Roundup of Daily Violence

Roundup of Daily Violence
McClatchy Newspapers
Mohammed al Dulaimy
July 24, 2007

Around 9 a.m. A road side bomb targeted an Iraqi army convoy in Qahtan square near Al Yarmouk hospital. 2 soldiers were injured and one military vehicle was damaged.

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: July 16- July 22
Slides: 24, 25, 26

Awards Ceremony

LTC Lawson
SGT Smith
SPC Voight
awards given: CAB, PH, ARCOM

A Little Proud American

1LT Nick, Emily, Olivia Bell, and family

Combined Security Forces Help Daklea Health Clinic

CPT Jayson Morgan
PV2 Steve Robbins

Changes

Changes
2BCT Newsletter : The Dagger's Edge
By Sgt. 1st Class Daniel McKim
July 12, 2007

Waking up at 3 o’clock in the morning to head out to my truck and go hunting holds a different meaning here in Iraq than it does in the States. For one, my typical packing list of a shotgun, reflective safety vest, and a thermos of coffee does not help much with the conditions here. Instead of ducks, I now hunt terrorists, and as I get in my truck, I bring my rifle, tactical vest, and a block of ice that will eventually melt into the cold water I will drink while on patrol. It is funny that all of us think about what we would rather be doing; for some of us, it is drinking a beer with family members at a summer barbecue, or taking a swim with the kids at the beach. Despite the separation from our friends and family, the memories we create here are still significant. Time in Iraq moves slowly, and free time is a rare and precious commodity, but the constant support that the men show each other creates a home away from home. The men that I work with on a daily basis are at the forefront of all my thoughts here; their safety, health and welfare are my greatest concerns. But like me, I know they fight everyday to create a small world in their minds where they are ‘not a Soldier.’ This is not to say that they do not love Soldiering, it simply means that their families, friends, and stateside ways of life are among their fondest memories. Following each mission, as I walk back from the command tent, I pass through the Soldiers’ tent make sure the guys are doing well.

On any given day, I can find Pvt. Andrew Walker trying to master the latest riffs on his Guitar Hero game or Sgt. Jason Billings on his way out to call his wife. Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Brennan manages to squeeze in an afternoon nap, while Spc. Jonathon Larson continues to pursue his correspondence courses online. One fact stands out, these men, like all Soldiers deployed around the globe, have managed to forget about those long missions and the inherent dangers of being deployed, and have created a piece of home in Iraq. Even I have occasionally cracked open a book to escape the intensity that surrounds us.

But what of the families we left behind? I know that regardless of our mission, the people we left behind are still anxiously awaiting our return. Our biggest fears are the natural changes that occur during deployments. Yes, we will be gone for over a year, and yes we will adapt according to our new environment, but just as the part of our minds which remains fixated on memories of home, so too do our memories of those we left at home stay the same. That being said, we imagine that people are still the same… But we know that is not the case.

All of us have and will continue to change during such a long time away from our loved ones. I recall my last tour in Iraq when we received a redeployment briefing from the chaplain at the tiny FOB on the border of Iran that had become my home. It was time to begin to let the thoughts of combat seep to the back of my mind, and time to start focusing on redeploying and reuniting with family and friends. The changes that we underwent from being gone for so long framed every experience in a different light. As I begin to think of what the chaplain said, I realize that we have not had much contact with our families, and the simple sensors of our minds are disjointed as a result of being members of an all-male unit. Some of us surely will say a few more curse words than we did in the past, and some table manners have certainly fallen by the wayside. But these small changes can only be expected when you live, work, sleep and eat next to each other day-in and day-out in such close quarters.

Thinking back to the chaplain's words of wisdom, I am reminded that our parents, wives, children and friends will also change in many ways. Wives may undertake new careers or find new hobbies to pass the time. Children may become accustomed to different treatment from one parent when the other is deployed, and may even get away with things that Dad would not have allowed. Friends normally do a great job of staying in touch, but some have surely gotten married and started families of their own.

We are closing in on the five month mark of our deployment, and the R&R program is in full swing - roughly two soldiers per platoon (10 soldiers from the Battery) are home at any given time, visiting family and friends while getting some well-earned rest. Some plan on getting married, while others will hold their newborns for the first time. No matter what their plans, it is good to see Soldiers get this time off. The excitement they show upon their return and the stories that they bring back with them help pass the time on long patrols and never-ending guard shifts at Joint Security Station Torch.

During this deployment, each person will discover something about themselves that they did not know prior to arriving in Iraq. Some will find newfound strengths to bring home with them, while others may find weaknesses to correct while we are abroad. Some Soldiers will sustain their discipline and make the most of their time here; others may be able to embrace the many changes on home front because war has taught them to be adaptable in nature.

Iraq is an ever-changing, fast-paced world unlike anything else we will ever experience. As the war here continually changes, so too does every other part of our lives, and a phrase keeps coming to mind that I heard growing up..."Sometimes change is good, even if it’s bad."

Photos from journalist Nikola Solic

Photojournalist Nikola Solic has been embedded with one of the B-Battery platoons, and many of his pictures have been picked up by Reuter's, Yahoo News, and the NY Times.



All of Nikola's pictures can be found here



As I do a better job of picking out the relevant ones, I'll add to the list below:

Lt. Henson pouring out black-market gasoline





.

NY Times Photo-Op

New York Times
BUSH TO DECLARE PROGRESS IN IRAQ ON SOME FRONTS
July 12, 2007, Thursday



taken by Nikola Solic, photojournalist embedded with one of the B Battery Platoons; appeared in print on pg A-11.

Lt Patrick Henson is in the center; the first American soldier to the right of the Iraqi police officer.

unfortunately, I don't think I have the full text copied, but the story really wasn't about the 2-32.

Two-day clearing operation in Mansour nets cache, community support

Two-day clearing operation in Mansour nets cache, community support
Official Website of Multi-National Force - Iraq
BlackAnthem Military News
by: Multi-National Division - Baghdad POA Press Releases
July 8, 2007

BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers, in conjunction with the Iraqi Army, conducted a two-day clearing operation in western Baghdad last week.

Task Force Patriot, the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, partnered with the 2nd “Falcon” Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Infantry Division for the two-day operation, known as Operation Patriot Strike. The combined force cleared parts of the two neighborhoods of Hateen and Yarmouk in the Mansour District.

This was the first battalion-wide operation for the Patriots since Operation Arrowhead Strike IX in April and the first combined battalion-level effort for the Patriot and Falcon battalions. More than 100 Iraqi troops participated in the clearing operation.

The Patriot and Falcon leadership planned the operation together to combat violence in the area. Due to several improvised explosive devices, which either detonated or were found in the neighborhood, Coalition Forces and Iraqi leaders believed there to be an IED cell operating in west Yarmouk. They designed Patriot Strike to capture the members of this IED cell and clear the area of any weapon caches.

While Soldiers found no members of an IED cell, American and Iraqi troops did discover one cache of weapons and contraband. Additionally, the combined forces confiscated more than a dozen other illegally-owned weapons, mainly AK-47 assault rifless and pistols, and are confident that they have cleared the area of all illegal material.

Initially worried that the early morning hours of the operation would upset local residents, Patriot Soldiers instead found that the residents were receptive and opened their homes, eager to cooperate.

“The people seemed happy to let us search their houses. They fully cooperated with us as a way to prove that they are on our side,” said Sgt. 1st Class Rickie Jackson, a St. Louis native and platoon sergeant for Battery A, 2-32nd FA. Jackson added that the locals gave his platoon several tips about insurgents possibly operating in the area.

“This was an absolutely tremendous performance by our Soldiers and the soldiers of the Falcon Battalion,” said Lt. Col. Mike Lawson, commander of Task Force Patriot. “In just two days and despite the sweltering heat, our combined forces cleared over 500 homes. This will go a long way toward convincing the people of Hateen and Yarmouk that we’re here for their safety.”

Photos by 1st Lt. Ryan Stidum and 1st Lt. Matthew Offiler, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: July 2 - July 8
Slides: 40, 41

Deployment Relationship Workshop

CH Parson
SSG Brickner
PFC St. John
SGT Cope
SGT Carroll

NCO Induction Ceremony

SGT Goodwin
SSG Woode
CSM Champagne
CSM Huffin

The Patriot Call: Iraq Edition, Vol 1, Issue 6

The Patriot Call: Iraq Edition
Volume 1, Issue 6
July 6, 2007

Includes:

'Command Philosophy': by LTC michael J Lawson

'Our Newest NCOs': by CSM William R Huffin

'Free Thinking': by CH Troy Parson

'Changes': by SFC Daniel MoKim

'A Day in the Life of a Platoon Sergeant': by SFC Timothy Brown

'A Day in the Life of a Liaison Officer': by SFC Matthew Franklin

'My First Time in Iraq': by SFC Samuel Popple

Yahoo News: Pictures of JSS Torch

On Yahoo! News, picked up from Reuters:

U.S. soldiers from the 2nd battalion, 32nd Field Artillery takes a rest, while in between patrols, inside the Joint Security Station in Baghdad's Yarmuk neighborhood early July 6, 2007.
REUTERS/Nikola Solic (IRAQ)

picture here

.

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: June 25 - July 1
Slides: 15, 16

2nd Platoon, Bravo Battery, gives CLS Class to Iraqi Soldiers

SPC John Mazurek

Unit Ministry Team Out On The Streets

CH Parson
PFC Brown
SPC Garret
JSS Torch

Neighborhood advisory council returns to Hateen Headquarters in Western Baghdad

Neighborhood advisory council returns to Hateen Headquarters in Western Baghdad
Black Anthem Military News
By 1st. Lt. Brian Cooke, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment
Jun 30, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Encouraged by improved levels of security, a western Baghdad neighborhood advisory council, or NAC, decided to return to its former headquarters in Hateen June 23.

Hateen, a neighborhood in the western Baghdad district of Mansour, established a NAC during a 2004 initiative by Coalition Forces to improve local governance. The Hateen NAC originally held its meetings in their purpose-build NAC Hall, but moved to the larger Mansour District Advisory Council Hall when violence escalated in their neighborhood last year.

In February, Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, assumed control of Hateen as part of the greater Baghdad Security Plan. The battery's constant presence on the streets has quelled violence in the neighborhood, according to their commander, Capt. Brian McCall, of Junction City, Kan. McCall has attended every NAC meeting since arriving in Hateen and made bringing the meetings back to the neighborhood one of his top priorities. The Hateen NAC returned to its former headquarters last Saturday.

The Hateen NAC is chaired by Mohannid al-Saadi Abbas, and has three representatives, Hadi Zaid Hamza, Hassan Jafer Choban, and Abdul Karim Hussein Elwi. The four NAC members met with McCall June 23, along with his Iraqi Army counterpart, Maj. Muhammed of 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Infantry Division, and had what McCall described as an extremely positive meeting.

"The NAC enjoyed being back in their old building," McCall said, "and were telling old stories about it."

The NAC members discussed a number of infrastructure improvement projects and a program to hire more workers in Hateen. More importantly, the Hateen NAC decided to permanently move back to their original headquarters. They also started to design a plan to expand the Hateen NAC Hall and add a park for children on the NAC grounds.

"This meeting was entirely NAC-driven," McCall said, impressed with the focus of the meeting. "This has been a welcome change to the sometimes reluctant pace of Iraqi politics."

Joint Military Seminar Held In Baghdad

Joint military seminar held in Baghdad
Media Newswire
Black Anthem Military News
By 1st Lt. Brian Cooke, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery
Jun 28, 2007

BAGHDAD - Battalion leadership from the U.S. and Iraqi armies held a leadership seminar focusing on joint operations and battle staff operations June 23 and 24.

Senior leaders from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, the "Falcon" battalion, visited Camp Liberty to meet with the senior leaders of Task Force Patriot, the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery.

The two battalions are partner units operating in the western Baghdad neighborhoods of Hateen and Yarmouk. Falcon and Patriot battalions patrol together on a daily basis and the senior leaders from both battalions have been meeting weekly since April to discuss operations at Joint Security Station Torch in Yarmouk. However, this was the first chance for the Iraqi leaders to observe the Patriot headquarters in action.

Col. Ali Al-Obaydi, commander of 2/5/6 IA, brought with him his executive and operations officers, and his top noncommissioned officer.

The 2-32 FA's executive officer, Maj. Jim MacGregor, led the formal portion of the seminar, briefing the Iraqi leaders on the composition and function of the Patriot staff. MacGregor focused on the staff's planning and targeting process, highlighting how the process supports the battalion commander's ability to make timely and informed decisions.

Once the formal briefing was over, Ali and Lt. Col. Mike Lawson, the Task Force Patriot commander, led an open discussion on the major challenges facing the units in their mission.

Lawson then took the Iraqis on a tour of the Task Force Patriot Tactical Operations Center. The tour gave the Iraqis a chance to see the way in which the battle staff tracks the battalion's operations and how the staff integrates all of its digital assets to provide an accurate picture of the battlefield to the commander.

"We're all soldiers, regardless of the flags we wear on our uniforms," said Lawson. "We're working together day-in and day-out to defeat a common enemy, and today was simply a great opportunity to remind ourselves why we're here in the first place."

Fixing Anytime, All the Time

Fixing Anytime, All the Time
2BT Newsletter: Daggers Edge V1, Iss16
SGT 1Class Gary Sarapa
June 27, 2007

The motto of the Maintenance Platoon of Golf Company, 610th BSB, which supports 2-32 Field Artillery is, “We fix anytime, all the time.” It is a motto by which every Soldier in the platoon lives. They know that their way of supporting the war is ensuring that all of the equipment used by the “Proud Americans” is not only fully mission capable, but to high operational standards as well. The platoon itself is a miniature maintenance company, capable of performing field level maintenance on every piece of equipment owned by 2-32 FA. It is comprised of an automotive section, ground support equipment (GSE) section, service and recovery (S&R) section, communications and electronics section, armament section, and a maintenance control section.

During the past month alone, the automotive section has put in over 200 man-hours, bringing most deadlined vehicles back to FMC status the same day. They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When the call comes in that a broken vehicle is returning from a patrol, the parts, tools, and mechanics are all standing by, waiting for the vehicle, ready to pounce on it like a NASCAR pit crew. The section also provides a three-man team with a wrecker and contact truck each week at Joint Security Station Torch. The forward team repairs equipment utilizing minimum resources until it can be brought back to the Forward Operating Base. They also provide welding and lift support for JSS improvement, as well as maintenance and repair of the generators on site that provide the JSS with power.

With the hot temperatures of late, the GSE section has also stayed busy repairing and recharging 14 vehicle air conditioners, earning the GSE section sergeant the nickname “Mr. Freeze” from the Soldiers in the battalion. He is the only air conditioner mechanic by MOS in the platoon, but he has ensured all of his Soldiers are crosstrained to provide seamless support to the Proud Americans and keep them cool. They have recently started replacing all of the front and rear evaporators in our battlehardened M1114 fleet, making a significant improvement in their cooling efficiency.

The S&R section, besides providing the recovery and lift capabilities for the battalion, has made its biggest impact on the battalion performing annual services on the battalion’s vehicles. Over the past month, they have completed services for ten vehicles, with an average turn-around time of only 24 hours each. This performance is impressive because, according to the Maintenance Allocation Chart, it should take them close to 37 hours each. This quick turn-around allows a vehicle to get back in the fight with the assurance that it is in the same shape as when it rolled off the showroom floor. A key part of the S&R section are the welders who have fabricated anything the battalion has asked for from warning light and pope glass brackets to crew-served weapons stands at the JSS.

Besides the vehicle services, there is also the requirement to maintain night vision devices, weapons, and communications equipment and this is where the C&E and Armament shops jump in to do their part. The C&E section inspected, purged, and repaired over 40 NVG during platoon services and the armament shop inspected, gauged and repaired over 60 individual and crew-served weapons. In their “spare time,” the C&E shop installed MP3 players into our vehicles’ public address systems so the platoons can transmit messages during their patrols.

The speedy repairs accomplished by all of the sections in the Maintenance Platoon could not be accomplished without the parts provided by the Maintenance Control Section. The parts specialists are constantly on the road, requesting and picking up parts from every warehouse on every FOB on the entire Victory Base Complex. They have already logged hundreds of miles without even leaving the wire.

Baghdad Residents Say Electricity, Water as Important as Security

Baghdad Residents Say Electricity, Water as Important as Security
By Margaret Besheer Baghdad
Voice Of America News
GlobalSecurity.Org
26 June 2007

The deployment of 28,000 additional U.S. troops to secure Baghdad is now complete. The troops began arriving in February, and have been focusing their mission on clearing troubled neighborhoods of al-Qaida and illegal militias. From Baghdad, VOA's Margaret Besheer reports on one area where U.S. and Iraqi forces are working to bring security and return basic services to residents.

The streets of Yarmouk are quiet in the searing mid-day heat. This western Baghdad neighborhood is one of the wealthiest in the capital and many of its residents have fled the sectarian killings, kidnappings, and bombings that have been gripping the capital during the past 16 months.

But after four years of war, residents here complain as much about the lack of electricity and water as they do about security.

Standing in her garden, as the generator hums in the background, a middle aged mother who identifies herself as Mrs. Samir says the municipality provides only one hour of electricity each day, there is trash everywhere, and cooking gas has become very expensive. She says the long lines at gasoline stations are particularly frustrating.

"One night my son goes from five o'clock in the morning, and he is still in the station at seven [in the] evening and he did not get anything," said Mrs. Samir.

Next door at Abdul Melhem's house, his family is in mourning for his brother who gunmen shot dead two days before. He agrees basic services are in shambles.

As his eyes fill with tears he says, it is one thing to lose services, but to lose people is a different issue. He says no one is safe at home or on the street.

But Iraqi Army Colonel Ali al-Obeidi, whose unit is responsible for security in the area, along with the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, says in recent weeks about 100 families have returned to the area, a sign their confidence is rising.

He says the biggest problem security forces in this area faced was from al-Qaida. But in his view, all the al-Qaida members in Yarmouk have been now been apprehended and the area is relatively quiet.

Before the surge began in February, about 1,200 U.S. soldiers patrolled the Karkh security area, which includes Yarmouk. This 107 kilometer area of Baghdad now has about 3,000 U.S. soldiers. Working alongside them are 10,000 Iraqi soldiers and police.

Captain Jason Morgan of the 32nd Field Artillery says when his unit arrived four months ago there was one road in Yarmouk where they regularly found dead bodies.

"In past three months, we have had zero body drops on that road," he said. "I would say that is a pretty good metric for success."

Yarmouk's biggest problem appears to be the neighborhoods to the west and north of it, where problems still abound.

On a recent afternoon VOA visited the local police station, which also has responsibility slightly north of Yarmouk. A few hours later, the police captain in charge was killed.

He and other officers responded to a call about two dead bodies on a street in the northern area. When they arrived the booby-trapped bodies exploded and small arms fire rang out. The captain was killed and one of his men was injured.

When VOA visited the same police station about two months ago, the captain's uncle had just been kidnapped and killed.

Yet despite the violence, Yarmouk is safer than most Baghdad neighborhoods for locals and U.S. troops. Since American forces arrived in the area in February, not one U.S. soldier has been killed.

Multi-National Soldiers Secure Vulnerable Site

Multi-National Soldiers Secure Vulnerable Site
Defend America
Free Republic
BlackAnthem Military News
By Multi-National Division – Baghdad
Public Affairs Office
BAGHDAD, June 25, 2007

Iraqi and U.S. soldiers from the Multi-National Division-Baghdad are now fortifying a western Baghdad gas station that has been the target of recent insurgent attacks in the neighborhood of Yarmouk. The gas station, which serves the residents of southeastern Mansour, has come under small arms fire and two car bombs exploded within 100 meters of the gas station in recent weeks. These attacks prompted leaders from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Division and 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery to take action.

“We’ve already begun to see an improvement in the traffic flow. Black-market fuel peddlers can no longer cut in the waiting line, customers are safer, and the whole process seems faster now.” U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ryan Stidum Col. Ali Al-Obaydi and Lt. Col. Michael Lawson, who assumed command of Task Force Patriot two weeks ago, made reinforcing the gas station one of their top priorities.

“The ability of this gas station to operate free from attack is vital to giving the Iraqi people normalcy in their lives,” Lawson said. He also stressed that keeping the gas station secure is one way that the battalions are working to safeguard the populace as they go about their daily lives.

Soldiers from the Iraqi army battalion took the first step in protecting the gas station by observing the traffic patterns at the station over the course of several days, noting trends in high-traffic times and looking for possible ways insurgents might attack the waiting customers. They turned their observations over to the combined staffs of the two battalions to come up with a plan to reinforce the gas station with concrete barriers.

In one night, soldiers from 299th Forward Support Battalion and Golf Company, 610th Brigade Support Battalion used heavy equipment haulers to move the barriers from Camp Liberty out to the gas station. They worked throughout the night to download the material from their trucks and used heavy-duty cranes to maneuver the barriers into position while soldiers from 2/5/6th Iraqi army and 2-32 Field Artillery provided security.

The overall effect, according to 1st Lt. Ryan Stidum, 2nd Platoon Leader, Bravo Battery, is a well-protected, better-organized gas station.

“We’ve already begun to see an improvement in the traffic flow,” said Stidum, “Black-market fuel peddlers can no longer cut in the waiting line, customers are safer, and the whole process seems faster now.”

photo by 1st Lt. Mike Hayhurst, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: June 18 - June 24
Slides: 19, 20, 21

Alpha Battery Soldiers Reenlist

CPT McCall
1LT Nguyen
PFC Michael Smith
SSG Magalit
SGT Michael Evans
SSG Frank Woode

Golf Company Reenlists

CPT Bandy
SSG Magalit
SGT Gary Payne
SGT Joel Starling
SGT Adrian Ray

Bravo Battery Undergoes CLS Refresher Training

PV2 Chapman
SGT Vincent
PFC Hutson
PFC Merritt
PFC Laing

The Importance of Shaking Hands

The Imortance of Shaking Hands
2BT Newsletter: Daggers Edge V1, Iss15
1LT Matthew Offiler
June 23, 2007

When our Battalion first began patrols in Baghdad in early March, it was a shock to hear that our commander wanted us to dismount for our patrols and just talk to the locals as if they had been our long-time neighbors. It was a shock because on every one of our first patrols, we had been shot at. While it was an event we gradually became accustomed to, we continued to ask ourselves, “Why would I leave the relative safety of my HMMWV to get out and walk around in a neighborhood where people are shooting at me?”

It was a relevant question, but we began to dismount anyway. We would use our vehicles forgetting to and from our area and would spend the rest of the patrol conducting dismounted operations. It was an uneasy feeling at first since we were still new to combat. Keep in mind that the majority of the Soldiers in our platoon had never deployed and all of them, being Field Artillery, were new to the infantry mindset.

We learned quickly which tactics worked in which neighborhoods. In some areas, there were only certain people who would speak with us, while the rest ran back into their homes. In other areas, the locals would empty out of their homes and into the streets at the sound of our patrol coming around the corner. We adapted our vehicles’ maneuvering depending on the neighborhood as well. We either pull them up the middle of the patrol or let them stay towards the back. It is a balance between having your protection there if something happened and lowering your appearance of aggression when speaking with the friendly locals. This tactic adapted well for our platoon since our area has changed several times since our first patrols.

Correctly maneuvering the vehicles was only one part of creating a friendlier, but still safer atmosphere for the locals and my Soldiers. The one thing I never learned in any officer training course was how to be a politician, but it feels like that is where I have ended up. When I dismount, I greet the locals with hand shakes and smiles, feeling more like I am running for an election than fighting a war. But shaking hands has worked. It helps give them an understanding that you are there to work with them, not for them.

We shake hands and then begin the “small talk” of tactical questioning. Questions like “How long has the sewage been here?”, “Do you have a weekly trash service in this area?” and “How are the schools that your children attend?” Those questions get them to talk about their major problems and let us know what they are willing to speak about. Those questions, however, can also lead to more helpful intelligence. Information like, “We don't walk that way when we take our kids to school because we don't like the men in that house; they are dangerous men”. This is information which leads us to weapons caches and targets, information we would not have been able to gather if we had conducted our patrols by remaining in our “urban submarines” instead of shaking hands.

By talking with the locals, it shows them that you care and are at least trying to help. They all know you are just doing your job and we have encountered many locals who do not believe we are going to change anything. I cannot count the number of times I have heard, “You have been here for 4 years and you haven't fixed anything!”

Things have been fixed though, and it shows. Since we started dismounting, we have not received any small arms fire attacks on our patrols and have not had any IEDs placed in our area. There may be a number of factors to account for that, but I do not question for a moment that our tactics, shaking hands and sampling the local food offered to us have contributed greatly to this result.

Insurgents Attack Iraqi Civilians

BlackAnthem Military News
Insurgents Attack Iraqi Civilians
Multi-National Force - Iraq
2nd BCT, 1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs
June 22, 2007

Blackanthem Military News, BAGHDAD, Iraq — Five Iraqi citizens were killed when a 122MM rocket struck a building causing it to collapse in the Al Mansour
district of Baghdad June 19.

Both Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces responded to the scene of the attack after a rocket struck the building in the neighborhood of Yarmouk, causing it to collapse and kill five Iraqi citizens and wound six others. The Yarmouk hospital confirmed the casualties

U.S. Forces confirmed that the rocket was fired from north of the city approximately 10 miles away.

The 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, was the first U.S. Force on site of the attack.

“This attack was not aimed at any specific targets. It is most likely a way to incite sectarian violence,” said Capt. Aquila Knopf, an intelligence officer for 2-32 FA.

Knopf went on to explain that the attack most likely originated from Jaysh Al-Mahdi militants and was directed at the Sunnis region of Al-Mansour.

Iraq Operations Kill, Capture Scores of Terrorists

Iraq Operations Kill, Capture Scores of Terrorists:

"In other Iraq news, five Iraqis were killed and six injured June 19 when a 122 mm rocket struck a building in the Al Mansour district of Baghdad. Both Iraqi and U.S. military forces responded to the scene of the attack. U.S. officials confirmed that the rocket was fired from north of the city, about 10 miles away. The 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, was the first American unit to arrive at the attack site."

Hope & frustration: The view from there

Hope & frustration: The view from there
Lancaster Online
By JANE HOLAHAN
Jun 21, 2007

The war in Iraq is often the top news story of the day, and mostly the news is tough to hear.

More than 3,500 American soldiers have been killed, and the Pentagon reports that more than 24,000 Americans have been wounded in action.

According to most major polls, about three quarters of the American people say the war is going badly and about 60 percent want a timetable for troops to begin withdrawing.

But what about the guys over there who are fighting the war? How are they feeling these days?

The New Era asked two men from Lancaster County serving in Iraq to talk about their experiences.

First Lt. Neal Rice, 27, executive officer of Alpha Battery, 2—32 Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, is stationed in Baghdad and does daily mounted and foot patrols. He answered questions via e-mail.

"Pressure is a way of life here," he explains. "The threat of roadside bombs, rocket and small-arms attack is constant."

Spc. Jonathan Webster, 23, of the Pennsylvania National Guard, is stationed at Camp Anaconda, at the Balad Airbase in Northern Iraq, working as a pay specialist, making sure soldiers are paid properly. He was on a three-day leave when he spoke by phone.

"My days are like the movie 'Groundhog Day.' That's what I consider my life here," Webster says, referring to the Bill Murray movie in which the same day is repeated over and over.

"Everyone says Anaconda is a safe zone, but we do get mortared almost every day," he says. "It's hit or miss, here and there. But it's basically safe."

While their experiences have been different, both men still hold out hope that victory will be achieved, both are frustrated by what they see as lack of support back home, and they both believe that the good things happening in Iraq don't get heard.

But they also talk about the stress this long war — four years and counting — is having on troops, about changing attitudes and, like soldiers from time immemorial, about how they are eager to come home.

***

"Some of the soldiers think it's time to come home, some think we should stay a decade if that's what it takes," writes Rice. "But their commitment to each other and to the mission in front of them is always strong."

Rice grew up in East Lampeter, graduating from Conestoga Valley High School in 1998 and Shippensburg University in 2002, with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and Spanish.

He joined the Army in 2004.

"As I watched the early stages of the Iraq War progress on the news, I felt a strong pull to serve the country in support of the war effort," he writes. "The more I watched, the more strongly I felt an obligation to serve."

Rice, who is single, was deployed to Baghdad about four months ago as part of the troop "surge" effort.

Webster, a 2002 graduate of Ephrata High School, joined the Pennsylvania National Guard when he was still in high school, mainly to help pay for college.

In 2005, Webster was sent to New Orleans to help with relief work after Hurricane Katrina. It was an incredible experience, he says.

Married and the father of three small children, Webster has been in Iraq since August, 2006 and is in an 18-month deployment.

"I think we are working toward finding victory, but it still needs to be given time," Webster says. "I would like to see us pull out, but I don't think we can just pack up."

Webster says there are mixed feelings about staying in Iraq among his fellow soldiers.

"Some are for us staying and fighting, some think that's a completely wrong idea," Webster says. "I have mixed feelings. When I first got here, I thought it was a good thing, but I'm not so sure."

"We try to stick together, to keep morale up high," he adds. "There are times when you don't want to be here..."

Webster's base houses between 30,000 and 35,000 people, including cooks, mechanics, contractors, construction workers and infantrymen.

He has a pretty straight-forward routine.

"I get up around 4:30 or 5 a.m., go to the gym, then report to work at 8:30. I get out around 5:30 or 6 p.m., go to chow, then hang out in my room, maybe watch TV, play my Nintendo, and I hit the sack around 11."

The chow is pretty good.

"I've gained 35 pounds," he says with a laugh.

Webster says soldiers are stressed out by the length of the war and especially deployment extensions.

"On the regular-Army side, once they found out that most of the units were extended, that really busted morale," says Webster. "Me, I just can't wait to leave and reunite with my wife and three kids."

Rice writes that morale is "pretty strong" among his soldiers.

"The level of morale fluctuates in response to several factors, including how long we go without any meaningful break, what the news media is saying, if a soldier gets care packages or not, and, especially, if our soldiers get injured."

The toughest setback came when his battalion commander was seriously injured when his truck was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) about six weeks ago.

"The doctor was able to save his life by amputating one of his legs," Rice writes. We're very thankful he will live, but it is tough when your leader, the man you look to for inspiration, goes down."

Rice is frustrated by the media's coverage of Iraq.

"Violence and destruction sell newspapers and get people to tune in their TVs. I understand the economics of it," he writes. "I wish they could see the progress too. My troops work tirelessly to make progress here. The improvement in schools, business, health clinics and neighborhoods is steady and significant."

Rice explains that the days all run together, but that the pace is fast and draining.

"Generally, we patrol six days a week, reserving one day to maintain and repair our vehicles, weapons and equipment," he says. "The pressure is so pervasive that it's not really stress anymore, it's simply normal."

Engaging with Iraqis is a big part of the mission.

"The only way to make progress is to hit the streets every day, talking with the people and helping them to understand what we're trying to do," he writes. "Iraqis are receptive and friendly towards us most of the time."

Rice believes the surge can work if it's given time.

"We are working incredibly hard to live among the people here, to show them we care and to humanize our presence," Rice writes. "For too long, the Iraqi people's perception of us was that we're closed up in our HMMWVs and Bradleys, that we don't talk to them and don't care about them.

"The new approach gives us an opportunity to engage the people more and to show them we're here to help. We get many tips and more cooperation in general because we're on the street level with the people. It exposes us to more attacks, but it will be worth it so long as we keep building rapport with the people."

Ultimately, though, Rice writes that it's up to the Iraqis.

"I'm convinced if the war is lost it won't be because we didn't work hard enough or believe in it enough."

Both Rice and Webster say they know American support for the war is waning. Do they tie that to support for them?

"Yes, I take it personally," says Webster. "Losing support back home is a morale breaker. We do get the feeling that people don't support us when we hear the news and politics back home."

Rice has complicated feelings about the situation. In an initial e-mail, he says it is not possible to differentiate support for the troops and support for the war.

But in a subsequent note, he explains that his earlier response was "a little rash."

"I was thinking more along the lines of politicians because at the time there was such a debate about the funding bill in Congress and whether or not troop withdrawals should be tied to it," he writes.

"After thinking about it further, it is possible (to support the troops but not the war). Among all the people who are kind enough to support me while I'm here, I'm not sure all of them support the war itself. Yet they support me in care packages, encouraging notes, e-mails and prayers."

The two men agree that support from friends and family is incredibly important.

"Luckily for me and my men, we have an outstanding group of people who have personally sponsored each of my soldiers by sending them care packages and letters every month," Rice writes. "Most of them are from Lancaster. That has helped greatly in keeping our morale high."

Iraqi Army, Coalition forces discover weapons cache in Yarmouk

Operation Iraqi Freedom:
Official Website of Multi-National Force - Iraq:
Freedom Journal, Iraq
Iraqi Army, Coalition forces discover weapons cache in Yarmouk
by 1st Lt. Brian Cooke, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment PAO
Monday, 18 June 2007

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Army Troops and Multi-National Division–Baghdad Soldiers, uncovered a large cache of explosives and bomb-making materials in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Yarmouk Wednesday.

Iraqi troops from 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division initially discovered a weapons cache while on patrol in the Yarmouk neighborhood. The cache contained 113 land mines, 63 grenades, three rockets, three mortars, two gas masks, five washing machine timers, more than 2000 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and seven boxes of various electronics and other assorted explosives.

It is the largest weapons cache discovery by either Iraqi or Coalition forces to date in the Yarmouk area. The Iraqi troops quickly notified their liaison officer at Joint Security Station Torch, where Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition forces live and work together.

“This is just more proof to us that having the JSS and being out in the community is what’s allowing us to work so effectively with the Iraqi Army,” said U.S. Army Major Jim MacGregor, executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment.

The 2-32nd Field Artillery Regt. received the report and sent a patrol to the site of the cache to assist the Iraqi troops. Upon arrival the U.S. patrol leader, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Nick Bell, received an update from the Iraqi battalion commander, Iraqi Army Col. Ali Al-Obaydi.

Ali told the lieutenant that a gardener was trimming the bushes of an empty house he was caretaking and noticed several bags hidden behind the shrubs. Upon closer inspection, the gardener identified what he believed to be hand grenades and promptly called the Iraqi Army for help. Ali responded to the call and then sent word for U.S. assistance to dispose of the explosives.

This tip coming from a local resident is another sign of progress in Yarmouk, McGregor said.

“The people of Yarmouk are showing us that they are ready to stand up against violence and make their neighborhood’s better places to live,” he said.

Bell and Ali’s troops set up a joint cordon of the area to secure the cache and ensure the safety of local residents. Once the area was secure, an explosive ordnance disposal team was called in to destroy the munitions.

U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Patrick Henson, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: June 11 - June 17
Slides: 30, 31, 32

Golf Company Soldiers Reenlist

CPT Bandy
SSG Santos
SPC Bell
1LT Lowry
PFC Day
SGT Shultze

Assumption of Command Ceremony

CSM Huffin
LTC Lawson

Golf Company Soldiers Use VTC, Talk To Families

SPC Pechin
1SG Ruiz
SSG Brickner
PFC Quick

US, Iraqi troops uncover large weapons cache in Yarmouk neighborhood

Black Anthem Military News:
US, Iraqi troops uncover large weapons cache in Yarmouk neighborhood
By 1st Lt. Brian Cooke, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment
Jun 15, 2007

Blackanthem Military News, BAGHDAD, Iraq - Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers, working in conjunction with Iraq Army troops, uncovered a large cache of explosives and bomb-making materials in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Yarmouk June 13.

Iraqi troops from 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division initially discovered a weapons cache while on patrol in the Yarmouk neighborhood. The cache contained 113 land mines, 63 grenades, three rockets, three mortars, two gas masks, five washing machine timers, more than 2000 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and seven boxes of various electronics and other assorted explosives.

It is the largest weapons cache discovery by either U.S. or Iraqi forces to date in the Yarmouk area. The Iraqi troops quickly notified their liaison officer at the Joint Security Station Torch, where both Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces work and live together.

"This is just more proof to us that having the JSS and being out in the community is what's allowing us to work so effectively with the Iraqi Army," said Major Jim MacGregor, executive officer of 2-32nd FA.

The 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment received the report and sent a patrol to the site of the cache to assist the Iraqi troops. Upon arrival the U.S. patrol leader, 1st Lt. Nick Bell, received an update from the Iraqi battalion commander, Col. Ali Al-Obaydi.

Ali told the lieutenant that a gardener was trimming the bushes of an empty house for which he was the caretaker, and noticed several bags hidden behind the shrubs. Upon closer inspection, the gardener identified what he believed to be hand grenades and promptly called the Iraqi Army for help. Col. Ali responded to the call and then sent word for U.S. assistance to dispose of the explosives.

McGregor pointed to the tip coming from a resident as another sign of progress in Yarmouk.

"The people of Yarmouk are showing us that they are ready to stand up against violence and make their neighborhood's better places to live," he said.

Bell and Ali's troops set up a joint cordon of the area to secure the cache and ensure the safety of local residents. Once the area was secure, an explosive ordnance disposal team was called in to destroy the munitions.

US Army photos by 1LT Patrick Henson, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment

'Patriots' uncover cache, capture suspected terrorist in western Baghdad

'Patriots' uncover cache, capture suspected terrorist in western Baghdad
BlackAnthem Military News
By 1st Lt. Brian Cooke, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery
Jun 12, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Multi-National Division- Baghdad Soldiers, in cooperation with Iraqi Security Forces, conducted a raid in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Hateen June 10, uncovering a cache of bomb-making materials and capturing a terrorist suspect believed to be linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

“We’ve been looking for this guy for some time,” said 1st Lt. Kevin Mills, a tactical intelligence officer with 2-32nd FA. Mills said the operation’s success can be attributed to the cooperation and shared intelligence between U.S. and Iraqi Security Forces.

Soldiers from the 2nd “Patriot” Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, acted on a tip and apprehended the alleged al-Qaeda member. The troops also found approximately 500 boxes of toilet bowl cleaner and 20 boxes of circuit breaker covers, which can be used to build improvised chemical weapons.

Mills said the planning and coordination for this operation took place at Joint Security Station Torch in the Yarmouk neighborhood, near the site of the raid. The raid was a product of coordination and cooperation between the Patriot Battalion and members of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army and the Yarmouk Iraqi Police.

West Baghdad Market Thrives During Troop Surge

West Bagdad Market Thrives During Troop Surge
Digital Video and Imagery Distribustion System
BlackAnthem Military News
Defend America
Official Website of the MNF-Iraq
By 1st Lt. Brian Cooke2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment
June 11, 2007

BAGHDAD—Adjusted security measures have resulted in a resurgence of economic growth in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Hateen. A local market has seen a resurgence of activity as Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers and Iraqi Security Forces give way to shopkeepers, and fear gives way to progress.

Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, have teamed up with members of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army to find a way to stimulate business in the Hateen Market while still maintaining security. As a result, economic activity in the market has increased, fostering better relations between local merchants and the Iraqi Army.

The market, located in the southeastern Mansour neighborhood of Hateen, is the economic center of the area and its activity is directly tied to the economic prosperity of the residents.

Markets in Baghdad have long been a favorite target of suicide bombers, and the previous Iraqi Army unit in Hateen worried that the market there might be next in the long line of attacks committed by insurgents. With its three blocks of grocery stores, butcher shops, cafes, and vegetable stands, the Hateen Market presented a security problem for 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Infantry Division.

In response to this problem, the Iraqi battalion blocked the roads leading into the market with concertina wire and concrete and sand-filled barriers. The concertina wire and concrete kept suicide bombers at bay, but it also limited pedestrian access to the market. As a result, sales plummeted and a large number of proprietors closed their shops.

The local merchants were distraught by the decline in customers, and requested that the Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces find a way to secure their market without limiting pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

The new Iraqi Army battalion commander, Col. Ali Al-Obaydi, made fixing the situation in the Hateen Market his top priority. On May 21, Col. Ali toured the market, along with Maj. Jim MacGregor, 2-32 FA’s executive officer, and Capt. Brian McCall, commander of Battery A, 2-32 FA.

Together, the three leaders engaged local merchants about the status of commerce in the market and asked the shop owners what could be done to stimulate business. Most of the owners agreed that the Iraqi srmy needed to remove the concertina wire and abandon its blocking position to allow local residents easier access to the market.

They also asked that coalition forces conduct regular combined patrols of the market with Iraqi army units. Within one week, the blocking position was unmanned and the concertina wire was removed. Business in the market immediately picked up. Soldiers from 2-32 FA regularly patrol through the market with Iraqi Army troops, and local merchants greet both forces with smiles and, many times, an offer of a cold drink or snacks.

“It was unbelievable,” remarked McCall, following a patrol of the market a week after his tour with Col. Ali. “Just a week ago, half of these stores were closed, and the ones that were open had owners who only wanted to complain to Col. Ali and I. Today, a week later, I felt like I was walking through a completely different market. The shops were all open. The merchants seemed happy, and best of all, there were customers everywhere.”

McCall added that his unit, in conjunction with 2-5-6th IA, will continue to evaluate economic activity in the market. He said they are currently planning an advertising campaign that will use billboards to highlight the security of the market.

photos by photo by Capt. Brian McCall and 1st Lt. Neil Rice, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: June 4 - June 10
Slides: 22, 23, 24

S6 Building MWR Computers

SGT Stevens
SGT Dosch

ACES Safety and Stand-Down Day

SSG Tutman
SSG Richards
SSG Brunson
SGT Ellis

Getting to Know the Local Populace in Yarmouk

SGT Tucker
CH Parson

Local Iraqi government leaders focused on essential services in Baghdad

Local Iraqi government leaders focused on essential services in Baghdad
Multi-National Force - Iraq
RELEASE No. 20070604-03
Monday, 04 June 2007

BAGHDAD — Local Iraqi government leaders are working together to
improve the quality of life in western Baghdad by providing essential services in
the Sunni neighborhoods of Yarmouk and Hateen.

The Mansour District deputy director general and his assistant for
Yarmouk met with Coalition Forces and the Hateen and Yarmouk neighborhood
advisory council (NAC) chairmen May 28 in an attempt to coordinate resources
to improve essential services in those neighborhoods.

Adil Kathim, the deputy director general for the Mansour District, toured
the Hateen and Yarmouk neighborhoods with the NAC chairmen in order to point
out areas most in need of civil service projects. Sections of roads throughout the
neighborhoods contain standing water that collects sewage run-off, many areas
cannot sustain power and residents are unable to solve these problems on their
own.

Before the tour began, Kathim provided the NAC Chairmen with the
necessary contact information for the engineer responsible for the power stations
which powers both neighborhoods.

One of the main difficulties is getting these agencies to
communicate and work together. The bureaucratic process has slowed much of
the progress in western Baghdad adding significance to the meeting with the
district’s deputy director.

Kathim, in an attempt to improve district services, requested
notification of Coalition Force projects in the area, helping him commit Beladiya
resources in a coordinated effort.

Maj. James MacGregor, the executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 32nd
Field Artillery Regiment, whose unit operates in the Hateen and Yarmouk
neighborhoods, emphasized to the district deputy director that Coalition Forces
will work closely with the district.

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: May 28 - June 3
Slides: 34, 35

HHB/2-32 Promotes New NCOs

SGT Craig Carroll
SGT Oscar Salazar
SGT Troy Wozniak

Bravo Battery Assists With New Recruit Training at Yarmouk IP Station

Baghdad: Embedded Provisional Reconstruction Teams

Baghdad: Embedded Provisional Reconstruction Teams
Counterterrorism Blog
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
May 31, 2007

A few days ago, I spoke with a U.S. official working for one of the new embedded provisional reconstruction teams (EPRTs) in Iraq. Last year ten provisional reconstruction teams (PRTs) were created throughout the country to operate parallel to the military. Each PRT was headed up by a foreign service officer; had a deputy from the U.S. Army; had at least one member from USAID; and had a bilingual, bicultural advisor (fluent in Arabic with a background that allows him to understand the Middle East). Typically there would be about ten people total working for a PRT. The PRTs were designed to further the U.S. mission in Iraq by helping to advance the political process of reconstruction in a variety of ways. Top-down change was characteristic of the PRTs: they would work with such political entities as city councils and the policymaking portion of a city's department of public works.

The EPRTs are different. Rather than operating separately from and parallel to the military, they are embedded within the military structure. Six EPRTs operate in Baghdad, three in Anbar, and one in Babil. Their structure is similar to that of the PRTs (run by a foreign service officer, featuring a U.S. Army deputy, a USAID member, a bicultural advisor, and other staffers) but rather than functioning in the top-down manner of the PRTs, the EPRTs are designed to make more of a difference at what the official called the "granular" level. That is, the EPRTs are integrated into the military's tactical operations, and are designed to advance reconstruction efforts on a street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood basis. I previously noted that the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery (with which I was embedded) has four lines of operation in the districts it patrols: security, governance, economy, and essential services. It is at this tactical level -- the level of how these lines of operation can be furthered -- that the EPRT is supposed to have an impact in helping to set the course for the units with which it works. The EPRTs help set this course all the way down to the platoon level.

The source working with the EPRT said that their job is as much "problem avoidance" as anything else. Moreover, because the EPRTs have only been active in Iraq for about six weeks, it's too early at this point to assess their effectiveness. However, I'll be interested to check in with people working with the new EPRTs several months down the line to see how this intriguing idea is working in practice.

Thanks to Public Multimedia Inc. for its assistance in organizing my embedded reporting from Iraq. You can support my embed and independent reporting through donations to the Counterterrorism Foundation.

Service Support… It Ain’t as Easy as it Looks

Service Support… It Ain’t as Easy as it Looks
2BT Newsletter: Daggers Edge V1, Iss14
1st Lt. Chris Lowry
May 30, 2007

Flashback: So there we were, southern California at the National Training Center (NTC). This was supposed to be the ultimate test of our platoon. It was supposed to be the culmination of all of our training as a Forward Support Company (FSC). We were wellrehearsed and trained to standard in all aspects of Service Support, everything from vehicle load plans to Combat Logistic Patrol (CLP) battle drills. According to NTC standards we did exceptionally well. We were ready for deployment… Or were we?

Fast-forward to present day. As you may have already guessed, things did not turn out the way we had planned. Instead of running CLP, we were instructed to do something that none of us had ever done before. We were told that we were to be one of the battalion’s infantry platoons.

I know what you are thinking, “what does a service support platoon know about operating in the combat arms world?” Well, to be quite honest, we did not know much at the time. We had been training for the past year and a half doing nothing but combat logistic patrols. We had to cram a year of training into a little less than 10 days, because we were to augment an infantry company as it conducted route reconnaissance and observation missions for Arrowhead Strike IX. Since we were only operating at night, it was mandatory that we work only in blackout conditions. Luckily, we were already well trained in night operations from conducting our CLPs, so we incorporated that experience into our new mission of dismounted patrols. We went straight from the crawl phase to the run phase and were expected to function as a fully-trained infantry platoon. The standards were set forth by the infantry company Commander we were to operate under, all we had to do was meet them.

On the first night of operations, I could tell the guys were a little nervous and to be quiet honest, I was nervous myself. I had butterflies the size of a 10K generator flying around in my stomach. It felt like the night of the big game, and for us it was the big game. This was the time to show all those people who think the service support branches should be “in the rear, with the gear” that we could hang with the big dogs. And you know what? That is exactly what we did. We ran with the big dogs and not only met the standard, but exceeded it on multiple occasions.

First Platoon / G Company is now a full-time maneuver element, conducting the full spectrum of “combat arms” missions. We do everything the combat arms guys do with not only less training, but different equipment and a variety of different MOSs. We all have different types of backgrounds and schooling within the platoon. We have communications specialists, truck drivers, mechanics, and cooks, as well as fuel, wrecker, and crane operators. Some might look at that as a disadvantage, but I look at it as a major advantage. We are a wide assortment of Soldiers put into an extraordinary situation, but we have risen to the challenge and exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Featured Report from Iraq: A look at the surge from Baghdad (The Fourth Rail)

Featured Report from Iraq: A look at the surge from Baghdad
The Fourth Rail
By: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
May 29, 2007

Journalist Daveed Gartenstein-Ross was embedded with Pat's group --

U.S. strategy is not just military in nature. Rather, it is designed to eliminate some of the underlying conditions that sap the average Iraqi’s faith in the country’s civil society. For example, in the districts that 2-32 patrols -- Yarmouk and Hateen -- there are four lines of operation: security, governance, economy, and essential services. According to Major Brynt Parmeter, who works at the brigade level, the overall goals are to reduce sectarian fighting, increase the Iraqi security forces’ capabilities, and improve local government to empower it to provide the services that Iraqis need. The Iraqis lack a number of essential services. Right now the U.S. focus is on food centers, financial institutions, fuel, and medical needs—but the Iraqis are also lacking in trash collection, reliable sewers, electricity, and other services. The effect of the lack of essential services on Iraqis should not be underestimated. Gas cost 5 cents a liter under Saddam Hussein; now the official price has skyrocketed to about 70 cents a liter. But in practice it is far higher than that: according to Lieutenant Patrick Henson, there is only one government-run gas station in the Yarmouk district. When the long lines around the station are coupled with security concerns, it should come as no surprise that many Iraqis buy their gas from the black market, where prices can reach $2 a liter. In other words, Iraqis may be paying more for their gas than Americans -- and the average Iraqi income is substantially lower than the average American income.

Featured Report from Iraq: A look at the surge from Baghdad (The Fourth Rail)

Baghdad: Patrolling Yarmouk (part1)

Baghdad: Patrolling Yarmouk
Counterterrorism Blog
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
May 25, 2007

On May 23 and 24, I went on a couple of evening patrols in Baghdad's Yarmouk administrative district. I went with a platoon from the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, with which I am embedded; they are working with the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division while in Iraq. The battalion of which 2-32 is a part is responsible for a large section of northwest Baghdad, which includes a couple of districts that have been hot lately, Kadamiyah and Mansour. But the districts that 2-32 patrols -- Yarmouk and Hateen -- are relatively quiet. The most dangerous aspect of patrols in those districts is the drive to reach them.

In a briefing earlier this week, I learned that 2-32 has four lines of operation: security, governance, economy, and essential services. During Wednesday night's patrol, the main objective was for the soldiers to introduce themselves to Iraqis on a couple of blocks and get the residents to fill out security surveys with basic information about themselves. The troops would also speak with the Iraqis, with the help of a translator, asking about their basic needs as well as follow-up questions geared to ferreting out a possible insurgent presence in the neighborhood.

On Wednesday's patrol I caught my first glimpse of Baghdad outside the wire in the daylight. The fact that a war is raging in this city is apparent at first glance, yet life goes on. Some of the areas we passed were composed of abandoned ruins and burned-out shells of buildings -- areas where nobody should want to set foot, not even in the daylight. Other areas were residential, with large handsome estates right next door to bombed-out buildings that must have been equally handsome years ago, before the American invasion. Some Iraqis walked down the streets casually, some were standing and conversing. Some -- particularly those with kids -- waved at the American Humvees as they passed, while others glared with manifest anger. All of the women I saw on the streets wore either burkas or heavy hijabs, and had male escorts. Although the roads themselves were relatively clean (almost certainly to reduce the chance of an IED attack), the sides of the roads were littered with trash.

I was told that there are subtle signs of whether a neighborhood is safe. One of the signs of a safe neighborhood is the presence of kids, and there were a large number of kids running around in the first neighborhood we visited. Some of the soldiers secured the street to make sure we didn't get ambushed, while the platoon leader, the translator, and a few soldiers went into houses to speak with the residents. While having a bunch of heavily armed American soldiers show up at your door unannounced must be a shock, the translator (who identified himself only as "Mo") did a good job of explaining what was going on to the residents. In every instance, the troops were invited in without incident.

At the first house we visited, the Iraqi men immediately said in English: "This is good neighborhood! It is safe neighborhood!" Lieutenant Kevin Mills of 2-32 would later tell me that this is the first thing Iraqis always tell them, "even if they're right next door to a couple of bombed-out buildings." He noted that for many, claiming the neighborhood is safe is a matter of honor: often it's only in the second or third line of questioning that you get a better read on the actual security situation, such as the fact that they heard mortar fire nearby or that a lot of strange men have been going in and out of a neighboring house at odd hours.

But this really did seem to be a safe neighborhood. The kids came right up and spoke to us with the raw enthusiasm that small children can have. When they realized that I spoke some Arabic, a throng of about five kids surrounded me. We made basic conversation, but mainly they asked me to give them things. The first thing they wanted was a football; when they realized I didn't have one, they decided they could settle for a lesser ball, and asked for a baseball. They then asked for money, for my helmet, for my anti-ballistic goggles.

The people in both of the neighborhoods we visited Wednesday were friendly. The neighborhoods were cosmopolitan, with a mix of Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds. A couple of men we encountered claimed to have been generals in the old Iraqi army. ("We run into a lot of former generals," one U.S. soldier told me. "They must have had a lot more generals than our military does.") I particularly enjoyed watching one of the servicemen, Specialist Rene Hernandez, interacting with the Iraqis. One of the other soldiers explained that Hernandez was on his third tour in the Middle East and could speak enough Arabic to joke around with Iraqis. When I drew a bit closer to investigate, I found Hernandez speaking a mix of Arabic, English, occasional Spanish, and often just plain gibberish -- at one point impersonating a donkey, which drew raucous laughter from the young men he was speaking with.

(continued..)

Baghdad: Patrolling Yarmouk (part2)

Baghdad: Patrolling Yarmouk
Counterterrorism Blog
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
May 25, 2007

The residents had a standard battery of complaints in both neighborhoods we visited. Trash wasn't being picked up; the residents weren't receiving electricity from the city and had to rely on private generators; the price of gasoline was skyrocketing (it was 5 cents a liter under Saddam Hussein, and is now up to 70 cents a liter). I asked one of the platoon's senior men what they would do about these complaints, and he said that they would probably contract out things like trash collection and other services. Consistent with their goal of growing the country's economy, their preference is to contract these jobs out to Iraqis wherever possible.

The soldiers were proud of the difference they had made in the areas they were patrolling. Sergeant Vince Passero said that if I had been here when they first arrived in February, I would see how pronounced the change was: when they first arrived, there were more IEDs, more attacks, and the areas were less safe.

That first day of patrol, of course, does not represent the full picture of Iraq. According to recent opinion polls, about 60% of Iraqis think it's okay to kill U.S. troops. The second day of patrol provided a bit more of a glimpse of that other side of Iraq, as we were targeted by small arms fire a couple of times. The shots were far off the mark the first time; the second time, hours later, a bullet fired at us near the JSS ricocheted off a concrete barrier about eight feet away from our Humvee.

The people we encountered on the second patrol were also more distressed than the Iraqis we ran into the first night. One man, a white-haired gentleman who looked to be in his mid-fifties, had just lost his brother. "Iraq has no government, no government," he said emphatically. "In two years we are all dead. Nobody will protect us." Others spoke of the deteriorating security situation -- a point that was underscored when the soldiers tried to get information about a recent mortar attack that seemingly originated nearby. Most of the residents could provide nothing useful, explaining with a shrug that they hear mortars fired all the time.

At one point that night, we heard the sudden crackle of gun shots a few blocks away. Heavy gunfire continued for a short time, at least 20 to 30 seconds. After a quick effort to assess whether we were being attacked, the soldiers quickly determined that it was the Iraqi army firing their guns. "If they see something they don't like, they usually just fire their guns straight up in the air, sometimes for a very long time," one of the soldiers told me. "We've tried to get them to do it differently, but they haven’t listened to our tactical advice."

In a briefing on Thursday, Ambassador John Bennett told me that while many larger factors will determine the future of Iraq, patrols occur at a granular level. Wednesday and Thursday were a chance for me to step back from the big picture and get a better look at that granular level.

Thanks to Public Multimedia Inc. for its assistance in organizing my embedded reporting from Iraq. You can support my embed and independent reporting through donations to the Counterterrorism Foundation.

The Back-Street Front Lines

The Back-Street Front Lines
US News and World Report
By Linda Robinson
Posted 5/20/07

BAGHDAD-Since the Baghdad security plan began on a rolling start in February, many neighborhoods have been cleared of insurgents by U.S. soldiers in armored Stryker vehicles. The second, "control" phase is underway in many areas. "We are very good at clearing areas," says Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of the division carrying out the plan, "but that does not count for anything unless you hold it afterward. This time we have forces in place to stay."

Most of the 37 combat outposts and 29 joint security stations (JSS) planned for Baghdad have been set up. Concrete barriers are being erected in markets and seven neighborhoods, along with other traffic and population control measures. Fil's deputy, Brig. Gen. John Campbell, choppers around the city monitoring progress daily. "Everyone agrees that the top priority is to get the violence down," he says.

The picture remains mixed. Sectarian deaths are down by half, but areas of the city remain violent, and the car bomb plague continues. Officials are debating where to put the fifth and final U.S. brigade when it arrives next month. If it is diverted to trouble spots outside Baghdad, some fear that will leave the capital-the declared main focus-with too few U.S. troops.

Sewage problems. A tour of several outposts found some well advanced and others still warding off attacks. A month-long clearing operation in West Baghdad has enabled soldiers to establish JSS Yarmouk in relative tranquillity. In northeast Baghdad, soldiers from 2d Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division arrived at JSS Sulakh in February. Two platoons of artillerymen rotate into the compound every four or five days. One platoon guards the blue-and-white police station while the other patrols with Iraqi soldiers and policemen. Capt. Andrew Artis and his men have finished sandbag defenses, but they have not yet figured out an answer for the stinking sewage system.

U.S. soldiers man an MK-19 grenade launcher on the roof at all times, but Artis credits frequent foot patrols with deterring the sniper who had targeted the police station. Many Iraqis are horrified that the Americans are working with the local police, who are widely mistrusted. But since the Americans moved into JSS Sulakh, a trickle of residents now approach the front gate to report problems.

Farther south, in Adhamiya, Lt. Col. Eric Schacht's 1-26 Infantry Task Force has had a much rougher time in this longtime haven for Sunni insurgents. In early March, Schacht's men set up JSS Adhamiya in the police station a few blocks from Baghdad's main Sunni mosque. A platoon rotates in every 24 hours. For three weeks the soldiers came under intense attack from grenades, molotov cocktails, mortars, and gunfire. They still receive fire daily, but an extra perimeter of concertina wire staves off grenades. With Shiite militias moving in, Schacht's battalion has suffered heavy losses since last August: 17 killed and 71 wounded out of 800 men.

Schacht tries hard to win over Adhamiyans. He meets regularly with the local District Advisory Council, but two of its past four chairmen have been killed, and a third was jailed for killing his successor. Schacht has also reached out to the senior imam at the mosque. But the Shiite-dominated Baghdad government refuses to pick up trash in the area, as evidenced by the garbage-strewn streets. Government rations of rice, beans, and coffee are not reaching Adhamiya. By contrast, across the Tigris River in the Shiite neighborhood of Kadamiya, streets are being paved, gardens planted, and sewage lines fixed.

The battalion will continue its daily patrols and meetings and small-scale fixer-upper projects such as repairing schools and clinics. But its grass-roots effort alone will not turn the tide. Schacht, who has served a total of 33 months here, offers a sobering assessment: "If reconciliation doesn't occur at the government-of-Iraq level, and resources aren't cut loose to help this part of the city, we will end up with the status quo." And that status quo, the inexorable asphyxiation of this Sunni enclave, might be the fate of Iraq writ large.

This story appears in the May 28, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides

Dagger Brigade Weekly Slides
Dagger Brigade Combat Team Official Site
Week: May 14 - May 20
Slides: 24, 25

2-32 FA Soldiers Train Their Iraqi Counterparts

Alpha Battery

CPL Vaughn Welcomes Addition to Family on R&R