Posted on 12/27/2005 4:04:32 PM PST by Gucho
Two determined U.S. Army officers ensured soldiers serving in Afghanistan would receive packages from home in time for Christmas.
A U.S. soldier assigned to the 173rd Airborne Infantry runs to meet a incoming CH-47 Chinook as it brings Christmas Eve mail to a forward operating base in Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. John Chriswell)
U.S. Army Cpl. John Chriswell
BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Dec. 27, 2005 — Christmas in Afghanistan will never rival a Christmas at home, but for two U.S. Army officers from the 1st Personnel Command, they have gone above and beyond to bring home to soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
Col. Philip J. Smith, 1st Personnel Command commander from U.S. Army Europe and Capt. Peter M. Perzel, commander of the 510th Postal Company, delivered more than 10,000 pounds of mail to forward operating bases at Salerno, Ghazni, Orgun-E and Sharana, during Operation Sleigh Ride on Christmas Eve and Christmas.
"Seeing the smiles on the faces of these soldiers as they receive packages from home makes being here during the holidays worth while," said Smith.
While being here through the holidays is rough on just about everybody, missing family and home are some of the biggest problems most soldiers have to deal with.
"Dressing up as Santa is only one part of this journey today," said Perzel, "Delivering the packages their families have sent them for Christmas, helps the distance between them close, which completes our travels here."
For one soldier in Organ-E, it meant the world to see Santa.
"I thought that I was not going to get mail for awhile, but seeing the helicopters come in brought a light to all of us," said Staff Sgt. John Brooks. "And seeing Santa come off the back put the icing on the cake."
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
FORWARD LOGISTICS AREA ANACONDA, Iraq, Dec. 26, 2005 – It doesn't matter how many troops you have or how well trained they are if you can't sustain them. Coalition logisticians are working with the nascent Iraqi army to build a logistics capability for the force.
Army Lt. Col. Steven Shapiro, chief of operations for 3rd Corps Support Command and selected for promotion to colonel, said the command's soldiers are training Iraqis through schools and, mostly, through on-the-job experience. "We're training the Iraqis to follow up and provide support to their forces as they engage the enemy," Shapiro said during an interview in Balad.
On paper, and increasingly in reality, Iraqi logistical units are embedded in Iraqi maneuver units. The 3rd Corps Support Command is partnered with Iraqi motorized transportation regiments. "When you see an Iraqi army unit engaged, ... their physical resupply is through their motorized transportation regiments," he said.
Plans call for one motorized regiment per division, and the Iraqis plan for nine divisions. The regiments will handle all their own maintenance and their own security. "When we operate on the roads, we protect the convoys," Shapiro said. "The motorized transportation regiments will have their own mobile force protection assets embedded with them."
Three regiments are operating now. Coalition logistics personnel handle supplying the rest of the Iraqi force, Shapiro said.
The 3rd Corps Support Command has U.S. military transition teams working with the regiments, he explained. Each team has about 30 soldiers when it starts working with Iraqi forces. As the Iraqis learn and become more proficient, the transition team shrinks. Some teams now have only five soldiers, Shapiro noted.
American noncommissioned and commissioned officers are working with their Iraqi counterpartss. They show them how to set up an operations order and how to execute one, then work with the Iraqis as they learn, then step back as Iraqis handle missions on their own, Shapiro explained.
Iraqi units delivering supplies to their own forces means U.S. drivers and trucks aren't making the deliveries. "The more the Iraqi motorized transportation regiments do, the better off we are," Shapiro said.
As the maneuver units are doing what they need to do on the battlefield, the logistics command can get them what they need -- ideally a bit before they need it, he said.
Iraqis still are wrestling with how to set up their logistics command. "We're ready to help them whenever they decide," he said. "They seem to be leaning toward setting up their version of a corps support command."
People shouldn't expect the Iraqi system to be a mirror of the American system, Shapiro said. The American logistics effort is state-of-the-art. Computerized, satellite-monitored global positioning system tracking is not going to be part of the Iraqi logistics effort. The Iraqi logistics effort will be nowhere near as technical, nor does it have to be, Shapiro explained.
"As souped-up as it is with us, ... I would submit to you that they don't need that. (Theirs) will be based on more manual systems," Shapiro said. "The Microsoft suite of software will be as high-tech as they will need to go, at least at first."
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Tuesday, December 27, 2005
KABUL, Dec. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The Afghan government said on Tuesday it would examine Russia's demand over loan extended to the country during the ex-Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan.
December 27, 2005
AL ASAD, Iraq -- From Aug. 10 through Oct. 27, 1995, the recruits of Platoon 1030 endured the hardships of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and earned the title Marines. The moment their feet touch the infamous yellow footprints, the quarterdeck and the parade field, all the memories and friendships forged during those demanding days stay with the Marines for the rest of their lives.
Staff Sgt. Roy L. Calloway, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) plans chief, and Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Smith, 2nd MAW (Fwd) security manager, are able to share their memories of Platoon 1030 as they frequently reminisce and joke about their experiences while they are deployed together at Al Asad, Iraq.
Although there are many differences between the two, they said the hardships they shared nearly 10 years ago have created a friendship and a powerful sense of trust between them.
"It goes to show people from all different walks of life can come in the Corps and become instant friends forever," said Calloway. "It was cool to see him. When you are somewhere new, it’s good to have someone you can trust. After all these years, it’s like we just picked up from where we left off."
Calloway is a Radford, Va., native. He said it’s a small city in the southwestern part of the state where there is little to do for entertainment. He said that life before the Corps was without adventure.
Smith is an Orlando, Fla., native. He said he grew up in a large city where there were so many things to do he was never bored. He said some of the things were good and some were not the best choices in the world.
"Our differences tell me the Marine Corps can bring people from all walks of life together to work as a team to accomplish any mission," said Smith.
Although Calloway and Smith both plead the fifth to telling humorous stories from recruit training, they still joke about some of their experiences.
"Smith and his rack mate were always on the quarterdeck or sand pit," said Calloway. "I remember that even on the morning of graduation, the drill instructor wanted to get one last quarterdecking in on them."
"The quarterdeck became second home," joked Smith. "My neighbor was notorious for getting us in trouble."
Calloway said recruit training was a very humbling experience, and he and Smith always try to figure out who is still in the Marine Corps and who is out here serving in Iraq. Smith said out of Platoon 1030, at least six Marines were stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.
In Iraq, they said they rely on each other, and the Marines around them, to stay motivated and deal with any difficulties that may arise.
"The deployment is going well, just taking it one day at a time," said Calloway. "I am always running into Marines who I worked with at other duty stations out here. I would definitely say it’s a small Marine Corps, and we truly are a band of brothers. With me and Smith, we can talk about anything, good or bad."
Smith said it is great to see someone you know and can trust, someone you have already completed a hard task with and you can count to help you get through a long period of time spent deployed in a combat zone.
"Just like any deployment, the time here is flying by," said Smith. "Before I knew it, we were halfway through December and Christmas was here."
Although the bond Smith and Calloway share is strong, Smith said he still misses his family back in the United States.
"Without my wife, Carrie, and son, Braxton, Christmas is the hardest part of the deployment," said Smith. "I told my son that Santa was coming twice, once on Christmas and again when daddy comes home."
In the United States, Christmas is normally spent with family. Smith and Calloway said what they have already shared has created the sense of family between them.
"Marines are family, brothers and sisters," said Smith. "We look out for one another. We keep each other company and are there when you just need someone to talk to."
Calloway and Smith are ready to endure the hardships of this deployment together in the deserts of Iraq, just as they did 10 years ago in the swamplands of South Carolina.
Story by Cpl. Cullen J. Tiernan - 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
December 27, 2005
AL ASAD AIRFIELD, Iraq -- Marines and sailors poured from the back of assault helicopters to a familiar place last week as Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 (Reinforced) returned to western Iraq prepared to assist in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
For many of the "Raging Bull" aircrew and maintainers, the airfield at Al Asad is quite familiar. Nearly half of the squadron’s Marines operated at the sprawling Iraqi air base for nearly seven months last year.
The composite squadron is currently deployed as the aviation combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). While in Iraq, the squadron will work under the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing for operations, with the rest of the 22nd MEU (SOC) operating with the 2nd Marine Division, which has been in Iraq for just under a year.
Cpl. Jacob McGuire, from Milwaukee, Wisc., is on his second trip to Iraq. After his aircraft landed on one of the vast taxiways, the CH-46E Sea Knight crew chief described the flight from USS Nassau in the northern Arabian Gulf to western Iraq as "quiet," and then quickly climbed up on top of the aircraft and began inspecting his helicopter.
"Now that we have arrived, we have to get these helicopters ready to go again, just in case we are needed tonight," McGuire said.
In addition to its organic complement of Sea Knights, the squadron also flies CH-53E Super Stallion heavy lift assault, AH-1W Super Cobra attack, and UH-1N utility helicopters, all of which arrived at Al Asad the same day as the CH-46Es. The squadron’s detachment of AV-8B Harrier II attack jets flew into the airfield a day before the helicopters arrived.
In addition to HMM-261 (Rein), the 22nd MEU (SOC) consists of its Command Element, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines, and MEU Service Support Group 22. The MEU is currently deployed to Iraq’s Al Anbar province.
Story by: Computed Name: Maj. Eric R. Dent - 22nd MEU
December 27, 2005
Fallujah, Iraq -- A lifetime resident of Fallujah is very optimistic about his hometown’s future.
Jabar Ibraham Farhan Deab was born here 54 years ago and currently is the night watchman at the $958,000 Al Tahadi Water Treatment Facility. Construction on that plant is nearly complete and, once finished, will produce 400 cubic meters per hour, thereby increasing Fallujah’s potable drinking water capacity about 15 percent. Both Ibraham and his son’s family (including eight grandchildren) reside there.
"Last year Fallujah looked like a demolition zone," Ibraham said. "This year there’s a lot of construction going on and I can see improvements everywhere. We now have clean running water and they’re getting the electricity restored. There’s a lot of stuff happening and it’s very beautiful in Fallujah."
Both Ibraham and his son (who also is a guard at Al Tahadi), pointed out when they were forced out of the city last year and then returned, their home was totally destroyed ... "there was nothing left."
Both are looking to better times.
Ibraham talked about his hopes now that there’s a free Iraq. "I pray for peace, stability (where we don’t have to worry about threats), and a better life for my grandchildren."
By Norris Jones - Gulf Region Central District - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ADDITIONAL PHOTO:
Two of the 12 grandchildren of Jabar Ibraham Farhan Deab a security guard at the Al Tahadi Water Treatment Facility located along the Euphrates River in Fallujah. Construction on that facility is nearly finished and once complete will increase Fallujah’s potable drinking water capacity 15 percent. (Photo by Norris Jones, GRC)
By Donna Miles - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27, 2005 – The Army Reserve is instituting five-year readiness cycles to ensure a steady supply of deployment-ready forces while bringing more predictability to reservists, their families and their civilian employers, a top Army Reserve general said.
The Army Reserve Expeditionary Force provides a new model for how reservists will be organized, equipped, trained and mobilized in the future, said Army Brig. Gen. Richard J. Sherlock, the Army Reserve's new deputy chief, during a recent interview with the Pentagon Channel and the American Forces Press Service.
Almost all Army Reserve units will be assigned to an Army Reserve Expeditionary Force package, which follows a five-year cycle to prepare for a potential deployment, the general explained.
During the first year of the cycle, members will focus on individual training: schools, qualification courses and training programs that range from initial military training to basic and advanced officer and noncommissioned officer courses to Command and General Staff College, Sherlock said.
During the next three years, soldiers will build on their individual training by moving through a variety of individual and collective unit training events. These will culminate with certifying events that demonstrate that unit members are trained and ready to perform their mission, Sherlock said.
During the fifth year of the cycle, these fully trained troops will become part of a ready pool available for missions, whether stateside or overseas, he said.
The Army Reserve Expeditionary Force model will bring structure and continuity to reservists' training while eliminating some of the uncertainty they face about potential deployments, Sherlock said.
"We're trying to put predictability in our soldiers' lives, where they know that one year out of every five, they will be eligible for a deployment somewhere," he said. "It doesn't say that they will be (deployed). It says they would be in a pool and would be ready for that."
The new five-year model is expected to spread deployments more evenly throughout the Army Reserve force and help the Army better allocate its resources to deploying units and soldiers.
It's also expected to help bring more balance to what Sherlock describes as the "three-legged stool" that's critical to the reserve components: not only its soldiers, but also the families and civilian employers who support them. "We can't perform our mission unless we keep all three of those legs of the stool ... in balance," Sherlock said.
The new model represents another step forward in the Army Reserve's transformation to a 21st-century force able to better complement the active Army, he said.
"We've moved in many ways from being a strategic reserve, or a force that is supplementary, to an operational reserve or force that is complementary to our Army," he said.
This transformation has been under way for the past decade, with particular progress during the past five years, Sherlock said. "We've been conducting operations, operating with the Army side by side as a complementary force, in essence, for over 10 years now," he said.
The result, he said, is an Army Reserve force that's more experienced, better trained and more ready than ever before.
The challenge ahead, as these combat veterans return home to their units, will be to continue offering them rewarding military careers.
"Our challenge as we go to the future is to continue to provide meaningful training opportunities for them ... so they can keep that level of proficiency and interest in staying with ... the finest Army in the world," Sherlock said.
As the Army Reserve has transitioned from a back-up force to a full partner in U.S. national defense, its active-component counterparts have taken note, he said.
"Our soldiers are performing on the battlefield with the active and Guard counterparts every single day, and every officer, every NCO, every leader I have talked to ... has said the same thing: 'I can't tell the difference, when I talk to a group of soldiers, who is active, Reserve, National Guard,'" Sherlock said.
"And I think it shows the progress of having an 'Army of One,'" he said. We are all supporting the same Army and ... conducting the same operations and supporting the war on terror as an Army, as opposed to different components of an Army."
December 27, 2005
TIKRIT, Iraq -- Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker spent his Christmas Day with the Soldiers of Task Force Band of Brothers at Forward Operating Base Speicher, taking the time to visit every major unit before having Christmas dinner with the troops.
"This is a tough time of year to be away from home," Schoomaker said. "As you look back on it in the future, you’re going to see these times deployed as some of the most important times of your life. [You are creating] some of the very best memories, in spite of the fact that you miss your families and they miss you… You’re really giving a gift to your own children and your own family and to the American people by your service."
While visiting with the units of the task force, Schoomaker was able to get an up close look at the newly transformed 101st Airborne Division. He said the benefits of the new modular Army are evident with the 101st so far on this deployment.
The 101st became the first fully-transformed division in mid-2005 and started putting new modular Army to the test when they took command of north central Iraq Nov. 1.
"There is a lot of internal agility and operational agility built into the organization itself," Schoomaker said, referring to the newly transformed division. "It’s much more robust and integrated in terms of skill sets and capabilities that are resident within the tactical formations."
Schoomaker said that the new modular units are more flexible and dynamic. They have better command and control, better intelligence capabilities, and a better fighting edge.
The new structure of the 101st helps in the Army’s current mission to train Iraqi Security Forces and help rebuild a long neglected infrastructure. It is a gradual but beneficial process, Schoomaker said.
"It is one of those things where we don’t have it perfect, but we are certainly way ahead of where we were a year ago, and certainly compared to two years ago," he said.
Schoomaker visits Iraq three to four times a year and notes much progress in the ability of the ISF.
"It’s real evident to me the progress were making. It’s probably not as evident to the people that are living it every day because the changes are gradual, but when you get snapshots like I do, I see tremendous progress in terms of what we’re doing here. I think that’s exemplified in the great successes we’ve had in the elections and the turns in attitude of the Iraqi people."
There are more changes ahead for the 101st and the Army as the mission of preparing Iraq to stand on its own continues.
"I think that we will constantly be training and retraining and adapting to a thinking enemy. That is part of the nature of warfare and it always has been," Schoomaker said. "I think it’s very dangerous to assume that we will get it right and once you get it right, things won’t change. The nature of battle and the nature of war is that the enemy adapts to you and you have to adapt to them. It’s who can adapt the fastest and out-think the other that really makes the difference."
By Sgt. Dallas Walker - 101st Airborne Division Public Affairs
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
Major Gen. Thomas Turner, commander, 101st Airborne Division and Task Force Band of Brothers, and Gen. Peter Schoomaker, chief of staff of the Army, talk with Col. Mark McKnight, commander, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at the brigade's tactical operations center. Schoomaker toured Forward Operating Base Speicher Christmas Day. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Dallas Walker)
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker (left) congratulates members of the 101st Airborne Division Band (right), who performed during while Schoomaker ate Christmas Day dinner with Soldiers from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at the Eagle's Nest Dining Facility on Forward Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, Dec. 25, 2005. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Dallas Walker)
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Ronald Thomas, division chaplain, talks with Gen. Peter Schoomaker, chief of staff of the Army during his visit to the 101st Airborne Division headquarters at Forward Operating Base Speicher Dec. 25. Schoomaker spent Christmas Day touring the installation before having dinner with Soldiers at the Eagle's Nest cafe. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Dallas Walker)
December 27, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Deployed troops are getting a helping hand ringing in the New Year without breaking the bank.
Employees of the Defense Department's Contracting Center of Excellence office have been collecting donations for the "Cell Phones for Soldiers" program - a grassroots member of DoD's "America Supports You" program -- as part of a holiday community outreach effort, said Charito Glorioso, chief of the CCE's Customer Education and Support Division.
"Cell Phones for Soldiers was selected because it didn't compete with (the Combined Federal Campaign) and is in line with our ultimate mission to directly support the warfighter," she said.
CFC is the only charitable campaign authorized to solicit federal employees at the work place.
Brittany Bergquist, 15, and her brother, Robbie, 13, of Norwell, Mass. , founded the nonprofit Cell Phones for Soldiers in April 2004. The program recycles unwanted cell phones for cash, which is used to buy prepaid calling cards for troops overseas.
CCE's efforts amazed the Bergquists. "It's incredible," Brittany said. "It makes me feel really special that they chose us out of all the other organizations in the country. "
Robbie added that the phones CCE collects will help a lot because they are worth anywhere from $1 to about $200 when recycled for cash. The batteries and accessories are recyclable as well, he said.
His hope is that everyone who passes through the Pentagon in one day would donate a phone. At even $1 each, that would add significantly to the $850,000 he and his sister already have raised through their program, Robbie said.
With a goal of collecting 3,000 unwanted cell phones, CCE established drop-off points in the Pentagon on Dec. 6. Cell phones, BlackBerries and pagers can be dropped off at collection sites in Corridors 1 and 2 and 9 and 10, as well as in the Concourse area through Dec. 31. Pentagon employees have donated more than 500 cell phones to date, Glorioso said.
"The success of this program is a result of the generosity of the DoD community here at the Pentagon. All the members of our team have either served on active duty or have family members currently serving," she said. "Call it our patriotic duty. We became involved in this project because we wanted to show support and appreciation for our troops. "
Those who would like to donate but don't have access to the Pentagon can visit the Cell Phones for Soldiers Web site. State-by-state drop-off location information is available there, as are directions on how to send donations directly to a recycling center.
The donations are tax deductible, and receipts for tax purposes are given in either electronic or paper form. For those donating at the Pentagon, the receipts can be picked up at the drop-off locations.
By Samantha L. Quigley - American Forces Press Service
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Israeli planes have fired two missiles at targets in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian witnesses say.
There are no casualties reported.
The witnesses say both missiles landed in northern Gaza, one of them in an open area near a hospital.
An Israeli Army spokesman says he is aware of one missile being fired.
"The Air Force attacked an access route in northern Gaza which leads to a rocket launching ground," the spokesman said.
The Army says it had earlier detected a rocket being launched towards Israel's western Negev region, which is close to Gaza, and is conducting searches to see where it had landed.
On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes hit targets in Gaza as Israel followed through on a threat to enforce a buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip to stop militant rocket fire at Israel.
The makeshift rockets fired by Gaza militants rarely cause casualties.
However, the attacks could complicate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's campaign for re-election in a March ballot on the strength of a Gaza pullout he had said would boost Israel's security.
Reuters
KHARTOUM, Dec 27 (KUNA) -- The Sudanese government received information Tuesday indicating that the six Sudanese hostages in Iraq were still unharmed, said Sudanese Information Minister Azzahawi Ibrahim.
"The Islamic Union in Baghdad obtained information confirming that the kidnapped are safe and in good health condition," said Ibraheem He told the press that the government made extensive efforts to free the Sudanese who were kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad last Friday.
"Our contacts and consultations are on with several parties to communicate with the kidnapped and release them all by the armed group in Iraq," said the Sudanese official.
He said, the Sudanese mission in Baghdad is able to carry out its duties for freeing the hostages.
RIYADH, Dec 27 (KUNA) -- Five Saudi policemen were killed Tuesday in fire exchange east of the Suadi Buriada City, and Saudi security forces arrested a wanted person, announced the Saudi Interior Ministry today.
The incident took place around 9 am local time when a police squad car patrolling an area near Al-Hijjaj city was targeted by gun shots fired from a car. Two policemen were killed in the attack, an official source from the ministry told Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The same car opened fire on a checkpoint near in Al-Qaseem area killing three more policemen, said the source.
Saudi Police, added the source, was able to spot and pursue the attacking car. During the chase, Saudi police succeeded in catching up with suspect car and arrested a person in it.
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