You’ve undoubteldy heard about the recent increase in violence in Iraq, specifically Baghdad, but you ought to know that progress is being made thanks to the efforts of your troops.
“Abating the extremists in the capital will neither be easy nor rapid,” Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV said this week of progress in the capital city. “Challenges will ensue, but efforts will march forward block by block.”
U.S. and Iraqi forces have been conducting combined missions in Baghdad as part of Operation Together Forward, an Iraqi-led campaign to reduce violence in the capital, while at the same time promoting economic incentives, civic action projects and the control of illegal weapons.
This past week, Iraqi and Coalition forces concentrated on four major Baghdad hot spots – mostly in the western part of the city – in an effort to reduce the number of murders, kidnappings, assassinations and car bombs in those areas. Operations in the al-Doura neighborhood of southern Baghdad continued to build on the improved security established over the past two weeks.
The enemy continues to suffer casualties at the hands of our forces working alongisde Iraqi soldiers.
BAGHDAD – An early morning raid Aug. 20 in Ar Ramadi targeting a Saudi Arabian al-Qaida member who was actively conducting terrorist activities in Iraq resulted in one enemy killed and 14 detained.
A subsequent search of the target area led to the discovery of one suicide vest, multiple small arms, and a vehicle rigged as a car bomb that was destroyed on site.
Credible and compelling intelligence indicated the Saudi al-Qaida member, also known for previous terrorist activity in Afghanistan and Chechnya, was harboring men preparing for suicide operations and was expecting more terrorists at his location to engage in suicide attacks in the area.
Try as they might, the insurgents continue to fail at attempts to disrupt the progress of your soldiers.
Like some combat version of “This Old House” or “Trading Spaces Iraq,” U.S. soldiers, Marines and Navy SEALS seized two houses in Ramadi’s deadliest neighborhood Tuesday and converted them into a fortified patrol base.
Amid periodic attacks by insurgent mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and snipers, U.S. troops used heavy equipment and elbow grease to install electricity, erect sand-bagged gun positions and raise concrete barriers in a sprawl of city blocks that have, until recently, served as a safe haven for insurgents.
As Apache helicopters circled the dusty, bullet-pocked neighborhood and sniper teams dropped insurgent attackers with blasts from their .50-caliber rifles, the banging of hammers and the whine of electric saws echoed throughout the seized houses.
Troops attached to the Friedberg, Germany-based 1st Brigade, 1st Armor Division worked around the clock for roughly 36 hours to establish the patrol base, piling sandbags by the glow of chemical light sticks and scarfing down hasty meals of potato chips, cookies and MREs.
Construction continues throughout Iraq with several civil affairs projects undwerway.
MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 21, 2006) – Three towns west of Mosul in northern Iraq are benefiting from several newly completed projects as a result of cooperation between local leadership, and members of the 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion.
Local contractors completed construction of a new courthouse for the citizens of Sununi on Aug. 7. The month-long project employed 35 local workers and is expected to make the adjudication of laws easier for the judges in the Sunini sub-district by providing a place for judges to meet and hear cases.
When inspecting the work, coalition force personnel assessed the structure to exceed the standards of other construction in the area due to the craftsmanship and hard work of the contractor and his employees.
On Aug. 10 the citizens of Abu Khasab began enjoying the benefits of a clean and safe fresh water supply in their town with the completion of a new water purification system.
Your wounded warriors are continued to be taken care of.
Post leaders turned 24 barracks rooms built for two into 12 spacious living areas for single occupants last month. The new rooms can accommodate servicemembers recovering from varied impairments, and brings BAMC’s number of wheelchair-accessible rooms to 24.
“With just the original 12 rooms, we were running out of space due to an increased numbers of patients from the war on terror,” said Lt. Col. Barbara Holcomb, commander, Special Troops Battalion. “We needed additional rooms for servicemembers who are in rehabilitation but no longer need to be hospital inpatients.”
Renovators tore down walls, lowered light switches and sinks, ripped out tubs and installed shower seats, and removed front-door springs to keep doors from swinging shut on occupants.
After soldiering and mentoring, U.S. forces push their Iraqi counterparts out of the nest.
The first full Iraqi Army division will soon be operating without the mentoring of U.S. advisors, a U.S. Army official who oversees Iraqi security forces’ training said Monday in Baghdad.
Brig. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard discussed the formation of the Iraqi National Police and security concerns throughout Iraq in a briefing to reporters.
Pittard, commander of the Iraqi Assistance Group, said that after Sept. 3, the 8th Iraqi Army Division will be operating independently.
Coalition forces will provide only guidance going forward to what will become the first Iraqi Army division to reach such a level of independence.
Though your Army continues to fight abroad, they also find time to train for defending the homeland.
FORT MONROE, Va. – The scenario could be one of your darkest nightmares: a madman driven by an anti-American zealotry has shattered the peace of a major U.S. city. His weapon of choice? An aerosolized form of Y. Pestis bacteria, better known in medieval times as plague, and he has let it loose on America.
Welcome to Sudden Response 2006.
At Fort Monroe, Va., Joint Task Force Civil Support is writing – and rewriting – the way the U.S. military responds to such dire circumstances. In the Joint Planning Group, procedures and lines of communication are plotted and established that will save lives if the scenarios ever become reality. Exercises such as Sudden Response 2006 allow the Department of Defense to determine how military elements function in civil emergencies, what resources can be used, what are distractions and what must be avoided.
You can continue to be proud of your Soldiers knowing they are indeed on duty as your Army goes rolling along. Sgt Hook out.
“Recently, there have been several public statements about the readiness of the U.S. Army. The Army has been at war for close to five years now and I am extremely proud of all of our Soldiers, civilians, and families. We have asked a lot of them, from repetitive combat tours, to transforming the Army, to expanding our training base, to resetting our combat equipment. Simply put, this is the finest Army this nation has ever put into combat. Our Soldiers’ collective efforts have been magnificent. I have testified to the facts about our readiness and I remain concerned about the serious demands we face. During my recent House Armed Services Committee testimony I made clear that the Army needed four things to address our readiness; 1) timely passage of a Defense Bill, 2) growth of the Army’s Base Budget, 3) $17.1 billion in supplemental funding for the Army’s reset in Fiscal Year 2007, and 4) $12-13 billion a year, for two to three years following this conflict, to reset the Army if we remain at the current level of consumption. The Army and the Defense Department staff are addressing these issues. The President, the Secretary of Defense and the Congress have worked very closely with the Secretary of the Army and me in the past, and I am confident we will have a way to meet the many challenges that lie ahead during these dangerous times.” — Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
I don’t think your Army has been in a better state of readiness since I joined some 19 years ago. Yes, some of our Soldiers are tired, particularly those with special skill sets and some of our equipment needs updating (hence the importance placed on reset), but I’m confident that your Soldiers are ready to respond if needed.
The Chief of Staff made some valid points about the budget and I hope that our civilian leadership antes up. The Global War on Terror that we are embroiled in, and committed to win, is much more complicated and larger in scope than World War II, yet our society and economy are not mobilized in a unified effort to defeat our enemies as was the case in 1941. I for one will vote for the candidate who makes it a priority to recognize and fund the needs of our military as we quietly drive on in defense of our nation. I’m just sayin’. Sgt Hook out.
While reading this week’s Army Times I came across an article about the current status of Army recruiting. As would be expected, the article focused largely on numbers and percentages relating to established recruiting goals as we approach the year’s end (Military recruiting works on the fiscal year calendar).
This hasn’t been widely reported in the MSM, at least not the outlets I frequently read, watch, or listen to, but the Army is currently at 104% of meeting its annual goal as of July 31st. Isn’t it odd that when the numbers fall short, the headlines are filled with recruiting woes, but when they’re exceeded…crickets chirp? Anyway, just thought you’d like to know that your Army recruiters are putting ‘em in boots in case you didn’t hear it elsewhere. Sgt Hook out.
This job was going to be so time consuming. I can honestly say that I love what I’m doing though and look upon the challenges currently facing me more as opportunities. Thanks for hanging with me. Sgt Hook out.
The lovely and talented and downright sexy Mrs. Hook and I entered the modest post chapel to the melodic sounds of bagpipes softly playing over the PA system. We were escorted to our seats by a Soldier smartly dressed in his Class ‘A’ uniform, complete with awards and badges earned, expertly aligned above his breast pocket. We slid into the wood pew, one of several giving the chapel a seating capacity of 500, and waited as others continued to arrive.
They all arrived within minutes of each other to the parking lot just outside the post’s main gate, several cars packed with members of the congregation, most traveling from several hours away. Filing out of the cars, they greeted one another warmly with hugs and handshakes in the spirit of fellowship.
Recognizing fellow comrades-in-arms sitting in adjacent pews, we exchanged a few nods of recognition and understanding when the Chaplain took the podium announcing the momentary start of the service. The now silent chapel was interrupted by the shuffling sound of some 700 Soldiers and family members standing almost simultaneously as the surviving family of the two fallen heroes entered the chapel and took their seats in the front pew. We stood in honor of those left behind by the very heroes we had all come to honor in memoriam. Two Soldiers, Sergeants, Sons, Husbands, Dads, Crewchiefs, Medics, Americans, Men, two Heroes had paid the ultimate price in defense of freedom. They died in Iraq while serving a higher cause, serving this nation, serving the greater good. They died not in vain.
Many of the churchgoers were dressed in their best holey t-shirts and tattered jeans as they opened their trunks and began pulling out colorful signs three and four feet tall, signs filled with messages of hate, filth, and bile. The Westboro Baptists smiled and sang as they waved said signs at cars entering and exiting the Army post.
Comrades of the fallen Soldiers shared stories and memories of the two men and their commitment to duty, family, and country. Their Company Commander talked of how painful it was to write the letters of condolences to the surviving families, most difficult to the 5-year old son of one of the fallen. The Battalion Command Sergeant Major called the unit roll and on two occasions, there was no answer each time the names of the deceased Soldiers was called. From outside the chapel could be heard the sound of rifles firing a volley in saltue to the fallen heroes. Then this old soldier felt a lump in his throat and held back tears in his eyes as a lone bugler belted out Taps.
A passing Soldier stopped his car outside the gate and confronted the Westboro Baptists, challenging them to define good and evil. Others stopped to join in the argument, shocked, enraged, embarassed by the hatred they witnessed outside the gate. It wasn’t long before the Military Police arrived to clean up the bile.
As each of the several hundred attendees slid out of their pew, they solemly approached the altar upon which stood a shrine consisting of two M4 carbines, bayonets affixed precisely set behind a twin set of desert tan boots and upon which hung a set of dog tags. Atop the stock of each weapon set an aviator’s helmet and at the foot of each stood a framed picture of Sergeant Jeffrey Brown and Sergeant Steven Mennemeyer, both dressed in their desert tan flight suits. Military members took an additional step closer to the shrine as their spouses waited, dabbing tear filled eyes while their Soldiers rendered a final, solemn hand salute to the two fallen heroes before them.
The bile slithered back into their cars and headed home, their sermon having fallen on deaf ears. I personally look forward to the day they meet their maker.
Filing out of the chapel, the members of this small community returned to their lives, taking care of their families and Soldiering on, ready to answer the call to duty, a call greater than themselves, a call that guarantees freedom of speech and religion for the congregation of the Westboro Baptists. A call that all know may have to be answered with the ultimate sacrifice.
I’ll see you on Fiddler’s Green Sergeants Brown and Mennemeyer, America is grateful for men like you and forever in debt to your families. This We’ll Defend. Sgt Hook out.
This site is a collection of my writings, thoughts, and ramblings and in no way reflects the official positions of the United States Army or the Department of Defense. OPSEC trumps everything.
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In view of a recent tendency to identify characters in fiction with real people, it seems proper to state that there are no real people in this volume: both the characters and their names are ficticious. The names or designations of any military units are ficticious. There are no living people nor existing military units presented in this book.
-Ernest Hemingway
Halfway down the road to hell,
In a shady meadow green,
Are the souls of all dead troopers camped
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddler's Green.
-Author Unknown
The Blog of War
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