New training center named for slain Soldier
Story and photo by
Sgt. Jason Mikeworth
207th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
LOGISTICAL SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA — The Combat Medic Training Center at Logistical Support Area Anaconda was renamed on Sept. 14 to the Sgt. 1st Class Tricia L. Jameson Combat Medic Training Center to honor the fallen Soldier of the 313th Medical Company (Ground Ambulance) of the 44th Medical Command.
Jameson, who had been in Iraq for only about two weeks, was killed July 14 when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near the Humvee she was riding in as she attempted to reach a group of Marines to provide medical aid after they had been struck by an earlier IED.
“This training center is exactly what Sergeant Jameson was all about,” said Capt. Robert Miller, the executive officer and field medical officer of the 313th MC.
“She was not only a medic, but she was a teacher. Sharing and teaching others knowledge and caring for Soldiers was what she was about.”
Miller worked closely with his fellow Nebraska Army National Guard Soldier for many years. Both had worked as instructors at the Regional Training Institute at Camp Ashland, Neb., to train Soldiers from seven states.
Miller recalled times when Jameson would drive 50 miles to his house to ensure he had all the necessary equipment to teach.
“When it came to organization, managing and working with Soldiers, her patience was phenomenal,” Miller said. “She was probably the easiest person in the world to get along with.”
Jameson was a passionate, selfless teacher, said Miller. He said he hopes these traits will carry on as the legacy of Jameson through the school.
“It’s sad that some things like this have to happen for things this good to come of them,” Miller said, “but to give a training center with Sergeant Jameson’s name on it is fantastic.”
HITTING THE BARBARIAN CAVEMEN HARD
Operation Iron Fist Update
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Approximately 1,000 U.S. Marines, Soldiers and Sailors completed their sixth day of Operation Kabda Bil Hadid, or Iron Fist in English, in Western Al Anbar on Oct. 6.
The force, assigned to Regimental Combat Team -2, is operating in the Al Qaim region near the village of Sadah on the southern banks of the Euphrates River. Sadah is approximately 12 km from the Syrian border and near Karabilah and Husaybah.
During the afternoon of Oct. 5 in Karabilah, a section of M1-A1 Abrams tanks supported Marine infantry who were under small-arms attack. The tanks engaged and killed two of the insurgents.
Marines also engaged insurgents with small-arms fire east of Karabilah on the same afternoon. The insurgents were firing on the Marines from fighting positions in three buildings. Aviation assets destroyed the buildings killing seven enemy gunmen.
The offensive is part of an overall operation called Sayaid, or Hunter in English, which aims to deny al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists the ability to operate freely in the Euphrates River Valley and to prevent the terrorists from influencing the local population through murder and intimidation.
In other action, Coalition aircraft dropped four precision-guided bombs onto an abandoned hotel commandeered by al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists the night of Oct. 5 in Husaybah. The 3-story building was being used for staging attacks and storing weapons. Twenty terrorists have been confirmed killed in the strike. The manner in which the strike was conducted minimized collateral damage.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
Operation River Gate Update
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Approximately 350 Iraqi Security Force Soldiers and 2,500 Marines, Soldiers and Sailors from Regimental Combat Team – 2 continued Operation Bawwabatu Annaher, or River Gate, in the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana Oct. 6.
Iraqi Security Forces and Marines were attacked with a roadside bomb in Haditha late afternoon Oct. 5. Examination of the blast site revealed electrical wiring leading to Qaryat al Khadfah mosque. Iraqi Soldiers and Marines discovered the initiating device for the explosive inside the mosque. In addition, numerous artillery rounds, pre-wired and ready to use as roadside bombs, were hidden on the mosque grounds. No Iraqi Soldiers or Marines were injured by the bomb’s blast.
Iraqi Soldiers and U.S. Marines and Soldiers are clearing the three Euphrates River Valley cities. In the past 24 hours, the combined Iraqi and U.S. forces have discovered two weapons caches, one in Haqlaniyah and the other in Haditha, consisting of more than 40 mortar and artillery rounds, two complete mortar systems, small-arms and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
On the morning of Oct. 6, Marines discovered an insurgent-planted improvised explosive device. Upon conducting a controlled detonation of the device, electrical service was disrupted in Haqlaniyah and Bani Dahir due to the bomb’s proximity to an electrical source. Marines are working with local officials to restore electrical service in those towns.
Iraqi Soldiers are continuing to provide security for Haditha General Hospital’s patients and personnel.
Since Operation River Gate began, Iraqi Soldiers and U.S. forces have located 10 improvised explosive devices.
The operation’s goal is to deny al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists the ability to operate in the three Euphrates River Valley cities and to free the local citizens from the insurgents’ campaign of murder and intimidation of innocent women, children and men.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
Improvised explosive device Emir captured
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Multi-National forces killed two foreign fighters and captured two others during a raid in Karabilah Sept. 6.
Multi-National forces acted on intelligence tips from multiple sources that foreign fighters were operating in Karabilah at a specific location. During the raid, the forces killed two foreign fighters and captured Fahed Mohammad Saleh Aba al-Khail (aka Abu Faris), and Hassan Salim Salah ‘Abdallah Al-Sha’ari (aka Abu Habib al-Libi). Both are now in custody of Coalition forces.
Abu Faris is an admitted foreign fighter who entered Iraq illegally from Saudi Arabia with the intent to fight Coalition forces. He departed Saudi Arabia with a forged passport and crossed into Iraq with the assistance of a smuggler. The foreign fighters with whom he associated trained him on the use of various weapons and pressured him to become a suicide bomber.
Abu Habib al-Libi also admitted to being a foreign fighter. Al-Libi claims to be the Improvised Explosive Device “Emir” of Karabilah, responsible for conducting numerous bombings against Coalition and Iraqi forces. He came to Iraq from Libya, crossing the border through Syria.
Iraqi, U.S. forces nab 34 terror suspects
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Task Force Baghdad Soldiers teamed up with Iraqi Special Police Commandos to conduct a series of raids in south Baghdad Oct. 6 and netted 34 terror suspects.
The hunt for terrorists in Saydiyah kicked off just after midnight as Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team focused efforts on 16 targets and detained 10 men. Nine of the detainees were suspected of having affiliations with the al-Qaeda terrorist group.
Elements from 1st Battalion, 1st Commando Brigade also conducted a raid in another western al-Rasheed neighborhood and detained 24 suspected terrorists.
Security forces capture terror suspects, seize weapons
MOSUL, Iraq -- Multi-National forces from Task Force Freedom detained 48 suspected terrorists, seized weapons caches, and killed a terrorist during operations in northern Iraq Oct. 3-6.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment detained 16 individuals suspected of terrorist activity and seized multiple AK-47s along with full magazines and other weapons during separate operations in Mosul, Oct. 4-6.
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment detained six individuals suspected of terrorist activity during separate operations in eastern Mosul Oct. 3 and 6. Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment detained five individuals suspected of terrorist activity during two operations in eastern Mosul Oct. 5.
Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment detained six individuals suspected of terrorist activity and killed a terrorist after receiving small arms fire during separate operations in Tal Afar Oct. 3-4.
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment detained three individuals suspected of terrorist activity and seized three weapons caches during separate operations in Tal Afar Oct. 4-5. One of the weapons seized was a result of an Iraqi citizen’s tip.
Soldiers from 3rd ACR seized a weapons cache consisting of AK-47s with multiple magazines, a shotgun with a bandoleer, and an improvised explosive device. While reducing the cache, the unit engaged a suspected terrorist fleeing through a gully (wadi). The individual fled into a safe house where the unit conducted a raid and detained 11 suspected terrorists Oct 4.
Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment detained an individual suspected of terrorist activity during a cordon and search near the Syrian border Oct. 5. Suspects are in custody with no MNF injuries reported. Weapons were confiscated for future destruction.
Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment seized a weapons cache during a search operation near Qayyarah Oct. 3. The cache included rocket propelled grenades, various rockets, RPG boosters, mines, and an artillery round.
GOOD NEWS - WHATS REALLY HAPPENING.
Although the death toll of more than 1,900 Americans frequently is cited by Mr. Bush's critics, U.S. achievements in Iraq are scarcely mentioned.
According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, a government agency created by President John F. Kennedy to offer assistance to countries in need, U.S. forces have vaccinated more than 3.2 million children and 700,000 pregnant women since 2003.
More than 600 health care facilities have been equipped with medical technology to treat suffering Iraqis. More than 2,500 schools have been renovated, and 8.7 million textbooks have been distributed to Iraqi children. An estimated $425 million worth of imported food has been delivered to the Iraqi people who were being denied such necessities under Saddam Hussein. ** This would be the same Mr Hussain the lefty tree huggers were trying to protect during the Gulf War
The U.S. government has installed 240,000 telecommunication lines and added 1,100 megawatts to the Iraqi electrical grid. American-funded water and sanitation projects exceed $520 million, improving health conditions for more than 11.8 million Iraqi citizens. Efforts to rehabilitate marshlands flooded with oil by the Hussein regime during the 1991 Persian Gulf war have begun in hopes of improving the environment.
On an economic scale, more than 77,000 public works jobs have been created in Iraq and more than 80 banks have become operational because of a U.S.-developed bank-to-bank payment system.
Perhaps the most significant achievement lies within the country's most recent draft for a constitution, which mandates that the Iraqi legislature have at least 25 percent female representation. That's quite a stride from Mr. Hussein's well-known policy to punish political activists by having professional soldiers rape their female relatives, as reported by Amnesty International.
To date, at least 26,165 Iraqi civilians have died since the U.S. invasion. Perhaps those deaths confuse Americans into thinking that if we simply withdrew our forces, the Iraqi insurgents would stop committing mass murder on their own people.
Although the current civilian casualties are great, they do not compare to the hundreds of thousands of needless, cruel deaths caused by Mr. Hussein's regime, which was infamous for genocide, torture and countless human rights violations. According to Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, methods such as electric shock, acid baths, penetration torture and severe whippings were only some of the ways Mr. Hussein punished civilians for speaking out against his regime.
America is not losing the war in Iraq. The freedom of an entire nation is not a loss, even when there is a loss of precious life. Our continued military presence in Iraq to shield democracy is essential to both Iraq and the United States as well as to the future of the Middle East. Impatience, selfishness and fear are not legitimate reasons to desert those we have pledged to protect. To abandon Iraq now would be to abandon our commitment to democracy and to our honor. **As someone in the UK I get a more impartial view of whats happening in Iraq from the sources abroad, even Arab stations are not as anti UK/US as our so called state broadcaster the BBC. None of this would ever be reported by them.
And finally this, a brilliant cartoon from a brilliant site
Watch The Birdie
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