News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
In their own words:
Bouhammer: Ticked off - Yesterday was a bad day. I am not sure if there was one reason or not. I mean I think there were multiple reasons why. For one, it was the last time I got to see my son before he headed back to Afghanistan. He drove me to the airport early in the morning as a way for he and I to spend a last few moments together. So I am sure that was one reason why I was so ticked off yesterday. You know what else has pissed (notice I am not a degree higher than ticked) me off? That yesterday an American soldier lost his life in Afghanistan and several were wounded and it was nothing more than page 3 news. He didn’t die facing off against an enemy. He died mentoring his ANP, by one of his ANP. Yeah, one of the guys he is charged with mentoring, training and leading turned on him and murdered him in cold blood and wounded some other American mentors. But thanks to the retards in Congress, and our stock market nose diving, you barely heard about it, or at all. (READ MORE)
Cheese's Milblog: Sorry, all - Hey, everybody. Just so everyone knows, I'm fine! Thanks for all the emails and I'm sorry that I've been away. It's been an interesting few weeks, and my whole company is counting down the days until we get out of here. It's funny...last deployment I didn't even realize that it was time to go home until we were moving out of Bayji and back to Tikrit...this time we started counting down at 80 days! The routine that we're stuck in here is enough to drive anyone crazy and as it stands right now, we spend less than three days out of every nine-day rotation living out of our rooms. That isn't as much of a bid deal now that I live in a glorified closet, but it's still nice to see "home" every now and again. (READ MORE)
Lt. Col. Paul Fanning: Uphill climb - A steady stream of difficult news continues to come out of Afghanistan - stories about the resurgent Taliban and ongoing terrorist threats, the inadequacies of the Karzai government and corruption, casualty rates including civilian deaths caused by the enemy and from both alleged and verified coalition actions. All of these realities swirl about those of us serving in Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, and after almost six months of "boots on the ground," sometimes we wonder if we are making a difference. Unlike the other task forces in the coalition that are pursuing the enemy or providing security, this team is here to train the Afghans so they can secure their own nation. Our task force is basically comprised of trainers and mentors for the Army and Police and others who are here to support and secure those trainers and mentors. (READ MORE)
IN-iraq: So what's your day job? - "The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers," wrote William Shakespeare in Henry VI. And this sentiment is well ingrained in Western culture. But how many young guys holding law degrees from good schools, the ones who could be making six figures stateside, are stationed in Samarra, Iraq, sweating in camouflage, juggling an M-4 rifle and a radio, commanding a platoon of young-faced infantrymen and trying to help reform the city's court system at the same time? Lieutenant Erich Almonte, 27, of Miami FL. was a college senior at Georgetown University when 9-11 struck. Like many young men who've deployed overseas, he felt called to serve. "I was going to enlist," he said, outright, but a buddy recommended he do ROTC in grad school, law school actually, which was his original plan. (READ MORE)
Manzar Zaidi: Pakistan's Taliban warlord: A profile of Baitullah Mehsud - Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud is considered in some intelligence circles as a threat as big as, or bigger than, even Osama bin Laden. His rise from a relatively little known entity in South Waziristan to the head of a full-fledged Taliban movement in Pakistan has not only grave repercussions for local security, but also for the Global War on Terror. The rise of this movement in Pakistan is not just a local disturbance, but the phenomenon of Taliban resurgence after their post-2001 setback in Afghanistan, and with Baitullah as a protégé of Mullah Omar taking charge, has international implications as well. At the conclusion of the Soviet-Afghan War, the militant Taliban was forced to flee from Afghanistan and found a safe haven in the Federally Administered Tribal Area, particularly in the Waziristan and Bajaur regions. (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Reports of Baitullah's death are false, sources say - Unconfirmed reports from Pakistan indicate that Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, died of complications from an illness. But US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal are highly skeptical of the report and see no evidence he is dead. Baituallah is reported to have died from complications related to "high blood pressure and kidney disease," Geo TV said this afternoon. There are no further details, but reports from earlier in the week indicated he was in a coma due to complications from diabetes. Reports of Baitullah’s death are unconfirmed, and US intelligence and Pakistani sources do not believe he has in fact died. A Pakistani source contacted an official at Geo TV, who said there is "no substantiation" to the claim. The reporter who provided the information to Geo TV "had nothing to back this claim up," the source told The Long War Journal. (READ MORE)
Omar: Iraqi Leaders Closely Watching US Elections - I mentioned this past summer that pressing priorities in Iraq made Iraqis show little if any interest in the upcoming U.S. election. That was the case when November seemed too far to worry about. We’re almost in October now and things are changing. Comments made by MP Sami al-Askari are evidence of such a trend. As an adviser to Prime Minister Maliki and member of his Da’wa Party, al-Askari’s comments are definitely indicative of what’s being discussed in that small circle and probably reflect Maliki’s own viewpoints. As recent as June, al-Askari’s position echoed Maliki’s approval of a 16-month timetable for withdrawal. But three months can indeed make a difference, “Iraqis are better off with Republicans.” al-Askari said in an email to Kathleen Parker at NRO last week. (READ MORE)
Rocinante's Burdens: Day 103. Chicken - Dinner was Chicken Cordon Bleu. Despite none of the cooks in the entire KBR system ever having visited the Cordon Bleu institute, this item makes a regular appearance on every base in Iraq at least once per week. i imagine that there is a factory somewhere in Eastern Europe that cranks out a few hundred little square lumps of pre-formed chicken, stuffed with ham and an identifiable cheese. Today I went to the range. I got a new combat optic, the ACOG. It has a mild magnification, making farther targets easier to see and it needs no batteries to create the red dot aim point. I had already boresighted it with a laser device so I was pretty close already. (READ MORE)
Big Tobacco: The Man Behind the Curtin - I’ve gotten a few emails and comments on the new picture. Yes, that picture is the same picture in Fobbits Need Ice Cream Too. By the way, if you are not reading Joe’s blog, you should. Joe is a real infantryman that actually leaves the wire. I just watch the radios and try to fuck a female lieutenant. Or maybe I’m not trying. It all depends on if you are reading this and happened to be in my chain of command. Anyway, I took the picture as a joke for Joe to use on his site. Yes, the man in the picture is me. If you look closely at my hands, you will see a CAO Brazilia cigar. Taking the picture was extremely difficult. Cameras are not allowed in the chow hall to make it harder to case the place for a suicide bomb. So I had to set the camera up and cover the flash. Then I had to place it on a 10 second timer. (READ MORE)
Back and still writing:
LT Nixon: Taliban Thugs Kill Senior Policewoman in Afghanistan - Bad news! The iconic police woman of Kandahar, long threatened by the murderous thugs of the Taliban, has been shot dead while driving from her house. The brutal discrimination against women in Afghanistan by extremists is well-documented, and The Guardian digs further into the past and states that women in Afghanistan have a long history of bravery despite persecution: “In recent decades, the first girl to make a name for herself by living up to the heroines of the past was a 16-year-old schoolgirl by the name of Nahid. In February 1980, Nahid led a demonstration of schoolgirls and female university students on the streets of Kabul. It was one of the very first public protests testing the loyalty of the communist regime's army and police force. Would the government shoot at unarmed schoolgirls and students? The answer, it turned out, was a firm yes. Soviet helicopters were soon heard hovering over the protesters, and shooting soon followed. Nahid fell immediately, and so did many of her companions.” (READ MORE)
Pat Dollard: From an email I wrote in Ramadi - As my spirit and sense of humanity were being beaten down with the steady drip of terror, horror and slaughter (which at times might lull a bit or ratchet up even worse, like an extreme blip on an ekg.) ‘I didn’t realize it so much until one evening, returning to base after patrol, and a deep sense of exhausted sadness found me, and I remember getting a profound understanding of what was really all around everyone in this country, and how far yet anyone involved yet had to go until it was over, and a grainy collage of the worst of what I’d seen breezed through my subconscious, and without initially realizing it the first two of the four times I said it, I found myself staring out of the window and mouthing “The horror, the horror”, and as I caught myself, I couldn’t even laugh at it, but what I was shocked, just shocked to find my life in such a place and condition that I could be muttering that famous line without even the slightest iota of irony. (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
Navy chaplain stays on the move in far-flung Anbar - Father Paul J. Shaughnessy has a unique congregation: spread out over 32,000 square miles in Iraq's Anbar province, about the size of South Carolina. Shaughnessy serves troops of all religions in numerous outposts in the far-flung province as the Catholic chaplain for the Marines' Regimental Combat Team 5. At the mega-base at Al Asad, a Mass may attract a hundred or more Marines, sailors, soldiers and others; at a tiny outpost on the Syrian border, he recently performed Mass for a single Marine. (READ MORE)
Al-Qaeda in Iraq leadership, attack facilitators continue to lose ground - BAGHDAD – Two wanted men and four suspected terrorists were detained Tuesday and Wednesday as Coalition forces continued to eradicate al-Qaeda in Iraq leadership elements and attack coordinators. Coalition forces operating in the Jazeera Desert west of Qayyarah Tuesday, about 58 km south of Mosul, captured a wanted man believed to have connections to regional AQI leaders. Two additional suspects were detained during the operation. (READ MORE)
IA establishing good ties with Iraqi citizens - MOSUL, Iraq – Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division took the time to distribute gifts and clothing during a humanitarian assistance visit to the villagers of Yarminjah, located in the southeastern section of Mosul, Iraq, Sept. 29. During their visit, they distributed clothing, school supplies and personal hygiene items to families in need. (READ MORE)
MND-B Soldiers detain suspected criminals in Rashid - BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers detained four suspected criminals Sept. 29 - 30 in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. At approximately 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29, Soldiers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, attached to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B, detained an individual after he made threats to several Iraqi citizens in the Zubaida community. The patrol returned to a combat outpost with the detainee for further questioning. (READ MORE)
Iraqi Air Force Training Schools Graduate 291 New Airmen - TAJI — The Iraqi Air Force training school held a combined Warrant Officer graduation ceremony on Sept. 29, 2008. 291 Airmen completed courses in Basic Military Training and Basic Technical Training at the Air Force Training School, and Communications Training from the Iraqi Army signal school. Iraqi Air Force Commander Gen. Kamal and U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. (S) Bash, Coalition Air Force Transition Team commanding general, were in attendance. (READ MORE)
Haditha Dam Pier Saves Time, Money, Water - HADITHA DAM — It may not look like much, but a recent construction project has saved the occupants of Haditha Dam from drought and back-breaking labor. In June, the Marines of Haditha Dam’s Forward Logistics Element created a small pier to combat the constant rise and fall of the water levels in the dam’s reservoir. (READ MORE)
IA Delivers School Supplies, Hygiene Items to Children - YARMINJAH — Kids, kids, please! No pushing, shoving or fighting. Stand one behind the other, exclaimed an interpreter with 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division. Ordinarily, this is a phrase young children would hear while in school. However, the children of Yarminjah, a village located in the southeastern region of Mosul, Iraq had a reason to gather with anticipation and excitement. (READ MORE)
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