Volume Four, Number 20 - 9-5-09
Mission - Soldier - Family - Team
For the latest news, pictures, and information from 4ID, regularly check:
http://www.hood.army.mil/4ID
(Note from Bob - work is underway to transition this 4ID web site to Fort Carson. Once it is complete, I will give you the new address. In the meantime, this is still the official 4ID web site).
Seven Day Weather Forecast:
Baghdad, Iraq - This week, sunny all seven days - 108 high on Sunday, getting down to 102 high by next Saturday. Lows are dropping from 83 on Sunday to 76 on next Saturday - appears to be cooling off a little in Baghdad.
Kabul, Afghanistan - This week, sunny all seven days - highs from 82-84 with lows of 58-59, not much variation in Kabul.
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65 Years Ago This Week - 4ID in Belgium and Germany - 6 - 12 September 1944
(This is another key week in 4ID history - we were the first Allied ground unit to cross into Germany during WWII)
6 September 1944 - D+92
Increasing resistance was encountered in the vicinity of Willerzie and Rienne, Belgium. The enemy took advantage of the rugged terrain which was extremely favorable for fighting a delaying action. Felled trees across the roads combined with booby traps and teller mines were numerous. An infantry force mounted on eleven half-tracks supported by five light tanks fought a rear guard action along the highways running east and west through Willerzie, Rienne and Godinne. This force utilized towns in settling up its defense and withdrew when our troops attacked in force. The 4th Division continued its advance to the east, meeting and overcoming pockets of enemy resistance, and maintaining contact with VII Corps on the left and the 5th Armored Division on the right. Shortage of gasoline and unfavorable terrain hampered the advance. The 3rd Battalion 8th Infantry met heavy resistance at 1520. The 12th Infantry crossed Hanille river by foot bridges. The 22nd Infantry remained in area to protect VII Corps boundary from enemy infiltration and its 1st Battalion cleared the Bois de Hazelles.
7 September 1944 - D+93
Strong delaying forces at all road centers and towns defended road blocks, strong points and destroyed bridges, employing rear guard patrols mounted in tanks and armored cars together with infantry armed with small arms and antitank guns. Characteristic of enemy action was the attempted defense of Wellin. The greatest obstacles to a speedy advance remained unfavorable terrain, destroyed bridges and shortage of gasoline. CT 8 moved consistently forward throughout the day, meeting scattered resistance. CT 12 continued the attack at 0800 and its 1st Battalion reached Chanly at 1935. CT 22 released from prior mission, began movement east at 1000, closed in new area in the vicinity of Graide and was assigned as division reserve.
8 September 1944 - D+94
Showing improvement in its coordination of defense of road blocks and strong points, the enemy continued to resist the advance of the 4th Infantry Division. Armored patrols were maintained between these points and strategically emplaced antitank guns continually harassed the advance of our armor. As previously, resistance from these points ceased when our units pressed the attack in force. The 4th Division continued its advance, secured assigned objectives and prepared to resume the attack to the Luxembourg-German border. CT 8 advanced throughout the day against a stubborn rear guard action. CT 12 met moderate enemy resistance and by 1917 its 2nd Battalion was approaching its objective in the vicinity of Saint Hubert. CT 22 protected the flanks of the division by patrols and screening for enemy pockets of resistance behind the two other CTs and moved in the late afternoon to vicinity of Paliseul. A superior job was accomplished by the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Group.
9 September 1944 - D+95
Enemy delaying forces were fighting a stiff rear guard action with elite troops. Enemy tanks continued to operate in small groups as contact patrols between the various defense installations along our axis of advance. CT 8 resumed the attack at 0900, reached the first objective at 1200 and moved to second objective to secure important road junctions by seizing and organizing commanding terrain. This was done at the end of the day. CT 12 attacked at 0900, continuing to advance slowly against rear guard action including numerous road blocks and a destroyed bridge. CT 22 moved by motor at 1200 to pass through the 8th Infantry.
10 September 1944 - D+96
Enemy continued its stubborn delaying action. Enemy artillery showed a sharp increase during the period. The 4th Division continued the advance preparatory to assembling before launching a coordinated attack on the West Wall.
11 September 1944 - D+97
The enemy continued its determined defense. A 22nd Infantry patrol crossed the German border, vicinity of Elcherath at 2120 and procured among other things, a package of German soil, prior to returning. The 8th Infantry with same attachments as before, resumed the attack at 0900 and by 1200, reached the intermediate objective. The Combat Team (motorized) moved out at 1320 to its final objective south of Bovigny and reached it by 1800. The 2nd Bn moved to the high ground to protect the right flank of the division and at the end of the day, was still en-route. The 12th Infantry with its same attachments continued the advance and at 0900, removing unmanned roadblock en-route, had encountered the enemy. By 2000, all battalions were forcing crossings of the Salm river against enemy opposition. The 22nd Infantry continued its advance at 0900 and by 1800, the entire Combat Team had closed in its assigned area after having overcome the enemy but still maintaining contact with it by dispatching patrols to the German border.
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On September 11, 1944, elements of the 4th Infantry Division (22nd Infantry Regiment) became the first Allied troops to move into Germany - a proud moment among many in our long and distinguished history.
12 September 1944 - D+98
Abandoning for the most part the practice of installing road blocks, the enemy resorted to a delaying action and its major part was hurriedly withdrawing to the security of the Siegfried defenses. Enemy was engaged at St Vith. The 4th Infantry Division dispatched reconnaissance and combat patrols across the German border and subsequently continued its advance. CT 8 closed in assembly area vicinity of Hill 520 at 0125 and remained there throughout the day. CT 12 continued the advance at 0800 to the east. Intermediate objectives were secured by the 1st and 2nd Bn at 2045 and the 3rd Bn at 2115 vicinity of St Vith. CT 22 conducted vigorous patrolling during the night and at 1400 initiated movement, securing objectives in the vicinity of Elcherath by 2030.
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Forces in Afghanistan Capture Key Taliban Leaders
American Forces Press Service
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Aug. 31, 2009 - Afghan forces and NATO-led International Security Assistance troops captured two key Taliban leaders, including a commander, during a joint operation in the Kanday village of Chapa Dara district in Afghanistan's Kunar province Aug. 29. Qari Azimullah is a Taliban commander in the district, and has been directly linked to several roadside-bomb attacks in the province, one of which resulted in the recent death of a U.S. service member.
A second captured man is another suspected Taliban leader in the area who also has been linked to bombings in Kunar province, officials said. Two additional men were detained. A large weapons cache, including a suicide vest and bomb-making materials, was seized during the operation.
Afghan and ISAF troops protected several women and children who were nearby during the operation when insurgents began firing weapons at troops in the village. No civilians, Afghan troops or ISAF Soldiers were killed or injured during the operation, officials said.
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Army Announces New Afghanistan Troop Rotation
The Department of the Army announced today (September 3) the extension of a division headquarters and a combat aviation brigade in Afghanistan, as well as the future deployment of a division headquarters with recent Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) experience.
These moves are part of an initiative to place units on a habitual rotation to take advantage of their knowledge of the complex environment to which they are returning and to increase deployment stability. We will seek to better align the rotation of units and their headquarters for force cohesion.
The units being extended are the 82nd Airborne Division Headquarters, Fort Bragg, N.C., and the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Stewart, Ga. The 82nd Airborne Division will extend its current deployment by approximately 50 days, and the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade will extend for 14 days. These extensions are necessary to allow follow-on units to accrue one year of time at home station before redeploying (dwell time). The process will be managed to avoid any stop-loss for personnel. (Note from Bob – although 4BCT/4ID reports to 82 ABN DIV HQ, they are not included in the extension – only the 82 ABN DIV HQ element is being extended).
The follow-on forces will deploy in the late spring of 2010. They are the 101st Airborne Division Headquarters, Fort Campbell, Ky., which will now deploy six months sooner than previously planned, and the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Drum, N.Y.
These adjustments to the OEF troop rotation achieve better continuity at the division headquarters level in Afghanistan and increase deployment stability for the Soldiers and Families of these units. When these adjustments are completed, the units will deploy at close to a 1-2 ratio (1 year deployed - 2 years home) -- much better than today's ratio.
This rotation continues the U.S. commitment to maintain the level of forces necessary to provide sufficient military capability for the NATO-International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to further improve security and stability operations. In consultation with Afghan officials and NATO, commanders continue to assess the situation to ensure sufficient force levels to best support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, perform counter-terrorism operations, assist with reconstruction, and train and equip the Afghan national security forces. Afghan security forces continue to develop capability and assume responsibility for security. This U.S. force rotation may be tailored based upon changes in the security situation.
"These adjustments to our force flow strategy are an important element in supporting the commander of ISAF's efforts to develop greater campaign continuity in regard to maximizing experience and stability in Operation Enduring Freedom," said Lt. Gen. J.D. Thurman, the U.S. Army's deputy chief of staff for operations (and 4ID CG from mid 2004 to early 2007).
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MNC-I details latest drawdown plans
By Spc. Brandy Oxford, 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
August 30, 2009
BAGHDAD — Multi-National Corps – Iraq recently began phase two of its safe and responsible withdrawal, and now looks to the challenge of shipping 80,000 troops and their equipment out of country.
Although MNC-I just finished phase one – setting the conditions – it moved into phase two without pause, said Lt. Col. Tammie Pettit, MNC-I logistics plans chief, at an MNC-I conference in Camp Victory’s Al Faw Palace, Aug. 15. "It's been a lot of hard work for a lot of people," Pettit said. "We've done pretty well."
Brig. Gen. Heidi Brown is commanding the responsible drawdown of troops in Iraq from roughly 130,000 today to 50,000 by August 2010. Additionally, the number of civilian contractors in country is slated to be reduced to roughly 75,000, Brown said.
Based on Brown's directives, Pettit said MNC-I plans to reduce the number of bases from nearly 200 to six Multi-Class Supply Support Activity Hubs—with roughly 20 smaller bases, called spokes—by September 2010, with complete withdrawal by December 2011. "None of this is negotiable," said Pettit. "This is a mission we cannot fail."
MNC-I teams inventory, repair and update items the U.S. military will transport to other overseas Areas of Operation or back to the United States. The teams also arrange for items to be transferred to Iraqi control to boost the Iraqi Security Forces as the U.S. withdraws, Pettit said. "We're really starting to prime the pump to get stuff moving out of here," she said. "We'll continue to support [Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan] where we can."
She said phase two of the drawdown will build on the steps taken during phase one, when non-essential equipment was identified, and in phase two, it will be retrograded, transferred or redirected to support other U.S. military priorities.
Phase three will focus on safety operations, Pettit said. The retrograde of equipment not required to support the upcoming elections in Iraq will allow units to focus on enhancing route security, moving forward with the drawdown and supporting redeploying units, she said. "Protection of the force will still be paramount during this drawdown," Pettit said.
Throughout Iraq, the many shipping containers filled with equipment and parts present a particularly large challenge in the drawdown, said Pettit. Units should look within themselves for the personnel necessary to expedite this process safely, she said.
"It's going to take everybody," she said. "There is a lot of work to do. The folks following all of us are going to have a really difficult job."
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Another unit who was part of MND-B when 4ID was still in Iraq is headed home at the end of their tour...
Mission complete: Engineers set sights for home
By 1st Lt. Janeene Yarber
46th ECB (H) PAO, 225 Eng. Bde.
August 31, 2009
BAGHDAD – The Soldiers of the 46th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), 225th Engineer Brigade, based in Fort Polk, La., and Fort Rucker, Ala., are packing up their tools and heading for home.
"Over the last fifteen months, the Soldiers of the ‘Steel Spike’ Battalion improved the life support and force protection of thousands of their fellow Soldiers across miles of roads and at dozens of locations throughout Baghdad,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Zajac, commander, 46th ECB (H), a native of Schaumburg, Ill.
“[The 46th also] supported the restoration of essential civil services, while working with Iraqi Engineer Regiments to develop their capability to provide the same for their Army and people," he said.
By the numbers, the 46th engineers emplaced over 8,000 meters of concrete barriers; emplaced survey control points for helipads and artillery positions; built 169 structures enclosing more square footage than that of the New Orleans Superdome.
According to Zajac, one of the most important contributions by the “Steel Spike” team was the electrical upgrades. “The electrical situation here was poor due to the heat and the substandard materials used,” noted Chief Warrant Officer Two Anthony Jellison, a Phenix City, Ala., native. “My Quality Assurance/Quality Control team ensured the vital job of properly wiring electrical power was completed to reduce serious injuries to Soldiers.”
The battalion’s team of electricians installed over 1.1 million feet of electrical wire and 186 electrical distribution panels – safely connecting to the Iraqi civil power grid.
In addition, the engineers built gyms, dining facilities, aid stations, helicopter landing zones, weapons ranges, entry control points, conducted route sanitation missions, and much more to enhance living conditions, and increase force protection. The “Steel Spike” engineers sanitized a length of route equal to that between Louisiana and England; moved and shaped over 400,000 cubic meters of fill.
To top it all off, the 46th ECB (H) executed more than 900 project site assessments supporting over $100 million of Commander’s Emergency Relief Program funded civil reconstruction; and conducted over 540 ground maneuvers defeating IED strikes, RKG-3 grenade attacks, and small arms fire.
It wasn’t all work for the engineers; they also celebrated during joint social gatherings with their Iraqi counterparts. U.S. and Iraqi Soldiers were able to share a little bit about their cultures during Ramadan, Cinco de Mayo, Sapper Calls, Thanksgiving, basketball and soccer games, and other social events held over the course of their 15-month stay.
“As this deployment winds down I have mixed feelings about leaving because we have worked so hard to improve this country and want to continue making great strides,” remarked Spc. Russell Madden, Hastings, Mich. native, unit supply specialist and armorer. “On the other hand, it is time to let another unit come in and leave their mark on the country.”
The 46th ECB (H) will pass the torch to the 101st Engineer Battalion, the nation’s oldest engineer battalion, during the transfer of authority set to take place at the end of August.
“The Soldiers and leaders of the 46th ECB(H) have contributed to Multi-National Division—Baghdad's significant progress in securing the Iraqi people, in restoring essential services, and in establishing conditions for a representative government and the hope for a new future,” added Zajac.
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And, the National Guard unit who replaced one of the 4ID/MND-B units (2SBCT of 25ID) early this year is also headed home:
Pa. Guard marks end of Iraq mission
By Sgt. Doug Roles
56th SBCT PAO
August 31, 2009
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Soldiers of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, marked the official end of their mission in Iraq, Aug. 31, with a transfer of authority ceremony.
Commander Col. Marc Ferraro and Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. John Jones lowered the colors of the “Independence Brigade” in front of a crowd of Soldiers and Iraqi government and military officials.
“At the start of our mission I said, ‘The citizen Soldiers of Pennsylvania have always answered the call to duty,” Ferraro told the audience. “They did just that. During the deployment we remained focused on the mission. The Soldiers of the Independence Brigade served side by side with Iraqi Soldiers to ensure security.”
Brigade Soldiers performed over 800 combined operations with Iraqi Security Forces, capturing seven brigade level high value targets and 80 additional targets; capturing more than 80 enemy weapon caches.
Ferraro told Iraqi officials present that the past eight months have demonstrated that Iraqi security forces in the Taji area will be successful in the future. Ferraro said the brigade worked with an embedded U.S. provincial reconstruction team and local sheiks to complete civil capacity projects in excess of $22 million.
The brigade arrived in Iraq in late January 2009, after mobilizing in mid-September 2008, and accepted responsibility of a roughly 800-square-mile area north of Baghdad from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the 56th SBCT includes units in armories across Pennsylvania. Over 4,000 Soldiers serve in the brigade.
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Attacks Prompt Iraqi Security Assessment
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2009 - Iraqi security forces have undertaken a broad self-assessment in the wake of series of deadly attacks in the Iraqi capital last month, a U.S. commander there said today. A wave of truck bombings in Baghdad killed at least 100 people and injured more than 500 others in a deadly Aug. 19 assault that exposed a lapse in security, according to U.S. defense officials.
"The Iraqi security forces, as a result of that, have done a great deal of introspective assessing, to make sure that they understand how they can mitigate that from ever happening again," Army Col. Joseph Martin, commander of the 1st Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team in Baghdad told reporters at the Pentagon today. "They continue to assess the overall security situation as a whole, in order to mitigate any attacks, not just [car bomb] attacks, but just any attacks that can occur here," he added.
The attack, which came nearly two months after U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq's cities and villages as part of the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement to increase the authority of Iraqi forces, prompted Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to call for a re-evaluation of security operations.
In the wake of the explosions, top Iraqi military officials met to discuss security methods. The meeting culminated in a directive that changed aspects of security, including procedures and locations for checkpoints and inspections, said Martin, who declined to discuss specific details about the security reforms.
"It's reflective of them understanding, based on our discussions, ... the importance of being an introspective organization and entity providing security for the people here. It helps everybody improve," he said. "It's a sign of a very mature chain of command that can take a look at themselves and their operations and improve -- improve their overall capability."
While defense officials have acknowledged that future attacks are likely, they characterized the attacks as an isolated security breach that is overshadowed by broader trends that indicate improved safety in Iraq compared to previous years.
Violence in Iraq since 2004 is at all-time low, Martin said, adding that since his unit's arrival in October, attacks have decreased by almost 40 percent. The brigade's area of operations averages fewer than two attacks per day, compared to 30 daily attacks two years ago. "This achievement is due to the hard work of the Soldiers and the partners at the company level and below who relentlessly attacked the enemy, then stood watch to protect the people they came here to protect," Martin said.
But the bloodshed underscored that security in Iraq is an evolving process of training, partnering and development, defense officials said. "This event demonstrates that security is not only an ongoing process, but really is a never-ending commitment," Martin said.
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Dagger commander looks back at mission, forward to redeployment
2nd HBCT PAO, 1st Inf. Div., MND-B
September 1, 2009
BAGHDAD – The leaders of the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team “Dagger,” 1st Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad gave local media from the Fort Riley, Kan. area the opportunity to hear the accomplishments of the Dagger Brigade in their year-long support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and preparations for redeployment to Fort Riley next month.
Col. Joseph Martin, commander, 2nd HBCT and Command Sgt. Maj. Battle, the brigade’s top enlisted leader, welcomed the media and their questions. “It has been a year of change for this brigade and I’m going to tell you why. Since we arrived last October we witnessed 14 separate changes in operations this year, changes in our operational environment. Imagine living in Manhattan and experiencing 14 changes to your neighborhood to you and the city,” he said.
“If you recall, the 1st of January was a landmark moment in Iraqi history as the UN Security Resolution expired and the new internationally recognized security agreement was implemented to the United States and our partners in Iraq. Our Iraqi Security partners took the lead firmly at that point. We began to obtain warrants in order to detain insurgents and prevent violence. It was a critical time for the roles of the Iraqi Security Forces as they transitioned to the lead. After an amazing election at the end of January we found ourselves under the leadership of a new command here in the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas.
“We began to add two new battalions- one from Fort Hood, the 2-8 Cavalry Regiment, and one from the Pennsylvania National Guard, the 2-112 Infantry Regiment. We expanded our [area of operations] into Abu Ghraib, which is a rural area to our west. It’s been known to have harbored insurgent activity, specifically al-Qaeda.
“On the 1st of July, the combat forces of this team began to move outside of the city bases that the surge had necessitated and created. We’re now fully partnered in commanding control centers with our city-bound Iraqi partners. We continue to target and capture insurgents in the countryside out in Abu Ghraib and support our partners within the city of Baghdad.
“Overall, our combined team has prevailed. The Dagger noncommissioned officers and junior leaders matured into confident and dependable teams that can tackle any mission anywhere, anytime day or night. We’ve now seen young, energetic Americans become battle-hardened veterans in one of America’s greatest traditions in war fighting: the Big Red One. You can justifiably be proud of them just as we are right now.
“I implore each and every one of you to meet them, Command Sgt. Maj. Battle and me on the 22nd of October this year. That’s when we’ll proudly uncase our colors for this great brigade and continue our history that reaches back to 1917 in the muddy trenches of WWI, where the brigade was born. I can clearly tell you I am the proudest commander in Iraq right now because I am in command of an amazing organization made up of amazing people, who put together an incredible team.
“We can’t forget our families who have waited so patiently at Fort Riley, Kan., nor can we forget the team back there of the local community and all of the institutions that make up the 1st Infantry Division and the Garrison at Fort Riley that have supported us throughout the duration of this conflict.”
Martin was asked what the biggest accomplishment of the Dagger Mission was. He responded by saying the brigade adapted to the ever-changing mission. “This required changes to the environment that necessitated leadership from the brigade all the way down to the unit that was affected,” Martin said. “Our partners had changed, the security agreement was implemented, we went through an election period and the brigade adaptively adjusted to that environment.”
Battle responded by saying the greatest accomplishment was getting to know the Iraqi Soldiers and the civilian population. “We worked side by side with our Iraqi counterparts,” he said. “That has been a great accomplishment.”
Martin was also asked about what the Dagger Brigade was going to do upon return to Fort Riley.
“The way we look at this campaign is that it doesn’t end when we come home; it goes beyond that,” Martin said. “We have the last phase that is equally important to this phase of the campaign, and that is the reset phase.”
Martin said the Soldiers will go through reintegration training and health screens before going on a well-deserved leave period. “They will be reoriented into the environment back home,” he said. “This is something they haven’t experienced over a long period of time.”
Battle said there will also be a big turnover of Soldiers going to a new duty station, separating from the Army or retiring from service. “We will ensure that these Soldiers, as well as the Soldiers not going anywhere, are taken care of,” he said. “There will be a lot of things that we have to accomplish and I think the first 60 days of this reset period will be the most important.”
What also will be important to the Soldiers is the redeployment ceremony when they return, according to Martin. “When the Soldiers’ flight lands in Kansas, a crowd is going to form; people who have been waiting for a whole year to see their Soldier. These Soldiers are going to be called forward to the top of the hill and they are going to walk into a forum of screaming Family members with music and celebration akin to what you would see in a Super Bowl,” he said.
Martin concluded with a statement that wrapped-up what redeployment will be like for the Soldiers and their Families. “The Soldiers will think they are rock stars and the Families will think they are at a rock star concert. They’re going to join together and embrace; then they are going to go home and will be released on a 96 hour pass.”
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U.N. Agency Notes Decline in Afghan Poppy, Opium
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2009 - Farmers in Afghanistan grew fewer opium poppy plants last year, while opium drug production also declined, according to a United Nations-sponsored report released in Kabul today. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime's "Afghan Opium Survey 2009" says opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan declined 22 percent and opium production went down 10 percent during the May 2008 to June 2009 planting cycle.
"At a time of pessimism about the situation in Afghanistan, these results are a welcome piece of good news and demonstrate that progress is possible," Antonio Maria Costa, the office's executive director, said in a news release.
The report cites overall opium-poppy growth in Afghanistan as having declined to 123,000 hectares -- about 304 acres -- from a peak of 193,000 hectares -- about 477 acres -- in 2007. The greatest decrease in opium-poppy cultivation, the report said, occurred in Helmand province, where poppy growth declined by a third to 69,833 hectares, or 171 acres, from 103,590 hectares, or 255 acres, in 2008. Reasons for the reductions cited by the report include strong leadership by the provincial governor, more-aggressive counter-narcotics operations, terms of trade that are more favorable to legal crops, and the successful introduction of "food zones" that promote legal farming.
The report also said the number of opium poppy-free provinces in Afghanistan increased from 18 to 20 of the country's 34 provinces.
Taliban and other extremists in Afghanistan are said to use money derived from the country's poppy industry to fund insurgency operations. "The link between drugs and insurgency, now recognized, is being attacked militarily," Costa said in the U.N. release. In fact, according to the release, more drugs are being confiscated in Afghanistan as a result of more robust counter-narcotics operations by Afghan and NATO forces.
In the first half of 2009, according to the report, military operations destroyed more than 90 tons of chemicals used in the production of illicit drugs, 450 tons of opium poppy seeds, 50 tons of opium, 7 tons of morphine, 1.5 tons of heroin, 19 tons of hashish and 27 laboratories.
The U.N. survey "certainly is a positive report," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today. However, he added, "there's still a lot of work to be done in that area."
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40,000 pack downtown Springs to thank the military
ANDREA BROWN
Colorado Springs Gazette
August 29, 2009
It wasn’t “Welcome Home” versus “War No More.” It was just “Welcome Home.”
Thanking the troops ruled at Saturday’s Red White and Brave Welcome Home Parade in downtown Colorado Springs that drew more than 40,000 supporters and only about a dozen protesters. “It’s like the rivalry of two football teams, except we have more people on our side,” said retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Kent Crow, a spectator in military uniform who cheered on his active-duty comrades.
The parade had tanks, fire trucks, cheerleaders and marching bands along with costumed characters on stilts and unicycles. Grandpas, moms, kids and even dogs sported flags. Thousands of people waved banners of support for the Soldiers and Airmen marching down Tejon Street as a squadron of vintage World War II planes thundered overheard.
The event drew a smaller turnout than the last parade of this magnitude in 2004 to welcome home troops. With the Iraq war still going after six years and the 8-year-old Afghanistan war heating up again, organizers wanted to give the community a chance to thank local troops for their sacrifices. Some Fort Carson Soldiers have served overseas three times.
“It’s a morale booster,” said Teresa Meza, who brought her two children to watch their dad march in the parade with thousands of his Army and Air Force comrades. Army Sgt. Daniel Meza is home between deployments. “It is very uplifting,” said Chris McBean, whose husband, Staff Sgt. John McBean, is deployed to Afghanistan. “You know you are not alone.”
Ernie, a white French bulldog, paraded along the sidelines with a flag poked in his dog collar. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jill Colbert bedecked the dog to watch her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Aaron Colbert, march down Tejon. “This is amazing. I didn’t think they would do something like this. I was surprised, pleasantly surprised,” she said.
B.J. Cameron was among the seniors who came to show support. “I’m here just to let the troops know how much we appreciate them, to stand here and say thank you for your sacrifice,” said Cameron, the mother of a 27-year-old disabled Army veteran.
A handful of Coloradans For Peace protesters packing signs on a street corner were upstaged by the mass of sign-waving supporters.
But the protesters’ presence — and the media attention they garnered — bothered retired Army Sgt. Major David Dantzler, who said he got a lump in his throat and misty-eyed from the cheering crowd when he marched in the 2004 parade. “It’s not about them,” Dantzler said of the protesters. “It’s a proud event, thanking the Soldiers and welcoming them home. If protestors don’t want to welcome them home, they can stay home.”
Army veteran Kent Crow said he was spit on when he returned from fighting in the Vietnam War. Saturday, he found himself sharing sidewalk space with protesters as he enjoyed the parade. “It’s America, they have the right,” Crow said. “I don’t get upset.”
When a man came up behind him and started yelling “peace now, peace now,” a police officer asked the protester to step back. Crow, focused on the parade, didn’t seem to even notice.
Eric Verlo, holding a large “War No More” banner, didn’t mind the brawny police officer keeping a watchful eye on his group of a dozen Coloradans For Peace protesters who came to “oppose a pro-war parade.”
“We’ve had a lot of hecklers,” Verlo said. “He is protecting us.”
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What Our Families Are Hearing From our Soldiers
1) Nothing reported - let me hear from you.
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News continues to be sparse, it has virtually dried up from 4BCT of 4ID in Afghanistan, but I'm continuing to dig to report whatever I can to our readers. Enjoy the remainder of your Labor Day weekend.
Like many of you, I will be perched in front of my TV set much of this afternoon and evening watching the opening weekend of the college football season. I hope all of your favorite teams win - unless that team happens to be BYU playing my Oklahoma Sooners or Okla State playing my Georgia Bulldogs. I see where Navy gave Ohio State quite a scare, and UGA is ahead of Okla State as of now. BOOMER SOONER! GO DAWGS!
Continue to pray for our Soldiers and their Families. Also - don't forget to take time on Friday, September 11 to observe that historic day in American and world history and pay tribute to those who have suffered and died as a result of the events of that day, both on that day and fighting our enemies since then, as many reading these updates continue to do.
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Bob Babcock - "Deeds not Words"
President, Deeds Publishing - www.deedspublishing.com
President, Americans Remembered - www.americansremembered.org
Past President, 22nd Infantry Regiment Society - www.22ndinfantry.org
Past President, Historian, National 4th Infantry Div Assn - www.4thinfantry.org
PO Box 682222, Marietta, GA 30068 - Phone 678-480-4422 (cell)
