Operation WiA Tunes gives music gift cards to wounded soldiers
by Meghan Tierney, Staff Writer, Gazette.net

Like a lot of teenagers, Cat Calantonio loves music and knows classmates who are joining the Army after high school graduation. The two merged this fall when she launched a project to collect music gift cards for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Calantonio, 17, of Poolesville came up with the idea after she attended a fundraiser for soldiers who were recuperating at the Washington, D.C., medical center's campus.

"I really didn't know what to expect," Calantonio, a self-described "music junkie" who listens to country and indie rock, said of meeting wounded veterans at the event. "I was nervous, I thought they were going to be these banged up guys who were a lot older than me, but they were all 21, about my age. …These guys just inspired me as soon as soon as I [left]."

Calantonio's mother, Marci Calantonio, told her that mothers of soldiers said they loved iTunes gift cards, which can be used to download music online, because they can be used from anywhere in the world. The idea for Operation WiA Tunes — short for Wounded in Action — was born.

"When I told her these guys wanted iTunes, her eyes got big as saucers and she said, ‘I can do that,'" Marci Calantonio said.

Donations to the project, formed under the umbrella of the Poolesville-based nonprofit America's Wounded Heroes, are used to buy gift cards for wounded soldiers recovering at Walter Reed and eventually at U.S. military hospitals across the world. Cat Calantonio discussed her ideas with soldiers, one of whom came up with the project's name, garnered support from charities and is reaching out to corporate sponsors, publicizing the project and making arrangements to do fundraising at schools.

"I've blown off my homework a few times, but to me this is more worthwhile," Calantonio, a senior at Poolesville High School, said with a laugh.

The hope is that the music will boost the soldiers' morale and provide an emotional outlet during recovery, Calantonio said. The project dovetails with an initiative by the nonprofit Soldiers' Angels, which distributes iPods to injured veterans at Walter Reed, her mother said.

"Cat's project is a really cool project that will be a big help to the wounded soldiers. They don't have a lot to do in the hospital and they all love music," said Lynn Fullerton, treasurer of America's Wounded Heroes, the nonprofit that hosted the September fundraiser that sparked Calantonio's idea.

Ten gift cards had been donated to the project as of last week, and two corporations said they would discuss donating, Calantonio said.

"You can't help but fall in love. [The soldiers are] such great people," Calantonio said. "...On paper it sounds impressive, but I'm really not that cool. I'm just trying to help."

Labels: Good News, Operation WiA Tunes, Soldiers' Angels, Supporting Our Heroes

From Army.mil:

1st Lt. Zachary Boes, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, speaks with a young resident of Musayyib during a patrol March 7. Photo by Sgt. Ben Brody


Dec 01, 2008
BY Sgt. David Turner

FORWARD OPERATING BASE ISKAN, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 1, 2008) -- The Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment expected to spend a second consecutive Christmas in Iraq. This year they received an early Christmas present that changed their expectations.

The Soldiers recently learned their scheduled 15-month deployment would be cut short by several weeks, bringing them home to Fort Stewart, Ga., with the rest of the Vanguard Brigade, in time for the holidays.

"We were not home for Christmas last year," said Lt. Col. Timothy Newsome, 3-7th Infantry Regiment. commander. "But surprisingly, it didn't seem to affect anyone's morale. They are just about getting after the mission. Soldiers kept their chin up. We laugh whenever we greet one another and say, 'Hey, one more Christmas to go.'"

As the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division's mechanized infantry battalion, the "Cottonbalers" faced hardship with good humor and determination in their year-plus at Forward Operating Base Iskan. It contains some of the most dangerous areas in Babil Province, such as Seddah and Jurf as-Sakhr.

The Cottonbalers were charged with a counterinsurgency mission, as the other surge brigades were, aimed at stopping the flow of weapons into Baghdad and giving the new government room to operate.

The area of operations for Soldiers was home to both Sunni and Shia extremists. Even with the troop surge at its height, some villages and towns had seen little or no coalition presence since 2003.

"If I had to use one word to describe the security situation when we first moved in here, the word would be 'tenuous,'" said Newsome. "Folks just didn't go down to Seddah."

The last time the embedded provincial reconstruction team went into Seddah -- about three months before the Cottonbalers arrived in theater -- it had been hit with an explosively formed projectile, Newsome said.

"Seddah was left alone, and it was pretty much Jaysh al-Mahdi central -- it was a perfect staging location," Newsome said. "They were not used to seeing coalition Soldiers and didn't seem to be interested in seeing coalition Soldiers."

Musayyib, a town on the banks of the Euphrates River just south of FOB Iskan, had seen too much violence. A car bomb there killed eight Iraqis in April 2006. The town's central traffic circle turned into a dumping ground for garbage and scrap. Newsome knew that a successful counterinsurgency campaign would not only have to provide citizens with security, but give them confidence that peace and prosperity would return.

Citizens there might turn against the insurgency, Newsome thought, if the unit could get some baseline security requirements in place.

"If we can get those requirements in place, and if we can build upon that with projects and governance tie-ins and have people actually start to believe in the promise of a better tomorrow again - that was something that was sadly lacking in the area for such a long time," Newsome said. "They had not been embraced by us, by the government of Iraq, nor by the provincial government. They made perfect targets for the insurgents."

Recent reconstruction efforts showed citizens there that progress could be made. Today, the traffic circle is regularly patrolled by Iraqi Police, the streets are clean, new sidewalks are installed, and there is even a fenced-in park nearby.

"We're not the only ones who notice that," said Newsome. "The population looks at that."

Before Coalition-led reconstruction could begin, the Soldiers of 3-7 had to drive out insurgents who still held sway in areas south of Baghdad. Operation Marne Roundup was the first major combat operation for the 4th BCT, and the Cottonbalers played a large role. A kinetic operation aimed at clearing out al-Qaeda cells in key areas, Marne Roundup focused on areas in the town of Khidr.

Al-Qaeda gave citizens there a choice, said Newsome: "You can support us, either actively or passively, or we're going to blow your home up."

Khidr residents suffered heavily at the hands of the terrorists.

"There were multiple homes blown up; the entire area was leveled except for three or four homes," he said. "You can go through there and see which homes were rebuilt and which homes were left."

Gradually, residents began to return after the area was cleared. Soldiers helped bring construction materials so that people could repair their homes and return to a normal life.

"They have salvaged the bricks, knocked the mortar off of those bricks and rebuilt those homes. You have an entire population of that town, over 700 families who had been driven out by AQI, that came back in, and they have resettled the area now," said Newsome.

Newsome recalled a turning point in the struggle. About the second week in January 2008, just a month or so after the unit had finished ridding the area of Al-Qaeda, families began moving back into the city.

"They started holding classes in a bombed-out school while their parents were rebuilding their homes - it was pretty impressive," Newsome said.

Newsome is especially proud of schools his Soldiers helped to rebuild. He sees those projects as reinforcing the citizens' faith in their own country. As security returned, the government of Iraq began investing more of its own money into reconstruction.

"The populations here in Musayyib, Jurf as-Sakhr and Seddah -- they were sick and tired of the violence," Newsome said. "They want an opportunity to raise their families, work a normal job, bring their kids up in a safe environment, allow their kids to pursue an education, all in the name of getting after a better tomorrow. What we achieved by building those schools, it demonstrated our sincerity.

"In those situations where the Iraqi government was behind the effort or there were Iraqi funds that were involved in the effort, that is a great indicator for the population who want their government to be involved in their lives. They want to be part of the country of Iraq."

As operations in the area transitioned from kinetic to non-kinetic, Soldiers found themselves increasingly involved in combined operations with the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police. Babil Province officially took responsibility for its own security in October. Platoon sergeants now routinely patrol with their IP counterparts, introducing them to local citizens they have come to know well. Company commanders and platoon leaders attend town council meetings, helping to build the capacity of those local governments.

An essential part of successful counterinsurgency operations is working with the population to help meet their basic needs, Newsome said. After serving his first tour in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom I, Newsome helped implement some of the lessons he learned as an observer/controller at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, La. There, he said, he learned from the mistakes of others. It was an experience that served him well in OIF V. Getting the citizens of Iraq on the coalition's side, he said, meant forming relationships based on trust and respect.

"It's all about the relationship. You've got to go out there and shake hands," Newsome said. "You've got to convince people that we have their best interests in mind, and you have to work hand-in-glove with the Iraqi Security Forces that are there, no matter what condition they are in. If the population sees coalition forces and ISF together, there's a measure of trust that's there," he said.

As Iraqis found they could trust coalition forces in the area, support for insurgents began to erode, and citizens began reporting suspicious activity. That paid immediate dividends for the 3-7th Inf. Regt. Soldiers. To date, a total of 177 suspects have been detained, and the equivalent of 35,000 pounds of explosives have been found. Weapons caches discovered included more than 100,000 items. Without the help of informants, only two people were detained and only six weapons caches were found in a period of 14 months.

One reason citizens have come to trust Newsome's Soldiers is that they never rely on mass roundups to detain suspected insurgents.

"Iraqis are like Americans - we don't like being messed with," he said. "Our home is our refuge. Every time you do that, you sever ties; you sever relationships. We do something called precise targeting. When the people saw we were putting that much energy into making sure we only arrested the bad guys, and that when we arrested the bad guys, they went away for a long time, they started helping us out."

Newsome said he's learned some lessons in Iraq, especially about the value of building relationships.

"I would never have guessed that the value of forming relationships would be as extensive as it is," said Newsome, reflecting on the past year. "What I didn't understand was the value of those relationships when bad times come -- when there are small challenges or blips that may derail your progress. Because of these relationships, those folks reached back to us. We had reached out to them when we first got here to get the relationship started, then when something happens, when you lose a Soldier or when there is an accident, those relationships keep the train of progress on track. I would never have understood that."

Newsome admitted there were hard times along the way. Behind his desk are the pictures of eight of his Soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. He credits the success of his mission to those Soldiers and the others who have kept the area safe from insurgents.

"They have been absolutely essential to the whole process. First of all, they had to believe in the philosophy that I was putting out; this idea of reaching out to citizens and co-opting spheres of influence. I couldn't do that without the company commanders and platoon leaders and the NCOs that we have going out there every day," he said.

(Sgt. David Turner writes for the 4th BCT 3rd Inf. Div)


Photo by Sgt. David Turner
Staff Sgt. Brian Massey, with Company C, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, climbs to the roof of a house near Musayyib during a patrol Oct. 5.


Photo by Sgt. Ben Brody
Sgt. Christopher Humes, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, pulls rooftop security during a meeting to discuss humanitarian and infrastructure projects in Musayyib March 9.

Labels: 3-7th Infantry, 3rd ID, FOB Iskan, Fort Stewart, Good News, Iraq, Khidr, Musayyib, photos, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:

A father pushes his son on a swing as other children play at the grand opening of Dover Park in the Qahira neighborhood in the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad, Oct. 28, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs.


Thursday, 30 October 2008

BAGHDAD — “As I drove by the Army canal every day, I saw this park, and I said this is something we can do to help the citizens,” said Col. John Hort, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Dover Park, as it is known by Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, sat abandoned for years; located in the Qahira neighborhood of the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad, its carnival rides were unusable and the land was overgrown with weeds.

“It was your typical abandoned park here in Iraq,” said 1st Lt. Rosita Rodriguez, a civil affairs team chief with Company C, 404th Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B.

Thus, the mission to rehabilitate the park became Rodriguez’s mission. Two months later, the refurbished park was completed and handed over to the local neighborhood council, Oct. 28, 2008.

“This is our first park in Qahira. We never had one before,” said Mohamed Madaloom, the Qahira Neighborhood Assistance Council chairman.

The park has a small pond with a generator-run fountain with a flock of geese as well as benches, solar lights, several swings, slides and seesaws. There is also a tiled path lined with flowers and new grass has been planted. A gardener and a security guard, he added, will be hired.

The park is intended to be self-sufficient, and seven small kiosks will be rented to vendors. The rent will provide an income stream to buy fuel for the generator, pay the salaries of the staff and any other expenses.

“Everybody admires the park. I know the families are so excited to get here,” said Madaloom, who, along with fellow local officials and Coalition leaders, gathered for the official hand over. Iraqi officials and Col. Hort raised the Iraqi flag to symbolize the opening of the park as doves were released. Some families and their children couldn’t wait – they were already on the rides.

“I’m so pleased; our kids aren’t able to go many places because of the security situation. I am so pleased that we have such a park in our neighborhood,” said Aum Achmed, who was there with her daughter and a niece. “It’s important for every kid to have a place to go to.”

“It’s good. It used to be awful before. I wouldn’t even look at it before,” said Mostfa, a 3-year-old Iraqi child, before running off to a nearby slide.

(By Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 4th Infantry Division)

Labels: 404th Civil Affairs Division, 4th Infantry Division, Adhamiyah District, Baghdad, children, Civil Affairs, Good News, Iraq, Multi-National Division-Baghdad, Public Affairs, Qahira, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


An Iraqi man holds his drowning child in Karmah, Iraq, Sept. 28, 2008. Navy Chief Roger Buck, a 34-year-old battalion medical chief from Niceville, Fla., saw the limp child cradled in his father's arms and immediately began administering CPR, saving the boy’s life. Photo by Lance Cpl. Achilles Tsantarliotis, Regimental Combat Team 1.


Sunday, 19 October 2008

KARMAH — Corpsmen are often considered the medical ray of light for Marines in a combat zone.

Sometimes their light shines bright enough to reach local Iraqis in need, whether during a routine combined medical engagement, or for one Iraqi child who almost drowned, on the spot emergency medical attention that saved his life.

Navy Chief Roger Buck, a 34-year-old battalion medical chief from Niceville, Fla., with Task Force 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, saw the limp child cradled in his father’s arms during an Iraqi key-leadership, joint-forces dismounted patrol.

Buck ran to the boy and immediately began administering CPR.

“[Our] interpreter explained I was like a doctor,” said Buck. “They told us they found him face first in a canal. He had a light, faint pulse. I tried to calm the parents down then immediately started applying medical treatment. I cleared his airway and started giving him CPR.”

Within a few minutes the boy regained consciousness, coughed up water and was taken to a local hospital for follow on care.

“He did everything he should have,” said Gunnery Sgt. John Schidlmeier, a platoon leader with Lava Dog Assesment Reaction Team, 1st Bn., 3rd Marines. “His actions were admirable; especially for the situation. He reacted even though he was posting security; made sure a Marine took his position and treated the kid immediately.”

Buck said he was merely in the right place at the right time and just doing his job, and the look of gratitude and appreciation on the terrified parents was all the thanks he needed.

Buck insisted that all Corpsmen carry a great load of responsibilities, starting from the first day of corpsman training, to adapt and be versatile with varying situations. To him, it was just another day of life in the operating forces.

“I was just happy I could bring the kid back,” he said.

Days later, the battalion recognized Buck’s heroic actions and awarded him a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his reactive measures and successful treatment.

“There are a thousand things a day that corpsmen do that go unseen,” he said. “It's always good to save a life. You don't always get to save everyone, so when you do it's very rewarding.”

(By Lance Cpl. Achilles Tsantarliotis, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines)

Labels: 1-3 Marines, combat medic, Good News, heroes, Regimental Combat Team 1, US Navy, USMC

BAGHDAD — Ratchet the Iraqi puppy finally had his day.

An animal rescue group flew into Baghdad on Sunday and picked up the dog, which was adopted by Army Spc. Gwen Beberg, 28, of Minneapolis in a case that highlighted military rules barring troops from caring for pets while in Iraq.

Ratchet was loaded onto a charter flight, which took off Sunday night for Kuwait. He's due in Minnesota later this week.

It was the third try by Operation Baghdad Pups to get Ratchet out of the country on behalf of Beberg, who says she couldn't have made it through her 13-month deployment without the affectionate mutt.

She and another soldier rescued the puppy from a burning pile of trash in May.


Read the Rest, at Fox News (opens in new window)

Labels: Good News, Iraq

Army Master Sgt. Michael Molgaard helps to unload boxes of donated clothing and school supplies with an Afghan policeman at the Afshar School. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Robert Romano, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix


From DefenseLink:


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

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 7, 2008 – Donations of school supplies and children’s clothing from military families and friends at home are helping deployed New York Army National Guard soldiers in their mission to mentor and train the Afghan national security forces and support the Afghan people.

Members of the Afghan National Police delivered hundreds of pounds of schools supplies, children’s clothing and shoes sent over from New York communities to boys and girls of the Afshar School in the suburbs of the Afghan capital of Kabul on Oct. 4.

Humanitarian assistance missions help Afghan families and build bonds of trust for the nation’s developing army and police forces. Trainers and mentors from Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, part of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, guide and support national police and army units as they conduct local efforts.

Nearly 1,700 members of the New York National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed to Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix to serve on embedded training and police mentoring teams, security force units, logistics teams and for the task force headquarters.

Increasingly, military family members, friends, youth groups and civic organizations back in New York are taking an active role by sending donations to their deployed loved ones that are in turn used to help the Afghan people.

Clothing, footwear and school supplies are eagerly sought. Operations that bring police to schools and villages to deliver security messages as well as gifts encourage local support for the Afghan government and improve conditions for the people.

“The Afghan National Police is the face of the Afghan government at the local level,” said Army Col. Gary Yaple, deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix and the New York National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Syracuse. “Our intent is to place the Afghans first and in the lead, and we support. This is their nation. These are their communities, families and children. The more support they provide, the more they build for their government. They still need our help, but much progress is being made.”

The three-hour mission on Oct. 4 included 23 U.S. personnel assigned to a police mentoring team with Afghan Regional Security Integration Command Kabul and logistics task force troops. The team moved to the headquarters of Police District 5, where 1st Lt. Faisal Reza from the Bronx, Master Sgt. Michael Molgaard from Ithaca, and Staff Sgt. Deanna Bizette from Florence, S.C., conferred with the local police chief on the operation plan. Then a dozen officers moved out with the Phoenix team for the school.

They set up a security perimeter, and U.S. troops and Afghan police unloaded three trailers of donations. These were placed in a faculty office, and teachers began to distribute to the neediest students.

“The donations came from various people in the Tompkins County area,” said Capt. Robert Romano from Ithaca, assigned to Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix headquarters.

“My mother organized the drive with support from several local church groups,” he said, adding that Linda Pasto, the mother of another deployed officer, and a local chapter of "The Red Hat Society," a woman's group, also made significant contributions.

“Clothing was collected, inspected, packed and shipped by my mother, Marie Romano, and my wife, Lana,” the captain said. “The first load amounted to about 650 pounds.”

Another shipment weighing in at 1,100 pounds already is on the way, he added. “The police chief and teachers seemed especially happy with a large box of children's shoes and another one that contained winter jackets and sweaters.”

Later, the local police chief personally handed out school supplies, clothing and shoes. He also talked to the children with a simple message: “People should not be afraid to come to the police to ask for help. The police are there for the people.”

(Army Lt. Col. Paul Fanning serves in the Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix Public Affairs Office.)


Related Sites:
Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan


Col. Zalmia, Police District 5 chief, speaks to students in a classroom of the Afshar School to let them know that his police officers are there to help. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Robert Romano, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix



Afghan children show off donated supplies and clothing. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Robert Romano, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix

Labels: 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Afghanistan, children, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, Good News, Humanitarian Aid, New York National Guard, photos, US Army

From DefenseLink:


By Jamie Findlater
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2008 – The host of a radio program available worldwide on the Internet gives servicemembers a chance to tell their stories.

“This is one way that I can serve the military,” Dave Whitten, host of “Voice of the Troops,” a weekly hour-long show on Phoenix station KFNX and carried on the station’s Web site, said in an “ASY Live” BlogTalkRadio interview.

“ASY Live” is part of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, which connects American citizens and companies with servicemembers at home and abroad.

“I grew up in a very military household,” Whitten said. “I always kick myself for not serving.”

The idea started for Whitten a year and a half ago, he said, after listening to the radio and television and sensing a need to bring to light the voice of the individual servicemember.

“You hear all the bad stuff that goes on,” he said. “Let’s face it, war is not pretty. … But you never [get] to hear the good stories about the good things that our troops [are] doing.”

on the program airs Sundays at 7 p.m. PST and is available on the Web at www.1100kfnx.com.

“I give them an hour every week to talk about whatever they want without cutting them up into sound bites,” Whitten said. Topics range from post-traumatic stress disorder to military history.

“On one of our most memorable shows, we had two of the remaining five Navajo code talkers talking about how they saved countless numbers of Marine lives in the Pacific Theater,” he said. “What was really interesting was that many of these guys were in their mid-80s, and you never know, this might be the last time we capture this. I was told by another Marine, “You guys have captured a part of history.”

It’s important, especially with current conflicts, to talk to those who are directly affected, Whitten said.

“Kimberly Dozier was a CBS News reporter that we had on our show recently to talk about her experience,” he said. “Kimberly and her video crew were involved in an [improvised explosive device] explosion over in Iraq and almost lost her life. [As a] matter of a fact, her photographer and sound person did lose their lives, and she knows first-hand the type of quality care that military survivors received. We got her on the show to talk about how the military doctors got her back to normal.”

The show also discusses recent topics of interest and the important ramifications of new military policy.

“Recently, we had a show with two colonels, Kevin and Kate Voight, who talked about their experience serving as intel officers based in Baghdad, Iraq,” he said. “Now that Army rules have changed, they can actually serve in a combat area together and have their own housing. It’s a way to attract qualified people, because they can have the 15 months of actually functioning as a husband and wife.”

Voice of the Troops also brings to light plans for future development of new capabilities. For example, he said, he has lined up Air Force Maj. Gen. William T. Lord, commander of the Air Force’s provisional Cyberspace Command, as a guest for an upcoming program to talk about the importance of defending the nation’s computer systems from adversaries.

Whitten said he appreciates that programs like America Supports You work to get the message out to servicemembers about programs like his.

“We are proud to work with programs like America Supports You, [which] has done a phenomenal job in garnering the support of people throughout the nation,” Whitten said. “We need to help [the public] understand that there is a need out there. We still have men and women in a combat zone, and my hat’s off to ASY for what they do.”

(Jamie Findlater works in the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)


Related Sites:
“ASY Live” on BlogTalkRadio.com
America Supports You

Labels: Good News, Supporting the troops

Former Marine Acquitted of Iraqi Killings in Landmark Trial

IRVINE, Calif. — A former Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi detainees was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter Thursday in a first-of-its-kind federal trial.

The jury took six hours to find Jose Luis Nazario Jr. not guilty of charges that he killed or caused others to kill four unarmed detainees on Nov. 9, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

The verdict left the 28-year-old defendant in tears. He cried so loud that the judge smacked his gavel to call for order. Nazario's family and friends also sobbed in the courtroom.

"It's been a long, hard year for my family," Nazario said outside the courtroom. "I need a moment to catch my breath and try to get my life back together."

Thursday's verdict marks the first time a civilian jury has determined whether the alleged actions of a former military service member in combat violated the law of war.

One of the jurors, Ingrid Wicken, hugged Nazario's sobbing mother, Sandra Montanez, without speaking after the verdict was read. "I watched her all week. She was being tortured every day," Wicken said later.

Wicken said the panel acquitted Nazario because there was not enough evidence against him.

"I think you don't know what goes on in combat until you are in combat," she said.

Amen.

The rest is here. (opens in new window)

Labels: Fallujah, Good News, Iraq, Jose Luis Nazario Jr, Troops on Trial, USMC

Official: Senior Al Qaeda Commander Killed in Pakistan

Senior Al Qaeda commander Abu Saeed al-Masri has been killed in recent clashes with Pakistani forces in a Pakistani region near the Afghan border, a security official told Reuters on Tuesday.

"He was believed to be among the top leadership of Al Qaeda," the senior security official told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

More here

Here's hoping his 72 virgins have perpetual headaches.

Labels: Al Qaeda, Good News, terrorism, terrorists

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


Residents on the Adhamiyah District of northern Baghdad gather near the scene of an, Aug. 3, 2008, car bombing that killed four residents and injured seven more. The residents returned to the area soon after and vowed not to let the terrorists intimidate them and keep them from their daily life. Photo by Sgt. Zachary Mott.


Wednesday, 06 August 2008
By Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

ADHAMIYAH — A car bombing in northern Baghdad killed four residents and injured seven more shortly before 9 a.m., Aug. 3, 2008. Nearby business, buildings and power lines were also damaged in the attack.

“I think people that attack the innocent people are not real human beings. They are like animals,” said Omar Haddam, an electrician, who was working to help restore power to the residents of Suleikh, a neighborhood in the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad.

Adhamiyah has been a shining light of prosperity for Iraq. In August 2007, the streets were so dangerous that markets were rarely open. People didn’t venture outside unless they were required and U.S. military and Iraqi Security Forces were routinely engaged in firefights with remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Now, markets are flourishing, the economy is growing and essential services are improving daily. However, events such as Monday’s car bombing are the exception. Residents are no longer fearful of terrorist elements and they often flood local marketplaces as part of their daily routine.
“[The terrorists] can’t stop the economy,” Haddam said. “Even the people, they know the risk, but they’re showing the terrorists that they’re not afraid by coming to the market.”

And return they have. Two days after the attack, repairs to the power lines were nearly complete and nearby shops were crowded with customers seeking supplies ranging from soda to food for that night’s meal.

The message, as one resident said, is clear.

“They are criminals, and they are not welcome in this neighborhood,” said Mohammed Sammi, who was in the area less than 15 minutes before Monday’s bombing. “I want to say something too: that’s enough. There have been too many people killed and injured. No more blood.”

Adhamiyah remains an example of the prosperity that can exist in Iraq. With security gains reached as a result of the “Surge,” residents were able to get a taste of what life could be like. With this knowledge, the people are determined to rebuild and add to that prosperity.

“The terrorists will not win here,” Mohammed said.

Labels: Adhamiyah, Baghdad, Good News, Iraq, Suleikh

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


1st Lt. Justin Crawford, from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, says hello to a group of young Iraqis, July 26, in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad. The Soldiers conduct daily patrols and assessments within the community to assess the security situation in the area that was once plagued with special groups criminals and terrorist activity. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams.


Tuesday, 05 August 2008
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON — Iraqi Security Forces have made such an improvement that Coalition forces in Baghdad’s Rashid district are able to turn their attention to rebuilding the area, the commander of the brigade assigned there said Aug. 4.

Army Col. Ted Martin, commander of the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, said he has seen “phenomenal progress” since he was first in Iraq in 2003.

“For the first time, I've seen Iraqi Security Forces that can plan, prepare and execute first-class offensive operations,” Martin said via video teleconference from Camp Falcon. “I've also seen a high level of trust and respect by the people of Rashid for their own army and police forces.”

Iraqi and Coalition forces are working closely together in the region, which once was one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq - a battleground containing al-Qaida in Iraq and Iranian-sponsored “special groups.” In July 2007, 824 attacks took place in the district – a daily average of 27 attacks. But Coalition and Iraqi forces have worked together to turn the situation around, Martin said.

“Together, we conduct relentless offensive operations designed to kill, capture or drive from Rashid anyone who threatens the safety and security of the people we have sworn to protect,” he said.

When the brigade arrived in March, an average of five attacks per day took place in the district. Today, the daily average is 1.5 attacks, the colonel said.

“I believe this reduction in violence is a direct result of the conditions set by the success of the surge in forces and combat power,” Martin said. “We built on this success and have seen a dramatic reduction in violence in the past four months.”

Other statistics reinforce this conclusion. April saw 18 rocket and mortar attacks in the district, and only three took place in July. April’s 69 roadside bomb attacks reduced to 37 in July. There were 30 direct-fire attacks in April and five in July.

Roadside bombs continue to be the biggest threat to Coalition and Iraqi forces, Martin said, noting they are “emplaced by special group criminals who operate as part of the illegal militias in Baghdad.” These groups continue to try to destabilize the Iraqi government, he said.

“I think they want to undermine the government, and they’re using the neighborhoods of Rashid as a battlefield,” Martin said. “I'm pretty confident that we've denied them that capability.”

The biggest change in the region is in the mood of the people of the district, Martin said. Since May, the local population has provided the intelligence helpful to Coalition and Iraqi forces in taking on the enemy, he said. “There seemed to be a wedge that was placed between the people and the insurgents, and we tried to exploit that,” he added.

Martin said the reduction in violence has allowed him and his soldiers to shift their focus toward improving essential services and helping their Iraqi Security Forces partners. “It is my firm belief that the decisive defeat of the special group criminals and militias in May and June of this year has opened a window of opportunity for us to make substantial and lasting improvements in the Rashid district,” he said.

So far, the brigade has completed 22 projects valued at more than $5 million, and 78 active projects are valued at more than $45 million.

The Iraqi government is kicking in on the reconstruction effort in the district, contributing $18 million in government funds, and Martin said he expects that amount to rise as the government becomes more established.

Labels: 4th ID, Baghdad, Good News, Iraq, Rashid, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


Monday, 28 July 2008
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD — The security situation in Iraq’s northern provinces has improved, but Iraqi and coalition troops will continue to pursue al-Qaida in Iraq and other criminal groups, the U.S. commander in the region said during a briefing July 27.

Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the commander of Multinational Division – North, told reporters that the number of security incidents in his area of operations has dropped from more than 2,600 in June 2007 to 650 in June 2008. The numbers for July 2008 continue to show a reduction.

Hertling said Iraqi commanders will launch a major offensive against al-Qaida and criminal gangs in Diyala province next month. U.S. forces will launch a concurrent offensive – Operation Iron Pursuit – against al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists who are seeking sanctuary in the desert.

The success of the surge in Baghdad forced al-Qaida in Iraq to move out of the city mostly to the northern provinces of Diyala, Ninewah and Salah ad Din. These areas became the main battlefield as Coalition, and increasingly, Iraqi forces hunted down the terrorists and killed or captured them. The cities are now “reasonably secure,” Hertling said, and the Iraqi and Coalition forces can shift focus to hunting down al-Qaida and its allies outside the cities.

Other indicators also point to progress, Hertling said. The number of roadside bombs declined by 50 percent since February 2008 from 950 to 430.

“That’s not to say we still don’t have threats,” the general said. Suicide vest attacks and car bombs remain a problem in Diyala and the city of Mosul. On July 24, a woman wearing a suicide vest killed eight Iraqis and wounded 30 others in Baquba. Last month another suicide bomber killed Iraqi police and recruits in the city.

The number of Iraqis killed by terrorists wearing suicide vests has been about 250. Car bombs killed a further 1,500.

“These are random, violent acts conducted by these violent terrorists and that’s why we are not only continuing to go after those who do these things, but the networks that support them,” he said.

Hertling said much remains to be done in the region. “There will be continued operations as long as the Iraqi people are threatened,” he said.

Labels: Diyala, Good News, Iraq, Ninewah, Salah ad Din

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:

Staff Sergeant Brian Doty (left), of Orange, Va. and Cpl. Sam Weaver, of Fayetteville, N.C., both with Company B, 13th Psychological Operations Battalion, are accompanied by local children while on a foot patrol in the city of Suwayrah in northern Wasit province. Photo by Sgt. David Turner.


Wednesday, 23 July 2008
By Sgt. David Turner
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

COMBAT OUTPOST SUMMERS — Walking down the busy streets of Suwayrah at sundown, the city’s residents met Soldiers with handshakes and friendly smiles. Children gathered everywhere the Soldiers stopped to talk to residents.

As the patrol of Soldiers from 1st Platoon, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment continued on its way, the children followed, practicing their English and enjoying the early evening stroll.

“Wherever we roll, it’s like a parade,” said Sgt. Robert Delong, an infantryman from central Minnesota, whose previous deployment to Iraq was in Ramadi. This time around, he said, things are different.

Soldiers of Co. B, 2nd Bn., 6th Inf. Regt. conducted joint patrols with their Iraqi Army counterparts in the northern Wasit province. The patrol was not only a way of showing their presence, but to gather information on local businesses and to hear local citizens’ concerns.

Soldiers of Co. B’s 1st Plt. began their day with an early morning patrol in Raminiyah, along the west bank of the Tigris River, visiting Sons of Iraq checkpoints and talking with local citizens and community leaders. In the rural parts of Co. B’s area, where there are few police, the SoI help keep the roads safe and prevent insurgents and weapons from coming into the area. It’s an around-the-clock task, and many of the checkpoints have tents or shelters nearby where SoI members rest between shifts.

The Soldiers of Co. B, attached to the 1st Bn., 76th Field Artillery Regt., 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, make sure the checkpoints are manned and the SoI have what they need as part of their patrols.

Later, they met up with IA Soldiers of the 3rd Bde., 2nd IA Div. in the city of Suwayrah. After pairing up with their IA “battle buddies,” the Soldiers conducted a joint patrol on foot, taking them through the city’s main streets.

“At this stage we try to get the population on our side,” Delong said. “We try to maintain their happiness and give them things that they need. Basically, we ask them what they need, and we take notes.”

“It’s been unusual for me, because I’m not used to working with the population. This deployment, it’s candy and sunshine every day. People come out of their houses to see you. It’s been difficult for a lot of us vets to get used to. It’s just like talking to friends back home.”

Another difference Delong noted is the quiet.

“When I go to sleep, I don’t hear bombs going off. I don’t hear gunfire,” he said.

In recent years, Suwayrah has been a relative island of peace in comparison to its neighbors to the north and west. Since Company B arrived here more than two months ago, there have been no attacks aimed at Coalition forces, said Capt. Dustin Ornatowski, commander of Company B. With little insurgent or criminal activity in the area, his company’s main mission now is to help local citizens repair damaged infrastructure and build their economy, he said.

“Economics and infrastructure are the biggest problems in this area,” said Ornatowski, of Edwardsburg, Mich. “You’re always going to have leftover insurgency elements and criminal elements wherever you go. Right now, those elements are not actively fighting against us in this area,” he said.

Company B Soldiers are working to identify key leaders and find out what the communities in their area need the most. Currently, they hear mostly of the need for reliable electricity and water pumps to keep the region’s irrigation canals flowing, said Ornatowski. Many pumps are damaged or missing, and getting them running again is necessary to supply farmers in the area.

Labels: 13th Psyops Battalion, 3rd ID, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, children, Combat Outpost Summers, Good News, Iraq, photos, Suwayrah

Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartman, legal advisor to the convening authority for the Office of Military Commissions, announces at a June 30, 2008, Pentagon press conference, that charges have been sworn against 'Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi national of Yemeni descent. It is alleged that Al-Nashiri, an al-Qa'ida operative, participated in the planning and preparation for the attack on the guided missile destroyer USS Cole on Oct. 12, 2000, that killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded 47. Defense Dept. photo by R. D. Ward


By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, June 30, 2008 – A Saudi Arabian national being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been charged with planning and preparing for the attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded 47 others, the Defense Department announced today.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was charged today in connection with the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the vessel as it awaited refueling in the Port of Aden in Yemen, Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, legal advisor to the convening authority in the Office of Military Commissions, told Pentagon reporters today.

The chief prosecutor has recommended that the case be tried as a death-penalty case.

Susan J. Crawford, the convening authority, will review the case and determine which, if any, of the charges should be referred for trial by a military commission, Hartmann said. If she refers the case for trial, Crawford must also decide if she will refer it as a capital case.

The Nashiri swearing brings to 20 the number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay involved in the military commissions process, Hartmann said.

He noted that the military commissions process provides the accused several protections, including representation by a military counsel and a civilian counsel of his own choosing at no expense to the government. The protections, guaranteed by the Military Commissions Act, ensure that Nashiri “receives a fair trial consistent with American standards of justice,” Hartmann said.

Nashiri was charged today with conspiracy to violate the law of war, murder in violation of the law of war, treachery or perfidy, terrorism, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, providing material support to terrorism and attempted murder.

Charges brought against Nashiri today claim he rented apartments and facilities near the Port of Aden to prepare for an attack, bought the boat and explosives used in the attack and arranged for two co-conspirators to launch the attack.

During the attack, two men dressed as civilians are alleged to have piloted what looked like a small, civilian garbage barge up to the ship. The two men allegedly made friendly gestures to crewmembers aboard the ship before detonating explosives hidden in their boat that blasted a 40-foot hole in the side of Cole.

Nashiri also was charged with participating in the unsuccessful attack on the USS The Sullivans as it refueled in the Port of Aden on Jan. 3, 2000, and for helping attack the French supertanker SS Limburg in the Gulf of Aden on Oct. 6, 2002. That attack left one crewmember dead and spilled about 90,000 gallons of oil into the gulf.

Nashiri was arrested in October 2002 in the United Arab Emirates and was under CIA custody before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2006.

Hartmann said the charges issued today result from an extensive investigation that brought together the intelligence and law enforcement communities. “We’d rather do it right. We’d rather do it thoroughly. We’d rather do it fairly than quickly,” he said.

If the Nashiri case goes to trial, Hartmann said the defense counsel will have the opportunity to argue points before the military judge, including allegations that Nashiri was subjected to the “waterboarding” interrogation technique by the CIA. “The judge, just as in any matter of law, will make a final decision as to the validity of any piece of evidence,” he said.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman emphasized the Defense Department’s commitment to “ensuring that both the process and the military commissions proceedings themselves are as transparent as possible, within the bounds of security and safety.”

The United States has used military commissions for war crime trials since the Revolutionary War, he noted.


Related Sites:
Transcript: USS Cole Briefing
Defense Department News Release
Military Commissions

Labels: Al Qaeda, Gitmo, Good News, GWOT, terrorism, terrorists, USS Cole, USS The Sullivans

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


An Iraqi Army Soldier from 9th Iraqi Army Division provides security, along side U.S. Army Soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division, during a dismounted patrol in Abu Atham, Iraq. Improved Iraqi Security Forces are considered one key reason for the improved security throughout Iraq. Photo by Tech Sgt. William Greer.


Tuesday, 24 June 2008
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON — The number of weekly attacks in Iraq has dropped from about 1,200 a week in June 2007 to about 200 a week now, the commander of the tactical unit responsible for command and control of operations in Iraq said June 23.

Mirroring this reduction in violence has been a 70 percent decrease in roadside-bomb attacks and an 85 percent spike in the number of weapons caches Coalition forces have found over the past year, Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of Multi-National Corps - Iraq, told reporters via satellite from Baghdad at a Pentagon news conference.

“I attribute most of these hard-fought gains in security to a few key factors: our Coalition forces aggressively pursuing the enemy, the improving capability of the Iraqi Security Forces, and the Iraqi people participating in the rebuilding process of Iraq,” he said.

But the general tempered his optimism, characterizing security improvements as fragile gains that coalition troops are attempting to solidify as they build the capabilities of their Iraqi counterparts.

“While the improved security is a great achievement, we clearly understand that our progress is fragile, and we continue to work to make this progress irreversible,” he said.

The general praised coalition troops for having al-Qaida “on its heels,” yet he identified the organization as the “primary threat” remaining in Iraq. The terrorist group yesterday launched an attack in Baqouba that killed at least 15 people, including several police officers, and wounded dozens of others.

“Even though we assess that they are on the run, they are still capable of launching spectacular attacks,” Austin said, noting yesterday’s bombing in the Diyala province city. “As a result, our operations in the north are focused on defeating their capability to perform these attacks.”

Austin cited recent operations in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, as examples of the increasing capabilities and effectiveness of Iraq’s security forces. Combined forces in the Ninevah province city over the past four days detained 16 suspects, including four high-ranking al-Qaida operatives.

“We continue to aggressively pursue al-Qaida and to take away their safe havens and to close off all their escape routes when they try to flee,” he said.

Austin, who assumed command of Multinational Corps Iraq in February, said coalition forces will continue helping to develop Iraq’s national security operators under his leadership.

“I'm absolutely confident, based on the indicators from the last few months, that they'll continue to make significant improvements, and we will be with them, side by side, as they progress,” he said.

Though they have made significant progress, Iraqi security forces in many instances are not yet prepared to take over day-to-day operations, thereby allowing coalition troops to assume an overwatch role, the general said.

Before Iraqi forces become autonomous, he said, they need to develop “combat enablers” with the capability of calling in and integrating fire support into formation. They also be capable of supporting themselves logistically, and begin using their own surveillance and reconnaissance to cull intelligence, then plan their own operations, the general said.

“We are working hand in hand with our coalition partners in all parts of the country,” he said. “They have improved significantly, but we've been clear about saying that they're not there yet.”

As Iraqi security forces mature in the midst of combating al-Qaida and Iranian-backed “special groups,” they meanwhile are gaining the support and confidence of Iraqi citizens, the general said. The majority of Iraqis have rescinded allegiance to extremism, he added, praising the efforts of civilian security groups like the “Sons of Iraq.”

“Now the overwhelming majority of the population has turned against the insurgents and the criminals,” Austin said. “Iraqis understand that al-Qaida and outside influences are not in the best interest of their country.”

Dovetailing with Iraqi security forces’ rise in public status has been a reduction in the number of people being held in detention. A coalition-led detainee release program has freed roughly 4,000 people who combined forces have deemed nonthreatening.

“[It] demonstrates that the coalition is committed to the welfare of the Iraqi population and to reconciliation,” he said.

Labels: 25th Infantry Division, 9th Iraqi Army Division, Abu Atham, Good News, Iraq, photos, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


Sergeant Jeremy Haycox monitors battlefield activities at Combat Outpost Murray June 6. Haycox, of Albuquerque, N.M., said his vantage point allowed him to see the positive changes taking place in the south Baghdad area in a unique way. Photo by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky.


Monday, 09 June 2008
By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

COMBAT OUTPOST MURRAY — As Spc. Robert Manchego sees the end of his deployment approaching, he reflects on a year of change. Most of the combat he now encounters is commanding virtual armies on his laptop computer during his downtime.

It wasn’t always so quiet for Machengo. When his unit, Company A, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, first arrived into the area of Arab Jabour south of Baghdad, the place was anything but calm.

For four years following the liberation of Baghdad, the area was largely unoccupied by coalition forces; insurgents used the area as a base of operations.

“When we first got here it was pretty much all al-Qaida,” said Spc. Eric Strazeri, a driver for the battalion’s operations officer. “We had to fight our way all around the sector.”

The fight itself wasn’t only against al-Qaida. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers also had to work to gain the local population’s trust, which was often the more difficult task.

“The people were very shy, wouldn’t come up to us,” Manchego recalled.

Sergeant Jeremy Haycox, a native of Albuquerque, N.M., had a different view of the battlefield from the battalion’s tactical operations center. He said although his job kept him from seeing the enemy or citizens face-to-face, the insurgents’ hostilities were evident on the screen of his work station.

“It was real bad, extremely hectic. I saw lots of red, enemy activities, on my screen,” he said. ”It was bad - lots of IEDs. We discovered some, set off others, had some guys hurt, had some guys die.”

As a veteran of several missions, Strazeri, a native of Miami, experienced some of the incidents on Haycox’s screen first-hand.

During one mission, Strazeri was accompanying the scout platoon and came under small-arms fire south of COP Murray.

“We took fire (and) returned fire,” he said, noting one Soldier was injured during the event.

Small-arms fire was always a concern, although not as big as the threat posed by IEDs, Manchego said. As the 1-30th Inf. Regt. pushed into the area, they performed a lot of missions – patrolling the streets, setting up observation points and going after targets such as insurgents, weapons caches or IEDs.

While putting a face on the insurgency, the Soldiers also tried to put the best face on themselves. To endear them to the local populace, the Soldiers worked to help improve the citizens’ quality of life.

“We did a lot of projects, getting the schools up and running, helping restore businesses through microgrants,” Strazeri said.

As they carted off weapons caches and removed IEDs from the streets, the Soldiers improved things in their place: water, humanitarian assistance and - most importantly - hope for a better tomorrow, Manchego said.

“It was cool to see little kids coming up to us for water,” he said, noting that with each good act, the fear and reservation of the citizens began to disappear. “I think once local nationals here saw we were here to help they were more receptive to us.”

Soon the citizens began to work with the Soldiers, pointing out insurgents and their weapons. Residents laid the foundation for the Sons of Iraq program in the area and began to take care of their communities.

That change, which Haycox attributes to the involvement of the SoI, came at a time when security gains began allowing the Baghdad-7 embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team to enter into the area.

The ePRT, which began working with the 2nd BCT in October, is a U.S. Department of State entity made up of experts in fields such as business, agriculture and governance. They worked hand-in-hand with 2nd BCT units to help rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure.

Through their help, and with funds from the Dept. of State and the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, things started to change.

“We did some very good projects here, opening shops and businesses; just working to improve the life of the people here,” Haycox said.

Although the 1-30th Inf. Regt. will soon depart, they leave behind their best wishes for the people they have come to win over, as well as the Iraqi army soldiers who will assume responsibility for the area.

“Hopefully the IA is able to sustain the fight against al-Qaida and maintain relationships with locals,” Strazeri said.

Haycox summarized his hopes in two words: “Maintain and improve. Maintain what we’ve done and help this place keep improving.”

Labels: 3rd ID, Al Qaeda, Arab Jabour, Baghdad, Combat Outpost Murray, Good News, Iraq, photos, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


Lithuanian Sgt. 1st Class Donatas Krivickas, of LITCON 10, maintains security in a market in the town of Dujayli U.S. civil affairs Soldiers conduct an assessment May 20. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel T. West.


Tuesday, 03 June 2008
By Sgt. Daniel T. West
214th Fires Brigade, Public Affairs Office

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — With only a week remaining in their six-month tour in Iraq, soldiers from Lithuanian Contingent 10, Iron Wolf Brigade, faced a difficult choice.

Two options remained following the news that the Lithuanian government had voted to extend the unit’s tour for two more months: the soldiers could volunteer for the extension or continue their redeployment.

“Since they were already packed and I knew how difficult it would be, I chose to ask for volunteers to stay,” said Lt. Gen. Valdas Tutkus, Lithuanian Chief of Defense.

Twenty-nine of the 40 soldiers in the platoon chose to continue the mission.

“Without them, we would be stuck,” said Capt. Caroline Pogge, of Company B, 411th Civil Affairs Battalion. “They are the primary personnel security detachment for civil affairs and Provincial Reconstruction Team Wasit. Without them, we are immobile.”

Selecting to continue their deployment showed a lot about their character, according to Pogge.

“To a lot of people, six weeks (the extension was later changed to eight weeks) isn’t much,” said Pogge, a native of Danbury, Conn. “But over here, it’s a long time.”

Word that the Lithuanians had selected to stay was a welcome surprise, according to Col. Peter Baker, commander of the 214th Fires Brigade.

“We are so dependent on them for movement; we didn’t know how we would move the teams that are so vital to the reconstruction effort,” Baker said.

The Soldiers appreciated the fact that the choice was left to them.

“It is important to serve our country, but in some moments it is more important to take care of home and family,” said 1st Lt Gediminas Alisauskas, a platoon commander. “I’m glad to have the chance to choose. All of us had plans for when we got back – most changed them, some couldn’t.”

Being so close to returning home made the choice difficult.

“I had one week left and it felt like I was already home,” Cpl. Rimvydas Stasaitis said. “I had plans, but changed them when I decided to stay. It’s my duty and responsibility. The mission is not finished when our time is finished. If we wanted to finish it, we had to stay.”

For some, the decision to stay was because of the team, a reluctance to leave while comrades stayed. The platoon bonded over the time here, and for some, the decision was whether to leave one family for another.

“We came as one platoon and have friends here,” said Capt. Karolis Morkunas, the platoon’s senior national representative. “We want to stay with our friends.”

Tutkus emphasized Lithuania’s continued commitment to supporting the U.S.

We came in with the U.S. during the war and will stay in support until the end,” he said. “It’s important to be a credible member of NATO and the Coalition. In order to demonstrate our credibility as a country, we have to share the risk.”

As the soldiers of the platoon performed their duties over the past six months, they impacted on all who interacted with them, from their Chief of Defense to the U.S. Soldiers who worked with them from day to day.

“I’m proud of the soldiers here,” Tutkus said. “From the first part, every time I visit soldiers and their commanders, I hear only the best things. There is a light in their eyes. They are motivated, professional, well-trained and competent.”

The civil affairs team members they escorted echoed the sentiments.

“They are phenomenal, professional soldiers,” Pogge said. “They know their job and do it extremely well. Their competence and confidence is obvious as we travel with them.”

The Soldiers who stayed held no grudges against those who chose to leave.

“Some soldiers had losses, maybe their wife was sick and they had small children, so they had to go,” Morkunas said. “They didn’t want to go… Even those who stayed had compelling reasons to go. The section leader (Master Sgt. Andrius Samusevas) has a two-month-old daughter that he has never seen, I have a two-and-a-half month-old daughter that I’ve never seen, but we chose to stay, to see it through.”

The soldiers were optimistic about their final two months, but did not plan to make things permanent.

“It’s ok to stay for two months, but not one day more,” Stasaitis said. “I am getting married in two months and one day, and I can’t reschedule that.”



Už tai ir pakelkime taures...HOOAH, Lits!

Labels: Coalition Forces, Good News, Iraq, Iron Wolf Brigade, Lithuanian Contingent 10, photos

From CENTCOM:


Women in training to become Daughters of Iraq take notes during a class on checkpoint operations given by Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment. The training began May 17. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Paul Monroe)BAGHDAD (May 28, 2008) – The Soldiers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment found an ally in the Sons of Iraq (Abn al-Iraq) early on in their 15-month deployment.


by 1st Lt. Augustin Valerio Nunez
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division

As part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Task Force Rogue worked with the Sons of Iraq to thwart criminal activity in the Al Mansour District of northwest Baghdad for 13 months.

Now the plan is to add women to the ranks.

On, May 17, 31 women from the Adil and Jamia neighborhoods of northwest Baghdad began training to become part of the Daughters of Iraq.

The 10-day training program was held at the Joint Security Station in Adil. There Soldiers incorporated hands-on-instruction with classroom activities to teach women basic military skills.

The women learned how to search rooms, how to handle Kalashnikov rifles and how to identify the threat of a suicide bomber.

The program was designed to give women the skills necessary to conduct operations alongside their Iraqi brethren.

After graduation the women will use these skills to shore up security at schools, checkpoints and government buildings.

The Daughters of Iraq will give Iraqi security forces the ability to combat the increasing threat of females being used as suicide bombers.

“The Iraqi culture has some strict rules on how men should treat women,” said Maj. Christopher Budihas, a plans officer with 1st Bn., 64th AR. “A lot of times they will not search women because of these cultural rules.”

The Daughters of Iraq presence at checkpoints will be an acknowledgement of these cultural rules.

They will also assist security forces with routine house searches where it is not uncommon to find a house full of men, children and women.

Capt. John Dixon commander of Co. A said the goal is to search everyone and to do it within Iraqi cultural standards.

After graduation the new recruits will work in Adil and Jamia.

Dixon also said TF Rogue hopes the success of the program will encourage more women to train and in turn double the amount of women in the program.

Labels: 1-64th Armor Regiment, Daughters of Iraq, Good News, Iraq, US Army

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


WASHINGTON, May 19, 2008 – More normalcy returns to northern Iraq every day, even as Iraqi and coalition forces continue to hunt down extremist groups, a senior military official said May 16.

Many areas in the region -- which stretches from Baghdad to Iraq’s border with Syria and Turkey -- continue to show signs of a return to normal life for the people who live there, Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who commands Multinational Division North and the Army’s 1st Armored Division, told online journalists and “bloggers” in a conference call.

In Iraq’s Diyala province, for example, very little enemy activity has been going on for more than 45 days, the general said. “I think that is a direct result of our continued pursuit operations in some of the outer boundaries in the main areas of that province,” the general explained.

Al-Qaida in Iraq is the main enemy in Diyala province, Hertling said, while in Kirkuk and Salahuddin provinces, Iraqi and coalition forces are pursuing a variety of enemies -- not only al-Qaida in Iraq, but also Ansar al-Sunnah and other extremist groups.

Hertling noted the region’s diverse population in explaining the challenges his soldiers face in their area of operations.

“In northern Iraq, we have 136 different tribes that we have counted. We have seven different religions, … and three different sects of Shiia, Kurds and Sunnis, plus we have Turkomans and the mix of Turkoman Shiia, Turkoman Sunni and Turkoman Kurd,” he said. “It is a very diverse cultural mix up here in the north, very different [from] Anbar, which is the Sunni heartland, with one tribal base down there.”

The Iraqi government has shifted its efforts in Minaya province, the general said. “We’ve continued to prepare with our Iraqi security partner counterparts, … specifically [in] the city of Mosul, and since the 10th of May there’s been an operation led by the Iraqis, supported by our forces, called Operation Lion’s Roar,” he said.

Hertling added that he and his Iraqi partner, Lt. Gen. Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, commander of Ninewah Operations Command, began preparing for this operation in February.

“They rounded up about 800 targeted individuals. There have been a lot of [weapons] cache finds; the significant activities in Mosul have been significantly reduced,” Hertling said. He described some of those captured in Mosul as “Tier 1” al-Qaida in Iraq leaders.

Hertling said he’s encouraged by the successes in Mosul and the degree to which the credit belongs to Iraq’s own troops. “The Iraqi security forces are doing independent operations, and we’re supporting them,” he said, noting that their knowledge of the area and its people are a key element in their success. Having seen the earliest days of today’s Iraqi military, Hertling said, he’s impressed by how far they’ve come.

“The capability of the Iraqi army, especially since the last time I was here, since 2003-2004 when they were first standing up, has been significantly improved,” he said. “They are gradually improving their capability and their effectiveness.”

And as Iraqi and American forces continue to track enemy fighters in the northern region, they are finding out that many people carrying out attacks in the region do so for financial gain in struggling economy, not because they hold extremist views.

“About 50 percent of the people conducting attacks are not conducting attacks because they believe in the ideology; they’re conducting the attacks because they’re being paid by these groups, and the unemployment is so off the charts over here that this is the only way some of these guys can feed their children,” Hertling explained. “One of the points we continue to make with the prime minister is that we have to continue to get jobs for people.”

(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg works for the Defense Media Activity.)


Related Sites:
Multinational Corps Iraq
Defense Department Bloggers Roundtable

Labels: Diyala Province, Good News, Iraq, Iraqi Security Forces, Kirkuk Province, Minaya Province, Mosul, Multinational Division North, Ninewah Province, Operation Lion's Roar, Salahuddin Province