News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
In their own words:
The Gunline: In The Groove… - Annual training continues, and things are beginning to settle into place. In the big white tent that holds over 500 souls, there is a very subtle, very low key sense of finality. Joes talk on cell phones to loved ones, others chat over the computer, other write letters, and then there are those who will not have one significant other to hold their heart while they are gone. Most of these lone wolves don’t seem to mind; their family is here, with their bands of brothers… The others, well, who knows what a foreign land may hold for them… The day continues, with a comfortable wind in the morning, until the sun begins to beat down upon the land, filling the air with scorching temperatures, especially inside the command tents erected close to one another. Liquids are consumed feverishly, and the lucky TOCs will enjoy a special treat (we scored a watermelon)… (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: Government Center a symbol of progress in Ramadi - RAMADI, Iraq (July 9, 2008) - The Provincial Government Center for al Anbar, located in the heart of downtown Ramadi, was a vicious and violent battleground for much of the last five years. But as the city emerges from the violence that has plagued it for so long, thanks in part to Iraqi and Coalition forces’ security efforts, the center now stands as a as a symbol of peace and stability. Governmental leaders operate there daily, overseeing a variety of departments critical in continuing the region’s growth. First Sergeant Patrick J. Dostal, the Headquarters and Service Company first sergeant with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, is on his second tour in the city and is overwhelmed by the center’s development since his first tour in 2006. (READ MORE)
Paul Fanning: Down range soldiers - Those of us who are assigned to Camp Phoenix often refer to our task force brethren who serve at forward operating bases as being "down range." Most of our bases in the Kabul area are large and built up and much more secure. Bases like Camp Phoenix serve as the task force headquarters and logistical and administrative support base. So going "down range" is a euphemism for getting closer to where the enemy operates from and for where the "real work" is being done. The training and mentoring mission of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix for the Afghan National Army and Police is rightly described as the task force's “main effort.” Our soldiers, and on occasion other service branch members, assigned to Embedded Training Teams for the Afghan Army and Police Mentoring Teams face enormous challenges under dangerous and austere conditions. They are operating from medium and small bases all over the country and often in remote areas of Afghanistan. (READ MORE)
Omar: Obama's Fact-Fudging Mission in Iraq - Obama arrived in Iraq on Monday for what is described as a fact-finding mission. However, it’s hard to believe Obama is actually searching for facts in Iraq, nor will the facts he finds change his position. The position he chose for himself, as well as all the comments he has made so far about Iraq, reflect a disregard for facts, and there is no reason to expect a change now. This visit, for Obama, is just a necessary evil — part of an electoral campaign and not a sincere fact-finding mission. The fact that Obama made Afghanistan his first stop (after arriving in Kuwait, just next door to Iraq) suggests that it’s his electoral campaign that sets his priorities when it comes to the war on terrorism, not the actual map and course of the war. Obama is lucky in that his host, Prime Ministe Maliki, is also going through an election season. (READ MORE)
Major John: My Continuing HP Lovecraft Tour of Iraq - I felt safe here, even after my earlier encounter. I was in Baghdad, large and cosmopolitan. A city looking to the future, despite a long past... how was I to know what waited for me? After settling in at my new quarters, I emerged the next day to see the tower reaching for the Elder skies... It is part of the Believer's Palace. But this belief was in who...or what? Heh. More pseudo-Lovecraftian writing for you all. I live near the old "Believer's Palace" and this tower is quite the notable feature. I have not had much of a chance to see anything else in Baghdad but the small compund I live on and the camp where I work. The hours here have gotten even worse than when I last checked in. (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
Inside Sadr City: The Wall - BAGHDAD — Sadr City, long one of the most dangerous parts of the Iraqi capital, is calmer now than it has been in years. To be sure, American soldiers and Iraqi judges are still being killed here, but not at the rate of deadly attacks in 2006 and 2007. The neighborhood is also one of the most important places to visit for people seeking to understand the mood of Shiite Muslims, long oppressed but the majority in Iraq. Beginning this month, the Baghdad Bureau blog will show you video and photographs from some of the most important sites in Sadr City and interview the soldiers, officials and civilians that will play a role determining which direction it moves in next. (READ MORE)
Huge weapons cache destroyed near Samarra - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces discovered a massive cache of weapons during an operation targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq elements near Samarra that concluded July 19. During the 48-hour operation, Coalition forces discovered three weapons caches and two buildings believed to be used in terrorist operations. One building was assessed to be a classroom where terrorists learned to build car bombs. The building had diagrams cut into the walls showing how to install bombs in vehicles, and a “test range” outside, littered with car parts. (READ MORE)
Iraqi and Coalition forces capture alleged kidnapping cell leader (Diyala and at-Tamim provinces) - BAGHDAD – Iraqi and Coalition forces captured an alleged kidnapping cell leader and detained six additional suspected terrorists while targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq operations in Diyala and at-Tamim provinces. Associates of an alleged leader of an AQI kidnapping cell led Iraqi and Coalition forces to Kirkuk, where they captured the wanted man and one additional suspect. The wanted man is believed to operate a kidnapping cell reportedly tied to terrorist activity spanning to Bayji and Tikrit in Salah ad-Din province. (READ MORE)
Hundreds of IDPs return to al Khwalis - TIKRIT, Iraq – More than 108 internally displaced families returned to their homes in the town of al Khwalis, Iraq, July 20. The event was celebrated by a welcome ceremony and is a significant mark in the reconciliation process. The families left the area when tensions mounted after the Iraqi Army cleared the area of al-Qaeda last year. “Today was a ceremony that represents the reconciling of differences between Sunni and Shi’a families,” said Capt. Roger Miranda, executive officer, 1st Battalion, 19th Brigade, 5th Division, Military Transition Team. “These people have been living in the town of Hib Hib since they were displaced.” (READ MORE)
An Najaf officials welcome new primary healthcare center - AN NAJAF, Iraq — Provincial and local officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony July 19 to open a new primary healthcare center in Sooq-sha’lan. Those attending included An Najaf Deputy Governor Hassan Abtan, Dr. Radhwan (the Director General for An Najaf’s Health Directorate), Dr. Enaas (the PHC’s Administrator) and Mayor Farooq. An Najaf is a province located south of Baghdad. (READ MORE)
Iraqi Security Forces disrupt terrorist activities in northern Iraq - BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces captured three suspected Islamic State of Iraq and al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists and detained eighteen others in separate operations in northern Iraq July 18-20. On July 20 in Mosul, the 2nd Iraqi Army Division captured a suspected ISI emir for the Jazeera region, specifically the Julayi area. Reports indicate that he was previously the ISI emir in Rabiyah before taking charge of cells in Jazeera. He is said to be part of an improvised explosive device network that conducts IED and vehicle-borne IED attacks in the west side of Mosul. (READ MORE)
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