The Heaven of the Moment

Always thinking of what you like
and what you don't like
exhausts the energy that could by used
to fuel your passion.

Events of life are always changing.
Everything is made new in your life
between the time you read this line . . .
and this one.
Difficult times and joyous times
can follow each other as swiftly.
When good times arrive welcome them.
When they seem to pass, let them go.
When pain arrives do not despair.
It will pass on as well.
You will sometimes feel strong and whole,
and sometimes weak and partial.
This is not a problem.
Do not let these things distract you.

When this evening comes,
lie down in each other's arms.
Let the day slip away.
And enjoy the heaven of the moment

Hello From LT Pham

I have just arrived at Los Angeles after a few days or fun traveling starting from Iraq to Kuwait, then Germany, Texas and finally Los Angeles. Life have been good so far and I enjoy my time very much. I will not be able to post any good story from Iraq as I'm not physically there, but I will be posting something fun everyday. Wardawgs, you take care and those of whom in Barquba, you take care too and God bless your dedicated heart.

Pyke, back for more

So alot has happened since Ive last done my piece on here. We had a brand new Buffalo due to some weird circumstances. On our 2nd mission out with it we decided to blow it up. Shit happens but whats the best way to break in new equipment than to break it. So with all that behind us life seems to be rolling along. The monotony of the day to day has gotten to such a point that well days have blended together and the only thing that seperates one day from another is our maintnence day which we have no missions. In some respects it makes time go faster but in others it drags things out cause you have no idea what day it is or even the date unless someone has told you. For me it has made the days/weeks/months fly by. In saying that I will be departing on leave on the eve of the 20th. Im mostly excited. I cant say that Im going crazy or anything but a break would be nice. And on that note our beloved LT has gone on his leave not more than a day ago. I hope he has a riot on leave being hes been rather stressed lately. Ask him and he would deny it all but ones face and charisma can never hide the true feelings of the inside. Everyone who has been on leave and has returned says we all look like zombies walking around here. Maybe its that I havent gotten away from it all yet but from my eye everyone dosnt seem so bad. I think its an aspect problem. Of course seing happy people in the USA and then seing us here in Iraq we are going to seem depressed and dead to the world just due to pure circumstance. If we all looked happy and joyful well the army would probably take away our hazzerdous duty pay and our hardship duty pay. So there is something to be said for the rough faces around here. Its still a war. Things are still respectively tough. And people are still trying to fight us. With that being said Im going to move on out and do some online shopping (its impossible to say with an internet full of cool stuff to buy)

Well its been real, and its been fun, But is sure as hell hasnt been real fun......
Pyke

Troops blast through a bomb-strewn route in Diyala province

DIYALA PROVINCE, Iraq — An Army combat engineer pointed to the side of a paved road riddled with holes in southern Diyala province.

"That’s where the Husky blew up," he said of the spot where one of his platoon’s mine-clearing vehicles hit a roadside bomb. "And that’s where our second Husky got hit," he said as he looked at a crater on the opposite side.

Another soldier coolly chimed in: "No, it was our RG [mine-protective vehicle]. The second Husky was further down."

For the soldiers of the 84th Engineer Company’s 1st Platoon, explosions are their forte. And for long stretches in this violent region, the Visleck, Germany-based unit has had plenty of opportunity to use its expertise.

The soldiers have been tasked with clearing a bomb-infested supply route that runs between Baghdad and Baqouba. Iraqi army soldiers intend to use it as they continue to advance on al-Qaida in Iraq strongholds.

It has been a time-consuming endeavor filled with unexpected bomb blasts. In three days, the platoon has cleared just a four-kilometer stretch. Four armored vehicles have been hit by roadside bombs. And one soldier has sustained injuries that were not life-threatening injuries, with at least one kilometer of road yet to be cleared.

The engineers are approaching the situation with mine-clearing line charges, or MICLICs. The devices launch a rocket attached to a 100-meter-long strand of C4 explosives into a straight line. Then the C4 strand —1,600 pounds’ worth — ignites into a huge fireball, setting off any explosives in its kill zone.

The method was popular against minefields during the first Gulf War. Nowadays it’s rare to see it used in Iraq, soldiers say.

"We’ve been treating it like a minefield," platoon leader 1st Lt. Trevor Needham said of the road. "That’s why we’re using the MICLICs."

After the detonations, soldiers scour the road for traces of bombs not blown up in the colossal blast. About 13 bombs, mainly hooked up to pressure plates, have been found, the company’s executive officer said.

"There could have been a few more that we didn’t know about," said 1st Lt. Erich Schnee, 28, of Auburn, Ala.

Spc. Casey Watson found a roadside bomb the hard way — triggering it with his armored vehicle. The explosion destroyed the engine, blew the hood off and sent a tire 50 feet away.

"My ears were ringing and I had a slight headache," the 22-year-old Atlanta native said. "You know, I’m a soldier. I survived," he added with a grin.

U.S. military intelligence had noticed local Iraqis bypassing a section of the road and turning onto a smaller route in the village of Alawi Kharris Alawi.

On Tuesday, a bulldozer followed by an Iraq army convoy plowed its own way past the road along dusty flatlands nearby.

"We’re moving slowly," acknowledged Needham, 24, of Doylestown, Pa. "The Iraqi army has pushed ahead to the side of the road. That gets them in deeper to catch these guys."

Before leaving for the day, Needham advised Iraqi soldiers to be wary of any areas that haven’t been cleared.

"You don’t think anything is there, but we can’t be sure," he said.

Iraqi army 1st Sgt. Ahmed briefly bragged about his swift, battled-hardened unit, the 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, which made the makeshift dusty road.

"We get many attacks but we never stop," he said through a translator. "We are fighters."

Needham’s platoon still has orders to clear the road to allow a faster, safer access point for troops chasing insurgents.

Two tiger cubs added to Baghdad Zoo's attractions

They are an endangered species, now living in a new home in a place
that's fate had been anything but certain.

Two Bengal tigers - donated by the Conservators' Center in North
Carolina - have arrived at the refurbished Baghdad Zoo. The cubs are
around 2 years old, weighing around 150 pounds each, and are among an
estimated 3,000 of their kind in the world.

During and after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the zoo lost most of
its animals to violence or starvation; its previous tiger was shot when
it reportedly began attacking a U.S. soldier.

Now the zoo has nearly 800 animals in 62 exhibits, officials said. The
facility gets about 10,000 visitors on the weekends - Friday and
Saturday in Iraq - and around 2,000 to 3,000 on weekdays.

The tigers, named Hope and Riley, are expected to boost those numbers.

The animals were transported from the U.S. by the military, with the 2nd
Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division in charge of
the curious task. The $66,000 transport-and-care bill was paid for by
the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, officials said.

The zoo is in what is now a safe part of Baghdad and has 24-hour
security inside and outside its gates.

N.C. group donates big cats to Iraq
Stars and Stripes
August 13, 2008

Changes

The Army is really good with dealing with surprises. We would always be prepared for the worst case scenario. If we can put in as much as we can without putting the performance in jeopardy, we are good to go.

Why do we have to bring M8, M9 papers with us on the route? I don't know! why do we have to carry machine gun tripod with us on our vehicle? I don't know either. But what happen if? This is the reason why the Army is such a successful organization. Because we prepare as much as we can for the worse; so we will be prepared for any changes by the surrounding (environment) by surprise.

As the deployment flies by, we all need to keep our eyes open and our mind alert more than ever.

Well, my time is up as a Soldier came up to me and says,"Sir, you have 5 minutes." Take care and God bless you all!

Marines see progress helping Anbar rebuild

FALLUJAH, Iraq — Not long ago, the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, would have been tasked with destroying targets in Anbar province.

Now, these California-based artillery Marines have been designated as Civil Affairs Detachment 3, Regimental Combat Team 1. They work in small teams in Fallujah, Karmah, Habbaniyah, Zaidon and other areas, overseeing the rebuilding of schools, medical clinics, water and sewage treatment facilities and other structures.

Apart from the improved security situation, they say, it is rebuilding Anbar that will bring U.S. troops closer to leaving.

In fiscal 2008 alone, the U.S. military has pumped more than $106 million U.S. tax dollars into restoring the province’s infrastructure.

It’s a monumental effort in a province ruined by years of fighting and neglect.

Iraqis in many areas live in dire conditions so much worse than what Americans consider poverty that it doesn’t compare, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Byron T. Yoshida, 29, one of the team leaders, who has been in Fallujah for six months.

The problems are many:

* Electricity from the national grid is available only for a couple of hours a day.
* The sewage treatment facilities are inadequate.
* Clean water is in short supply.

These civic obstacles in Anbar are common throughout Iraq.

The public works systems in place are further strained as Iraqis tap into them illegally, Yoshida said.

The Iraqi central government has provided about $4.10 million to fund needed projects, according to Multi-National Force – West officials.

The government’s revenue, mostly generated by oil, has soared but officials have been slow to spend it on rebuilding the country, amassing a huge surplus instead, according to a study issued this week by the Government Accountability Office.

From 2005 through 2007, only one percent of the $67 billion spent on operating and investment activities was used to maintain roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

In Anbar province, there is a disconnect between the central government’s funding of projects and residents’ needs, said 1st Lt. Eric W. Spitznogle, 24, a team leader from Cleveland.

Civil Affairs detachments, using Commanders Emergency Response Program funds, have stepped in to bridge that gap, Spitznogle said. The Regimental Combat Team provides the money and the Civil Affairs detachments work with local leaders to determine what projects are needed.

All the work is contracted out to Iraqis, said 1st Lt. Nick McGrath, 27, from Lawton, Iowa, the executive officer for 2/11 Civil Affairs Detachment 3. "We can fund it, but it’s their idea, their execution, their long-term plan. It’s their school, sewage treatment plant, road," McGrath said.

The emergency funds are allocated by Congress and budgeted down to the regimental combat team level. RCT-1’s commander can approve projects under $50,000, while projects over $50,000 require approval by the deputy commander of MNF – West.

Yoshida, a team leader in Fallujah proper, and his Marines have spent a lot of time meeting with city leaders and visiting sewage treatment facilities, roads and other projects to ensure the progress of work. They have also provided about 34 generators to be used as backup for electrical power.

For projects in Karmah, Spitznogle works with Mayor Faisal Hamad Khalaf. "If you’re driving inside the city, you’ll see a lot of projects that have been paid for by coalition forces," said Khalaf, who added that the rebuilding also has propped up the area’s economy.

At any given time, the five teams of Detachment 3 oversee about 75 projects, McGrath said.

Such projects will help legitimize the Iraqi government and ensure stability in the province, Yoshida said. People who have electricity, clean water, and are employed don’t want to participate in an insurgency, he said.

"We’re trying to prop up the government; set them up for success," Spitznogle said.

Their efforts in Fallujah are working, Staff Sgt. Aaron Collins, 28, a team chief from Phoenix, said.

"They’re returning to normalcy. People are on the streets. A lot of citizens are rebuilding their homes and that’s a good sign that they feel secure, they know it’s going to last," Collins said.

And the Iraqi government is starting to figure things out, Spitznogle said. "Just in the last two months, [there are] more projects being done by the government of Iraq since I got here," he said.

By Cindy Fisher
Stars and Stripes
August 8, 2008

U.S. forces in north working to integrate ‘Sons’

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Iraqis are short about 17,000 police officers in northern Iraq, but some Iraqis in the region who have played a key role in fighting insurgents may not be eligible to join Iraqi security forces, said Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. troops in the region.

The "Sons of Iraq" are mostly former insurgents who are now being paid by the U.S. government to serve as an armed neighborhood watch.

As the program comes to an end, the U.S. military is working to incorporate the "Sons of Iraq" into the security forces or train them for other jobs, but some are not trained to enter the workforce, Hertling told reporters on Monday.

"There is a problem with some of these ‘Sons of Iraq’ in terms of literacy," he said. "We’re helping the Iraqi minister of education to form [a] literacy program to in fact train some of them so they would be eligible to join the security forces."

Over the past few months, about 3,000 "Sons of Iraq" in the northern part of the country have been folded into Iraqi security forces, mostly the police, Hertling said. Commanders in northern Iraq hope to reduce the remaining 29,000 "Sons of Iraq" on the U.S. payroll by 40 percent by October.

But the Iraqi government has been slow to embrace the "Sons of Iraq."

In December, the congressionally mandated progress report on Iraq said the Iraqi government was slow to bring the "Sons of Iraq" — then known as concerned local citizens — into Iraqi security forces.

The report noted that 80 percent of the roughly 69,000 Sons of Iraq are Sunni and said the Iraqi government was worried that they "may return to violence or form new militias of concern."

By Jeff Schogol
Stars and Stripes
August 12, 2008

On the offensive in northern Diyala

JALULAH, IRAQ - For the last 10 days, the Iraqi Army has been carrying
out its largest operation since 2003 here in the deserts and foothills
of northern Diyala province near the Iranian border, searching for
remnants of al Qaeda pushed out of urban areas by Iraqi and Coalition
forces in the past year.

Iraq's Quick Reaction Force, made up of Iraqi's Army 1st Division and
elements of the 9th Mechanized Division, operates at the discretion of
Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and moved from Baghdad to this area
earlier in the summer. Diyala has gained a reputation as the most
violent province in Iraq so far this year and is the location for the
most recent female suicide bomber attacks. Nearly 50,000 Iraqi Army and
Police troops and 4,000 U.S. soldiers are involves in the offensive.

"The Iraqi Army has started to clear all of the area - especially the
hinterland that was controlled by al Qaeda," said Iraqi Colonel Mounm
Ashem Fahad, commander of the 1st Division's 4th Brigade. "We have our
orders from the Prime Minister that people aren't allowed to have heavy
weapons."

The operation "Omens of Prosperity" began July 29 and has netted nearly
400 insurgents and numerous weapons caches. On Aug. 3-4, Iraqi soldiers
discovered three weapons caches that included 44 rocket-propelled
grenades, five RPG launchers, eight 82mm mortar rockets with fuses, 11
anti-personnel mines and five Iraqi military uniforms that could be used
for suicide bomb attacks. Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in action and
four soldiers were wounded.

Over the next two days, two additional caches were discovered and police
captured a man who had convinced two young boys to use explosives
against a military convoy. One of the boys was injured as a result and
the convoy was never attacked.

"Jalulah is like a small Iraq -- our fathers and grandfathers had no
problems in this area in the past," said Captain Gasan, an Iraqi Police
Officer who is also Sheik within one of the local tribes during a
meeting between Colonel Fahad and Iraqi Police. "Ten members of my
family have been sacrificed to terrorism. I'm proud to say we are ready
to sacrifice everyone to get this area away from the radical Islamists."

Tensions between the Arab-dominated Army and the Kurdish police and
Peshmerga militias were on display but remained low-key. A confiscated
machine gun from one of the Kurdish parties, the socialist Kurdistan
Democratic Party, was given back later in the day in return for the
flying of the Iraqi flag in front of the local party headquarters.

The 4th Brigade's U.S. Military Transition Team reported a break with
the past in terms of the Iraqi Army's behavior toward civilians.
Increasingly, the army is using less aggressive counter-insurgency
behavior to achieve its aims - a lesson gleaned from the US experience
during the last 18 months when it changed its tactics in Iraq toward
counter-insurgency.

"Many of the reports have the local people saying they're quite happy
with the way the searches have gone," said US Lieutenant Colonel Stephen
Wilson, commander of the 12-man US Military Transition Team. "They were
expecting very aggressive searches, doors being beaten down, furniture
broken, and things being stolen. That hasn't been the case with these
guys."

On Aug. 7, the task force cleared areas to the east and north of Lake
Hamrin, an artificial lake that is now mostly dry due to the effects of
a three-year drought. Much of the area, within the Khaniqin district, is
guarded by Kurdish militias, the first time in years that Iraqi and
Coalition forces have travelled through the area. No incidents between
the forces were reported.

"The political consolidation among the Sunnis, Shia and Kurd is already
done," said Major General Tariq Abdul Wahab Jassim, commander of Iraq's
1st Division. "Now let us focus on one Iraq."

The operations will continue for an undetermined time, the US Army said.

Five members of al Qaeda's executive council were captured during the
first week of operations with support from a US-led Operation "Iron
Pursuit" which covers both Diyala and neighboring Salahadin province.

Iraqi and US Special Operations forces are conducting air assault into
known al Qaeda rear areas deep within the Hamrin Mountains.

Written by Bill Murray on August 8, to The Long War Journal

Take A Look

Take a look, take a closer look at the picture. Granted, the picture is a very low quality and you can not really see it. If you are at the scene, then you would be able to comprehend the picture that much better; not really. Some people (Soldiers) would say that it was probably the best thing that they have seen in their life. People fighting each others, pointing weapons at one another and threatening to kill; weapons discharged and flesh was stabbed. Yes, the word "kill" is not overstated because it happens everyday. To me, it is a very sad thing to experience. Why don't people get along? Why this and why that? It is indeed a childish question; may be so, or many not be so. Even within the same platoon, there are people dislike each others; how can we ask such question that "why Iraqi people don't get along?" I hope that there shall be peace on Iraqi soil one day; ASAP; so that these people don't have to be worry about getting blown up when they get to the market to buy some food for the family. And as long as I live, I'm allowed to hope and absolutely nobody can take that away from me. I reserved the right to hope and I hope so are you, too.

ARMY STRONG

Work of SGT Dow

EFP attacks down drastically in Iraq

ARLINGTON, Va. - Explosively formed penetrator attacks in Iraq are "way
down over the past couple of months," said the head of the Joint IED
Defeat Organization.

The number of EFPs that U.S. troops encountered in July was "in the
teens," Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz told reporters Wednesday.

"I think it's probably connected with Sadr's militia and his direction
to calm down," Metz said.

Widely known as "EFPs," the penetrators are a particularly deadly type
of roadside bomb that fire a slug of high density metal at a high
velocity, giving the penetrator much more power than roadside bombs of
similar size made from artillery shells.

Since he became head of JIEDDO in December, EFPs have made up between 5
percent and 10 percent of all roadside bombs per month, but they have
accounted for 40 percent of casualties, Metz said.

As with previous JIEDDO roundtables, no specific information was
provided on the number of roadside bomb attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan
due to security concerns.

Overall, the number of roadside bombs that U.S. troops encounter is down
more than 50 percent from its peak of between 2,800 and 3,000 per month,
Metz said.

As U.S. troops get better at jamming radio-controlled bombs, the enemy
in Iraq has shifted to low-tech means to set them off, such as pressure
plates and tripwires.

While such methods mean those who implant roadside bombs can be spotted
more easily, it also makes the job of stopping roadside bombs harder.

"It's still a very hard physics problem to be moving down the road at 30
miles an hour and have a device that can look into the ground and detect
at a very low false-positive rate, you know, a pressure plate that's
under there," he said.

While U.S. troops are dealing with fewer roadside bombs in Iraq, the
trend is going in the other direction in Afghanistan, Metz said.

After dropping off during the winter, the number of roadside bomb
attacks in Afghanistan has risen dramatically since the beginning of the
year, according to Wednesday's presentation.

During the peak of roadside bomb attacks this spring, coalition troops
encountered about 200 roadside bombs, resulting in about 40 casualties,
Metz said.

The increase is due in part to the presence of more coalition troops in
Afghanistan, he said.

Meanwhile, JIEDDO is counting about 300 "IED events" outside Iraq and
Afghanistan per month, underscoring the need to defeat IED networks as a
strategic threat, he said.

"I do not want every thug in the world to pick up on the fact that the
IED is his weapon of choice, because it'll come to the homeland, and I
don't want it in the homeland," Metz said.

By Jeff Schogol
Stars and Stripes
August 8, 2008

MiTT units present Marines with unique opportunities

ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - The Marines of the three military transition
teams assigned to 2nd Quick Reaction Force, 1st Iraqi Division live on
Iraqi military camps often far from U.S. bases.

They eat, play and sleep among the Iraqi soldiers they are here to
advise. There are no dining facilities, military exchanges or other
amenities available at most of the camps. Yet some say this has been the
best experience of their careers.

A small unit like this creates strong bonds among the enlisted troops
and officers, said Lance Cpl. Nathaniel Gillingham, 22, a radio operator
from Lakeland, Fla.

It's unusual for lance corporals to have daily interaction with majors
and lieutenant colonels, but it happens here, said Lance Cpl. Daniel
Nicholson, 20, an infantryman from Robindale Heights, Pa.

Gillingham and Nicholson, part of the 2nd Quick Reaction Force MiTT, are
assigned to an Iraq camp near Camp Fallujah in Anbar province. The team
is so small that everyone pitches in to do jobs usually done by junior
Marines, such as man turret guns on convoys, Gillingham said.

"We work so closely together that we are all on the same page and can
predict each others' actions," said Lance Cpl. Erik Tirado, 27, a
machine gunner from Jacksonville, Fla., with the team advising reaction
force's 3rd Battalion.

"It is so much better than being in an infantry battalion," he said.

Junior Marines here do more too, the three agreed.

"It's much better than a regular battalion as far as being a radio
operator in the back-in-the shop scenario," Gillingham said. "Back in
the shop, all you do is prepare the gear for others to go out on the
convoys. Here I go out a lot and do and see things that only a grunt
used to get to do."

Nicholson is his team's intelligence chief, which is not the "run-of-the
mill job" for an infantry lance corporal, he said.

The junior Marines have also taken on more responsibility such as being
vehicle and convoy commanders even when higher-ranked personnel are on
the convoys, Nicholson said.

Interaction with Iraqi soldiers has added to the experience.

The Iraqi soldiers are very interested in the Marines' lives, said Pfc.
Zach Young, 21, an infantryman from Pittsburgh working with the 3rd
Battalion's advisory team. "They want to know where you are from, what
your father does, are you married," Young said.

He said he was surprised at "how much they blamed the Iraqi government
for all the problems in the country."

Talking to the Iraqi soldiers, "it gives you a sense of humbleness of
what you have back home. They are oblivious to what they have and could
have," Gillingham said.

By Cindy Fisher
Stars and Stripes
August 3, 2008

DEI gets help in production to meet burgeoning demands

Diyala Electrical Industries received two machines to help the Iraqi
owned company get closer to meeting its production demand.

The machines are a benefit of a partnership between Diyala Electrical
Industries and the United States Government and are in need at the
company for production of industrial sized electrical transformers for
power lines.

DEI is the only company that produces transformers in Iraq. These are
used to help transport electricity through power lines throughout Iraq.

The machines the company received are wire cutting and gas cutting
machines that will increase the amount of transformers manufactured. The
company needs these machines to increase their capabilities to meet
demand.

"Diyala Electrical Industries is critical to Diyala and to the country
as a whole," said David Matthews, senior economic advisor with the
Provincial Reconstruction Team for the Diyala Province. "I think the
improvement over the past year has been dramatic."

Meeting the demand is the goal of the company. The company employs over
2, 5000 Iraqis and as the demand goes up, so will the employment. This
will help the economy and the people that work at the company.

"My concern is about the government of Iraq to be able to produce these
highly technical instruments to be used for the country of Iraq and the
people of Iraq," said Matthews.
Technical ability is an important to the production of DEI and the pole
of Iraq. The company has several engineers and technical experts and
general laborers who work together t assemble different pieces of the
transformers.

The employees are very excited about the new machines to assist the
company. The new machines will be used to help increase production.

"This is going to improve the production of the company," said
Abdul-Salam Muhammad Jafar, distribution manager, Diyala Electric
Industries. "The new machines can replace some out dated machines and
will allow for an increase in production."

This will make the production faster with less down time for the
machines, said Jafar.

Story by SGT Mark Albright
14th Public Affairs Detachment

The month of August is almost half way done

Here are some pictures of the Month of July. I have not get a chance to
write something good recently due to being extremely busy and somewhat
stress out of long hour of work from myself. My Soldiers usually tell
me that I need to go home, but then I do not feel good going home now
due to too much emotional attach to Iraq, its people and of course my
platoon as well.

You all take care and keep up the hard work as time flies by very
quickly and we will be united to our families real soon.

Life is a good as it is

Quite Good Article to Read about 58th CEC

IED hunters take on insurgency in northern Iraq

CAMP SPEICHER, IRAQ: Investment in "alien-looking" mine-detection
equipment by the U.S. military, combined with increased funding for
Iraqi police and army units, has cut the number of improvised explosive
attacks in the past year in the northern part of the country from 6,000
a month a year ago to less than 500 this month.

Fully 75 percent of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) emplaced in
parts of Iraq are now being discovered before they explode, the US Army
said. With a growing reconciliation program taking hundreds of Iraqis
out of insurgent ranks every month, the millions of dollars spent to
design and purchase mine-detection equipment and train soldiers is close
to eliminating the attacks that have killed and injured thousands across
the country since 2003.

"The technology that has been provided to Combat Engineers in the past
five years has saved lives on a grand scale," said Colonel Matthew
Russell, commander of the 18th Engineer Brigade at Camp Speicher, near
the city of Tikrit, about 150 miles north of Baghdad. "Either because of
scarce resources or perhaps they're running low on explosives, they've
had to start emplacing hoax IEDs just to take up our time."

It's money that couldn't be spent fast enough. Improvised explosives
became the weapon of choice for insurgents and terrorists who attacked
poorly armored Humvees and civilian cars at will from 2004 to 2006. Up
to 80 percent of US casualties during the past two years of the conflict
had been caused by IED attacks. In 2006, some road patrol units in Anbar
province were discovering or setting off up to 10 IEDs each night patrol
while covering less than a mile of roadway.

"During the first six months of the war, there weren't any IEDs," said
Captain Donovan Peterson, commanding officer of the 58th Combat Engineer
Company at Camp Speicher. "The whole IED fight is something that the
Army had to come up with on its own."

The 3rd Platoon, 58th Combat Engineer Company has patrolled the main
highways between Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, and Baiji,
where Iraq's largest oil refinery operates, so many times in the past
eight months that the soldiers now notice subtle changes in the trash
along the side of the road.

"We know the road so well, we just know when something is different,"
said Specialist Matthew Quenga. "It's like 'Where the hell did that bag
come from?' Even if it's something Iraqis just threw out there."

Patrolling with the engineers highlights the care US soldiers take with
potential threats. On this day, suspicion fell on an abandoned tire a
few feet off the northbound side of the main Baiji to Tikrit road, only
about 200 meters from an Iraqi Police checkpoint. The tire itself was
not significant -- the amount of trash on Iraq's roads would exhaust
every 'Adopt a Road' program in the US. But after months of patrolling
experience, one of the soldiers was able to see wires running out from
the edge of the tire as they drove past in the southbound lane.

Several soldiers, talking over the radio among the five-vehicle mission,
believed the tire was a hoax. Bomb installers have increasingly placed
propane tanks, tires, and water jugs on the side of the road, in the
hope of perhaps lulling Iraqi Police and US Army patrols to complacency
before resuming attacks with real bombs.

To combat the explosive tire, engineer battalions now use several pieces
of newly developed equipment that have little use outside of bomb
discovery. The first looks like a mating of an industrial road-grader
and a pawn-shop robotic arm.

Called a 'Husky', the South African-made mine detector allows its single
operator to control a 20-foot-long robotic arm with a camera and
two-pronged claw at the end to find out what is inside an abandoned
tire, all at a safe distance. The occupant of the Husky sits 12 feet
above the ground in a blast-proof cab.

In this case, the tire was holding an anti-tank mine, probably Italian
or Chinese-made, containing enough explosives to seriously damage a
vehicle if it ran directly over it.

To destroy the tire bomb, the Army has come to depend on an even more
outlandish, but highly effective piece of equipment - the Talon - a
robotic remote-controlled tread vehicle with an on-board video camera to
verify and then destroy the IED without putting humans in harm's way.
The Talon can then use a small robotic arm to carry counter-charges, in
this case, two sticks of C-4 explosive with a time-fuse.

About an hour after the IED was discovered, the platoon destroyed it
with explosives, allowing traffic on the four-lane road to return to
normal, and adding one more ex-IED to the more than 150 the company has
destroyed in the past eight months.

Bill Murray from www.longwarjournal.com

A few more pictures

Just a few Pictures

Basic soldiering lessons just the start for military transition teams in Iraq

ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq — Developing the Iraqi army to the point that it operates independently of coalition forces is essential — not only to prop up the Iraqi government, but also to allow U.S. troops to leave the country, military officials have long said.

To do that, small military transition teams have been living, eating and sleeping with units of the Iraqi army for the last few years. They began by teaching Iraqis the basics of being soldiers.

That’s what some enlisted Marines assigned to a MiTT advising the 2nd Quick Reaction Force, 1st Iraqi Division thought they would be doing.

"I was told I was going to train the Iraqi army specifically on machine guns," said Lance Cpl. Erik Tirado, 27, a machine gunner from Jacksonville, Fla., who is part of a team advising the reaction force’s 3rd Battalion at Manion Combat Outpost near Dradigila.

But that has not been the case. The Iraqis have shown enough progress that the Marines have been going out with them on patrols and exercises. And in some cases, the Iraqis are taking over the operations.

"We are so far beyond training," said Lt. Col. Sean Riordan, 37, from Emerald Isle, N.C., the senior adviser for the team assigned to the quick reaction force staff at the Iraqi base near Camp Fallujah. A team is also assigned to the brigade’s 2nd Battalion at Halwas Combat Outpost.

The teams are now focusing on developing "the coalition-independent capabilities of the Iraqi army," he said.

Riordan said the Marines have encountered some difficulties working with the Iraqi army. One is the language barrier.

Pfc. Zach Young, 21, an infantry Marine from Pittsburgh assigned to the 3rd Battalion’s MiTT team, said he attended a four-week course in Arabic before the deployment. "The only problem was it was a Saudi dialect. The Iraq dialect is a little different," Young said.

Cultural differences have also caused some frustration for the Marines. Transition teams have to understand the Iraqi military customs and how it affects what they do, Riordan explained.

"Take, for example, leave," he said. Once a month the Iraqi soldiers take leave to take their pay to their families and make sure they are still safe, he said.

"The Iraqi culture, it is like the wind, it is like the sand. It’s no use getting mad about it; you just have to learn how to deal with it," Riordan said.

Team advisers also find themselves working as advocates for the Iraqi army. "Sometimes coalition intentions don’t line up with Iraqi intentions," Riordan said. So the advisers do a balancing act to bring them closer together.

Despite the difficulties, there have been marked improvements here, he said.

In September 2007, the Iraqi brigade accepted responsibility for its own operating area in the northernmost portion of Anbar province. The mostly desert area with a few homes and small villages was once a haven for insurgents, Riordan said. "They lived in this area and knew we couldn’t get there," he said of the insurgents.

Iraqi soldiers began constantly patrolling the area, fighting insurgents, finding weapons caches and neutralizing bombs, he said.

Just two weeks ago, one Iraqi patrol found 400 gallons of explosives in a house, he said. The brigade also worked with Iraqi police and nearby coalition forces to increase security in the region, Riordan said.

The brigade has regained the trust of the local people, said Brig. Gen. Ali, the brigade’s commander. He and other Iraqis are often identified only by part of their names because Iraqi soldiers and their families are still being targeted by insurgents. Some officers have to move their families several times a year to keep them safe.

The change in attitude about the Iraqi army is due to how the brigade operates, Ali said.

"When we detain suspects, we treat them well. We help people: food, medical operations, help at schools.… We kill insurgents and we know the difference between insurgents and civilians," he said.

The Iraqi soldiers also have learned to identify with the army, so they bring neutrality to the area, said Capt. Anthony Guess-Johnson, 33, from Pasadena, Calif. People know the brigade is not operating with any faction or party agendas, said Johnson, senior adviser for the team assigned to 3rd Battalion.

Iraqi officers meet with the heads of tribes to know the people of the area, and locals have begun asking for more Iraqi soldiers to come here, Johnson said. As they have gained control of the area, people have returned and businesses have reopened, Iraqi soldiers say.

"I feel safe now," said an auto parts store owner in Dradigila, who did not want to be identified. Before, he couldn’t keep his business open and had difficulty feeding his family due to the insurgent activity in the area, he said.

The Iraqi army is building on its success by taking over the planning of its patrols and operations and the managing of the area, Riordan said. They are getting to the point where they can do independent operations, he said.

Last week, the brigade put into motion the first operation in a three-phase plan against insurgent activity that they developed and will execute mostly on their own, he said. Coalition forces are just helping the brigade with technological and air capabilities, he said.

As a result of the Iraqi success, team advisers have backed off and act only as coaches, Riordan said. "We try to the best of our ability not to do their jobs," he said.

By Cindy Fisher
Stars and Stripes
August 3, 2008

Focus in Diyala shifts to community building

U.S. and Iraqi army soldiers are busy speaking with villagers in the
southern part of Diyala's Balad Ruz district now that they are finished
with the searching and clearing phase of the Iraqi government's latest
operation against an insurgent stronghold, said Maj. Cameron Cantlon,
executive officer for 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

The work marks a shift in Operation Saber Pursuit from a combat focus to
community building. Multi-National Division - North launched the
operation to establish a foothold in an area that's been a persistent
haven for enemy fighters and financiers.

Soldiers began Saber Pursuit by rounding up all the men in the village
and questioning them to find out if any were insurgents. They initially
found that insurgents had already fled the villages and cleared out many
of their weapons cache sites. But they encountered more people as they
worked their way through the area, Cantlon said. While many villages
were entirely devoid of military-aged males, one recent 400-person
village had 75 when coalition forces arrived.

These people have also helped the soldiers uncover the insurgents'
hidden weapons. Iraqi soldiers with 18th Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army
Division and American soldiers with 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry
Regiment unearthed 12 caches near Hamud, Iraq. The caches contained 60
mm mortar rounds with a mortar tube, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher
with various grenades and several AK-47 assault rifles.

"It shows a commitment of the people themselves," Cantlon said about the
resident's tips.

Soldiers are now assessing the communities to find out what they need
and to propose solutions to their problems. Iraqi soldiers are also
meeting with local officials and residents.

Insurgents had previously returned to the area after coalition forces
swept through. But commanders say they won't be able to do that this
time because Iraqi soldiers will be staying behind and more Iraqi police
will be hired to help them.

Work has already begun on new checkpoints and platoon-sized patrol
bases, Cantlon said. Trucks have delivered barriers for the construction
of the new sites.

With work in the Balad Ruz district shifting to a new phase, leaders are
already looking ahead to future operations in the province.

"There are operations planned to continue to separate the insurgents
from the people," Cantlon said.

Nearly 50,000 Iraqi police and soldiers are also involved in operations
against al-Qaida in Iraq throughout Diyala province, a senior provincial
official said Wednesday.

House-to-house search operations are focused on the provincial capital
of Baqouba, but will be extended to rugged areas near the Iranian
border, Ibrahim Bajilan, the head of the regional council, told The
Associated Press.

The crackdown will take about two weeks "and then law will be imposed in
all Diyala," Bajilan said, according to the AP, providing details about
an operation that began Tuesday.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari, told
AP that 35 "wanted insurgents" have been apprehended so far and a number
of weapons seized in Diyala.

U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. David Perkins said the main
challenges in Diyala were the hot summer temperatures and the abundance
of hiding places and enclaves in palm groves and other agricultural
areas.

"It just takes a lot of physical effort to go through this difficult
terrain in very hot and demanding conditions," Perkins told a joint news
conference with al-Askari.