PUPPY TIME
Sgt. Steven Olesen with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, plays with two puppies at Joint Security Station Ghazaliyah 1 in western Baghdad, Feb. 24, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. James P. Hunter

Labels: 101st Airborne Division, 2BCT, Baghdad, Iraq, Joint Security Station Ghazaliyah, photos, US Army

U.S. Army Sgt. Blake Cirks places an identification poster up of possible vehicle-borne improvised explosive device makers during operations in Mosul, Iraq, June 5, 2007. Cirks is assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ


U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kristina Columbus and her military working dog Anna search a garage suspected of being used to make vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, June 5, 2007, in Mosul, Iraq. Columbus is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ


U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Scott McKissen prepares to test a piece of cloth for explosives residue after wiping a suspect's hands in Mosul, Iraq, June 5, 2007. McKissen is assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ


U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Scott McKissen wipes a suspect's hands to test for explosives residue during an operation being conducted in Mosul, Iraq, June 5, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ


U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Scott McKissen sparays a piece of cloth to test for explosives residue after wiping a suspect's hands in Mosul, Iraq, June 5, 2007. McKissen is assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ


U.S. Army Spc. Colby Richardson flexi cuffs an Iraqi man after he is identified as a possible vehicle-borne improvised explosive device maker during operations in Mosul, Iraq, June 5, 2007. Richardson is assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ



More photo essays at DefendAmerica

Labels: 1st Cavalry Division, 2-7 Cavalry, 2BCT, Iraq, Mosul, photo essays, photos, US Army

GOTCHA COVERED — U.S. Army Pfc. Ryan Cole of Miami, Fla., a paratrooper with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, pulls security during the dedication ceremony for a renovated school in Al Beida, Adhamiyah District, Baghdad, April 21, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor

Labels: 1st Cavalry Division photos, 2-325 Airborne Infantry, 2BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, Adhamiyah District, Al Beida, Baghdad, Iraq, US Army

GIVE ME YOUR PAW
A U.S. Army soldier with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, plays with a dog at the national police station in the Daura section of Baghdad, Iraq, March 26, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Olanrewaju Akinwunmi


SEARCH IN BAGHDAD
U.S. Army soldiers with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, search a suspected insurgent's home in the Al Daura section of Baghdad, Iraq, March 26, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Olanrewaju Akinwunmi)

Labels: 2-12 Infantry, 2BCT, 2nd ID, Baghdad, Iraq, photos, US Army

By Spc. Courtney Marulli
2nd Brigade Combat Team
2nd Infantry Division Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, March 1, 2007 — Women throughout history have faced many barriers such as not being able to vote, get a secondary education, hold a government position or work in combat arms. But with time, many of these restrictions have crumbled because women are willing to go the extra mile.

One such woman is Pfc. Evelyn Williams of Temple Hills, Md., the only woman in the Personal Security Detachment for the command group of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

Her role isn't one of support, but rather one of combat, as Williams is a 7.62 mm machine gun operator. This role isn't something that surprised Williams, as she would have been a gunner if she had stayed with her military police company.

She sits in the turret of the lead vehicle and takes her position seriously. She must keep a sharp eye for snipers, grenade attacks, suicide bombers, and improvised explosive devices.

"Basically, I feel if something happened, I would be responsible because I am the eyes for all the vehicles," Williams said.

Even though she keeps a sharp eye and had safe ventures into sector, Williams still gets nervous when she goes on a mission because she knows it's her responsibility to keep everyone safe.

"If I don't see an IED or call it and it hits another vehicle, I would feel responsible," she said.

If her eye catches even the smallest thing that seems suspicious, she calls down to her noncommissioned officers, because it may be something serious. With the abundance of litter and debris lining the sides of the roads and alley ways, Williams said it can be difficult to notice a serious threat from regular garbage.

She is grateful for the support she has received from her team.

Fellow soldiers took her in as one of their own, Williams said. She hasn't had any problems being the only woman, and was accepted immediately.

"I enjoy being the only female," she said. "If I hear 'only female,' I feel special."

Although, Williams is manning a deadly weapon, going out of the wire also appeals to her softer side.

Seeing Iraqi youth while on patrol is her favorite part of leaving the wire, which she does on an almost daily basis. She also enjoys seeing the Iraqi people do their part to help such as clearing paths or helping direct people to the sides so the vehicles can go through.

Joining the Army was something Williams always wanted to do and choosing her job was natural, as she wanted to be a police officer in the civilian world. In college, she was taking college courses in criminal justice and passed the test to become a police officer.

However, she was required to wait six months while background checks were conducted, and that was just too long a wait, so she joined the Army.

Her desire to be in law enforcement stems from her desire to help children, stop domestic abuse, and combat drugs. She is also passionate about stopping people from drinking and driving.

Williams, who has been in the Army for 13 months, enjoys her work but looks forward to returning to her husband and two children.

"I have kids," she said. "They need me."

Labels: 2BCT, 2ID, PSD, US Army, women in the military

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

ENTOURAGE
U.S. Army Sgt. Scott Monahan, a tactical human intelligence team leader assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, collects an entourage of children while on a civil affairs mission in the Rabi area of Adhamiyah, Baghdad, Feb. 26, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Pryor

Labels: 2BCT, 82nd Airborne, Adhamiyah, Baghdad, children, Civil Affairs, Iraq, photos, US Army

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