News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
In their own words:
A Battlefield Tourist: Poland Set to Take Control of Ghazni - After more than a year of planning and nearly six months of moving, Polish troops are preparing to take security control of Ghazni Province in Afghanistan’s volatile eastern part of the country. Originally hoping to take control of Paktika Province, the Poles recently completed a move into four US-built bases across Ghazni and expect to be fully in charge by early November. Poland is trading locations with US troops who have been in Ghazni full time since early 2004. The Americans are moving their Ghazni components into neighboring Paktika Province, complimenting American forces already in place along the Pakistani border area with Waziristan. (READ MORE)
Brad's Excellent Adventure: The Army Giveth... - Friday 17 October 2008 1815 - "PDMRA" - Yet another too-many-letter acronym for some esoteric Army concept or program. This one stands for “Post-Deployment Mobilization Respite Absence”. It’s an administrative program that the Army put in place to give soldiers with multiple deployments some extra time off after their deployments to take care of personal business and unwind. This time off is free administrative leave in addition to the regular leave earned as a part of normal service, and is intended to be taken at the end of a mobilization. It’s a pretty well-thought-out program, although a little hard to understand at first. Basically there is a rolling five-year window, and the more months a soldier has been mobilized within that timeframe, the more administrative leave he earns for additional deployments. The first year the amount earned per month is zero, the second year is one day per month deployed, etc. (READ MORE)
Collabman's Thoughts: Signing Off... - Evening...Well, the time has come to wrap this up and say so long. What better way to en this blog than to focus on you all - the folks who made this blog possible and a source of encouragement. Lets take a look back at what the Google stats say about you all...stats that made me smile only because this journey began as a way to support Chris and for my family to keep track of him. These stats will probably make you laugh as well. They were interesting and fascinating to say the least. I have always looked forward to our frequent, if not daily conversations...thank you for your wonderful support, kind words and constant prayers. You will never know how much you did for us. Ms. Collabman and I will be forever grateful... After you chuckle at the stats, take one last look at the video we watched back on August 20, 2007. Those closing images of the warriors embracing their loved ones are on the horizon...they are close to becoming a reality... (READ MORE)
Lt. Col. Paul Fanning: U.S. support brings growth to Kabul school - Afghan children are benefiting and thriving thanks to sustained efforts by a U.S. task force and a program that is helping to expand and improve their schools. A new addition to a Kabul school was opened over the weekend in a ceremony that included Afghan officials, school faculty, U.S. military officials and local contractors who completed the work. "This is the greatest day of my life. I feel as though I am the mother of all these children,” said Principal Rabia Abdullah. “We used to teach them in tents and now we have a school." The Tajwar Sultana Girls School is located within the city of Kabul, Police District 4, in a village known as Kololah Pushta. More than 4,000 students, mostly girls, attend classes there in three shifts each day. The curriculum includes primary school in the morning, high school in the midday and middle school in the afternoon. (READ MORE)
Fobbits need ice cream too: Fuck fuck games - For those not in the military, fuck fuck games is the term used to describe either horseplay or unsupervised chaos in which no one in the chain of command actually assumes command. Like "knock the fuck fuck games off" or "here come the fuck fuck games." The second definition of the term is what has been going on for the past three days here: We have a hit time for early evening, and after prepping our trucks and checking the white trucks (because KBR will try to roll trucks with blown out tires and cracked fuel tanks), we are told that medevac is red and no missions are going out. We are the first push of the night, and we sit at the lot for 3 hours, watching the rest of the Cav troopers in the squadron roll in, then back our to their tents. We request to go back to our tents to wait for the weather to clear up, and are denied or ignored. We are sent back to our tents about 20 minutes before our new hit time, so we go grab to-go plates from the chow hall instead. (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: Corpsman saves life of drowning Iraqi boy - KARMAH, Iraq (September 28, 2008) – 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 it be 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. (READ MORE)
chimchim @ Free Range International: Convicts - The woman’s section of the Nanagarhar Provincial prison in Jalalabad City is a tight knit family of eleven prisoners and their children. In all, there are twenty eight souls residing in this mud-walled complex. They have been tried for “crimes” such as murder, smuggling, conspiracy, and adultery. They were found guilty, and under the tenets of Sharia law practiced by Islamic fundamentalists throughout the world these women must pay for their crimes. The women range from the ages of sixteen to somewhere in the mid-forties. They are not wearing the traditional light blue Burkha; rather they dress in their colorful Shalwar Kameez (traditional Afghan pants and shirts). They wear brightly colored shawls draped over their heads to cover their hair which is a sign of modesty in these parts. Maybe it is because of the presence of so many international aid workers that they are so willing to speak to foreigner and even have their pictures taken. (READ MORE)
Free Range International: Traveling in the East of Afghanistan; Jalalabad, The Khyber Pass, Peshawar, with a Small Rant on Reconstruction - There are two main routes heading through the mountains to the east out of Kabul. The Latabad Pass, which is a poorly maintained dirt track road, and the Mahipar Pass which is a newly paved road and in excellent condition. Both passes funnel traffic into the village of Surobi and from there all traffic heading east must take the main Jalalabad to Kabul road, which is also called Route One. The trip between Jalalabad and Kabul takes about two hours on the paved road and four on the Latabad Pass route. Traveling in the east was very safe until this past summer when fuel tankers started getting ambushed in the Tangi valley, which is just to the east of Surobi. Some of these attacks were made by criminal gangs to cover up fuel theft and some looked to be the work of Taliban affiliated fighters. The first post on this blog covered our efforts to determine what was happening on this vital route. (READ MORE)
IN-iraq: Holding the peace - Al Zour- The Wild West, maybe the sleepy side. That’s what the soldiers of Bravo Battery of the 2/320th Field Artillery Regiment said of this farming town. When they first arrived here, they witnessed a gunfight between two families shooting from their own houses. “They usual fight over water, or woman,” another soldier added. Now the town is pretty much, “on lock down,” said Lt. Bryan Demotts, who credits the security to Sheik Allawi a well-respected figure in these parts, who has nine sons and claims to have been one of Saddam’s bodyguards. An early morning haze still enveloped the town when the Bravo convoy cruised to a stop beside the Sons of Iraq checkpoint at an intersection of two dirt roads. One man was standing in the road. The other three were still nestled under blankets on the rooftop. One of the bigger Bravo sergeants climbed a ladder to shake them awake. The Iraqis stood up sheepishly and tried to smile. (READ MORE)
The Left Captain: A little respite - Ahh... back at Bagram Air Field (BAF) for a few days. I left my home FOB at 1am and arrived at Bagram at 4am after a freezing cold Chinook flight through the dark. I walked a few miles from the rotary terminal to my temporary lodging, and then drank myself silly with coffee. I had three cups of Air Force coffee (marginally better than Army coffee) and then went to the Green Bean (an actual coffee shop) and had a $4 mocha latte. Pretty good. Actually, just being in a coffee shop (imagine a faux Starbucks) was nice. I watched one quarter of Monday Night Football (nice treat, but bad loss for the Broncos) and spent an hour or so talking with the other members of my unit who are posted here at the Bagram hospital. Wow! Being around Air Force people is great! I haven't heard the word "fuck" for about 15 hours now! (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Iraqi forces detain seven Iranian agents in Iraq - Iraqi police and border guards have arrested seven members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps since Oct 18. The arrests come as the senior US commander in Iraq accused Iran of attempting to bribe Iraqi members of parliament to vote against the status of forces agreement that will allow US forces to remain in Iraq past 2008. Iraqi police captured three armed Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officers today in the city of Al Kut in Wasit province, a police official told Voices of Iraq. "Three Iraqi Revolutionary Guards along with their guide were detained on the border region between Iraq and Iran in eastern Wasit after entering Iraq illegally," said Police Major Aziz Latief al Imara. "The forces seized amounts of ammunitions found in their possession." (READ MORE)
Navy Gal: On the edge - I'm on the edge of losing my mind. I can't stand this deployment anymore and I totally can't stand the people that I'm deployed with anymore. Well, I really couldn't stand them from the beginning, but now they are completely intolerable. I'm tired of looking at them and hearing their voices. Get me the fuck outta Balad!! I'm going nuts up here. I'm in prison and I don't even get a Get Out of Jail Free card. WTF!! 8 months is way to long to have to check people's dirty underwear. I know, I know what am I complaining about, right? Hell the Army (and I totally have the utmost respect for) have to do 12-15 months in this shit-hole and I'm bitching about my 8 months. Oh, then we have the Air Force (or chair farce HA!) that only do oooohhh 2-4 months over here and bring every damn piece of uniform issue they can cram into their 15 bags. Please! I really don't care if I'm pissing off any AF people that are reading this blog... (READ MORE)
Rocinante's Burdens: Day 120. - Well. We are finished with the first third of our tour here. Four months into it and still not a sight nor sound of combat. Still think we are in a quagmire? In case you were wondering, this is what winning looks like. It is what we have always wanted here. A peaceful Iraq that is no threat to its neighbors. The kids in this video are going through all the standard motions that are familiar to every US soldier who has ever driven the streets here. [video failed to load]--sorry, bandwidth here is limited. There is the international symbol for "give me a soccer ball", hands in front, facing each other while doing a kicking motion. The Americans who were here before these kids were old enough to walk must have given away soccer balls like candy. We never have, but these kids make the motions every day we pass them. And the international symbol for, "I am dieing of thirst because my parents make me work in the hot sun all day and don't give me any water. (READ MORE)
Sgt Trevor Skeggs: 'Death by powerpoint' and training in Afghanistan - Saturday 27th After a long 24 hours of travelling I have arrived in Afghanistan and now started my continuation training and a series of briefings. It is designed to bring us up to speed with all the current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as well as the threat levels in Helmand province, south Afghanistan. In my opinion this introduction was a prolonged 7 hours of what we call “death by power point” but it kept my interest due to the importance of what was being discussed. Sunday 28th The arrival package consisted firstly of re-zero our personal weapons. We conducted this today on a very warm firing range with temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius! When you are continuously working in that kind of heat you begin to realize how harsh the conditions are out here. Thankfully the temperatures for us will be considerably cooler as we pass into the winter months but these themselves will bring their own problems. (READ MORE)
Back and still writing:
Bouhammer: Realists or Pessimists? - Are they realists or pessimists? It really all depends on who you ask and when. If you talk to senior leadership in country at varying levels, they may say this is true or no it is not and we are making great strides. This is also the case if you ask soldiers on the ground, and depending on where they are and when you ask them. I talk to sr. leaders, mid level leaders and soldiers (by soldiers I am referring to all services and not just Army) frequently and their opinions are based on what they see at the moment. When you have Afghan police or army doing dumb things that a 3rd grader wouldn’t do, they you feel there is no way these people are going to save themselves. But, when you get into a fight and few of them demonstrate extreme bravery then you become optimistic that maybe they can pull this country up by its bootstraps. (READ MORE)
Army of Dude: And now, an important message - I received a bit of feedback from my post about the feelings of coming home from a deployment, but a couple of emails asked for advice on the flip side of that coin - how to deal with a returning soldier. I've never set foot in an FRG meeting so I'm not familiar with the concerns and worries of wives and girlfriends of a deployed soldier. In any case, I hope this benefits the kind women who inquired and those out there that have unanswered questions gnawing away at them. Following are questions sent by women who have a romantic link to a deployed soldier, answered here not just for their benefit but for everyone in the same predicament. How often do soldiers want to receive letters? (especially if you have rare access to internet/phone.) The answer is simple: all the time, especially if contact by phone and internet is limited. (READ MORE)
Lt. Nixon: Germany Flying the White Flag in Afghanistan - After a particularly nasty suicide attack in the normally quiet province of Kunduz in Afghanistan, a German editorialist advocates throwing in the towel with the piece "An Unwinnable War in Afghanistan" [Deutshe Welle in English]: “The growing threat is having the effect that soldiers are sticking close to their base camps and avoiding any contact to the civilian population, which then only shows increasing animosity towards the soldiers. Clearly, such a ‘spiral of alienation’ is no help to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The majority of Afghans in the relatively peaceful north are still amiable to the Germans, say the generals. But if even this support starts to dwindle, there will be consequences for the entire NATO mission. It may even be that the fight for a stable, peaceful Afghanistan can no longer be won.” While Germany is the workhorse EU's economy, their weak-kneed political will to finish the fight in Afghanistan leaves much to be desired. The fact that one suicide attack could inspire an editorial like this from a NATO ally shows that terrorism as a tactic has a strong political effect (a disturbing truth). (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
Insurgency in Anbar may be down but not yet out - While attacks against U.S. forces in Anbar province have greatly decreased, the insurgency is still present, possibly attempting to outlast the Americans. On Monday, the Stars & Stripes newspaper carried an account by one of its reporters embedded with Marines in the Euphrates River Valley town of South Hit about a sniper attack on Marines outside a mosque. The mosque has been the site of anti-U.S. speeches, the newspaper reported. (READ MORE)
Primary school opens in Baghdad - BAGHDAD – The Al Furtain Primary School opened in Baghdad’s Mansour district Oct. 12. The ceremony marked the completion of renovations brought about through the combined efforts of members of the Khadra Neighborhood Advisory Council and the Mansour District Advisory Council, Iraqi Security and Coalition forces. These groups worked together to add new windows, new doors, fresh paint and refurbished bathrooms to improve the school which provides education to approximately 400 Iraqi boys and girls. (READ MORE)
High-ranking Iraqi security officials train in Norway - 16 senior leaders from the Iraqi Ministry of Defence and Iraqi Ministry of Interior started the Key Leader Training course at the Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger, Norway on 19 October. The specialized course is supported and designed by the NATO Training Mission – Iraq to present senior military, police, and government officials with current security concepts and operational leadership principles. (READ MORE)
Alleged AQI courier network associate, four more suspects detained Tuesday - BAGHDAD – One wanted man and four other suspected terrorists were detained Tuesday as Coalition forces continued to degrade al-Qaeda in Iraq’s operating capabilities in central and northern Iraq. A wanted man was captured by Coalition forces operating in the Jazeera Desert, about 52 km southwest of Mosul. The suspected terrorist, who is believed to be associated with the region’s AQI courier network and senior leaders, surrendered himself to Coalition forces. (READ MORE)
Coalition forces apprehend Special Groups suspects - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces apprehended four Special Groups suspects Tuesday morning during two separate operations in Al Jadidah, about 25 km north of Baghdad in Diyala Province. Acting on intelligence information, Coalition forces targeted a suspected associate of Special Groups criminals involved in cross-border weapons smuggling and financial facilitation. (READ MORE)
MND-B Soldiers detain 5 suspected criminals in Rashid district - BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers arrested five suspected criminals in Baghdad’s Rashid district Oct. 19. At approximately 8 p.m., Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND – B, detained two suspected criminals with false identification in the northern area of the Jihad community. (READ MORE)
Tip from local citizens lead IA, MND-C Soldiers to Iranian weapon caches in Maysan province - TALLIL, Iraq – Iraqi Army soldiers and Multi-National Division – Center Soldiers seized two weapon caches containing Iranian-made munitions in the Maysan province Oct. 17-18 after receiving tips from local nationals. Based on a tip for a local citizen, IA soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 38th Brigade, 10th Iraqi Army Division and Soldiers with the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, MND-C, found 15 Iranian-manufactured 120 mm mortars rounds and one eight-inch explosively formed penetrator plate in al-Uzayr at approximately 6:25 p.m. (READ MORE)
Deputy prime minister brings support to Mosul and Ninewa - MOSUL, Iraq- Deputy Prime Minister Rafi Hiyad al-Issawi visited Mosul and conducted a press conference at Provincial Hall, where he announced some reconstruction initiatives that have already been approved by the central government for Mosul and Ninewa Province, Oct. 20. DPM al-Issawi focused on agricultural initiatives, announcing that the central government had “written a check for 2 billion Iraqi dinar” to Ninewa province to help offset agricultural losses over the last two years due to drought and other conditions. (READ MORE)
Council meeting ensues after Ramadan observance - BAGHDAD – The Sadr City District Advisory Council returned to session Oct. 14 after a two-week Ramadan observance to discuss issues like water, electricity and other infrastructure improvements, but security was not on the docket where it so frequently dominates the discussion. Col. Faris Khaleel, commander of the Iraqi Army’s 44th Brigade, 11th IA Division, which is responsible for security in Sadr City, is a frequent guest of the DAC and he normally faces a torrent of questions and concerns from the council. (READ MORE)
SoI transition of authority ceremony in Karadah - FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq –Sons of Iraq, Iraqi National Police, and Iraqi Army held a ceremony transitioning control of the SoI to the government of Iraq in Karadah, Oct. 12. The SoI will be transferred to several positions within the IA and NP. Joining their Iraqi partners were Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, led by Lt. Col. Dennis Yates, battalion commander from. (READ MORE)
Iraqi Army takes over Patrol Base Vanderhorn - CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – The Iraqi Army took control of Patrol Base Vanderhorn from Coalition forces in a transition ceremony in Manari Oct. 16. Company 1, 1st Battalion, 55th Brigade, 17th Iraqi Army Division took over from Company A, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). “It is an honor for everyone here who put forth the effort to make this area a better place, to be taking control of the patrol base,” said Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Jassim Muhammad Hassen Al Frejee, 17th IA Div. commander. (READ MORE)
Afghanistan:
Blue Spader medics set the standard - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Oct. 20, 2008) – The fight is continual in the Konar province of Afghanistan, so as 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Soldiers fight in and around the Taliban-infested terrain, Task Force Spader medics are busy fighting a completely different battle… one to help save lives. (READ MORE)
Giving Jowlzak valley a chance - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Oct. 17, 2008) – Some Soldiers were looking at the ground, staring off into space. Others closed their eyes, heads back, leaning forward only for a moment to look around. The Afghan National Policemen took turns looking out the windows of the Chinook, occasionally pointing out places to one another. (READ MORE)
Kiwi units change responsibility at Bamyan PRT - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Oct. 16, 2008) – A new flag was hoisted over the Provincial Reconstruction Team headquarters this morning as a new unit accepted responsibility for the PRT mission in Bamyan province. New Zealand Defence Force Task Group Crib 13 assumed from TG Crib 12, marking the end of a successful six-month tour for TG Crib 12. (READ MORE)
Farah PRT helps maintain peace, stability in Afghanistan - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Oct. 8, 2008) – The men and women of the Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team call one of America’s most remote military outposts home. More than 430,000 local people also call the vastness of this province home. Together, the people of Farah and the people of the PRT are working feverishly to make life better for all in one of Afghanistan’s most austere regions. (READ MORE)
Egyptian Field Hospital heals physical, mental wounds - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Oct. 7, 2008) – For some, it’s the opportunity to see for the first time in 10 years. For others, it could provide an artificial limb that will allow them to walk again after losing a leg to a land mine. Regardless of what they come for, and where they come from, they all come for the same primary reason -- because there’s nowhere else to go. (READ MORE)
TALIBAN KILLS CHRISTIAN CHARITY'S ANGEL OF MERCY - KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban assailants on a motorbike fatally gunned down a Christian aid worker in Kabul yesterday, and the militants said she was slain for spreading her religion - a rare targeted killing of a Westerner in the nation's capital. (READ MORE)
NATO chief admits Afghan failure, blames troop shortages - NATO's mission in Afghanistan is being undermined by troop shortages and by the numerous operational restrictions which individual nations continue to impose on their troops, according to the alliance's supreme military commander. In a scathing attack on member states for reneging on their promises, General John Craddock criticized the failure of NATO countries to send more combat troops to Afghanistan, saying it revealed a "wavering" political will. (READ MORE)
German defense minster says 'no' to withdrawal from Afghanistan - German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to calls for an early pullout from Afghanistan. On Monday deadly suicide attack in the north Afghan city of Kunduz killed two German soldiers and five Afghan children, media reports said Tuesday. Talking to journalists in Berlin, Jung labeled demands for an early withdrawal from Afghanistan "a severe mistake." (READ MORE)
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