CROSSED SABERS - U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua takes a break from patrol to visit the parade field at the crossed sabers in Baghdad’s International Zone, April 10, 2008. Perkins is assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Platoon, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, attached to Multinational Division – Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Rodney Manzo

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, Baghdad, MND-B, photos, US Army

HOW DO I LOOK? - U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class James Boucher smiles as an Iraqi child enjoys trying on his helmet and sunglasses during a community outreach visit to the Al-Fahdl Clinic in Baghdad, March 21, 2008. Boucher is assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, attached to Multinational Division - Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Grant Okubo


IT'S THE SHADES, DUDE - Karlo, a U.S. Army working dog, relaxes in the sun in front of a painted building after completing a full day's work with his handler in Kirkuk, Iraq, March 20, 2008. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet


CHECKPOINT 31 - U.S. Army soldiers and an Iraqi army soldier talk through an interpreter during the construction of Check Point 31 in Mosul, Iraq, March 23, 2008. The U.S. soldiers are assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Sarah De Boise


URBAN TERRAIN TRAINING
U.S. Army Sgt. Justina Bilby, left, and Spc. Corey Arnold participate in an urban terrain training exercise, Mar. 10, 2008, at Balad Training range at Fort Dix, N.J. Both soldiers are assigned to the 191st Military Police Company, National Guard, Fargo, North Dakota. Photo by U.S. Army Ryan Morton


GLADIUS OPERATIONS - U.S. Army soldiers prepare to enter a house along Main Supply Route Vermont in the Tagab district, Kapisa province, Afghanistan, Jan. 18, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's Company B, Special Troops Battalion, Task Force Gladius. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Johnny R. Aragon

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 3-89th Cavalry Regiment, Baghdad, Iraq, MND-B, photos, US Army

LEAFLET MISSION - U.S. Army soldiers drop leaflets over several villages in the Rashaad Valley near the Kirkuk province of Iraq, March 23, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 350th Tactical Psychological Operations. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 350th Tactical Psychological Operations, helicopter, Iraq, Kirkuk Province, photos, US Army

AMULSHABI CHECK - U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Philip Kriner checks for explosive residue on an Iraqi man's hands during a dismounted patrol in Amulshabi, Kirkuk, Iraq, March 11, 2008. Kriner is assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 2-22nd Infantry Regiment, Amulshabi, Iraq, Kirkuk, photos, US Army

POSSIBLE SUSPECT - U.S. Army soldiers investigate a man suspected of selling propane illegally from his horse cart in a Baghdad market, Jan. 24, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to 89th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason T. Bailey

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 89th Cavalry Regiment, Baghdad, Iraq, photos, US Army

SOLDIERS SEARCH KIRKUK - U.S. Army soldiers search after air-assaulting into Chinchal Village in Kirkuk province, Iraq, Jan. 8, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 71st Cavalry, Chinchal Village, Iraq, Kirkuk Province, photos, US Army

TAG TAG DISMOUNT - A U.S. Army soldier dismounts from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to provide security for a meeting between U.S. military officials from 10th Mountain Division and concerned local citizens in Tag Tag, Iraq, Nov. 28, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, aircraft, Black Hawk, helicopter, Iraq, photos, Tag Tag, UH-60, US Army

U.S. F-16 fighter jets dropped two 2000-pound bombs on an island in the Euphrates Nov. 16 that was believed to be used by al-Qaida as a staging ground for attacks. (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle footage)


Saturday, 17 November 2007

BAGHDAD — Operation Marne Courageous kicked off the early morning of Nov. 16 with more than (600) Coalition forces and Iraqi Army (IA) Soldiers moving into two villages near the border of Anbar province to drive out al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), and lay the groundwork for a sustained Coalition presence. Bomb Drop Video

Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), were joined by about (150) IA Soldiers in the air assault on the Sunni villages of Owesat and al Betra, west of the Euphrates River, 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.

Troops were transported in four helicopter lifts across the Euphrates, utilizing two CH-47 Chinook and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. A Marine reconnaissance platoon, as well as Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed in neighboring Anbar province, secured the landing zone.

Once on the ground, the U.S.-Iraqi force was supported by an air weapons team of Apache and Kiowa helicopters, while approximately (70) members of an Iraqi Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) group assisted in securing the outlying perimeter.

While U.S. and Iraqi forces moved through the villages, other troops set to work constructing a bridge across the Euphrates to allow for the transport of materials and supplies to build a patrol base in the area. The base will allow for a sustained Coalition presence in the area of Owesat, part of Baghdad’s southwestern “belts.”

No enemy fighters were killed or captured during the assault.

Prior to the air assault, U.S. F-16 fighter jets dropped two 2000-pound bombs on an island in the Euphrates that was believed to be used by AQI as a staging ground for attacks. The bombardment was part of a “terrain denial” strategy, cutting off a potential AQI escape route and denying the enemy a location to regroup.

Marne Courageous’ main strategic thrust is to clear AQI extremists from the area of Owesat, establish a Coalition presence, and develop a CLC program in the area as a bulwark against further enemy activity.

Army Col. Dominic Caraccilo, commander of the 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div., described the mission to journalists Nov. 11. “We’re going to put a footprint there. We’re going to establish a forward operating base,” he said.

The mission was also conducted because Coalition forces believe AQI operating in the area were involved with the May 12 attack which resulted in two missing/captured U.S. Soldiers, Pvt. Byron Fouty and Spc. Alex Jimenez, belonging to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). The 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div., took over the mission of the 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. at the end of October.

“The Soldiers that were captured and still missing from the 10th Mountain are now part of the Rakkasan unit, and also part of the Task Force Marne unit. And the mission I have is to exploit every avenue to try to identify where they are,” Caraccilo said.

(Story by By Tim Kilbride, Multi-National Division-Center Public Affairs)

In Other Recent Developments Here:

BAGHDAD — Almost 100 Iraqi Correctional Officers graduated from the Iraqi CorrectionalOfficerTraining Academy at a ceremony held Nov. 8 at Camp Cropper.

BAGHDAD — Coalition forces killed six terrorists and detained 10 suspects today during operations targeting terrorist networks in central and northern Iraq.

Labels: 101st Airborne Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, al Betra, Iraq, Iraqi Army, Operation Marne Courageous, Owesat

Release Date: 9/28/2007
Release Number: 07-01-03P

Soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment “Polar Bears,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) discovered the cache while conducting Operation Rock Sweep V and VI.

The purpose of the mission was to target specified al-Qaeda operatives identified to be planning and coordinating attacks against Coalition Forces and concerned local citizens in the area.

While conducting the operation, Soldiers searched the targets’ houses looking for illegal weapons.

In one house they discovered a cache that consisted of three blasting caps, a ski mask, a terrorist manual which included directions on constructing vehicle improvised explosive devices, propaganda featuring the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, two cell phones and a card to activate the cell phones.

The propaganda was a small booklet featuring images of the attacks and a script praising the attacks.

“Our assessment is that these guys were getting ready to launch attacks during the Ramadan celebration,” said Lt. Thomas Ceislak, battle captain for 4-31 Inf. Regt. “We got the intelligence for this raid from earlier questioning of detainees and from tips provided by our source network”

The owner of the house was detained and is being held for questioning.

The blasting caps were destroyed during a controlled detonation and the other items are being inspected for further intelligence value.


FOR QUERIES, CONTACT THE MULTI-NATIONAL DIVISION – CENTER PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT MND-CENTER_PAO-AT-IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL OR BY PHONE AT DSN 318-822-7482 OR COMMERCIAL 912-767-4114.

Labels: "Polar Bears", 10th Mountain Division, 4-31 Infantry, 9/11, CENTCOM, Iraq, Operation Rock Sweep V, Operation Rock Sweep VI, terrorism, US Army

IRAQIS TRAIN — A U.S. Army soldier from 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, supervises an equipment layout for Iraqi army recruits prior to the start of the day's training at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah in Baghdad, July 16, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jacob H. Smith

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 2-15 FA, Baghdad, FOB Mahmudiyah, Iraq, Iraqi Army, photos, US Army

MEDICAL ENGAGEMENT — U.S. Army soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), participate in a cooperative medical engagement with the Iraqi citizens of Mahmudiyah, Iraq, June 12, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Dennis Henry

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, children, Humanitarian Aid, Iraq, Mahmudiyah, photos, US Army

Release Date: 3/1/2007
Release Number: 07-01-03P

Description: YUSUFIYAH, Iraq — Multi-National Division – Baghdad troops found and seized a massive weapons cache along one of Baghdad’s main highways Feb. 28.

Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) discovered the cache while conducting a combat patrol along Mulla Fayad Highway, west of Yusufiyah.

The cache consisted of two Sanger missiles with launch tubes, 200 meters of fuse, 1000 12.7mm Dishka rounds, two 122mm rockets, 18 60mm mortar rounds, 80 hand grenades, six rocket stabilizers, 10 120mm mortar tail fins, 100 60mm mortar fuses, five 106mm artillery rounds, one 57mm rocket, one rocket-propelled grenade, one 57mm anti-aircraft round, two RPG-9s, 60 120mm mortars, two unknown mortar rounds, one RPG launcher, one 60mm mortar illumination round, one Dishka heavy machinegun receiver, 20 canisters, 10 cylinders of homemade explosives, 2000 7.62mm rounds, 14 57mm rockets, 40 pounds of homemade explosives and 200 ZPU-1 anti-aircraft rounds.
(emphasis mine -- Pam)

“The (find) will put a dent in the terrorists’ ability to make improvised explosive devices,” said Maj. Brock Jones, the executive officer with the Golden Dragons and a native of Lakewood, Ohio. “The Soldiers did well today – their familiarity with the area of operations allowed them to locate the cache”

The battalion continues to search the area for more caches. The cache was destroyed during a controlled detonation conducted by an explosive ordnance team.

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 2-14 Infantry, 2BCT, Golden Dragons, Good News, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, US Army, Yusufiyah

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 2BCT, Good News, Iraq, Patrol Base Ysufiyah aid station, photos, US Army, Yusufiyah

WEAPONS SEARCH – A U.S. soldier from 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, searches the shadows of a palm grove on a recent patrol in the area of Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Coalition and Iraqi army soldiers patrol this area together to deny the enemy safe haven and staging grounds to launch attacks. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Jon Cano

Labels: 10th Mountain Division, 2-15 FA, 2BCT, Iraq, photos, US Army