STRYKER TALK
U.S. Army soldiers talk about the M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System Vehicle capabilities in Salah ah Din province, Iraq, Feb. 12, 2008. The soldiers are from the 2nd Infantry Division and 101st Airborne Division. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Johnpaul Arnold

Labels: 101st Airborne Division, 2ID, Iraq, M1128, photos, Salah ah Din province, Stryker Mobile Gun System Vehicle, US Army

Black Eye
U.S. Army Spc. Miguel Sevilla, from Bravo Company 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, look at an an Iraqi boy's black eye during a routine patrol in Khatun, Iraq, Jan. 24, 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson)

Labels: 2ID, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4thSBCT, children, Iraq, Khatun, photos, US Army

Dirty Job
U.S. Army Soldiers prepare to move out from Combat Outpost Mukisa, Iraq, to search a village for insurgents. The Soldiers are from Alpha Company, 2d Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Shawn M. Cassatt)

Labels: 2-23rd Infantry Regiment, 2ID, Combat Outpost Mukisa, Iraq, photos, US Army

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Photo Release# 092507-01
Sept. 24, 2007

Multinational Division – North PAO


Three Iraqi army soldiers from the 5th IA Division begin movement for their objectives during Operation Rock Wrench Sept. 22. Iraqi forces focused on clearing structures while U.S. forces provided security for the mission in the industrial section of southern Baqouba. (U.S. Army Photo by 1st Lt. Richard Ybarra, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)


Spc. Garrett Vogland of 1-12 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, provides security for Iraqi soldiers during Operation Rock Wrench Sept 22. Iraqi forces focused on clearing structures while U.S. forces provided security for the mission in the industrial section of south Baqouba. (U.S. Army Photo by 1st Lt. Richard Ybarra, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)


Pfc. Michael Strausbaugh and Spc. Carlos Livingston of the 1-12 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, hurry through an intersection during Operation Rock Wrench, a joint mission with the 5th Iraqi Army Division Sept 22. Iraqi forces focused on clearing structures while U.S. forces provided security for the mission in the industrial section of southern Baqouba. (U.S. Army Photo by 1st. Lt Richard Ybarra, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)


5th Iraqi Army Division soldiers secure a street before clearing the buildings in the industrial section of southern Baqouba during Operation Rock Wrench Sept 22. Iraqi forces focused on clearing structures while U.S. forces provided security. (U.S. Army Photo by 1st Lt. Richard Ybarra, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)


A Soldier from the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, provides rear security as a weapons cache consisting of grenades and hand-held radios, discovered by soldiers of the 5th Iraqi Army Division, burns. Iraqi forces focused on clearing structures while U.S. forces provided security for the mission in the industrial section of southern Baqouba. (U.S. Army Photo by 1st Lt. Richard Ybarra, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)


An automatic weapons team from the 5th Iraqi Army Division moves through the industrial section of southern Baqouba, Sept. 22. Iraqi forces focused on clearing structures while U.S. forces provided security for the mission. (U.S. Army Photo by 1st Lt. Richard Ybarra, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

Labels: 1-38th Infantry, 2ID, 5th Iraqi Army Division, Baqouba, Iraq, Iraqi Army, photos, US Army

STRATEGY — U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Russell Smith, right, and 1st Lt. Zach Grimes discuss their plan for a patrol in the Rusafa area of Baghdad, Aug. 10, 2007. Both soldiers are assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, attached to 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco Suzuki

Labels: 2ID, 69th Armor Regiment, Baghdad, Iraq, photos, Rusafa, US Army

BREAK TIME — U.S. Army Spc. Shaun Martin and Spc. Erik Gonzales from 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, rest from searching houses with soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, in Baqubah, Iraq, Aug. 5. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jason Edwards

Labels: 1-23 Infantry, 2ID, 3SBCT, 5th Iraqi Army Division, Baqubah, Iraq, photos, US Army

PATROL PREPARATIONS — U.S. Army soldiers with 3rd Platoon, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, out of Fort Carson, Colo., make final preparations before leaving Forward Operating Base Falcon to patrol the city of Dora in Southern Baghdad, Aug. 5, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jonathan Doti

Labels: 2-12 Infantry, 2ID, Baghdad, FOB Falcon, Iraq, photos, US Army

SECTOR SCAN — U.S. Army Sgt. William Taylor, from Walla Walla, Wash. and a member of Troop B, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., scans his sector while providing security for other members of his troop during a mission conducted at Abu Karuum, a village three miles southeast of Baqubah, Iraq, May 6, 2007.

Labels: 1-14 Cavalry, 2ID, 3SBCT, Abu Karuum, Iraq, photos, US Army

DOWNTIME — U.S. Army Sgt. Tierney P. Nowland with 982nd Combat Camera, takes a break in an abandoned restaurant in Mansour, Iraq, during a cordon and search with soldiers from Apache Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division on April 21, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins

Labels: 2-3 Infantry, 2ID, 3SBCT, 982nd Combat Camera, Iraq, Mansour, photos, US Army

Soldiers in Baqubah use smoke as concealment to move through the neighborhood of Buhriz, Iraq, April 10. Soldiers with Company A, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash., took part in a three-day battalion-sized effort to clear the Buhriz neighborhood of terrorists. After the operation, Soldiers along with Iraqi police and Iraqi army continued to maintain a presence in the neighborhood to maintain security for the local people.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SR# 0416-05
April 20, 2007

By Staff Sgt. Antonieta Rico
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAQOUBA, Iraq — Soldiers with 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment continued their systematic attack on terrorist forces in Baqouba with another clearing operation in the city April 10.

In this latest effort, Soldiers of 5-20 Inf. Regt., 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., spent three days clearing the neighborhood of Buhriz, described by Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Bruce Antonia as “al-Qaida’s battleground.”

When the Stryker battalion first arrived in Baqouba in March, it encountered resistance from the neighborhood’s insurgents in the form of roadside bombs, rocket propelled grenade fire and small arms fire.

During the mission, Soldiers operating alongside Iraqi Security Forces conducted house-to-house searches for terrorists and weapon caches. They learned from residents that many terrorists had fled Buhriz in the face of the advancing battalion.

“We’ve pushed al-Qaida out of here,” said Sgt. Matthew Benzshawel, with 2nd Platoon, Company A, “We are a pretty lethal force. When (insurgents) see a battalion’s worth of Strykers coming, (they) usually move out.”

Nonetheless, the battalion reported that coalition forces detained about a dozen suspected insurgents, including one man described by the unit as a “high-level” terrorist.

The battalion also reported that it found and destroyed more than 20 small weapon caches, which included a Dishka machine gun, grenades, mortar rounds, rocket propelled grenade rounds, sniper rifles, AK-47’s and ammunition.

Soldiers from the battalion say they have managed to make the area safer for the local people with their continuous efforts against al-Qaida in Iraq.

“We’ve denied them the terrain,” said 1st Lt. James Dobis, 2nd Platoon leader, Company A. “They have not been fighting with anybody, they have not attacked us … they have not attacked any civilians.”

The assault into Buhriz served as a catalyst to secure a foothold in the area. Iraqi Security Forces, along with Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, which is attached to 5-20 Inf. Regt., plan to maintain a permanent presence within the neighborhood by collocating troops at an Iraqi police station in Buhriz and continuing to patrol the area.

Battalion leaders plan to continue their assault on al-Qaida in Iraq forces in and around Baqouba.

“We have taken their battleground,” said Antonia, after the operation. “We are going to keep the pressure on the enemy. That is the only way to push them out.”


More photos here

Labels: 1st Cavalry Division photos, 2ID, 3SBCT, 5-20 Infantry, Baqubah, Buhriz, Iraq

(Left to right) Infantrymen with 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Pfc. Joshua Ruth, Spc. Nicholas Myers, and Pfc. Brandon Kroger have all kept pieces of metal which wounded them during their deployment to Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma


By Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma
1st Cavalry Division, Multi-National Division, Baghdad

BAGHDAD, April 17, 2007 — One undeniable commonality in every battle fought is the memories of war that burn into the minds of the soldiers who fight in it and the small pieces that remind them to never forget.

Three infantrymen with Company C, 1st "Tomahawk" Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, experienced three different attacks, on three separate occasions and each came away with different stories to tell and some proof that fit into the palm of their hand.

"There was concrete blowing up everywhere and then I felt something hit me in the leg, right in the shin."-- U.S. Army Spc. Nicholas Myers

The Shot
After clearing a corner house on a road named for its high frequency of rocket-propelled grenade attacks, RPG Alley East, Oct. 12, Spc. Nicholas Myers was standing outside pulling security when a car blazed by and sprayed gunfire in his direction.

Simultaneously, about half a mile away, people shot from rooftops across the highway.

"When the gun shots started going off I was looking around and asking myself 'Where are these guys?'" Myers recalled, wanting to return fire. As his eyes continued to scan, he saw a row of bullets, one by one, climb up the wall behind him.

"There was concrete blowing up everywhere and then I felt something hit me in the leg, right in the shin," said the native of Licking, Mo. "I thought it was a chunk of concrete that blew out of the wall and nicked me in the leg."


Instinctively, he ran back into the house with the rest of his squad and got on the roof where they could seek out where the shots were coming from, but the assailants were gone.

The throbbing became more intense as he looked down at his blood-soaked pant leg. Still unaware he had been shot, his squad got back into their Stryker vehicle and a tightly-wrapped field dressing was applied to his wound. When he finally got back onto the base, he walked to the aid station where they X-rayed him and discovered, lodged in the back of his leg, a bullet. He ended up keeping the bullet the medical staff extracted from his leg. Soon after, he went straight to a phone and called his wife and mom to tell them what had happened.

Myers said that his mom stayed emotional during the entire conversation and although his now-expecting wife, Felecia, started off very emotional, ended the phone call with a "Well, I guess that's pretty cool" attitude.

An Explosive Christmas
Later that year, operations for Pfc. Joshua Ruth continued as usual. It was Christmas day, and Ruth was out on a clearing mission in New Baghdad and the path they were wheeling through was Route Predator.

"We've been taking contact and hostilities all day," said the native of Elizabethtown, Ky.

That night they were going to have three to four hours to eat a Christmas dinner and relax before heading back out to patrol and secure their area of operation. This battalion effort had the soldiers on rotations, but another platoon was outside the wire and hit an improvised explosive device. The attack flattened a couple of tires, forcing Ruth's group to go out earlier than expected.

So they answered the call to duty and were out of the wire once again. They were driving along and then it happened.

"I remember the sound of the (explosively formed projectile) and I remember thinking that it must be somebody else," Ruth said. "The next thing I remember is me lying on the floor."

The blast had knocked him down into the vehicle. It exploded about a meter and a half away from him. It sent shrapnel across his face, perforating both eardrums and giving him a concussion.

"For a little bit, we were just disoriented; there was smoke everywhere; the vehicle was totally destroyed," Ruth said.

As the squad dismounted and pulled security, Ruth started to feel lightheaded so they took him over to the physician who cleaned and patched up the lacerations on his face.

The next morning, they went back out to the site to secure other items. "I was looking at the vehicle and where I was when it happened and I found it stuck up inside of one of the hubs and I pried it out," Ruth said.

The battalion was hit by its first EFP and now Ruth has a lasting reminder that fits in the palm of his hand, a piece of that ten-slug EFP that hit them that day.

"Because we spent the nights sleeping on the ground at other (forward operating bases), it wasn't until a couple days later that we got back and I was able to call my family," Ruth said. "On the phone, my mom started crying, but my dad said that they were just so happy to hear my voice."

Pieces of That Day
It was early morning, Jan. 24, and the first objective was a mosque.

While Pfc. Brandon Kroger and his squad secured the area, an Iraqi army element was trying to get into the mosque to search it.

"But they couldn't find a way in, so we got ready to help," said Kroger.

"We all dismounted and there we were at the nose of the vehicle. Me, (Spc. Brice Sandefur) and Ruth, were sitting there pulling security waiting for the order to move to go blow this door up."

Then he heard a noise.

"It sounded like a tin can that hit the ground," said Kroger, a native of Cincinnati. "So I turn, thinking that there's someone there about to shoot me. (I) raise my weapon and, boom!

"Five seconds went by and I didn't even realize I had been hit," Kroger remembered. "Suddenly, my left hand went completely numb and my calf felt like someone took a sledge hammer to it."

Everyone got back into the vehicle and Kroger pulled out his first aid pouch, assessed his wounds, and wrapped them up the best he could.

It was a grenade that exploded about 25 feet away from him. X-rays showed that there were a total of eight known pieces of shrapnel in his body.

His mother didn't take the news so well and once word got around about the grenade attack he survived, e-mails from family members filled his in-box.

A couple of weeks went by and Kroger noticed the color of one of the welts had changed to black. There he was sitting on his bed when he pulled a piece of black metal out of his inner thigh.

He said that although some pieces are slowly seeping out of his skin, there is a piece that is in so deep in his left thigh, a quarter of an inch from his femur, that he is probably not going to get it removed.

"So I'll probably be taking it to my grave," Kroger said. But for now, he has a tiny reminder of that day. "Eventually I will have kids and my kids will have kids," the 24-year-old said. "So I'll be this 85-year-old talking about how he was in Iraq and got hit by a grenade and I'll have a piece of shrapnel to prove it."

Although these 'Tomahawk' soldiers all came back to base with a piece of their Iraq War and a unique story to tell, their attacks left them with something else. All of them came out of this with a desire to get back out and join their fellow comrades in the fight.

"You feel like you're that extra element in your squad, in your platoon, that might make that difference," said Kroger. "Having that extra set of hands and feet out there is good."

Labels: 1-23 Infantry, 2ID, 3SBCT, Baghdad, Iraq, US Army

STRYKER BATTALION
Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, conduct their first mission in the Diyala province, engaging anti-Iraqi forces in Baqubah, Iraq, March 14, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall

Labels: 1st Cavalry Division, 2ID, 3BCT, 5-20 Infantry, Baqubah, Iraq, photos

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

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Brad Kelly speaks through an interpreter to Iraqi men about the activity in the Ur area of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2007. Kelly is assigned to the Black Hawk Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland


U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph Casiano pulls security outside a shop during a combined cordon and search with the Iraqi National Police in the Ur area of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2007. Casiano is assigned to the Black Hawk Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland


U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph Casiano pulls security in the stairwell of an apartment building while other soldiers search rooms in the building during a combined cordon and search with the Iraqi National Police in the Ur area of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland


U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph Casiano pulls security during a combined cordon and search with the Iraqi National Police in the Ur area of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland


Iraqi National Police officers pull security outside a house during a combined cordon and search with U.S. Army soldiers in the Ur area of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2007. The soldiers are assigned to the Black Hawk Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland


U.S. Army Spc. David Tunstall pulls security as fellow soldiers search an auto service shop and talk to the owner about activity in the Ur area of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland


U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph Casiano checks an Iraqi mans hands for chemicals used to make improvised explosive devices during a combined cordon and search with the Iraqi National Police in the Ur area of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2007. Casiano is assigned to the Black Hawk Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland


U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Coco Gunther, assigned to the 1st Combat Camera Squadron, gives an Iraqi baby a kiss during a combined cordon and search with the Iraqi National Police in the Ur area of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 14, 2007. Gunther is patrolling with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the Black Hawk Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tierney Nowland

Labels: 1-23 Infantry, 2ID, 3BCT, Baghdad, Black Hawk Company, Central Criminal Court of Iraq, Iraqi National Police, photos, US Army, USAF