June 18, 2008

From the Front: 06/18/2008

News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.

In their own words:
A Major's Perspective: Argandab and the Taliban - The news keeps on coming in from Afghanistan. From all of the AP Reports it seems as if the Taliban are standing their ground in the Argandab District and looking for a fight. But there is a number of questions that remain in my mind that just do not add up. The first being the idea of the Taliban massing large amounts of insurgent fighters in one location is a dream come true. It makes the job easier to find them, to fix them in one location, and then to utilize the overwhelming firepower of the coalition forces against them. I’ve only seen insurgents come together a few times, and whenever they did, it was under false pretense, or part of a larger plan that did not materialize until later. I am quite honestly perplexed by this move. Argandab District does give them many places to hide amongst the grape vines and pomegranate groves but it is a double edged sword. (READ MORE)

Bouhammer: A-stan in the news - Well I have written a lot since the beginning of the year about how much worse this year was going to be over any other. Not because I am pessimist or because I wish for the worst, but because it is simple math and statistics. Every year has gotten more worse then the year before in the way of violence, so why not this one. In fact at a time when our very own, BG Votel from the 82nd was trying to say that the Taliban would not organize this year and would not pose a threat to coalition forces, there were leaders in the UN that were predicting it to be a banner year for the enemy. That is pretty bad when the UN sounds more like a war-hawk then a General from the famed 82nd Airborne Division. The last two weeks have been pretty bad in Afghanistan and it continues to get worse. (READ MORE)

Bill Roggio: Mahdi Army cell leader behind deadly Baghdad bombing - Yesterday's car bomb attack in the Shia neighborhood of Hayy Hurriyah in Baghdad's Kadamiyah district was carried out by a Mahdi Army Special Group cell, and not al Qaeda in Iraq, the US military stated. The bombing was the largest inside Baghdad since March. The Iraqi military indicates 27 Iraqis were killed and 40 wounded, while press reports put the number killed as high as 51, with more than 80 wounded. A Mahdi Army cell leader named Haydar Mahdi Khadum Al Fawadi was behind the attack, according to intelligence information obtained by Multinational Forces Iraq. (READ MORE)

David Wood: Afghanistan confusion - If you find it hard to keep up with what's happening in Afghanistan, you're in good company: so does the Pentagon. Today's news is that either the Taliban have seized several villages near Kandahar and are on the verge of overrunning Afghanistan's second largest city -- or that they're nowhere to be seen. Today's Pentagon press briefing was little help, with spokesman Geoff Morrell saying he really couldn't verify either version of events. Morrell went on to say that the chaos erupting in Afghanistan is ... just the traditional summertime fighting. Read Morrell's statements below. The best estimate I can get of the insurgents' offensive outside Kandahar is 400 to 500 fighters, some of them prisoners freed in the Taliban attack on Kanadhar's jail Friday. (READ MORE)

Maj Pain: Another fear for the enemy... - The flying beast came into the world of the dirt people. The Osprey (V-22). Although we weren’t use to seeing controlled flying objects, we welcomed its arrival. It brought me back to the early 2000s where I was at the command that conducted “exiting” research for the Osprey. Fast roping, rappelling and other “exiting” techniques had to be tested and with experimental apparatuses’ that fastened onto the aircraft. Yes, they are paying me to do this as well. The first step is the worst. Talk about power, this beast has it all. Sit down, shut up and hang on. Coming to a bad guy neighborhood near you...if you live in Iraq! (READ MORE)

Up Country Iraq: Life on Mars - I have obviously not been able to post in quite awhile, so I will do what I can to catch up. I have been sending a series of emails to family/friends over the past couple of months, so I will copy those emails on this blog every few days until I catch up to what is happening today. Bottom line is that I will be compressing the last 2 months into about a 3 week period on this blog, so some of what you read will have to be understood in the (slightly) past tense. For openers, I am based out of COB Speicher mear Tikrit, Iraq. I am attached to Multi-National Division North (MND-MN), and our main insurgency problem up here is a Sunni problem. Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is the largest and most vicious of the groups, but none are afraid to kill. There is some Shiite activity down around Diyala Province, which is in the southeast sector of MND-N. AQI is fighting hard for its last stronghold up here, which is in Mosul. The following was first sent out to my list around late April: (READ MORE)

Zen Traveller: Maai - There’s a concept in Japanese called, “Maai”, and it has to do with the distance between yourself and your opponent, in other words, how far away can I be where I can attack him, but he can’t attack me? It’s much more complicated than simply distance; it takes into account the size of participants, length of weapons, the terrain, and even the mental state of the opponents. Complicated stuff, but then again it’s Japanese. Standing in the Green Zone Post Exchange (PX) today I saw a young PSD that could use a little attention to maai. Keep in mind that the PX is considered to be very secure as it’s located behind several layers of security, safe to the point where I would have no problem letting my 4-year old son run around. The three-man PSD was looking after two junior diplomats from one of the western embassies as they attempted to do their shopping. (READ MORE)

Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal: OUT HERE IN THE WILDS - I’d brushed aside the informal inquiries for months now. No, not me. Not interested. Keep me on the line. I want nothing to do with a lateral promotion to XO (Executive Officer) that involves becoming a logistical whipping boy and terminal scapegoat for all things NOTGOODENOUGH. I’ve been out here in the wilds too long, dealing with matters of life and death, to go back to Little America for PowerPoint pissing matches. Not me. I’m that too skinny, crazy-eyed mustang who drives a hippie van with a McGovern bumper sticker and keeps his hair long and actually read the counterinsurgency manual rather than pretending he did, even quoting it during meetings and out in sector in this era of recentralized warfare, remember? You aren't gonna break me, no matter how enticing the fires of the FOB are. Semper Gumby. (READ MORE)


Back and still writing:
Stephen Boyd: A local soldier’s view on Iraq - First, I want to say hello to all my friends in Thomaston. For those who don’t know me, my name is Stephen Boyd and I am a coach and teacher at Upson-Lee High School. I am currently deployed in Iraq for my second tour with the Georgia National Guard. I am a military police sergeant with the 278th MP Company out of Fort Gordon. Some of my friends sent me copies of The Thomaston Times, and I feel an obligation to tell the people back home what is going on here because the media does not do a good enough job. My first tour here was in 2005-2006, and I was in Mosul (Ninevah in the Bible where Jonah’s tomb is today) in northern Iraq and in western Baghdad. Mosul is a city of about 2 million people and my job there was working with the Iraqi police, army and border patrol. (READ MORE)

Owen Powell: MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE? - I spent most of last year and a decent-size chunk of the year before in Iraq. For the last half of that sojourn I was stationed at a combat outpost on the east side of Baghdad. That may sound impressive in a military sort of way, but it actually consisted of being locked up in a burned-out shell of a building surrounded by several hundred thousand deeply antagonistic Iraqis, many of whom had fervently tried to kill me on a number of occasions, and nearly succeeded once, as proved by the hole in my helmet. As if being hated by my neighbors wasn’t bad enough, the outpost was severely limited in amenities. Well, perhaps “amenities” is too positive a word; how about severely limited in the basic necessities of life? (READ MORE)


News from the Front:
Iraq:
ISOF capture suspected Special Groups criminal leader in Baghdad - BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured a suspected Special Groups criminal leader in Baghdad June 16. The ISOF conducted the operation to capture the criminal believed to be responsible for emplacing improvised explosive devices and organizing meetings of Special Groups criminals targeting Iraqi and Coalition forces. He is also suspected of an IED attack against a U.S. convoy in November 2007, which damaged an M1 tank. (READ MORE)

Iraqi Border Patrol detains suspected terrorist, recovers weapons caches - BALAD, Iraq – The Iraqi Border Patrol detained a suspected terrorist and recovered two weapons caches in Butha, Iraq, approximately 80 kilometers west of Tal Afar June 16. IBP officers were conducting an operation to search for weapons caches when they discovered a house in an apparently abandoned village containing 100 pounds of ammonium nitrate, one box of 90 mm ammunition and nine unidentified explosive containers. (READ MORE)

Al-Qaeda foreign network disabled - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 15 suspected terrorists while targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives in northern Iraq Wednesday. Using information from associates within the network, Coalition forces continue to target al-Qaeda in Iraq’s foreign terrorist facilitators, responsible for bringing foreigners into Iraq to conduct terrorist attacks. When the force arrived at a location near Bi’aj, about 130 kilometers southwest of Mosul, they came under attack by small arms fire. (READ MORE)

ISF, MND-B Soldiers seize weapons, munitions - BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers found weapons in Baghdad June 17. A combined patrol with Iraqi Army soldiers from the 22nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and Iraqi National Police from the 2nd INP Div., found 20 rifles of various types, seven pistols, a radio, a scope, a taser, a military map and 150 rounds of ammunition at approximately 4 a.m. in Kadhamiyah. (READ MORE)

Car bomb wounds 14 in Mosul - MOSUL, Iraq – A car bomb detonated in Mosul June 18 and wounded 14 civilians. The car bomb was a taxi, which, according to local citizens, was to be used in a later attack. Seven of the injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. (READ MORE)

Emergency Response Unit captures suspected AQI cellmember - BALAD, Iraq – Emergency Response Unit captured a suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq cell member in Baghdad June 17. The ERU conducted an operation to arrest a suspected AQI cell member on a Ministry of Interior warrant reportedly responsible for extra-judicial killings, improvised explosive device and small arms fire attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces and local intimidation. (READ MORE)

9 IP, 9 civilians wounded by VBIED - TIKRIT, Iraq — Nine civilians and nine Iraqi Police were injured by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Baqubah June 17. The car bomb detonated in a garage near an IP station. The wounded were transported to a local medical facility for treatment. (READ MORE)

Coalition forces capture three Special Groups criminals in Kut - BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces captured three suspected outlaws during operations in Kut. Acting on intelligence information, Coalition forces conducted a raid on the suspected residence of a Special Groups leader in the eastern part of Kut, about 180 km southeast of Baghdad. He is wanted for organizing and leading attacks against Iraqi Security Forces in that area. (READ MORE)

MND-B Soldiers detain four suspected criminals - BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers detained a group of suspected criminals during an operation in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad June 17. Soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, arrested four individuals suspected of ties to a known Special Groups criminal in the Zubaida neighborhood about 3 a.m. (READ MORE)

Criminals kill 27 Iraqis, injure 40 in unknown explosion - BAGHDAD – An unknown explosion occurred in the Kadamiyah district at approximately 5:45 p.m. June 17. According to initial reports twenty-seven Iraqi citizens were killed and 40 injured. (READ MORE)

U.S., Iraqi Soldiers Perform Air Assaults - CAMP STRIKER — A long tradition of air assaults and a fledgling Army are coming together to secure Iraq. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division continues to use air assaults to execute their mission in southwest Baghdad province, while the Iraqi army draws on the expertise of the Rakkasans during these combined air assaults. (READ MORE)

Committee Builds Relations in Tarmiyah - CAMP TAJI — As an elected official, it is important to support all of the people who live and work within the political boundaries of responsibility. Hussein al-Tahan, governor of Baghdad, proved his dedication to the areas of Mushada and Tarmiyah, northwest of Baghdad, June 13, with visits in the area and attendance to the first Joint Rural Planning Committee at Bukhari Hall in Tarmiyah. (READ MORE)

Different Place, Same Mission - FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON — Upon arriving in Baghdad, the 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, began its 15-month deployment in central Baghdad detached from its organic brigade, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. Now attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, the “Straight Arrows” Battalion conducts the same mission of providing a safe and secure environment for the Iraqi citizens but in a different operating environment. (READ MORE)

Security, Funding Sends Southern Baghdad Students Back to School - FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — For school children in the southern Baghdad area, getting an education has become a difficult and even dangerous prospect in recent years. In some cases, supplies were short and facilities were in disrepair. Sometimes the teachers weren't there. In a few cases, the schools themselves were all but gone. The area where the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team arrived in June 2007 had long been an insurgent stronghold, with many villages controlled by al-Qaida terrorists who kept children, especially girls, from attending school. (READ MORE)

Operation New Town molds trust in Shakriyah - Iraqi Army Soldiers and Coalition forces conducted an air assault census mission, named “Operation New Town,” June 10 in Shakriyah. The 4th Company, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Brigade, 6th IA Division company commander also participated in the air assault mission to get a first-hand perspective on what his Soldiers will be doing in the near future. (READ MORE)

IA recovers large cache near FOB Falcon - Iraqi Army soldiers recovered a cache near Forward Operating Base Falcon following a tip June 14. At approximately 11 a.m., soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 25th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division received a call from an informant about a suspicious vehicle operating in the factories. The informant claimed the vehicle was a truck transporting munitions hidden underneath bags of cattle feed. (READ MORE)


Afghanistan:
Helicopter damaged during hard landing - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN (June 17, 2008) — A Coalition forces helicopter was damaged, June 17, during a hard landing in eastern Nuristan province near Konar province. No service members were seriously injured. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation. (READ MORE)

ISAF forces respond to small-arms fire near Afghanistan-Pakistan border - KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan (June 17, 2008) – Afghanistan based U.S. helicopters responded to a small-arms fire attack at approximately 2 p.m. in Kunar province near the Pakistan border. Two OH-58 Kiowa helicopters conducting routine ISAF patrols near the border responded to the attack which occurred approximately two kilometers from the border. At no time did any aircraft enter Pakistani airspace. (READ MORE)

Several insurgents killed during attack on Polish troops - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (June 17, 2008) — Several insurgents were killed by Polish troops in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, June 16. Troops from the Polish Battle Group were on patrol when they were attacked by the insurgents near the village Nerkh. No one from the Polish Battle Group was injured. (READ MORE)

ANP, Coalition forces patrol Arghandab, reports of militant control unfounded - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (June 17, 2008) – Afghan National Police and Coalition forces completed a patrol in the Arghandab District of Kandahar province today and found no evidence that militants control the area. While in the area, Coalition forces moved freely and met no resistance. Recent reports of militant control in the area appear to be unfounded. (READ MORE)

Coalition precision strike targets Taliban in Kapisa - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (June 17, 2008) – Coalition forces conducted air strikes in Kapisa province, Monday, targeting a Taliban leader in the area. Recent intelligence revealed the location of the targeted Taliban militant and several suspected associates. The targeted militant has facilitated foreign fighters and coordinated attacks against Afghan and Coalition forces in Tagab Valley. (READ MORE)

15 militants killed in Sangin District - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (June 16, 2008) – 15 insurgents were killed after they attacked an Afghan National Security Force and Coalition patrol in the Sangin District, Helmand province June 14. While on patrol, the soldiers observed a large group of women and children leaving a village. As the patrol moved closer they observed a group of men near the tree line. (READ MORE)

Patrol attacked: 20 insurgents killed in Deh Chopan - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (June 16, 2008) – Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces killed 20 militants after they attacked a combined reconnaissance patrol in Deh Chopan District, Zabul province, Sunday. The militants attacked the ANSF and Coalition forces with rockets, mortars and small-arms fire in a mountainous river valley. (READ MORE)

Canadian troops battle Taliban - Canadian and Afghan troops battle with Taliban fighters in the orchards of Arghandab, as CBC's Paul Hunter reports.
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan troops, backed by Canadian forces, launched an operation Wednesday to push Taliban militants from villages in southern Afghanistan as the UK revealed four more of its troops had been killed.


On Patrol With Para Pathfinders. - Taliban fighters have claimed the lives of five British servicemen in the past 10 days in Helmand province.This video shows first hand evidence of the risks members of the Parachute Regiment are facing.

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