March 13, 2008

From the Front: 03/13/2008

News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.

In their own words:
Yellowhammering Afghanistan: IED season returns - We hit another IED this week. I use the collective "we" because we have come to think of the Afghan National Police as part of us. A district police chief, a friend, was leading one of our district mentor teams to his police station when someone remote detonated an improvised explosive device buried in the road. It flipped the truck over and seriously injured the police chief and the other policeman in the truck. Our guys did a great job securing the scene, providing first aid and calling for help. We were getting ready to go out ourselves on another mission when the call came in. I ended up stuck working the radio in our operations center at Camp Vulcan trying to help coordinate help and pass along information. It's the fourth time I've manned the radio in response to an IED strike on one of our guys. It's the kind of experience I don't care to have, but we all play our part in instances like this. (READ MORE)

LT Nixon: Iraq News (13 Mar) - The Good: Things have definitely turned around in Fallujah as the Awakening councils have turned to politics. Certainly a lot different than 2004, as I'm sure David Bellavia could tell you. There was also a 5K Fun Run recently. I'm guessing there was running going on in 2004 by young military-aged males, but it was probably not very fun (H/T Gateway Pundit). Also, Iraq's port in the Persian Gulf, Um Qasr, is slated to be overhauled to make it more economical. First on the chopping block will be all the Soprano-style militias that currently control the joint. The Bad: Three soldiers were killed in a rocket attack down south. A young Iraqi girl was killed on accident by US forces during an escalation of force incident. (READ MORE)

Paul McLeary: The Road to Tarmiya - Even with all of it’s high-tech communications and optics equipment, there are times when riding in a Stryker vehicle is like sitting in a sensory deprivation tank. Unless you’re the vehicle commander up front or one of the two rear gunners, who stand partially exposed out of the top of the vehicle, your only chance to see what the world outside looks like is if you’re lucky enough to be positioned to see the .50 caliber machine gunner’s video screen, which he rotates back and forth to either side of the road, scanning for IEDs. Ensconced inside this metal bubble is how I rode from combat outpost Courage to combat outpost IBA, and then from camp Taji north of Baghdad to Joint Security Station Tarmiya, the third company-sized combat outpost I would visit in Iraq. (READ MORE)

Major John: A terrible day - Yesterday was a terrible day here. Not much else to say beyond that. BTW - the AP calls it "Combat Outpost Adder" when it is really "Contingency Operating Base Adder" A small thing, perhaps - but indicative of a general lack of understading and attention to detail. Also note the needless inclusion of polling data in a "news" story. I should be used to that from the Associated Press...Please spare a thought and a prayer for the families of the dead and wounded. (READ MORE)


Back Stateside but still writing:
Bill Roggio: Anatomy of an IED - On March 11, the 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division stopped a car in the Al Bakir neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq. After searching the car, the Iraqi Army found six improvised explosive devices (IEDs or roadside bombs.) The driver has been detained and the Iraqi Army is now looking for the bomb factory. The following slideshow looks at an IED created by terrorists in Mosul. (READ MORE)


On Leave:
Iraq: The Purgatorium: Closing - The past few days, we've had the looming knowledge of having to return soon clouding over us. We do all we can to look the other way, not let a damn thing rain on our parade. We stay at a traditional hotel and sleep on mats. Paper walls. Yukata robes. We check out Buddhists temples and incredible green gardens, shit that takes your breath away and makes you wonder just HOW the rest of the world, normal civilization, can suck so completely. Caverns so small we have to duck walk through them, candles illuminate Buddhists sculptures. A large wooden wheel that you turn by pushing, walking the full circle with it. They say that turning this wheel once is the equivalent to reading the Bible. Something to think about when you ride the subway I guess. (READ MORE)


News from the Front:
Iraq:
Local National child killed in an escalation of force incident in Diyala Province - TIKRIT, Iraq – A local national child was killed during an escalation of force incident in Diyala Province, March 12. Preliminary reports indicate that troops were operating in an area where IEDs had been found recently. Coalition forces fired a warning shot into a berm near a suspicious woman who appeared to be signaling to someone while the Soldiers were in the area. A young girl was found behind the berm suffering from a gunshot wound. (READ MORE)

Iraqi Police discover large cache (Salah ad Din Province) - BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Police discovered a large weapons cache March 11, while conducting a combat patrol in the Salah ad Din Province. The cache was discovered northeast of Samarra in the “Salt Flats” area. This area is known for multiple caches and safe haven locations for insurgents. The cache held a variety of items including 60mm mortar rounds, 82mm mortar rounds, 60mm mortar tubes, boosters and several pounds of smokeless TNT powder. (READ MORE)

Soldiers detain suspected terrorists connected to SVEST attack (Baghdad) - BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers captured five suspects March 11; four positively identified for their alleged involvement in a suicide vest attack that killed five U.S. Soldiers and their interpreter in central Baghdad March 10. “Our resolve to protect the Iraqi people and to bring these murderers to justice is unwavering,” said Col. Allen Batschelet, chief of staff, MND-B. “We mourn the loss of our fellow Soldiers. We pray for their families and for those who were wounded in the attack. (READ MORE)

Iraqi Army, Coalition forces prevent car bomb construction, seize anti-armor IEDs (Mosul) - MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers, acting on a citizen’s tip, interrupted four suspected al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists constructing a car bomb near the al-Rissala neighborhood market in Mosul March 9. As a precautionary measure, the Iraqi Army evacuated civilians from the market area. The Iraqi Army and Coalition forces conducted a search of the market area which revealed four anti-armor improvised explosive devices constructed of crude homemade explosively formed penetrators hidden in a popcorn cart. (READ MORE)

Aircraft Provide One-Two Punch from Above - CAMP STRIKER — Attack helicopter units in the 3rd Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade have applied the old adage “two heads are better than one” to their battle design. The Apaches of 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment are using the abilities of the Kiowa Warriors of 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, and vice-versa. “The primary reason for the cross-utilization of aircraft is that each airframe has different capabilities and limitations and each unit has a different number of aircraft,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Fowler, commander of 3-17th Cav. Regt. “The tactical control relationship between the two units helps to share the capabilities and maximize the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade’s aerial coverage over the ground forces and their operations.” (READ MORE)

Iraqi Army Bomb Disposal Company Takes on EOD Mission - BAGHDAD — When Soldiers encounter an improvised explosive device while out on patrol, they immediately call in an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team to take care of it. But Coalition EOD teams won’t be here forever – that’s where the 8th Division Iraqi Army Bomb Disposal Company comes in, as well as the Task Force Troy teams who train the IA Soldiers. “The EOD partnership with the 8th Division Iraqi Army Bomb Disposal Company has been going on for at least the last three years,” said Navy Lt. Nicholas M. Parker, TF Troy officer in charge of Platoon 17, EOD Mobile Unit 11, out of Whidbey Island, Wash. “The partnership started with training to supplement and build on the training that the Iraqis were receiving from their own EOD school, also overseen by U.S. EOD personnel.” (READ MORE)

Judges Return to Salman Pak - FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — On March 10, Iraqi judges surveyed the new government center in Salman Pak during their first visit back since 2005. The facility was designed to place the courthouse, police, fire and emergency medical services in one central location. In 2005, the judges were forced to relocate from Salman Pak when extremist groups made the area too dangerous to remain. Col. Ryan J. Kuhn, from Clarks, Neb., deputy commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, praised Judge Hassen, one the judges who viewed the facility, for returning to Salman Pak after being shot there three years ago. (READ MORE)


Afghanistan:
ANSF assist Tangay Pass villagers - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Afghan National Security Forces provided medical and humanitarian assistance to villagers in Tangay Pass, Oruzgan Province, March 7. The ANSF also assessed dried-up wells and a clinic for future projects with assistance from Coalition forces. The combined force began the operation by conducting a visit to the Yaklengah Clinic, meeting the clinic’s director Abdul Rahman. During a previous visit, the director requested medical supplies and comfort items in order to enhance treatment at the clinic. (READ MORE)

Coalition forces disrupt Taliban support operations - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Nearly a dozen militants were killed and two suspected militants detained March 11 during a Coalition forces operation to degrade Taliban support networks in Helmand Province. Coalition forces performed a search of compounds in the Garmsir District targeting Taliban foreign fighter and weapons facilitation operations. During the course of the operation, Coalition forces came under small-arms fire from several militants. (READ MORE)

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Cables, dispatches and memoranda from Peace Like A River

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