I get e-mails and photos from several freinds and former students of mine who are over in Afghanistan and Iraq and have asked for permission to post one or two fo them here. I thought you might enjoy hearing it directly from the guys that are out there on the front line and what they have to say. If any editing was doen I have noted it (for OPSEC reasons only).   Sir,  So, on 24May I was on a bodyguard mission, so to speak, down in Jalalabad. J-Bad, our cool nickname for th...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 12 security detainees April 19 through April 25 for various crimes including illegal border crossing, possessing illegal weapons and joining terrorist groups.         The trial court found Hassan Hamid Abdulla Muhsin guilty of violating Article 194 of the Iraqi Penal Code for joining terrorist groups to endanger innocent people’s lives and to unsettle the stability and security of Iraq and sentenced hi...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed ten terrorists, three of them wearing suicide vests, and wounded one at approximately 1:30 a.m. May 2 at a safe house located approximately 40 kilometers southwest of Balad while searching for an al-Qaida terrorist leader.    Upon the troops’ arrival, one terrorist who was sleeping while on guard outside the safe house, woke up and attempted to engage the assault troops with a pistol. The terrorist was shot before he could fire his weapon.&nb...

AD DAWR, Iraq -- Donning body armor, adhering to proper military tactics and techniques, and maintaining situational awareness can help a Soldier come home in one piece, but sometimes a little something else comes into play. In March, 1st Lt. Adam Rivette, platoon leader, Troop A, 2nd Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 101st Airborne Division, and his troops were chasing down a suspicious vehicle. The pursuit did not pan out-- it did however lead to the event which Rive...

Ever wonder where I find some of this good news stuff? There is TONS of it, just not reported in the MSM. You can read to you hearts content about the good stuff by reading the in country newsletters like these: The Eagle Talon The Eagle Talon is published in the interest of the service members of the 4th Inf... Cobra Strike The Cobra Strike is published monthly by the 4th Brigade Combat Team Public Affair... The Warhorse Stable ...

04/28/06   BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed the al-Qaida “Emir” of Samarra, Hamadi ‘Abd al-Tahki al-Nissani, April 28.  Based on intelligence reports, they tracked the wanted terrorist and two others to a location approximately 15 kilometers north of Samarra.  As the troops assaulted the house where the three men were known to be hiding, Hamadi ‘Abd al-Tahki al-Nissani, who was armed, attempted to flee and was killed by the assault force.   The ground troops also ...

TIKRIT, Iraq – Iraqi security forces quickly responded to a series of attacks April 27 in Baqubah in the eastern Diyala Province, leaving 21 anti-Iraqi forces dead and capturing 43.   The attacks began in southern Baqubah in the afternoon when the Buhriz police station and five police checkpoints were simultaneously attacked with mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. Iraqi Soldiers and police killed 17 AIF and detained 28 responsible for the attacks.  ...

April 25, 2006 BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed 12 terrorists during a raid April 25 in Yusifiyah at a safe house associated with foreign terrorists.  Multiple intelligence sources led the troops to the specific structure located approximately 8 kilometers N/NE of the location where the U.S. Apache helicopter crashed April 1.    Upon arrival the troops took direct fire and immediately engaged the threat with small arms fire as well as rotary wing aircraft machine gun f...

MG R. Lynch stated this week -   Bordering on peace “ We believe that 90 percent of the suicide attacks in Iraq are conducted by foreign fighters. Last year this time, across Iraq , we were averaging about 75 suicide attacks a day. Now we’re averaging about 24 a day. One of the reasons for that drawdown is not that Zarqawi and al-Qaida doesn’t want to do it anymore, but effective border operations h...

Ramadi had become a safe haven for anti-Iraqi forces, until October of last year.   The enemy hijacked a primary school and a mosque, using them as their operations centers to conduct daily attacks on Coalition and Iraqi Soldiers. Attacks from the area included everything from improvised explosive devices, to small-arms ambushes and indirect-fire attacks with mortars and rockets.   The citizens of this area felt forsaken. That is until an Iraqi Army battalion decided to take ba...

  Here are some interesting numbers for you:   Captured FOREIGN Nationals in Iraq : Oct 05 – 41 Nov 05 – 44 Dec 05 – 25 Jan 06 – 24 Feb 06 – 28 Mar 06 – 20   Bomb Makers Killed/ Captured Oct 05 – 23 Nov 05 – 15 Dec 05 – 8 Jan 06 – 3 Feb 06 – 15 Mar 06 – 8   Weapons Caches Found Oct 05 – 204 Nov 05 – 377 Dec 05 – 414 Jan 06 – 367 Feb 06 – 251 Mar 06 – 302   Tips to MNF-I (Multi-National...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21, 2006 BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan   An Afghan man reported an improvised explosive device placed inside a mosque today preventing the possible deaths of several mosque patrons in the city of Bakh Tana in Khost Province .   The Afghan disclosed the location of the IED to Afghan National Police officers who in turn notified Coalition forces.   With permission from local religious leaders, a Coalit...

VIDEO SCRIPT OF HOSTAGE RESCUE - Here are Coalition Forces in action. In this video, you will witness the reconnaissance of some terrorists who were affiliated with hostage taking. - We received information as to their whereabouts and checked out what they were doing. Turns out they were in the process of taking some more hostages, so we deployed our troops within minutes, tracked down and killed two of the terrorists and rescued the hostages, unscathed from the trunk. - This was an in...

RAMADI, Iraq - U.S. troops repelled an attack Monday by Sunni Arab insurgents who used suicide car bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons in a coordinated assault against this city's main government building and two U.S. observation posts. The fighting in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, provided fresh evidence that the insurgency is thriving in Sunni Arab-dominated areas despite last month's decline in U.S. deaths. In Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi forces fought an hou...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – In search of locations for bomb making and storage, Coalition forces killed eight terrorists during a raid April 9 approximately 22 kilometers northwest of Baghdad in the vicinity of Hamaniyah. As the Coalition forces ordered occupants to exit an identified safehouse and nearby tent, two suspects ran from the tent. At least one suspect was armed, and both moved to take fire positions. The Coalition forces engaged the two and then received automatic and small arms fire from the no...