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FORT HUACHUCA — Dominic Inchausti was oblivious to the noise around him. The sobbing, the talking and other noises echoing in Hangar 3 at Libby Army Airfield did not bother him. Dominic was sound asleep, safe in the arms of his father, Sgt. Michael Inchausti. Dad caressed and kissed the precious bundle. It was his and his wife Sierra’s first born. Both mom and dad are from Phoenix. Throughout the hangar similar scenes could be seen as GIs — men and women — hugged their children, their spouses and other family members. As families gathered in groups, single soldiers talked...

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2006 – Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team are working to set conditions for the Iraqi government to take charge of essential services and public works within Baghdad. Army Lt. Col. Joe Gandara, commander of Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, meets with neighborhood representatives in the Doura Baladiya, in southwestern Baghdad. Local representatives often detail the most pressing needs of their neighborhoods and communities. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The brigade's Special Troops Battalion has taken the lead in...

Irish UN workers warned Israelis of airstrike six times 26/07/2006 - 16:18:17 It emerged today that the senior Irish officer in Lebanon, Lt. Col. John Molloy, contacted his liaison officer in the Israeli Defence Forces to express his concerns about nearby attacks six times prior to the destruction of a UN observer post in southern Lebanon by an Israeli airstrike. Pictured: Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern. It emerged today that the senior Irish officer in Lebanon, Lt. Col. John Molloy, contacted his liaison officer in the Israeli Defence Forces to express his concerns about nearby attacks six times prior to...

A formation of Georgian soldiers from the 22nd Light Infantry Battalion, 2nd Brigade, listen to Capt. Lasha Karmazanashvili, commander, 22nd Light Infantry Battalion, during a Georgian Independence Day celebration Friday in Baghdad’s International Zone. Col. Michael Beech, commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, congratulates Georgian soldiers during a Georgian Independence day celebration. Georgian battalion celebrates Independence Day Story and photos by Pfc. Jason Dangel 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division BAGHDAD, Iraq — The 22nd Light Infantry Battalion, 2nd Brigade of the Georgian army celebrated its country’s independence day in the International Zone Friday. The Georgian...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 5, 2006) -- There are no pencil-pushers at 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. There are only extra trigger-pullers. The Darkhorse battalion, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 in Fallujah, is making it a point that no one gets a free ride. Everyone earns their campaign ribbons. Administration clerks are pulling convoy security. Legal assistants are truck drivers. Everyone gets outside the wire and everyone earns their combat pay. Some Marines never thought they’d see the field, even before arriving at their first duty stations. Lance Cpl. David Reister was told at his military occupational specialty school...

TAL AFAR, Iraq – May 3 will mark a historic day in Western Ninevah Province as 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division assumes the lead in security operations in and around Sinjar. The ceremony will serve as the latest example of the increased Iraqi Army role in providing security to the people of Iraq . The 3rd Battalion has proven itself to be a skilled and professional fighting force and is confident in its ability to handle its increased responsibility. After completing a number of successful missions in conjunction with U.S. forces, the battalion recently planned and executed...

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, April 17, 2006 – The first joint interrogation and debriefing battalion in the Army stood up April 12 during a ceremony here. Soldiers participate in the activation of the first joint interrogation and debriefing battalion in the Army April 12 during a ceremony at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Photo by Spc. Jason Merrell, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army leaders are taking lessons learned from the 2003 Abu Ghraib detainee abuse incidents in Iraq to revamp the intelligence field. Changes include the activation of dedicated interrogation battalions and a new joint training center...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (April 13, 2006) -- “If the American public could see what these young service members do every day (in Iraq) it would bring a tear to a grown man,” said Lt. Col. Drew T. Doolin, the commanding officer for Combat Logistics Battalion 7. Although he has served as the first Marine aide to the vice president and will soon work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C., the pinnacle of his career, he says, has been serving here in Iraq as a commander in war, leading his Marines on a daily basis. The...

A servicemember assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 2, Kuwait Detachment 1, is greeted by a loved one at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., March 31, 2006, after a six-and-a-half month deployment to Kuwait. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Apprentice David B. Danals Seabee Battalion Returns Home from Kuwait While deployed, the battalion supported public works operations for the U.S. Army’s Area Support Group-Kuwait. By U.S. Navy Airman Michael Starkey,Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic NORFOLK, Va., April 3, 2006 — U.S. Navy sailors from Amphibious Construction Battalion 2, Kuwait Detachment 1, returned to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va.,...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Sailors from Amphibious Construction Battalion (PHIBCB) 2 Kuwait Det. 1 returned to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, March 31, after completing a six-and-a-half month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. “Mobilizing Reservists and blending was a challenge but worked very well,” said PHIBCB 2 Commanding Officer, Capt. Thomas C. Nicholas. The team’s 44 active-duty Sailors and were joined by 13 naval Reservists and supported public works operations for the Army’s Area Support Group (ASG)-Kuwait. “The guys did a great job and got lots of recognition,” said Nicholas. The Seabees worked together with the...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- About 400 Mobilized Reservists of Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force (NAVELSF) Forward Group Papa returned to Norfolk March 29 from a nearly seven-month deployment after providing support for the Department of Defense’s customs inspection mission in Iraq and Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their mission was to ensure returning service members and equipment carried no unwanted plants, pests or diseases to American shores. NAVELSF Commander, Rear Adm. Hank Tomlin was on hand to welcome the Sailors home. “They’ve been incredibly successful in what would be considered a non-traditional Navy mission,” said Tomlin. “It’s a...

CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq (March 24, 2006) -- Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment never thought they’d see the Al Qa’im region of Iraq again when they departed their military camp here in March last year. One year later, the Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based unit has returned to this remote forward operating base here, located just east of the Syrian border in western Al Anbar Province, to continue to keep insurgents at bay and provide stability in the region. But this time, they’ve got a new mission — assisting an Iraqi Army unit to eventually take control of the area....

Here we are again with this week’s successes with respect to finding, identifying, and neutralizing a threat the media likes to categorize as a hopeless cause. The area of IEDs is just another example of the successes we’re having in the war in Iraq against terrorism. Here we go: For those that don’t know, 1st Brigade Combat Team soldiers are training an Iraqi Combat Engineer unit to be IED hunters. These soldiers are highly motivated to fight IEDs and insurgents and love working with Coalition Forces to learn how to combat this menace. One [Iraqi] soldier was on his day...

KARMAH, Iraq (Feb. 3, 2006) -- The Iraqi Army’s 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, 1st Brigade assumed the battle space in and around the city of Nasser Wa Salaam which is in Regimental Combat Team – 8’s area of responsibility. Now the unit wants to extend its area of operations by assuming more of the area east of the city of Fallujah to include Karmah. Members of the Iraqi Army battalion already show their presence in the city here by conducting patrols with Marines of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment and conducting raids in the near-by areas to capture possible insurgents....

FORT POLK, La. (Army News Service, Feb. 1, 2006) -- "It really is Combat Logistics Patrols for Dummies," said Capt. Justin Redfern, joking about a handbook that Soldiers in his battalion put together in Iraq. Redfern and other Soldiers of Fort Polk's 142nd Corps Support Battalion have made a serious effort to distill their experiences running CLPs in Iraq into an easily accessible handbook. The book, the brainchild of battalion commander Lt. Col. Ronald Green, consists of two volumes. "Volume One can be picked up by any unit coming into theater to learn how to run a CLP," said Capt....

Iraqi Army Battalion Relocates to Better Serve The 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division of the Iraqi army relocates to best conduct counter insurgency operations and to improve security for the Iraqi people. By U.S. Army Cpt. Lyn Graves KIRKUK, Iraq, Jan. 31, 2006 — Iraqi army soldiers loaded up their equipment, lined up their vehicles, prepared for relocation, and departed the army base north of Kirkuk. "The soldiers of 4th battalion [Iraqi army] have proven themselves extremely capable in the Kirkuk area and will take their experience and expertise to the Bayji area."U.S. Army Maj. Steven Howell...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Jan. 13, 2006) — While conducting an air-insertion mission into the village of Shakaria, Iraq, Task Force Ironhorse Soldiers killed several insurgents, detained one and discovered a significant weapons cache Jan. 11. As part of Operation Falcon Sweep, Black Hawk helicopters landed near Shakaria Wednesday morning and Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment swept the village to identify terrorists. The 2-502nd Soldiers received small arms and indirect fire from insurgent forces at approximately 10:45 a.m. The Soldiers returned fire, killing six terrorists and wounding one other. Following the firefight, Soldiers discovered two dead insurgents...

TUZ, Iraq (Army News Service, Jan. 10, 2006) – The Iraqi Army assumed responsibility of Forward Operating Base Bernstein in the northern Sallah-Dihn Province Jan. 5, as part of the transfer of security in Iraq from coalition forces to the Iraqi Army. The “Cobra” 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division took control of the base and responsibility for the security of the surrounding region from the “Balls of the Eagle” 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during a transfer of authority ceremony. 600 joint missions paved way The transfer took place after many months of...

Gen. Bolger also told me that a new soldier in the Iraqi Army makes around $300 a month, while the terrorists are offering about $300 per night for anyone willing to plant an IED. Yet Iraqi Army boot camps are turning out around 1,650 brand new soldiers every five weeks. That number is growing weekly, and is slated to double in 2006. Like the throngs of voters who queued up to the ballot box last week, volunteers who stand in the Iraqi army recruiting lines are not stupid. Nor are they so desperate for work they'll risk death for a...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Dec. 6, 2005) -- Marines from Force Protection Platoon, 8th Communications Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (FWD), prove on a daily basis they are not just communication savvy. These 26 men, who are at the tip of the spear behind the armored metal of military vehicles, provide much more than their communication ability; they easily transform into a lethal combat team for convoy operations. On a day where many Marines and sailors enjoyed a warm Thanksgiving dinner aboard Camp Fallujah, Marines from Force Protection Platoon traveled through the streets of Fallujah to an...