Thread: Operation Iraqi Freedom/Multi-National Force

Top U.S. commander enters the ‘Lions’ Den’

Thursday, 05 July 2007
By Pfc. Nathaniel Smith
4th IBCT, 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD — The commanding general of Multi-National Force-Iraq visited Soldiers operating in the southern neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital to get a better understanding of the battle going on in the hotly contested region.

Gen. David H. Petraeus visited Joint Security Station Black Lion and Coalition Outpost Attack in the northwest section of the Rashid District June 30.

Lt. Col. Patrick Frank, commander of the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, said Petraeus’ visit to his battalion bore special meaning.

“To have the theater commander come here and visit the “Black Lions” and see the tremendous work Task Force Black Lion has done in northwest Rashid is a special occasion,” he said. “We know that we’re the division’s main effort as a brigade combat team right now.

“We want Gen. Petraeus to understand the fight that we’re in,” he added.

Petraeus gained that understanding through a briefing given by Frank about the challenges his battalion is facing.

With troops living so close to the citizens of Baghdad, it allows them to form tighter bonds with the people they’re protecting as well as decrease response time to insurgent activity.

Pfc. Kazan Tamer, a member of the 1-28 Inf. personal security detachment from Patterson, N.J., said there were positives and negatives for Soldiers living at the JSS. One of the good things Tamer mentioned was a better response time to attacks, while the biggest negative is the culinary experience.

“We respond a lot faster to attacks. We’re always ready to go at any time,” he said. “The canned food is probably the worst thing.”

Tamer said the COPs were more company-focused than the JSS, which serves as more of a mini-battalion headquarters.

For Soldiers like Tamer, living conditions are good at the JSS. Tamer said the primary difference between living at a COP and JSS, as opposed to a larger Forward Operating Base, is the level of security, but he still feels safe living at the JSS.

“(Sergeants of the guard) are on top of it,” he said. “I enjoy being at the JSS more than at the FOB, we’re always out there, we’re always first or second to respond.”

The MNF-I commanding general was particularly impressed by the way the Black Lions are conducting detainee operations and immediately made the recommendation that some of their tactics, techniques and procedures get sent to the Counter-Insurgency Academy.

After the briefing, Petraeus pinned medals on Iraqi army heroes, took a brief tour of the JSS and patrolled to COP Attack in the Aamel region of the Iraqi capital. While at the COP, he pinned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge on Soldiers from the Black Lions’ Company A.

Cpl. Mark Sanderson, a team leader in Company A from Thorndale, Texas, said having the MNF-I commander pin on his CIB was a surprise.

“It feels pretty good,” he said. “I didn’t expect that. It was nice.”

While it was nice for the Soldiers to get to visit with Petraeus, the visit also had special significance for their battalion commander. Frank served under the MNF-I commander as the 101st Airborne Division’s deputy operations officer while Petraeus commanded the “Screaming Eagles” in Operation Iraqi Freedom I.

“I have immense respect for him,” Frank said. “He’s invested an immense amount of time in Iraq, so for him to come down and see the Black Lions and spend some of his extremely valuable time with us means a lot.”

Multi-National Force - Iraq - Top U.S. commander enters the ‘Lions’ Den’

356th BOD bids farewell to Iraq

Thursday, 05 July 2007
By Spc. Alexander Burnett
Combined Press Information Center


BAGHDAD — Being deployed to Iraq means being away from friends and family and having to endure a hostile environment. From mortar rounds to 120-degree heat, servicemembers must cope with all forms of stress during their tour. For one unit, it is their time to leave all of that behind and go home.

The 356th Broadcast Operations Detachment, from Ft. Meade, Md. transferred command of American Forces Network to a group of U.S. Airmen during a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in the International Zone of Baghdad Monday.

The 356th arrived in Kuwait July 12, 2006 and have spent the last year operating the AFN station in Baghdad. The unit was comprised of U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from Calif., Utah, Texas, Maine, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Washington, said U.S. Army Maj. Gary W. Sheftick, commander of the 356th.

Their tour has been eventful, upon arrival they had to deal with complications from power outages to poor radio reception inside the International Zone. The 356th BOD took action immediately by having the power in their office switched to a generator and by placing a new transmitter and antennae in the International Zone to strengthen the signal, said Sheftick.

Throughout the course of the year members of the 356th BOD went on over 100 missions outside the IZ. They broadcasted over 3,500 hours of live radio and filmed 250 episodes of Freedom Journal Iraq. Four of these episodes won Keith L. Ware awards from U.S. Army Reserve Command, said Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox, commander of the communications division of Multi-National Force-Iraq, during his farewell speech at the ceremony.

“This group has definitely left their fingerprints on this historic time they have served in,” Fox said. “They did a great job while they were here.”

The U.S. Airmen taking charge of AFN will be partnered with a detachment of U.S. Sailors. The new operators of AFN Iraq hail from stations in Japan, Italy, Virginia, Germany, England, Turkey and Hawaii, said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Leniel R. Garner, station manager for AFN Iraq.

The new operators of AFN Iraq have two goals they want to accomplish. First they hope to speed up the time between events in Iraq and their release to news agencies around the world. They will be working closely with major news organizations to catch up with the industry news cycle. Their second goal is to ensure that news with local ties in the United States makes its way to servicemembers hometowns, Garner said.

“The BOD made a great impression on us and they did an incredible amount of work in the time that they were here,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Joy Josephson, operations manager for AFN Iraq. “We are ready and up to the task ahead of us and carry the ball where the BOD left off.”

The Soldiers of the BOD left the IZ Monday night. Their U.S. Air Force replacements feel they are prepared to meet the challenges that lie ahead of them during their deployment to Iraq, Josephson said.

Multi-National Force - Iraq - 356th BOD bids farewell to Iraq

we need a bigger body count over there...

this 4 killed and 26 detained for questioning....should be

killed 26 terrorists, detained 4 for intelligence

IMHO

Originally Posted by wherbie

we need a bigger body count over there...

this 4 killed and 26 detained for questioning....should be

killed 26 terrorists, detained 4 for intelligence

IMHO

I understand where you are coming from wherbie but one never
knows the intelligence that could be discovered from the ones
that are only detained. One detained could possibly save hundreds if
not thousands of lives with their information, if only 1 life is saved
from this procedure then it is a job well done.
Once MNF are satisfied with the outcome of interrogations then
the detainies will eventually be brought before the Iraqi Court
System to determine the punishment for their crimes.
I'm sure that it is not the goal of MNF to kill as many people as
possible, most likely just the opposite but believe me if they are
fired upon there will be hell to pay for it. Thanks, lewscrew

Naturalization, re-enlistment ceremony held on America’s 231st birthday

Thursday, 05 July 2007

BAGHDAD — Hundreds of Soldiers became citizens of the country they risk their lives for, while others decided to extend their time in service to continue the fight against terrorism.
The U.S. Army conducted a naturalization and re-enlistment ceremony at Camp Victory on Wednesday.

Over 160 Soldiers became U.S. citizens at Camp Victory’s Al Faw Palace, while 600 servicemembers serving around IraqAmerica’s 231st birthday. re-enlisted on

Becoming a U.S. citizen is a life-long dream come true for the newly naturalized Soldiers.

“I always wanted to become one ever since I was a little girl,” said Pfc. Kellin Varela, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. “So I decided to do it when I joined the service.“

For others, this is a chance to help out family members as well as ensuring their future in an increasingly complex world.

“The reason I chose to become a citizen is to help out my family to make sure they live a better life,” said El Salvador native Spc. Carlos Abarca, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

Some Soldiers credited the rights that Americans have as a major reason why they decided to become citizens.

“There are a lot of privileges I could not enjoy before and now I can, like the right to vote,” said Haiti native Sgt. Jacob Petion, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division. “I know that I am protected by U.S. laws just like any other U.S. born citizen.”

Soldiers who are not yet citizens are able to expedite the naturalization process and receive special consideration due to the sacrifices they make for their country.

“I was having problems back in the U.S. so I decided to wait until I came to Iraq to submit my packet,” said Varela. “I did it in April and here I am now, July 4th.”

Attaining U.S. citizenship also helps the Soldier open doors for future job opportunities outside of the Army.

“This will be good because I can get a security clearance,” said Varela. “I want to become a FBI agent and work for U.S. customs when I get out.”

For the Soldiers who re-enlisted, this was a proud day for them as that marks their continuing commitment to the Army.

“I want to become a warrant officer and I want to work as an intelligence analyst,” said Spc. Juanita Beasley, 492nd Civil Affairs Battalion Headquarters.

Many of the Soldiers are the first in their families to get U.S. citizenship.

“I’m the first one in my family that came from Cuba, to get their citizenship,” said Spc. Darianne Castro, 210 Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

With the conclusion of the ceremony, newly minted Americans were standing tall and looking good as they were ushered into a new era. Not as foreigners defending America against terrorism but as U.S. citizens fighting to protect the country they love dearly and have become a part of.

(U.S. Army story by Spc. Scott Kim, Combined Press Information Center)

Multi-National Force - Iraq - Naturalization, re-enlistment ceremony held on America’s 231st birthday

Thanks for starting this thread lewscrew, there' a lot of information on here that I would never read about if not for you doing this.It has and will open some eyes I do believe!

Thank you lewscrew, This is some of the most important news to read.
Keep up the good work and may God Bless you always.
Teshema

Lewscrew, Great job. We all need to be aware that many good things are happening, but without threads like yours we will probably never read about them. My son was there about 2 1/2 years ago and still gets mail from Iraqi nationals, each and every one thanking the US for Schools to attend, flowing water and power. There are many good stories, keep them coming. All the stuff on the major networks reminds me of rehashed Viet Nam footage. All negative and all about how bad the US is. Keep up the good work. Warrior done ranting..

Hey Lewscrew!! Great thread, it is nice to finally, FINALLY, get to read good news about our men and women in uniform over there!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS

Thanks snottynose, teshema, 67 warrior & texasaggies.

The progress made by the MNF is amazing so far to say the
least.
I know they have a long ways to go so lets keep them in our
thoughts and prayers as they fight for all of us each day.

lewscrew