Posted on 08/12/2006 4:12:34 PM PDT by Gucho
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Aug. 12, 2006 – The Iraqi people are the ones who must decide that sectarian violence must end, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
“The Shiite and Sunni leaders are going to have to love their kids more than they hate each other, so they can go about building their country,” said Marine Gen. Peter Pace. The general spoke to reporters on his way to Iraq.
He said sectarian violence has eclipsed the insurgency as the primary cause of instability in Iraq. Some insurgents have embraced sectarian conflict as a way to further their own aims, he explained, and al Qaeda in Iraq has long wanted to set the sects against each other.
“Clearly, some folks want Iraq to be ungovernable,” Pace said. “They are the ones who are primarily responsible for the random violence.”
Pace said no outside group can come in and impose sectarian calm. The Iraqi people are going to have to come to the conclusion that compromise and finding ways “to work together, as opposed to the death squads,” is the way forward.
The chairman said he will meet with coalition leaders in Iraq, and that he plans on discussing troop levels with Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of the Multinational Force Iraq. Although officials extended the originally planned one-year tour in Iraq for soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team to aid in pacification of Baghdad, troop cuts still may occur, the chairman told reporters.
“It’s important to always have troop levels on the table every week and every month, and they are,” Pace said. “As recently as a month ago, we thought (troop levels) would come down based on what the battlefield looked like at the time. (The battlefield) changed with the sectarian violence, and General Casey’s assessment was that he needed more troops immediately to solve that problem. He asked for it, and that’s what he got.”
Pace said Casey is going through the assessment and these assessments are continually made. The analysis will continue and the enemy gets a vote, the chairman said. But the Iraqi people also get a vote, he said, and that may work to curb the violence.
While saying the number of U.S. troops in Iraq may fall in the future, Pace was careful to say that the number of troops overall will continue to rise. Iraqi forces are playing an increasingly important role in the security of their own country. Some 277,600 members of the Iraqi security forces are “trained and equipped” today, he noted, adding that by the end of the year, that number will rise to 325,000.
In Baghdad, officials beefed up the number of U.S. and Iraqi troops. There were 54,000 troops – 47,000 Iraqis – in the city and its environs before the outbreak of sectarian violence, Pace said.
“That had a beneficial effect for the first couple of weeks, then the sectarian violence spiked and General Casey, working with (Iraqi) Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said it was time to add more both U.S. and Iraqi forces,” Pace said. The 172nd is the U.S. contribution to the effort.
Since more troops arrived, the violence in Baghdad has come down, Pace said. The objective is to have a much more stable Baghdad by Ramadan, the annual Muslim month of fasting, which begins this year on Sept. 24.
The general said the effort in Baghdad is really “a thickening of our support for the Iraqis.” The Iraqi army and police retain primary responsibility for security. The Stryker Brigade brings a very potent, rapid-reaction capacity to backstop the Iraqi security forces, he said.
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Aug. 12, 2006 – The will of the United States is the only question in whether the nation’s effort in Iraq and Afghanistan will succeed, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
“There is no way to militarily lose this war,” Marine Gen. Peter Pace said, speaking to reporters traveling with him while en route here. “The only way we can lose is if we decide that we just don’t want to do it. And if we decide that, that would not end the involvement, it would simply shift it from its current battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan to our home.”
Pace said support for the war is a concern for him, “because the American military fights the wars that the nation wants us to fight. The American people’s will is a very important part of that,” he said. “I have faith in the American people’s ability to find the right boundaries.”
He said Americans need to remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The United States did not start the war, he said,but “if we were to come home, the war would simply follow us home. I believe the American people would understand that.”
Pace, a Vietnam veteran, said the American people are still very supportive of servicemembers. He assures soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines he meets during trips of that fact.
Americans must understand that this is a long war, he said, and it is not of U.S. choosing. “Our walking away would not stop the enemy from following us home,” he said. Al Qaeda extremists have been very explicit in their aims, he noted; they want their ideology to triumph, and they want the freedoms and liberty personified by the United States to end.
“Americans are slow to anger, desirous of living peacefully, but also have a point that if you cross it, they raise up a strength that our enemies will never understand,” he said. “That strength was manifested on 9/11, and it will continue.”
The chairman said a dialogue about U.S. involvement in the war is important. “But there shouldn’t be one about whether we will defend ourselves,” he said. “As a nation, our enemies must know we will do this as long as it takes. We fought the Cold War for 50 years, we’ll fight this one for 50 years if we have to.”
Aug 12, 2006
Afghan army soldiers participate in an exercise as an Afghan flag flutters in Kabul August 12, 2006. (REUTERS/Ahmad Masood) (AFGHANISTAN)
Saturday Aug 12, 2006
Sat Aug 12, 1:34 AM ET - Pakistani soldiers stand alert at Karachi airport. Pakistani investigators questioned several suspects linked to the Al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan, including a British national, over a plot to blow up transatlantic passenger planes. (AFP/Asif Hassan)
By Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel - 363rd MPAD
Aug 11, 2006
ARAB JABUR, Iraq – Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s Troop B, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, provided local residents with humanitarian-aid July 27 as part of Operation River Falcon near the Tigris River.
“The purpose of the mission was to get the atmospherics of Arab Jabur so that we can get a feel for the area, develop a continued presence and distribute humanitarian-aid to the residents,” said 2nd Lt. David Bowers, fire support officer, Troop B, 1st Sqdn., 10th Cav. Regt.
Bowers led a dismounted patrol into the residential and farming areas of Arab Jabur, stopping by several residences and farms to get a feel for the attitudes and needs of the local residents.
“Basically, most of the people we talked with today said they like having U.S. and Iraqi army forces here,” he said. “They want to help us stop (terrorists) and be able to turn over the country to the Iraqi army and Iraqi police. That is exactly why we are here. We want to get better control of the area so we can establish check points and help keep the area safe from terrorists,” said Bowers.
“The objective of the mission was to get into the sector and get good public relations with the locals,” added Sgt. Joseph McShan, forward observer, Troop B, 1st Sqdn., 10th Cav. Regt. McShan served as a navigator and helped ensure routes were secure during the mission.
McShan said he thought the mission was successful.
“We showed a positive force by giving out food and taking down their issues, such as getting clean water and reliable electricity sources. We showed the people of Arab Jabur that we care,” he said.
McShan is serving his second tour in Iraq and expressed why he likes being a Soldier.
“The opportunities and experiences you get everyday are invaluable. Sometimes things may seem unbearable, but they make you stronger and it builds character,” he said.
McShan compared his current tour to his previous tour in Iraq.
“There’s a lot more progress and structure here in Iraq now,” he said.
“We need to get a lot of good public relations out there so that the people will trust us, help us get rid of the terrorists and begin building the Iraqi government so that they can take care of themselves,” concluded McShan.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
ARAB JABUR, Iraq – 2nd Lt. David Bowers (right), fire support officer, Troop B, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, talks with an Iraqi citizen July 27 with the aid of an interpreter. By talking to local residents, “we can get a feel for the area, develop a continued presence and distribute humanitarian-aid to the residents," said Bowers. (U. S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel, 363rd MPAD)
ARAB JABUR, Iraq – Staff Sgt. Rocco Alderete (center), psychological operations team chief, 303rd Psychological Operations Company, who hails from Dallas, talks with an Arab Jabur resident July 27 to get a feel for the humanitarian needs of the residents. Alderete, who has 23.5 years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army Special Forces, recently rejoined the Army Reserve after a break in service. "It was an easy transition. I felt I had a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge to pass on to the younger Soldiers," said Alderete. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel, 363rd MPAD)
By PAO
Aug 11, 2006
FORT DRUM, New York – Four Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team will receive Purple Heart medals for wounds sustained during combat actions in Afghanistan during a ceremony here August 17.
Pfc. Robert Follansbee, Pvt. Phillip Russell, Spec. Matthew Hicks and 1st Lt. Derek Martin, all members of 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, will be presented the awards by Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, the 10th Mountain Division (LI) commander.
1st Lt. Derek Martin, a platoon leader with Company B, was wounded May 19th when his platoon was conducting combat operations in Ghazni Province. A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Martin was clearing a hilltop with his unit during a combined operation with Afghan National Police when he was injured. Martin is scheduled for further surgery to correct loss of eyesight.
Pfc. Robert Follansbee, a squad automatic weapon gunner with Company B, was riding in an up-armored HMMWV when his patrol was ambushed by enemy forces May 17. He received a gun shot wound to his ankle. Originally from Chichester, N.H., Follansbee is recovering from his wounds with his wife and two children in the Granite State.
Pvt. Matthew Russell, of Portland, Ore., suffered burns and shrapnel wounds May 18 when his vehicle was attacked by a vehicle borne improvised explosive device. A squad automatic weapon gunner with Company B, Russell was recently released from Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas where he was undergoing treatment for his wounds.
Spc. Matthew Hicks, a forward observer with Company C, was injured February 26 when his vehicle convoy was attacked by an improvised explosive device. Hicks, from King City, Calif., suffered a series of injuries including a concussion, a fracture and cuts and bruises.
The 3rd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Afghanistan in early 2006 and the unit's Soldiers have conducted combat operations in the eastern sections of Afghanistan, along the Pakistan border, to deny Taliban and al-Qaeda forces sanctuary. 10th Mountain Division forces have recently participated in Operations Mountain Lion and Mountain Thrust.
Freakley is currently in command of the Combined Joint Task Force – 76, the multi-national force in Afghanistan charged with disrupting terrorist forces and assisting the Afghan government stabilize the Central Asian nation. He returned to Fort Drum for several days to visit with family and attend ceremonies, meet with local community leaders and observe ongoing 10th Mountain Division operations here.
Liquids, gels banned in wake of uncovered UK terror plot
By Vince Little - Stars and Stripes Pacific edition
Sunday, August 13, 2006
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Passengers taking the Patriot Express and other military hops face the same new restrictions applied to commercial flights in the United States and other countries following the terrorist threat in the United Kingdom, a Yokota Air Mobility Command official said.
Master Sgt. Ray Ortiz, the noncommissioned officer in charge of passenger services for the 730th Air Mobility Squadron, said updated airport screening procedures went into effect Friday morning at Yokota’s terminal to accommodate the directive handed down overnight by the Transportation Security Administration.
All liquids and gels are now prohibited from carry-on baggage, according to the new ban. The list includes beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, creams, toothpaste, hair gel and other items of similar consistency.
Exceptions will be made for baby formula, breast milk and juice if infants or small children are traveling; prescription medicine with a name matching the passenger’s ticket; insulin and other essential nonprescription medications.
Long lines of irritated travelers snaked through terminals in the United States and Britain on Thursday as people waited hours to reach security checkpoints. Hundreds of flights were canceled.
Ortiz said U.S. military personnel could encounter similar delays at Yokota or on commercial flights out of Narita International Airport in Tokyo, if restricted items aren’t checked at ticket counters. Commercial carriers are following the same rules for flights into the United States.
“If they lean forward and get this stuff in checked luggage beforehand, it will expedite their transition … to the gate area,” he said. “It will speed up the process. If they have to reconfigure and reorganize luggage when they get here, it will slow things down.”
Airlines are advising passengers on international flights to arrive at the airport three hours before their scheduled departure to allow for increased security screening.
Questions or concerns about the new TSA travel restrictions can be directed to AMC passenger terminal agents at DSN 225-5661 or on the Web at:
By Lance Cpl. Robert W. Beaver - MCRD San Diego
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (Aug. 11, 2006) -- As a young recruit peeks over the rappel tower’s edge, his forehead begins to perspire and his limbs begin to shake. The recruit knows he must face his fear of heights as he knows the only way off this obstacle is straight down.
He gets into position with his toes on the edge and his heels facing away from the tower. In a matter of seconds, he rappels safely to the ground.
With a little more than a week left until graduation, recruits are challenged with the depot’s 60-foot-tall rappel tower. Recruits get the opportunity to become familiar with rappelling through a basic course.
“During this training evolution, the recruits learn the basics of rappelling,” said Staff Sgt. Rafael Trevino, an instructor with instructional training company. “This also helps some of them overcome their fear of heights, and it allows them to gain trust in their equipment. This obstacle is definitely a confidence builder.”
Recruits learn the proper techniques for rappelling as well as how to create the safety harness that will hold them safely when rappelling.
The harness is made using a six-foot rope that is wrapped around the legs and hips. Then it is secured by a series of square knots.
On the modern battlefield, wars are fought in urban areas. The best way to secure a building is from the top to the bottom as it throws the enemy off, according to Sgt. Juan Lopez, an instructor with Instructional Training Company.
Recruits get the opportunity to learn several different rappelling techniques. Fast roping, wall rappelling and descending a simulated helicopter hell hole are the three different training scenarios featured on the tower.
Fast roping, a method used for quick insertion on an objective from a helicopter, is the first technique recruits learn during this training phase. Sliding down 15 feet of rope to the ground, the fast technique is similar to the way a fire fighter slides down a pole during an emergency.
The recruits must do their part when sliding down the rope to quickly clear the landing zone to prevent being landed on by the following recruit.
Each recruit has the opportunity to experience fast roping during boot camp; however, they may not have the chance to do both of the other methods due to the short amount of time for the training evolution, according to Trevino.
Like the fast rope technique, the hell hole is used for fast insertion from a helicopter. The term hell hole refers to the hole in a helicopter’s fuselage. But unlike fast roping, hell hole insertion is used with safety equipment and is done at a higher altitude. This version of rappelling is a vertical drop from the top of the tower.
The other technique recruits may learn is the wall rappel. This method is also used with safety equipment, and simulates rappelling down the side of a building.
Recruits are issued the respective safety gear prior to the training evolution. With the assistance of a tactical helmet, gloves, ropes, carabiner and a spotter, recruits make their descent safely to the ground.
Although this training only gives recruits the basics, it will benefit them later when they continue this training while they are in the Fleet Marine Force, according Trevino.
During the one-day course, recruits learn three different techniques of rappelling. Although some recruits will not be in combat units, there’s always a chance they may be called to fulfill the duty of every Marine and be a rifleman.
Sgt. Juan Lopez, an instructor with Instructional Training Company, explains to a recruit how to regain his balance on the top of the depot’s rappel tower. (Photo by: Lance Cpl. Robert W. Beaver)
By Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva - 1st Marine Division
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 11, 2006) -- Maj. Alex J. Durr’s latest piece of artwork won’t hang in a museum. It’s going to be on display for Fallujans to remember one of their martyred heroes.
Durr, a 45-year-old combat artist from the Marine Corps’ Historical Division, recently put the finishing touches on a painted mural of Iraqi Brig. Gen. Khodeiri Obeid Abbas Al Janadi, Fallujah’s former Deputy Chief of Police, who was gunned down by insurgents June 19. Durr was commissioned to do the piece by Col. Larry Nicholson, RCT-5’s commander, to honor a “Son of Fallujah” who was killed protecting the city and people he loved.
The mural was painted on a concrete barrier and will be placed along a main route through the heart of the city. It will be on permanent display to honor the native Fallujan’s sacrifice for his city and his country.
“I’ve done portraits, but nothing ever this big,” said Durr, from Ft. Worth, Texas. “It’s pretty satisfying that this will be put to use immediately.
“To think this guy lost his life for his country— it’s pretty humbling,” he added. “That’s gone through my head a couple times.”
The nearly six-foot tall concrete barrier features a portrait of Khodeiri in the full uniform of an Iraqi Police officer, with the epaulettes of an Iraqi brigadier general. The inscription above him, written in Arabic, reads, “Son of Falluah.” Next to his face is written, “hero” and “martyr.” Below him is his full name and the date he was slain.
Durr’s involvement in the project was happenstance. He was traveling throughout the region since July when he lost a sketchbook on one of Camp Fallujah’s buses. The driver later told him a Marine turned it into RCT-5. Durr checked in with Sgt. Maj. Melvin Roundtree, RCT-5’s sergeant major, to see if it turned up. Roundtree immediately took him into Nicholson’s office.
Nicholson was looking for an artist to paint the mural when he showed up for his sketchbook. Nicholson requested his help, and Durr got to work immediately.
“It’s important to recognize not just American heroes, but Iraqi heroes,” Nicholson said. “Khodeiri will always be a hero to me. He cared deeply for the city. He was a partner in every sense of the word. His loss had a deep impact on the city.”
Durr had his work cut out for him. There were only a couple pictures on file of Khodeiri. He wanted to portray him in full uniform, but couldn’t locate any photos of him wearing his black beret. So he improvised.
“They showed me a picture of an Iraqi saluting and a picture of Khodeiri,” Durr explained. “I took the face from one photo and the position from another.”
It wasn’t just the photos to work from that Durr had to compromise on. He didn’t have a complete supply of paints. He worked with the regiment’s logistics Marines to acquire a couple buckets of paints in the primary colors, along with white, bright orange and purple – just in case. From there, he used cut-down water bottles to mix colors to achieve the shades he needed. He used plastic plates from the camp’s chow hall as a palette.
“It was a big group effort,” he said. “I’m just the one putting on the paint.”
Durr said painting the portrait, although done on a large scale, followed the fundamentals he learned years ago.
“What makes a portrait work is getting the eyes right and the position of the nose and mouth,” he explained. “Get those right and people will recognize it as that person.”
After that, he said, basic principals apply. It’s just when painting big, everything is bigger. Durr said he used bigger brushes and bigger strokes.
“You just enlarge everything,” he said. “You don’t get bogged down in the details.”
It’s a skill Durr perfected nearly his entire life. He said he’s drawn and painted since grade school. He studied art at Florida State University when he bumped into Marine recruiters. His family had a strong military tradition and he said the step into uniform was natural, even if it took him away from his passion.
Durr was trained as an aviator, flying F-4 Phantoms and eventually F-18 Hornets. Still he kept up with his artwork as a side hobby.
“I always did pictures for the squadrons,” he said. “I was the guy who designed the squadron t-shirts.”
It wasn’t until the Gulf War did Durr get serious about combining his art skills with his call to service as a Marine. He looked into becoming a combat artist, but was turned down. About two years ago, though, Durr, now in the Marine Reserves, checked into becoming a combat artist again. Now, he’s the officer-in-charge of the Historical Division’s combat artists.
“I do a lot of watercolors and drawings,” he said. “Big pieces are done as oil paintings.”
Durr said he’s working much along the same lines as Marine combat artists have since WWII. He said then artists would make sketches or take photos of fighting during the Corps’ island-hopping campaign, go back to the rear lines, and put them to canvas. He said he’s actually seen a painting done by a WWII combat artist with an address on the back of the canvas so it could be mailed home to his wife.
Little has changed more than 60 years. Durr still totes his sketch book. His camera now though is a small, palm-sized digital camera, complete with the Marine Corps’ digital desert camouflaged pattern.
“It’s usually up to the artist where he paints,” Durr said. “The big paintings we do back home, when we want to put more thought and time. I can take a digital picture, blow it up on my laptop and do them there.”
Durr said there’s still a place for the paintings, even in today’s technology of digital photos and instant transmission of video and images from the battlefield.
“Done right, an oil painting will last a thousand years,” Durr said. “When I think of the guys out there, living in the dirt, it’s the least I can do. We document and record how they’re living and fighting. Maybe someday they come to the museum and see a painting and it jars their memory and they’ll tell their kids how it was.”
Durr knows that this work will never be in a museum, but will be on display for more than 200,000 Fallujans. It will preserve Iraqi history – Fallujan history – for all to remember one of their own men who stood up for their pride against terrorists.
“What an amazing opportunity to have a piece of his work displayed so publicly,” Nicholson said. “I told him, ‘Not only are you recording history. You’re making it.’”
Lt. Col. Frank Charlonis, RCT-5’s Police Implementation Officer, said the portrait is satisfying to all those who knew and worked with Khodeiri. He worked hand-in-hand with him since January to grow and train Fallujah’s police force.
“He was one of the ‘Sons of Falluah,’” said 40-year-old Charlonis, from Charlotte, N.C. “His death has really affected the city. It had a big affect on the police.”
Charlonis said the mural will serve to honor one of the city’s leaders, who saw Iraqis through tough times.
“It will serve as an inspiration to the police,” he said. “It will always be there to remind them of what it means to be an Iraqi and from Fallujah.”
Durr said he saw his efforts on the portrait as just another Marine pulling his weight to accomplish the mission in Iraq.
“This is for a good cause,” Durr said. “Maybe it will help them to understand their struggle against terrorism. It’s part of the team effort. I’m lucky enough to do something I enjoy doing.”
Maj. Alex J. Durr puts some of the final touches on a mural of the late Iraqi Brig. Gen. Khodeiri Obeid Abbas Al Janadi, Deputy Chief of Police in Fallujah. Durr painted a concrete barrier with the memorial of Khodeiri, who was killed by insurgents June 19, at the request of Col. Larry D. Nicholson, Regimental Combat Team 5's commander. The mural will be placed along a main route through Fallujah so Iraqis can remember Khodeiri as a patriot and martyr who fought to keep Fallujah free of terrorists. (Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva)
More Photos (scroll down)
Goal is to drive enemy from Ramadi one block at a time
Soldiers and tanks from 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment leave Combat Outpost Falcon on a recent operation in downtown Ramadi. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Soldiers and tanks from 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment leave Combat Outpost Falcon on a recent operation in downtown Ramadi. (Monte Morin / S&S)
By Monte Morin - Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
Sunday, August 13, 2006
RAMADI, Iraq — If there’s one good thing U.S. Army Capt. Michael Bajema can say about living in downtown Ramadi, it’s that he doesn’t commute to work.
For roughly two months now, Bajema’s Bulldog Company has made its home in one of Ramadi’s most violent neighborhoods — an area that previous Marine and Army units had long ago given up to insurgents.
While Combat Outpost Falcon has endured periodic sniper, mortar and rocket-propelled grenade attacks, it has also allowed Bajema to confront the enemy more rapidly and more effectively than if he launched periodic patrols and operations from sprawling Camp Ramadi, a forward operating base on the city’s fringe.
“If I had to commute from Camp Ramadi every day, I would be fighting [improvised bombs] the whole way and losing soldiers every day,” said Bajema, of the 1st, or “Bandits,” Battalion of the 37th Armor Regiment.
“By having this COP here, I am able to maneuver anywhere I want to. I’m on the offensive here instead of being on the defensive.”
The creation of COP Falcon, as well as a handful of other combat outposts throughout Ramadi, marks a radical departure from past U.S. military practices here that focused on defending a main thoroughfare through town and its embattled government center.
Under the command of Col. Sean MacFarland of the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Bajema’s company and a handful of others have taken up permanent residence in what one commander called Ramadi’s “heart of darkness” in a bid to regain control of the city.
The campaign has been a costly one. More than 30 soldiers, Marines and special operations personnel have been killed in the fighting in the last two months. But commanders say they have dealt a very heavy blow to insurgents here and have “compressed” them into an ever-shrinking tract of real estate in the city’s center.
“We are in the enemy’s knickers,” said Lt. Col. Peter Lee, executive officer of the Friedberg, Germany-based 1st Brigade. “We’re keeping steady pressure on the bad guys and there are no plans to slow down anytime soon.”
The strategy, which is a variation of the so-called “ink blot” or “clear, hold and build” campaigns employed in Fallujah and Tal Afar, is aimed at driving out or killing a particularly tenacious population of insurgents without emptying the city of its civilian population. Commanders hope to avoid destroying much of the city in a large, pitched battle.
“This is a whole different concept that leaves the city intact,” said Maj. Matthew Van Wagenen, executive officer of the 1-37. “We’re doing this one block at a time, and it’s slow.”
The combat outposts, which in some cases occupy entire city blocks of seized Iraqi homes, are used as launch pads for routine patrols and combat operations. Owners of the seized properties are paid monthly rent.
Commanders say their goal is to cut off the enemy’s primary routes of travel and to engage insurgents frequently where they live. The last few weeks have seen the use of heavy armor and bombs dropped from aircraft to destroy insurgent positions.
At the same time, commanders say they are working to build up local Iraqi police and army units who, they hope, will inherit a far less dangerous city. Troops under the 1st Brigade have also tried to gain the public’s cooperation by handing out water and electric generators to families living near the outposts. But getting Ramadi residents to cooperate has been extremely difficult. Intimidation by insurgents has made them extremely reluctant to share information on insurgent activities, commanders say.
“You get a sense that they want to help you, but they’re afraid for their lives and their families,” said Sgt. Lonnie Russell, 29, of Berlin, Wis., a Bulldog Company tanker. “It’s not hard to understand.”
Ramadi, a city with a population of roughly 400,000, sits at the westernmost corner of the Sunni Triangle and, for much of the Iraq conflict, has been a focus of the Sunni-led insurgency. The insurgents’ use of increasingly sophisticated and destructive roadside bombs also made Ramadi the front line in the U.S. military’s elaborate, technological battle against the devices.
While Ramadi is the seat of government in Anbar province and occupies a highly strategic position on the main travel route between Baghdad and the Syrian and Jordanian borders, U.S. forces have been hard pressed to defend it.
Ramadi falls within a heavily Sunni area where a certain percentage of the population feels it has hasn’t gotten its fair share from Iraq’s transition government, said Lt. Col. Kevin Foster, deputy operations officer of the Marine Expeditionary Force I, which exercises control of forces within Anbar.
Foster said the task of securing travel routes throughout the sprawling province prevented U.S. forces from massing enough troops in Ramadi to prevent insurgents from “pooling” here.
The new campaign to regain control of Ramadi involves the 1st Brigade; the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment; and the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. It also involves the 1st Brigade of the 1st Iraqi Army Division — the most senior and seasoned of Iraq’s new army units — as well as the 1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, the army’s most recently formed unit.
The prior outfit in Ramadi, the 2-28 Brigade Combat Team, a Pennsylvania National Guard unit, had attempted to isolate insurgents and limit their movement around Ramadi by establishing a network of control points on the city’s periphery. The strategy was to some extent successful, 1st AD commanders say, but needed to be expanded. Also, the 2-28, which had a Vermont National Guard armor unit attached to it, did not establish a permanent presence in the city.
Much of the current effort has so far involved the 1-37 “Bandits,” who created COP Falcon in mid-June. Prior to Ramadi, the 1-37 pursued a very different mission in Iraq’s comparatively peaceful north, in Sinjar, near the Syrian border. Efforts there focused on civil affairs operations instead of combat missions and commanders say the change has been a 180-degree turn for the Bandits, as well as other 1st AD units previously in Tal Afar.
“For all those guys who complained about not seeing enough action up north, it’s been quite a change,” said Lt. Col. V.J. Tedesco, Bandit commander. “To just flip the switch and see them turn into steely-eyed warriors down here has been amazing.”
The use of heavy armor within the city gives them a leg up that other units have not had, Bandit soldiers say.
While 70-ton Abrams tanks are not immune to roadside bombs, the behemoths do give Bandit troops a greater sense of security than Humvees, and commanders have not hesitated to target snipers and bunkered insurgents with the tanks’ main guns.
“They definitely don’t like seeing these tanks,” one soldier said of the Abrams. “They are definitely scared by them.”
However, in the days leading up to the campaign’s kickoff, one 1-37 officer said the Bandits’ arrival in Ramadi, as well as their plan to establish an outpost in the city’s downtown, met with skepticism from some combat units already operating here.
“They asked me, ‘What business does a tank battalion have in downtown Ramadi?’ ” Van Wagenen said. “I told them: ‘Any business we want.’ And that’s the truth.”
A soldier with 1st Brigade, 1st Armor Division reads during some down time at Combat Outpost Iron in southern Ramadi recently. (Monte Morin / S&S)
1st Lt. Brian Braithwaite, 28, of Brigham City, Utah, concludes a series of house searches with soldiers from 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, in downtown Ramadi recently. (Monte Morin / S&S)
A Bradley fighting vehicle from 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment plows through sand outside Combat Outpost Iron on the southern edge of Ramadi recently. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Plates of salad with french fries are laid out before being served. Most meals also include flat bread cooked on hot rocks.
President's Saturday Radio Address
August 12, 2006
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, America received a stark reminder that terrorists are still plotting attacks to kill our people. Beginning on Wednesday night, authorities in Great Britain arrested more than 20 individuals who we believe were plotting to detonate liquid explosives aboard flights from the United Kingdom to the United States. If these terrorists had succeeded, they could have caused death on a massive scale. The plot appears to have been carefully planned and well-advanced. They planned to bring the components of their explosives on board in their carry-on luggage, disguised as bottled drinks and electronic devices.
We believe that this week's arrests have significantly disrupted the threat. Yet we cannot be sure that the threat has been eliminated. So as a precaution, on Thursday, the federal government took several steps to increase security at our airports and aboard our planes.
First, the Department of Homeland Security has raised our Nation's threat warning to Code Red -- the highest level -- for flights from Great Britain to America, in coordination with British authorities. Second, we've raised the threat warning for all domestic and international flights landing in the United States to Code Orange -- the second highest level. We also have sent additional federal air marshals to Great Britain to provide extra protection aboard flights from the United Kingdom to the United States.
This plot is further evidence that the terrorists we face are sophisticated, and constantly changing their tactics. On September the 11th, 2001, they used box cutters to hijack airplanes and kill thousands of innocent people. This time, we believe they planned to use liquid explosives to blow up planes in mid-air. In response, we've adjusted our security precautions by temporarily banning most liquids as carry-on items on planes. I know many of you will be traveling during this busy summer vacation season, and I ask for your patience, cooperation, and vigilance in the coming days. The inconveniences you will face are for your protection, and they will give us time to adjust our screening procedures to meet the current threat.
I'm grateful for the outstanding work of intelligence and law enforcement officers in the United Kingdom and in our country. This week's arrests were the culmination of hard work, cooperation, and information-sharing across different agencies and different governments. We're dealing with a new enemy that uses new means of attack and new methods to communicate. This week's events demonstrate the vital importance of ensuring that our intelligence and law enforcement personnel have all the tools they need to track down the terrorists, and prevent attacks on our country.
Because of the measures we've taken to protect the American people, our Nation is safer than it was prior to September the 11th. Still, we must never make the mistake of thinking the danger of terrorism has passed. This week's experience reminds us of a hard fact: The terrorists have to succeed only once to achieve their goal of mass murder, while we have to succeed every time to stop them. Unfortunately, some have suggested recently that the terrorist threat is being used for partisan political advantage. We can have legitimate disagreements about the best way to fight the terrorists, yet there should be no disagreement about the dangers we face.
America is fighting a tough war against an enemy whose ruthlessness is clear for all to see. The terrorists attempt to bring down airplanes full of innocent men, women, and children. They kill civilians and American servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they deliberately hide behind civilians in Lebanon. They are seeking to spread their totalitarian ideology. They're seeking to take over countries like Afghanistan and Iraq so they can establish safe havens from which to attack free nations. These killers need to know that America, Great Britain, and our allies are determined to defend ourselves and advance the cause of liberty. With patience, courage, and untiring resolve, we will defend our freedom, and we will win the war on terror.
Thank you for listening.
END
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