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.
FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (Army News Service, Aug. 22, 2006) – Wounded Soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center now have a place to call home during their recovery.
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.
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