News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.
In their own words:
Northern Disclosure: Sand Days - Growing up in the mountains of northern British Columbia, we were treated to huge snow falls all the time. I remember one year when the snow fell at such speed that it buried our house during the night forcing us to literaly tunnel out. When these days would come so would a day off from school. However there were days off even if t was not that bad. There was criteria that had to be met, but cancellation of classes was ussually dependant on whether or not the buses could run. I lived in a small town so most kids found thier own way to school anyway but there where those that lived out in the rural communities that would have to get bused in. When school was cancelled for buses it was a holiday indeed for us. (READ MORE)
LTC Rich Phillips: Crazy Mud and Good Advice - One thing we get around here in abundance is some crazy mud. With the snow melting we have mud everywhere, and it’s not just regular, every day mud. The mud here in Qalat takes several forms; when it’s wet it’s like thick chocolate pudding, when it starts to dry it’s like chocolate pizza dough and when it finally dries completely it’s like concrete. In it’s chocolate pudding phase it makes for great driving, if you like your vehicle coated in mud! (READ MORE)
Iraq: The Purgatorium: Finally, They Throw This Dog A Bone - We fly down the roads of Nowhere, Iraq, on a no one, nothing mission. We have a mission? Hahaha, fuck right off, pal. It's all just tomfoolery and assclownery here. I'm in one of the air guard hatches of the trail vehicle, gloriously uninformed and perfectly happy about it. Hell, maybe they DID say something about what was going on over coms and I just shrugged it off without realizing it. It's all the same anyway, right? A ridiculous traffic jam gums up the works, and we're having none of it. (READ MORE)
Yellowhammering Afghanistan: Recent graduates - More than 30 Afghan National Police are now at work in Ghazni, armed with new skills along with their AK-47s. The recent class of ANP graduated from a sustainment course in Ghazni. They were the first to go through the improved site we are working to create along with the 82nd Airborne's Task Force 2Fury, DynCorp and members of the Kentucky National Guard. We have plans for even greater improvements to the site, making it capable of doing more advanced training for more police right here in Ghazni rather than sending them to Kabul, Gardez or some other city. Any time we can add better-trained ANP to the ranks here in Ghazni, it adds to our current and future successes. (READ MORE)
IraqPundit: Upgrading Moktada Al Sadr - Moktada Al Sadr has reportedly decided to extend his cease-fire, in place since last August. Al Sadr associates told reporters that he “had issued a declaration to preachers to be read during midday prayers on Friday at mosques affiliated with the cleric, whose militia was blamed for fuelling sectarian violence with minority Sunni Muslims in 2006 and 2007.” That’s what Iraqis have been expecting Al Sadr to do. According to the Iraqi gossip mill, Mookie will extend the freeze as part of his repositioning. Ultimately, he is being re-packaged by handlers who are hoping to make him the leader of Iraq. (READ MORE)
Michael Yon: At Long Last, Justice - 21 February 2008 - The fighting in Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province, is likely to look much different than combat that has taken place elsewhere in Iraq. In Anbar Province, Baghdad and Baqubah, various amalgams of tribes, former insurgents and concerned citizens joined up with American and Iraqi forces and devastated al Qaeda. The forces arrayed against al Qaeda in those areas included heavy commitments from Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), without whom those missions would not have succeeded. But the bulk of the combat power and counterinsurgency adroitness came from the Americans, operating with the benefit of information flowing from civilian Iraqis. (READ MORE)
False Motivation: "I Wanna Be... - a lawyer when I grow up." or at least that's what my interpreter told me the little girl said. It stopped me cold, how odd...this was the first child I've met in my 11 months here that actually wanted a future of some sort, and it wasn't a little boy...it was a little girl. She didn't beg for candy, or soccer balls like the rest of the kids, she greeted us cheerfully, talked with our interpreter as we searched the house, and then went back to studying. (READ MORE)
Kyle Hausmann-Stokes: Camp Cedar II, Iraq 1 DEC 07 - It was a night like any other night: escort a barrage of cargo trucks into southern Iraq, pickup another like it, then return back to the safety of Kuwait. For the men of 3rd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st of the 160th Infantry Battalion and I, it was nothing more than yet another monotonous and less sexy mission than the ones that took us to Baghdad, Takrit, Balad, and surrounding areas. As the CC (convoy-commander), I found myself appreciating the fact that it had been a rather uneventful night thus far and that once my last gun truck had made the turn off of the main supply route, it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way to the border. On this particular mission, I had volunteered my gun truck to run as the scout or “rabbit” vehicle; and for a little added flavor, I decided to let my gunner take the truck commander’s position while I sat in for him up in the turret. (READ MORE)
Doc in the Box: Laughing Dogs - One of our in jokes is that we’re going to be eaten by laughing dogs (hyenas) on the way home and I’m not even sure there’s even hyenas in Iraq but there is some sort of canine in the waddie that gathers in packs and makes howls though out the night. Some of the howls sound remarkably like laughter so we imagine that there are hyenas out there. No I haven’t actually searched the internet yet on what it could be, I prefer the mystery and thrill of hyenas in the darkness. I’m watching Stephen King’s Mist right now, its funny the opening scene is the main character is painting a poster from the Gunslinger series. Everything ties in. (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: Vigilant Guardians, RCT-1’s Security Platoon stands watch - CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 21, 2008) — If Regimental Combat Team 1 gave frequent driver miles for the distances covered by its units, headquarters company’s security platoon would have enough points to rack up quite a few free vacations. Security platoon’s mission is to provide a security element for the RCT’s Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team, as well as provide security for the regimental executive officer, and any other such missions that may require the services of security professionals. (READ MORE)
Desert Dude: 21 February - Today was just another day on the FOB …same ol stuff here, except the weather was pretty crappy so I didn’t get to go out and get my tan on… it was cloudy and cold and windy all day …but, I got some good news—we might be leaving here a little earlier than we thought…of course, that isn’t written in stone either so I’m not holding my breath…also,(not so good news) some of our guys went up north yesterday—they are staying up there for a few days… (READ MORE)
Paul McLeary: The Rejected - “They’re gonna see us going out, and know that we have to come back this way,” Cpt. Helberg cautioned his men as we walked out of Courage just before nightfall. The message was simple: the enemy studies habits, trends and patterns just as any other military outfit does; so as the platoon left the base, he wanted to make sure that they would not be complacent on the way back in. It was a hell of a way to walk to a neighbor’s house for dinner, but that’s just what we were doing. Sheik Munder, a prominent Shia in the area had invited the captain over for dinner, and despite the fact that his house was less than a mile from the base, we would be walking across open road, with flat, open land on either side, so every precaution would be taken. (READ MORE)
Back but still writing:
A Surgeon's Letters Home From Iraq: 21 FEB 2008 Balad continues to help children - I found this sad story about Iraqi children who came under mortar fire while they were playing soccer. Though nothing could be done for the boy who was killed, but the ones who survived received state of the art treatment at the Air Force Theater Hospital. It is a foul act of the insurgency that in an incompetent attack against the base they only achieved the death and injury of children. It is fortunate for the children that the skill of vascular surgeon T. and the rest of the crew was there for them. I look forward to a day of peace. (READ MORE)
Battlefield Tourist: The End of a Warlord - Afghanistan 2004 - In August 2004, I participated in the first independent embedment with the fledgling Afghan National Army. The adventure began in Kabul and ended in Herat when forces aligned with warlord, Ammanulah Khan, attacked the famous mujahadeen leader, Ismail Khan, from three directions. I just happened to be there the day it happened. This story also covers the Afghan Government’s reaction to the attack, which saw more than 1,500 Afghan soldiers and police respond to the crisis, the largest such endeavor ever taken on by the Afghan government. (READ MORE)
Going Off to War:
The New Normal: Goodbyes - The school bus for my youngest son waits in front of our house. Holding his six year old hand in mine, I walk out into the early morning half light very much aware this will be the last time I will perform this ritual for a year. Half way down the front steps I scoop him up into my arms, which causes him to reward me with a smile and a laugh I’ll not forget. The total joy in his face tells me that in his world all is right. Mildly autistic, he still is not aware that I’ll not be putting him on the bus again for some time to come. Or that I won’t even be home for dinner that night, or the next, or the next. (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Al-Qaeda in Iraq target women, children in Arab Jabour - BAQUBAH, Iraq – Eight Iraqi civilians and one Iraqi Army Soldier were wounded Feb. 21 in Arab Jabour during an attack by al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives. All nine of the wounded, including four women and three children, were evacuated to a nearby joint combat outpost and then by helicopter to Logistical Supply Area Anaconda near Balad for treatment. (READ MORE)
Statement from Multi-National Force - Iraq commending cease-fire extension - BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Multi-National Force has received initial reporting that al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr's has pledged to extend the cease fire. This extension of his August 2007 pledge of honor to halt attacks is an important commitment that can broadly contribute to further improvements in security for all Iraqi citizens. It will also foster a better opportunity for national reconciliation and allow the coalition and Iraqi Security Forces to focus more intensively on Al-Qaeda terrorists. (READ MORE)
Stryker Soldiers capture IED cell member - BAGHDAD – Soldiers with Multi-National Division – Baghdad captured a suspected key member of an improvised explosive device ring Feb. 19. Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 14th infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, detained the suspect near the Nassir Factory, northwest of Baghdad. (READ MORE)
Paratroopers capture Special Groups criminal leader - BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers detained a Special Groups commander during an operation in Baghdad’s Sha’ab neighborhood Feb. 20. The detainee is suspected of involvement in multiple murders and other criminal activities. Paratroopers with 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, detained the suspect at approximately 7 p.m. after a tip on his whereabouts. (READ MORE)
VBIED kills 1, wounds 8 in Tal Afar - MOSUL, Iraq – An Iraqi was killed and eight were injured, including an Iraqi police officer, when a car bomb exploded after an engagement by local police in Tal Afar Feb. 20. IP’s and coalition forces received a report from local officials of a potential car bomb targeting the Tal Afar Hospital. The IPs destroyed the vehicle, detonating the explosives. (READ MORE)
Sahwa-al-Iraq Turns Its Attention to Politics - AR RAMADI — In a beautiful compound here in the capital of Al-Anbar province, sheikhs from several Anbari tribes, generals from the Iraqi army and police and the senior adviser of the 1st Iraqi Army Division Military Transition Team gathered for a meeting with the head of Sahwah Al-Iraq, or "awakening council." The meeting was to discuss developments in Al-Anbar’s security as control of urban areas increasingly becomes the responsibility of the Iraqi police, and the Iraqi army assumes a greater role in operations in the surrounding regions.(READ MORE)
Al Qaeda in Iraq Leaders Killed or Captured, But Threat Continues - WASHINGTON — Coalition forces in recent days have killed or captured three terrorist leaders responsible for planning or conducting attacks in Iraq or supplying other terrorists with supplies or training to attack, a Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman reported Feb. 20. As they continue investigating these criminals, coalition and Iraqi forces also are looking into al Qaeda in Iraq’s use of women as suicide bombers and working to mitigate that threat, Navy Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith told Baghdad reporters. (READ MORE)
MoE Reconstructs High-Tension Power Line Towers in Sayafiyah - FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — With assistance from Coalition troops and Iraqi Security Forces, Ministry of Electricity workers are rapidly reconstructing three high-tension power line towers in Sayafiyah, 25 kilometers south of Baghdad. Soldiers of Troop A, 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division and members of an Iraqi Police security detail are providing security for 130 workers from the MoE rebuilding the structures, which form part of Baghdad’s ‘power belt’. (READ MORE)
Nowhere to Hide: AS Missions Keep Marine Presence Known - AL ASAD — In 2007, the Marine Corps began launching a unique mission, merging the air and ground combat elements. These Aero Scout missions deploy troops to immediately search and assess any sighted suspicious activities across the Multi National Force - West area of operations. “We’re keeping our eyes on vast areas and maintaining an awareness of what’s out there,” said Capt. William Boulware, a pilot with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361. “We’re multiplying the capabilities of the ground combat element by stretching their legs to places they normally don’t patrol.” (READ MORE)
Stryker Soldier Serves Proudly in Iraq - By Staff Sgt. J.B. Jaso III, 2/25 SBCT - CAMP TAJI, Iraq – A long way from his family, friends and hunting, Pvt. Benjamin Raulerson, a native of Jacksonville, Ala., is here helping his unit, Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, rid the northwest Baghdad area of terrorism and criminal activity. In his first month in Iraq, the 22-year-old infantryman has participated in more than 50 patrols, where he has assisted in identifying and seizing enemy cache sites and helped secure the area in order to provide the government of Iraq the opportunity to provide essential services to the people. (READ MORE)
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