Free Republic

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SUMMERALL — 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division troops recently completed their first major offensive operation in the Salah Ad-Din province, since their arrival in theater in early October. Operation Bulldog Hammer, part of the larger Operation Iron Hammer, was designed to stifle al Qaida insurgents in cities like Bayji and Suniyah and to promote the continuing reconciliation effort here. Various elements of the storied "Bastogne" Brigade along with their counterparts from the 4th Iraqi Army Division and Iraqi Police, conducted a series of simultaneous, combined operations, to disrupt terrorist activities in the largely Sunni area...

Rumsfeld Lauds 'Screaming Eagles' at Kentucky Base By Kathleen T. RhemAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2004 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld thanked the "Screaming Eagles" of the Army's storied 101st Airborne Division today during a visit to the unit's home at Fort Campbell, Ky. The unit had served a year in Iraq before returning to the Fort Campbell this spring. "Last year, you helped bring down a regime of a brutal dictator and then put your compassion and your creativity to work in Mosul, training new Iraqi security forces, completing literally thousands of reconstruction projects of...

Myers Tells Fort Campbell Combat Vets to 'Walk Tall' By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Sept. 1, 2004 – "Walk tall," Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers told a theater full of combat veterans here Aug. 31. "Your country – and I – couldn't be prouder of your professionalism, courage and dedication." Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, makes a point during an Aug. 31 visit to Fort Campbell, Ky. Myers thanked members of the 101st Airborne Division and other Fort Campbell personnel for their work in the global...

101st Airborne Division Soldier Receives Silver Star American Forces Press Service FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 11, 2004 - A 101st Airborne Division soldier who, despite being critically wounded himself, repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to treat wounded comrades in Iraq received the Silver Star here Feb. 5. The Silver Star awarded to 101st Airborne Division combat medic Pvt. Dwayne Turner Feb. 5 is the highest award given to any 101st soldier during Operation Iraqi Freedom thus far. The air assault division is in the midst of returning to Fort Campbell, Ky., after a year's deployment to Iraq. The...

  Last 101st convoy leaves Iraq, I Corps plants flagBy Pfc. Thomas Day and Sgt. Jeremy Heckler Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, commanderl, Task Force Olympia, and Sgt. Maj. Patrick Pacheco, unfurl the colors of 1st Corps during a ceremony held at the palace headquarters in Mosul Feb. 5.SPC Jesse Artis NAVISTAR, Kuwait (Feb. 10, 2004) – The last 101st Airborne Division convoy rolled across the Iraqi border just before 5 a.m. Kuwaiti time this morning, leaving behind a mission that spanned almost a year. Spc. Misael Santiago of Lawton, Okla., pulling rear convoy security with a .50-caliber machine...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 February 5, 2004Release Number: 04-02-08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION TRANSFERS AUTHORITY TO TASK FORCE OLYMPIA MOSUL, Iraq – As hundreds of regional Iraqi leaders and Coalition partners looked on, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) transferred authority and operational control of Ninewa, Irbil and Dahuk provinces to Task Force Olympia today at the palace headquarters complex in northern Mosul. Task Force Olympia is a sub-element of I Corps headquarters based at Fort Lewis, Wash. The unit includes representatives...

  Transfer of Authority for AO North from 101st Airborne Division to Multi-National Brigade North. MOSUL, IRAQ – The 101st Airborne Division will transfer authority for AO North to the Multi-National Brigade North in Mosul Thursday, Feb. 5, at 10 a.m. Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, 101st commander, will encase the unit colors and they will not be unfurled again until the last of the division’s Screaming Eagle soldiers have returned to Fort Campbell, Ky. Media are encouraged to attend and should arrive no later than 9:30 a.m. A press conference will follow the event at 11 a.m. directly...

2-17th Cavalry Gets Ready For Movement Back To Fort Campbell CAMP DOHA, Kuwait – The 2-17th Cavalry Regiment, an aerial reconnaissance asset of the 101st Aviation Regiment and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is now at Camp Doha, Kuwait, preparing for redeployment. The unit has been in theater since February 2003. Fifteen of the 2-17th Cavalry’s 24 Kiowa helicopters were carried into theater for the deployment. They have flown more than 12,000 flight hours during Operation Iraqi Freedom, an average of more than 800 flight hours per aircraft just this past year. The marathon for the 2-17th Cavalry’s...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 26, 2004Release Number: 04-01-64 101ST REFURBISHES TEACHING FACILITY MOSUL, Iraq - The leaders of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Corps Support Group were among the invited guests at a ribbon cutting ceremony today in the city of Mosul for a teachers’ training facility that they helped refurbish. The teachers’ training facility is a place where teachers will be trained in their respective fields and taught the most up-to-date techniques in teaching children. “Training sessions will not be American...

  Navy Ship Steams For U.S. With 101st Equipment CAMP DOHA, Kuwait - The first of a number of cargo ships transporting 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) equipment back to the United States left port this morning. Loading the division's equipment onto the U.S.N.S. Benavidez took approximately three days. Cargo from the 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT) includes a variety of helicopters, as well as ground equipment such as High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) and Light Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTVs). All helicopters were shrink wrapped with plastic to protect them from the ocean environment over the course of the voyage....

  First 101st Airborned Troops Leave Kuwait For Fort Campbell CAMP WOLVERINE, Kuwait - The floodgates have opened as the first flights of 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) soldiers left Wednesday and Thursday from the Kuwait City Airport for Fort Campbell, Ky. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division began arriving at Fort Campbell directly from Mosul earlier this month. Those soldiers were not necessary for the three-day convoys to move their unit's equipment back to Kuwait for shipping home. The lead elements of the 159th Aviation Regiment, a 101st Airborne unit, are the first to finish processing through Kuwait....

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 21, 2004Release Number: 04-01-53 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT IN COALITION CUSTODY MOSUL, Iraq – Weapons and discarded Iraqi military equipment were turned in or discovered by soldiers of the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade (Stryker), 2nd Infantry Division, attached to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), in northern Iraq yesterday. Members of the Coalition for Iraqi National Unity, a concerned group of local citizens, turned in six rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 60 RPG rounds, 1,490 rounds...

101st Participates In Clinic, School Openings MOSUL, Iraq – The town of Hatra, in northern Iraq, celebrated a morning of new beginnings today with the help of the 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, division commander. The Hatra medical clinic was pronounced open following a ribbon cutting ceremony. The clinic was refurbished with $60,000 funded by the 101st and by the Coalition Provisional Authority. The money was used to install heating, lighting and plumbing as well as to paint several walls. Medical supplies and equipment were also purchased,...

  101st Transfers Authority To 2nd Infantry Division MOSUL, Iraq – On what was described as a bittersweet day for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the soldiers of 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division formally relieved 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division of its responsibilities in the western Nineveh province.The ceremony marked the first turnover from the 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT) to the Arrowhead Brigade. Soldiers from both units gathered at a forward operating base west of Mosul where the Rakkasans of 3rd Brigade cased their unit colors as the Warhorse squadron unfurled theirs for...

  101st Hosts Its Last Tigris River Valley Commission Meeting MOSUL, Iraq – Amid preparations for redeployment, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) hosted its final meeting of the Tigris River Valley Commission at the Qayyarah West Airfield in northern Iraq Jan. 17. During the meeting, U.S. military and regional Iraqi leaders discussed funding for projects in each town and how money from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) should be distributed. They touched on hiring teachers to fill newly constructed schools around the area, resolving land disputes, and preventing electricity brownouts. The commission is made up of leaders from...

  Soldiers Play With Fire MOSUL, Iraq – Soldiers from the 431st Civil Affairs Battalion attached to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul built a fire in the “burn house” at the Mosul Public Safety Academy Dec. 12. The fire was part of a demonstration to show the training Iraqi firefighters have received at the academy. In the “burn house” Iraqi firefighters demonstrated entering a smoke filled building and extinguishing the fire. At the tower, a rescue unit climbed a ladder to a second floor window and removed a simulated victim. Two firefighting classes have been established...

  Iraqi Talent Show Head In Mosul MOSUL, Iraq – A talent exhibition, sponsored by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) was held Jan. 14 at the Mosul Social Club in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. “This is an exercise in democracy,” said Maj. John Freeburg, assistant operations officer, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). “During the old regime this never would have been possible.” The talent show was one of six that will be taped and shown on local channel seven, Ninevah television. Each episode will showcase the talents of ten contestants or groups of contestants. The sixth...

  101st Airborne Redeployment: Largest Wartime Movement Of Troops Ever CAMP DOHA, Kuwait – The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), which landed in Kuwait in February 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is beginning its 10,500-mile, three-month odyssey back home to Fort Campbell, Ky., with a massive transfer of troops and equipment by air and land. Brig. Gen. Jeffery Schloesser, 101st Airborne Division assistant division commander (support), has overseen the division’s redeployment operations in Kuwait, which serves as the primary staging area for all equipment and personnel returning to the U.S. The 101st Airborne Division’s first redeployment convoys...

  101st Detains Seven Suspects MOSUL, Iraq – Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) detained seven more anti-Coalition suspects during raids in northern Iraq Jan. 15.The division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) conducted a cordon-and-search at a residence in the town of Romaana, which is south of Mosul, apprehending an individual wanted for suspected involvement in several attacks against Coalition Forces. The 2nd BCT conducted a cordon-and-knock operation later that night at a residence in southwest Mosul, apprehending six individuals for suspected association with a terrorist organization. The 101st Airborne Division continues its mission to rebuild and...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 14, 2004Release Number: 04-01-40 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AMID REDEPLOYMENT 101ST CONTINUES RECONSTRUCTION MISSION MOSUL, IRAQ (Jan. 14, 2004) – The operational tempo of the 101st Airborne Division remains high today as its soldiers prepared for redeployment and completed major reconstruction projects in Northern Iraq. Soldiers of the 926th Engineer Battalion put a generator into operation at the Mosul beet sugar factory. This project will ensure the factory has power at all times, boosting employment in the city and also...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 14, 2004Release Number: 04-01-33 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FORMER HIGH LEVEL BA'ATHISTS DENOUNCE TERRORISM IN IRAQ MOSUL, IRAQ (Jan. 14, 2004) – Former Ba’ath Party leaders in Northern Iraq denounced the party of Saddam Hussein Tuesday and exhorted the people of the region to work with the Coalition to build a free and unified Iraq. More than 50 leaders who once supported The Ba’ath Party objectives met in the city hall of Ash Shurah, a small town 35 kilometers south...

CJTF-7 Public AffairsBAGHDAD, Iraq Release #040112a First telephone fiber optic cable laid in Northern IraqMOSUL, IRAQ – A ceremony was held in the city of Mosul today in honor of the first fiber optic communications network to be laid in Northern Iraq. With the new 40 kilometers of fiber optic cable connecting Mosul to Dohuk, a city to the north, communications between people will be greatly improved. “This is a very historic day,” said Lt. Col. Welton Chase, commander, 501st Signal Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). “This is the beginning of a network that will tie into banks, universities...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 12, 2004Release Number: 04-01-26 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FORMER BA’ATH PARTY MEMBERS DENOUNCE AFFILIATION, TURN IN WEAPONS MOSUL, Iraq – High-ranking members of the Ba’ath Party renounced party affiliation today at a meeting in Tallafar in northwestern Iraq while fellow Iraqis and leaders from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) witnessed. In addition to renouncing their Ba’ath Party affiliation, the officials turned in weapons to Col. Michael Linnington, commander, 187th Infantry Regiment, and Lt. Col. Christopher Pease, commander, 1st Battalion,...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 11, 2004Release Number: 04-01-25 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION SOLDIERS CAPTURE ANTI-COALITION SUSPECTS MOSUL, Iraq – Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) captured several anti-coalition suspects Jan. 10 and 11 in northern Iraq. The 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) detained three individuals in a white Toyota, Jan. 10, near the southeastern corner of a U.S. compound west of Qayyarah. The vehicle matched the description of one used by men...

CJTF-7 Public AffairsBAGHDAD, IraqRelease #040110f101st celebrates Iraq Army birthday MOSUL, Iraq – Leaders from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and members of the Mosul Interim Government met Tuesday in Mosul to activate Iraqi soldiers and celebrate the Iraqi Army’s 83rd birthday. Two Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) Battalions and one Iraqi Border Police (IBP) Battalion were activated in a ceremony at Camp Claiborne, in front of a crowd of coalition soldiers and former Iraqi soldiers. The ceremony kicked off with comments by Lt. Col. Donald Fryc, commander, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air...

CJTF-7 Public AffairsBAGHDAD, IraqRelease #040110bThe mighty, mighty sling load operation itselfMOSUL, Iraq – On a remote mountaintop in northern Iraq, 10 miles east of the town of Tall Afar, soldiers are getting ready to leave their outpost and join fellow soldiers in Mosul. They’re doing it the way soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) have been doing it for years – by air. Soldiers from Bravo Company and Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 501st Signal Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) set up a retransmission site eight months ago on a mountain close to Highway One to boost...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 9, 2004Release Number: 04-01-20 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE IRAQI CITIZENS TURN IN WEAPONS CACHES MOSUL, Iraq – Concerned citizens turned in large caches of weapons Jan. 7 to soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in northwest Iraq. Two high level Ba’ath Party officials, one from the town of Tal Afar and one from Zumar, turned in weapons to soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT). The collections included 69 AK-47s, 98 magazines, 98 82-millimeter mortar rounds and...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894   January 9, 2004Release Number: 04-01-19 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 101ST CAPTURES SIX ANTI-COALITION SUSPECTS MOSUL, Iraq – During pre-dawn raids in northern Iraq Jan. 8 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) captured six people suspected of anti-Coalition activities. An element of the division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) detained five individuals in Ash Shura for attacks on Coalition Forces. The individuals were also connected to making improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The element confiscated an AK-47 rifle and electrical...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 January 4, 2004Release Number: 04-01-10 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 101st CAPTURES TOP TARGET, SEIZES WEAPONS MOSUL, Iraq – Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) detained a top anti-Coalition suspect during a cordon and search in a small town south of Mosul Jan. 3. The suspect became the battalion’s top target after his alleged involvement in an ambush in late July that resulted in the death of three U.S. soldiers. The suspect is also thought to...

CJTF-7 Public AffairsBAGHDAD, IraqRelease #040103d  101st doctors, Mosul medical college hold symposium MOSUL, Iraq – The Mosul Medical College, the 21st Combat Support Hospital, and physicians from the 101st Airborne Division gathered Dec. 30 for a symposium on diseases. Included in the event was a brief ride in a medical evacuation or MEDEVAC helicopter, a tour of the 21st Combat Support Hospital and a series of medical presentations. The topics included brucellosis, a “superendemic” disease commonly transmitted by drinking unpasteurized milk or eating cheese that is not boiled during preparation. Dean of Mosul Medical College, Dr. Samim Al-Dabbagh, made the...

CJTF-7 Public AffairsBAGHDAD, IraqRelease #040103b Iraq’s first anti-corruption team gets underway MOSUL, Iraq – The first specialized anti-corruption office in Iraqi history celebrated its inception Jan. 2 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Mosul involving political and military leaders throughout Nineveh Province. With a force of 15 investigators and prosecutors, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will work to oppose what Coalition Forces see as an epidemic of infidelity among political and social leaders in Iraq. Capt. Richard Taylor, former battle captain for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Staff Judge Advocate, designed the plan for ACC because he saw that the best...

CJTF-7 Public AffairsBAGHDAD, IraqRelease #040101a  101st Soldiers, Michigan town facilitate pen-pal program MOSUL, Iraq – Traverse City, Mich., has taken an interest in the Qayyarah-Nineveh region of Iraq. Since early September, three 3rd and 4th grade classes have started a correspondence with 4th grade Iraqi children in the village of Tulul Nasir. This pen-pal program sparked the interest of residents in Traverse City, who responded with boxes of art supplies and t-shirts for the children and mail and food for the soldiers. The pen-pal project includes seventy-one 4th grade children in Tulul Nasir and seventy-one 3rd and 4th grade children...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 December 31, 2003Release Number: 03-12-84 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 101ST LOCATES NUMEROUS WEAPONS CACHES IN NORTHERN IRAQ MOSUL, Iraq – Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) discovered weapons caches Dec. 30 in and around the city of Mosul. In the 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) area of operations a source led soldiers to a group of freshly dug holes, one of which contained two bags full of 82-millimeter mortar rounds. Also a local civilian guided forces to a cache...