News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
In their own words:
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: Ultimate Fighters visit war fighters in their octagon—Iraq - RAMADI, Iraq (October 19, 2008) – Warriors share a common bond, a mutual respect of the warrior instinct, a bond that extends beyond the battle field. So it comes as very little surprise that most service members are great fans of Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters, and that the fighters are often huge military supporters. To show their respect for what service members are doing in Iraq, three of UFC’s finest fighters visited with and hosted a clinic for service members aboard Camp Ramadi, Oct. 19, as part of the UFC 2008 goodwill military tour. Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon, Heath “The Texas Crazy horse” Herring, and Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera, spent a few hours teaching grappling, fighting in the clinch, and stand up fighting techniques to approximately 60 personnel living on Camp Ramadi. (READ MORE)
The Left Captain: BAF was successful... - Back at my FOB after another sleepless night of waiting and waiting and then the Chinook, which is now a very cold ride as we slide into the fall. Flying through the high passes I observed that there is snow on the north facing aspects of the peaks. That's pretty cool. It will be a great ride through the mountains in January on my way out. My BAF visit was successful. I got a brief taste of civilization and a little rest. I mostly enjoyed the bathrooms and showers in the hospital staff dorms, but I also got excited about the coffee shop, the big, open air gym (I would pay to belong to a gym like that), and hanging out with the other docs at the combat stress clinic at the hospital. Let me tell you, the Air Force really knows how to put together some nice living facilities in the war zone. Other news: I found out that I have a replacement in the pipeline... (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Pakistan on the Taliban: "Dialogue must now be the highest priority" - Pakistan's parliament has unanimously passed a 14-point resolution on combating the rise of terrorism and extremism. The document is being hailed by Information Minister Sherry Rehman as a "major signal for terrorists that our nation rejects their agendas," but it falls short on a plan to confront the Taliban and al Qaeda's grip on power in the violent northwest. The resolution was passed by parliament at the end of a two-week-long joint session where the main focus was the deteriorating security situation in the country. After numerous briefings from senior leaders in the military, intelligence services, police, and government officials, a panel made up of representatives from Pakistan's 16 major parties drafted the agreement. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the pro-Taliban chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, was a member of the panel. Rehman was described as "a spokesman for Taliban" during the parliamentary debate. (READ MORE)
Major (P) John: The Obligatory Crossed Swords Post - The former parade ground for the Iraqi military still has the famous "Crossed Swords" at both ends. If you are in Baghdad, you simply must have your picture taken there. I am no different: What struck me when I saw the one arm in disrepair was the memory of the words from "Ozymandias" by Shelly. "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair." Yes, do so. Would that every Kim Il Sung, Bashir Asad and Fidel Castro be made to look at this. And despair. Nobody marches to salute Saddam. Nobody maintains the "glory" of his works. Dead by the ruling of the judiciary in a representative government that has washed away the power, the privilege and position of his party. His sons wiped away like any other criminal scum who go down shooting. His enemies make a tourist stop of his former place of follower-worship. Despair, ye "mighty". Despair. (READ MORE)
Photography, Software, and Sand: Combat programmer! - My job in the US Air Force was a computer programmer, and I essentially did then what I'm doing now, except I was doing just outside Washington, DC supporting HQ Air Force and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. When the war here in Iraq started I tried unsuccessfully for volunteer for deployments. There are no jobs for programmers in Iraq, I was told. Me and the guys used to joke about the concept of a computer programmer in the desert with a laptop jumping out of a plane and programming in the desert. Aside from the jumping out of the airplane part, I realized last night that I'm now fitting the mold. Laptop in hand and body armor donned, I got onto a Marine helicopter early in the morning to come out to Al Asad Air Base in Anbar Province. I'll be out here for a few days to train some of the users of my application on how to use it, as well as some performance testing in low-bandwidth environments. (READ MORE)
Soldier's Mom: Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree - I don't know about all of you but the past several weeks waiting for our soldiers to start redeploying to Germany I have had stuck in my head the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn! Especially the line "I'm coming home I've done my time". I'm sure the soldiers will have no idea who I am talking about but I also know that most, if not all, of you parents have no problem recalling the song! I believe that soldiers are arriving almost daily in Germany - haven't received the official word on my soldier yet but anytime now - anytime. Hopefully when I get that phone call I can get that song out of my head - it is driving me crazy!!! (READ MORE)
American Soldier: The draw down - The days are now numbers as I await for my departure date. The feeling is different with this trip. Again I find myself on the verge of leaving but this is not a military deployment. There is no safety net that is all around me from the time I show to the moment I arrive on a FOB. Although I will be on a FOB when I do get there. The last few days have consisted of many phone calls, the administrative paperwork shuffle and figuring out what needs to be done day by day until I leave. I have to say that private insurance, holy cow is it expensive! I am very fortunate to have been blessed with a wife who is strong, caring and supportive in this. I had it in the back of mind that I would be doing something but never could have imagined this. Her thoughts were the same on the subject as well. (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Iraqi forces kill, capture Iranian agents - Iraqi troops continue to encounter Iranian agents in eastern Iraq. One Iranian was killed and another was captured during a clash in Al Kut in Wasit province, an Iraqi Army officer told Voices of Iraq. "The forces killed and detained the two Iranians during clashes that broke out in Sheikh Saad district in south of Kut," Major Aziz Latief, an officer from the 2nd Quick Reaction Force told the Iraqi newspaper. The men were armed with four machine guns and hand grenades. The captured Iranian agent admitted "they came from Iran to implement armed operations in Iraq." (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
From cook to cop and back again - It's an enduring joke that the military likes to find the skills a recruit developed in civilian life and then assign him or her to something entirely different. An experienced truck driver is assigned as a computer tech; a computer tech is assigned as a truck driver, etc. So take Marine Lance Cpl. Jennifer Shell, a reservist from Uniontown, Pa. She graduated from culinary school in New York in 2001 and received a bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant management from Penn State in 2005. (READ MORE)
IPs find TNT stashed in concrete plant - CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – The Muthanna Province’s Iraqi Police were tipped off about a weapon cache near al Khidr, a town southwest of Samawah and made a big find Oct. 21. The police patrol, led by Maj. Hamza Abbas, responded to the tip and found 1,100 pounds of TNT dynamite in a concrete plant. The police also discovered 110 fuses at the site. (READ MORE)
Local citizen leads MND-C Soldiers to large cache in North Babil - FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – At approximately 1:20 p.m. Soldiers from A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, MND-C, uncovered the buried cache that contained 34 bags of home-made explosives weighing 154 pounds each, 200 4-foot cylinders of explosives, 4,018 3-inch cylinders of explosives, 300 6-inch cylinders of explosives, 85 2-foot cylinders of explosives, 30 RPG rounds, 100 mortar rounds, two 5-pound bags of explosives, 23 hand grenades, two 80-mm mortars, two 4-foot rockets, four 60-mm rounds, four mortar sights, three anti-personnel grenade rounds, one bag of loose AK-47 rounds, 15 magazines for 7.62-caliber rounds as well a other bomb-making materials. (READ MORE)
Iraqi Air Force celebrates another milestone - NEW AL MUTHANA AIR BASE, Iraq – The Iraqi Air Force surpassed another milestone Oct. 22 when an all-Iraqi flight crew took to the air in the King Air Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft for the first time in support of an Iraqi Special Operations Forces training exercise. The air crew, connected via radio link to the special operations forces on the ground, provided reconnaissance and over-watch surveillance for convoy operations as the special operations forces conducted their training. (READ MORE)
Senior Iraqi Non-commissioned Officers Symposium - CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The senior non-commissioned officers from each branch of the Iraqi security forces met this week for the third-annual Iraqi Non-Commissioned Officer Symposium. The meeting was held at the Al Faw Palace, where the Iraqis were joined by Coalition members, including the U.S. Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston, a visitor at the last year’s conference as well. (READ MORE)
Coalition forces detain eight suspects, degrade AQI car bomb networks - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces continued efforts to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq car bomb networks, detaining eight suspected terrorists during operations in central Iraq Thursday and Friday. Forces operating in Baghdad Thursday night captured a wanted man believed to be associated with one of the city’s AQI car bomb cells. He and another suspect were detained without incident during the operation. (READ MORE)
ISF captures 22 suspected terrorists and criminals in separate operations in northern Iraq - BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces captured 20 suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq and Islamic State of Iraq terrorists, and two criminals in separate operations throughout northern Iraq Oct. 15-18. On Oct. 18 in Bani Tamin, Muqdadiyah Special Weapons and Tactics captured a suspected criminal cell leader and cell member allegedly involved in sectarian violence, murder and kidnapping. (READ MORE)
ISF capture 15 in separate operations - BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces captured 15 suspected terrorists and criminals during separate operations in central Iraq on Oct. 18-20. On Oct. 20, Iraqi Special Operation Forces arrested seven suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists in Al Radwania. They are believed to be a part of an AQI cell responsible for kidnapping, improvised explosive device operations and attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces. (READ MORE)
ISF captures 8 suspected terrorists in operations throughout northern Iraq - BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces captured eight suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists during separate operations throughout northern Iraq Oct. 21-22. On Oct. 22 in Tikrit, Salah ad Din Special Weapons and Tactics captured a suspected AQI cell leader. The cell leader is believed to be responsible for emplacing improvised explosive devices, torturing innocent civilians to death, and providing early warning to insurgents regarding Coalition and Iraqi forces operations. (READ MORE)
General Says Economic Progress Now Tops Anbar Priorities - WASHINGTON — With life returning to normal in Iraq’s Anbar province, the way forward now is driven more by the economy than security, the commander of Multi-National Force - West said yesterday. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. John F. Kelly spoke to Pentagon reporters from his headquarters in Fallujah (Transcript). He said Coalition forces continue to mentor Iraqi security forces, but the Iraqis are in the lead and have become more capable and confident. (READ MORE)
Security Responsibility Returns to Iraqis in Babil Province - WASHINGTON — Coalition forces turned over primary security responsibility for Iraq’s Babil province to the Iraqis yesterday, another sign of improvements being made in Iraq, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said at a news conference here today. “[President Bush] is appreciative of all the work that our forces have done, but also recognizes that the Iraqis have done a lot of work too to get to this point,” Perino said. (READ MORE)
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