In case you weren’t aware… your Soldiers have been quite busy as of late and I thought to brief you on just a few of their activities as the Army Goes Rolling Along…
Army Song
al-Qaeda killed…
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2007 – Afghan and U.S. forces killed a suspected al Qaeda agent and captured three other suspected insurgents during separate actions in Afghanistan’s Zabul and Nangarhar provinces today, military officials said.
The suspected al Qaeda operative had fired on Afghan and U.S. troops as they approached a reputed militant safe house located in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar province. The house was allegedly used by al Qaeda to funnel weapons and explosives for terrorist operations. Coalition forces returned fire, killing the militant.
A search of the house yielded numerous weapons, including timers and grenades used to make improvised explosive devices. No coalition casualties were incurred during the operation.
The detained threesome will be questioned about their identities and involvement in terrorist activities, officials said.
Best friend…
SHUKRAN, Iraq– For just about every cordon and search operation in Iraq, there is a special two-Soldier team that provides an extra sense to the efforts to find anti-Iraqi forces and hidden weapons. One of those teams at Forward Operating Base Q-West is Staff Sgt. Chuck Shuck and his dog, Sgt. 1st Class Gabe, both with 178th Military Police Detachment, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade.
On this particular morning, Shuck and Gabe are helping Battery A, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment Soldiers search the nearby village of Shukran for any weapons that may be hidden in the area.
“The dog has a nose like no human has, that’s just a given,” Shuck said. “A dog is able to smell stuff that humans can’t smell because they can pick up on residue and stuff like that. Even if Soldiers miss something, 95 percent of the time the dog is going to pick up on it.”
In the eight and a half months Shuck and Gabe have been in Iraq, they have worked primarily with 5/82 FA Soldiers. They have conducted approximately 140 searches both on and off the base and have been on more than 90 combat missions off the FOB. To date, one of their biggest finds was 36 122 mm rounds back in Oct. 2006.
Gabe and Shuck have also seen their fair share of action in theater.
“Last month, we were on a raid with Alpha Battery, 5/82 FA, and a guy started shooting through the door. Gabe and I were right there in the thick of things with them, and it was pretty amazing,” Shuck said. “Gabe actually got put in for a Combat Action Badge.”
Insurgents nabbed…
The US military in Iraq says it has detained 32 suspected militants in a series of overnight raids. Some 16 were seized in Sadr City in Baghdad, a stronghold of Shia militias where US and Iraqi troops have been searching for five abducted Britons.
In north-western Iraq, at least nine people died in a suicide truck bomb attack on a police post in Rabia.
The new spokesman for the US military in Iraq has defended the recent “surge” in troops aimed at tightening security.
The US military said the men detained overnight were suspected members of a network involved in bringing sophisticated bomb components into Iraq from Iran.
Others were held in raids targeting al-Qaeda fighters around Falluja and Hit, west of Baghdad.
Operation Achilles…
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Sounds from roaring engines and spinning rotors from the British CH-47 Chinook pierce through the night as the aircraft carries paratroopers of the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, on an air assault mission into the lower Sangin Valley near the Gereshk District.
Landing under the cover of darkness in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, the “heart of Taliban country,” the back ramp of the Chinook drops and paratroopers make their way off the helicopter to pull security duty. The Chinook begins to kick up dirt and debris as it roars off into the darkness, leaving the paratroopers in the poppy fields of the Sangin Valley.
This is the latest air assault mission for the 1/508th in a series of sub-operations under “Operation Achilles,” an operation ongoing since early March. Many of these paratroopers spent more than 40 days in the first and second sub-operations of Achilles, only to return to the battlefield after a six-day regrouping period.
It is just another day for the elite group from the 82nd Airborne Division. The paratroopers have a rich history since World War II of living up to their “all the way” motto by doing whatever it takes to accomplish what their country asks of them.
These parachute troops are going into places that have not previously had a U.S. presence and they are met with heavy resistance at times, said Army Lt. Col. Brian Mennes, battalion commander, 1/508th. “It shows there is nothing they can’t handle with competence, and that is impressive,” he said.
Achilles was launched at the request of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government and is the largest coalition operation to date. It involves about 5,500 International Security Assistance Force soldiers, including 1,000 soldiers from the Afghan National Security Force and close to 1,000 paratroopers from Fort Bragg’s 82nd Airborne Division.
Nicknamed the “Red Devils,” the 1/508th continues to play a key roll in conducting the largest air assault missions of Operation Enduring Freedom in a region that has not seen military operations since the Soviet Union’s occupation in the 1980s.
Wounded Warriors…
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 8, 2007) - Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials yesterday activated the second and third companies focused solely on overseeing the health, welfare and morale of “warriors in transition.”
Walter Reed officials activated Battle Company and Chosen Battery of the Warrior Transition Brigade, while the much-maligned Medical Hold Company was deactivated, during a ceremony.
Battle Company and Chosen Battery join Able Troop, which was activated April 27, as part of the new Warrior Transition Brigade “to facilitate the healing process of warriors in transition and their families physically, mentally and spiritually,” said Col. Terrence McKenrick, the brigade’s commander.
Quality of life surge…
“The surge has assisted civil military operations by putting more coalition eyes on the environment, so that we get a more responsive analysis of what essential services and economic development services are needed by the populace,” said Lt. Col. John Rudolph, the assistant chief of staff of civil military operations for Multi-National Division - Baghdad.
Lt. Col. Rudolph said civil military operations in MND-B’s area of operation, which run the gamut from governance to agriculture to infrastructure to economic improvements, have already dedicated more than $163 million of Commander’s Emergency Relief Project funds to projects all aimed at improving the quality of life for Iraqis living in and around Baghdad.
“This really is about improving the quality of life for the Iraqis,” said Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the deputy commanding general for support with MND-B. That “support” role not only touches the lives of the 50,000-plus troops working under MND-B, but also the Iraqi people. He said it’s challenging to move ahead with quality of life initiatives in the face of extremist efforts to stop them.
“There is a perception that I’ve seen in every sector of this region we have responsibility for - when I talk to the Iraqis - that the Americans have the ability to put a man on the moon, and yet they can’t provide us with electricity,” Brig. Gen. Brooks said. “That whole idea of an expectation that we promised and haven’t delivered causes a great deal of problems.”
“You saw areas favored by Saddam and his regime see power longer throughout the day, but they still didn’t get power 24/7,” Lt. Col. Rudolph said. “They still had to use what they called the ‘generator men,’ who were entrepreneurs who had their own generators and supplied power to local neighborhoods for the ‘off power’ periods - even during Saddam’s period.”
Thank GOD that your Army keeps rolling along. Sgt Hook out.
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