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WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2007 – Keeping al Qaeda “on the ropes” is job No. 1 for the 1st Armored Division and Multinational Division North, the organization’s commander said today. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who took command of Multinational Division North yesterday, said his command is well-positioned for success following the great work done by the men and women of the 25th Infantry Division. He spoke to online journalists and “bloggers” from his base at Forward Operating Base Speicher, near Tikrit. Northern Iraq is a very complex unique and diverse environment, Hertling said, adding that the area is on...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — After receiving tips, Coalition forces detained three people in Salman Pak, Oct. 11, during Operation Belleau Wood, a raid to find insurgents linked to al-Qaida cells operating in Iraq. Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, detained the men after they were identified as al-Qaida members responsible for improvised explosive device placement along a road frequently used by the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The Soldiers also cleared 13 houses during their search. Maj. John Cushing, from Rochester, Mich., the 1-15th Inf. Regt. operations officer, believes the recent organization of concerned...

BAGHDAD – In a well-lit meeting room in a government building in the Iraqi capital, 20 Iraqi women were sitting in a circle, intently watching the demonstration in the center of the room. They were dressed modestly but with some flair: bright pink and blue headscarves mixed in among the black chadors, chunky, designer purses resting on the floor beneath their seats. The friendly, casual atmosphere in the room looked similar to a suburban book-club meeting, or maybe a Mary-Kay cosmetics party. Except that these women were not learning how to apply foundation, they were learning how to lock and...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2007 – Security improvements in Fallujah, Iraq, are allowing coalition forces and Iraqis to reinforce success, the city’s provincial reconstruction team leader said today. A year ago, Fallujah was a battlefield between al Qaeda and coalition forces. Today it is recovering, and local Iraqi leaders are setting the pace of that recovery, said Stephen G. Fakan, leader of the provincial reconstruction team in the Anbar province city. “We have to find Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems,” Fakan said during a conference call with defense reporters. His 14-member team works hand in hand with local Iraqis and members...

Soldiers, Local Leaders Create a Place for Kids’ Play Children in the Tisin neighborhood of Kirkuk, Iraq, have a safe playground at which to play, courtesy of their local government leaders and U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. By Sgt. Mike Alberts 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs KIRKUK, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2007 — The children here show no shortage of energy or imagination. On any given day, some play soccer in dirt alleys; others noisily run among parked cars playing in an Iraqi equivalent of “tag.” What the children in Tisin, an ethnically mixed neighborhood in northwest Kirkuk, lacked was...

SAMARRA — As the much-anticipated Iraq report was released this month, one unit is finding that they are indeed making progress. An Iraqi teenager who was an informant for the Coalition force in Samarra was kidnapped by insurgents and held for several days. He was beaten and moved to different locations. The teen managed to escape, ignoring the death threats of his captors for talking with Coalition forces, and after his escape, he went straight to Forward Operating Base Brassfield-Mora to ask for help. That help came from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team,...

LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ADDER — Nearly a year ago, 28-year-old Army Sgt. Virgil Swisher, 82d Sustainment Brigade, knew he would be deploying here. What he did not know was that he would be working outside the scope of his military occupational specialty. “I came out here to do my job as a wheeled mechanic. I heard so many different things about Iraq and I expected to see what we in America see on T.V., but I was surprised,” Said Swisher. Since arriving at Logistics Support Area Adder in southern Iraq, Swisher along with other Soldiers throughout the installation were tasked...

9/7/2007 - MEHTAR LAM, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- A small rewards program led to a big explosion as explosive ordnance disposal Airmen detonated more than 900 pounds of munitions turned in by local Afghans Sept. 1 near Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam. The detonation destroyed mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, rockets, bullets and other bomb-making materials, all which were turned in by Afghans who discovered the items in their fields, homes or in village weapon caches. "The locals are pretty tolerant about these detonations," said Tech. Sgt. Alan Powell, the EOD superintendent at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam, home to the Laghman Provincial...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2007 – The U.S. provincial reconstruction team in Iraq’s Diyala province is working to connect provincial leaders with Iraq’s central government and foster reconciliation in an area where security is still challenging, the team’s leader said today. The PRT, which was established in April 2006, includes about 46 military and civilian members from various government agencies who work directly with the provincial government, John Melvin Jones said during a conference call with online journalists and “bloggers.” The team’s biggest challenge right now is getting enough involvement in Diyala from other agencies, because the security situation isn’t stable,...

WASHINGTON — Coalition forces continued their aggressive campaign against insurgency in a series of operations this week. Iraqi security forces and U.S. Soldiers operating in Baqubah continued to clear the city of insurgents Wednesday while providing humanitarian aid to its citizens as Operation Arrowhead Ripper continued. Arrowhead Ripper is one of several operations that are part of an overall offensive against insurgents in Iraq dubbed Operation Phantom Thunder, which began June 15, once all "surge" troops were in place. Iraqi and U.S. security forces have provided Baqubah’s citizens about 265,000 pounds of rice and flour, more than 10,000 vegetarian rations,...

Iraqi Army medic Ziad Afuritakh of 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division treats a young Iraqi girl at a medical operation conducted Thursday at a school in Cargouli Village, Iraq, as her father looks on. Almost 200 people were seen at the operation and treated for various illnesses. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Chris McCann, 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office. BAGHDAD — Iraqi Soldiers of the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and U.S. Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) conducted a medical-civil affairs clinic in Cargouli Village Thursday.An Iraqi medic, along...

Gaining the support of the local population is critical to success in southern Afghanistan, according to the British Commander there, and with the success of the latest operation in the Sangin Valley, gaining that support is exactly what the troops are now doing. Operation Lastay Kulang, which began on 30 May 2007 has seen British and Afghan troops clearing the Sangin Valley of the main pockets of Taliban resistance. The UK led operation is being jointly conducted by the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and by creating a stable environment, the troops can...

LSA ADDER — The U.S. military continued progress in a program to provide generators at pump stations along the Euphrates River to irrigate water to local farmlands in southern Iraq Tuesday. The 134th Brigade Support Battalion along with local contractors dredged existing irrigation canals to local farms up to 15 kilometers away from the Euphrates River. The generators will greatly improve agriculture in the area, said Sheikh Mohammed Tayeh, a representative of the council of Batha, Iraq. “It was really barren,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Todd M. Engebreston , a vehicle commander of the134th BSB. “When we first got here,...

BAGHDAD — Iraqis in the country’s north, fed up with ongoing violence, are leading U.S. and Iraqi forces to some of the largest weapons and bombs caches found in the region to date, the commander of Multi-National Division-North told Pentagon reporters Friday. This comes as U.S. troops in that area are handing off most counterinsurgency missions to Iraqi forces. This allows U.S. forces to focus on killing or capturing those who finance, make and emplace IEDs, said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of MND-N and the 25th Infantry Division. So far this year, his forces have nearly doubled...

Golden Dragons Care for Local Residents Infantry soldiers secure area as doctors, medics treat villagers. By Spc. Chris McCann 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division SADR AL-YUSUFIYAH, Iraq, Feb. 12, 2007 -- In a country where poverty is endemic and many people are afraid to leave their homes because of terror threats, basic medical care can fall by the wayside. The village of Sadr Al-Yusufiyah, Iraq, a mostly Sunni area near the Euphrates River, is no different, but the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons”, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)...

SIERRA VISTA — Arizona Democratic candidates for state and national office say there is a change in the air that will lead to more candidates from their party being elected in November. But the state’s top Democrat, Gov. Janet Napolitano, added a sense of reality when she told nearly 200 people attending a brunch Saturday that nothing should be taken for granted. The party faithful, she said, will have to get out and vote to ensure Democratic victory in statewide and Legislative offices, as well in congressional elections. Napolitano said she, too, foresees a new direction for the state if...

PHOENIX — Arizona National Guardsmen, including soldiers from Sierra Vista and Huachuca City, are being called up for security duty in Iraq, according to a Guard spokesman. President George W. Bush has federalized the 259th Security Force Company for up to 545 days in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Maj. Gen. David P. Rataczak, adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard. An initial element of 25 soldiers, of the 170 being called up, is scheduled to depart this morning, said Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Aguirre. The remainder of the company is scheduled to...

A woman's plans to celebrate her husband's release from jail, complete with candles and a veil-draped lamp, is believed to have sparked a three-alarm blaze early Monday that destroyed much of a Harvey motel. The woman leased Room 223, where the fire started, at the Best Western at 1700 Lapalco Blvd. in anticipation of her husband's midnight release Sunday from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna, said motel owner Dawn Boteler. The couple's names were not released, but the woman lives in the New Orleans area, he said. "When the fire started, they were the first ones to leave,"...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2006 – Two Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers were killed in separate incidents over the past two days, and five Iraqi patrols resulted in the detention of three suspected insurgents in Ramadi. West of the capital, a Multinational Division Baghdad soldier was killed by small-arms fire yesterday, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported. The other died Feb. 26 in central Baghdad. The soldiers' names are being withheld pending notification of the family, and both incidents remain under investigation. On Feb. 25, soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, conducted five security patrols leading to the...

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mark Williams and an Iraqi soldier talk to local citizens in Ad Dwar, Iraq, Feb. 10, 2006, about the suspects on the “most-wanted” poster they are handing out. Williams is assigned to psychological operations, 2nd Squadron, 9th U.S. Cavalry. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Walter E. van Ochten More Photos Posters Bridge Gap Between Iraqi Army, Locals Armed with leaflets and posters, Iraqi troops take to the streets of Ad Dawr, giving local Iraqis the opportunity to interact with their soldiers. By Sgt 1st Class Walter E. van Ochten 133rd Mobile Public Affairs...