Lynott, senior orthopedic surgeon with TQ Surgical, worked with Iraqi Army Maj. Tahseen Muallah, a medical officer from Camp Habbaniyah, to remove fragmentation from the leg of an Iraqi Policeman (IP).  Mohammed Ali, the 33-year-old IP, was injured from an improvised explosive device in 2006. Since then, his injuries have prevented him from working and keep him up at night.

Less than two hours later, the fragmentation was removed and Ali was recovering from the surgery.

“It’s the first time we’ve scrubbed in with any Iraqis,” said Lynott, who felt confident in Muallah’s abilities and noticed how well-trained he was in the operating room.   

With progress like this, it’s only a matter of time before the new medical facility at Habbaniyah is up and running, staffed with well trained and experienced Iraqi surgeons.

“Anything we do to help build their medical capacity is a good use of our time and facilities,” said Brig. Gen. Robert R. Ruark, commanding general of 1st Marine Logistics Group.

With a little more time and experience with the new facilities here, leaders are confident the Iraqi surgeons will soon be treating their own, thanks to this partnership.

 

Feature Stories

Officials Confirm Stability After Georgia Brigade’s Departure

FOB DELTA — Iraqi Security and Coalition Force leaders recently held a joint news conference here to confirm the stable security situation in Iraq’s Wasit province after the Georgian government redeployed the 1st Georgian Brigade to help with its domestic crisis.

“The security is very good, and we are conducting training and joint operations with the Coalition forces,” said Maj. Gen. Abed al-Haneen, Wasit Provincial Directorate of Police.

 

U.S., Iraq Make Progress on Status of Forces Agreement

WASHINGTON — Washington and Baghdad are close to reaching a status of forces agreement, but negotiations on the deal to determine the future U.S. military role in Iraq are ongoing, a Defense Department official said yesterday.

"We've made good progress on it; we are close," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "There are still some issues to work out, but ... it's very premature at this point to say that we have an agreement."

 

Government 101: Seeds of Democracy in Western al-Anbar

RUTBAH — City and village leaders from around the region gathered at the Rutbah City Council building here Aug. 18-20, to learn the fundamentals of running a democratic government.

“It does my heart good that when I showed up here and started talking to the leaders, we discussed education and government and not once talked about security,” said Lt. Col. Russell E. Smith, 44, battalion commander, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, from Rochester, N.H.  “This is a huge step in this area because it proves that we’ve turned a corner and are now focusing on rebuilding western al-Anbar [province].”

Thursday, 21 August 2008	IA medical personnel work alongside U.S. counterparts (Camp Taqaddum)
Thursday, 21 August 2008	ISF, MND-B MPs confiscate multiple passports
Thursday, 21 August 2008	Iraqi Army takes lead to support Sadr City clinic

Big Sky Country          

Thursday, 21 August 2008	NPs, local resident help take weapons off streets (Baghdad)
Thursday, 21 August 2008	Pressure continues to expel al-Qaeda in Iraq (Baghdad)

North Carolina Group Honors State’s Fallen

By Samantha L. Quigley/American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON , Aug. 20, 2008 - More than 100 runners are expected to participate in a 99-mile run Aug. 23-24 hosted by a Greenville, N.C.-based care package group in honor of the 117 North Carolinians who have lost their lives serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Barbara Whitehead, director of the North Carolina branch of Give2theTroops, said the group’s run is scheduled to coincide with the last two days of the national “Run for the Fallen.” The national event will cover more than 4,000 miles, one mile for each servicemember killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, by the time it ends at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 24. It began at Fort Irwin, Calif., on June 14, Flag Day. While the North Carolina event is for all of the state’s fallen troops, it was one in particular who sparked Give2theTroops to organize the event. “We have a volunteer whose son died March 1, 2007, in Baquoba [Iraq],” Whitehead said. “She wanted to go, initially, to the national Run for the Fallen to run her son’s mile.” Though that proved unfeasible because of the distance and cost of travel, her desire to honor her son prevailed. “She thought, ‘I want to run a mile for Ryan here, and then we can’t forget the other troops,’” Whitehead said. “So, we’re doing it on our own list of troops.” The Give2theTroops run is open to anyone wanting to participate. Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., are scheduled to run in honor of their fallen comrades. Soldiers from Fort Bragg will do the same for their fallen. No one is expected to complete all 99 miles, Whitehead said. In fact, participants aren’t even obligated to run. “They can walk. They can ride a bicycle. We have some motorcyclists that have expressed interest in riding,” Whitehead said. “If there’s a grandmamma or a Great Aunt Sally who wants to put a flag on the car and ride along behind us, they’re welcome to do that.” Give2theTroops is inviting participants to gather at the group’s headquarters late in the afternoon on Aug. 24. About a block from the center, they’ll be greeted by a Marine Corps honor guard, which will lead them into the building. As they enjoy refreshments, visitors will be able to take in two Give2theTroops walls of honor. Honoring the servicemembers killed in Iraq, a midnight-blue wall bears more than 4,000 sponge-painted stars. A lighter blue wall bears tribute to those killed in Afghanistan, with 500 stars. “At the corner, the apex of the two walls joining, is a floor-to-ceiling American flag painted on the wall,” Whitehead said. The owner of the space, an area business that donates the building, the utilities and the maintenance, considers the walls too important to cover up. So, when the current missions end, the walls will be covered with Plexiglas and incorporated into the business’ office space, she said. Whitehead said anyone who wants more information about the event or plans to join it mid-route can e-mail her at Barbara@give2thetroops.org. Give2theTroops is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

War in Afghanistan-Daily News-August 22, 2008

School Gets New Classrooms, Running Water

By Army Sgt. Daniel Love
Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2008 – For the children of Bagram Village Girls High School, Aug. 19 was the start of a new semester. Students filtered through the gate the same as on any other school day, but they were surprised to see their school had changed since the end of the last semester.

Students examine study materials at Bagram Girls School in Afghanistan’s Parwan province, Aug. 19, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel Love, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Thanks to the efforts of the Afghan government and U.S. forces, the school reopened with three new classrooms, running water, a fresh coat of paint, new desks and a wall surrounding the perimeter.

“You can see a lot of difference in the students’ faces,” said Naqeeba, administrator and headmaster of the school. “The students are good here without help, but we see that our government cares about us. It’s been a month and a half since they came to our school and asked what we needed, and since then, we have seen good progress.”

The five-year-old school has seen few improvements since opening, but hard-working students have made the school an academic powerhouse in the area. The school received an award from the Parwan provincial education minister for its record of having the most students graduate and advance to higher education.

“When the Taliban was in power, it was illegal for girls to go to school, but we never forgot how important it is to educate all Afghan children,” Naqeeba said. “This school used to be housing for Russian pilots, but the government of Afghanistan helped us make it usable as a place of education.”

Before the soldiers left the students to their learning, they helped teachers and local officials pass out backpacks with school supplies to the students.

“A lot of families can’t even afford to buy paper or a pen for their children,” said Subhanallah, a teacher at the school. “We don’t have a lot of money, but I see a bright future for schools in this area. What matters most is the students are interested in studying and learning, and the people here see the value in education.”

(Army Sgt. Daniel Love serves in the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan Public Affairs Office.)

Afghan students receive backpacks filled with school supplies from a village elder at Bagram Girls School in Afghanistan’s Parwan province, Aug. 19, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Lynne Steely, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan  Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution

Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Militants in Operation

American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2008 – More than 30 militants are dead after Afghan National Army commandos and coalition forces conducted a cordon-and-search operation in Afghanistan’s Laghman province yesterday to disrupt suspected Taliban safe havens and roadside-bombing cells, military officials reported.

The operation took place in response to information gathered following a recent attack by militants on NATO International Security Assistance Forces in that area, officials said.

As Afghan and coalition forces approached the area, they were engaged by militants using small-arms fire. About 200 civilians, including women and children, were seen fleeing the area.

Once the area was clear of women and children, Afghan commandos and coalition forces returned fire on the militants and called for close-air support, destroying one enemy fighting position.

More than 30 militants were killed in the operation, and the commandos destroyed a large cache of mortar rounds and bomb-making materials.

A wounded militant was taken to a coalition medical facility for treatment. No civilian casualties were reported.

(From a Combined Joint Task Force 101 news release.)

Combined Joint Task Force-101
Operation Enduring Freedom

Afghan President inaugurates road project in Bamyan

Thursday, 21 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 16, 2008) — President Hamid Karzai addressed his nation's road improvements and development in an address to approximately 400 guest at the Silk Road Hotel in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, Aug. 14.  “Progress and patience,” were the words the president chose to...

Full Story

PRT supports agriculture in Konar province
Written by By Navy Lt. Neil Myers, Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team   Thursday, 21 August 2008

According to Afghanistan's own statistics, 13 percent of the Konar province is suitable for farming.  Wheat, rice and corn are the primary crops, all of which are reliant on irrigation systems fed primarily by snow melt from the Hindu Kush Mountains. Thirty years of war and sporadic drought has severely impaired the province’s irrigation system and reduced the productivity of Konar’s fertile valleys.   Afghanistan depends on international agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture for technical assistance on redevelopment of the country's agricultural sector.  Since March, Bruce Dubee has served as Konar Provincial Reconstruction Team’s USDA representative to Afghanistan. This is the first time Konar province has had a USDA advisor as part of the PRT. 

Dubee's mission is to coach, teach and guide district and provincial members of Konar’s Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock to reconstitute programs that improve the capacity of Afghan farmers and agricultural officials.    When not engaging with government MAIL officials, Dubee finds himself where he is comfortable; in the villages, on the land and working closely with the Afghan farmers. He travels with Soldiers and Sailors as part of Konar PRT's Civil Affairs Team to identify where limited available resources can be focused to produce the greatest effects. 

"The valleys to the north and west are narrow,” said Dubee. “Farmers there terrace the land to make it arable. They draw water by placing irrigation canals far upstream to the river. The southern districts have wider valleys and are definitely the bread basket of Konar. There is plenty of water in the Konar River. The problem is moving the water from the river to the crops."   Working closely with the provincial director of agriculture, Mohsel Khan, and the provincial director of irrigation, Rasheedullah Zalmi, Dubee has designed a robust program of water management, animal husbandry and horticulture initiatives for Konar province.   Projects include agricultural demonstration farms, water management schemes, solar irrigation pumps, vineyards and livestock irrigation ponds.

“Training is crucial”, said Dubee, who has plans to create mobile agriculture training teams that travel throughout the province and teach vocational classes on small grain management, animal husbandry, water management and the application of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.   Perhaps the most innovative project so far has been an agriculture radio show, a 30-minute-call-in radio program run by Konar PRT agriculture cultural advisors Jamal Udeen and Granaga Haiderzia. The program airs on Konar Radio and Television on Monday evenings and has developed a fast-growing audience.   "Moving beyond bare subsistence farming is the key,” said Dubee. “Our program focuses on improving yields through training so surplus harvests can be sold at markets. That would increase farm revenues for future corps and benefit other agriculture economic initiatives.”

“Mr. Dubee’s work complements the PRT’s strategy for economic development of the Konar province”, said Navy Cmdr. Daniel Dwyer, Konar PRT commander. “The PRT in partnership with the provincial government is building 163 Km of roads and six truck bridges that will allow farmers to get surplus crops to market and will greatly improve the local economy.”

Press Releases

ANA, Coalition forces disrupt militant operations in Laghman province
Thursday, 21 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 20, 2008) – Afghan National Army Commandos and Coalition forces conducted a cordon and search operation in Laghman province in order...
+ Full Story

Coalition service member killed
Thursday, 21 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 20, 2008) — One Coalition service member was killed by small arms fire this afternoon in western Afghanistan during a combat patrol....
+ Full Story

Coalition Forces detain militants in Khowst
Thursday, 21 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 19, 2008) – One militant was killed and two were detained Monday during a Coalition forces operation to disrupt militant activities...
+ Full Story

President Karzai expresses gratitude to international community at ceremony
Thursday, 21 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 19, 2008) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai took the opportunity to thank the international community for their help in reconstructing...
+ Full Story

Coalition forces disrupt IED, arms facilitation in Ghazni province
Thursday, 21 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (August 19, 2008) – A militant was killed and four were detained during a Coalition forces’ operation to disrupt militant activities in...
+ Full Story

More than three dozen militants and several civilians killed
Written by Bagram Media Center   Thursday, 21 August 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Aug 16, 2008) – Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces fought militants in a series of engagements that left over 40 militants and several non-combatants dead in southern Afghanistan August 15.     More...

News From Nato

Czech PRT launches fourteen new development projects in Logar

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Czech Republic-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Logar announced fourteen new development projects at a bidders’ conference held August 19 at FOB Shank, Pole Alam.  The projects range in scope from the reconstruction of roads and bridges to the extensive retrofit of the Surchab dam.

“Our people are happy that the PRT helps us and we are ready to assist and support the construction companies which will undertake the projects,” Mr. Hakim Abdul, head of the Provincial Council said during the meeting with the civilian part of the PRT. Following a number of consultations with local players, assessments and consequently the bidders’ conference, the Czechs will chose the Afghan companies that will undertake the reconstruction. Work on the projects will start within one month.

More...

Latest military Tri-Lateral meeting makes progress

KABUL, Afghanistan - A Tri-Lateral meeting to discuss mutual security issues was held yesterday between the Chiefs of Staff of the Afghan Army, Pakistan Army and the Commander International Security Force (ISAF). 

The meeting between General Besmullah Khan, Chief Of Staff, Afghan Army, General Kayani, Chief of Staff Pakistan Army and General David McKiernan, Commander ISAF, is a step in demonstrating a common approach to the insurgency that is affecting the two neighbouring countries and the fact that the solutions on either side of the border are inextricably linked.     More...

Afghan forces defeat insurgents in Khowst

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan National Security Forces fought off several insurgents in the Bak district of Khowst province August 20.

The insurgents attacked a group of construction workers. Citizens from a nearby village notified the district centre, and ANSF responded to the site and engaged the militants.

And ISAF ground element responded to assist the ANSF, and U.S. forces sent attack helicopters. More than a dozen insurgents died during the fighting.

This incident is still under investigation.

 ISAF soldiers die in IED strike

KABUL, Afghanistan - Three ISAF soldiers died in southern Afghanistan August 20 when their vehicle struck an IED.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to   these soldier's family, friends and fellow soldiers,” said Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette, ISAF spokesperson. “The focus right now is to look after their families and colleagues and to provide them the best possible support during this difficult time.”

It is ISAF policy to not release the nationality of any casualty prior to the relevant national authority doing   so.

Next of kin have been notified.

 ISAF soldiers die in IED strike

KABUL, Afghanistan - Three ISAF soldiers died in eastern Afghanistan August 20 when their vehicle struck an IED.   

“I offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those killed by the blast,” said Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette, ISAF spokesperson. “ISAF remains committed to rebuilding Afghanistan, a cause for which these soldiers gave their life.”

It is ISAF policy to not release the nationality of any casualty prior to the relevant national authority doing so.

Next of kin have been notified.

Huge interest for shop owners’ course in Deh Rawod

KABUL, Afghanistan - Twelve local shop owners successfully graduated from the “Start to Improve Your Business” course which took place in the Deh Rawod PRT.                

During the course, which is conducted by Taskforce Uruzgan, the shop owners learned how to present and offer their merchandise and how to adjust the supply of their products to the market.

After the completion of their training, Major Paul, Commander of Mission Team 3 of the PRT, presented certificates to the shop owners. He stated that education is a main investment in the future and that the local businessmen learned important skills which they will be going to use in the future.

More than 40 Afghan shop owners will attend the next training course.

U-Haul Offers 30 Days of Free Storage to Florida Residents Affected by Hurricane Fay

ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 18, 2008) — The U-Haul Companies of Tampa, Western Florida, Orlando, Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Eastern Florida and Jacksonville have joined together to offer 30 days of free storage to Florida families who have been or will be evacuated, and to those who will be adversely affected by the wind and rain caused by Hurricane Fay.

In addition to the 30-days-free self-storage assistance being offered, families needing boxes can take advantage of the U-Haul Take a Box, Leave a Box Program. The program enables customers to return their reusable boxes and allows others to take them as needed – FREE. U-Haul encourages anyone who
has any type of reusable box to drop it off at the nearest U-Haul location and allow another family to reuse the box, free of charge, instead of throwing the reusable box into the recycling bin. U-Haul also urges customers to stop in to ensure that their propane tanks are topped off, since propane is a good thing to have on hand when these storms come through.

Families needing more information about the 30-days-free self-storage assistance program and the Take a Box, Leave a Box Program should contact the following storage facilities. 

Follow this link to a listing of over 60 facilities for the one nearest to you!

U-Haul Offers 30 Days of Free Storage to Florida Residents Affected by Hurricane Fay 08/18/2008

 
Contact:

Joanne Fried

Ashleigh Wagner

Nicole Shropshire

U-Haul Public Relations

(602) 263-6194

publicrelations@uhaul.com

 

“This hurricane is expected to cause tremendous damage and inflict extreme hardship on the communities we serve,” stated Frank Grau, U-Haul Area District Vice President (ADVP) for Florida operations. “I hope this effort will provide assistance to families that truly need a helping hand if this hurricane or the accompanying wind and rains affect them. We will continue to help our friends
and neighbors in their time of need.”

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the undisputed choice for the do-it-yourself mover, with a network of more than 15,950 locations in all 50 United States and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 100,000 trucks, 78,500 trailers and 31,100 towing devices.

As a result, U-Haul offers more than 384,000 rooms and more than 33.8 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,055 facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the consumer’s number one choice as the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul supplies alternative-fuel for vehicles and backyard barbecues as one of the nation’s largest retailers of propane.

 

Source: http://www.uhaul.com/pr/

War in Iraq-Daily News-August 21, 2008

Iraqi Army Takes Lead, Supports Sadr City Medical Clinic

Thursday, 21 August 2008

 

Patients walk past Iraqi Soldiers providing security from the 11th Iraqi Army Division, Aug. 20, 2008, during the combined medical engagement conducted in Sadr City. Photo by Sgt. Philip Klein, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs.

BAGHDAD — When much needed health care is provided to citizens, it’s a welcome gift. The gift is even more welcome when Iraqi citizens see their own Soldiers taking the lead to help them.

 

The 11th Iraqi Army (IA) Division delivered medical supplies and provided treatment to the citizens of the Thawra 1 neighborhood of the Sadr City District of Baghdad, Aug. 20.   

Coalition Soldiers provided security for the operation, while Iraqi Soldiers and medical personnel met with Iraqi families in need of treatment.

The IA took the lead to provide supplies for the 2nd Health Clinic of Sadr City, provide additional medical attention to the surrounding community and promote an Iraqi face to the operation. 

1st Bn., 35th AR, provided security and helped facilitate the IA operation. Before the combined medical engagement started, MND-B Soldiers and the Iraqi security detachment escorting the Iraqi Army medical team secured the clinic and the surrounding area from any possible threats.

“We are just glad to be able to help and let the IA take the lead with the combined medical engagement,” said Capt. Andrew Slack, the commander of Co. C.“Hopefully every clinic in Thawra 1 will get repeated visits from the IA as they are operating with more independence every day,” he continued. 

The CME was a pleasant surprise for the clinic administrator and staff. Although they did not expect the visit, they welcomed it and were glad for the additional medical support and supplies.

“We are grateful for the efforts of the IA and friendly forces, the supplies they have brought will be put to good use of the people of our neighborhood,” said Dr. Thaer, the 2nd Health Clinic senior administrator. 

“Any patient that comes here is treated for free and these medical supplies and support from the IA greatly helps the people who rely on us,” said Thaer.

(By Sgt. Philip Klein, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division)

Feature Stories

Water Pipeline to Extend From Al Rasheed to Mahmudiyah

FOB MAHMUDIYAH — A water pipeline that will connect the city of Al Rasheed to the city of Mahmudiyah is nearing completion. 

“People who have been limited on their water supply within the city will soon not have to worry about such issues,” said Sgt. Hamad Ali Kathwan, 25th Brigade, 17th Iraqi Army Division.

The goal in this project is to demonstrate to the Mahmudiyah Qada the local government’s ability to recommend, plan and complete a project, said Maj. Alaric Robinson, a native of Hartford, Conn., Company A, 411th Civil Affairs Battalion. 

The project began May 25, and the pipe is expected to provide water to 25 percent of the city of Mahmudiyah by the end of August. The pipe is 20 inches in diameter and will span a distance of nine kilometers.

“The pipeline attaches the Al Rasheed water treatment plant to the water tower in Mahmudiyah in order to bring potable water to the city,” said Lt. Col. Linda Capobianco, from Salt Lake City, embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team deputy team leader. 

“This is a shared project between Coalition forces and the Iraqi government,” said Capt. Benjamin Neusse, native of Murfreesboro, Tenn., 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), civil military operations officer.

“The local water director came to us and identified demand [for water] in Mahmudiyah as well as excess supply in Al Rasheed. We provided the pipe, and the GoI is providing the funding for the installation, testing and connection of the pipe – everything but the pipe itself,” he said. 

Each section of pipe comes in 9-foot pieces. After the pipe is put together, it will be tested to ensure a steady water pressure is maintained over a 24-hour period.

“The government of Iraq did the technical piece of the project so that it was completed to their standards and their specifications,” Neusse said. 

The contractor hired 15 workers from the Mahmudiyah area, providing employment to people from the community for which the pipeline will be providing water.

“If you train and mentor young local leaders, their individual accomplishments will instill confidence to build cities and neighborhoods without the assistance from Coalition forces,” said Robinson.   

IA Medical and Dental Clinic Gets It Done

CAMP TAJI — The doors opened up early at the Iraqi Army Troop Medical and Dental Clinic, but not until the clinic workers completed the daily task of picking up around the facility and conducting vehicle maintenance.

By then, Iraqi Army Soldiers stationed on Taji start to trickle in - sick call slips in hand - to be seen by one of the military nurses for various medical reasons.  More...

Interactive Iraq :: Video News

Iraqi Freedom Minute, Aug. 20

• This edition features a Soldier becoming “Barbie” for a day to bring smiles to a local Iraqi family.

 

Watch Now

Freedom Journal Iraq, Aug.20

       

• This edition features security levels in Wasit remaining a top priority for Iraqis, and the continued training of the Iraqi Army.

Watch Now

Wednesday, 20 August 2008	MND-N Soldiers, ISF apprehend six terrorists
Wednesday, 20 August 2008	Kindergarten school in Ghazaliyah reopens after refurbishments

 

Sunset Swords          

 

Wednesday, 20 August 2008	ISF, MND-B Soldiers seize weapons in Baghdad
Wednesday, 20 August 2008	Oil Police receive motorcycles thru Iraqi Security Forces Fund

Man of Steel

Wednesday, 20 August 2008	Ministry of Interior opens its new court system (Baghdad)
Wednesday, 20 August 2008	Displaced Iraqi families return to community (Baghdad)

 

Minor Obstacle          

 

Wednesday, 20 August 2008	IA soldiers detain suspected criminals, confiscate weapons in Baghdad
Wednesday, 20 August 2008	MND-B Soldiers detain key suspected criminal in Rashid (Baghdad)

 

Fruit Stand          

 

Wednesday, 20 August 2008	IED kills 2 NPs, 1 Iraqi civilian in New Baghdad
Wednesday, 20 August 2008	Coalition strikes al-Qaeda facilitation networks (Baghdad)