Installing 50-CAL Mount

PV2 Shell and SPC Porter working on the crow system.

And also, 3rd Platoon has the best maintenance team (SGT Spinale, SGT Spaid and SPC Harvey, only a three personnel-team, taking care of 11 Route Clearance vehicle) in of whole Iraq. I believe that is the true statement.

Turkey arilines resumes flights to Baghdad after 17 years

UNCLASSIFIED

The Turkish Airlines (THY) flew to Baghdad for the first time in 17
years, and landed at the international airport in the Iraqi capital on
Sunday afternoon.

The national airline company of Turkey resumed its flights to the Iraqi
capital of Baghdad 17 years later on Sunday.

The Turkish Airlines (THY) flew to Baghdad for the first time in 17
years, and landed at the international airport in the Iraqi capital on
Sunday afternoon.

THY had suspended its flights to this country during the Gulf War in
1991.

Turkey's State Minister Kursad Tuzmen and Transportation Minister Binali
Yildirim were aboard the plane.

"THY's opening an office at the Baghdad Airport and resuming flights to
Iraq are the evidence of good and strong relations between the two
countries," Iraqi Minister of Transportation Amir Abd al-Jabbar Ismail
told a press conference with Turkish ministers.

Yildirim said that Turkey would hold talks with Iraqi authorities
regarding air, sea and railway transportation and improve bilateral
commercial and economic relations.

Also, Iraqi Minister of Trade Abd al-Falah al-Sudani expressed his
country's expectation to open a second border crossing near Habur
customs gate, and raise bilateral trade volume from 5 to 10 billion USD
in two or three years.

Turkey's State Minister Kursad Tuzmen expressed Turkey's eagerness to
sign a free trade agreement with Iraq, and said Turkey planned to
establish an organized industry zone and a free trade zone at the
Turkish-Iraqi border.

Tuzmen and Yildirim returned to Turkey after having talks with the Iraqi
ministers of transportation and commerce.

The THY has scheduled round flights between Turkey and Iraq on Mondays,
Thursdays and Saturdays.

Just chilling

Iraqi Army Personnel conduct Bridge Reconnaissance

Curious SGT Gooden

just hanging around waiting for the rain to come

Buckle up

SPC Henriquez

PFC Nelson

"The EYES"

SGT Gooden, SPC McCall and PV2 Shell

Beautiful Sky in Iraq

US turns over control of 12th Iraqi province

UNCLASSIFIED

The U.S. relinquished control of a southern province that includes Sunni
areas once known as the "triangle of death," handing security
responsibility to the Iraqi government on Thursday. In the capital,
where insurgent attacks continue nearly daily, a car bomber targeted a
government minister's convoy, killing at least 13 people.

Babil is the 12th of 18 Iraqi provinces to be placed under Iraqi control
and a sign of the improving security. U.S. forces will remain in the
area to assist the Iraqis when needed.

At a transfer ceremony held near the ruins of the ancient city of
Babylon, Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, said
security gains have been remarkable - with the number of attacks falling
about 80 percent from an average of 20 per week a year ago.

But he cautioned that "while the enemies of Iraq are down, they are not
necessarily defeated."

With Babil's handover to the Iraqi government, the only province left
under U.S. control in southern Iraq is Wasit, a rural desert region that
borders Iran and has been a conduit for the smuggling of Iranian-backed
Shiite militants and weapons into Iraq.

Wasit will be transferred to Iraqi authorities on Oct. 29, said Maj.
Gen. Michael Oates, U.S. commander south of Baghdad.

Other provinces that remain to be handed over are north of the capital,
where violence has been slower to decline after insurgents fled security
crackdowns in Baghdad and surrounding areas.

Salim al-Musilmawi, Babil's provincial governor, credited tribal leaders
and Sunnis who turned against al-Qaida in Iraq in a U.S.-funded revolt
with the downturn in violence.

"Today's security handover is the fruit of the victory over al-Qaida,"
he said at the ceremony, which included a brass band, marching army
squadrons and a simulated riot response by an armored police unit.

In Baghdad, the attacker rammed the car into the Labor and Social
Affairs Ministry convoy as it passed through the central Bab al-Sharji
area, a ministry spokesman said.

The Shiite minister, Mahmoud Mohammed al-Radhi, escaped unharmed but
three of his guards were killed, spokesman Abdullah al-Lami told
al-Arabiya TV station.

"It is the latest in a series of criminal acts that are targeting
development process in Iraq," al-Lami said.

At least 10 civilians were killed in addition to the guards, and 21
people were wounded, according to police and hospital officials, who
spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to
release the information.

Smoke and the smell of gunpowder filled the air. Drivers at a nearby
intersection sought shelter behind their cars until Iraqi security
forces ordered them to evacuate the area.

AP Television News video showed a burned SUV and the charred hulk of the
apparent car bomb surrounded by Iraqi security forces. The windows of a
nearby camera store were shattered, with torn pictures left among the
glass.

The attack highlights the continued security challenges in the capital
and other parts of Iraq amid a national debate over the future role of
foreign troops in the country.

Iraq's Cabinet decided earlier this week to ask the United States for
changes in a draft agreement that would keep the U.S. military here for
three more years, as Shiite lawmakers warned the deal stood little
chance of approval as it stands.

The government faced pressure from both sides on Thursday.

Britain called for the speedy completion of deals with it and the United
States, whose U.N. mandates - and legal basis - for a military presence
in Iraq expire on Dec. 31. Iran, however, urged Iraqis to reject the
deal.

Iraqis "are able to provide security in Iraq and block the influence of
foreigners," said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He made the
remarks in a meeting with the leader of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish
region, according to his official Web site.

Oates said Tehran was "meddling in Iraq's politics" and warned that Iran
may use proxy groups to affect upcoming provincial elections that the
U.S. believes are essential for national reconciliation. The vote is
slated to be held by Jan. 31.

"We will see an increase in tension that probably will result in some
violence," Oates said in Babylon, warning that Iran-backed militants may
intimidate voters or even assassinate candidates.

"It's going to be tough enough to make the transition in this election,"
he added. "Iran just makes it tougher."

By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER
Associated Press Writer

Security level allows 1000s to view soccer match in Samarra

UNCLASSIFIED

SAMARRA, Iraq - Thousands of spectators filled the stands at the Samarra
Sports Complex to witness a soccer match between club teams from Samarra
and Baghdad Oct. 19.

As a show of the level of security the city is now experiencing,
thousands were able to gather and watch as Football Club Samarra
defeated Football Club Baghdad Student Union 3-1.

This match marked the first time two soccer teams were able to play in
the once embattled city since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Several months ago, Coalition and Iraqi Security forces were clashing
with enemy fighters inside the city in an attempt to rid it of insurgent
activity.

ISF provided the overall security for the event and the match ended with
no incidents.

"Through the cooperation of Iraqi Security Forces, Sons of Iraq and
Coalition forces and the active support of the city's residents, Samarra
is now safe enough to host a soccer game that attracted thousands of
spectators," said Lt. Col. JP McGee, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry
Regiment commander. "This soccer game holds huge significance for
Samarra and all of Iraq. After years of violence and unrest, Samarra
has expelled terrorists and established a degree of security
unimaginable a year ago."

McGee said the fact that a team from Baghdad could travel to Samarra,
play in a soccer match and then return home safely represents a return
of normalcy to Iraq and the reuniting of the country.

"Samarra's triumph makes it all the more special," he said. "In this
type of struggle, victory will not be marked by a formal surrender
ceremony as in past conflicts. Rather, events like this soccer game will
herald Iraq's triumph over terrorism and Iraq's reemergence as a strong,
united nation."

SGT Ariola's Video

Rain Dance

Iraq has been in a drought for some time now and it really hurt the population because no crops, no waters, no food, no farm animals and people have not been very happy. It started to rain a bit lately and everybody is excited about the outcome. All thanks to the WARDAWGS for making it happen. The more I think about it, we have done a lot of good things in Iraq. 2009 will be the year for all Iraqis to remember.

IA gives back to students; school reopens after two years

UNCLASSIFIED

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq - The 23rd Brigade, 17th Iraqi Army Division handed
out gift bags to students from the Sanadid School in Shakeriyah and the
al Fatoh Elementary School in Al Fatoh Oct. 19.

"It is always a good thing when the children receive gifts, they enjoy
seeing the Iraqi Army soldiers come through the school," said Soad Ahmed
Jasaim, Sanadid School assistant headmaster. "The IA has done a lot for
us recently, especially in giving this school back, when two months ago
it was (used) by American Soldiers."

For two years, the Sanadid School was used by Coalition forces as Patrol
Base Lion's Den until Sept. 6 when it was transitioned back to IA
control. The IA reopened the school upon taking over the base.

Classes took place in tents during that two-year period. Educating
upwards of 800 students, the IA knew converting the building back to a
school was the top priority.

"Today we are showing that we care and that we will give back to the
people in need," said Col. Alcram Sadam Mathuaf, 23rd Bde, 17th IA Div.
commander. "We are giving the children school supplies and items they
both need and want."

Giving the area back was only the beginning, as there is still work to
be done in the school.

"The students are like my children, I will ensure that I help them the
best way I possibly can," Mathuaf said. "Starting next week we are going
to start painting the school and doing small things that we can
accomplish at our level."

The plan is to ensure the school is supplied with electricity through a
generator run by 2nd Battalion, 23rd Bde, 17th IA Div and clean bottled
water.

"We are doing what we can in order to support these schools and make
sure they are getting what they need," said Lt. Col. Fatatl Rasheid
Hamid, 2nd Bn. 23rd Bde, 17th IA Div commander.

The IA soldiers who handed out the gift bags were as cheerful as the
children who received them.

Hamid said that his soldiers were proud to give back and he plans to
continue providing for the schools in the future.

A Small Note

UNCLASSIFIED

Good Morning families and friends of 3rd Platoon,

It has been good. We are continuing to be blessed by the good Lord at
what we do every day. In November 2007, the situation in Iraq was up in
the air. But now, it seems like we are ready to pack up and go home for
good and not to have to come back to Iraq again.
Just one year does make a lot of difference. We have gained so much
here in the last year that surpasses everybody's wildest dream about the
future of Iraq. Time and time again, Al Qaida tried to create sectarian
violence a long Iraqi civilian in order to create a civil war, but they
have been unsuccessful at their evil deeds.

It is time for us to go home; we only have 90 days left in Iraq. It is
the hardest time of the deployment. We have not encounter much
Improvised Explosive Devices along Main Supply Route, but the threat is
still there. Just the other day, the bad guy place 4 Anti-Tank Mine
double stacked and concealed under a car tire in front of the gate at a
Joint Security Station, but we discovered it. I'm writing this to make
a point that, incase those mines blow up, the Mine Resistance Vehicle
would have completely demolished.

When you talk with your spouses, children, brothers (us, the Soldiers in
Iraq), please encourage us to focus on the route with full focus as
complacency will creep in like a thief before we know it. Please advise
us to be motivated, continue to work hard as the days for us in Iraq is
getting shorter and shorter day by day.

In the past few days, we got some very good pictures. But I have not
much time to post them on the website. Please hang tight and I will get
them posted as soon as possible.
For us over here in Iraq, we are doing extremely well. And we are ready
to go home back to California with you all.
You all have a good day,
Sincerely,
1LT Pham, Tho

Civilian Traffic and Dusty Day

Iraqi army creates civil affairs program

BAGHDAD —The woman did not want the Americans to come inside the school.

The soldiers simply wanted to drop off some donated bikes for the children to ride Tuesday. They had just finished doing the same at two other schools in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district without a problem. But the teacher insisted that the Ministry of Education barred soldiers from visiting schools and that her principal wasn’t there to override the order. Posters from anti-American Islamic charities suggested that there was more to her story than simply a bureaucratic desire to follow the rules.

Iraqi army Capt. Hisham Isam Hussein would later say he was embarrassed by the teacher’s refusal to welcome the Americans. Iraqi officers are often unkind to civilians who get in their way. That’s especially true when the obstacle is a woman, an effect of the country’s male-dominated culture. Many officers would have simply ignored her protests and pushed through the school gate.

But Hussein isn’t like other Iraqi officers. He’s one of the Iraqi army’s few civil affairs officers. His job consists, in large part, of winning over intransigent citizens. So he masked his frustration and calmly asked to speak with the teacher away from the Americans. He then talked to her so softly his words could barely be heard from a few feet away.

"The first thing we can do for a person who’s helping us is to say, ‘Thank you,’ " he began.

Then he proceeded to convince her that the soldiers didn’t mean any harm. She eventually relented. The Americans stayed out of the building, but brought the bikes into the courtyard, snapped some pictures with one of the teachers and went on their way. Confrontation avoided. Mission accomplished.

Hussein’s civil affairs job brings a new mind-set to an old-style military whose officers have often acted like a privileged class. Developing this civil affairs capability could help the Iraqi army take over many of the essential nation-building responsibilities still being performed by the Americans even as they transfer security duties over to the Iraqis.

Hussein started his career just like any other Iraqi officer. He still liked helping people whenever possible, but he saw that as a personal rather than professional duty. He was a communications officer two years ago when his commander needed to appoint someone for a new job as a civil affairs officer. Hussein’s commander reasoned that his mass media degree made him a good fit for the newly created position.

Hussein now spends his days bringing essential services to the neighborhoods around Adhamiyah.

American civil affairs soldiers helped him learn how to direct Iraqi government money toward critical projects and identify those who could use some help.

His office is just a two-minute walk from the American team’s office. At a moment’s notice, they can visit him to discuss the various ways to improve Adhamiyah’s neighborhoods, talks that Hussein has come to enjoy.

"Besides being a man in the military, you care about people and humanitarian issues," he said. "Everybody comes to you with their problems."

Well, not everybody. Hussein concedes that some still won’t accept bags of food and other supplies because they don’t like the Americans or their Iraqi partners.

He doesn’t get mad at them, though. He just explains the situation to them quietly, and he’s often able to win them over.

"I always try to explain to people that the army is here not to enforce things on you, but to help you," he said, adding that he realizes he can’t always be the nice guy to get things done. "It needs me talking in a loud voice sometimes and talking in a soft voice sometimes."

Hussein’s American counterparts say he maximizes their effectiveness, too.

He goes out into the community, makes contacts and helps them decide where their efforts can best be directed. He can find out which schools could use some bikes, which businesses could use a microgrant or which families could use an aid package.

"If it wasn’t for him, we’d have a much harder time," said Staff Sgt. Andrew Leiser, a Company C, 404th Civil Affairs Battalion soldier who works with Hussein.

But Hussein, in his characteristically humble way, brushes such compliments aside. In his mind, at least, the Americans taught him everything he knows and that trumps whatever help he can offer.

"It’s not a matter of really expertise, but of bringing problems and solutions to the Americans," he said.

"Sure, I may feel I know better, but Iraqi army civil affairs wouldn’t be here without American civil affairs."

By James Warden
Stars and Stripes
October 21, 2008

Winding down

Each day goes by, it is one day closer to head back home to the beautiful sunshine California. The security level are getting so much better and had caught everyone (everyone) by surprise. They are talking about pulling the troops out of Iraq by June 2009 and withdrawing every single troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. Sometimes, it seems like we do not have a purpose over her anymore. There are nothing to be found (IED). Occasionally, there are still some IED on the route and the bad guys still desire to inflict as much pain on coalition force as possible, but it seems like their moral are at a all time low. We just have to wait and see how the future folds out.

SFC Borresen, The Husky Driver (first time driver)

PV2 Caprio fixing the antenna

inside of the RG-33

the Sheppard and his sheeps

LT Pham and PV2 Shell (LT Pham stands on low ground)

Goofy Sancho Warrior

Dismounted patrol along the canal

Mosul, Mosul, Mosul

BAGHDAD — A church in the northern city of Mosul was bombed Tuesday as Christians continued to leave the city to escape recent violence that has been directed at them.

Several church leaders accused the Iraqi government of trying to cover up the extent of the problems facing Christians there and of overstating its success in improving security in Mosul, one of the country’s most volatile cities.

As the government announced plans on Tuesday to send officials to Mosul to assist the Christian community, the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, sent some of his most senior aides from the holy Shiite city of Najaf to Baghdad to meet with church leaders in an expression of solidarity.

“For Christians in Mosul this is a time for tears, because from the beginning we did not get support, least of all from state officials,” Msgr. Shlemon Warduni, the auxiliary bishop of the Chaldean Patriarchate, told the Shiite delegation during a meeting on Tuesday at the Virgin Mary Church in eastern Baghdad.

“The government acted only belatedly,” he said.

One of Mr. Sadr’s representatives at the meeting, Sheik Muhanned al-Gharrawi, said that he had just spoken to Mr. Sadr by telephone and that he was instructed to convey a message from his leader: “We will not hesitate to turn into human shields for our Christian brothers if need be.”

Another Shiite cleric, Hazem al-Araji, said that some of the families that had fled Mosul to predominantly Christian villages in the Nineveh Plain, northeast of the city, sought the protection of his movement.

“We told them that we cannot provide military help but that we will exert pressure on the government,” Mr. Araji said.

He added that his movement would send trucks with food, mattresses and blankets to aid displaced families.

Mr. Sadr’s followers say their militia, the Mahdi Army, has been dismantled.

Both Monsignor Warduni and a Christian community leader, Iyad al-Ashouri, accused the Iraqi government, notably the Ministry of Defense, of belittling the extent of the crisis in Mosul.

The government, which ordered additional forces to Mosul on Sunday, said in a statement that it was sending a ministerial delegation there to “address the problems and needs of our Christian brothers.”

On Tuesday, a homemade bomb placed at the door of the Miskinta Church in the Old City district of Mosul detonated and caused some damage to the building but no casualties, Monsignor Warduni said.

Security officials in Mosul confirmed the episode, the first known attack on a Christian site on the city’s west side since a wave of attacks against Christians began in late September. Most of the violence has been on the east side of the city.

Ramzi Mikha, a Christian member of the Nineveh provincial council, said that although the pace of Christians leaving Mosul had slowed on Tuesday, dozens were still leaving, with some heading to the relative safety of some neighborhoods in Baghdad.

It is unclear who is responsible for the attacks. Some Arab politicians have blamed the Kurds; Kurdish politicians have said that former Baathists and “terrorists” are responsible.

Five Sunni insurgent groups issued separate statements over the past few days disavowing the attacks, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militants’ Web sites.

The Rev. Nadheer Dakko of the St. Georges Chaldean Church in the Ghadeer neighborhood of Baghdad, who is also acting as a liaison for various Christian groups, said he had compiled a list of 1,795 families who had left Mosul since late September.

He said 10 families had come from Mosul to his church seeking food, supplies and shelter.

Shukria Youssef, a member of the St. Georges congregation whose sister is a nun at an orphanage in Mosul, said many of the Christians remaining in the city were destitute and could not afford to leave.

“As long as there are people my sister and the other nuns will not leave,” she said. “They consider themselves spiritual soldiers.”

Haitham Haazem, a Christian who fled to Baghdad from Mosul with his wife on Sunday, said Iraqi forces had restricted themselves to fixed checkpoints and had little control over entire neighborhoods on the east side, where killings and intimidations took place.

In other developments, an American soldier was killed Tuesday in an attack while he was on patrol in western Baghdad, the United States military said in a statement.

In London, Iraq’s oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, met on Monday with representatives of 35 oil companies that have qualified to bid on long-term service contracts at six major oil fields and two gas fields. The winning bids will be announced next summer.

Major foreign oil companies are returning to Iraq 36 years after losing concessions when the industry was nationalized.


By SAM DAGHER
Mohammed Hussein
The New York Times
from Mosul, Iraq.
October 14, 2008

A Few More Pictures

PFC Sheppard stepped on Poops

an Iraqi Farmer



A Tricky Business