November 7, 2008

From the Front: 11/07/2008

News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.

In their own words:
Scott Kesterson: The Other Side of Paradise Part 2 - As I put my laundry into one of the machines, I noticed one of the NCO’s that hadn’t been very visible during the day. As he begin to walk out of the building, I called out to him. Passing through the two crudely crafted plywood doors, I turned the corner to find him waiting for me. “What’s up?” He stood with his back to the sun, adjusting his feet on the baseball size gravel that covered all of the ground on the fire base. “I noticed you didn’t say much earlier.” “The guys have their opinions. It’s definitely interesting.” He smiled and then chuckled. “And what about you? How are you feeling about the election?” “The media seems to be focusing on the fact that he is a black President. It has never been about race for me.” He continued, “I looked at each candidate for what I thought would be best for the country. I felt Obama had a better approach for the country and what we are facing. Black candidates of the past have had black agendas. (READ MORE)

A Battlefield Tourist: The Road to Want (Wanat) Part 1 - The Battle of Want on July 13, 2008 is looked at by the US military as a culmination of events over the previous twelve months that must be looked at in context with the action at Want. This is the first of a muti-part series that will break apart the 40 page after action report and put into context using other credible, open source reporting, which includes my own research. The Ranch House: The first event noted is the battle for COP Aranus, also known as “The Ranch House”. On August 22nd, 2007 nearly 100 militants attacked the small outpost that lies less than a half dozen miles northeast of Want. The US military believes a disgruntled former Afghan security chief at the COP used his intimate knowledge of the base to allow insurgents to launch a coordinated three-pronged attack, seriously wounding eleven of 22 paratroopers. (READ MORE)

A Battlefield Tourist: The Road to Want (Wanat) Part 2 - Below is a question and answer submitted by investigators as part of the month long inquiry into the Battle of Wanat. The document was released on November 6, 2008. Each question is accompanied by corresponding images and a storyboard presentation that is not currently available to me. Where did the attack occur? The attack occurred at VPB Wanat, located just south of the Waygul District center in the vilage of Wanat at grid coordinate XXX. According to CF map sheets and the GIRoA Ministry of the Interior, Wanat is located in Kunar Province. However, Wanat is also the District Capital for Waygul District in Nuristan. Even though the National Goverment recognizes Wanat as a part of Kunar Province, the people and the local government, all the way up to the provincial government, recognize Wanat as part of Nuristan. (READ MORE)

Bad Dogs and Such: CA Stuff - Another day, another excruciating meeting. Today's focused on a local contractor who appears to be building a water purification station in a location and manner utterly divorced from those specified in the Scope Of Work. This is, of course, a no-go. These days, we spend Iraqi dollars (through the Iraqi Commanders Emergency Relief Program - ICERP) through city councils, but we still provide contract and procedural oversight. So when we heard the contractor was not purchasing actual real filters, but instead building them himself with his own two little hands, that required visual inspection. So off we trudged. Up the road, through the market (abnormally tidy), through the critter-slaughtering part of the market (only mildly disgusting, through the machine shop part of town (where they did not appear to be manufacturing IEDs). Until we found the "filters." (READ MORE)

Station Commando: AOL Redux - So I get an email the other day that says my XBox live membership is due to automatically renew in a month. Huh?!?! So I go online to the page for my account and what do you know there is no option to not automatically renew or to cancel. According to their FAQ to do that you need to call. Well here is the dilemma. Believe it or not I have internet access here but no phone access. It's only every now and then that I get to a phone. So I fired off an email explaining my situation. I was very polite and expected some kind of help. Here is the reply I got. “Thank you for writing to Xbox Live. We are sorry to hear that you want to cancel your Xbox Live subscription. As much as I would like to help you over email, all cancellation problems are being addressed through our phone support line. We at email support line do not have the capabilities to pull up your account, since this issue has a degree of sensitivity. Be advised that by canceling your subscription, you will lose any remaining time on the service in addition to your gamer tag and game rankings.If you still want to cancel, please call our Xbox Phone Support. We may require personal information for verification which cannot be divulged over email. When you call, immediate action will be given to your inquiries or request.” (READ MORE)

Dena Yllescas: Baby steps - This morning, right before I woke up, I had a dream. I dreamt that I was sitting next to Rob in his ICU room and all of a sudden, he opened his eyes and turned them toward me. Then he lifted up his head. The dream fastforwarded and other people were in the room and he lifted up his left arm and scratched the back of his head. I was so happy that I had had that dream because I feel that was God talking to me. When I got to the hospital, I told the rest of Rob's family my dream. His brother, Chris, said that his wife had the same dream. She isn't here and hasn't seen Rob and she was able to describe how he looked almost to a T. She also dreamt that he had woken up! A while later, I went in to see Rob. I was holding his hand and all of a sudden, he gripped it really hard! My heart about jumped out of my chest. I told the nurse this. She said the key is to see if he does this and then you ask him to let go, he does. She said that way you know he's following commands. (READ MORE)

Fobbits need ice cream too: Geardo's and Geardon'ts... - In the Army, a Geardo is a person who buys all the best gear, despite being issued gear from the military. Now, 99% of the issued gear is crap but gear costs money. Big Tobacco wrote out a list. It's a pretty good one and a list of my own would only vary slightly. I deleted all my porno after the first time the Navy MPs ransacked our tent, I had to buy sunglasses because I wear glasses and I was never issued my prescription lenses with my UVEX (army-issued ballistic eyewear), and I had to buy a chest rig because I was never issued ammo pouches. I'd only disagree on learning Arabic; all of the guys that drive the KBR trucks are from Arabic-speaking countries except the Filipinos, and knowing Arabic when speaking with them is the difference between pulling the impact gun out of the trunk for their blown tire or sitting on the side of the highway for 6 hours while they beat the tire with a wrench. (READ MORE)

Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: Soldier, Rotary club supply Iraqi schools - JIKO, Iraq– Iraqi children peered at what seemed like a mountain of school supplies, anxiously waiting in line to receive their share for the new school year. Army Cpl. Greg Farrell, an assistant team leader from Denver, attached to Task Force 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Marines with the unit delivered the supplies to schools throughout the Tri-cities area of Iraq, recently. The supplies included folders, notebooks, numerous pens and pencils and several other items donated by the Southeast Denver Rotary Club. Farrell had worked with his father Kevin, the Iraqi project director for the club, since April to arrange collection and delivery of the supplies. (READ MORE)

Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: Government center opens for Habbaniyah citizens - HABBANIYAH, Iraq (October 25, 2008) – A throng of Habbaniyah government officials, police and citizens gathered for a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the grand opening of the Habbaniyah Government Center, Oct. 25. The government center has been four months in the making and is now complete, standing as a symbol of a representative government taking hold in the area. Now both the mayor of Habbaniyah and the city council work together, under the same roof, to govern the district. “The collaboration among different local governments is critical,” explained Kevin Anderson, a representative from the Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team – Ramadi. “The government center promotes stability and fosters a theme of progress in the community.” (READ MORE)

Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: Marines finding new ways to find caches - KARMAH, Iraq (October 24, 2008) – Marines in northern Karmah have been busy, finding hidden weapons caches daily for the last few weeks. Since arriving to the area in August, the Marines, with 2nd Platoon, Company B, Task Force 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, have raked in more than 60 small arms, 50 mortars, hundreds of explosives fuses and various types of explosives, most of which they found over the last month. But their finds did not come as easily initially during their deployment. The Marines have become more attuned to finding ordnance which each cache they find. “We learn more with each cache,” said Cpl. Timothy Golden, a 21-year-old squad leader from Williamsburg, Va., with 2nd Platoon. “The story of each cache is told by how it was buried. After finding so many caches, we start to know what to look for.” (READ MORE)

IraqPundit: Change Happens - As the optimism of the Obama win spreads across the globe and some see a more flexible United States coming, let's examine who most sees this as change they can believe in. As expected, al-Qaeda in Iraq hopes that their demands will be heard by a President Obama. Their latest statement orders the Americans out of Iraq. But look who really feels empowered. Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomes Obama. "In a key change to US foreign policy, Mr Obama has offered to open unconditional dialogue with Iran about its nuclear programme." The BBC writes, "Mr Ahmadinejad called for the new US president to implement a foreign policy of 'non-interference'." (READ MORE)

Jake's Life: Our Humble Home - Well, I guess next up would be our actual living area. There's REALLY not a whole lot to write about here... Let's see- no water, no AC, no toilets, occasional power, lots of bugs/mice/cats, and nonstop explosions right outside our front door. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. We shared a fairly large patrol base with a British unit and some ANP/ANA (Afghan National Police, Army). Those units had been established there for some time, so they were occupying the buildings located there. We, on the other hand, were just thrown in there, so we had to erect squad sized tents with sand bag walls. These aren't the type of tents that were fun to pitch and sleep in in your back yard when you were young. These are miserable, sauna-like, not enough space for a squad and all it's gear substitutions. We had 12 snipers in ours, and if you have ever seen a modern day sniper, you know they have more gear than a NASA mission. Space was a premium. (READ MORE)

Bill Roggio: US Predators strike al Qaeda camp in North Waziristan - After a one-week lull, the US has struck an al Qaeda training camp inside Pakistan's lawless tribal belt. US unmanned Predator aircraft fired four missiles into a camp in the village of Kumsham in North Waziristan, AFP reported. Up to 14 people have been reported to have been killed. "The strike successfully destroyed the camp," one source told AFP. "The militants were using the facility for training," another source said. Seven al Qaeda operatives and one local Taliban commander was killed in the attack, sources told the news agency. But there is no indication that senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders were killed in the strike. The attack occurred in the Wazir tribal areas right along the border with South Waziristan. This is likely an area run by Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar. (READ MORE)

Misuchan's Milblog: My formal Equal Opportunity Complaint with the Army - This is my second EO complaint with the US Army, this time against a Master Sergeant. I was at a small fire base here in Afghanistan, which I had been working at for about 2.5 months. I was the NCOIC of the team I had brought out here from the states, with 5 soldiers under me. I get out to this firebase, and the brigade sends a MSG out to laison between my RTOs and the other coalition forces we worked with in our small tactical operations center or TOC. One evening I make a morale call home to my elderly mother who’s health never seems good. This time it’s definitely not good news, she lets me know she has cancer and has to have surgery. Since this Master Sergeant is at the fire base with us and sometimes fills the mentor role, I ask his advice about going on emergency leave to go take care of her in the States. He explains to me the procedures, and then says “let me ask you a personal question.” I say okay. (READ MORE)

Big Tobacco: Big Advice From Big Tobacco - I wrote this while smoking a Rocky Patel “The Edge.” I scan my email inbox: I'm asking for your advice. Anything you can tell me about what I should (or shouldn't) bring as far as creature comfort items, gear, what have you. I don't know exactly where I'll be or what my living conditions will be like, so I'm trying to cover all the bases. It isn’t often that I get a chance to help a fellow NCO anymore, so I think about this soldier’s request. I look over at my wall locker and see a pile of useless gear. This is my second deployment, but it was totally different than the first. If I knew six months ago what I know now, how would I pack differently? What would I do differently? How would I train differently? What would I want to know if I were deploying to Iraq? If you are National Guard, odds are you will do the crappy jobs that the active Army doesn’t want to do: ECPs, FOB security and convoy security. (READ MORE)


News from the Front:
Iraq:
Soldiers confiscate weapons in New Baghdad - BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers attached to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light), confiscated illegally possessed weapons in eastern Baghdad Nov 6. Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, seized several illegally owned weapons during a clearance operation in the New Baghdad district. (READ MORE)

Baghdad Police College graduates 163 new officers - BAGHDAD – For Haider, becoming an Iraqi police officer is something he dreamed of and waited on for almost five years. He wasn’t going to let a war or anything else deter him from his objective. On Nov. 6, the Maysan police officer beamed with pride as a friend pinned on his new rank as a first lieutenant in the Iraqi Police Service. “I couldn’t be happier,” he smiled. “I have always wanted to be in the Iraqi Police and to serve my country.” (READ MORE)

Ashraf Regional Training Center Graduates 727 Iraqi Police - Ashraf, Iraq – With all the pomp and circumstance resembling a university commencement, over 700 Iraqi police recruits, including 27 females, graduated from the Ashraf Regional Training Center November 6. This was the fifth class to graduate from the Ashraf facility and Iraqi and Coalition force leaders praised the recruits and their trainers for their hard work and dedication. (READ MORE)

ISF arrest 5 suspected criminals in central Iraq - BALAD, Iraq –Iraqi Security Forces captured five suspected criminals in separate operations throughout central Iraq Nov. 4-5. On Nov. 5 in Baghdad, the Emergency Response Brigade Assault Force arrested a suspected criminal for planning and coordinating multiple attacks against Coalition forces. (READ MORE)

Terrorists wound 4 civilians in IED attack - AGHDAD – Terrorists wounded four Iraqi civilians during an improvised explosive device attack in the New Baghdad district of eastern Baghdad Nov. 6. Initial reports indicate the attackers wounded four innocent citizens. At approximately 8:50 a.m., terrorist detonated an IED in the Beladiyat area. The civilians were rushed to a local hospital. (READ MORE)

ISF, MND-C Soldiers celebrate water distribution system - CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – Local shaykhs, Iraqi Army and Coalition Soldiers feasted in celebration of a water distribution system now complete in the Mahmudiyah Qada Nov. 4. “Before this system, some people had no water besides the dirty canal water,” said a local Shaykh Kagoob Joad al-Merce. “Now many of those people have clean drinking water for the first time in their lives.” (READ MORE)

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