STREETS OF FALLUJAH — A street vendor sits with his son in Fallujah, Iraq, Dec. 15, 2005. The city's marketplace has returned since Operation Al Fajr (Phantom Fury) ended last year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Ronna M. Weyland)
Posted on 12/28/2005 4:01:28 PM PST by Gucho
By Kathleen T. Rhem - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2005 – Free and fair elections in Iraq and Afghanistan represent the U.S. military's most significant accomplishment in 2005, the top U.S. enlisted servicemember said.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began 2005 in Iraq as the senior enlisted advisor for Multinational Corps Iraq. He witnessed the Jan. 30 elections there and said the event and subsequent elections in Iraq and Afghanistan are significant on many levels.
"I think elections are the key focus," Gainey said in an interview. "When you can go into an area that a week before people were shooting at you, and now you go out and see people lined up as far as your eyes can see ... voting and giving you 'the finger' -- the purple index finger -- it was amazing."
He said American servicemembers should take pride in this advance whether they were in Iraq or Afghanistan or elsewhere. "You were involved too, because you supported it," he said. "You supported the men and women that were there, so you're just as much a part of being there, and everyone needs to know that."
Gainey predicted 2006 will bring more involvement from Iraqis and Afghans in defending their own countries. "I think you're going to see the Iraqi army (and) the Afghan army take more responsibility, and I think they want to do that," he said. "I look forward to that. And I think everyone in the United States looks forward to them taking responsibility and us slowly pulling out when the time is right."
The sergeant major didn't try to predict when that time might be, and he said U.S. servicemembers don't try to predict either.
"Most of them don't worry about timelines. I think it's others who worry more about timelines," he said. "They worry about the mission at hand. They realize that as soon as the Iraqi or Afghanistan armies take more of the responsibilities for what's going on, they will come home. But I would bet you that any solider, sailor, Marine or airman you ask says that we'd rather stay and do it right than leave and have it wrong."
Gainey said he has seen significant and measurable progress in Iraq, particularly in 2005. He noted that in his early days in Iraq, casual observers didn't see children going to school or people out on the street. "Now you see kids going to school with books in their hands; you see businesses open, markets open; you see more cars on the street than Carter's got peanuts," he said with a tongue-in-cheek reference to former President Carter's peanut farmer family roots. "I think that is a positive thing. That is a real neat thing, just to see the way that (Iraqis are) living their lives."
Gainey's message to U.S. troops as 2005 gives way to 2006 is to keep their heads up and take pride in their accomplishments.
"On the days that they feel down -- because we all feel down -- they need to keep their heads up. They need to be proud of what they're doing. They need to realize that what they're doing is making history," whether it be in Iraq and Afghanistan or responding to natural disasters the world over, Gainey said. "That's the message I would tell them: be proud of who they are, because pride is contagious, and they're just throwing this pride all over the place, which is very good and makes me feel good about who I am ... and who we are."
December 28, 2005
TIKRIT, Iraq -- Three weapons caches were discovered and destroyed by Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers Tuesday in north central Iraq.
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team discovered a large cache of mortar rounds and artillery fuses while patrolling near Hawijah Tuesday afternoon.
Nearly 400 mortar rounds of various types and sizes, along with 250 lbs. of explosive propellant, 878 artillery fuses, 1,900 rounds of small arms ammunition, a Russian-made anti-tank missile and an anti-personnel mine were blown up by an explosive ordnance disposal team at the site in a controlled detonation.
Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers, operating near Bayji Tuesday afternoon, uncovered and destroyed two weapons caches.
The first find yielded three mortar tubes, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, more than 60 RPG warheads, a pound of plastic explosives and several hundred rounds of small arms ammunition.
The second, larger cache, contained 58 artillery shells, 300 anti-aircraft artillery rounds, 26 mortar tubes, four RPG launchers and 35 lbs. of bulk explosives.
Iraqi and U.S. forces have found dozens of weapons caches since Task Force Band of Brothers stood up two months ago. Thousands of weapons and explosives have been taken from the terrorists and other criminals, preventing an untold number of attacks against the local populace and coalition forces.
By SSG C. Joel Peavy - 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) - Public Affairs Office OPS NCO
God Bless our guys, they did a GREAT JOB. there's the PROOF. Let all those kool aid drinkers say what they want thereis the proof
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
KABUL, 28 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed German peacekeeping official Tom Koenigs as his top envoy in Afghanistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed on Wednesday in the Afghan capital Kabul.
HHHHHOOOOOORRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Bump - I agree Joe.
December 28, 2005
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq -- A little more than one year ago, the Iraqi people faced a fierce insurgency in Fallujah, and the Marines were called in to correct it. The battle which caused its population to be displaced also caused damage to the city’s infrastructure. Now, Marines and coalition forces assist in rebuilding the city.
Before the fight to clear the insurgent stronghold, Fallujah had a population of about 300,000 people, according to John K. Weston, U.S. State Department spokesman. By the time the attack was launched the vast majority of the population left the area.
After the world witnessed the death of four American contractors, Marines and Iraqi Security Forces launched a major assault against the insurgents in the desolate city. Days after the assault began, negotiations between the Iraqi government and coalition forces forged a cease fire.
Eventually the agreement dissolved and the city became a base for the insurgency. Operation Al Fajr followed, a joint offensive to clear terrorists out of Fallujah.
Marines moved into through insurgent-infested streets and killed or captured them. Consequently, the city suffered extensive infrastructure damage in some areas.
"The economic challenges are going to be the areas in the industrial section of the city where a lot of the bad guys were operating from," said Weston. "They had a lot of bombs dropped on it. That right there is where 68 percent of the jobs were based, and that’s the big focus for us and them. There’s been more damage in Fallujah probably than any other city in Iraq."
Residents were allowed to return in mid-December 2004, however, reconstruction is progressing and more than 150,000 Fallujans have yet to return to the city.
"One of the biggest things that stands out in my mind was when I was out here during Operation [Al Fajr]," said Lance Cpl. Anthony Hager, who deployed in 2004 with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, under 1st Marine Division. "I was in the [Civil Military Operation Center] and there was a big firefight in the mosque across the street. During my first convoy, when I came back out here in July this year, I saw that mosque was rebuilt. They put bricks up where tanks passed through and where bullet holes riddled the walls. That was the first sign where I felt that what we do does make a difference."
Although Hager, who currently provides security at the CMOC, stays within the gates, he said he’s witnessed the reconstruction phase in Fallujah and interacts with city residents whenever possible.
"I haven’t convoyed a lot, but from the convoys I have ridden in I see people wave at us," said Hager. "Compared to when I came in the last time, the only people we saw were the bad guys in the streets, and they weren’t really waving at us."
President George W. Bush spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations early in December about rebuilding Iraq from the ground up.
"Over the course of this war we have learned that winning a battle for Iraqi cities is only the first step," said the president. "We also have to win the battle after the battle by helping Iraqis consolidate their gains and keep the terrorists from returning. With help from our military and civilian personnel, the Iraqi government can then work with local leaders and residents to begin reconstruction with Iraqis leading the building efforts and our coalition in a supporting role. This approach is working."
Since November 2004, rebuilding efforts have been implemented. Out of the 532 projects planned, 382 are already completed with a major emphasis on healthcare, security, electricity and education.
Hugh Exton, Project and Contracting Office director said before the battle in Fallujah emerged, the city was already in despair. The city recently completed a project that improved the ability to provide electricity service to residents.
"During Saddam’s reign the city of Fallujah was severely neglected much like other cities," said Exton. "Through partnerships between the United States and Ministry of Electricity in Iraq, we anticipate significant savings will be made, but more importantly, this agreement will put the Ministry in control of project development and implementation. Through partnerships such as these, the successful transition to Iraqi autonomy will take place."
Access to major medical facilities improved greatly, according to city officials, through joint efforts between city leaders and coalition forces. There are currently three hospitals open in the city and enough funds to construct a 200-bed hospital.
Two police station contracts were awarded and new equipment is being put into service to a nearly fully manned police force. The stations measure 3,312 square meters and will include a dorm area for 100 policemen, offices, holding cell, conference room, kitchenette, as well as two covered courtyards.
There are now 49 schools open in Fallujah. Sixteen schools have been rehabilitated and four new schools with modern amenities are under construction. Coalition forces have exited all schools previously occupied.
"The biggest challenge is not security or political engagement," said Weston. "It’s reconstruction, it’s rebuilding accountability between the city and Baghdad – not between the city and Americans. One of my biggest concerns is that we’ve become a landscape and the city comes to us for answers and satisfaction when really they need to get to Baghdad. They are used to having a regiment of 4,000 Marines deliver and nobody is better at delivering than the U.S. Marine Corps."
Weston hopes the city will gradually shift from dependency to independency and seeking accountability where it needs to come from. Although the road to complete restoration is far ahead, the city’s reconstruction phase progresses and coalition forces hope Fallujah will serve as a model city that illustrates the benefits of cooperation with them in Iraq.
Story by Cpl. Heidi E. Loredo - II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
Click Operation al-Fajr (Dawn) Operation Phantom Fury [Fallujah]
December 28, 2005
FALLUJAH, Iraq -- While Iraqis voted on the future of their country Dec. 15, one Marine kept a watchful eye over Fallujah, and reflected on his experiences in Iraq.
Lance Cpl. Anthony Hager, who provides security for the Civil-Military Operation Center in Fallujah, is among countless Marines who will spend the holidays in Iraq.
"I am currently in the middle of my second tour [to Iraq], and I’ve already volunteered to extend for a third tour," said Hager, a Spring Hill, Fla., native. "What I’d really like to do is four [deployments] in four years."
Hager, 20, initially deployed to Iraq in June 2004 after graduating Springstead High School in 2003, and completing Marine Corps recruit training aboard Parris Island, S.C., shortly thereafter.
Hager said his uncle Chris Neidrich, who was killed in 2004 while serving as a contractor in Baghdad, inspired him to pursue a career in the military.
"My uncle was a security contractor, and I look at what he did," he said. "He was killed in an ambush in June of 2004, which was a week before my first deployment. That’s my motivation; to strive to be as good as he was at what he did."
Hager, who is assigned to Security Platoon, Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, said he also joined to gain experience for future career goals and to grasp the opportunity to travel.
"The reason I joined the Marines Corps was to get the experience, to travel and to learn what I want to do when I get older," he said. "What I want to do is become an executive protection agent."
During his first deployment, Hager supported operations with 2nd Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, as an assaultman.
"The first deployment was hard," he said. "[Over] time, you get used to it [and] your family gets used to it."
Lance Cpl. Anthony Hager, Civil-Military Operation Center team-leader, initially deployed to Iraq in June 2004. His uncle Chris Neidrich, a Clearwater employee, was killed in 2004 while serving as a contractor in Baghdad. His death inspired Hager to pursue a career in the military. (Photo by: Lance Cpl. Josh Cox)
This year, Hager will spend the holidays with his Marine family in Iraq for the second time.
"It’s hard knowing the fact that right now my daughter is growing up and I’m not there to see it," he said. "[However,] this is something I feel needs to be done."
The avid drummer served in Fallujah during Operation Al Fajr (Phantom Fury) in November 2004, when Marines pushed through the city to disrupt insurgent operations.
"It was like a ghost town," he said. "I didn’t see one car move. None of the shops were open. The only people [we] saw on the streets were nine times out of 10 the bad guys."
Hager said he has observed significant changes in the "City of Mosques" since the operation.
"Well, the biggest difference is obviously the threat level," he said.
According to Hager, Fallujah was a desolate place during his last deployment, but normal life has rekindled.
"This time I see people going to work [and] kids walking to school," he said. "It’s good to see [one] year later that what we do does make a difference," he said. "One of the biggest things out here is to being able to see the impact we have."
Hager said his multiple deployments in Iraq have been experiences of a lifetime.
"It’s an experience I’d never take back for anything," he said. "It’s a good experience, you get to meet new people; you learn new things."
Story by Lance Cpl. Josh Cox - II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
December 28, 2005
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- With the F-22A's Initial Operational Capability declaration Dec. 15 came the capstone of a process that began 76 months ago.
In August 1997 a lone C-5 Galaxy landed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and taxied down the expansive "Contractor's Row" with several crates and boxes in its cavernous cargo bay to what is now known as the F-22A Combined Test Force.
Far from boxes of materiel to the world's largest model kit, the men and women of the F-22A CTF organized and assembled this cargo into the F-22A aircraft called "Raptor 1," the first air superiority fighter providing air dominance for the Joint Force.
The F-22A did not arrive at its current position by accident or lapse of days on a calendar. Its present state is a compilation of thousands of test points successfully flown and analyzed in maintenance, of hundreds of Air Force personnel, active and civilian, of contractors from Lockheed, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Computer Sciences Corporation, Tybrin and JT3 who combined as one family to do the daily tasks of taking a raw airframe and turning it into something the world has never seen before.
Far from being an easy task, it was a human undertaking, one that seldom stopped, week in and week out, with few true weekends off, through sacrifice of dozens of holidays. Through labor night and day, the CTF always sought to complete the building blocks of developmental flight test, one point at a time over a period of some 2,280 days.
In its final year before IOC, the F-22A continued to rack up milestone upon milestone. As the envelope expanded, so did the aircraft capability as witnessed by the addition of external fuel tanks and the need to be able to properly jettison them safely - a test program itself that took weeks to complete.
Not only was there the challenge of how the tanks could separate, but there was also the need to determine the design characteristics of external tanks to maintain low observable, or stealth, capability for the aircraft.
Along with the capability for external tanks, there was final work done to validate and examine the primary mission of the Raptor - air-to-air combat. Raptor pilots flew dozens of hours over the Pacific Ocean and White Sands Missile Range, N.M., firing the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, at supersonic speed while undergoing dramatic rolling flight profiles not capable by any other aircraft in the world.
Most recently, the F-22A became the first aircraft in history to successfully drop a Joint Direct Attack Munition from an internal weapons bay with pinpoint accuracy while flying supersonic. While the more visible components of final F-22A development testing were coming to a close, detailed work to the thousands of code items that make up the software package also continued this year.
The CTF completed all mission avionics testing. This allowed the Raptor's "go-to-war" status to meet IOC and allowed for the aircraft to operate with the most capable operational flight program. Also, the F-22A completed all of its clean wing envelope expansion testing, the final step to allow Lockheed Martin to complete its analysis of the plane's operational flight manual to meet IOC criteria.
Arriving as it did, in the 50th year of the founding of the U.S. Air Force, and the 50th year of the breaking of the sound barrier by then Capt. Chuck Yeager, the F-22A stands now officially at the pinnacle of all the world's air forces, itself the beginning of a new era. From crates to capability, the F-22A Raptor today stands as an icon of AFFTC maxim: "We are the path to success for delivering war-winning capabilities."
By John Haire - Air Force Flight Test Center Public Affairs
F-22A Raptor fighter jets based at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., sit on the flight line on Monday, Dec. 19, 2005. The Air Force's new F-22A is such a dominant fighter jet that in combat exercises its pilots typically take on six F-15s at once. Despite the favorable odds, the F-15s are no contest for the supersonic stealth jet, which is officially ready for combat as of this month. The F-22A officially became ready for combat this month with a squadron of 12 Raptors on standby for worldwide deployment at Langley Air Force Base, Va. (AP Photo/Mari Darr~Welch)
December 28, 2005
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- When thinking about the Global Hawk and other unmanned aerial vehicles, one could easily place them in a category with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and other holiday figures whose value was not easily seen at first glance.
But like the "misfit toys" of Christmas, the Global hawk has a unique and vital contribution in its world.
It takes extra precautions and preparations to ensure everything works smoothly. The Global Hawk test team is accustomed to this process. Two recent examples of the day-to-day events for the test team involve a mysterious nose wheel oscillation and a sensor mission.
Recently, after a 20-hour mission, the Global Hawk landed with an unusually low fuel state, less than 2,000 pounds of fuel remaining. The aircraft had only landed this light a few times. As a result, everyone was surprised when, taxiing back at 6 knots, the nose gear began a slow oscillation, completing a cycle in about 1.5 seconds. The aircraft still traveled in the right direction, but hunted back and forth a few feet - like a shopping cart wheel in slow motion.
The test conductor and engineers, watching from a telemetry link in San Diego and Hawkeye, a pilot in a vehicle that serves as the pilot's eyes and ears during ground movements, called for a "Stop Taxi" command nearly simultaneously. The pilot decided to halt this autonomous jig, stopping the Global Hawk where it was and calling the maintenance troops to tow the aircraft to the hangar.
There is nothing like a mystery to motivate a test team, particularly when that mystery may limit the operational usefulness of a deployed system. Nearly as many theories sprung to mind as there were pilots, engineers, managers, and maintainers to think them up.
The challenge was to figure out a plan that would get test results quickly. Normally, to plan a rigorous, scientifically-sound test takes a couple of months of defining the problem, the test data requirements, the test support requirements and gaining approval to conduct the test. However, in this case, there already was a test plan and test safety plan for collecting taxi data. Therefore, the test team was able to amend these plans with a relatively simple memo.
Reviews of the data suggested the effects of the oscillation were small enough that there was no immediate danger to the aircraft or its valuable sensor payload, provided the team controlled the test conditions. Therefore, existing risk mitigation was appropriate for the task. The Test System Safety Office, 412th Test Wing Systems Integration division, and the command staff at the 452nd all reviewed and provided independent perspectives on this plan. Within 24 hours, the test team was approved to continue data collection.
As a result, the test team was able to successfully test the oscillation without delaying other test schedules. With this data the designers now have clues to help resolve the problem. The test team will undoubtedly revisit this oscillation soon.
Another example of the test team's using problem solving to find the "misfit" plane a home involved a sensor mission.
The Global Hawk's mission is intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The developmental sensors require targets - something to take a picture of - so the government and contractor can evaluate the ability of the UAV to perform its mission. This requires targets of a known contrast, heat variation, or radar reflectivity, respectively and targets that duplicate real mission targets well enough that the team can compare the ISR sensors' performance to current operational systems. The result is a wide variety of test targets on the Edwards' and surrounding ranges. Some of these targets need little attention. Others must be moving at specific speeds and locations at a specific time, or need to be turned on and tended. Have you ever thought about how to simulate a terrorist-occupied cave? Lieutenants, huddling around a Hibachi in a cold, dark and remote desert location do not look forward to this task.
To perform a sensor test mission, the Edwards Range offices must know which targets to make available. The security personnel on base must ensure the test targets will not be in the middle of some sensitive activity when the sensor snaps a picture.
With the sensor's ability to take thousands of images over the course of a 20-hour mission, the planning to collect each image is matched in magnitude only by the time it takes to review each image. Planners match targets with flight plan waypoints and specific sensor azimuths and elevations for specific test targets. It's like trying to aim a telescope at a moving satellite by looking through the telescope. During the mission, pilots redirect the UAV to try again or attain specific conditions that were not on the established mission plan. Engineers and imagery analysts rate each image to identify deficiencies and troubleshoot poor image quality.
One person cannot do this for 20 hours. Fatigue and safe system operation do not mix. So there has to be two or three shifts to cover the duration of a single test mission. For test conductors and engineers at Edwards, each mission also requires travel to San Diego before the mission and home afterward. One 20-hour mission takes a minimum of three days, assuming all goes well.
This is the life of Global Hawk personnel. There have been contingencies. As a tribute to the designers, operators, test engineers and managers, these contingencies have resulted in the safe recovery of both a valuable national asset and a once "misfit" airplane that is finding a permanent home in the combat air forces.
By Kirk E. Harwood - 452nd Flight Test Squadron
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God love him! He & his brothers & sisters in arms are the backbone of America! Thanks for posting the "good news" Gucho...we wouldn't hear about it if we waited for the media!
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Thanks for the thread!
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