Knee Deep in the Hooah!

Good news Saturday is here, and the news is good indeed. I hope you all have a blessed weekend and are encouraged by what you read! I added a couple of good news articles from Afghanistan as well at the end.

U.S. Military and Iraqis complete Baghdadi Bridge
by Lance Cpl. Robert Medina
1st Marine Logistics Group

(excerpt)

BAGHDADI, Iraq (June 4, 2008) – In the small community of Baghdadi, service members and local Iraqis worked together to finish the Baghdadi Bridge, and a new way of crossing the Euphrates River is now open to traffic.

Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Iraqis worked together to complete the 301-meter bridge May 22, making it the longest floating bridge in Iraq, said Capt. Douglas R. Cunningham, company commander for Maintenance Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 1st Marine Logistics Group.

“I didn’t think the bridge would be so big until we got all the pieces together,” said Lance Cpl. Joshua S. Hardin, metal worker, from Lawrenceburg, Ky., with Maintenance Company, CLB-6, 1st MLG. “Previously the longest bridge was only two pontoons long, this bridge is seven.”

Two Marines with Maintenance Company welded 1,600 feet of steel themselves. They worked alongside Navy Seabees and Army Engineers.

“This will cut down the six-hour convoy that it would take to go around,” said Pfc. John Z. Wilson, metal worker, from Houston, with Maintenance Company. “Convoys would have to go from Camp Al Asad up to Camp Haditha then back down.” Read MORE

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Apache Gunfighters Plan, Execute Missions above the Battlefield
Saturday, 07 June 2008

(Excerpt)

TIKRIT — Since the days of early aviation, Army pilots have played a key role in the outcome of ground battles and air missions. For pilots flying the AH-64 Apache Longbows of the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment in northern Iraq, the legacy of influencing the fight continues through careful mission preparation and teamwork. These pilots, known as the Gunfighters, are part of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division’s efforts to sustain a constant presence over the skies of northern Iraq in support of Task Force Iron.

However, before the Gunfighters jump into their cockpits and head out into the skies of Multi-National Division-North, they must plan meticulously prior to each mission.

“First thing we do is get our mission data cards for the aircraft ready through our AMPS [Aviation Mission Planning Station computer] via our CP [command post] with all the aircraft specific data. We receive our tail number and we print out the knee-board cards and communications cards,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Thaddeus Menold, air mission commander 1-1 ARB.

“From there we head over to the battalion Tactical Operations Center and receive a mission team brief,” said 1st Lt. Deborah Lindeman, Co. C, 1-1 ARB.

Personnel from the operations and intelligence staffs brief the pilots on the details of their mission to ensure they know what to expect. Read MORE

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Economy Booms again in Southern Baghdad Province
Saturday, 07 June 2008
American Forces Press Services

(excerpt)

BAGHDAD — When Army Capt. Shawn Carbone first took a good look at the economy in Iraq’s southern Baghdad province, he found it similar to his studies of America during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“Most of the historically strong businesses were gone,” said Carbone, economics team leader for the Baghdad 7 Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team (EPRT). “The owners had left and packed up. The businesses were shut down, and there was mass unemployment across the board.”

There were many reasons for the economic troubles of Iraqis in the area the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team took control of in June 2007. A lack of security forces had left a gap that al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) terrorists filled by using the area as a base.

Farms and businesses were damaged, and violence caused many to flee — some of whom have yet to return. Sectarian strife heated up following the 2005 elections, which left many in the area without a voice in government.

Basic needs, such as electricity and water, went largely unmet.

Carbone saw an opportunity to help turn things around. His training in economics at Niagara University, in his hometown of Niagara, N.Y., prepared him for the task of helping the citizens of southern Baghdad province. Read MORE

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Airman Extends Twice to See Iraqi Air Force Goals Achieved
Saturday, 07 June 2008
By Air Force Staff Sgt. Ruth Curfman 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing

(Excerpt)

CAMP TAJI — An Air Force major here is returning to the United States more than a year after he expected to be home.

Maj. Jiro McCoy, commander of Mi-17 multi-role helicopter advisors for the 770th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron (AEAS), finally is heading home to Fort Rucker, Ala., after voluntarily adding more than 18 months to what was supposed to be a six-month deployment.

“I had certain expectations regarding our mission here,” McCoy said. “There were goals and objectives I wanted to see the Iraqis achieve, so I extended for six months twice. Now that I have seen the progress that they have made, especially in the tactical employment of the helicopters needed for this combat zone, I feel comfortable leaving.”

The 770th AEAS is responsible for training and assisting two Iraqi Air Force (IAF) squadrons in the process of setting up their own helicopter wing here.

“We have been tasked by the 370th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group, which is overseen by the Coalition Air Force Transition Team, to assess, advise, educate, train and assist the IAF helicopter wing personnel on providing counterinsurgency operations via air support,” the major said. “This process will help us to transition the security of this country back to the Iraqis by providing them the tools to develop operations, maintenance and support capabilities through the establishment of self-sustaining training programs.”

These programs, which offer training of air crew, maintenance, logistics and support personnel, do not come without obstacles, he said. Read MORE

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Iraqi Army Soldiers seize more weapons in Sadr City
Multi-National Corps
Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20080607-04
June 7, 2008

(public domain)

The IA soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, 1st IA Division discovered 15 AK-47s, 200 AK-47 rounds, two Berno rifles, a damaged rocket launcher, 14 fake identification cards, three license plates and an 8 mm video tape at approximately 6 a.m. At approximately 8:15 a.m., the soldiers seized a sniper rifle, an AK-47, 100 PKC rounds, five rocket-propelled grenade propellants and a Baghdad protection badge.

Iraqi soldiers from the 68th Brigade, 11th IA Division seized 25 82 mm mortar rounds, 19 artillery rounds, six 60 mm mortar rounds, five mortar tops, three improvised-explosive devices, three detonating devices, an anti-tank mine, 12 rocket launchers, 11 RPGs, a body armor set, three AK-47 magazine pouches, 200 grams of homemade explosives, two RPG fuses, three radio chargers and one spool of electrical wire at approximately 10 a.m.

At approximately the same time, IA soldiers from 1st Bn., 3rd Bde., 1st IA Div., seized 2,000 PKC rounds, three anti-personnel RPGs, three PKC magazines, 40 house phones, four rolls of electrical wire and a propane tank. “Iraqi Army soldiers continue to make significant seizures of weapons and munitions as they diligently strive to safeguard the people of Baghdad,” said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, spokesman for Multi-National Division – Baghdad and the 4th Infantry Division.

“The Iraqi Security Forces continue to demonstrate their professionalism as they rid the streets of Baghdad of these dangerous weapons.” End.

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Coalition forces strike foreign terrorist network (Bi’aj, Mosul)
Saturday, 07 June 2008

Press Release A080607a-205

(public domain)

BAGHDAD – Coalition forces killed four terrorists and destroyed two foreign terrorist safe-houses in northwest Iraq Saturday, also capturing two wanted men in Mosul.

Near Bi’aj, about 130 kilometers southwest of Mosul, Coalition forces targeted several foreign terrorist safe-houses. At the first location, the force immediately came under attack by small arms fire. Coalition forces responded in self-defense, returning fire and calling for supporting aircraft to engage the enemy. Four terrorists were killed in the ensuing engagement.

Coalition forces discovered a vehicle with a foreign license plate adjacent to one of the target buildings. Inside the building they found weapons, ammunition, military equipment and graffiti indicating it served as a foreign terrorist safe-house. Coalition forces safely destroyed the weapons, vehicle and two buildings to prevent their future use in terrorist activities.

In Mosul, Coalition forces captured two men believed to conspire with senior AQI leaders in the city and detained three additional suspects.

“Today’s operations in northern Iraq targeting foreign terrorist networks are helping to degrade their ability to carry out attacks on Iraqi civilians and security forces,” said Maj. John Hall, MNF-I spokesman. -end-

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National Police, MND-B Soldiers seize weapons caches, kill one criminal (Baghdad)
Saturday, 07 June 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20080607-03

(public domain)

BAGHDAD – Iraqi National Police and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers seized a number of weapons caches and killed one criminal June 6 in Baghdad.

Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered 11 rocket warheads, four 122mm mortar rounds, a rocket tube, and a medium-sized bomb at approximately 10:15 a.m. northwest of Baghdad.

National Police from the 8th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, seized 16 rocket-propelled grenades, eight boosters, a pineapple grenade and an RPG night site at approximately 10:40 a.m. in the Oubaidy area of New Baghdad.

Iraqi NPs from 2nd Bde., 1st NP Division seized 24 AK-47s, an SKS assault rifle, and a Beretta pistol at approximately 2 p.m. north of Baghdad.

At approximately 6:15 p.m. in the Furat area of Rashid, Soldiers from the1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, seized 14 sticks of dynamite, a battery detonator and an indeterminate amount of electrical wire.

Soldiers from 2nd SBCT, 25th Inf. Div. were attacked with small-arms fire at approximately 11:30 p.m. northwest of Baghdad., Soldiers returned fire and killed one militant.

“Iraqi Security and Coalition forces continue to rid the streets throughout the Baghdad area of these dangerous weapons,” said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, spokesman, MND-B and the 4th Infantry Division. “The forces work together to safeguard the people of Baghdad.” -end-

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Iraqi Security Forces discover six caches (Basra)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20080607-06
June 7, 2008

(public domain)

BASRA, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces found six caches containing more than 100 rockets, 200 mortars, 60 anti-aircraft rockets, three launchers, 30 Improvised Explosives Devices, 90 AK-47 Assault Rifles, 20 grenades, 10 RPGs and various other weapons during raids in Basra June 6.

The 52nd Brigade, Iraqi Army, found a cache 20 kilometers northwest of Basra consisting of 106 122 mm rockets, seven charges, 80 82 mm mortars, 28 mortar charges, 37 IEDs, 66 anti-aircraft rockets and one rocket launcher.

The 50th Bde., Iraqi Army, found a cache three kilometers northeast of Basra that contained 128 82 mm mortar rounds, seven 120 mm mortar rounds, nine 60 mm mortar rounds, 20 hand grenades, two SBG-9 rockets and two Austrian launchers.

The 51st Bde., Iraqi Army found two caches in Az Zubayr, 13 kilometers southwest of Basra. The first one contained 63 AK-47s, four semi-automatic rifles, three bolt-action rifles, seven pistols, one anti-tank rocket and two anti-personnel rockets. The second cache consisted of 35 AK-47s and two anti-personnel rockets.

The Iraqi Police found a truck with 300 unserviceable artillery and mortar rounds and 60 hand grenades.

The 50 Bde, IA also found a cache of mortar and artillery rounds. The ordinance was assessed to be unstable and the exact contents can’t be determined. -end-

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Daughters of Iraq: Women take on a security role
By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 4, 2008

(excerpt)

BAGHDAD — The two women couldn’t be less alike: Melath Dulaimi is a single woman in her mid-30s who wears a knee-length skirt, strappy sandals and refuses to cover her hair. Lekaa Mohammed is a retiring widow draped in a navy blue veil and concealing robes. But when the U.S. military advertised for women to join its neighborhood guard program last fall, both answered the call.

“Iraqi women are the same as Iraqi men,” said Dulaimi, the businesslike leader of 42 female security guards in Baghdad’s blast-scarred Adhamiya section. “We want to take back our neighborhood.”

The women work in pairs, frisking female visitors for weapons and explosives at schools, hospitals, banks and government offices.

The program was set up to counter a growing threat of female suicide bombers. But even as the response from women has been enthusiastic, it has faced resistance from tradition-bound community leaders who believe that fighting insurgents is men’s work.

So far, 500 women have joined the more than 90,000 Sons of Iraq, a mostly Sunni Arab guard force that helped drive out insurgents from some of the country’s most dangerous areas. Unlike their male counterparts, the new Daughters of Iraq do not carry weapons and operate in just a handful of places in Baghdad, south of the capital and in Anbar province. Read MORE

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Soldiers Give Local Children School Supplies Donated from Texas
Saturday, 07 June 2008
3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

FOB KALSU — After being asked by family members what he or his fellow Soldiers of the 230th Military Police Company needed for their deployment, one Soldier felt the unit didn’t need anything, but local Iraqi children could use some assistance.

“Fortunately we are pretty blessed, living well here on Forward Operating Base Kalsu,” said Spc. Jonathan Flanagan, a native of Lumberton, Texas. “We (have) pretty much everything a Soldier needs to survive and we live rather comfortably considering we are in a war zone.”

While at the Diyarah Iraqi police station, the idea for a new project came to him when a child approached him cautiously, calling out: “Pen mista? Mista, mista, pen?” Flanagan recalled. “I reached into my sleeve and pulled out a pen and thought ‘what an odd request, what does a 6-year old want with a pen?’” Puzzled by the question, Flanagan asked his interpreter for assistance.

The interpreter told him the children needed pens, pencils and other school supplies. “Some kids had back packs, some just carried a half-used spiral (notebook) and a pencil, some had shoes and some didn’t,” Flanagan said. “It was rather upsetting … some of the kids are so under-equipped they don’t have a fighting chance at an education.”

What started with one pen quickly escalated. “He told his friends that I had pens and before you knew it I was swarmed by children chanting, ‘pen mista,’” Flanagan said. “It wasn’t long before not only was I out of pens, but my entire squad was out of pens.” Read MORE

****************** A couple from Afghanistan*******************************

Police Trainers Focus on Afghan People, Not Taliban, Official Says
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

(public domain)

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2008 – The Marine battalion tasked with training Afghan police members focuses more on helping Afghan people prosper than on defeating the Taliban, a military official involved in the training effort said today.

The mission of the 1st Marine Division’s 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, is to train and mentor the Afghan National Police, which they consider “the center of gravity,” Marine Corps Lt. Col. Richard D. Hall, the battalion’s commander, said in a conference call with veterans service organization representatives.

“[The police trainers] are not so much just wanting to go out there and get rid of Taliban, but they want to improve the people’s lives, just like anyone would their own communities,” Hall said. “That’s the way the Marines are looking at it: ‘How can I make their lives better?’”

The battalion is stretched across some 250 miles of Afghan turf and currently is focused on bolstering eight districts, Hall said. He added that new recruits in these areas are quick to learn lessons bestowed by their trainers. In addition to the Marines, personnel from DynCorp International, a private U.S. military contractor, are providing the training.

The National Guard also contributes police trainers. Many Guardsmen serve in civilian life as members of law enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The colonel said the national police represent Afghanistan’s national government, extended to the local and district levels. This force often is local citizens’ “first taste of government,” he said.

The goal of these trainers, Hall said, is to convert four-man fire teams tasked with maintaining rule of law into 40-man constituencies, with the local populace playing a major role in the effort.

“Our aim is to teach them how to do things on their own,” Hall said. “So by doing our best to turn over everything to them and teach them how to do things on their own, [we] try to set the conditions where they don’t even want us here any more.”

Hall said much of the training is focused on making the force more credible and more respected by local Afghans. The ultimate mission is to establish security, which often engenders prosperity. Likewise, prosperity can help solidify security gains, he added.

In addition to building security in the area, the battalion works alongside civil affairs personnel who are helping establish infrastructure.

“[Civil affairs teams] focus primarily on working with provincial and district leaders to plan and execute and put forth the projects that the people need,” he said. “That may include wells, building schools, training doctors, and those types of things.”

Hall said Afghan National Police members have been surprisingly cooperative in working alongside U.S. Marines. He attributes this close camaraderie to a common bond: They are both pragmatic, warrior-like cultures. “I think they’ve already got this natural affinity towards our personalities,” Hall said of the Afghan trainees.

“We’re really motivated about our mission over there,” he continued. “I think that we’re not only well-trained to do this mission, but even for the opening few weeks that we’ve been executing our mission, we’ve already achieved successes that went a little bit beyond our expectation.”

Hall said the early and clear success of Afghan forces is encouraging for the Marine trainers.
“When you can see the results appear right before your very eyes in a very short period of time, you get that tangible result from your action and the immediate impact where you can visibly, physically see lives improve right before you,” he said. “And that is really motivating.” -end-

(source: http://www.defenselink.mil)

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Idaho Guardsmen Train Afghan National Police
By Army Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg
Special to American Forces Press Service

(public domain)

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, June 6, 2008 – Deployed Idaho National Guardsmen working as a police mentoring team travel throughout Afghanistan’s Parwan province to train and advise the Afghan National Police.

As part of the training, the Guardsmen conducted a traffic-control-point and vehicle-search class June 3. “If the Afghanistan police stay on the same track they are on now, in five years, I see them being fully capable of functioning on their own,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Junier, a member of the mentoring team.

Junier has previous training as a military police investigator and 20 years of civilian police experience. “My previous experiences fall right in line with the training I give the ANP,” he said. “The ANP want to do a good job. They are willing to put in the time and effort it takes to train.”

Before they practiced searching a vehicle, the Afghan police officers attended an instructional lecture, taught by Junier. After that, they performed a mock vehicle search on one of their work trucks. “They receive the training from us; afterwards, the ANP trainers can develop a program,” said Army Maj. Miguel Lopez, mentoring team leader.

The training moves forward in “baby steps,” each of which builds on what the Afghan police officers already have learned, Lopez said. “Last week, we gave the ANP mirrors to check under cars with; this week, we are teaching them how to search a vehicle inside and out; and next week, we are going to teach them what to do if they find an object in the vehicle,” he explained.

Though each Idaho Guardsmen has a different way of conducting business, Lopez said, the combination of skills they provide makes for a productive team. (Army Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg serves with the 382nd Public Affairs Detachment.) -end-