Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom Pics (Progress the MSM hides from US)

Time to remember that any reporting of progress and good news in the War on Terror is purposely being kept from US by the media-ocres .. the well-known arrogant and biased typical news sources ... who have such pathetically hateful character that they'd rather deny and color the truth than give any hint of support or praise Pres. Bush or our fabulous military.

Especially now that the Dim dark forces and Rinos are converging and conniving to undermine Pres. Bush, while preparing their agendas and stalking points for the 2006 and 2008 elections, it's vital that we get the word out that the building blocks are gradually being put in place> The foundation is being laid for the Iraqis to manage their own free country, with the help of US and our Coalition partners. Democracy for the United States of America was a mighty struggle that I believe took over a decade, but the Dims, quibblers and their press buddies demand everything done yesterday.

Let's herald the accomplishments and give our incredible armed forces the attention they so richly have earned and deserve.

I hope this thread grows with other contributions.. and our incredible troops know just how much they're loved, honored and appreciated for all they do. There are NO finer folks in the world, and they put it ALL on the line every day for US.

Capt. Ronald Leach (center), U.S. Army, examines a local child with the help of Sgt. Georgina Kirkland (left) during a community health outreach program services mission conducted in Al Qudria, Iraq, on Nov. 22, 2005. Soldiers of the 550th Area Support Medical Company and the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team are bringing medical treatment to residents of Al Qudria. DoD photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill, U.S. Army.

Iraqi army soldiers listen to U.S. Army soldiers from Headquarters Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Mortars Platoon, 101st Airborne, Fort Campbell, Ky., during a weapons training class at Forward Operating Base McHenry, Iraq, Nov. 19, 2005.

Army Staff Sgt. Jason Lyday (left) instructs Iraqi Army soldiers on muzzle discipline prior to entering a room during a dry run of close quarters battle at weapons class on Forward Operations Base McHenry, Iraq, on Nov. 23, 2005. Lyday is attached to the 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Ky. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway, U.S. Air Force.

U.S. Army soldiers from Task Force Strength and Egyptian soldiers give donated clothes to Afghan children during a joint humanitarian aid mission at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on Nov. 17, 2005. Task Force Strength conducts humanitarian missions along with coalition forces to aid the Afghan people. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Jose L. Rodriguez, U.S. Army.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Victor Fontan stands atop approximately 900 boxes of Soviet rockets stored in a cave at a former Soviet Union Training Camp north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Oct. 7, 2005. Fontan is assigned to the 789th Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. DoD photo by Pfc. Leslie Angulo, U.S. Army.

U.S. Army Sgt. Randall Boyd, Headquarters Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Mortars Platoon, 101st Airborne, Fort Campbell Ky., watches television while eating breakfast with Iraqi army soldiers before conducting weapons training for the Iraqi army at Forward Operating Base McHenry, Iraq, Nov. 19, 2005.

U.S. Army Spc. Thomas Boyd, Headquarters Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Mortars Platoon, 101st Airborne, Fort Campbell, Ky., instructs an Iraqi army soldier before he fires his weapon during a weapons class at Forward Operating Base McHenry, Iraq, Nov. 19, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway

U.S. Army Spc. Thomas Boyd, Headquarters Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Mortars Platoon, 101st Airborne, Fort Campbell, Ky., gives instructions to an Iraqi army soldier after looking over his target during a weapons class at Forward Operating Base McHenry, Iraq, Nov. 19, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway

U.S. Army Capt. Robert R. Craig (right), commander, Company A, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Richardson, Alaska, his interpretor, and U.S. Army 1st Lt. Robert R. Dapice, fire support officer, Company A, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, talk with an Iraqi school manager and teachers during a patrol in Mosul, Iraq, Oct. 20, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp

Iraqi children in the city of Mosul clamor for soccer balls from the U.S. soldiers of Company A, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Richardson, Alaska, during the company's patrol of Mosul in the Stryker light armored vehicle, Oct. 20, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp

11/19/05 - An Ethiopian soldier looks over his graduation certificate after completing border security training at Camp Hurso, Ethiopia, Nov. 19, 2005. U.S. Army Soldiers with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment, taught the coalition military course. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Stephen Schester, U.S. Air Force.

11/17/05 - An F/A-18 Hornet from the "Valions" of Strike Fighter Squadron One Five (VFA-15) lands aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) Nov. 17, 2005. The nuclear powered aircraft carrier and embarked Carrier Air Wing Eight are underway on a regularly scheduled deployment conducting maritime security operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Stephen Early)

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Senior Airman Alex Cohen, right, and Senior Airman Anthony Nuno secure the perimeter. Both Airmen are with the 451st Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and deployed from Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Marcus McDonald)

These wonderful children greeted American soldiers at a school near Khanaqin close by the Iranian border.

Reality, mobility, flexibility, change, PROGRESS

Top NCOs Inform Soldiers in Iraq of Wartime Training Changes

By Pfc. Jason Jordan, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, Nov. 27, 2005 – The Army is instituting significant changes in how it trains and recruits soldiers, aiming to make U.S. troops more battle ready for the challenges in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, two of the Army's top noncommissioned officers said during recent visits to Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq.

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U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's Command Sgt. Maj. John Sparks meets with soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division during a luncheon Nov. 15 at the DeFleury Dining Facility at Camp Liberty, Iraq. Photo by Pfc. Jason Jordan, USA

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The two command sergeants major, John Sparks of the U.S. Army's Training and Doctrine Command, and Lonny Wright with Infantry Branch Command, spoke during separate mid-November meetings with solders from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

"We are enhancing the individual soldiers' skills-ensuring they are better trained and more prepared for today's warfare," Wright said. "Each soldier will go through a live-fire convoy exercise and train on more weapons systems."

Army basic training, he added, also now requires soldiers to carry their weapons at all times and includes military operations on urbanized terrain.

Moreover, Wright said, the Army aims to provide units with more experienced and more specialized leaders, including better-trained drill sergeants, to facilitate and enhance soldier training. As part of this effort, the Army plans to provide units with squad-designated marksmen, who will train an extra two weeks, at their unit's request, before being assigned to their unit.

Increasingly, soldiers will not have to leave their unit for training; the training will come to them, Wright noted.

The Army is developing mobile training facilities, which will bring schools like the basic and advanced NCO courses directly to soldiers. Mobile training programs, he explained, allow soldiers to train during the day, while returning home to their families at night.

The Army also plans to make more training courses available to soldiers on compact discs, which can be distributed to units both stateside and in the field.

"We do not want to create a large number of new programs that we will never complete," Wright said. "We would rather... bring the training that is already available down to you -- bring it closer."

In addition, soldier training will have increasing relevance to real-world missions, with feedback from the field incorporated into the curricula, Wright said.

NCOs from the 10th Mountain Division praised these and related changes.

"This concept of constant change and updates will bring a whole new relevance to the training," said Command Sergeant Maj. M. Todd Hibbs of the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment. "The fact is [these changes] "are being driven by what is happening in the field."

If soldier training is not intensified well before deployment, added 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Command Sergeant Maj. Brian Carlson, "then it is too late." Pre-deployment, theater-specific, individual readiness training is inadequate; more training must to be done before that, he said.

Sgt. Justin Kerns, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, agreed. Improving "basic training and... individual soldier skills is a good thing," he said. "I know that when I went through basic, it was just that - basic. [Wright] talked about more experienced soldiers coming down to provide training, and that is good to hear."

Other changes announced by Sparks and Wright include moving the Sergeants Major Academy from Fort Bliss, Texas, to Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

And, Wright promised, commanders and top NCOs will work more closely before assuming a new command, in order to better serve their soldiers. "This will put everyone on the same sheet of music before taking their positions," he said.

The Army also wants to ensure that NCOs rotate through both garrison and combat tours of duty.

"I will not allow anyone to stay at Fort Benning, [the Army's training command in Georgia], for more than 36 months," Wright said. "No one is going to hide out there, while the rest of you guys are down here doing the tough work."

But by the same token, he added, soldiers in the field need to rest and prepare themselves with stateside, garrison duty.

"We must protect our young leaders and NCOs in the future," Wright said.

(Pfc. Jason Jordan is assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)

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